Okay, there are a ton of experts out there on SEO, and let me say that I am not one of them. I urge all of you to contact them.  Having said that, I am learning a bit about this, and want to share what I have found to be helpful and results oriented.  After all, the one thing we all want is RESULTS NOW.  Like I keep saying, results later is just a loss.  Results now is FREEDOM. Okay, back to SEO.  Here are 5 top tips for search engine optimization, from our friends at www.typhoonvisioninc.com.

1. Deep Linking. Make sure you have links coming in to as many pages as possible. What does it tell a search engine when other web sites are linking to different pages on your site? That you obviously have lots of worthwhile content. What does it tell a search engine that all your links are coming in to the home page? That you have a shallow site of little value, or that your links were generated by automation rather than by the value of your site.

2. Newsletters. Offer articles to ezine publishers that archive their ezines. The links stay live often for many years in their archives. This is a great, easy, free way to build credibility and gain exposure. Offer piles of articles to sites that your target customers frequent. Your by-line will have a link to drive traffic. Think beyond simple article distribution—become a guest columnist on multiple sites. I became one and 3 sites reaching over 300,000 monthly visitors just by asking. Everyone loves free, high quality content!

3. Multiple domains. If you have several topics that could each support their own website, it might be worth having multiple domains. Why? First, search engines usually list only one page per domain for any given search, and you might warrant two. Second, directories usually accept only home pages, so you can get more directory listings this way. Why not a site dedicated to gumbo pudding pops?

4. Article exchanges. You’ve heard of link exchanges, useless as they generally are. Article exchanges are like link exchanges, only much more useful. You publish someone else’s article on the history of pudding pops with a link back to their site. They publish your article on the top ten pudding pop flavors in Vietnam, with a link back to your site. You both have content. You both get high quality links. (More on high quality links in other tips.)

5. Site map. A big site needs a site map, which should be linked to from every page on the site. This will help the search engine robots find every page with just two clicks. A small site needs a site map, too. It’s called the navigation bar. Spend an hour or two learning more about this important tool — or better yet, invite one of your trusted team members to own that project completely so you can stay focused on what YOU do best. THAT is a real strategy for success and a real path to CEO Freedom.

Finally, there are new tricks and technologies everywhere, every day, and we must encourage our teams to be CONSTANTLY learning and engaging the most effective strategies for success to create results NOW – THAT is where the real success and freedom are born.

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter

PS: If you haven’t gotten my FREE CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business,” you’re simply leaving money on the table.  Click here and let me help you get serious about living a better life and building a bigger success story.  http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI

How does education-based marketing fit into your future?  Well, if your end-game is CEO Freedom, then the only way to get there is to build enough results NOW to ride a wave forward. And that means SALES. Sales is about building rapport, not breaking it. When you sell, or pitch, you’re often breaking rapport because the prospect may be skeptical–no one wants to be “sold.” When you educate, you are building rapport. Your credibility is increased significantly when you start meetings with data that is of value to the prospect. Launch all your meetings by teaching your prospect something, or by offering data that establishes that you’ve done your homework.

If your local newspaper called you up and offered to teach you the seven things that make all businesses succeed, you’d probably find that pretty hard to turn down. Sure, they’d still have to talk you into the meeting, but it would be an easier sell than talking you into a meeting to pitch you on advertising in their publication. If you embrace education-based marketing you will out-market your competitors at every turn. Education-based marketing attracts buyers before they are thinking about buying. It casts a wider net, attracts more buyers, and closes a higher percentage of prospects if the education you give is of true value. This is the least expensive, most effective marketing concept you will ever use.What kind of a free education could you offer that would make your prospects want to meet with you? That becomes your #1 question and #1 focus. The answers to that question will create a real strategies for success and a very real path to results NOW. Nothing else will create the CEO Freedom that you seek and the revenue base that you’ll need to really grow your business.

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
http://www.mightyventures.com/bai PS: My BAI weekend is the fastest way to ramp revenue and your company’s growth because it’s so intimate (I only take 20 participants) http://www.mightyventures.com/bai – I still have two spots left, and I would love to have you guys there to learn from me, firsthand, how to create MASSIVE growth and avoid HUGE mistakes.   

PSS: And the one thing you should ALL do today is get my no cost CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business” http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI.

Yes, everyone’s focused on education-based marketing – and we should be. But let’s add a new spin to it — one that will lead to RESULTS NOW (the key ingredient to creating CEO Freedom). Instead of pitching your product or service, try offering prospects actionable information. Something that shows them that you value their TIME and what THEY need – even before you have a one-on-one relationship with them. Try this and you’ll see your sales climb, improve your company’s value overall and increase the possibility of receiving financing – not to mention generating good will with your client base. In a recent conversation with one of my sales guru pals we agonized over why so many small businesses have such a tough time ramping up sales. It’s because they’re pitching, not educating. Seems obvious, right? Wrong.

Let’s say you sell telephone systems, like Company X does. Before discovering this concept, Company X would cold call prospective companies and ask if they were interested in talking about a new telephone system (yuck—this is a standard product pitch). They had four salespeople making hundreds of calls per day. The result? A whopping three appointments per week. No surprises here. First of all, every company that has a phone system that is five or more years old can probably benefit from a new phone system. Heck, more than 15 major providers of phone systems just 10 years ago are now out of the phone system business. But inertia is a powerful force. If the phone system isn’t broke—why fix it? Ready to double sales? Consider taking the following steps.

Step 1. The first thing Company X did after discovering the education-based marketing concept was target bigger companies. The bigger the company, the bigger the phone system. The bigger the phone system, the bigger the sales potential — and the more likelihood of finding results NOW (remember, that’s the key to CEO freedom — results LATER just mean more long hours and not enough revenue). Step 2. The salespeople called the 2,000 largest companies in their market with two simple questions: “Hi, we’re doing our annual telephone system survey. I just need to know two things: What is the model of your phone system and how old is it?” In two days, the salespeople had a list of 508 companies with old, and often obsolete phone systems. Step 3. Now for the real hook: Education-based marketing. The sales reps called on these larger companies with one offer: “We have a new educational program entitled The Nine Ways You’re Wasting Money on Your Voice and Data Spending.” They’d continue, saying: “We’ve been in the telephone business for 10 years now and we’ve found that every company wastes money on their voice and data spending in at least nine areas. We’ve put together a white paper to teach companies how to stop wasting—and start saving–money. If you ever need any help at all with your voice, data or telephone system needs, we want you to know about us. So we’re sending you our white paper.”

This approach increased their appointments ten fold, from three per week to 30 per week. This company’s revenue was $3 million the year prior to using the education-based marketing approach. After six months, Company X’s sales pipeline was $9 million strong.

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

PS: My BAI weekend is the fastest way to ramp revenue and your company’s growth because it’s so intimate (I only take 20 participants) http://www.mightyventures.com/bai – I still have two spots left, and I would love to have you guys there to learn from me, firsthand, how to create MASSIVE growth and avoid HUGE mistakes.

PSS: And the one thing you should ALL do today is get my no cost CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business” http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI

Why do some companies get showered with financing offers to create success NOW and business acceleration and others end up empty-handed and stuck in quicksand? It’s all about due diligence.

Before you get a loan, an investment, a client, an acquisition offer, or an investment banker to take you public, you’ll need to prove you have a solid business and that you’re READY for business acceleration. This is why we love to hate the due diligence (DD) process: it’s ridiculously time-consuming, and yet it’s required if we want to raise cash. Good DD prep enables a company to fly through the process and extract more cash for their company with less dilution. Here’s how to make the process work for you.

The DD Mind Game
On one side of the table is you, eager to close the deal. On the other side of the table is the funding source, who has at least as many reasons to nix the deal as to ink it. This is why DD is key: your goal is to reduce the fear of loss and increase the greed for gain in the funding source’s heart and mind.

First, be open and cooperative, as the funding source will note your reaction (verbal and body language) to their information requests. Assign one person to be the contact for the DD process, otherwise the operations of your company will be seriously impacted. This person should be detail-oriented, such as someone in finance or operations. Do not assign someone from sales or marketing.

All areas of your business will be scrutinized before a deal is done. Some funding sources will obsess over every item you give, others will focus on the potential deal breakers within each category. The process will generally take 3-12 weeks, depending on the transaction, with the least amount of a time for a loan, and the most for an acquisition. Investments from VCs or angels will land in the middle.

This is just the BASIC info – Due Diligence 101 – if you’re ready for real FUNDING avenues, business acceleration and CEO freedom (plus the 1-2-3 down and dirty info on creating financial freedom), you really need to do more than read my blog – but hey, this is still a good place to start. To your ROCKIN’, no-holds-barred, no excuses allowed, SUCCESS.

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Time Best Selling Author
http://www.mightyventures.com/bai

PS: My BAI weekend is the fastest way to ramp revenue and your company’s growth because it’s so intimate (I only take 20 participants) http://www.mightyventures.com/bai – I still have two spots left, and I would love to have you guys there to learn from me, firsthand, how to create MASSIVE growth and avoid HUGE mistakes.

Look, let’s just break it down in simple terms. You cannot have a success story or results NOW without the key ingredients. So one thing is KNOW your story. That is your elevator pitch, your mission statement, your vision of your future.

You cannot sell what you don’t have so HAVE a product. Even if you’re a service business, know that your time is your product – and maybe sharing the how-to for your peers is also a product. Then have a product PATH. Once a customer comes in, do you have more to sell them and the ability to KEEP them at higher and higher levels?

You cannot be effective with your sales without a marketing plan. A MEASURED marketing plan. You need to have analytics and trackable links on everything you sell online so you can see where your efforts are working and what you need to toss.

HAVE a financial plan. Even if you’re at the beginning of everything.

Have REAL goals and look for results at every turn — real results — results NOW. Remember, $250k is a stepping stone to $500k which is a stepping stone to $1mil. Every entrepreneur has at least one multi-million dollar company inside them, believe me.

Finally, if you are ready to rock your revenue, create real strategies for success and for RESULTS NOW, work with me. At whatever level you are able to, WORK WITH ME. My job is to help take your company from potential to reality. Revenue is a great way to measure that, and I know how to make all of the ingredients come to fruition AND work together. I help you get past all of your crappy roadblocks and build a REAL business and a real future. … If you can’t imagine a path to $250k, then you won’t be able to imagine a path farther than that.

My BAI weekend is the fastest way to ramp revenue and your company’s growth because it’s so intimate (I only take 20 participants) http://www.mightyventures.com/bai. My CEO Freedom Summit is the next fastest way, with only 200 people there’s less intimacy and attention from me, but there are a room FULL of other rockin’, like-minded entrepreneurs to grow relationships with (think JV’s, advisors, strategic partnerships, etc., etc.) http://bit.ly/5dHdCp.

To your ROCKIN’, no-holds-barred, no excuses allowed, SUCCESS.

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
Queen of Business Acceleration
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author 

PS: And the one thing you should ALL do today is get my no cost CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business” http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI

 I’ve been thinking a lot about mentorship lately.  What is a GREAT mentor? 

As 2009 comes to a close, I think it’s time for all of us to make powerful declarations.  It’s time to declare who you ARE and who you are NOT.  For myself, I am a great mentor.  But that does NOT mean that I hold your hand.  I am taking the time, right now, to declare that I am direct – perhaps refreshingly so.   I care VERY deeply about your success, but I am NOT here to validate your excuses or roadblocks. 

I take my role as mentor very seriously, no matter what level you’re at.  So if you’re a 6-figure entrepreneur, I have a program for you – if you’re a million-dollar entrepreneur, I have a program for you.  And if you’re a brand new start-up business, I have a path to success for you too, but it isn’t hand holding over a cup of coffee.  It’s a TON of tools for you to digest and implement EVERY SINGLE day to move to other levels of success.  Because I can tell you one thing, if you are not creating RESULTS NOW, you may be digging your company’s grave. 

So if you’re at those first levels of success and you’re ready for my mentorship, you should absolutely be in my monthly mentoring membership site. http://bit.ly/5SxlYE  and DEFINITELY plan to be at my CEO Freedom Summit in April http://bit.ly/5dHdCp  to meet me in person, get a Crystal Clear Solution to the 3 Things You are Doing RIGHT NOW that keep you overworked, underpaid, and feeling consumed by your business, AND to work with like-minded entrepreneurs and CEOs at EVERY level of success. 

If you’re at the next level of success ALREADY, and have $250K or higher in sales, I want you to be part of my BAI program.  BAI is a weekend-long event with only myself and 19 entrepreneurs. Each business gets a turn in the “hotseat” to present their business model and receive feedback from myself and the group. You can get more details at http://www.mightyventures.com/bai. Of course all of the expertise is applicable in one way or another, so it’s a huge learning opportunity.

Look, the bottom line for all of you is that it’s time to make that declaration.  Who you ARE and who you AREN’T.  Now you know who I am and what I bring to support you guys.  If ALL you do is participate in my Facebook Group and devour the free tools I give you, then keep this note handy, because you’ll be ready for the next level of mentorship quickly enough, but I would encourage every one of you to participate in the discussion board on DECLARATIONS and to be part of my CEO Freedom Summit in April (early bird pricing is in effect now). 

To your ROCKIN’, no-holds-barred, no excuses allowed, SUCCESS. 

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author

PS:  The one thing you should ALL do today is get my no cost CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business” http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI.

Let’s get specific today. First, consider this first real-life example. A professional services firm with an initial value of $2 million hired me to help boost its value. The trouble with services firms is they are often valued at only revenue times one. Ick. So we beefed up the board and advisors (adding $1 million in value), helped nail down specific strategic alliances ($3 million), mapped out a line of “productized” services ($2 million), and developed new sales channels ($2 million). About six intense months later, the firm sought financing with a respectable pre-money valuation of $10 million. It closed the financing in three months.

Here’s another example of value boosting. I recently mentored an Internet promotion company – we started with no revenue. Zero. Before seeking financing, my team and I had to answer the question: how do you make an idea into a hot commodity? The solution consisted of pulling in a rocking team and coming up with a hot business plan (adding a $1 million in value), developing a compelling product prototype ($1 million), locking in killer alliances ($1 million), and building an IP portfolio ($2 million). We took its value to $5 million in four intense, somewhat sleep-deprived months. Then we raised $2.5 million in financing with a pre-money value of $5 million, and a post-money value of $7.5 million. The $2.5 million invested bought 1/3 of the company.

Value is about potential. Potential today; potential tomorrow. The main reason you keep building value in your company, in all the tangible and intangible ways (and as I’ve shown you, the “intangible” ways often do have dollar-values attached to them!) is because a high value company gets the financing it wants on the terms it wants. It also gets multiple acquisition offers at fabulous terms. The high value company gets the alliances, the staff, and the opportunities it wants, too.

Remember, you are selling the future as you are selling the present. The present must look promising for the future to be potentially glorious. What are you doing to boost the value of your company today?

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
Business Acceleration
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author

PS: If you haven’t signed up for my CEO Freedom Summit yet, you’re basically missing an opportunity to work with me – and 200+ other like-minded entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Grab your seat NOW for $997 (a $2,000 discount from full price). http://bit.ly/5dHdCp  

PSS: The one thing you do today should be to get my no cost CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business”  http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI

Okay, here’s where we talk about Value Boosting! All too often banks, potential investors, and creditors will determine a company’s value based on financial statements. This is a mistake. Financials don’t come close to telling the true story. Sure, they present the tangible value. But what about the intangible value? Company valuation is emotional – it is FUN! After all, a company is worth what an acquirer will pay, what the market will pay, what the interested parties perceive. We see evidence of this frequently when companies with a trickle of revenue are acquired for gushing millions or even billions of dollars. So you get to be the master of ceremonies here and PRESENT your vision. As you create that vision in a way that you can present it to potential investors, remember the following: 1) Company valuation is emotional; 2) Intangibles often matter more than tangibles; 3) You can’t build value if your business isn’t enticing; and 4) You should always be selling: to financiers, customers, strategic partners, staff, and strangers.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started when it comes to value boosting.

1. A killer team and a killer business plan.

2. A hot board of directors and/or advisory board.

3. Specific strategic alliances. An LOI (Letter of Intent) with a partner ain’t gonna cut it. You need a binding contract spelling out exactly what the terms of your deal are. Clarify how many widgets they will buy/distribute/co-market, the time period, as well as what happens if they default on the agreement.

4. New sales channels. Distributors, value-added resellers, outside sales forces, affiliates, joint venture partners, all boost the value of your company. Of course you’ll track the performance of your sales channels. Use the affiliate tools in your online shopping cart to track the performance of your online sale channels, and your accounting system or sales force management software to track all others.

5. Product line extension. Let’s assume you sell a super cool widget. What’s next? Son of Widget? Platinum Widget? Widget Extraordinaire? Map out your future product lines so financiers, partners, and staff can see where you are headed and how you plan to get there.

6. IP portfolio. Protect your corporate jewels! A patent portfolio can be worth gold. A friend of mine sold his company for $425 million (with about $30 million in trailing revenue) because he had locked in so many patents. That’s what the acquirer bought. They didn’t give a hoot about the business.

7. Compelling demo of your product. This is key when you’re in the zero or near zero revenue range, as you’ll see in the second example below. People need to see/touch/feel what the product will be like. Then they can envision your fabulous future.

I’m excited to share these tools with you and hope that you’ll use them to be in the process of being fully funded at ALL times.  

If you haven’t signed up for my CEO Freedom Summit yet, grab your seat now for only $997 (that’s literally a $2,000 discount from full price). http://www.ceofreedomsummit.com

To your success!  Christine Comaford
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

PS: If you haven’t gotten my FREE CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business,” you’re simply leaving money on the table. Click here and let me help you get serious about living a better life and building a bigger success story.  http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI

Product Lines For entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, when you’re planning your product line to create results now, rather than later on down the road, you’ll face a number of crucial decisions. These will include product path, product development, delivery and pricing – among others. It’s also important to consider how to create and implement an innovation and intellectual property strategy. (We know that results now means having a workable strategy at all times.) Bear in mind that the majority of these issues will be resolved as you test your products in the market and see who buys what. You’ll also test your price points. Let’s include all services in the term products as well, so if you are in a services business, start seeing them as products (even if they are delivered live). Doing this will, in time, result in your spinning off some packaged products that no longer require live delivery—which will help you massively leverage your time and create the immediate goal you seek: results NOW. After all, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs know that success “later” is fine, but results NOW is always the number one priority. And having viable product lines is vital to achieving that goal.

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
NY Times Best Selling Author
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

PS: Be sure to get my free CD on creating massive success as an entrepreneur (just pay the shipping) http://www.bit.ly/42GZhJ — this little secret saved my sanity and allowed me to create a business that supports my desire for time, money, freedom and fun in my life!

I really want you guys to take a few minutes and think about your life, your business and how it all should support each another. Think about priorities, balance, fostering relationships and more. Your life is full of choices and Choices = Freedom.  You have the choice to build a business that SERVES YOU, not that YOU SERVE. Think about THAT. There’s a huge difference between the two. When your business serves you, you choose the life you want and build your business around it. When your business serves you, you experience a level of happiness, inner peace, fulfillment and FUN that few people ever equate with work.  There are 3 key relationships in your life: Your relationship to yourself, Your relationship to others, Your relationship to your business. Yes, your business is like a living, breathing relationship—it can be supportive and progressive, or it can be draining and destructive. One of the most important aspects of building a business, and a life, is being accountable to yourself and others. This is why I love having an accountability partner and strongly recommend this to everyone I mentor.http://www.mightyventures.com/baiPS: If you’re ready to REALLY become accountable and create the massive success you want and deserve, I hope you’ll join me at my upcoming weekend-long Business Acceleration Intensive Workshop.  For that entire weekend I’ll be personally mentoring a very small group of business. Only twenty participants will get to work with there. If you’re up to the challenge and ready to make the investment of both the time and the funds to attend ($1,997 early bird special), go to http://www.mightyventures.com/bai/ and reserve your spot. http://www.bit.ly/5SxlYE

An accountability partner is a friend or colleague that you call weekly or twice monthly at a set time to set goals and to report the status of the goals you set during the previous call. You’ll discuss any challenges you’re having and seek your partner’s input, and you’ll commit to additional goals to be achieved by your next call. Similarly, you’ll check to see whether your accountability partner has honored the commitments he or she made during your last conversation. If not, the two of you can brainstorm as to how to achieve these goals by your next call.

Schedule your accountability check-ins for an entire month in advance. Put them on your calendar in ink, or program them into your PDA. These are now officially unbreakable dates. I find that simply knowing that I’m going to have to talk about what I did or didn’t do with my partner gives me the extra boost to get stuff done. You can use accountability partners for business or personal goals. I talk with my accountability partner every Friday at 10am. We split the time evenly between us on each call, 15 minutes each + 5 minutes for random stuff. We follow up as needed between calls via e-mail. It’s fun, you build a strong bond with your partner, and you help one another succeed. I commit to 3-5 goals per call, depending on how time-consuming each goal is. I always have a mix of personal and professional goals.

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter!

CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

NY Times Best Selling Author

PPS: If you’re tied up either financially or logistically, join my exclusive membership website with video mentoring instead – only $97 / month. 

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