Sunday, December 7, 2008

Rule #1: Invest in Yourself

By Ian Pelham

There is one rule in the Internet marketing arena that you must never over look and that one rule is; "INVEST IN YOURSELF"!

The chances are very good that you will have heard this saying repeated over and over again and yet you probably still don't have the first clue what this means. Let me explain.

An internet business doesn't exist in a world of bricks and mortar, only in the virtual world of the internet, and in the heart and mind of its owner.

Essentially, your internet business consists of just one major component. YOU. You are your internet business.

If you had a bricks and mortar business you could make physical changes to the look of the outside of your building, the decor inside etc, and people would notice and be drawn to take a look on the inside to see what other changes had been made and see what products lines you may now be offering compared to the past.

But with an internet business there is no physical building that can be improved. The only improvements that you can make are to yourself. That is what 'Invest in Yourself' means. You have to improve yourself in order to improve your internet business.

The question you might ask is, "How do I invest in myself and what do I invest in myself"? Well, I'm not talking about getting a $200 haircut or a designer suit. I'm talking about learning and expanding your knowledge base so that your business can benefit from it.

Try spending just one hour a day reading articles or subscribe to an ezine that emails you information regularly about both your industry and also online marketing methods, and you will have invested a significant amount of time in yourself.

You can do many things like listen to teleseminars and webinars or enrol in courses. Investing in yourself is taking the time to involve yourself in the process of gaining knowledge. This is Rule No.1 in marketing online.

The next natural step is the principle of 'Abundance Thinking'.

Abundance Thinking? What the heck is that? This refers to one of two possible modes of thought. In order to clarify this I will explain the second mode first. 'Limited Supply' thinking is where you believe there is a finite amount of business out there. This is a bad model because it induces panic and the mindset that motivates you to grab what you can at the expense of others.

This type of thinking might allow you to make a reasonable income, but it doesn't allow you to maximize your income. It is the opposite of Abundance Thinking.

'Abundance Thinking' believes that there is a more than enough business to go around and that we will do best by working with others to provide customers with the best possible experience. Customers aren't stupid, they know that when you advise them to buy something from someone else it costs you a sale. This very fact that you value their welfare over you making a sale earns you trust, which can reward you with more sales from them over the longer term.

Abundance thinking is the belief that we are all stronger together than we are separately and that by helping one another we each become stronger individually. This principle when applied to internet marketing is usually the more productive of the two schools of thought.

Limited-supply thinking means that you hold on as tightly as you can to what you have. You do not share anything with anybody. What is yours is yours. Often time decisions are made by people who apply limited-supply thinking based upon what the competition is doing. Limited-supply thinking is basically a defensive position.

Abundance thinking is a proactive, offensive method. It concentrates on building good relationships with customers, suppliers, even competitors. It is the mark of a well adjusted, mature, competent and successful person.

Abundance Thinking allows you to share effectively with others whilst enabling you to make the most of the opportunities you have.

Interestingly, when people see this principle working successfully, they are inclined to try it themselves, and are also more inclined to do business with you since they consider you more trustworthy.

Joint ventures will develop more readily once you adopt an Abundance mentality, and you will see for yourself that there is more success in Abundance Thinking than in Limited Supply thinking.

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