A Muse News subscriber sent this to me about her phone fraud call:

“We received a phone call this evening from the Energy Research Alliance, 720-339-8304, asking if we wanted to participate in an energy SURVEY (this is how they get around the Do-Not-Call list). Normally I would hang up on these type of calls, but Jennifer, the young lady making the call, asked intelligent questions and sounded reputable. I agreed to let their survey team call me to see if we fit the “parameters” of their survey (I think the parameters are whether you have a pulse!)  As I was talking to her I Googled the company and came up with some IMPORTANT information EVERYONE should know. Check out this website to learn what they are really about and then when they call “Just say NO.” They have not called me back yet, but when they do, you know what I will tell them. Some people on the site below said these people just kept calling them over and over. The solution to this problem is to call your phone company and have a block put on that number.

I’m sending this warning to every local person in my address book and I hope you do too.”

The 800notes.com site has good info and you may also post a comment there if you’ve received such a call. When Googling phone numbers type the whole number in – no dashes or dots. You can also Google a company name like the person above did. Then put a block on the number.

What if a Website is Illegal, Unethical or Posts Bad Things About Me?

In the 11 years we’ve been in business, this question has come up only a handful of times. I hope it never happens to you or someone you know, but if it does, here are some guidelines. I recommend calling and speaking to someone directly to get the fastest response.

1. Contact Google – they are pretty quick to address your concerns:

Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
Phone: +1 650-253-0000
Fax: +1 650-253-000

2. Contact the Hosting Company – they will often take the site down. Go to NetCraft to find out who is hosting the website: Type the domain name in the search box on the left to see the hosting/contact details.

3. Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices. To file a complaint, visit the FTC, call 1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to the following address:

Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
Washington, D.C. 20580

4. You may also consider filing a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). 

5. If your complaint is against a company in a country other than the United States, you can file it at EConsumer

We work well with a variety of professionals throughout any given day. Whether they are Domain Registrars, Hosting, SEO, Pay Per Click, Adwords, Marketing, Public Relations, Printers, Web Companies, Programmers, Virtual or Administrative Assistants and more. I was appalled when I phoned a web company to fix a scripting error on their client’s site for us. (We’re doing some updates on that client’s site). I was told they couldn’t take my request over the phone, I would need to email it to support@ – what the heck? I received an automated email response assigning a case # and saying if it took longer than 72 hours a rep would call me. Well, that didn’t happen, so I emailed again, a new case # was assigned and again no response. I then emailed the person I spoke with initially on the phone. To make a long story short – my request was totally ignored and to this date, the problem still exists on their site. How do they sleep at night?

Another company, which also will remain nameless never answers their phone. Their policy is for you to leave a message and someone will call you back. Well, my client or myself have yet to receive a return call or even an email acknowledgement. I really wonder how these companies stay in business!

Then there is the Virtual Assistant who doesn’t have a clue about web design or coding – yet claims such knowledge on her own website. The coding on the site she worked on is now a real bird’s nest and our client is paying the price. How can someone claim to be an expert in something when they are not? That is not being conscientious.

One of the big characteristics I look for in people who work with me is “conscientiousness”.  Do they respond promptly to my phone calls or emails? Do they follow through? Are they responsible and reliable or do they disappear for days/weeks at a time? Skills can be learned or taught. I’m more interested in hands-on experience than a degree from a tech school or web design certificate. I think that being conscientious is something built in to your character – it’s not something you can download. I am proud to say that everyone at The Web Muse & Co. has this quality along with many more!  Come to think of it, I really enjoy working with clients who are conscientious too. It’s a win-win.

Among the many things that make our company different – being conscientious is one of the big ones. We follow-through, we do what we say we’ll do and we’ll tell you if we don’t know how to do something. Being honest and straightforward are also two qualities that are mentioned when clients refer us to others. We are paid for our advice/opinions/research and clients know that we will be direct. We will not just say, “Oh that’s a great idea when we think there’s a better approach.” We want only the very best for you and your business.

It’s pretty easy and user-friendly. Since I already use Gmail – I installed the Google app so a mini calendar shows up on the left sidebar below my labels. The Quick Add feature allows you to type in something like: 3pm 7/19 Meeting with Client Name, location, phone.  It can be typed in any order that makes sense to you. Then Google Calendar automatically places it on that date with a default of 1 hour. If I type in the time frame like 3-5 pm then it blocks out that time on the calendar. I put everything on one calendar – both business and personal. There is the option of creating several calendars though and that may make sense for your activities.

After I entered all my meetings, phone conferences, social events and other appointments I posted all the birthdays and anniversaries I want to remember. Here’s how I did that:

Click on Create Event

What: Mary Williams BD
When: I typed 10/9 then clicked the box that says All Day
Repeat: this is a dropdown box, so I chose every year
Ends: This automatically says Never
Then I clicked SAVE

The birthdays show up at the top of that particular day and don’t interfere with appointments that I enter throughout the day. It took about 15 seconds to enter each event.

Anytime I got stuck on something I clicked on Help and found the answer right away. I like being able to access my calendar when traveling. I started using “Tasks” however, as a company we really like HiTask for scheduling projects, timeframes, completed tasks, etc.

What’s your favorite method for organizing online?

Every business owner is similar to a farmer. Here are my top 3 analogies.

1. Are you putting all your eggs in one basket? In other words, relying on one big client or one method of marketing for all your business income? This is very risky. What if it’s a bad year for soybeans?
2. Are you giving away the farm? Do you continually give away free information and unpaid consulting time to help others? This practice cuts into your time and directly impacts the flow of income. People who take advantage of you this way are not ultimately whom you want to work with.
3. Are you trying to do everything yourself? This is the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make. They try to feed all the chickens, plant the corn, bale the hay, do the books, work on the website and still spend quality time with the family. It’s impossible to do it all WELL and it’s exhausting. This is the best recipe for burnout and failure that I know of. We can only “do-it-ourselves” with the help from others.

I think I learned the true meaning of #3 when I was a teenager. A tornado ripped through our farm and destroyed everything around our home. It picked up buildings reducing them to toothpicks, livestock was destroyed, equipment was tossed in the air and smashed, some big oak trees were twisted and uprooted. To this day I am terrified of high winds and still hear that freight train sound in my head. When we emerged from the basement to see the destruction we were all devastated to tears. We were also thankful to be alive and that our home was spared. None of us slept that night. At dawn the next day the entire town showed up to help. Again, we were moved to tears and this time it was for gratitude. What an outpouring of human compassion! The thought of doing this entire cleanup ourselves was overwhelming. With the help of friends and neighbors the task was accomplished in 48 hours. Maybe you’ll think of this story when you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to do it all yourself.

Six questions to answer regarding YOUR business:

• What are your multiple profit centers?
• Can you create another one as an extension of what you already have or are doing?
• Could you turn those monthly ezine articles into an Ebook for sale?
• Do you have enough information to conduct a teleclass?
• Would a club or preferred membership work for your business?
• What is your BEST profit center?

Post your ideas about profit centers and multiple streams of income by clicking on the small icon that says “Leave a Comment” below.

How many people are going to find out about your website off-the-web before they are online? Print your web address and e-mail on every piece of paper and promotional material that leaves your office. Your web address and e-mail address should be on business cards, brochures, letterhead and envelopes. The recipients of these items may not know you have a website and will be prompted to take a look. If they know about your website, maybe they haven’t been back to visit and will place your business card by their computer as a reminder to check it out.

Color postcards of your website are good for direct mail or to hand out at trade shows.

Advertise your website on your car or delivery vehicle with a personalized bumper banner or chrome-like lettering. It’s an inexpensive way to get lots of local exposure. Assuming the average person drives to and from work daily in rush hour traffic in a large city, each plate will be seen and understood a minimum of 3,000 times per day.

Colorful Images in Longmont, CO has a wonderful selection of address labels. How about putting your web address on a sticker and use it as an envelope seal? You’re sure to find some creative labels that are suitable for your business. These also make great gifts for someone with a new website or a nice thank-you gift for someone that links to you.

Post-it Notes® are used as frequently as paper clips. Try to include as much contact information as possible on your Post-it Note without making it look cluttered. Use your web address and phone number with your company name or tag line.

Click below to share your best offline marketing tip that brings more visitors to your site.

Prequalify clients with your FAQ's

A great way to pre-qualify potential clients that visit your website is to add a FAQ or Do’s/Don’ts page. This will help fine-tune the types of clients who will contact you for your products or services. To develop your own FAQ page, think of the top questions your ideal clients ask you. Browse your emails for the most commonly asked questions and your responses. When people are shopping for a product either on or offline, the FAQ can help close the deal.

Here is a short example:

Just like each client is unique – every web company has unique offerings. Here’s what we do and don’t do:

We Do:

• Create customized web designs.
• Work virtually with companies outside of Colorado.
• Respond to every phone call and email within 24 hours.

Think about what makes you stand out from your competition. Put the top 3 on your website, you might also include one of these benefits at the end of your voice message.

We Don’t:

• Create cookie-cutter web designs.
• Work nights or weekends.
• Niche our services to a specific industry.

This works because people who are looking for template sites instead of custom will go elsewhere.  For those seeking a 24/7 company they will realize this company is not for them. If they are seeking a company that works only with a specific industry then they’ll surf on.

Our Ideal Clients:

• Value an on-going relationship with a professional web company.
• Want to attract their ideal clients and know their target audience.
• Have fun with positive attitudes!

Equally important is clearly identifying who your ideal clients really are and putting this on your website.  It’s pretty amazing what happens when you actually put this in writing and believe your ideal clients will find you. It really works!

Here is an example of an Architect who clearly defines his design counseling services to prequalify potential clients. htp://www.wingesaia.com/counseling.html

Have some fun with this and I’d love to see the page on your site where you prequalify your best clients. Click below to post a comment.