Consulting Versus Selling

Consulting Vs Selling, How we can make sales by not doing selling but consulting. As we know, everybody loves to buy but hates to be sold. We need to engage in non-manipulative selling, and ask deeper questions that will make the sale.

View Yourself As A Consultant

One particular self-image possessed by high-achieving salespeople is that they see themselves as consultants rather than as salespersons. They see themselves as problem solvers with their products or services rather than as vendors looking for someone who will trade them money for what they have to offer.

Approach Them As Clients

They do not approach their customers with hat in hand, hoping for a sale. They approach their “clients” with the attitude that they are consultants calling on the prospect to help him or her solve a problem or achieve a goal.

Ask Questions And Listen Carefully

Seeing themselves as consultants, they ask questions carefully and listen intently. They focus all of their energies on understanding the customer’s situation so that they can make intelligent recommendations based on what the customer really wants and needs.

Become An Expert In Your Field

As consultants, they recognize that they must be experts, authorities in their field. They know their products and services from one end to the other. They invest many hours familiarizing themselves with every single detail of what they sell, and of what their competitors sell as well. They know the strengths and weaknesses, the advantages and shortcomings, the features and benefits of what they are offering. They have excellent product knowledge, which their customers can sense and which gives both themselves and their customers greater confidence throughout the sales conversation.

Differentiate Yourself from Your Competitors

Top salespeople, positioning themselves as consultants, see themselves as resources for their clients. They see themselves and carry themselves as advisors, mentors and friends. They become emotionally involved in their transactions and they are generally concerned that their product or service be the ideal solution to the real needs of the prospects they are dealing with. They differentiate themselves from their competitors by being more concerned with helping their prospects than with selling their products or services. Their customers often feel that they care more about them than they care about making a sale. And it’s true.

AdWords Consultant – Can You Afford the Fees?

I am going to show you how you can have a personal AdWords consultant that you can afford. Everybody and their grandmother wants to get into the Google AdWords affiliate business. There are scores of books on the internet that describe how simple it is to “Make Enormous Sums of Money with 15 Minutes of Work Each Day and From Then on Your Business is on Auto-Pilot”. Nothing could be further from the truth! Many people try AdWords affiliate advertising and have one failed campaign after another. They burn a hole in their advertising pockets and give up. What should they do?

One alternative is to contact a professional Google AdWords Consultant. This may be an effective strategy for an existing business that is making a profit but most professional AdWords consultants charge $100 to $250 an hour for a consultation on existing campaigns. To set up a new account prices can range between $1000 to $2500 plus ongoing monthly fees. This can be a good investment in the long run for someone who is more concerned with his or her core business than learning the AdWords business. But if you are interested in learning the AdWords affiliate business this simply won’t due. Some of the consultants will give Pay Per Click coaching but at $100 to $250 an hour the fees are outrageous.

In the brick and mortar world a businessperson can get involved with local organizations of retired businesspersons and get one on one advice. Many of these programs can be found through the better business bureau in your local area. A person can often find a mentor to help them through the process of setting up their business and monitoring the ongoing success or failure. The businessperson benefits from the years of experience accumulated by its members and advice is offered freely and without hesitation because there is no competition between the parties.

In the online world, someone interested in learning the AdWords affiliate business has basically two options: 1) Read all the books available on the subject and learn by trial and error alone. Again, this can be a very daunting task and very costly. Most people usually give up after a couple months, 2) Read and learn as much as you can on your own but also try to emulate the offline brick and mortar model where one tries to find an AdWords consultant as a mentor. The question then is where can you find an online mentor? The most similar online organization to the offline brick and mortar organization, is a forum of individuals who are trying to succeed in the Pay Per Click affiliate business. You can do a Google search using the following phrases and get a whole list of forums: affiliate marketing forums, affiliate marketing forum, forums affiliate marketing, forum affiliate marketing.

Most of the forums are free but you will find a few that will charge a nominal monthly fee to join. The fee-based forums usually are moderated and owned by someone who has expertise in the affiliate marketing business and is probably working it full time. The members are generally more helpful to newbies as the fee-based forums tend to be a more tightly knit group. If you want to find an AdWords consultant to act as your mentor you’re more likely to find someone in the fee based forum. Regardless of which forum you join, at some point you need to participate in the forum in order to get to know the other members. It is only after trust is gained will someone be willing to help you. If you can find the right forum with an individual you click with, you may just find your AdWords consultant and mentor. And the fee relative to $100 to $250 an hour is peanuts.

Make Money At Home Easily As A Consultant… By NOT Taking On Clients

One of the beauties of being a marketing consultant from home — besides the money, time freedom and almost non-existent start-up costs — is the fact you can choose exactly who you want to work with.

In other words, there are enough clients to go around and the supply — even in
your home town — is not likely to ever be exhausted.

And that’s why one of the biggest challenges of being a marketing consultant — or
any kind of consultant — from home isn’t how to get started or make money…but
choosing who to work with and who NOT to work with.

You see, in this business, time is your biggest asset. If you waste your time
courting the wrong clients and working for people who are not serious about their
business, you will be wasting your biggest asset.

So how do you make sure you don’t waste time on the wrong clients? How do you
avoid the losers and tire kickers and find the businesses who want and need your
help — and are willing to pay you for it?

Simple: When you first meet with a prospective client for the first time do NOT meet
at a coffee shop, your office or anywhere but your lead’s place of business.

This is so vitally important it can literally mean the difference between having a
consulting business go smoothly and profitably…or rough and barely making any
money at all.

Why do I say this?

Because, while meeting at other places can work if there’s no other way to do it, it’s
critical that you, the consultant, actually see the place of business you will be
helping.

What does it look like? What kind of people work there? Is it clean or dirty? Does it
look like the owner skimps on important things (like advertising and marketing) and
wastes money on non-important things (like fancy furniture)?

You have to see what you’re in for before working with someone. You can tell a LOT
about a business and its owner simply by stopping by and making simple
observations. You can see what they’re up against and what their strengths and
weaknesses are.

And if you find just by looking around it’s not someone you want to work with, or
someone you don’t trust, then you can walk away before any papers are signed and
any deals are made.

When one door closes a better one opens. By visiting the business office, store or
plant, you’ll know whether you should move on to something better before wasting
any of your time on people you shouldn’t be working with.

It sounds strange, but because of this fact about the consulting business, you can
actually make more money by NOT taking on certain clients.

How to Hire a Good SEO Consultant

The importance of choosing the right SEO is greater than many of us can imagine. Search engine optimizing is what keeps your site indexed and ranked by search engines and ensures you a good amount of traffic. Without it, your website is either dead, or struggling for survival, hoping to be noticed.

The area of SEO is very complex and it’s permanently extending. New companies and consultants seem to appear out of the blue. SEOs use a wide variety of search engine optimizing tactics, with different efficiency levels. Consequently, before hiring an SEO consultant, it is very important to make sure you’ll be getting what you need. Apart from what you’ll be able to find out from the SEO itself, you can also perform a previous research on your own.

Things to find out on your own

o Find out for how long has the company been in business. This should be listed on their website.
o Search their website for previous projects to find out whether they have a marketing related experience.
o A reliable company also has client testimonials and case studies to prove they are able to keep their customers satisfied.
o Be skeptical with companies that email you out of the blue to advertise their SEO services.
o Beware of SEO companies that claim they can provide a #1 ranking guarantee. Ranking is determined by many factors that are beyond the SEO’s control.
o Beware of SEOs that claim they have a priority submit or special relationships with Google or other search engines. There’s no such thing.

Things to ask the SEO consultant

Do they include link building in their SEO services?

A professional SEO consultant doesn’t limit to building keyword rich content, but also incoming links from relevant website to increase your PageRank.

What are they doing for website conversion enhancement?

A high traffic is meaningless unless your website provides what the users are looking for. A good SEO consultant uses several conversion enhancement techniques, such as copywriting strategies, site usability, call to action tactics and advanced conversion reporting.

Do they help you with calculating your ROI (Return of Investment)?

SEO services can be quite expensive and you need to calculate your potential returns. ROI depends on various factors, such as target population, size of your market place, the sales value of your services and the number of people searching for them on the Internet etc. An experienced SEO should be able to help you predict your ROI.

Do they use SEO best practice and anti-spam methods?

There are many SEOs that use various strategies to trick search engines in thinking your page is more relevant than it actually is. No SEO consultant will admit to using spamming and other unethical strategies, so you can’t ask him the question directly. However, ask as many questions as possible about the methods they will be using and make sure you receive straight answers.

Do they put a limit on the number of search phrases?

Many SEOs have a limited number of phrases they will optimize for. However, if you’re paying a monthly retainer to the SEO Company, they shouldn’t do this. Even though there are a few phrases more important than others, the rest shouldn’t be neglected either.

The first thing a good SEO consultant will do is perform an analysis on the current state of your website and provide a Website Analyzing report. Further analysis should be performed on a regular basis and your website traffic should be permanently monitored. A professional consultant understands the difference between bulk traffic, getting to your website for irrelevant keywords, and qualified traffic. Making the right choice will provide you with qualified traffic, as well as well-structured pages and a high usability level.

Medical Insurance: NHS Consultants Go Private

The funding crisis in the National Health Service is so dire that at least 4,000 frontline jobs might be axed say the Royal College of Nursing. “There’s no doubt that there will be an impact on patients”, says their spokesperson. “This is not the sort of thing that is going to be resolved by cutting back on chocolate biscuits in the boardroom. The staff that we are looking at losing are not office based, they’re people who are providing frontline services.” Little surprise therefore, that people in the know are going private for their medical care! According to a recent survey by BUPA, 41% of NHS Consultants have protected their medical care by going private. Isn’t that a vote of confidence!

The British Medical Association (BMA) feebly argues that the Consultants’ commitment to private medical cover doesn’t demonstrate a lack of confidence in the NHS.

The Deputy Chairman of the BMA’s Consultants’ Committee whispers, “Consultants may also like the anonymity of private care. One of the problems of being treated in the NHS is that Consultants might find themselves in a bed next to one of their patients”.

What a joke! Surely, being treated in a bed next to one of their patients would underline their commitment and confidence in the NHS. Their presence in a private ward only serves to emphasize their lack of confidence!

Remember that private medical insurance doesn’t provide care if you have an accident – that’s still the role of the Accident and Emergency Unit at your nearest NHS hospital. The overwhelming advantage of going private, is to ensure you get prompt care for planned surgery and medical situations that arise at short notice, in a hospital of your choice. The case of Dr Sarah Burnett makes the point.

Dr Burnett is a Radiology Consultant with 15 years service in the NHS. She chose to take out private medical insurance because she was unhappy with the level of care she saw first hand. “NHS treatment is not a pleasant experience in any way – from the standard of the food, to ward cleanliness and the chance of catching MRSA”, she observes.

Last year during a private medical screening, Dr Burnet was diagnosed with multiple small tumours in her breast. The cancer required urgent and specialised surgery. Within hours she saw the consultant surgeon who organised a skin-sparing mastectomy. A few days later she was recovering from the surgery.

“I was lucky enough to have exceptionally prompt treatment because I choose to pay for insurance. Under the NHS I would not have been screened for breast cancer until I was 50 and would not have been able to catch my cancer at such an early stage. The type of surgery I had is only rarely available on the NHS, depending on the experience of your local surgeon”, said Dr Burnet.

If you, like Dr Burnet and almost half of the UK ‘s NHS Consultants, want to sidestep the NHS and go private, it’s wise to take out private health insurance. Choosing the right medical insurance cover is, unfortunately, quite complicated. You need to decide the standard of hospitals you would want to use, the level of cover and various other options. For this reason, you need specialised advice from a professional medical insurance broker. These people know exactly what’s on the market and can access it.

Where better to find these brokers than the Internet? Just use Google or your favourite search engine, to search for “medical insurance”. You’ll find all the top medical brokers there. If you see the insurance company’s own sites steer clear – they can only sell you their own products and you really need independent advice to be able to identify which, within the whole market, is best for you.

Oh yes, make sure you chose a site that puts you directly in touch with an adviser. Ideally, you should talk over your requirements and chat to the adviser about the best alternatives. You don’t need a home visit as all this can easily be done over the phone. And buying through a broker won’t cost you a penny more than going direct to the insurance company. In fact a broker can sometimes be cheaper!

Average Salary of an Accountant

The area of accounting currently experiencing strong growth in the number of people employed in the field. In 2004, accountants and auditors held about 1.2 million jobs in the United States. These numbers are expected to grow at a faster than average rate through 2014, mostly because of the increasing number of businesses, but also due to changing financial laws and regulations, as well as increased scrutiny of company finances.

The average salary of an accountant can vary greatly through the many different fields of accounting. An average salary of an accountant depends much on not only which area of accounting the accountant is employed, but also the geographic region in which the accountant is employed. For example, accountants, and especially Certified Professional Accountants (CPAs), in large metro areas will earn more than CPAs in smaller cities nationwide.

According to the United States Department of Labor, the average salary of an accountant, or the median wage and salary earnings of an accountant or auditor, was $50,770 in May 2004. The middle half of the occupation earned between $39,890 and $66,900. The top 10 percent of accountants and auditors earned more than $88,610 annually, and the bottom 10 percent earned less than $32,320. The U.S. Department of Labor also collected median annual earnings from May 2004 in the industries that currently employ the largest number of accountants and auditors, and the average salary of an accountant in these areas is as follows:

Federal Executive Branch of the government and the United States Postal Service – $56,900

Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services – $53,870

Management of companies and enterprises – $52,260

Local government – $47,400

State government – $43,400

According to a salary survey reported by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), candidates for bachelor’s degrees, soon to be graduating in the field of accounting, received starting wage offers from a variety of sources averaging $43,269 per year in 2005, and master’s degree candidates in accounting were offered $46,251 as an initial average wage.

The varied salary levels of different positions in the accounting field greatly affects the average salary of an accountant. A 2005 salary survey by Robert Half International, a staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance, accountants and auditors with up to one year of work experience earned $28,250 to $45,000 annually. The average salary of an accountant with one to three years of experience earned $33,000 to $52,000, and the average salary of an accountant at senior level accounting or auditing earned between $40,750 and $67,750. Accounting managers were reported to be earning $48,000 to $90,000, and directors of accounting and auditing earned $64,750 to $200,750.

When employed by the Federal government, the average salary of an accountant varies just as much. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average salary of an individual working as a junior accountant or auditor in 2005 was $24,677. Those who had a superior academic record might start at $30,567, while accountants with a master’s degree and/or two or more years of professional work experience as an accountant usually start at a salary of $37,390. Initial salary bases were slightly higher in selected areas where the prevailing local pay level was higher, such as in large metro areas. Accountants employed by the Federal government in a nonsupervisory, supervisory, or managerial position made an average of $74,907 per year in 2005, and auditors earned an average of $78,890 that same year.

Accountants and auditors that are self employed or earn their own firms may have an upper end or lower end salary, depending on the size of their firm, their geographic location, the number of clients serviced, and other factors. Earning potentials and the average salary of an accountant who is self employed can vary greatly because of these reasons. A more experienced accountant has the opportunity to have a larger firm and more clients, thus earning more money, than an accountant who is just starting out in the field. It is because of this that many accountants begin their careers working for other firms, and start their own firm once receiving experience, as well as compensation, in the field.

Other factors may play a key role in determining the average salary of an accountant. Not only does geographic location and the job position or work experience affect the average salary of an accountant, but other things may also affect salary, such as level of education obtained by the accountant, as well as Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification. Generally, those with master’s degree and more experience will receive higher salary levels and obtain a higher level job responsibility position in the work place. Those that are CPAs also tend to receive higher salaries, and therefore, the average salary of an accountant is almost a gray area due to all of the factors involved.

Why Plan? The Top 5 Reasons Female Entrepreneurs Must Plan

Every female entrepreneur probably understands the importance of planning, at least subconsciously. In fact, every woman business owner has created some sort of plan for her company’s future, whether it’s to offer more products or partner with another business. But what are the most important reasons a female entrepreneur must plan?

When a business owner creates a plan for her business,Guest Posting she is creating a road map she can follow to get to her ultimate destination: success on her own terms. Such a road map does not have to be concrete — it can include detours at unexpected obstructions, as well as pit stops to refuel and rest stops when necessary. Not every female entrepreneur has a plan, and many who have not yet created one, are thriving anyway. However, sitting down and outlining the route to success gives a business owner a sense of direction, and the company a boost.

There are 5 Top Reasons why female entrepreneurs must plan:

A plan provides focus. In some cases, a female entrepreneur envisions multiple streams of income. Each stream comprises several ideas – and the business owner is thinking about many of these ideas at once. If her attention is split between several projects or ideas at one time, her work will not make effective progress. Therefore, a plan helps a business owner focus on projects or ideas, one or two at a time so that she can move forward rather than spinning her wheels.
A plan takes the guesswork out of decision-making. When a business owner is following a plan, making decisions becomes easier. For example, deciding whether to hire an employee, launch a new product, or pay someone to do the bookkeeping becomes easy when a business owner has a plan to follow. In the moment of choice, the business owner must simply stay true to herself – and her plan. In cases where a certain decision seems right for the company, but doesn’t jive with the plan, the business owner may choose to reassess, and possibly refocus her plan. Remember, plans can change to include detours, as long as the destination is the same: success.
A plan relieves stress. Some business owners are overwhelmed every day by multiple work-related commitments and responsibilities. Short-term and long-term planning can help a business owner keep things in perspective and relieve stress. One suggestion: create a “parking lot” for ideas that need to be addressed in the next week, month, six months and year. Keep the “parking lot” somewhere easily accessible and jot down ideas whenever they come up.
A plan creates work-life balance. A plan helps a business owner prioritize projects so that she can choose when she needs to work on and complete them. In this manner, a business owner can schedule work time and play time, so that she has the opportunity to recharge and refuel herself. Without a plan, an entrepreneur can feel a frenzied need to get everything done at once, and it is easy to forget personal time when this happens. A well-rested, energized business owner performs better than a tired, overworked one does.
A plan increases profit. When she follows a plan, everything a business owner does is more efficient. This greater efficiency reaches every part of her business – because she has shared the necessary parts of her plan at every level – and therefore, each activity produces its intended result in less time. This means more time for more activity – and more revenue.
In creating a plan for her business, a female entrepreneur must first consider her definition of success. For some business owners, this will mean major growth, while for others, it will mean maintaining an excellent work-life balance so she can meet her other obligations. In every case, though, planning is an essential step in reaching Destination: Success.

What Does an Ideal Safety Management Plan Consists of?

For your workplace or commercial property, the need for a safety management plan is not news. However, even after knowing this, a lot of organizations and property owners fail to implement a well-designed safety plan and understandably so.

A safety management plan isn’t something that you can just plan and execute in a day. There are a lot of factors that play a significant role in ensuring that the plan created works out effectively.

This is why whether it is your workplace traffic management plan or safety management plan,Guest Posting you must carry out research first. Research on what does your management plan need for it to be perfect. Prioritizing the employee’s safety is the responsibility of every business owner. With a well-strategized safety plan, you can ensure the employee’s security as well as your property’s.

Here, to help you out, we will discuss some of the major aspects of an ideal safety management plan. By going through these, you will find it much easier to establish a safety plan of your own.

Safety Norms and Policies
To form an effective safety management plan, the first step is to focus on the safety standards set by your company. Legally setting up safety policies that highlight the major safety concerns is important to let employees know about the possible health risk and how to handle if any of these safety concerns tend to rise. Safety policies include all the documented guidelines that every employee is needed to follow.

Your full-fledged safety standards must cover up every small or big safety-related directions. From instruction on operating different machinery to what to do in case of fire or other emergencies, it should have everything. And in the case of a traffic management plan, including your warehouse line marking is also very crucial.

Comprehensive Training and Induction
Once the paperwork for safety norms and regulations are done, make sure that regular safety drills are conducted. For something like this, you cannot just be ready on paper. If you have a warehouse where the chances of a certain safety risk are more, you have to practically prepare the workers. These drills shouldn’t just be conducted for the sake of it. Make sure that everyone participates and take the drill seriously.

As far as the frequency of this training is concerned, it must be done after at least every 2-3 months. So that if you have some new employees or a new employee in the team, they can familiarize themselves with the induction program too and be prepared like everyone else. A quality training program is what differentiates a good company from others.

Safety and Health-Related Talks
Further, higher authorities must communicate safety policies and their importance to the employees. Any decent organization understands that creating and letting safety policies hang in the air isn’t enough. Employees must be personally connected to the plan and told that safety is always the top priority at your firm that also gives them a sense of comfort and reassurance.

If not too often, then once in a while a meeting must be held with the employees discussing the safety norms. You must also take questions and suggestions from the workers on the safety management plan and how it could be made better. Encourage the idea of prioritizing safety, not just of ourselves but our fellow employees result in fewer accidents and also improved productivity.

Constant Monitoring and Supervision
No matter how perfect you think your safety or warehouse traffic management plan is, you should always look for more errors and ways to enhance it. This way you allow yourself to be on the top of safety plans and prevent more dangers than you think. With time, different safety threats may come up, if you create a safety program once and leave it to be, you are making a mistake.

You should give a fair amount of time and effort to keeping an eye on the safety policies and how they are working out for you. With constant monitoring, you also let the employees know that these must be followed with utter seriousness. To reduce the chances of risks, a high level of supervision is a must.

Reporting Safety Concerns
Ensuring work safety is not just a task that you can assign to your employees. It is a work ethic, a work culture. As a business owner, your job is to make it known to the workers that there is no shortcut when it comes to safety. Therefore, you must encourage them to report any small or big safety issue that occurs anytime.

They should be given a sense of responsibility for it. For example, in case the warehouse line marking at some areas are faded, they should ask for it to be repainted immediately. If each employee starts to notice and talk about safety, the entire workplace’s safety enhances automatically.

Hire Professionals for your Safety Management Plan

Once you are aware of what your safety management plan should include, you have a different challenge to face. Hiring experts to help with your safety management plan. In case, you are looking for one right now, here’s what you should consider:

They must be experienced in the industry so that they know what possible problems could emerge and can also deal with them effectively.
They must be a well-established firm with expert professionals so that you can rely on them and can trust their services.
Along with the safety plan, they should have other similar services like traffic management plan to offer as well.

Conclusion

The information given above is all you need to make sure you successfully get your safety management plan ready. And the sooner you get it, the better because safety isn’t something to play with. And if you haven’t been able to find a reliable company to help you with the same, visit Kenex Stencils. They are trustworthy and experienced service providers for line marking, safety management plan, and more. You can seek their professional expertise for your workplace’s safety management plan anytime.

Which Network Marketing Compensation Plans Are The Most Effective?

Read this outstanding Network Marketing Article below, then please contact us and let us know what you thought about it.

If you want to enter the exciting world of network marketing or Multi Level Marketing then it is important that in addition to marketing high quality goods and services,Guest Posting you also learn all about network marketing compensation plans. This move will allow you to make a projection on the amount of money that you could earn when you manage to start selling those products or services.

There are several compensation plans that are offered by genuine and unscrupulous marketing companies. However, you need to go through each plan in great detail since it will ultimately be your loss if you fail to catch on to a scam. Anyway, if any company offers ridiculously high profit margins or tries to force you to buy exorbitantly-priced starter kits then you should certainly stay away from them. Most network marketing compensation plans offer decent margins while also offering security in case you slip up on sales on very rare occasions.

Breakaway Plan: This plan has been used for a very long time and if you cross over certain performance parameters then you can jump over the sponsor-ship line that was set originally. This is a flexible unilevel plan that basically rewards people who perform exceptionally well and allows them to sprint ahead in the line. However, it is a bit difficult to comprehend and you should make sure that you understand all aspects of such network marketing compensation plans before committing yourself.

Unilevel Plan: This is an easy plan to implement from the company’s point of view since the arrangement of distributors and sellers under them remain constant at all times. Thus, even if you do manage extremely high sales, you will still remain an ordinary seller and will not be able to jump the queue or jump over your distributor. This plan is limited in many aspects and many companies are slowly shifting over to other network marketing compensation plans to attract new sellers.

Matrix Plan: This is another plan that is slowly losing popularity since it limits the growth of new sellers and distributors that can be appointed under a single distributor. The matrix plan is basically a grid plan that allows a fixed number of levels and distributors within each grid. If you are offered such a plan instead of the other network marketing compensation plans then you might face problems when you want to appoint new sellers under yourself once you have touched the figure set by the grid.

Binary Plan: This too is a slightly complicated plan that focuses more on achieving volumes in sales instead of depending on various levels. Payouts are decided when the designated sales figures are achieved and are usually made on a weekly basis. Although the payout depth is unlimited and each matrix is limited under such a plan, there are several companies that prefer using this plan. However, due to several scams in this plan, many distributors have now started to avoid this plan and prefer other network marketing compensation plans instead.

Each marketing plan has its pros and cons, and choosing the most effective plan would depend on the products or services that you plan to sell, your target clientele, the profit margins and the number of levels above and below you. You should fully comprehend each plan put up before you so that you can make an informed decision. Most genuine companies will put up network marketing compensation plans that allow for profits to be fairly shared between hard-working distributors and sellers, and if you feel that your chosen company is doing the same then welcome to the exciting world of network marketing.

Diversify Before Your Retirement With In-Service Distributions

Many don’t know this, but if you are currently participating in an employer-sponsored retirement plan such as your 401(k) plan, you may not have to keep all your retirement savings locked in the employer plan and wait until you change jobs or retire to rollover your funds. With an in-service distribution, you will have more control over your retirement assets.

Many don’t know this,Guest Posting but if you are currently participating in an employer-sponsored retirement plan such as your 401(k) plan, you may not have to keep all your retirement savings locked in the employer plan and wait until you change jobs or retire to rollover your funds into an IRA. On the contrary, you may be allowed to take an in-service distribution and roll over your retirement funds from your current employer-sponsored plan to an IRA.

There are many benefits to an in-service distribution. You will have more control over your retirement assets and you’ll be able to manage them before you choose to retire or switch jobs. Unlike in a 401(k), where your retirement savings aren’t being actively managed and you are limited to choose from only few investment choices, with an in-service distribution you will gain access to the universe of investments. As long as you roll your assets directly into an IRA, you can avoid any tax penalties and the mandatory 20% IRS withholding tax on your in-service distributions.

Determine if you’re eligible
You will need to first find out whether your employer-sponsored plan allows you to take in-service distributions. The terms of your retirement plan should tell you specific eligibility requirements, which can vary widely across different plans, so review your plan documents to find out if you can opt for in-service distributions. If it’s too overwhelming to go through your plan documents, just contact your 401(k) plan administrator for a quick answer.

Rollover while you’re still employed
There are many advantages to moving portions of your retirement assets into an IRA while you’re still working.

Benefits:

Unlimited control. If you roll over your retirement savings into an IRA, you become the account owner and have full control over your assets without any employer-sponsored plan restrictions and more importantly investment restrictions.

Investment diversification. Most employer-sponsored plans have limited investment options to choose from which can inhibit your portfolio’s performance. IRAs, on the other hand, provide the universe of investments at your fingertips so that you can essentially diversify your holding and positions across any asset class. This can help diversify your portfolio and reduce and manage your portfolio’s risk level.

Beneficiary designation options. IRAs may allow you to name single or multiple beneficiaries, as well as name a trust as beneficiary. They also can allow you to set beneficiary payouts and the like. Since not all IRA custodians offer the exact services, it’s important to understand what choices are available to you when you rollover your assets.

Income tax withholding. Qualified plans require 20% IRS income tax withholding on distributions. However, you have the choice to opt-out from the withholding tax on IRA distributions.

Weigh out some drawbacks before rolling over your retirement funds
An in-service distribution may have potentially some drawbacks, so you should consider them before you roll over your savings.

Drawbacks:

Age limitations. With employer-sponsored plans, such as your 401(k), participants can stop working at age 55 or older and can take distributions without being charged the 10% early withdrawal penalty. In contrast, with an IRA, you typically can’t start taking distributions without penalty until age 59 1/2 (exceptions may apply). So, if you plan on retiring earlier than 59 1/2, you may want to leave your retirement funds in your 401(k).

NUA tax treatment. If you have employer stock in your qualified plan and you elect an “in kind” distribution, you will generally pay ordinary income taxes on the cost basis, but you can defer any appreciation taxes until you sell the shares. When you eventually sell shares of your employer stock, you will be subject to long-term capital gains taxes on the Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA). This usually is a good strategy when you have highly appreciated employer stock in your qualified plan. However, rolling over employer stock to an IRA takes away your ability from taking advantage of NUA tax treatment.

After-tax dollars. Some qualified plans allow you to contribute after-tax dollars into the plan. These dollars are separated in a qualified plan from pre-tax money and generally can be distributed separately. Once you move after-tax money into a traditional IRA, that money will no longer be segregated and accessible separately because it becomes part of the IRA’s nondeductible basis.

Creditor protection. While all IRAs are protected by federal bankruptcy protection laws, there may be other creditor protection laws that may affect IRAs on the state level whereas qualified plans have federal creditor protection.

Fees and expenses. Since qualified plans are not management by professional money managers, participants are not charged some of the fees and expenses that they may potentially apply in an IRA such as mutual fund loads, commissions, and trading fees within the account. Fees and expenses are disclosed in the contract offering, product prospectus, or some other disclosure document.

Rollover your after-tax dollars to a Roth IRA
Some qualified plan participants can take advantage of special opportunities to convert their after-tax dollars directly into a Roth IRA tax free. You will need to check your employer-plan documents or contact a plan administrator to see if this option is available to you and if it is right for you.

Roth IRA conversions
Starting January 1st, 2010, you are eligible to convert your traditional IRAs and your employer-sponsored plan funds to a Roth IRA regardless of you adjusted gross income. Converting you employer-sponsored plan retirement assets to a Roth IRA can give you the advantage of receiving tax-free distributions in the future. In addition, Roth IRAs are not subject to required minimum distribution (RMD) requirements.

Nevertheless talk with your Financial Advisor about whether to convert an in-service distribution to a Roth IRA and whether or not it may make sense for you because these conversions are taxable.

Move your assets to a professional money manager
If your employer-sponsored plan allows you to opt for in-service distributions, talk with your financial advisor to decide if the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. If an in-service distribution makes sense, contact your 401(k) plan administrator to see how much of your retirement savings are eligible to be rolled over, and make the request for the rollover. Your financial advisor will guide you through the process.