The 21st century has introduced the world to a new way of doing business. It’s now a foregone conclusion that global commerce will be as revolutionized by it as Henry Ford’s mass-production techniques were a defining characteristic of the 1900s.

The business is e-currency, which allows Internet-based purchase and sales transactions involving almost anything to be safely conducted at lightning speed. Safeguards are in place to make identity fraud, chargeback prevention and funds verification much more of a surety than anything the conventional means of payment in the non-cyber world can provide.

E-currency may only exist in the cyber world, but that is nothing new. The euro began in the same manner. It was officially accepted by the countries of the European Union in 1999 to simplify business by eliminating exchange rates, but it began life 20 years before that by private financial institutions who saw it as an idea that had to happen. By 2002, the euro evolved from cyber-tender to hard cash and is now arguably the second-most influential currency in the world.

The Internet’s globalization of commerce on an instantaneous basis means that, where the euro has already gone, today’s e-currencies will follow.

However, there is still one major issue that needs to be resolved before all is proclaimed to be perfect in the rapidly expanding multi-billion-dollar world of cyberspace. There are still many different e-currencies in existence, with no universally accepted forum for exchanging them with one another or converting them to hard cash.

So, a company called GDT — Global Digital Transactions — has stepped forward to create a solution. Their endeavor is called DXinOne, or DXiO. The term ‘DX’ pertains to a unit of e-currency. ‘DXG’ is used to describe that unit in terms of its equivalent value in gold; it’s currently pegged at DXG 1.00 = USD 1.00 for exchange purposes. Most e-currencies are backed by gold reserves held privately by the companies that issue them. A unit of ‘DXG’ is called a ‘digot’ — a combination of ‘digit’ and ‘ingot’ — and the popular pronunciation is ‘dig it.’

The reason this should be interesting to you is that you can make money with it — serious money — by becoming an e-Merchant who facilitates these e-currency exchanges. Tens of thousands of them occur daily. Soon it will be tens of millions.

Basically, if you study the DXiO system in detail, you’ll see that it’s a fee-based settlement operation rather than a market-based investment activity. GDT has designed DXiO to perform the same function in cyberspace that title companies do for real estate brokers and that clearing houses do for stockbrokers. DXiO does not have an equity stake in any of your transactions. It merely accounts for them on behalf of the participants in each transaction. It then takes a fee for its services.

If you take the time and commit to the requisite study of the system, its proponents claim you cannot lose with it.

Currently, the DXiO system is in a beta-test mode in preparation for its full introduction and deployment to the public. As a participant, you will become a ‘member’ of a private organization. As such, you will interact with other members in ways which enable you to learn the intricacies of the DXiO system. Ultimately, you’ll advance to the e-Merchant stage, where you’ll be handling transaction claims for e-currency exchanges and taking a fee for doing it. Your profits will not come from your investment into the business, per sé, but from your utilization of funds in your portfolio account serving as a ‘float’ which will facilitate the transition of one e-currency to another and allowing you to earn a fee for doing so.

You need to create a substantial float in order to conduct such transactions at a practical level. Based upon five years of performance to date, the beta-stage of DXiO’s operations enables you to achieve that with very little capital invested. (Believe it or not, you can start with $50!) In that respect, their system is certainly more egalitarian than anything else currently out there.

Perhaps you’ll wonder why GDT based these operations in a lesser-known tax haven like Vanuatu. Well, it seems that when the market for phone-porn became a booming industry a decade ago, many of those businesses set up shop in Vanuatu. Ultimately, the authorities there chased them away, but the aftereffect was that Vanuatu inherited a very sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure. If ever a high-volume Internet business wanted to establish itself in a tax haven with lower-than-usual start-up costs, Vanuatu became the ideal place to do it!

It’s prudent to remember that, if you do choose to become involved in DXiO, only commit capital that you can afford to do without, no matter what the future may hold. That should be everyone’s philosophy in any new venture such as this.

In more ways than one, becoming an e-Merchant for electronic currency exchange can be a capital idea. It could also make for a very interesting rest of the century.

G A Sherman is an Internet marketer who only deals with proven products designed to improve the quality of life. A link to one of the most thorough DXiO training systems can be found on his website at http://longerlifegroup.com/success.html

Client testimonials are one of the most powerful marketing tools coaches can use. Did you know that they can help you attract new clients, increase customer confidence and generate a positive “buzz” about you and your services? (Actually, those are just a few of their marketing uses.)

Human nature gives testimonials such power because we love discovering what one person thinks of another - even when it’s positive! It’s the same dynamic that makes gossip so hard to resist. As a professional coach, you want the positive “gossip” that testimonials provide because you can use that information to promote yourself, your services and products, to call attention to your strengths and to distinguish yourself from your competitors.

Testimonials also are powerful because they are first-person accounts: when a client makes a positive statement about you and backs it up with his or her name and contact information, it enhances your credibility.

In addition, written testimonials are fabulously flexible. They can be used powerfully on your website, in printed and electronic promotional materials, following the signature line of your emails and in many other ways and places. Once you have obtained testimonials from your clients, you will think of a hundred ways to use them!

Now that we have established the value of client testimonials, here are a few dos and don’ts to guide you as you obtain and use them to grow your business.

DO let your clients know the benefits to them of providing testimonials that will be used on your website(s), such as:
- increased exposure for their business, thanks to internet serendipity;
- increased website traffic and/or business for them, generated by a link from your website to theirs;
- enhanced standing among search engines, due to more internet exposure; and
- that genuinely warm feeling that comes from helping another “solopreneur”!

DO obtain your clients’ permission to use their full name and email address because it will give
their testimonials a great deal more credibility. (Let’s assume I have written a glowing
testimonial for someone whose services I use. Now compare the impact of these two testimonial
signatures: “A.S., Coach” or Alicia Smith, Business Coach and DISC Ninja;
Alicia@aliciasmith.com . The second is far more powerful.)

DON’T (ever) use fictional testimonials because they can destroy your credibility.

DO utilize honest (verbatim) testimonials that speak to what your potential clients will most want
to know about you, including (but not limited to!) why you are such a fantastic coach and why
you, your services and your products are so special.

DO store your client testimonials in a Word document or Excel database so that you can find
them easily. You may want to organize them by client name, service or product.

The next step is to obtain testimonials from your clients. Here are the basic steps and some questions to get you started.

Begin by sending your clients a friendly email stating that you are seeking a testimonial you can use in your marketing. Personalize your communication as much as possible. For example, your letter may begin, “Dear Jim: Last December, you participated in my teleclass, (name of class). I certainly hope you found the class to be helpful. Because I am revamping my marketing materials, I am writing to ask you a favor: I would deeply appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to answer the questions below.” (Be sure to work into your letter the benefits to these clients of providing testimonials that will be used on your website.)

You may want to ask your clients some or all of the following questions and to customize each email with the name of the product or service the client purchased. When a client has purchased more than one product or service, send a separate email request for each.
- What first attracted you to (name the teleclass, internet course, product or service the client purchased) and why did you decide to purchase it?
- What was the most beneficial tool, concept or idea that you gained from (the product or service)?
- How are you currently utilizing (the product or service in your business and/or life)?
- Has it saved you and your business time, money or energy? If so, in what way(s)?
- Why would you recommend (the product or service) to your associates, colleagues or clients?
- What would you like to say to someone who is considering purchasing (the product or service)?

You now have the basic information you need to obtain client testimonials that you can use to power up your business and Make Money Now! Here’s a very important final tip: once you begin to receive testimonials from your clients, be absolutely sure to enjoy the wonderful things they say about you!

© Copyright 2004 Alicia Smith

Permission to reproduce granted if all attribution & contact information is included.

Alicia Smith is a Coach and Trainer whose specialty is helping coaches to Make Money Now. To learn more about that course and her other products and services, please visit the following sites:

www.AliciaSmith.com
www.InternetAssessments.com
www.90DaystoaProduct.com
www.DiscNinja.com
www.CoachingBlunders.com
www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com

Being able to accept credit cards and other online payments is crucial to the success of your business and profits. Your customers are more likely to buy from you if you offer them a secure and convenient way to order goods and services online at your site.

This is more preferable than relying solely on printing out an order form and sending you a check in the mail. This takes time and will put off those customers who are in a hurry and want to finalize their order right away.

Particularly if you are selling digital products and services which are normally available for immediate download after payment.Would you want to wait a week or more for the post to arrive, pay the check into your bank account and then the time delay for the check to clear and finally credited before sending out each order?

I didn’t think so

The nature of the internet puts the idea into people’s minds that they can get hold of their goods, quickly and easily. The majority of buyers are eager to pay right away in order to get their goods fast.

Any hint of foreseeable problems can turn off customers so you want to present your online business as a professional organization. Not a small time one man operation. You need to reassure your potential customers by providing them with a sense of trust, efficiency and quality whilst at your site.

Unlike high street retail stores an Internet based web site can be managed by one person with relative ease with the help of software to automate the bulk of daily routine tasks!

From the time your visitors enter your site, read your sales letter and proceed to the order page, you want to keep them excited about your product so that they will buy from you and not your competitor.

Automating your online payments guarantees that these shoppers who want to buy without delay, the fastest and most convenient method for them to pay for goods.

This includes shipped (tangible) goods. Once the order process has been completed your customer will receive a digital receipt or invoice for their purchase.

Imagine how long it would take to process 10,000 orders manually with no automated online order system?

Plus no fully integrated shopping cart and mailing system to send receipts and invoices instantly after each and every order. This is something you cannot afford to compromise on if you want to benefit from receiving hundreds or thousand of orders effortlessly through automated payment systems.

The difference between manual processing of orders and automation of orders is phenomenal. Get your fully automated credit card processing order system complete with the following dynamic features: