MARKETING GURU

Kare Anderson : The "Say It Better Expert" in how you persuade, resolve conflict, sell and build relationships. Cross-Promotions Can Create a Passi

2007-12-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

1.What do your best customers have in common?

Identify the niche within the niche of your most likely customers. The more specific you get about recognizing their often common traits, the better you'll be at recognizing the most effective partners for a cross-promotion. If your market is women, for example, consider what ages, lifestyle habits, spending patterns, passions, and concerns the women you want to reach have in common. Consider other businesses, professional practices, nonprofit groups, and government agencies that reach your hottest niche markets. For example, what other outlets (food, clothing, gym, hospital women's center, child care, and such) does your niche group of women patronize?

2.How do your customers relate to your product or service?

What do they most intensely discuss about your products – good and bad? What features most catch their eye? Are any features especially hard or easy to use? What ultimately triggers customers to buy? Is the purchase a necessity or a source of fun? Consider customers' habits as they relate to your products. What else do they use with your products – or could they use? Do they get to show off or feel competent, magnanimous, or have other positive feelings when using your product? If not, could you make changes in the way your product is designed, sold, promoted, or delivered that would generate a stronger positive feeling?

3.Beyond your connection with your customer, what matters to them?

You never really know somebody until you see the choices they make. To learn how to have a strong connection to the kind of people who are most likely to buy from you, see who and what is important to them, and connect through their important connections. Take a close look at your customers and how they lead their lives. Where are their similarities – not just as they relate to your products but as they are similar to each other? How do they live their lives? Where do they pause, rush? What do they skimp on, indulge in? What do they wear, drive, or do? How do they spend their time and money? Who are their friends and heroes? Who do they admire?

4.What most moves them? What most peeves them?
What other companies or public agencies do your customers like?

Find managers of organizations who have similar values to yours, complementary "products," and a desire to reach the same kinds of people. Who would you like as ally/partners among the owners or managers of these outlets? The "Big Universal Three" all-round best potential allies for targeted local visibility are ones most everybody patronizes: the supermarket, gas station, and bank.
Are your potential partners' reputation & resources at least equal to yours?

Consider these about you and your partner:
Good reputation/credibility for endorsements
Combo special offer
Meeting space
Mailing list;
Space on bill statements, receipts, counter tops, in windows
Free or reduced price products or services; different '"busy" times

Consider "piggybacking" on a time of day or event or time of year when your joint promotion can ride an existing interest or need, that is, when customers are passing by on their way home, a popular community event is occurring, or a peculiar holiday happens that could be yours to publicize because of an obscure connection.
What first cross-promotion has the least risk and resource commitment and best chance of success?

What is the most low-risk / high-profit & fun action with which to start? What smaller, simple cross-promotion could you do with one or two other partners? Consider cross-promoting special sales at the same time in both stores, with incentives for customers to patronize both places (special gift, price reduction.)

What can you do together that multiplies your individual efforts? To get some easy and low-risk start-up ideas, look over the article on "14 Low-Risk Ideas." After your first successful mutual action, you and your partners will probably get more elaborate and imaginative.
What not-for-profit group's partnership could help you really stand out from your competition -- and do good?

Involving a government or nonprofit agency in the offer or service further leverages your visibility and ability to serve. Let your customers who own or manage a local business see you as an ally and resource for their business. Display the Pocket Cross-Promotion book along with other positive books on growing small businesses.

Have a contest for your customers to come up with the best cross-promotion they can create for your store. You could give product awards for "The Most Imaginative Community Cross-Promotions", "The Most New Customers Pocket Cross-Promotions", The Most New Customers Through Loyal Customers Pocket Cross-Promotions'", "The Most Community-Service-Centered Cross-Promotions, "The Most Unlikely Allies Community Cross-Promotions", "The Most Partners in a Community Cross-Promotion." Let your imagination go wild!

7 Tips for Effective Reciprocal Linking

2007-08-23T00:33:00.000-07:00

Reciprocal linking...does it work? Yes it does. One can debate the value of reciprocal linking compared to other linking strategies. And without a doubt, one way links far outway the value of a reciprocal link. However, if done correctly, reciprocal linking can be a powerful SEO strategy for your website.

Tip #1
Search for reciprocal links from pages that have a Google PR equal or greater to your own. By doing so, you are enhancing the quality/value of the reciprocal link improving your overall success in the eyes of the search engines - especially Google. The higher the Google PR the more valuable the link becomes.

Tip #2
Exchange links only with sites that are related to your site/industry in some way. For example, don't link to web sites about athletic clothing if you're selling hardware. Sites that you're exchaning links with need to be contextually relevant. When they are, you earn extra points in the eyes of Google and other major search engines.

Tip #3
Make sure that your anchor text, the text that comprises your link contains your keywords. This is one of the most important aspects of linking. For example, a link to my primary site should look like this: "Internet Marketing Expert Marketing Secrets" instead of "www.marketingscoop.com". Doing so will signal the search engines with the specific keywords that you're optimizing for. This enhances your search results when someone searches on your keywords or keyword phrase.

Tip #4
Your links page should never include more than one hundred links. Keeping your link quantity below one hundred ensures that search engines do not discredit the value of your site or challenge it as SPAM. One way to include more than one hundred links to to create a mini-link directory. Develop categories and group your links appropriately.

Tip #5
Check your partner's websites on a regular basis to ensure that they are still linking back to you. Often I've exchanged links with a site only to find that they removed the link back to my site only days after the exchange. You can do this manually or utilize software to do it for you. There are a variety of options out there. No matter how you validate reciprocal links, check them on a regular basis.

Tip #6
View the title of the links page where your link will be placed. You can do this by visiting the link page and then pressing "view" on your browser menu bar. Then select "view source code" and find the meta tags. The title tag should include keywords relevant to your site. It doesn't have to, but if it does, the more valuable it becomes.

Tip #7
Quality over quantity. When you being the process of building reciprocal links for your website, go for quality over quantity. Once you get started, you will undoubtedly have numerous sites looking for an exchange. If the sites don't meet your linking criteria, you must say no to the link exchange.

In summary, make sure your reciprocal link program includes relevant links that have an equal or greater Google PR. Check your links often and make sure not to include more than 100 links on your link exchange page. Follow these tips and you're well on your way to a successful reciprocal linking campaign. Lastly, be patient. The value of reciprocal links is most clearly seen over time.

The Real Cost by Ed Rigsbee

2007-08-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what the real cost of mediocrity within your organization might be? Has there ever been a time when a mess-up by someone internally, proved to be quite costly in both money/resources and time/energy? Has there been a time when a mess-up by someone in your organization caused a huge toll on an outsider, i.e. supplier or customer?

In the world of selling, mediocrity can demand untold costs. In selling, there are generally two categories: hunters and farmers. The hunters are the sales people, both inside and outside, that specialize in going after new business—their thrust is the hunt, bringing in new customers. Farmers on the other hand specialize in nurturing house accounts and business that the hunters have brought in. Too often, organizations will settle for farmers that are mediocre, or careless and don’t tend to their crops. The prices businesses or organizations pay for allowing this kind of behavior are truly unnecessary.

My first real job in outside sales, other than selling encyclopedias door-to-door, was in selling to retailers. The owner of the business, Ray Kahn, once told me, “If you lose an account because you were out sold, it’s okay. But, if you lose an account because you weren’t paying attention to that account—you’re out of here!” Several years later, I saw first-hand that he meant it. Ray fired a hunter/farmer salesman, Mike that had been with him for a decade. Unfortunate for all that were involved, Mike got complacent and lazy, losing a major account because he wasn’t paying attention to the needs of the customer.

When a farmer doesn’t pay attention, it is an absolute travesty. Mike was an okay hunter, but not a great farmer. This situation is not unusual. If you manage sales people and you tolerate a farmer not tending to their crops (accounts), I believe that you are just as guilty as your farmer sales person. It is you, after all, to whom they are accountable.

Not long ago, I traveled to the American East Coast to speak on selling at a chapter of the National Speakers Association (NSA), of which I am a member in Los Angeles. This NSA chapter had been meeting at the same suburban area hotel on the same Saturday of each month for the previous three years. This particular Saturday in January was to be different.

The “you know what” hit the fan late Friday night. Following dinner that evening, my contact with the group dropped me back at the hotel where I was staying and where the meeting would be the next day. In passing, she asked if I knew that I’d be presenting the next morning in the hotel’s restaurant…during regular service hours…to the public? Their usual meeting room had been booked out from under them. Well, that was a surprise that was to me.

Three days earlier, when the NSA Chapter’s program chair called the hotel to check if everything was in place for their coming Saturday meeting, the hotel sales contact, Lois, told the program chair that they had no reservation for the group for the coming Saturday. And, Lois told the program chair that the room they usually use, along with every other meeting room and space in the hotel was also sold out. Wow, what a predicament! Even worse, Lois offered no possible solutions to a long-time customer.

The meeting chair asked Lois how this could be? Especially since the group had been using that meeting room the same Saturday of the month for the past three years and had an on-going relationship. Lois answered by stating that she thought it was odd that the organization had not signed a contract for the coming year. Lois continued by stating that since the hotel’s customers “call them” she didn’t give it a second thought. Excuse me! If I was Lois’ boss, I’d do to her what Ray Kahn did to Mike—fire ‘em! There is no excuse for this kind of behavior.

That farmer, Lois, definitely was not tending her crops (accounts). Can you believe it? Worse, the sales person was ignorant enough to state, “Our customers call us.” She sold the room out from under this group. Perhaps because the group to whom she sold the room was generating higher revenue? Perhaps she was only mindful of her commission check? Perhaps it was her way of telling this NSA Chapter that they were no longer welcome at that property?

The Real Cost

What do you think might be the real cost to the hotel from Lois’ debacle?

To the credit of the hotel’s General Manager, late that Friday evening, I worked with him and food & beverage (F&B) manager for over an hour looking at possibilities to make the next day’s presentation work, even though it was to be in the hotel’s restaurant, during service hours to the general public. The hotel general manager explained to me that he, and his staff had been working on the problem for the past three days. They had even called other hotels to try and move the meeting—but without success.

Let’s take a rough look at the real cost to this hotel: A hotel general manager making around $100,000 a year, working a six-day work week equates to about $333 per working day. If we take into account that the general manager, food & beverage manager, sales staff and others had been dealing with the issue for three days and just add up the general manager’s pay, that gives us about $1,000 cost to the hotel. I’m sure Lois’ commission on the sale of the room and F&B was nowhere near that much.

Now let’s add in the damage to both the national brand and that particular location. This group happened to be a gathering of local-area professional speakers. Since many are intimately familiar with hotels, their expectations tend to be a bit higher than most. What will they say to local meeting planners about this hotel? I doubt it would be complimentary. If the approximately 50 professional speakers mention the situation to only one meeting planner over the following year—that’s potentially 50 local meeting planners that have received a poor report about this property. What’s the cost of that?

If only one of those 50 meeting planners decided not to book a meeting at that property based on what they heard, how many thousands of dollars would that property not receive in future revenue because of Lois’ behavior? Let alone the tarnished perception of this particular brand nationally could cost the chain dollars. Surely it would be more that Lois’ commission on that particular room, on that particular Saturday.

The Rest of The Story

This had been the second time that this property, or should I say Lois, had pulled this kind of situation on that particular NSA Chapter. As such, the board of directors immediately decided to start looking for another property at which to hold their monthly meetings. By the next month’s meeting, the chapter had already found a new home for their monthly meetings. That adds even more to the real cost, as the revenue from the chapter was valuable to the hotel during slow times.

Gosh, because that farmer, Lois, was too unorganized, oblivious, lazy, apathetic, ignorant or greedy, the real cost to the hotel’s productivity and revenue was, and will continue to be, substantial. What does this mean to you? In selecting and/or maintaining the wrong people to represent your organization’s interests, you will pay dearly for their impoverishment of skills.

Solutions

The TEA Master Key should prove helpful. The three key areas necessary to explore in serving your customers well are: Training, Ego and Attitude.

Training your employees well is a given, the subtleties are in their understanding the DNA of your organization’s culture and an advanced understanding of how to most effectively use the “tools” that you have made available to them. Understandably, this takes time, but few companies devote the necessary hours to this endeavor. And, if your employees are not continually learning, you must re-examine the limited value they deliver to your organization.

Ego is good, when kept in check, allowing one to be confident, yet not arrogant. Unfortunately, too many employees let their ego get in the way of their performance, i.e. too much ego that they never admit a mistake. Mistakes are good, if one learns from their mistake. Years ago, Ray Kahn would say, “If you are not making mistakes, you are not learning, and I don’t need you. But, if you do not learn from your mistakes, I don’t need you either.” Other ego issues revolve around one’s need to be right! In serving customers, it is more important to get things done, than to focus on being right.

Attitude can make, or break, an employee and a customer’s perception of your organization’s value proposition. Employees with an attitude of apathy are like termites eating away at the fiber of your organization and one day that fiber that holds your organization together will give fail. On the other hand, employees with the attitude of service, not servitude, flourish and with them so does your organization. Give your employees plenty of reasons to have superior attitudes—it will serve you well.

Adapted from Rigsbee's forthcoming book titled, Customer Service Screw Ups--Learn from the Mistakes of Others. In this book, Rigsbee rants about the crummy customer service he has received and offers suggestions on how you can truly partnering with your customers.

Oh, So You Want Me To Ship It To the Manufacturer? by Ed Rigsbee

2007-08-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

The following is a true story. It illustrates the need for even management to be nice to their customers—for a variety of reasons.

The brothers Long started a drug store in Northern California a number of years ago. By the 1970’s they had built a respectable chain in the north and had started expanding to Southern California. For years, when I was in the sunglass business, I sold to this glowing chain. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s they grew and I sold sunglasses to most of their stores. I really appreciated the amount of business I earned from them over the years. Also, over the years, the department heads that I worked with in the early days became store managers and one, a district manager.

Because of my loyalty to this particular drug store chain, I continued doing business with the store in my community for years after I was no longer in the sunglass business. As a matter of fact, to this day, my family still uses the store in my community—the one that I personally set up their sunglass department when the store opened for business.

With all of that being said, one day in the late 1990s I visited my local store to return a camera that I had purchased that turned out to be defective. It was an evening and I ended up getting help from the store’s assistant manager. While she did not remember me, I remembered when she was a clerk in the cosmetic department. She told me that she could not replace the camera because she did not have that EXACT one in stock. She told me to ship it to the factory and they would take care of it.

After selling sunglasses to this chain for almost two decades, I was reasonably familiar with their return policy. It was less the fact that she told me to send the camera back to the factory, but more her attitude. I knew that she had the authority to do pretty much anything she wanted to do to take care of the situation. She could have given me a refund. She could have given me the same brand camera but the next model up, which she did have in stock. But rather than to serve a customer that had been shopping at the store since it had opened, about 10 years before, she selected to have an attitude (the big A in Ego Attitude Training).

I didn’t make a fuss about her lack of customer service—instead I simply left the store with my defective camera in hand. Unfortunately for this assistant manager, she decided to (in my opinion) to screw over, a longtime customer who coincidently knew her boss’ boss pretty darn well. In fact, I had served Ron, the district manager, as a vendor to the chain for about 20 years. She made a BIG MISTAKE!

Because my personal relationship with the chain (a number of people from clerks to executives) was much stronger than any single employee, I mailed a friendly letter to Ron explaining the situation. I told him that my relationship was with the store, and not the manufacturer. I also mentioned my thoughts on customer retention and a couple of other thoughts. I did not ask him to take action, but simply informed him about the behavior of one of his managers.

It took a few weeks, but wow! The letter of apology from this assistant manager was amazing. Not only did I receive the apology but also it came with $20 worth of store script (about the retail difference between the defective camera I wanted adjusted and the next model up). Also, in her letter was the pledge that if I brought my defective camera in the store she would personally exchange it, even if she had to upgrade it.

I never took her up on her offer to exchange the camera but instead just left her wondering if I’d ever come back. No need to in that situation, the camera was a great brand and I had sent it to the manufacturer myself the next day. Within a week, the manufacturer had mailed me a replacement. I did though use the store script—heck, why not?

Ron, the district manager, is a really great guy so I’m sure he didn’t rip the assistant manager’s head off—at least too much. But I must admit, I would have really enjoyed being a fly on the wall at that meeting. Is the moral of the story to be nice to people who know your district manager? I don’t think so. How could one ever know?

Just be wonderful to every customer—just because you should. Besides, you never know whom they know. Being crummy to any customer could prove to be a career killer—you just never know!

Adapted from Rigsbee's forthcoming book titled, Customer Service Screw Ups--Learn from the Mistakes of Others. In this book, Rigsbee rants about the crummy customer service he has received and offers suggestions on how you can truly partnering with your customers.

Mastermind Alliances to Further Your Career by Ed Rigsbee

2007-08-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

[Executive summary: Every business leader needs to develop his or her own Mastermind Alliance. The important benefits received are several, including synergistic solution problem solving, synergistic networking and a confidential sounding board that too many executives today do not enjoy.]

John F. Kennedy said, "Lofty words cannot construct an alliance or maintain it; only concrete deeds do that." Partnering and alliances are the terms used to describe mutually beneficial relationships. Partnering is the business paradigm for the next millennium. Relationships are the corner stone of any successful business. Outrageously Successful Relationships (OSRs) are the conduits for successful business growth. More people in business today should make the smart decision and make daily Relationship Bank Deposits, the concrete deeds Kennedy spoke of in 1963. You must make deposits before you can withdrawal.

Throughout my adult life, people have recommended that I should work harder. Some have suggested I work smarter. My choice is the latter, to work smarter. Business is getting more complex, seemingly by the day. Both you and I should continually seek additional solutions to our daily business challenges. Partnering with others to create alliances for various reasons is my answer to the idea of working smarter.

First on my working smarter list is to develop a personal Mastermind Alliance. Mastermind Alliances, also known as strategic alliances for individual development, can assist you in eclipsing your competition. This holds true for both your career and your enterprise. I belong to a geographical mastermind alliance, called Gold Coast Speakers, which consists of other professional speakers and consultants.

We started meeting early in 1989 and continued to get together about once a month or so. This is a confidential environment where each can share their gifts and receive counsel on important business, career and personal issues. I do not believe I would have survived in my speaking career without this relationship. The members of my mastermind alliance are some very special and giving people. The group consists of not more than a dozen members that are geographically close to one another, this allows us to regularly meet. We rotate from home to home, each member having the opportunity to host a meeting. We make it simply for the host by ordering delivered pizza.

Another mastermind alliance success story is the Downtown Palm Springs, CA breakfast club. A couple years ago I interviewed Tim Ellis, general manager at the Riviera Resort & Racquet Club in Palm Springs. The interview was for an article about Palm Springs’ strategic alliance with other California cities to draw tourists to the state. He told me about his downtown Palm Springs mastermind alliance. It consisted of general managers from seven other deluxe hotels, the convention center director and the owner of the aerial tram. They meet every Wednesday and rotate member locations weekly. They discuss issues uniquely important to the hospitality business in downtown Palm Springs.

I recently spoke with Tim. He is no longer at the Riviera. He started his own company, Lathom Hotels. Tim bought one hotel and leased another. The hotels both feature suites with full kitchens. He started his company to serve a neglected niche in town, long-term retired guests. He told me that much of his success comes from the networking relationships in the breakfast club. He said that he could not have picked up and done the same thing in another town. And yes, he still belongs to the alliance.

There are five personal core values that I believe are necessary for your Mastermind Alliance members to possess. They are trust, tolerance/ understanding, cooperation/growth, caring/commitment, and synergy/mutuality. Use these values as your guide when making member selections. Too often I've heard people talking marriage but really acting one-night stand. This behavior is what I call cotton candy partnering. Like cotton candy, it looks good and tastes great but disappears in seconds. These are definitely not concrete deeds and not the type of members you'll want in your Mastermind Alliance. In contrast, integrity partnering is what allows synergistic solutions, the concrete deeds.

Use your group as a sounding board for ideas you might have missed, to uncover unnoticed pitfalls in your plans and various other important areas that offer you value. In the group of which I am a member, we spent an entire year dedicating each meeting to individual members for dealing with their specific issues. Wow! It was powerful to have several people focus their energy and attention to a single member's issues. Giving energy can be as powerful as receiving it. I learn when I am being helped with my issues and when others are helped with theirs.

To make this kind of alliance relationship valuable for all involved the giving or Relationship Bank deposits must be frequent. Additionally, all the members of the alliance must be committed to the alliance itself. When this happens the alliance becomes a living entity and begins to evolve in it's own direction. While this might seem odd, I have regularly found it to be true.

Inherent while building Mastermind Alliances, you will notice both benefits and pitfalls. The benefits of alliance relationships usually outweigh the pitfalls. Be careful and methodical in the search for Mastermind Alliance partners and in the elements of which the alliance will operate. Remember Caveat Pars (Partners Beware), as the road to successful alliance partnering has roadblocks, land mines and quicksand pits. Knowing how to select the right alliance partners and making good selections is truly a concrete deed, of which Kennedy spoke. Make your relationship Bank Deposits and you will surely develop Outrageously Successful Relationships (OSRs) with your Mastermind Alliance group members.

Trade Show Success Tip: Train Your Exhibiting Staff by Dick Wheeler

2007-08-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

One of the keys to trade show success is the training of your booth staff. Each trade show requires a specific marketing message targeted to a unique prospect and an exhibiting staff that can communicate with that audience. In order to take advantage of your trade show appearance, it is crucial to have a knowledgeable, qualified and highly trained sales staff at your trade show booth.

Before the trade show, rehearsals and training sessions for your exhibiting staff are essential to maximize the leads and visitor sales potential at a trade show.

Here are the basic tips for grooming your exhibit staff:
1. Hire an exhibit staff trainer before the trade show
2. Have a trainer in the booth to set up procedures and monitor booth activity
3. Provide incentives (to stimulate tradeshow booth traffic, give a gift coupon out every hour)
4. Be good custodians of your (and your visitors') time. Proactive learning on how to engage and courteously dismiss visitors in a professional manner is critical
5. Staff the tradeshow booth with personnel who match up well with prospects – i.e., engineers from your firm if prospects are engineers, etc.

There are basic “do’s” that attract attention:
1. Have a warm smile and a welcoming persona
2. Enthusiastic behavior -- have direct eye contact, confront prospects by greeting, then engaging, and, finally, qualifying them
3. Be professional and courteous, have authority and a solid knowledge about your product or service
4. Treat visitors as they are your guests--same as you do at your company or in your home
5. Demonstrate a receptive body language -- have your arms under control and your posture erect. Be proactive.
6. Trade Show Booth housekeeping-–maintain a neat, clean and tidy appearance at all times
7. Your name badge should be on the right side of your body so when you shake hands people see it clearly.

Here are some “don'ts” in your trade show booth:
1. Do not eat, drink or chew gum
2. Do not make or accept phone calls (leave the tradeshow booth to make calls)
3. Do not sit - (except in conference area of your tradeshow display to conduct client business)
4. Show up on time -- Do not show up late. Be considerate of your booth mates
5. Never leave the tradeshow exhibit unattended
6. Don't visit socially in the tradeshow booth with your co-workers or neighboring booth staffers

Engage visitors with effective sales techniques and tactics:
1. Greet and engage prospect or client (30 seconds)
2. Probe prospect with questions memorized from a lead sheet - who, what, why, when, where-- to determine their requirements and their timing. This is the positioning and pre-qualifying stage - (1 1/2 - 2 minutes)
3. Determine if the tradeshow prospect is qualified or not. If not, professionally dismiss them.
4. If they are qualified - go into a demonstration, lead to deeper dialogue, answer questions, present details on services/products (up to 5 minutes)
5. Get permission to proceed or get deeper into subject or schedule further dialogue
6. Wrap up - inform them of where you go from here. Move toward the future appointment or sale. Set a time to reconnect. Swipe badge or get their business card. Plan to follow up by sending materials to their office so that the package is there when they return to their desk immediately after the trade show.

How To Market Your Seminar to Your Local Market by Kirk Ward

2007-08-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

If you have created a small business management course or seminar, you are most likely anxious to get started with selling your course or seminar. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how fantastic your course or seminar is if no one knows about it. For this reason, the next step in successfully launching a small business management course or seminar is marketing. But, just how do you go about marketing your small business management or seminar?

Know Your Market

In general, the best place to start when promoting a new course or seminar is within your local market. Therefore, you should search within your community, and your surrounding communities, to find individuals who might be interested in your small business management course or seminar.

Obviously, people who are already involved in a small business might need the extra insight you can provide with your expertise. This makes your yellow pages an excellent resource for potential students of your course or seminar. Look for small businesses that are locally owned and target their owners as potential students of your small business course or seminar.

But, what about those people who are thinking about starting a small business, but are looking for a little extra guidance and assurance before taking the leap? This is where you come in. With your course or seminar, you can give these people the little push they need - and you can tap into an eager market when you offer them your course or seminar. Unfortunately, people who are just thinking about going into business can be hard to find.

If you are not sure how to go about finding people who are interested in your course or seminar, or if the whole process seems overwhelming, marketing vendors are available to give you the assistance you need. Through these marketing vendors, you can learn strategies for discovering who is a part of your target market, as well as how to get information about your course or seminar into their hands.

Know Your Resources and Options

One avenue for marketing your small business management course or seminar is through your community college. If you have a community college in or near your community, contact their office of Continuing Education. Often, Continuing Education offices are looking to provide great non-credit courses and seminars to their community. Even better, the college will do a great deal of marketing for you.

Of course, you might not want to form a partnership with another entity. Perhaps you don't want to share in the profits of your course or seminar. Or, maybe you don't want to be restricted by the guidelines of other institutions.

If this is the case, it is helpful to contact a marketing agency. A marketing agency can help you formulate a business plan. A marketing vendor can also help you create marketing materials, such as brochures and news releases. In this way, you can remain the independent owner of your course or seminar.

Another great source of marketing is word of mouth. Therefore, make sure you let it be known that you have an excellent course or seminar available. Pass out business cards and share information about your course or seminar with as many people as possible. With time, the word will spread about your course or seminar.

Many people are interested in being their own bosses and owning their own businesses. A large market for this type of course or seminar exists, but finding the people interested in this type of course or seminar can be tricky. Through the proper marketing techniques, however, a small business seminar or course can be highly successful.

Preshow Planning Equals Success : 10 Essential Questions You Have To Ask by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

The early bird gets the worm. The same holds true for trade shows -- the most successful exhibitors are those who start planning at least 12 months prior to the next event. Exhibiting requires a great deal of time, money, and personnel. Make the most of your resources by utilizing them at the show that best meets your marketing needs.

But how do you know what show is right for you? Here’s a hint: It’s not necessarily the one with the largest ads in the trades or the one that is offering deep-discount exhibit space. Instead, ask yourself these ten questions about the shows you’re considering, and you’ll soon discover which are right for you.

1. How well does this show fit our marketing needs?

This is the paramount question. Exhibiting at a show must clearly fit into your marketing strategy. Whether you are planning to launch a new product, expand into a new geographical region, or reach out to reinforce existing consumer relationships, every show should have a well-defined goal that is an integral part of your marketing plan.

2. When is the show?

Show timing is crucial. Not only should an event be convenient for you and your staff, it should not be in conflict with other major industry shows or events. While there is a seemingly endless supply of competitors out there, there is only a limited amount of customers. They have to pick and choose what shows they’ll want to attend. Don’t undermine your chances by exhibiting at a small show that conflicts with the larger event that ‘everybody’ goes to.

3. Where is the show?

Location is everything. Some events purposely locate at destination locations such as Las Vegas or Orlando to entice attendees. There is some validity to this strategy, although you want to watch against the tendency to attend a show because of the amenities nearby. You’re sending a team to sell your products and services, not to visit SeaWorld or gamble the night away.

4. Who comes to this show?

A show must attract your target audience. Use attendance data from previous shows to determine what percentage of attendees are likely to be interested in your products and services AND are from your major service areas. It’s no good presenting your products to an audience that you can’t sell to.

5. Who else will be there?

You will want to know which and how many of your competitors will be exhibiting at a particular show. Remember, you need to be visible to be memorable! If you are not in front of the public, and your competitors are, the public will remember your competitors and not you. However, a savvy marketing strategy might be to exhibit at a show that attracts your target audience but is outside of your immediate industry.

6. How successful is the show?

While individual success is the responsibility of each exhibitor, there is a great deal that show management can do to ensure a high quality show. Discover what organizers do to promote the show, and take a look at previous shows. Ask for a list of previous exhibitors to contact about the show and ask them for their thoughts. Would they exhibit again?

7. Has someone from my organization actually visited this show?

A first-hand perspective from someone who fully understands your marketing goals and objectives can be an invaluable tool. Do they think the show is a good fit? Ask them about show logistics. Did things appear seamless, or were there some rough edges?

8. How much does the show cost?

Participating in a show can be expensive. Make your decision only after looking at some real life figures. Add in every expense affiliated with the show, not just registration fees. How much will it cost for items such as signage, graphics, literature, travel, lodging, meals, giveaway items, etc? And, don’t forget to calculate your indirect expenses – your people’s time away from the office.

9. What kind of help will we get?

Ask show organizers about promotional assistance. Are there sponsorship opportunities to raise your company’s profile at the event? What types of media are being invited? Also, ask for audience quality information before you decide. Are the attendees the type of attendees you want to meet?

10. What return on investment can be expected from this show?

Return on investment will in part depend on what your goals are for any given show. If you are concentrating solely on lead generation, and do not plan to be doing any selling at the show, return on investment will appear to be lower. It may take several weeks, months and even years for those leads to generate sales. However, with that in mind, set a benchmark ROI, or ROO (return on objectives) that your company would like to achieve from participating in the show. Does this mesh with reasonable projections?

Forget the Press Tour, Have a Teleseminar Tour by Daniel Janal

2007-08-05T08:18:00.002-07:00

Businesses of all sizes, including start up and Fortune 500 companies try to receive as much promotion and publicity for their product and services as they can. Quite often their marketing tactics require huge amounts of investment in time, energy and expense. Why not have a teleseminar tour and increase your visibility from the comfort of your own home or office, without paying a single penny?

Teleseminars are increasing in popularity, as they are a proven, cost-effective means of communicating valuable information to potentially large audiences (up to thousands) all at one time. It’s truly amazing how many teleseminars there are today.

Now, authors, entrepreneurs, business owners, marketing and public relations executives, speakers, coaches, and consultants can produce their own teleseminars through companies like Great Teleseminars Audio Production Studios, http://www.greatteleseminars.com They can increase exposure and publicity by reaching out to other professionals in their related industry that are hosting them as well.

By engaging in teleseminar tours you are allowing yourself to step beyond any limits and "reach out and touch" prospects and customers of almost any type of business. Making these calls allow you to prospect for new clients as you demonstrate your knowledge and expertise, increase your bottom line revenues, and maintain a presence that is always fresh and meaningful.

For those of you who are the “Do-It-Yourself” type, here is the step-by-step process on how to effectively manage a teleseminar tour campaign.

1. Perform a search using Google to see what companies and professionals within your specialty host teleseminars.

You must type in your specialty and then the word “teleseminar”, if you do not you’ll see the Great Teleseminars site and others like it, that are not specific to your industry. For example, type in “health teleseminars”, “sales teleseminars”, “dieting teleseminars”, or “parenting teleseminars” and you will quickly realize that many professionals in these areas are hosting teleseminars.

2. Do your homework.

Visit each individual website to ensure a good fit by reviewing their audience, the topics they have done in the past, and their price points. Do not overlook your competitors, as they may be willing to work with you. For example, in order to educate my clients and publicize my business, PR Leads, http://www.prleads.com I host public relations and marketing teleseminars every Thursday afternoon. Although you might think I’d never want to invite a competitor on my show, the truth is we compete on different services, price points and markets, so we really don’t compete at all. We welcome the opportunity to appear on each other’s teleseminars. My teleseminars have featured PR gurus like TJ Walker, Joan Stewart, George McKenzie, Rick Frishman, Jill Lublin, B.L. Ochman, Alex Carroll and others – and I’ve appeared on many of their events as well!

3. Prepare your pitch

Lets say you find 10 good teleseminars to become a guest speaker on, now what? Before calling or emailing hosts, you must prepare your biography, product and/or service fact sheets, and 10 questions you would like to be asked if a teleseminar is to be arranged. You must also develop your hook—meaning why they should be interested in you and your topic, and how their audience can benefit from having you as a speaker. You’ll need this material to help promote yourself. You don’t want the host to write the copy for you. You want to be in control of the message, and let them fine-tune it to fit their needs. Your host will send some of this information to their mailing lists as the invitation, or post other parts of it to the website, and use the 10 questions as the script to interview you.

Teleseminar tours are a win-win situation for everyone. Teleseminar hosts reach the end of their expertise, so they are always looking for new guests that can tell a new story and lend a new way of looking at the world or exploring new subjects that the host wouldn’t know anything about.

In return for your expertise, the teleseminar hosts will promote your material, your name, and your product or services to their lists. Best yet, it doesn’t cost you a single penny for the added exposure. All you have to do is all the legwork online by using Google, preparing the hook, sending out some emails, and maybe making a few phone calls.

For those of you who do not have the time and would like the convenience of a virtual assistant, Great Teleseminars now offers a new service called Teleseminar Tours. We will complete prospect research, create the pitch and any required materials, make introductory and follow phone calls and emails, and arrange teleconferences around your schedule. For more information you may visit http://www.greatteleseminars.com/campaign.htm or contact Daniel Janal, Founder and President of PR LEADS and Great Teleseminars via email: info@greatteleseminars.com

Make Some Noise: Seven Super Promotion Steps by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T08:18:00.001-07:00

Trade shows are all about promotion. You are strategically planning to present your goods and services to a specially targeted audience, in order to meet clearly defined goals and objectives. To maximize your success, however, it is imperative to make promotional efforts above and beyond merely showing up at the next event. Begin these pre-show efforts six to eight months before your next event.

Here are the seven steps you need to take:

1. Decide on a pre-show promotional strategy.

How are you going to let your target audience what shows you will be attending and what you will be presenting? Options include:

- Personal Invitations
- Advertising in trade publications and local media
- Direct mail
- Telemarketing
- Public Relations
- Website
- Sponsorship

2. Plan on-site promotional activities.

This will include any efforts you make to promote your presence at or around the show. Options include:

- Airport Advertising
- Billboards
- Hotel TV advertising
- Transit Advertising
- Show Daily Advertising
- Hotel Room Promotions
- Show Directory Advertising
- Sponsorship

3. Reach out to the media.

Editorial coverage is worth its weight in gold. To entice media outlets to cover your company’s promotional efforts, you have to provide a newsworthy angle. Give the reporters something to write or talk about. Make this ‘hook’ the focus of your press kits. Press kits should be mailed before the show, be available at the show, and provided after the show to ensure maximum coverage. Two main ways to reach out to the press are:

- Press Releases
- Press Conferences

Remember to only use press conferences when you have new information to share with your target market. You will make the media very unhappy if you share old stuff.

4. Organize A Visitor Competition.

People are wildly competitive. Throw in a chance to win a prize, and you’ll have crowds flocking to your booth. Planning visitor competitions requires some careful planning. Everything that happens at your exhibit must reflect your marketing goals and objectives. Competitions should be consistent with the corporate image you want to portray. For example, a game show style trivia contest may be far more appropriate than a kareoke stage. Prizes should tie in to your products and services in an effort to attract more qualified leads. Items to consider include:

- Type of competition
- Prizes to be offered
- Compliance with local rules and regulations
- Compliance with show regulations
- Staffing for the competition
- Duration of the competition
- Role competition plays in promotional efforts

5. Decide on Giveaway Items

Giveaway items or ‘freebies’ should be more than a trendy trinket with your corporate logo on it. Ideally, these items are something that enhance your corporate image, will be used regularly by your target audience, and keep your company logo in regular view. Avoid items that will be passed along to children, such as cuddly toys, or are so insignificant that they are likely to be tossed. Four things to remember about giveaway items:

- Giveway items should reinforce your marketing message
- Make your giveaway business oriented
- Don’t be trendy! It is better to be unique and cutting edge.
- Toys and gimmicky gizmos are always, always, always passed along to children. Unless your primary buyers are still in preschool, avoid them.

6. Plan Hospitality.

As more and more companies begin to do business on a global scale, marketing strategies change. Buyers from Europe and Asia expect a certain amount of hospitality at trade shows. In fact, these features are an integral part of the International business scene. Many relationships that begin in ‘social’ environments flower into profitable business. Consider if any of the following will work for you:

- Hospitality Suite
- Meal Style Events
- Sponsorship

7. Mind the Details.

More often than not, it is the little things that can stymie the most well-intentioned promotional efforts. Attendees will easily get frustrated and walk away if what they perceive as a minor need cannot be met – and they won’t be walking away with a good impression. For that reason, make sure the following matters are attended to:

- The booth number must be clearly printed on all promotional material. People cannot visit you if they cannot find you.
- Extra supplies of literature, catalogs, and sales material should be available.
- Clear, concise, and correct information must be listed in the show guide.
- Adequate supplies of visitor tickets, free passes to hospitality suites or events, and similar items should be on hand.

Avoid Booth Staff Duds: Thirteen Essential Questions You Have To Ask by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T08:17:00.001-07:00

Booth staff selection is the single most important factor in your exhibiting success. More than graphics, signage, literature, giveaways, or any other variable, it is the people you put on the show floor that influence visitor’s opinion of your organization. They are your ambassadors, representing your company for the whole world to see. It is impossible to stress enough how crucial your team is to your overall success.

To ensure a top notch performance, begin preparing your booth team four to six months prior to the event. You will need the answers to the following questions:

1. How many people are needed to staff the booth?

A number of variables need to be considered. How big is your exhibit? How long is the show? Will you need employees to give product demonstrations, work the hospitality suite, teach seminars, or supervise contests? Ensure you have enough staffing to have your booth manned at all times, while giving your team a break every four to six hours. No one can be ‘on’ for twelve hours at a time.

2. Who are the best people to represent the organization?

Working a trade show requires a unique mix of skills. You want employees with excellent product knowledge, superlative people skills, killer sales instincts, and a warm, engaging personality. These people should be motivated self-starters, able to think on their feet and work with little or no direction.

3. Has staff training been organized?

To ensure success, prepare your team with all the skills and tools they need. Training should cover assessing visitor types, asking qualifying questions, handling difficult attendees, lead generation and follow up, and many other factors.

4. Has a pre-show meeting been scheduled?

Pre-show meetings play a critical role in ensuring that your team understands their goals and objectives, expected roles and duties, and is adequately supplied with background knowledge to handle any unexpected surprises. Use this time to clarify any areas of confusion and to address any staff concerns.

5. Is the booth team familiar with the products or services being displayed?

To effectively sell products, you need to have thorough, complete product knowledge. Too many times, organizations send out rookie employees who only possess rudimentary knowledge. This is frustrating for attendees, who won’t come back to find another employee who might have an answer – they’ll go to the competition instead.

6. Has a practice demonstation session been organized?

Never assume that your employees know how to use the products that they sell. It is entirely possible that they are not completely familiar with every feature, especially if you are introducing a new product. Take the time to thoroughly train your team, and have them practice demonstrating the product to familiarize themselves with the show floor routine.

7. Will a technical representative be available to answer questions?

Depending on your product/service line, it may be entirely appropriate to send a technical representative to handle specific product questions. Train this person in the basics of salesmanship, but keep their duties largely relegated to providing technical answers. Make sure they are aware of the possibility of trade show espionage, to prevent them from sharing too much information.

8. Has a dress code been established?

Well before you arrive at the event, a dress code should be established. Uniforms may be appropriate for your company, but if they are not, clearly specify what you want your team to be wearing. “Casual business” gives far too much leeway. Instead, spell out “Black trousers or skirt, white shirt, black blazer, red tie,” or the equivalent.

9. Have badges been ordered for all booth personnel?

Everyone on your team needs a badge to enter the show floor, access hospitality areas, and move freely about. Order these badges well ahead of time, so that any errors or omissions can be remedied in a timely fashion.

10. Do booth personnel have sufficient business cards?

It is amazing how many business cards you can hand out during the course of one trade show. Make sure your team is adequately prepared.

11. Has a booth schedule been planned?

A complete schedule will cover every moment from show arrival to departure. Include who will be staffing the booth, break times, technical support and assorted responsibilities. It may be a good idea to include ‘check in’ time into the schedule, so sales people acting as booth staff can check messages back at the home office and make needed phone calls. This will alleviate a great deal of staff anxiety.

12. Who will oversee booth installation and dismantling?

Often overlooked, these two items can quickly become logistic nightmares if no one is prepared to address them. Delegate two people to this detail. Many show organizers provide this service for a fee, but you may still want to have staff members on hand supervising.

13. Does that person understand the move-out procedure?

Someone has to arrange for moving the exhibit out of the convention center, ensuring it is properly packed, and coordinate shipping the whole thing back to the home office. Again, a team should be clearly delegated this responsibility, and provided with all the tools and resources they’ll need to succeed.

The Benefits of Renting a Trade Show Display by Mat Kelly

2007-08-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Trade shows can be a great way to win new business, make new contacts and unveil new products to the marketplace. Exhibiting at a trade show means you are going to need to a trade show display to attract attention and showcase your company and products. The benefits of renting a trade show display, instead of purchasing one, can be numerous for small businesses or start-ups attending their first trade show and large businesses looking to increase interest at their next show. Below are some of the reasons why renting a trade show display is a good idea.

Convenience
The convenience that renting a trade show booth provides, as opposed to buying one, can be one of the most important factors in one’s decision to rent. Renting a booth for your first few trade shows will allow you to get a feel for these shows and how much money you may be able to make by attending them. You don’t want to make a big investment in a trade show display only to find out that the trade show scene is not for you. Using a rental gives you the impact of having a customized trade show display and the convenience of not having to commit to a specific format.

Flexibility
Renting a trade show display also offers flexibility. Renting allows you to customize your display for every trade show that you attend. If you used a format that you did not care for, then for the next trade show choose a different format – the only thing you need to do is purchase the graphic panels for the new trade show display configuration.

Display rental also gives you the opportunity to experiment with the size of your trade show booth without worrying about making a big investment in a booth that may not suit your needs from one trade show to the next. You can also try out the different types of displays available, such as a pop-up displays, to see which one is easiest for you to set up and break down.

Basically, renting allows you to experiment with many different aspects of your trade show display, so that you can get a feel of what is right for you. Maybe, once you know what you want, you will then want to buy a trade show display of your own or maybe you will enjoy the flexibility of renting so much that you will continue with that option. Either way, renting, instead of making a big initial investment, will allow you to know for sure where your preferences lie.

Additional Options
Renting a trade show display may be the way to go if you are looking to augment your current trade show format. With add-ons such as literature racks and banner stands, a trade show booth can offer more visuals than just what is on the display itself. If you have a large booth space and you want to manage traffic or provide additional information, renting a display is a good choice. This can help you expand your trade show booth to create a larger, more dynamic selling environment. Plus, if you are rolling-out a new product and you don’t want to redo your main display you can feature the product on a rental display.

Cost-Effectiveness
If you are promoting a small business or start-up, then renting may be the best option for you since you may only attend a few shows a year. If you were to buy, the investment you would make would largely eat into whatever profits you earn for the year from the few shows that you do attend. Until you attend trade shows on a more regular basis, renting a trade show booth may be the most cost-effective way to go.

Considering all of these great benefits, it is easy to see why one would want to rent a trade show display, rather than purchasing one themselves. Whether you are an individual, small business, or a large company, renting a trade show display can offer you advantages that you would not otherwise have with your own display.

What to Expect From a Top Flight Trade Show Exhibit Company by Dick Wheeler

2007-08-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

To get new business from your next trade show appearance, you would like to have a show-stopping, visually arresting and business producing trade show display, right?

But what can you expect to find at the prototypical, top-of-the-line trade show exhibit house? Look for a complete single-source, hassle-free, full service trade show exhibit capability from design concept to final production. Search for a company that offers a wide range of trade show display options from cost-effective, custom modular and custom portable trade show booths to custom designed exhibits that may occupy thousands of square feet.

As a single resource, this fully-integrated trade show exhibit house would be able to take care of all your needs –providing a seamless, turnkey trade show exhibit service that includes every possible step in your pre- and post-show appearance. The trade show “dream team” should consist of a staff of talented exhibit design consultants, graphic designers, project managers and event coordinators who are adept in making your trade show experience glitch-free. You get to decide what you want from this menu of options.

Today you should expect these exhibit practitioners to design a breakthrough trade show booth with sophisticated trade show display graphics and worry-free event planning, plus conscientious care and the full storage and warehousing of your trade show exhibit properties.

The trade show exhibit business has come a long way. In the past, the trade show exhibit booth was purchased either as a custom build or a single “off the shelf” unit with the exhibitor handling the details. As the trade show industry has matured, exhibitors have become more sophisticated, and trade show exhibit companies cater to the full spectrum of a trade show client’s exacting demands. In the early ‘80s when the industry began changing, many trade show display companies started providing the portable/modular trade show booth, offering mobility and flexibility to exhibitors often moving from one show to the next. This experience helped them customize products and design exhibits that incorporated unique graphics, contemporary materials and structural refinements.

Experienced trade show display houses gradually evolved to deliver dramatic, one-of-a-kind trade show booths for clients wanting to dominate an exhibit hall show floor with a spectacular trade show exhibit occupying thousands of square feet of floor space. During the transition, the use of new finishes, fabrics and lightweight structural materials led to substantial reductions in handling costs. The resultant economies in freight, installation and dismantling, drayage, storage and refurbishing helped to defray the costs of these dramatic new custom trade show exhibits.

With new trade show expertise and innovation, top line trade show exhibit houses are able to serve exhibitors wherever and whenever they want to exhibit. Thanks to a network of exhibit partners providing design, build and show services at over hundreds of locations throughout the world, a trade show exhibit house can now handle the most complex and demanding of exhibitor requirements.

Many leading trade show display companies have become global providers serving a growing number of international clientele -- many of whom, for example, engage their exhibit house to design and build a single custom trade show display for their once-a-year appearance at a West or East Coast show and then store the unit until the following year.

Flexibility and innovations add to the array of services offered by the full service trade show exhibit house. These include: custom trade show booth rentals which offer an alternative to the occasional exhibitor who may be considering options before committing to a permanent display. Also, custom rental trade show displays provide an exhibitor with options to change messages and locations frequently and appear at several trade shows simultaneously.

Look for a trade show exhibition company that fits with your comfort level. Start with a walk-through visit to a showroom where you will view a selection of trade show displays ranging from pop-ups to custom spectaculars. Take a look at graphics and display production capabilities and ask the trade show display host to introduce you to innovative and turnkey event management services. These include show services, graphics design, exhibit storage and complete pre- and post-show service and support.

You can also go online and click through trade show exhibit companies. Seek out a professional trade show staff that can make your trade show booth experience dynamic, affordable and successful.

Five Tips on How to Select a Trade Show Exhibit House by Dick Wheeler

2007-08-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

When it comes to choosing the right trade show exhibit company for your next trade show display appearance, look for unique qualities that set one firm apart from the others. Seek out the trade show display firm that can help you gain the maximum impact on the show floor.

If you are new at this, start by checking out trade show exhibit companies online. Research the trade show display company’s depth of experience, creative talents and track record. Closely examine these criteria to justify making them your trade show exhibit partner. Narrow your search down to two or three qualified firms and then contact them by phone.

Here are five key questions to ask your prospective trade show display house:

1. Do they have an “A to Z” approach to managing trade show display projects? If so, you will be able to start with a design concept keyed to your company’s brand image while strictly adhering to the specifications of your booth requirements. Step-by-step your display unit will be constructed, utilizing the latest trade show display structural technologies, until final approval of a fully assembled product is ready for its trade show exhibit hall appearance. You should demand an integrated, turnkey service that provides you with a flaw-free trade show exhibit building process.

2. Check the trade show exhibit house’s design-to-completion success rate. A top firm can boast that the majority of their design proposals presented have become built projects. The industry average is only 30% of proposals accepted by clients for successful completion.

3. Ask if they have a seasoned management team. Find out how long their team has been together. The longer the team has worked together, the better the intellectual property they can deliver and complete a project with little or no complications. The teamwork of a good exhibit house offers a refined process of working seamlessly together. That is reassurance to both new and long-term clients of a successful trade show experience.

4. What is their customer satisfaction rating? Ask for client referrals; get client testimonials and client feedback. Ask about their policy for less-than-satisfied clients and how they personally address these issues and how they would rectify any concerns.

5. Do they have exclusive trade show resource relationships? This is a measure of their diligence and experience in the trade show industry. Find out their source of such suppliers as custom modular and custom portable trade show display providers. Are these first line, reliable organizations with solid track records in the trade show business?

If you like what you hear, arrange a personal meeting with the firm’s sales representative, either at your office or their showroom. It is at this meeting where you will make your final assessment and selection. Then it is up to the firm’s account management and design staff to guide you through the steps to building a successful trade show display.

Five Reasons Trade Show Exhibits Are So Popular by Dick Wheeler

2007-08-05T07:07:00.002-07:00

Why are companies joining the trade show bandwagon? One of the major reasons for the continuing trade show popularity is the personal contact opportunity to observe innovations in business products and services. In an era of impersonal electronic communication, trade shows offer face- to- face meetings that are critical for companies to compete in an ever-changing marketplace.

The size of the trade show display industry is impressive and it is growing. According to Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA), 51 million people attended trade shows last year in the United States. There were more than 13,000 trade shows in the nation with 1.2 million companies exhibiting. This is a testimony to the tremendous value in networking and being able to touch and demonstrate new products. Trade shows connect buyer to seller and people to people in a way that virtual marketing can never achieve.

Here are five compelling reasons why trade show displays across the U.S. are successful:

1. Networking with the right people at the trade show. You get to see and be seen. You meet your clients and client prospects face –to- face and get instant feedback. This is certainly good news since there has been a dramatic business shift to online marketing, home offices, smaller field sales forces and the depersonalization of the sales function. With e-commerce dominating the business process, cell phones, email communications and Web commerce, there are fewer opportunities for face-to-face business development. The realization that relationships drive commerce has forced companies to view trade shows as a key opportunity for personal encounters. And, research shows that two or three days of dealing directly with decision makers in a trade show exhibit environment can cut the cost and time of closing deals by as much as 50 percent.

2. Showcases company’s new products and innovations. Trade shows draw massive attention to new products seen by the right people. At the trade show, your booth staff can help educate attendees on your company’s array of products and services as well as walking prospects through the decision-making process. People need to see and feel new products as this helps build their business relationships.

3. Expanding business by reaching the people who make purchasing decisions for their businesses at the trade show. Trade shows attract decision-makers, influence purchasing decisions, provide a point of contact for new customers, and make lasting impressions.

4. Brand exposure and identity enhancement in a big trade show arena environment. Exhibitors think of trade show displays as the grand launch of their most valued new product or business service. An excellent opportunity to give customer prospects your best most memorable and consistent look to increase brand exposure.

5. Great place to learn about the new trends in your industry. You can bet that you will learn what the “buzz” is in your own industry and watch what attracts prospects’ interest. E.g., in the latest fancy food industry’s winter trade show the trend is toward organic and natural products.

The trade show exhibit industry continues to grow and the added value of this personal prospecting environment suggests continued growth for 2006 and beyond.

Nine Tips on How to Set Goals for Your Trade Show Exhibit by Dick Wheeler

2007-08-05T07:07:00.001-07:00

It is often said that if you don’t know where you are going, you may miss it when you get there. And, as Malcolm Forbes also points out, “If you don’t know what you want to do, it’s harder to do it.” This is good advice especially in the trade show exhibit arena. It is crucial to establish goals and set objectives before you plan to exhibit at a trade show. As with any important marketing effort, you measure success by how well the activity performs against your stated goals. For example, ask how many hot leads do I need in order to justify the cost of our exhibit? What is my projected close rate needed to warrant my trade show booth budget? You get the idea.

Start by being clear when you consult with your top management and marketing teams as to the reasons why your company wants to exhibit in a particular trade show. Ask the tough question –do you plan to have a trade show display because your competition is exhibiting or is it because you want a set return on your trade show investment? Analyze in advance what you want to achieve from your trade show display, convey this to your exhibit team, and put it down on paper.

Here are nine key goal setting recommendations from “Tips & Techniques For Exhibiting Success” by Nomadic Display:

1. Trade show display objectives should reinforce your corporate marketing goals. Clear, concise trade show exhibit objectives need to be in sync with your overall marketing plan, not function independently of it.

2. Is increasing your brand identity at the trade show a key reason to attend? How will you brand your trade show exhibit? Will your logo be part of the branding? Will you incorporate your brand on all your handouts?

3. Do you expect to increase sales on the trade show floor? If so, by how much? Be realistic and set attainable sales figures.

4. Outline your expected trade show results. The more specific, the better. Are you planning to introduce new products or services at the trade show? If so, what are they and how will you showcase these new products/services?

5. Is an important emphasis of your trade show display to educate your target audience? If it is, will you have on-site speakers, website presentations, handouts at your trade show booth display?

6. Do you expect to gather industry information and customer preferences at the trade show? Do you have a formal survey and will you offer incentives for people to fill out your survey?

7. Is one of your goals to attract new business? If so, how many new orders do you feel are realistic?

8. Is recruiting new dealers or distributors a priority? If so, how many new dealers or distributors will be at the trade show?

9. Do you expect to educate customers? How do you plan to do this? Free literature Handouts? Internet presentations? In-person talks by your top management?

By putting your goals in writing, you have a list that you can manage and measure. Your specific goals need to be realistic and timed. Make deadlines and meet them.

You already know that trade show displays can enhance your marketing plans with measurable results. You now need to focus first on your goals and objectives so that your measurement and return on trade show investment are indeed meaningful.

Eight Ways to Control Trade Show Display Costs by Dick Wheeler

2007-08-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

From time to time, clients ask how they can keep control of trade show exhibit costs without diluting their exhibit impact. Here are several suggestions to help keep trade show display expenditures in line:

1. Consider renting a trade show booth rather than buying one. Renting a trade show exhibit applies only if you are planning a one time or occasional trade show appearance or if you have a simultaneous trade show in another part of the country that conflicts with your exhibit schedule. It does not make economic sense to rent a trade show display if you plan to exhibit more than three times in a given year. Be sure to rent a booth that will fit into the size of the exhibit space. Renting will save you not only on trade show booth construction costs but also the expense of warehousing your display after the trade show is over.

2. Upgrade your existing trade show booth. If you choose not to rent, you can upgrade your older booth by changing its graphics, relaminating color panels, and redesigning structural elements. This is a much more cost-effective way than starting from scratch.

3. Invest in a pre-owned trade show display. If you do not already have an existing trade show exhibit booth to upgrade, you can find pre-owned trade show exhibits that are greatly reduced from their original cost. Many trade show exhibit houses offer top quality pre-owned exhibits that are well maintained and easily adaptable to new signage, often affording reductions in exhibit design time and construction costs by more than half. You also have options on size, design, scope and price similar to trade show booth rentals with a variety of style and dimension options. Perhaps with little more than a customized graphics upgrade your trade show exhibit can be “out the door and on the floor” in a matter of weeks.

4. Consider a lightweight trade show exhibit. A lightweight exhibit will reduce operating costs such as freight, drayage, and storage. Select a trade show display that packs easily and is uncomplicated to install and dismantle. A custom modular or custom portable trade show exhibit can have the look of a custom exhibit, while reducing operating costs by 50 to 90 percent.

5. Pack extra supplies. When your installation and dismantle company installs your exhibit at your trade show, you’ll find that emergency repairs and materials replacements often are costly. So keep a backup supply box filled with items that may need to be replenished at the trade show. Include power cords, tools, light bulbs, Velcro, scissors and duct tape.

6. Plan well in advance. This will help you avoid unnecessary rush charges from not scheduling adequate lead time for the trade show display’s graphic design and production requirements.

7. Set up the trade show display during pre-show week days. Avoid costly weekend and overtime labor costs on the trade show floor. Early trade show booth assembly also helps you to avoid last minute glitches that run up the tab.

8. Understand trade show services. You will frequently require supplemental assistance from trade show services at the trade show exhibit hall. These are representatives and union laborers who provide such support services as installation and dismantling, carpeting, furniture, lighting, phones, drayage and security. If you are aware of the nuances of these charges for trade show services and plan in advance you can save money while avoiding numerous pitfalls.

Experience is the best teacher in keeping trade show exhibit costs under control. If your display team has limited know-how, tap into the wealth of knowledge available from the staff of a reputable trade show exhibit house. Also do your research on trade show exhibit company websites for industry insider tips.

Wagging the Dog : Plan Ahead for What Happens After the Show by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T07:05:00.002-07:00

It might seem a little backward. After all, why would you want to waste time and energy worrying now about things that won’t happen until the show closes? Doesn’t it seem like putting the cart before the horse?

It might seem that way, but the reality is that preparing now for post-show activities is one of the wisest decisions you can make. By clearly deliniating your plan for after the show, you’ll be able to streamline your operation, delegate people to the proper duties, ensure all leads are followed up in an effective manner, and maintain valuable business relationships. Key to this are these nine questions:

1. Has a lead taking system been organized for visitor requests?

One of the most valuable things an attendee shares with you is their questions. By asking for specific items, or special features, or novel new applications, attendees are letting you know what they are in the market to buy. However, many lead cards only record the bare minimum contact information. Make sure your team has a place to note visitor requests – and have them use it!

2. Has a daily debrief session been scheduled?

The temptation for many booth staffers is to flee the exhibit hall as soon as the show has closed, catch the shuttle bus, and enjoy the attractions of a new city. However, it is important that your team meet as a whole every evening to discuss the day’s events, enjoy any triumphs, discuss any concerns, and plan for the next day.

3. Will “Thank You” letters or e-mails be sent to every registered visitor?

In our information overload society, “Thank You” notes have become the rarest of correspondence. Yet they are a quick and easy way to let your attendees know that you appreciate their time and attention – and that you will value their future business! It’s a nice, personal touch. Delegate one or two staff members to this task, and have it done within 48 hours of the show close.

4. How will show leads be handled?

Without a system in place, lead management can be a nightmare. Some will go into the common pool, others will ‘disappear’ into booth staff pockets to be followed up independently and still others just disappear. Designate a location for all leads to be collected, and make your team aware that ALL leads need to go to this common pool. Keeping some back will skew your trade show results downward!

5. How will sales from the show be tracked?

This will differ by company, depending on the types of products or services you sell. However, there needs to be a system by which you can track sales, especially those that are directly attributable to show participation.

6. What kind of reward or recognition will booth staffers receive?

Exhibiting is tremendously hard work, especially at larger shows when your team is ‘on’ for many days in a row. Make sure to give your team a tangible reward. Yes, representing your company is part of their job – but the extra effort and preparation that goes into successful exhibiting deserves a reward. It’s nice to have a ‘known’ treat for your team to work toward, plus a ‘surprise’ to spring.

7. How will the show be evaluated?

You’ll want to know more than “Gee, we were busy every minute!” Business decisions are made with hard numbers, including the number of attendees, number of sales, number of qualified leads, and other factors. Talk with management before the show to find out what kind of information is important to their decision making and evaluation process – and make sure you come back to the office with that information!

8. Did we manage to stay within the estimated show budget?

Budgets are an invaluable trade show tool. Compare what you’ve spent to what you were supposed to spend. Are there areas you saved money – by pre-registering for show services, for example? Did you go over budget in other areas? Unforeseen circumstances sometimes push costs up, but consistently missing your targets may mean either budgets or choices need to be adjusted. Discuss which it is, and make changes as needed before the next show.

9. What other show opportunities – nationally and internationally – could be explored?

One or more of your employees should plan on attending networking events. During this time, it is a good idea to ask about other shows exhibitors have participated in. Were they pleased with the event? Will they exhibit again? Make sure this information is brought back to headquarters, where it will play a vital role as part of the first step in the next round of exhibiting.

Strong Arm Sales Stop Success Cold by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T07:05:00.001-07:00

It happens more often than you’d ever guess – in fact, it might be happening at the booth right next to yours. Recent surveys of trade show attendees show that the most dissatisfied attendees are those who purchase something that they really didn’t want. Needless to say, these attendees don’t have a high opinion of those companies that ‘strong-armed’ them, and report that they’ll be unlikely to do business with them again.

How can this happen? What possible way is there to force attendees into purchasing something unwillingly?

Not all the ‘people pleasers’ at a trade show are booth staff. Some are walking the aisle, as attendees. When these types run into an overly-forward, persistant salesperson, they can be bullied into a purchase. That’s not the way you want to do business.

Instead, train your team to have a needs-focused approach. By engaging attendees in conversation, questioning and listening more than talking, and truly focusing on solving the attendee’s problems, you are far more likely to make a sale the attendee is satisfied with.

Key to this is five questions, the Familiar Five that should be part of every sales conversation:

What: What exactly does the attendee need? Do they have problems with their existing suppliers? Are they trying to make-do with a product that doesn’t exactly fit their needs? Perhaps the product works perfectly, but it’s too expensive. You need this answer before you can move on to any other questions.

Why: Why would your company be the best suited to meet the attendees’ needs? If they mention constant technical difficulty, do you offer 24 hour support? If they need a size 3 widget, does your company manufacturer size 3 widgets?

Who: Relationships are key to business. At the same time, our mobile society means that rapid staff turnover is a fact of life. Two companies may have had – or come near – a business relationship previously, only to have things not work out. Yet this fact could be completely unknown to your booth staff. Arm your team with some corporate history, along with selling points that illustrate how things have changed in the interim.

When: When your team says something, attendees want to know they can count on that as fact. Clients want to know you have a track record and that you'll maintain it when they remain with you. Feel free to use concrete examples: Even though we’re consistently introducing new and innovative models, we still provide parts, service and support to every model we’ve ever made – all the way back to day one.

How: How your company conducts itself is becoming a much more important factor to many of today’s decision makers. Consumers want to avoid being tainted by association with any scandal-ridden firms. If an attendee brings up a current negative newsmaker, avoid the temptation to ‘dish’. Instead, answer with a comment that shows your company’s strength and leadership. “We know that those types of things happen in our industry, but we’ve found the better route is the straight and narrow. That way we can stay focused on our customer and their needs.”

Now, admittedly, it can be difficult to fit all of this into the thirty seconds you have with the average attendee. The temptation is to talk faster, attempting to cram in as much information as you can. But don’t. Your job is to get them talking – and once an attendee starts talking, they are far more likely to spend some additional time at your exhibit.

Body language also plays a role in how your sales team is perceived. Here are five key things to remember:

1. Keep Your Distance: Crowding can be intimidating, especially if the staff is of large stature and the attendee is smaller. A good rule of thumb is to keep at least one arm’s length between the two of you.

2. Keep Your Arms Down: Some staffers, especially the flamboyant, dramatic types, have a tendency to talk with their hands. This works fine in a social situation, but can be unnerving or distracting when you’re trying to do business.

3. Keep Things Open: Very skittish or shy types may subconciously feel ‘trapped’ if you position yourself between them and the way out of your exhibit. You don’t have to be an Old West Cowboy with this – there’s no need to always stand with your back to the wall – but be aware of spatial issues and attempt to keep things open and comfortable.

4. Keep An Eye: On the way the conversation is going. If you have the slightest suspicion that an attendee is uncomfortable, or just doesn’t like you, hand them off to another staffer. Sometimes personalities just don’t click, and it’s better to step out gracefully than attempt to blunder through the encounter.

5. Keep An Ear: Open for what the attendee is saying. People can tell when you’re really listening and when you’re going through the motions. A million subtle physical cues give it away. Don’t try to ‘phone in’ your interest. Pay attention!

Go over these items with your team before the show. When your team is skilled, they won’t need strong arm tactics – which will make everybody happy!

The Path to Profitable Speaking by Mike Moore

2007-08-05T07:04:00.001-07:00

Every month I receive numerous emails from people all over North America asking how I got into the speaking business and how they can too. To respond to these many inquiries I wrote Public Speaking for Profit and Pleasure. Here are ten timely tips, from my manual, to get you started on the path to profitable speaking.

1. You know that you might have what it takes to become a speaker if you feel compelled to speak. The fact that you were drawn to this article and clicked The Path to Profitable Speaking indicates a definite interest and a possible compulsion. If you feel compelled to speak you can easily learn how. You can accomplish whatever you put your mind to.

2. Good speakers enjoy what they do and the audience senses their enjoyment and responds positively. Enthusiasm is essential in an effective speaker.

3. If you want to become a successful, well paid speaker you must become well known. Promotion and publicity are vital to your success.

4. Leave your promotional footprints wherever you go so people find you easily.

5. After each speech ask those who hired you for a written testimonial. Use these testimonials, or parts of them, in your advertising and publicity. I have never had people refuse to provide a testimonial for me. Sometimes I have had to remind them, but no one has ever refused.

6. Access free publicity whenever possible. Write and submit press releases frequently. Writers and editors are always looking for new story material and your press release could result in an interview and a story being written about you, your work and/or your publications.

7. Some new speakers say that it is difficult to establish a reputation as a speaker when many businesses are reluctant to hire unknowns to in-service their employees. I solved this problem by offering to speak free of charge ...with certain conditions attached of course.

8. To get speaking engagements you must present yourself to people looking for speakers. Every community has an abundance of organizations, associations and service groups in need of speakers for their conferences, banquets and in-service sessions. Make yourself known to them.

9.Write and record material related to the topics you speak on and offer these products for sale as back of the room items after every speech. Sales of these back of the room items frequently exceed the speaking fee you receive. Publish on demand using your computer and printer. Only have your products produced professionally when you see that they are selling well.

10. Promote yourself and your products within each speech, but in just the right dosage. Too much self promotion and you can turn your audience against you. Too little and they might ignore your products altogether.

This is just a sample of what you will learn in Public Speaking for Profit and Pleasure. Each tip presented here is expanded upon in the manual providing you with valuable information to get started in your own profitable speaking business.

Good luck on the path to profitable speaking.

Using Banner Stands to Increase Trade Show Traffic by Mat Kelly

2007-08-05T07:03:00.000-07:00

Attending a trade show can be a very effective method of promoting your company and its products. And one of the most effective ways to optimize your trade show display and increase traffic to your booth is through the use of banner stands. A banner stand for your trade show display draws attention to your booth and helps you deliver your message to prospective clients, current customers and business contacts at what is usually a highly competitive event. Your trade show display should stand out from the crowd, and a banner stand is a great way to make sure it does.

Banners themselves are typically constructed with either fabric or vinyl. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of material, so you should consider how you will use your banner stand before deciding between fabric and vinyl. Fabric banners are durable and long-lasting. Fabric doesn’t reflect light like vinyl, which can decrease your banner’s readability. Fabric banners also don’t bend or crease so they travel well. However, fabric banners are not easy to clean and can become dingy or faded with time. Vinyl banners are easy to wipe clean and allow for brighter colors and sharper image definition on them making them more eye-catching than fabric banners.

There are many aspects of banner stands that make your investment in one worthwhile. Banner stands can be designed with your company logo or graphics, and include the important information you want to convey to prospective clients. They can be used in conjunction with a trade show display or on their own to advertise a product, announce an event, or showcase information about your business. They can be used as an extension of your trade show booth at a show because they can be set up in other areas like the show lobby or at the end of an aisle. Additionally, banner stands are lightweight, portable, and easy to set up and take down.

Once you have invested in a banner stand, you will find many uses for this vital piece of equipment outside of trade show displays. Banner stands are reusable and long-lasting. You might consider setting up your custom banner stand in a shopping mall to draw customers into your store, in a hotel lobby to direct the flow of traffic, at a movie theater to advertise an upcoming film, at a sporting event to showcase team information, or wherever your audience is likely to be found. The benefits of a custom banner stand will last your business far beyond trade show displays, and with proper care can be used for several years of succinct, eye-catching advertisement for your business or company.

Generating Leads And Making Sales: Advice For Trade Show Exhibitors by Mat Kelly

2007-08-05T07:00:00.002-07:00

If you are getting ready to set up a trade show booth for a show, then you are already being business-savvy and doing the smart thing. Trade shows are one of the best ways to market your products or services and advertise your business to interested buyers. Even for successful companies, trade shows can increase sales and public exposure dramatically. Trade show booths allow businesses to directly connect with the people that purchase their products or services.

Though the reasons for exhibiting at a trade show are obvious, simply setting up a trade show booth is not enough if you really want to make the most of your expense and time. Generating leads and making sales are your priorities and your trade show booth – both the physical space and the display – can help you do this. When you are displaying a trade show booth, you want to project just the right image for your company; one that makes potential clients want to learn more after their first glance. Although people’s eyes should be drawn to your trade show booth, it shouldn’t be because it is simply flashier or louder than the others. Flashy or loud may be good for sales if your business is video games or music, but if your business is selling gourmet foods to restaurants you probably don’t want to advertise your booth with a flashing neon light or loud ear-splitting rap music. Your trade show booth should reflect your company’s brand and market, while still offering just that little extra effect that makes it stand out. This may sound difficult, but it really isn’t. It just takes a little pre-trade show planning.

For the sake of keeping it simple, let’s say that your business is selling candles wholesale to retail outlets. You want your trade show booth to let people know immediately what your business is all about and understand immediately why your business is unique and worth looking into. Remember, depending on the trade show there may be other businesses that sell the same thing you do, so just simply stating your business name and what you do will not be enough. You don’t want to be obnoxious, though, so having a hundred lit candles placed all over your booth would be too much. Don’t overwhelm potential clients – it will turn people away. A better idea would be to display your best candles around the booth, unlit, and then have professional brochures placed next to each type of candle that you are advertising. Offer coupons for large discounts or money-back guarantees on a first bulk-purchase – this shows that you have complete confidence in your product. And consider a giveaway like a tealight or other small candle so attendees can take your product with them. This encourages them to use your product and to contact you if they are interested.

Remember that it is your expertise and professional demeanor that people will remember the most, despite all of your display magic. Though the day may prove to be long, remember to sound fresh and excited when talking to each prospective client. Every interaction is a chance to make sales and generate leads. Practice your sales techniques in front of a mirror if you think that will help. Ask friends and colleagues what they think of your sales pitches, and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Most of all, with each potential client, project confidence. If you can show that you really believe and are excited about your product, your enthusiasm will be contagious.

A trade show is a good venue to generate sales leads and establish new business contacts. Making a sales presentation is easy - you know your product and can speak to its features and benefits. You likely have several different presentations depending on the audience, length of time you have to speak and the product you are showcasing. Use these presentations while you are meeting with prospective clients at your trade show booth and you will feel confident that you are providing them with the pertinent information they need about your company and products. Think of a trade show as a place where you can make many sales presentations all day long to a targeted audience of people attending the trade show. This is the best way to exude confidence and make sales.

What To Do When Nothing’s New: Five Strategies for Success by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T07:00:00.001-07:00

Look at that throng of people crowding the trade show floor. People come from all over the country to walk these aisles, eager eyes flitting from booth to booth, scanning the exhibits for…what, exactly?

Research shows that the vast majority – 76% -- come to trade shows to discover what’s new and exciting. Maybe it’s a new product, or an innovative bit of technology, or a snazzy new application, or even an entire company that they were never aware of before. In an ideal world, every company would be constantly innovating, creating cutting edge products at phenomenal savings guaranteed to meet the customer’s needs.

But as you and I know, business doesn’t work that way. There are years when companies struggle to survive. Other years, it takes every ounce of effort just to maintain market position. And still other times, things might be fine, but the newest innovation is six, twelve, even eighteen months on the horizon.

Is it even worth exhibiting during these times? Do the results of participating in a trade show while your company’s in a lull phase justify the costs?

Absolutely! In fact, it is precisely at these times when not participating could hurt your bottom line. Businesses rise and fall based on the strength of personal relationships. There is no better place to form new relationships and maintain and reinforce existing relationships than at a trade show.

To do this, you need to create a positive impression with your exhibit. Demonstrate something new and exciting. Give the people what they want. How can you do that, you ask, when you don’t have any new and exciting products?

Here are five focus strategies the pros use when they’re in a similar situation:

1. Focus on Features: Purveyors of high-tech or complicated products often don’t realize how little consumers know about the items they purchase. For example, take the average word processing program. It has countless features – yet how many does the everyday user know about, much less use? Realize that your buyers may not even know what they don’t know. Here’s an opportunity to offer seminars, tutorials, or other interactive options centered on the more obscure features. This way, you’re demonstrating that you value your customers and want them to make the most of your products/services. You could win their loyalty for life.

2. Focus on the Future: If the next big innovation is in sight, but you’re not ready to spill the beans just yet, you’ve got an ideal opportunity to create a buzz. Some of the most effective excitement generating campaigns say little, if anything, about the new product, yet still create an impression that something noteworthy is about to happen. Signage, graphics, and literature all declaring “It’s Coming!” let the public know that you’re excited about the new product – and that they should be too.

3. Focus on Finesse: Is there a way to make your product new and improved? You’ll sometimes see this technique that I’ve called the Proctor & Gamble strategy. Every so often, you’ll see a new and improved version of a product introduced – laundry soap, shampoo, deodorant, and so on – yet you’d have to be a chemical engineer to notice any discernable difference between the old product and the new one. Still, consumers flock to the new, even if it’s only slightly different than the product they were previously satisfied with. If you can’t change your product, what about the packaging? Glidden changed their paint can while still keeping their actual product, the paint, the same as it ever was, and saw sales rise as a result.

4. Focus on People: Great products wouldn’t exist without great people. Consider putting a human face on your operation by centering your latest exhibit around the people who make, test, or use your product. Post Cereal, Reynold’s Wrap, and NAPA auto parts have all used this strategy successfully during periods when their product line was fairly static – and then carried the idea forward, altering it as needed to introduce new products!

5. Focus on Service: Many times, we’re asking buyers to make a huge investment to buy our products. If something goes wrong, the buyer worries that they will be left holding the bag on a very expensive mistake. Reassure consumers that they’ll never be alone if there is a problem. By promoting service plans, support networks, and other types of assistance, you’re demonstrating that you’ll be there for your customer – through thick or thin!

What if No One Signs Up? by C.J. Hayden

2007-08-05T06:59:00.001-07:00

It's the nightmare of every professional who offers group programs. You design a powerful workshop, schedule a date, broadcast your marketing message… and no one registers. Then what?

Let's assume you have the basics down. You've chosen a compelling topic, identified a likely audience, and clearly described the benefits of participating in your program. Even the price is right. You've already sent information about your program to a list of strong prospects. What else can you do?

-Preventive Measures-

First, let's back up a step. There are several measures you can take early on in your promotion that will improve your chances of full enrollment:

1. Offer your program in house instead of to the general public. Selling your program to a company, association, or learning center with an established base of employees, members, or students can be much easier than trying to sell each seat yourself. You could also partner with an existing organization with a track record of filling programs, and share the profits in return for a full house.

2. Build your prospect list to equal 20-100 times the number of people you want to attend. A typical response rate from a postal mailing is 1-2%. Response to opt-in email is often even lower. (Don't even consider using unsolicited email.) In general, expect no more than 1% to respond if they don't know your work and rarely more than 5% even when they know you well. Make it a habit to capture the name and address of every prospect and get their permission to mail or email.

3. Plan to promote on multiple channels. Your promotion plan should include announcements in your ezine or newsletter, a description on your web site, postal mail, a brochure or flyer to distribute, calendar listings, and personal invitations. Don't rely on just one or two avenues -- students are much more likely to enroll when they see your program mentioned in many different places.

-Emergency Enrollment-

If your program has low or no registrations as the date approaches, here's what you can do to increase enrollment:

1. Call everyone on your prospect list and invite them personally. Don't count on mail and email to do the job. Place a phone call to each person you have a phone number for, give a brief description of the program, and invite them to attend. You'll be amazed how many people will say, "Thank you for calling -- I've been meaning to sign up."

2. Ask clients and colleagues to make referrals. Just mailing an announcement to potential referral sources isn't the same as asking for their help. Call or email people who respect your work, and ask them to suggest two or three others who could benefit. If they have suggestions for you, ask if they will also contact those people themselves to endorse your program.

3. Make a special offer. Tell the people who are already registered they can bring a friend for half-price. You're not losing any revenue that way if the space would otherwise be standing empty. Offer a bonus gift with minimal cost to those who enroll -- 30 minutes of your professional time, or an ebook, audio, or report you've produced. To encourage people to spread the word, offer the same gift to people who refer students to you.

-If All Else Fails-

In the last few days before your program, if you still have only a handful pre-registered:

1. Hold your program anyway. Invite people to attend for free if necessary to have good participation. Your clients will enjoy the chance to spend more quality time with you; colleagues will benefit from the opportunity to see you work and meet other attendees. Ask people who attend at no charge to write you glowing testimonials and refer paying participants for the next time.

2. If you can't fix it, feature it. The meaning of this classic sales maxim is that if your product has an obvious flaw, make it a positive selling point. When only six people enroll in your big seminar, convert it to an intimate group experience. If you have only two people for a group, turn it into a success team. Your participants will be thrilled to have more individual attention. Never apologize for a smaller-than-expected turnout.

3. Plan ahead to do better next time. Analyze what went wrong with your marketing and strategize how to do it differently the next time around. Should you have allowed more lead time? Does your mailing list need to be larger? Do you need to factor in more promotion channels instead of relying on mailings or email alone? Make a list of all the key elements you think are necessary to successfully promote your next program.

Filling group programs becomes easier when you offer them regularly. When students see the same program advertised two or three times, they are much more likely to enroll. Think of all your marketing efforts as part of a long-term plan to make more people aware of your business. If the outreach for your workshop introduces your business to many new people, you may ultimately find that much more valuable than just filling one program.

Assessing Trade Show Sponsorships: Smart Move or Waste of Money? by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T06:58:00.000-07:00

Let's face it. Participating in a trade show is expensive. There's no doubt about it. When you add up all the expenses associated with trade shows -- including registration fees, display costs, shipping, giveaway items, booth staff salaries and lodging, and more -- you're talking about some serious money.

But wait! There's more. From the minute you express interest in exhibiting at a show, you're flooded with sponsorship opportunities. For a mere $250, for example, you get an ad in the show directory. Double that, and your logo shows up on a few prominently placed banners. Prices rise steadily, allegedly keeping pace with the enhanced exposure more dollars can bring. As logic goes, you get more visibility, the deeper you dig into your wallet.

Is it really worth it? Does more money really equal increased attendee attention and consequently better sales? How can you tell which sponsorship opportunities are really good deals and which are a waste of money?

All sponsorship opportunities are valuable -- to the right exhibitor. There must be a good match between the exhibitor, their goals and objectives, and the results the sponsorship can deliver. Before you agree to a sponsorship deal, you must make sure that your participation will move you closer to achieving your goals and objectives. Otherwise, keep your money in your pocket.

There are four criteria you can use to assess if a sponsorship opportunity is right for you and likely to deliver your desired result. These criteria are:

1. Target Audience Draw

Does this show draw a large group of attendees who are in your target audience? Will this group be likely to buy your products and services? Is there a clear benefit in putting your name in front of these attendees? If you're at a show outside of your industry or region, or a show that draws smaller numbers of attendees from your target audience, sponsorship is probably not the route to go.

2. Percentage of Exhibiting Cost

Consider the cost of sponsorship as a percentage of your total exhibiting expense. If the sponsorship is equivalent to more than 50% of your overall exhibiting budget, step back and think: Is this the best way to invest my money? Would my purposes be better served by a larger exhibit or even exhibiting at an additional show?

3. Number of Same Level Sponsorships

Make sure you know how many other companies will be sponsoring on the same level you will. As a rule of thumb, the more money you spend, the less same level competition you will have. It is important to know what level your competitors are sponsoring at, as your own sponsorship, if appropriate, should be comparable or better.

4. Organizer Support

Anyone can sell sponsorship opportunities -- but not everyone can make them valuable. Consider the show management. How we do they promote the show? How well do they work with the media? What with do to ensure that sponsors are mentioned often, prominently placed, and kept in the public eye? Organizers play a pivotal role in show success. If you find an organizer who understands your goals and objectives, sponsorship can more than pay for itself. On the other hand, if a show organizer is not behind their sponsors, save your money.

If after assessing a sponsorship opportunity, you find that these criteria are met to your satisfaction, move forward. Here are three ways to maximize the return on trade show sponsorship:

1. Offer Added Value

Use your sponsorship opportunities to give something extra to the attendee. This can be something tangible -- tote bags,books, pdas -- or perhaps more valuable, a knowledge based intangible. Consider sponsoring speakers, mini or full workshops/seminars, panel discussions, and the like to get the attendees’ attention, capture it for a period of time, and keep your name highly visible.

2. Promote Heavily

Once you have committed to a sponsorsip, it is in your best interest to promote it every chance you get. You want as many attendees at the show as possible, especially if they are members of your target audience, to know about your sponsorship and how it can help them. Consider special advertising, and explore co-op advertising possibilities with the show organizers.

3. Partner Appropriately

By cooperating with companies who are in the same industry although not your direct competitors, it is possible to sponsor an event at a greater level than you could manage alone. Explore this option if you want to achieve a high level of visibilty at a given show yet don't have the budget to do it all on your own.

Remember, sponsorship is just one more tool in your trade show toolbox. Used properly, it can help you achieve your goals and objectives. Keep a close eye on your plans and another on your budget, and I'm sure you can make sponsorship work to your advantage.

The Power of Podcasting: What Exhibitors Need To Know by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

What's the most precious commodity in the world? Nope. Not gold. Not platinum. Not uranium. Not diamonds. The most precious commodity in the world is not something you can mine, or harvest, or hoard in safety deposit boxes.

The most precious commodity is something you have an almost endless supply of. Major industries go out of their way to get it from you. Entire trades have sprung up for the sole purpose of enticing you to part with yours.

What is this precious thing?

Why, it's your attention. I'm hoping by this point that I have yours. Capturing the attention of today's mass-media savvy consumer is quite a trick. Consider the competition: streaming video on the desktop computer, television shows on your cell phone, video game consoles that allow you to play with competitors halfway around the world. How in the world are you going to get a consumer who has all of these entertaining options available to pay attention to your products and services?

Enter the podcast. Podcasts are audio or video files distributed over the internet. Listeners download the files, and either play them on the computer or a listening device, such as an I-Pod. Podcasts can be on any topic -- there are regular podcasts devoted to life in Iceland!-- and any length. Some are a few minutes, others go for over an hour.

Podcasts have two distinct traits that will appeal to exhibitors:

1. They allow the listener to multi-task: Many of our clients are busy, busy people. They may not have the time to sit down and read a magazine article, much less the new book you've just authored. Yet they can listen to your podcast while driving to work, going for the morning jog, even while working on some less-vital aspects of the day's paperwork.

2. The feed the societal need for self improvement: Podcasting offers listeners the experience of attending a one-on-one lecture with some of today's most foremost experts. Listeners who want to advance their careers, improve their health, or do a better job raising their kids are natural audiences for podcasting.

Podcasting can play an integral role in your development as an Expert. Regular podcasts that share industry information, insights, advice, and guidance will create the impression that you're someone the public can turn to. This is an ideal time to display your expertise and speak directly to the topics that are relevant to your market and target audience. Considering the low cost of podcasting -- you can get up and running for a few hundred dollars -- can you afford to forgo this opportunity?

To be an effective podcaster, remember the four C's. Your broadcasts must be Concise, Chatty, Clear and Consistent.

Concise: Each podcast should have a clear focus. Pick one point you want to concentrate on and select your material to support and illustrate that point. It is better to offer several short, clearly focused podcasts than one, long, rambling, self-indulgent diatribe.

Chatty: Make your material engaging. That might be difficult, especially if you're talking about estate planning or tax avoidance strategies, but it's necessary. Use real life examples and simple language to communicate your points. Listeners will tune out jargon, dry statistics, and 'academic-speak'.

Clear: Once upon a time, politicians and thespians used to train by speaking with a mouth full of pebbles. The thought was that if one could make oneself understood even under those circumstances, clear speech would present no problem if one were unimpeded. I'm not recommending you start putting rocks in your mouth. However, make an effort to speak clearly. Listeners won't value what they can't understand.

Consistent: You can podcast monthly. You can podcast weekly. You can even -- if you're brave and have the time -- podcast daily. It doesn't really matter, as long as you pick a schedule and stick to it. Blow off your listeners at your peril. If there's no material when they expect it, they won't come looking twice.

Once you have your podcast up and running, remember that you have to promote it. Link to it from your website, add info about your podcast to your signature files, and include a mention in your print advertising. People won't listen if they don't know the podcast exists!

Boost Trade Show Traffic Outside Exhibit Hall by Dick Wheeler

2007-08-05T06:56:00.002-07:00

To be competitive today, trade show exhibitors not only need to grab attention to their trade show displays inside the exhibit hall but also beyond the exhibit floor.

More and more, creative trade show exhibitors attract crowds to their trade show booth by using nearby venues as a springboard. Attracting attention at neighboring hotels where the trade show visitors are staying or public places where attendees frequent, is a good start. This goes for neighboring restaurants, bus routes, cabs and local night clubs as well.

Increasingly, instead of letting a custom or trade show display rental at the expo stand on its own, savvy marketers are adding value by identifying key places outside the trade show to tee up traffic to the trade show display arena.

Event Marketer Magazine spotted three brands that successfully made the tie-in connection to their trade show booth from sites outside the exposition hall.

The first was in Chicago. GE Healthcare launched their campaign, Healthcare Reimagined at the Radiological Society of North America trade show in Chicago in 2005. They were on the lookout for popular locations outside the trade show hall to enhance awareness of their trade show display presence. According to Sean Burke of GE Healthcare’s Diagnostic Imaging and Services, “We were looking for something different that would create word of mouth and buzz.”

The trade show had over 60,000 attendees staying in Chicago. GE came up with the concept of all-white-clad “molecule people” that roamed Chicago sites before and after show hours, in nearby hotels and on the RSNA bus routes, as well as at neighboring restaurants and night clubs.

Wearing branding for GE Healthcare, the all white molecule actors batted around giant inflatable molecule structures and used bubble machines to complete the look and feel of what they wanted to portray. They were able to visually and kinetically capture the health care aspect of GE Diagnostic Imaging. This played directly to the imagery created at their trade show exhibit.

The second was at a consumer oriented show in Washington DC. A month before the Auto Show, Chevrolet started its awareness campaign at sites around the capital city. They set up mini tailgating parties out of the backs of Chevy Silverado Hybrids at construction sites, George Washington University, Home Depot stores and commuter rail stations. Consumers got to drink coffee and play Xbox 360 games. Chevy representatives gave out cards to visitors they could redeem at the trade show for a chance to win a Silverado Hybrid.

Chevy wanted to drive traffic to the trade show display. It worked. The results were measurable and dramatic. Because the scan cards were handed out at dealers and at the tailgate parties, over 20,000 consumers visited the trade show booth or were able to scan their cards with Chevy reps in the convention main lobby. The scan cards brought in 1,900 dealer leads.

The third one was in Las Vegas. That city is a natural for all types of trade show display marketers every hour of the day. At the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas in 2005, Yahoo! wanted to draw attention to a custom auto web site among car enthusiasts. So they decided to customize two Mitsubishis inside their trade show display booth.

To complete their exposure they went outside to showcase their cars on the Las Vegas Strip. Yahoo! hit it big. Knowing that Las Vegas is always wide awake 24/7, they were able to shut down traffic on the Las Vegas Strip at 3 a.m. Even at that time, throngs of people watched their two custom Mitsubishis race down the strip. “We didn’t want to just do a booth and pass things out,” says Bennett Porter Yahoo!’s senior director-buzz marketing. Emulating Frank Sinatra, he continues, “We wanted to do it our way.”

The above are just a few of the examples of how you can use outlying venues to tie into your trade show display.

So let’s say your firm is in the electronics field and you want exposure for your upcoming trade show appearance in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the high tech industry so heavily concentrated in Silicon Valley, California, many of the high tech leaders live there.

There’s Yahoo’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Apple Computer Inc. based in Cupertino, eBay based in San Jose, and Google headquartered in Mountain View, to name a few. You can focus on Silicon Valley executives and market to them within close access to Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, and the Santa Clara and San Jose Conference Centers.

The hotels, restaurants, athletic clubs and other popular sites make them targets for high tech trade show tie in messages once the high tech trade show comes to town.

It’s smart to think outside the trade show exhibit hall box to compound your trade show exhibit investment.

Trade Show Booth Staff Training Essential by Dick Wheeler

2007-08-05T06:56:00.001-07:00

Never underestimate the importance of your trade show booth staff.
They are your front line ambassadors and the critical links to your overall trade show success. It makes sense that if you want to have a positive experience at your trade show display, you need to pay attention to all the elements of trade show exhibiting. By putting a premium on grooming and training your trade show booth staff, you can rest easy they will be performing at their best.

The first step in your company’s trade show venture, then, is to recognize the importance of the trade show booth personnel. The second step is to invest in the training of your booth people.

To launch this process, make sure you get executive “buy in”. If top management respects and values their trade show team, then face- to- face training skills become effective. Remember the key value of exhibiting at the trade show is to engage real people about real products/services in real time.

A typical company representative can often hold meaningful conversations with about 3 or 4 people in a ½ hour at a trade show as opposed to spending an entire day in the conventional field selling process.

Not only are the number of prospect contacts at trade show increased, but the entire sales cycle can also be sped up as well. Trade show display training helps fine tune this process, making it a positive experience for prospects and your staff.

What is the logical end benefit? A boost in sales productivity is more likely to follow. On the other hand, untrained booth staff can trigger negative reactions and turn prospects away.

According to Matt Hill, a trade show trainer and president of The Hill Group, in San Jose, California, “The finishing touches of booth staff training usually take place at a pre -show meeting either the night before the trade show begins or early in the morning of the first day of the show. The training covers all those fundamentals that a lot of people don't understand or don’t think to do.”

He says that research shows you must engage the person within 15 to 20 seconds of their presence at your trade show booth or lose them. What attracts people to the trade show booth is a friendly staff in addition to alluring exhibit elements such as sound, motion, and color.

Your staff generates excitement by being enthusiastic and helpful. If one staff person cannot respond to a visitor’s inquiry, that staff member is trained to escort the visitor over to another staff person who has the answers and can be of help,” he adds.

Hill has conducted trade show training for many companies for shows around the world and closeby to home at the Henry J Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, to Moscone Center in San Francisco to Convention Centers in Santa Clara and San Jose. He has trained Silicon Valley companies headquartered in Cupertino, Mipitas, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San Jose and beyond to Sacramento and throughout Northern California.

With regard to the nuances of booth staff training, Hill says, "A lot of technical people never thought their jobs involved anything but answering questions or talking to each other. We get them to look at the strategy of the trade show. The basic strategy of going to a trade show is to get face time with people who might become customers. It's really quite that clean and simple.”

Some booth staff behaviors to avoid include: talking to other booth members when they should be engaging prospects, talking rather than listening to booth visitors and making social mistakes that turn customers away such as chewing gum, avoiding eye contact, sitting rather than standing, etc.

Even when training is done properly, keeping the momentum going over 3 days of a trade show is a challenge, so here are some things for the trade show exhibit manager to consider to keep their trade show display staff motivated:

Give them the confidence to successfully understand and manage visitors by using sound training techniques

Give the staff constant feedback during the show. Give them a specific goal and tell them exactly where they are in reaching that goal.

Listen to their feedback – make them feel like an integral part of the show and that they are truly making a difference. Ask them what they like about the booth and what they would change.

Give the trade show display staff a say in what is going on

Give them incentives for a job well done

And provide lots of water to keep them hydrated

A clever incentive offered by Matt Hill is a $2 dollar bill given out when he sees someone doing something right. It is a real morale booster and even the CEO of a company who gets a $2 dollar bill gets a big kick from it. Hill specially orders the bills from the bank and hands them out to booth staff people who are asking the right questions of visitors or who do their work with style, enthusiasm and, of course, good boothmanship

8 Secrets to a Profitable Trade Show by Larry Baltz

2007-08-05T06:55:00.000-07:00

You couldn’t contain your excitement and eagerly reserved exhibit space at the upcoming regional trade show. I know what you were thinking…”The traffic at this show will be fantastic and I’ll get more leads than I ever imagined.”

And when the show was over, you got nothing for all your hard work.

So what happened? Why didn’t your $600 booth space, $400 for collateral materials, and two grueling days on the show floor produce any meaningful results?

You got nothing because you had no valid method to address the two most critical trade show issues. First, is the show a reasonable marketing vehicle for you, and second, if so, how can you best use it to attract prospects. Without any thought, most business owners assume that a trade show in their industry is a smart decision and they plunk down big dollars with little consideration to other important details. There are many factors to consider though.

Trade shows can be one of the most productive and profitable means for promoting your company and your products. But you must know the secrets and follow a process or it’s a waste of your time and money.

1. Request information from Show Management

Don’t commit to any trade show without first requesting information from show management. What are the profiles of the attendees? How many attended last year? How are they marketing the show? These are important issues you must consider before making a commitment.

2. Create a plan – don’t just show up with a booth

Consider your goal of the show and then establish a plan. You have much more at your disposal than a table and booth: show theme, décor, signage, giveaways, literature, staffing, lead retrieval, and more. Each of these can be critical to your success.

3. Consider pre-marketing

Data is available that clearly indicates that pre-show marketing significantly increases booth attendance. A mailer or two in advance might be an appropriate component.

4. Give attendees a compelling reason to visit your booth

I have walked many trade show floors and time after time have seen booth personnel standing out front like rigid toy soldiers, with the standard stack of company brochures and business cards lined up on the table. Is there any wonder no one was interested in any of them? You don’t have to hire a clown, but do something to attract attention and let the attendees know the value you offer them.

5. Educate and train booth personnel

Your people are your greatest asset. Professionalism, knowledge, attentiveness and a big smile are always appreciated.

6. Use a system to record individual lead information

If a card-scanning lead retrieval system is not available, then create lead sheets for collecting information, or if nothing else, write on the backs of business cards. Nothing is more frustrating than to create a lot of show leads and not know what your prospects’ needs are when you follow-up with them.

7. Follow-up promptly with prospects

You’ve invested your time and money, why not maximize your results? Leads left unattended will quickly grow cold. Set a specific date and be certain all leads are contacted before then.

8. Evaluate your show ROI

Track your leads and sales for each show so you know whether or not to consider that individual one again in future years.

Profitable trade shows require much more than managing a booth space. Create an organized and systematic marketing plan and you’ll have the tools and processes you need to achieve your goals.

27 Exhibiting Do's and Don'ts by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T06:54:00.002-07:00

1. Do:
Research a show carefully before you decide to exhibit. Does this show attract a large number of people from your target audience? Tradeshow participation takes a lot of time, energy and resources. You don't want to spend them on folks who are unlikely ever to do business with you.

2. Don't:
Be afraid to ask questions. Show organizers have all kinds of information that new exhibitors would benefit from knowing. Ask about attendee demographics, exhibitor's requirements, and what assistance you can expect from the show's staff.

3. Do:
Start planning early. Regular tradeshow exhibitors routinely start planning their appearances twelve to eighteen months in advance.

4. Don't:
Pass up the chance to visit other industry events before you exhibit for the first time. Make note of what exhibitors worked for you and what turned you off. What did you find to be effective? Can you incorporate those items into your own exhibit?

5. Do:
Make a list of goals and objectives for the show. This list should be very specific. Do you want to generate $X in new sales, start a certain number of new business relationships, or spread the word about a new service offering you're introducing to the market?

6. Don't:
Get sidetracked by what everyone else is doing - or by what people tell you you 'have' to do at a tradeshow. You're at the show to reinforce your expert identity and achieve your goals and objectives. Anything else is off-target.

7. Do:
Be open to creative and new ways of presenting your services. Tradeshow attendees see hundreds of exhibits in the course of one day. You need to be unique and engaging for your display to be memorable.

8. Don't:
Be afraid to be enthusiastic about your services. If you're genuinely jazzed up about what you do, attendees will sense that. Enthusiasm is contagious -- and more importantly, it sells!

9. Do:
Learn the 80/20 rule and take it to heart. The best exhibitors are those who listen 80% of the time and talk 20%. Focusing on attendees' wants and needs is a surefire route to success.

10. Don't:
"Throw Up" on attendees. This very common practice occurs when nervous exhibitors can't stop talking, and keep up a constant barrage of facts, figures, and sales spiel. Attendees are quickly turned off by this, and your chance to form a profitable new business relationship walks away.

11. Do:
Remember you're on display. What you're selling at a tradeshow is, primarily, first impressions. Be professional, well-dressed, and mannerly at all times. You never know who's watching.

12. Don't:
Eat, drink, or chat on your cell phone on the show floor. When you need refreshment or a break, leave your exhibit booth. Remember, the eyes of the public are on you at all times, so you'll want to conduct yourself well.

13. Do:
Be realistic. Tradeshows are long events. You're on the floor for anywhere from ten to twelve hours at a go, often several days in a row. This is a lot for any one person to do on their own, and most Nichepreneuers are solo operations. Ask for help. Recruit friends to work the show with you. If nothing else, they can spell you while you grab a quick bite to eat.

14. Don't:
Forget! If you have friends help you at the tradeshow, it behooves you to provide them with some training. Make sure they understand what your services are, how you're different from your peers, and what the marketing message is. Also, have a plan in place to cover what they should do when they run into a question they don't know the answer to.

15. Do:
Ask qualifying questions. You want to know who you're talking to, who they work for, and in what capacity. This will help you determine if the attendee is a prospective customer or not.

16. Don't:
Be afraid to encourage people to move along if they're not interested in your services. Some of the people who attend tradeshows are 'tire-kickers' -- they like to discuss everything, but buy nothing. You don't want to waste your time with them.

17. Do:
Take notes. Take time before the show to create a lead-card system, in which you'll record pertinent information to facilitate post-show follow-up.

18. Don't:
Depend on your memory -- no matter how good you are, a few words scrawled on the back of a business card won't be enough after the show's over and you've met with literally hundreds of people.

19. Do:
Be polite and nice to everyone. The junior executive today can be a senior executive tomorrow.

20. Don't:
Forget to read the Exhibitor's Service manual. This is the thick packet of materials you received when you registered for the show. Inside, you'll find everything you need to know about exhibiting at that particular show -- and discover important deadlines for ordering services. Don't miss those deadlines or you'll pay more for everything!

21. Do:
Reach out to the media. Have a press kit available in the media room. Be open to interviews -- reporters and freelancers often walk the floor looking for stories. If you have something truly newsworthy to announce, schedule a press conference at the show.

22. Don't:
Forget to advertise your tradeshow participation. Make sure your target audience knows they can see you at the show, where you'll be, and what they can expect when they visit you.

23. Do:
Follow Up! The most important part of any tradeshow takes place after you leave the building. You see that big pile of leads you've gathered? Send them all thank you notes for coming to see you -- and follow up with them the most promising prospects quickly. You'll be glad you did.

24. Don't:
Hesitate to include hands-on, interactive demonstrations into your exhibit whenever possible. People love to participate. They love to try new things. Most of all, they love to have fun. If you can integrate fun into your exhibit, you'll have more attendees than you know what to do with.

25. Do:
Use giveaway items that enhance your expert identity. You want items that your attendees will use regularly and reinforce their impression of you as the expert.

26. Don't:
Get caught up in trendy giveaway items pushed by promotional salespeople. You want to stand out from the crowd, not merge with it.

27. Do:
Give your tradeshow participation a fair chance to work. Results may not be immediate. Rome wasn't built in a day. But the business relationships you start at tradeshows today can steadily blossom into profitable partnerships tomorrow.

After The Show: Self Analysis A Critical Component to Improve Performance by Susan Friedmann

2007-08-05T06:54:00.001-07:00

Continual improvement is a goal for many exhibitors. Knowing that tradeshows can play an integral role in a company’s marketing campaign, they’re committed to doing the best job they can this year -- and a better one next year.

To continually improve, you have to have a very clear and concrete idea of where you are right now. An objective measurement of performance is the only way to plan for and achieve an improved result at subsequent shows. It serves as your baseline.

How do you get this baseline measurement? It’s a two part process, incorporating both measurable and intangible criteria. The combination of these two criteria gives you the most comprehensive picture possible of your performance.

Let’s start with the measurable criteria. These are your goals and objectives, spelled out in black and white. If you say that you want to do $X in sales or collect Y number of leads, then you can compare your results against your goal. It’s simple. You met your goal, you exceeded your goal, or you fell short.

However, there are other factors in tradeshow performance to consider. These are the intangible, hard to measure things that affect your show: staff performance, booth design, general ambiance, and a host of other criteria. You need to know how you’re performing before you can improve that performance.

Where can you get information on these intangible criteria? After all, there’s no magic ball where you can look and see how you did. Tradeshow exhibiting is not like Monday Night Football, with cameras tracking every move and instant replay only a moment away.

This is where a mystery shopper’s services can be critical. By providing an objective, focused analysis of your exhibit, a mystery shopper can pinpoint weaknesses, identify strengths and on occasion, offer suggestions for improvement.

It’s important to take the mystery shopper’s report into account. However, it is not the only point of view you’ll want to consider. Often, valuable information can come from your booth staffers themselves. During your end-of-day debriefing session, go over what worked, what didn’t, and what challenges arose during the day. Take time to meet with your staffers a short time after the show as well -- giving them time to reflect upon the event and gain some perspective may yield up new insights.

Another source of information might be your customers. Offer your best accounts -- and some new clients that you want to reinforce your relationship with -- an opportunity to critique your team’s performance. This can be done as a simple e-mail survey or during a follow up phone call. Often, an attractive incentive item can persuade people to share their opinions with you when they would otherwise keep quiet.

You may wish to offer an anonymous comment area on your organization website as well. Some people may very well have commentary to make, but fear to say anything as they feel it may jeopardize a profitable business or professional relationship. If you do this, be prepared for commentary that’s markedly harsher than you’d otherwise get -- people will say things behind the cloak of anonymity that they’d never dare voice otherwise. If you offer an anonymous option, though, you have to be fair about it -- no sneaky tracking of IP addresses to later ferret out who said what!

Combining the mystery shopper’s report the information garnered from your staffers and customers will give you the most comprehensive picture of the intangible factors that influence show performance. Coupled with the measurable criteria, you’ve got your baseline measurement.

Collecting this information is only the first step. You have to consider what the information is saying and decide how it will influence your future actions. For example, if you find that you’ve fallen short on the number of leads that you want to collect and your intangible criteria indicates that you had surly booth staffers reluctant to engage with the public, you’ve got a clear cause and effect relationship spelled out for you --and an obvious point indicating where training is needed. Additionally, these reports have historical value: comparing this year’s reports with previous years will show you in black and white how the team’s performance has evolved over the years and the clear value of your training efforts.

Data in isolation is useless. If you’re going to compile for reports just for the sake of compiling reports, don’t bother. However, if you’re going to use this information to identify problem areas and take actions to improve performance, you’ll find your efforts well rewarded.

5 Steps to a money-spinning Seminar by Matt Bacak

2007-08-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

Are you an Internet entrepreneur ready to put on your first seminar? If so, congratulations! A seminar is a giant leap into Internet business success. Whether this is your first or hundredth seminar, you always want it to sell out. What strategies can you use to promote the seminar that sells it out in no time?

The first step is to make sure that you have signed a contract with the hotel for the date of the seminar. Why? You are now legally obligated to pay for the hotel. This signed contract is a powerful motivation when it comes to selling out the seminar. Signing a contract holds you accountable.

The second step is to write an order form for the seminar. Your order form should include information about the offer, bonuses, and everything a person will receive when they attend the seminar. Give specific monetary values for the bonuses. For example, one bonus could be the option to bring a friend for free to the seminar. State the monetary value of the seminar. Another example is to offer a free audio recording of the seminar. Make sure to add up the value of the bonuses to make the seminar more attractive to potential attendees.

The third step is to write a sales letter that sells the seminar. Gear the entire sales letter towards the seminar including costs and benefits. Your sales letter should have people clamoring to obtain a spot at the seminar.

The fourth step is to decide on promotional strategies. A highly effective promotional strategy is to have a teleseminar before the seminar. Invite your subscriber list to the teleseminar. The purpose of the teleseminar is to sell your seminar. Educate the listeners and then promote your seminar event. Start off with a teleseminar for your list as this is a great testing ground. Then conduct an improved version of the teleseminar for other people’s lists.

The fifth step includes following up after the teleseminar. When the teleseminar is finished, email an audio of the teleseminar to your list. This enables listeners to hear your seminar event offer again. They are more likely to sign up for the seminar at this time if they didn’t during the original teleseminar.

Don’t just send a direct link to the audio in your email. Instead, send an email in your Autoresponder that sends your list to a squeeze page. On the squeeze page they will have to provide personal information in order to receive the audio of the teleseminar. This method creates a specific list of people that listened to the audio.

Make sure to capture all their information including street address. The purpose of obtaining their address is to have the ability to snail mail the list an offer to come to the seminar. What offer should you snail mail your client list? You can print the sales letter you created for the Internet and send it.

Essentially, you want to promote your seminar event in several ways. You can promote to your list until they all unsubscribe. The odds of your entire list unsubscribing are pretty slim, so promote to them constantly. This will ensure the best chance of selling out your seminar.

How To Sell More of Your Ebooks Online by Biana Babinsky

2007-08-03T08:07:00.001-07:00

Have you written an e-book? An e-book is a digital document that can be sold online in a purely digital form. Thus, unlike with selling a physical product, the fulfillment of an e-book is done completely online. This is great for you, the author, since you can completely automate the order taking and fulfillment processes.

Once you have the fulfillment process automated, the question becomes how to market the e-book online in order to get people to buy it. “How do I effectively market my e-books online?” is one of the most common questions I hear from my clients. Here are five tips that will help you sell more of your e-books and generate more revenue:

- Find a target market to sell the e-book to. Many people think that everyone is their target market, and as a result try to sell their e-book to everyone. They usually end up chasing after potential customers who are not in their target market and are not likely to ever purchase the book. Their e-book sales suffer as a result.

Instead of trying to sell your e-book to everyone, concentrate on a smaller group of people who comprise your target market. These people are much more likely to purchase what you have to offer, and as a result you will get many more sales.

- Create an effective sales letter for your e-book. Since you cannot take a picture of your e-book and post it on your web site (unlike a piece of jewelry, for example), your need to use the sales letter to promote the e-book.

Make sure that your sales letter effectively describes your e-book and focuses on the benefits your clients will get by purchasing your e-book. Highlighting the benefits will keep people reading the sales letter, and it will generate more e-book sales.

- Give your customers just a few options on your web site. Sometimes clients tell me that their sales letters don’t sell. When I take a look at the sales letters, they are usually a big mess. Sales letters that do not sell contain too many distractions for the reader: they have links to other web pages and web sites, banners, and text ads for other products.

Make sure that your sales letter provides only a few options to your customers – an option to buy the product and an option to subscribe to your newsletter, and that’s it. The fewer options you give to your web site visitors, the more likely they are to buy your product.

- Have a newsletter subscription on your web site. Sometimes people who come to your web site and see your e-book are not ready to purchase the e-book. However, they are ready to subscribe to your newsletter and learn more about you and your products. These people will be ready to buy your e-book eventually, so make sure that you keep in touch with them through your newsletter.

- Use online marketing techniques to promote your e-book further. Use search engine optimization, business blogging, article publishing and other online marketing techniques to promote your web site and e-book. These methods will bring more visitors to your web site, who are craving the information that you share in your e-book.

You can only make money with your e-book if you sell it. Follow the five tips that we discussed to sell more e-book copies and make more money.

How to Write a User-Friendly eBook by David Robertshaw

2007-08-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Right now, someone, somewhere will be embarking on the writing of an eBook. Why? Some do it to make some money; it’s one of the easiest ways to start an online business.

Others do it to share information they may have for those in similar financial, social or medical situations; maybe you want to share how you beat cancer or how you got out of debt.

Whatever your reason, there are some basic rules to consider that will make the final product more professional and. So, let look at some of them.

Anyone that embarks on writing an eBook will undoubtedly have read many as well. You will know from this that you must write in an appealing way that maintains the reader’s attention. After all, you want them to read ALL your eBook don’t you? Plus, you’ll want them to come back for more if you are building an online business.

There are many tricks you can use to keep your readers’ attention.

Anecdotes give practical examples of what you are trying to explain. These give readers confidence that what you are saying really does work. They are also a great way of explaining complicated topics.

Images are also a powerful tool. They can make topics clearer and they will stick in a reader’s mind longer than 5000 words of text. They also break the eBook up and give the reader “markers” to parts that interest them.

Note-boxes or sidebars are also good for summarizing a point or providing additional information. Like images, they break the text up and make the reading experience more enjoyable.

Write in a conversational style so the reader feels that you are talking just to them. This way they feel that they are the only one benefiting from your information and that makes it more valuable to them.

Don’t write long sentences or paragraphs. They become difficult to read and detract from the experience. Your eBook is more likely to be put down and not picked up again.

You should also change the length of your paragraphs and sentences so you don’t send your readers to sleep. Blocks of text that are all the same length will lose the reader’s attention and you’ll be lucky of they are awake by Page 10!

We mentioned earlier the use of images as a way of breaking up text. It may be that you can’t use images to any great extent; but there are other tricks.

A very powerful one is the use of numbered and bulleted lists. Even with the most basic of word-processing programs you can include different types of bullets and even use custom pictures as bullet icons. These make your topic easier for the reader to absorb and also to give them a mental break from blocks of text.

Finally, think about the design of your eBook. Select a font that's easy to read, and stick to it. You may be tempted to change fonts as a way of trying to make it more interesting. Don’t. All it does is confuse your readers and they will switch-off.

I recommend either one and a half or double line spacing. Spacing the lines too far apart make it difficult for the reader to track where they are. Too close makes it dull.

Also, choose a font size that is in proportion to the line spacing you are using. You can get away with a larger font (say 14 point) with 1.5 line spacing but 8 point will look weird. Experiment with different combinations to find one that suits you but remember - what looks OK on the screen may look dreadful in print. Think about how your readers are probably going to read the final eBook (most print PDF eBooks – the idea of the paperless world is myth!).

Lastly, add page numbers and a header to each page with the title of your eBook. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have been infuriated by the number of eBooks that don’t have page numbers. Also, adding a title in the header is a good way of reminding the reader what they are reading and who wrote it. Don’t overcrowd headers and footers but use them wisely to give branding to the eBook (your company name or web address if you sell online).

Most importantly, don't forget to do a proper spelling and grammar check. You can even go to somewhere like elance.com and get someone to proof read it for you (for a fee). It’s worth it to end up with a credible eBook.

Like it or not, you and your topic will be judged by the standard of spelling and punctuation. Don’t shortcut on quality for fear of some criticism. It’s better to find out before it is published.

That's it! By following the simple steps above you have just written your eBook. All that is left for you to do is publish it online and get visitors to your website so they can read it. But those topics are a whole new ball-game and best left for another day.

David Robertshaw run a successful Home Business and has a series of internet marketing resources, ebook and tips sites all designed to make your online business succeed. He also has a Free 7-day course to help you get started packed with tips and resources. Check it out at:

EBook Writing Business by Wayne Van Dyck

2007-08-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

If you are a delineate writer with articulate English grammar skills, you should consider writing eBooks. It pays handsomely and you can do it from the comfort of your own home. It is very simple to write an eBook. All you need to have is Microsoft word and the internet. Then you need to do some research on the topic. Try to learn everything you can about it, read up on it, and choose some quotes and save them in your favorites area. You can always stop by you nearest library and pick up some books on the topic too, that will help you write your eBook. EBooks should be between 50 and 75 pages depending on the topic is. After you have thoroughly researched your topic, and have become a guru on the subject, you want to create a table of contents. You want the chapters to transit fluently from one to the other. Make sure you cover as much as you can about the topic. Title each chapter. Jot down a few notes about what you want to write about – then delete later.

The next step would be to get started on it. Start by writing creatively, directly from your heart, and not just spitting out facts on a piece of paper. People are reading your eBook because it is filled with condensed information on the topic. They do not want to read and search for information dispersed and spread out over many locations. People want a concise, easy to read; interesting eBook they can print out and curl up on the couch with.

Always edit and spell check your work by rereading it when you have finished. Come up with a savvy and witty title that catches the audience. If you really enjoy this line of work, you could do this full time and quit your day job.

Wayne Van Dyck is a former venture capitalist and builder of offline technology companies. He is the founder and developer of Simple Money Machines. Simple Money Machines is all the money making technologies in one, easy-to-use, hosted application… enabling non-technical people to set up online businesses in less than 30 minutes. It's made for people with 9-5 jobs, retired folks, stay-at-home moms and college students. To get a FREE copy of “STARTING A HOME BUSINESS MADE SIMPLE", go to:http://tinyurl.com/ykyoqx.

How Corporate Down Sizing Can Help Your Home Business by Michael Gates

2007-08-02T08:10:00.001-07:00

Most of us know someone working in corporate America. The sad fact is, being a corporate employee in today's economy is a risky venture. We continually hear of companies who are either down sizing or sending jobs overseas. For the corporate employee, it's a fearful situation not knowing how long your job is going to last.

Most people see corporate down sizing as a bad thing. Even though I don't see layoffs as a good thing, I believe it will have a positive affect on the lives of many former corporate employees, the American economy and the home business market.

Let's look back at some recent American history. This country was originally built, by the small business owner - the work at home business owner. Think about it - in the early days, farmers and ranchers worked their business earning their lively hood from home. Shop keepers, hotel owners, saloon owners, black smiths - these were not corporate run businesses, but family owned businesses.

In the early 1900's there was a shift in American business. Through American ingenuity, visionaries found better and easier ways to complete work tasks. A great milestone was marked when Henry Ford created the production line to mass produce the automobile (It's ironic that Ford Motor recently announced a huge reduction in its work force). Suddenly employees were needed to work for these growing companies, and many left the family owned business to work for someone else. The industrial revolution was born.

Young people who watched their parents works long hours in the family business were attracted to the freedom working for someone else. They saw the earning potential and the personal growth opportunities provided by these growing companies. Young people started leaving home, and the family business with the dream of a brighter future. There was a transition from self employment to working for someone else.

As time passed companies started competing for employees, offering better pay and better benefit packages in order to acquire and retain the best employees. There was a time, not long ago, when you signed on with a corporation, if you worked hard, you would taken care of you for the rest of your working days. You could count on retiring with that company when it was time, with a retirement plan that would sustain you through your golden years.

Today, in the U.S things are changing again. Corporations are not as "employee friendly" as they once were. Corporate layoffs are happening at an alarming rate. Many companies are moving jobs overseas - jobs that just a few years ago were in high demand in the United States. Corporations are being mis-managed, leading them into bankruptcy. Retirement plans are being scaled back or eliminated all together. This has lead to dissatisfied employees who are now starting to wonder what their future holds. They are wondering if they will be employed a year, a few months, over even a few days from now.

Please understand, I am not criticizing corporate America. I'm not one of those people who think corporations are bad and evil. I believe they are accountable to stock holders whose may concern is the bottom line. If stock holders aren't receiving a profit, things have to change, costs have to be cut. The quickest and easiest way to cut costs is to get rid of employees, or move some jobs overseas.

Actually, I believe this U.S. corporate trend will be good for the U.S. and for individuals who once again want to work for themselves. I believe this country has lost some of it's entrepreneurial spirit and has lost some of its inventive creativity due to reliance of individuals on corporate jobs. As more creative individuals are forced out of corporate America and forced to find creative ways of feeding their families, I believe we will experience a technologic boom. We will recapture some of our entrepreneurial spirit.

I also believe it will create a boom for the home business industry. Many of those down sized corporate workers are not going to want to jump back into corporate America where they are at risk once again. Nor do I believe they will want to put in the long hours of a brick and mortar business.

I believe they will be looking to make their living from home, and most will be looking to take advantage of the internet to leverage their time and money in building their home business.

For those of you already working from home, I encourage you to reach out to this largely untapped market. Show them what you have, help them start the transition to a home business now, so they can leave corporate America on their terms.

Tips on How to Start and Manage a Home Based Business by Nikki Mhlanga

2007-08-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

In recent times, the most effective and productive way to do work is at home. People today prefer to work in their own homes rather than work in an office with limited or no freedom and a demanding boss. Some people would just prefer to start a small business inside their home. Here are some of the many guidelines that you need to follow in order for your home based business to be successful.

1. You should plan your routine. Set your time frame immaculately. Decide on what time you will start and finish your work at home. Do not forget to include your break time.

2. Plan your day well. If necessary you should prepare yourself a “to do list” so that you will be guided in all your activities while working at home. Organize your tasks.

3. Having a home based business does not mean that you have all the free time to spend in your home. Your family might grab the opportunity to ask you a favor with something in connection with the home. Therefore, to avoid these circumstances, you have to learn to say no. Let them understand that even though you are staying at home, it does not mean that you are having a fun time.

4. It does not mean that when you work at home you are being a workaholic. When you are having your break time, it does not mean that you will just have your meal. You can also give yourself some quality time. You can visit your plants and animals as well as spend some with your family or with the people around you. These are some of the fringe benefits of working at home. Just be sure to have some sort of daily plan.

5. In order for you to work properly in your home, be sure that you have the appropriate tools or things you needed to be able to work peacefully. Make sure that you are comfortable with your chair and table. In addition, you can even make your home office look like a real office.

6. Always keep your working surroundings clean and tidy. Clean surroundings will be able to help you think properly and it reduces so much stress while working at home.

Following these tips will help you to have a successful home based business.

Important Tips For Successfully Working At Home Online by Roy Huston

2007-08-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

Having your own business is great - you work at home and in your own hours. You also set your own targets to achieve. You are simply your own boss. You do not have to be stuck in 'rat-race' and you do not have to put up with a demanding boss and workmates.

However, working from home also means that you have to be disciplined. It is your sole responsibility to keep yourself motivated to keep on working towards achieving your goals.

So, what can you do ensure that you achieve the results you want for your business while working at home?

1. Make sure that you have clearly outlined visions and goals. It is important for you to have long term and short term goals for your business. If you do not have these, then you do not have anything to guide you in your business. You must know where you want your home based online business to be in a year's time or in two years' time. Write down your goals, print them out and follow them. You must also set a timeframe to your goals, and make sure that you apply the necessary effort to achieve your goals within the timeframe you planned.

2. Have a daily 'to do' list and stick to it. This is where some discipline is required. There may be some days that you do not feel like working on your home based online business or you may have some habits that take your time. It is important for you to do something for your business everyday. This means that you must have a daily routine with specific hours that you work on your business everyday.

3. Have a positive mind set. It may be difficult to stay motivated all the time, but it is important that you maintain an optimistic mind set all the time. This will help you keep focused on your goals and will stop you from feeling discouraged or give up if/when you face a hurdle. It is also a good idea to read some motivational books that will keep you focused on your goals.

4. Be organized. This is another trait that calls for a lot of discipline. You must be focused on working on the goals for your online business. It is not a good idea to be pursuing too many business opportunities at the same time since it means you will not give your total focus to your online home business.

5. Be professional. You must maintain a professional attitude with your business. You must have business cards with your company details and URL, and your emails must have your signature with your website details. Everyone that you make contact with is a potential customer, so you must make sure that you use every opportunity you have to market your business.

6. Have fun working on your business. Having your own home based online business probably means not having a JOB which you must do even if you do not enjoy it. With an online business, you can actually choose a business that suits your interests or skills, so that means you will be able to enjoy working on your business. You must really enjoy what you do and working on your business if you really want to succeed with your business. The tips outlined above can help you achieve positive results with the time you spend on your home business. Work on your home business and achieve your financial dreams!

HOW TO REORGANIZE YOUR TIME TO ACCOMMODATE A HOME-BASED BUSINESS by Joe LoBalsamo

2007-08-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone needs or wants more money coming in, and with this desire most would like to start some sort of extra income producing project. The trouble is, not many of these people seem able to fit "a second job" into their time schedules.

It's true that most people are busy, but extra time for some sort of home-based extra income producing project can almost always be found. It may mean giving up or changing a few of your favorite pastimes--such as having a couple of beers with the guys or watching TV--but if you score big with your extra income project, you will have all the time you want for doing whatever you what to do.

Efficient time management boils down to planning what you're going to do, and then doing it without backtracking. Start by making a list of the things you want to do tomorrow, each evening before you go to bed. Schedule your trips to the store or wherever to coincide with the other things you have to do, and with your trips to or from work. Organize your trips to take care of as many things as possible while you're out of the house. take stock of the time you spend on the telephone---and eliminate all that isn't necessary.

Whatever chores you have to do at home, set aside a specific time to do them, and a specific amount of time to devote to them. For instances, just one hour a day devoted to yard work would probably make your property the envy of all your neighbors. Don't try to do a week's work in one big flurry. Whether it's painting your house, fixing leaky faucets, or mowing your lawn and trimming your shrubs, do a part of it, or one particular job each day, and you'll be amazed at your progress.

Take care of all your mail the day, you receive it. Don't let those bills and letters pile up on you. If you're unable to pay a bill immediately, file it in a special place that's visible, and note on the envelope the date you intend to pay it. Answer your letters the same day you get them.

Once you start listing and planning what to do, and then carry out your plans, you'll find plenty of "extra time" for handling virtually any kind of home-based income producing project. People in general may not like routines or schedules, but without some sort of plan as to what is supposed to be done, the world would be mired in mass confusion. Laws, ordinances and regulations are for the purpose of guiding people. We live according to an accepted plan or way of life, and the better we can organize ourselves, the more productive and happy we become.

The secret of all financially successful people is simply that they are organized and do not waste time. Think about it. Review your own activities, and then see if you can't find a couple of extra hours in each day for more constructive accomplishments.

When you begin planning, and then when you really become involved in an extra income producing endeavor, you should work it exactly as you have organized your regular day-to-day activities---on a time basis. Do what has to be done immediately. Don't try to get done in a hour something that's realistically going to take a week. Plan out on paper what you have to do--what you want to do--and when you are going to do it. Then get right on each project without procrastination.

Finally, and above all else, when you're organizing your time and your business, be sure to set aside some time for relaxation. Be sure to schedule time when you and your spouse can be together. You must not involve yourself to an extent that you exclude other people--particularly your loved ones--from your life.

Taking stock of the time you waste each day, and from there, reorganizing your activities is what it's all about. It's a matter of becoming more efficient in the use of your time. It's really easy to do, and you will not only accomplish a lot more, you will also find greater fulfillment in your life.

I have been in network marketing and home based business four years now. I enjoy meeting new leaders and working with them teaching my proven strategies to building there home based business and network marketing opportunity successfully. I always Look for effective strategies that work well. I am now able to spend more time with my family and achieve financial Independence and I wish the same for you!

Webucation Is Poised To Be The Internet's Next Mega Trend by Glen Snethun

2007-08-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

Webucation is education and knowledge delivered 100% via the Internet and is going to change forever how we view the process of acquiring information. There are no books, high tuition costs or travel time. Webucation is allowing more people from more walks of life the opportunity to acquire the knowledge that we all so richly deserve.

Webucation is taking knowledge and education to a level of accessibility and affordability that has never before been experienced. Anyone who has on-line access is perfectly positioned to participate in and take advantage of the Internet's next mega trend.

The great thing about this technology is that you can operate a webucation-related business, or receive an education, from anywhere in the world. Take for example, the unfortunate people of New Orleans. If you owned a "brick and mortar" business in that city, the future of that business would, unfortunately, be looking rather bleak. People with an online platform; however, could have their enterprises up and running in days. And some would never even miss a minute of operation.

Overhead and operating expenses are a fraction of the cost of "brick and mortar" businesses, allowing the operator to enjoy larger, more direct margins. Further, the end-user benefits in that they can afford an educational product at a reasonable price. It's a win-win for all those involved.

Peter Drucker (Forbes Magazine) has this to say about webucation: "The growth for education and training will be in continuing adult education. Online delivery is the trigger for this growth, but the demand for lifetime education stems from profound changes in society. We live in an economy where knowledge, not buildings and machinery, is the chief resource and where knowledge-workers make up the biggest part of the work force."

If you have ever wished that you could just once be in the right place at the right time, you should seriously consider webucation itself, or marketing a webucation product. With the number of online users growing every day, the market is limitless and the opportunities are endless.

Massive Participation For The One Step System Is Sending Tons of Women To The Teleseminar by Patrick Riley

2007-08-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Co -founders Rod Stinson and Chris Koehl have brought the 1 Step System opportunity to people all over the world. "Massive Participation" would be the best way to describe what has been starting to happen within the last couple of weeks, as so many want to jump on the band wagon while the company is still very young. This is of course when the biggest profits are made.

What makes this business opportunity so attractive is that it is so easy. It is appropriately called the 1Step System. It stands to reason, the more an individual puts in to their business, the more he or she will get out of it, however, your early efforts in the beginning stages can easily provide at least some income while you lay back and observe. (But does a person really want to lay back with all this easy money to be made?)

Everyone knows, there is no such thing as a free lunch, however, we haven't seen another business opportunity where start-up costs can so easily be recouped in such a short time and profit starts rolling in. From those who have no experience, to the most seasoned marketer, its a great opportunity to see a steady cash flow in a relatively short time. Is this a genuine income opportunity home based Internet business or a work at home based business opportunity? Whatever you choose to call it, it is a brilliant concept designed for building wealth for anyone who is savvy enough to see just how easy this is in comparison to other turnkey business ventures.

Our experience has revealed that to many unsuspecting home business entrepreneurs have fallen victim to deceptive and greedy get rich quick scams that guarantee your success. This business sets itself far apart from those, and what is so refreshing about the 1 Step System is there is no selling, no phone calls, no explaining, no answering questions and no closing. Most of the work is done for you. It's a fact, co-founders Rod Stinson and Chris Koehl have taken the 'Net by storm. It's nice knowing that with this business, anyone, regardless of their experience or background, has the same chance for financial independence.

As a wise man once said: "Fear and Skepticism are your only roadblocks on the path to success"

For your FREE EBOOK detailing the fastest and easiest way to the top of the search engines, visit:
http://www.take-it-to-the-bank.com
contributors:
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http://www.1stepsystem-premier.com
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How To Teach Profitable Teleseminars by Biana Babinsky

2007-08-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

Do you like teaching? I do! I have been teaching others since I explained a math problem to classmates at my elementary school. Since then I have taught many subjects -- math, English, computer programming and more. Once I started my business, it didn't take me long to incorporate teaching and mentoring into my offerings.

I teach teleseminars as a part of my offerings. Teleseminars are classes, that are taught over the phone. Teaching teleseminars can help you further promote your expertise and brand, as well as get more clients and newsletter subscribers.

Here is why you should teach teleseminars:

- You can share your expertise with a big audience without leaving your office. You can teach people who live in other countries, and expand the number of people who can use your products and services.

- It is easier for your clients to attend a teleseminar than a regular, in-person seminar. It's simpler for your customers to dial-in to your teleseminar than to join you in person. By teaching teleseminars you are increasing the number of people who can be exposed to your business.

- You can show that you are different. Teaching is a practical way to demonstrate your expertise. Not all experts teach teleseminars. When you do it, you demonstrate your expertise and are able to reach more people.

- Teaching helps you promote your expertise, your business and your products and services. When you teach a teleseminar, introduce yourself and your business to the people attending. This helps you establish your brand and promote your business.

Another opportunity to brand your business comes through class materials that you provide to the people on the call. Your name, your company's name, and your web site address should be displayed on every handout you share with your teleseminar participants.

- Teaching teleseminars gives you ideas for new products. You can create an audio recording out of your teleseminar by simply recording it. You can then turn your recording into either a stand-alone product or a bonus with the purchase of a more expensive product. You can also use the material that you taught during teleseminar to create a special report or an e-book.

Start teaching teleseminars! Doing this is very beneficial to you and your business. Use your teleseminars to promote your business, get more clients and increase your business revenues.

Direct Marketing: Overlooked, Underappreciated and Unstoppable by Brian Rice

2007-08-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

As business leaders and professionals, we all know by now that the success of an organization is driven by one thing: whether or not people choose to buy what you've got to sell. According to a recent survey involving U.S. senior executives, marketing will be the most important area of expertise for the next-generation of leaders.

Every business needs customers, but more importantly every business needs to maintain those customers while constantly retaining new ones. The only successful way of doing this is by learning everything about your customers, including who they are? What do they have in common? Do they share a hobby, an age range, a life stage, or a geographic community? Can you break them down into groups? The answers to these questions hold a wealth of information for you.

Although direct marketing can be overlooked by many businesses, here are statistics proving the effectiveness of direct mail campaigns over the years.

According to the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) 2005 Postal and Email Marketing Report:

* For postal mailings, 43% of direct marketers indicated that their up-front gross response has increased from 2003 to 2002.

* As with postal mailings, when asked about 2004, respondents showed more optimism in their up-front email response rates, with 51% projecting an increase and 32% stable response rates.

* For postal mailers, the top list techniques used to improve 2003 front-end response were enhancements to internal housefile databases (50%), demographic segmentation (50%), and prior mail history analysis (46%). Most list techniques had a success rate of 80% or greater.

According to the DMA 2004 E-Commerce Report:

* The portion of companies having an in-house email marketing list has increased from 74% to 85%

* 43% of Web and email investment is allocated towards marketing, compared to 35% in 2002

The direct marketing industry employs the top minds of our world to analyze and build databases and marketing campaigns to address only the concerns and needs of a selected audience, which history has proven to be accurate 70% of the time. Typically, budgets are based more on analyzing the product, service and/or the consumer rather than playing an ROI guessing game.

Case Study of a Client

Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corporation (AHMCC), the largest U.S. privately held mortgage banker/mortgage broker initiated a more sophisticated form of direct mail marketing in 2003, which included the use of opt-in email files and multi-level marketing to reach new customers. The results were that AHMCC increased their revenues by 100% and increased their closing ratio by 15% by using email alone. Customer loyalty went up and referrals hit the roof. AHMCC now has 700 offices in 49 states, Guam and the Virgin Islands!

As the marketplace continues to evolve and change due the economic landscape and the need to offset expensive ad campaigns, direct marketing continues to play a major role for the success of any sized business. Regardless of the negative connotations that the public has on direct marketing, the truth of the matter is that corporations are vehicles that satisfy the needs of people and marketing is the channel that helps facilitate this process.

Ultimately, in order to be successful, companies must learn to maintain the loyalty of their customers and get in front of new ones by practicing 1 simple rule: Providing good product and service to the right people, at the right time, in the right place and in the right way.

Five Must-Know Terms and Trends by Accutips.com

2007-08-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

Every industry has its own lingo—and direct marketing seems to have a more specific language than most. Make sure you've got your definitions straight for these five key direct marketing concepts.

1. Append/Reverse Append: This data enhancement solution helps companies improve their business and consumer data, expand customer touch points and increase their response rates. There are two key types of records most businesses want to append and reverse append: email and phone.

Email append overlays deliverable email addresses onto a customer file and returns a clean, permission-based list with the highest match rates possible. If a database consists solely of email addresses, the process can be reversed, and data can be enriched with phone and postal addresses.

Phone and reverse phone append can fill in data gaps to expand customer touch points by adding customer phone numbers to databases that currently contain only emails, names, or business titles. If a database contains only phone records, the process can be reversed to obtain email and postal address records.

2. Data Hygiene: This suite of "file-cleaning" solutions can help businesses acquire exact and correct addresses, improve mail deliverability, update their files with change of address records and more. Regular data hygiene impacts the bottom line by keeping a company's data clean, capturing more clients and helping to retain existing customers. Reputable data providers usually offer a range of data hygiene solutions, including:

* Data Consolidation and Standardization
* NCOA: The National Change of Address
* MaxCOA: Maximum Change of Address
* DSF: Delivery Sequence File
* DSF: Delivery Sequence File - Second Generation
* LACS: Locatable Address Conversion System
* CASS: Coding Accuracy Support System
* Deceased Processing
* National Do-Not-Call (DNC)

3. Merge/Purge is a data process that merges two or more lists or files together and then purges the file of duplicates. This process reduces postage and printing expenses for mailers. Mailers will often rent many different lists from various sources for a single campaign; in this case, a merge/purge process is essential.

4. Data Consolidation and Standardization, as listed above, is a particular type of data hygiene. This solution ensures that your addresses are standardized to meet the United States Postal Service requirements. The process includes:

* Validation and correction of street, city and state
* Street prefix, suffix and secondary address components are standardized
* ZIP+4 Codes are enhanced, added if missing and corrected
* United States Postal Service carrier Route Codes are added
* United States Postal Service Line-of-Travel data is added
* Delivery Point Bar Code data is added
* Undeliverable and non-forwardable addresses are identified and tagged

5. Compiled, Managed and Multi-sourced Lists are among the major list types in the direct marketing industry.

A compiled list is any list created from the compilation of public sources such as phone books, deed information, directories, newspapers and courthouse records.

A managed list is a type of compiled list: one that is continually updated to capture the newest information available. It can be a complex task to make sure compiled data is accurate and compliant with all laws and regulations.

Lastly, a multi-sourced list is comprised of many different sources. Some of the most reputable data providers will keep managed b-to-b lists of the major compiled commercial databases and consumer files including the major credit bureau databases. By maintaining all of these databases under one roof, multi-source list providers have the unique ability to identify and fill gaps found within individual data sources, thus providing the most comprehensive coverage possible.

3 Ways to Improve Customer Care through Data Hygiene by Accutips.com

2007-08-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

In many ways, the rules of creating a great direct marketing program for your customers is a lot like those for any other project: keep things clean and efficient, keep track of the details and do a thorough job. Find out how cleaning, enhancing and filling the gaps in your house file will increase your profitsâ??and keep your customers happy too.

1) Keep a Clean List—For Your Customers' Sake

What details are missing from your database right now that could boost customer sales, prospecting and lifetime value? You may be surprised. In fact, almost every company's customer and prospect database has certain gaps:

* Phone numbers with no addresses
* Outdated information
* Valuable insight into your market area, such as flagging seasonally—occupied or vacant homes
* Missing details that could change your marketing and messaging strategies, including demographics such as homeowner, online households, presence of children, income level, marital status and more

This information (or the lack of it) clearly could be hurting your business' bottom line—but it also can have a detrimental effect on your customers' loyalty and perception of your business. Making sure your house file is complete, using data hygiene services (sometimes called "scrubbing" your file) is an important facet of any direct marketing campaign. By improving deliverability, it saves you money on printing, mail-house fulfillment, postage and more. Even more importantly, cleaning and enhancing your data is a solid, proven and valuable way to ensure that your customers are happier and more responsive.

Looking for another reason why address hygiene is so important? Studies have found that on average, up to 20% of records within a typical house file are undeliverable, seasonal or vacant. In addition, up to 5% of records are identified as small- to mid-sized businesses, which may or may not require different messaging than a consumer campaign.

2) Connect with Customers via Data Enhancement

Looking for another way to improve your customer relationships and increase the effectiveness of your house file? Take the time to learn about the people behind those records. When you know who you're dealing with, you know how best to approach them. Here's a tip: Enrich your data with appended information. Here's just a few examples of popular appends provided by the most reputable direct marketing data solutions firms:

* Add postal addresses to records that only contain email addresses. Or add phone numbers, names or business titles to your current file
* Add revealing consumer details, so that you can target your messaging for a higher response. You can find out whether your records include homeowners, parents, members of particular ethnic groups, or even customers who are connected to the Internet.
* Add revealing business details, including SIC codes, sales volume, business site type (for example, headquarters or branch office), number of employees, or contact names.

3) How Data Hygiene and Enhancement Boosts Your Bottom Line Sales Results

* Saves you money on printing and mail-house fulfillment
* Allows you to control mailing waste and save on postage
* Gives you the opportunity to target your selling messages to the right audience at the right time
* Opens up new channels to reach your consumer or business customers using the methods they prefer
* Drives higher response through more specific, personalized offers (as opposed to generic, one-size-fits-all promotions)
* Helps build loyalty programs that drive up lifetime value
* Leads to more profitable prospecting, through modeling and forecasting

Data enhancement and hygiene can open doors to new sales opportunities, make your marketing efforts more efficient and cost-effective, and help you get the most return on investment for any campaign. Most of all, it keeps your customers happy and loyal, by making their mailings more relevant and accurate.

Direct Marketing Tools: Top 10 At-a-Glance Glossary by Accutips.com

2007-08-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

What’s the difference between data hygiene and data consolidation? Are analytics the same thing as appends? This handy table of direct marketing terms and trends will give you easy access to the definitions you need.

1. Analytics: The process of measuring campaign response or examining customer data in order to achieve better direct marketing performance by improving response, reduce costs and minimize risks in future direct marketing programs.

2. Append/Reverse Append: Used to supplement an existing customer file with correct, permission-based email addresses or phone numbers. When a company possesses stand-alone phone or email records for its customers, they may also “reverse” the process and add physical data to those records. Improves business and consumer data, expands customer touch points and increases response rates.

3. Compiled List: Any list created from the compilation of public sources such as phone books, deed information, directories, newspapers and courthouse records. Updated frequently and usually ensures a wide array of prospects.

4. Data Consolidation and Standardization: A type of data hygiene that ensures addresses are standardized to meet the United States Postal Service requirements. The process includes validation and correction of street, city and state, along with many other cost- and time-saving standards. Helps improve mail deliverability, saving time and money by reducing postage and printing expenses for mailers.

5. Data Hygiene: A suite of “file-cleaning” solutions which helps businesses acquire exact and correct addresses and update their files with change of address records. Solutions include National Change of Address, deceased processing, and National Do-Not-Call processing which helps improve mail deliverability. Saving time and money and providing a better opportunity to capture more clients and improve retention of existing customers.

6. Data Integration: The process of consolidating and managing customer information from all available sources including contact details, customer valuation data, and information gathered through direct marketing interactions. Ensures that all relevant departments in the company have constant access to the most current and complete direct marketing data.

7. Managed List: A list compiled from limited sources like subscriptions or memberships. Controlled or managed often requiring pre-approval of campaign elements. Typically not updated frequently.

8. Merge/Purge: A data process that merges two or more lists or files, then purges the file of duplicates. Reduces postage and printing expenses for mailers.

9. Multi-channel Marketing: A program of offering customers more than one way to buy something: via the Web, direct mail and/or in retail stores. These programs could also include the use of partners, sometimes known as channels, who market directly to the customer as consultants, re-packagers, or retailers. Increases customer touch points. Elevates customer loyalty by allowing them to interact how they prefer. Can improve opportunities to collect customer data.

10. Multi-sourced List: A list comprised of many different sources, often meeting the highest quality standards. Some of the most reputable data providers will keep managed b-to-b lists of the major compiled commercial databases and consumer files including the major credit bureau databases. Offers the unique ability to identify and fill gaps found within individual data sources. Provides the most comprehensive coverage possible.

5 Fantastic Ways to Add Fun to Your Flyers – Part 1 by Karen Saunders

2007-08-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

What fits on one sheet and costs pennies to make? You see them all the time. Flyers are hugely effective, because you can make so many and distribute them all over the marketplace without having to spend a fortune. But just so your flyers don’t get lost in the shuffle, I’m going to show you the first 5 of 10 techniques that professional designers use to make flyers “fly”:

1. It’s all about the headline. What’s in a headline? It’s the first thing your prospects will see, and this will decide if they keep reading or not. So pick something that will stand out, stick in their mind, and make them want more! Here’s a few magic words to start with: Easy, The Secrets To, Unlock, Finally, Insider, Time Sensitive, How To, Free Bonuses, Now You Can, Discover, Proven. Just sprinkle these on your next headline and see how many heads you turn.

2. The eyes have it. Colorful, striking graphics always make their point. And one large image will pack more punch than several smaller images. A good graphic creates the mood and sets the scene for your message. Getting the perfect “focal point” is easier than ever now with stock photos you can buy on the internet. Get one or a hundred for whatever you might need.

3. What’s in it for me? That’s what your prospects want to know. Stay away from words like: we, us, I, and our. Take their perspective with words like “you” and “your”. They’ll like it when you focus on how your product or service will benefit them. Show them with words like: free, save, love, new, results, and guarantee. Make the benefits easy for them to pick out with bullet points and text boxes.

4. Go tell it on the mountain. A ringing endorsement speaks volumes. When people read how you have positively affected another customer, they are more likely to give you a try. Make sure you get a first and last name, company name, and location. Then add that stamp of approval to your flyer.

5. Less is more. You don’t need to fill every space on your flyer. Break it up with text boxes, add borders to your key points, and use contrasting colors to add emphasis. It will make the best parts stand out and be easier to read.

Try these techniques on you next flyer. I predict FANTASTIC results!

Dial in to success: Telemarketing tips, targeting and testing the right way by Accutips.com

2007-07-31T05:39:00.002-07:00

DNC legislation has plenty of direct marketers worried that the days of telephone marketing are as good as over. But several media sources reported great telemarketing tips in May, from broadening the scope of call centers to testing campaigns wisely.

In life as in business, every roadblock presents an opportunity.

Marketers who view the DNC regulations as a chance to re-examine their processes and results may well find ways to improve their company's CRM efforts, brand loyalty and profits all at once. The number one telemarketing tip of the month: Change with the times and adapt your phone power accordingly.

Here's a collection of the others we found:
Find new targets. According to Hayley Weinper, vice president of sales and marketing for Influent Inc., the Hispanic market remains largely untapped. Examine your other targeting options as well; there are new lists available every month, and if you find the right niche, you could hit pay-dirt.
Expand the channels your call center can address. Start accepting inbound calls and responding to e-mails all from the same department or headquarters. It's a way to ensure consistent, high-quality communication across more channels, which in turn can increase customer satisfaction and profit margin.
Consider outsourcing with an independent call center that specializes in your style of campaign or your industry. With the increasing level of complicated regulations surrounding telephone campaigns, many marketers sleep easier knowing their projects are being handled by firms whose sole job is to remain up-to-date on legal issues.
Test every campaign. Prepare your staff with good responses and rebuttals. Don't hesitate to listen to live or recorded calls, to hear how the market responds to your offer and your scripts. Modify your test as you learn from your mistakes. Document and analyze everything, so you can continually improve your odds.
Acquire your lists from quality sources. Make sure your list is as clean as possible. Ask your data provider how clean the list is and hold them to their promise.

New Study: 32% More Women 25-44 Read Direct Mail Over Email by Accutips.com

2007-07-31T05:39:00.001-07:00

According to a new study by Baltimore-based Vertis Communications, 85% of women ages 25-44 read printed direct mail marketing pieces, despite the influx of electronically generated advertisements throughout the past decade.

This was a key finding from the company's study, titled "2007 Customer Focus: Direct Mail," released on Jan. 16. The survey of 2,500 adults measures both general and industry-specific shopping trends.

The study also reveals that 53% of all women surveyed ages 25-44 who have access to email read these advertisements, almost consistent with the 54% that did so in 2005. Furthermore, Vertis' study indicates marketers can increase the effectiveness of their direct mail campaigns by offering target consumers exclusive deals and coupons. 72% percent of total adults surveyed said they have replied to direct mail containing a "buy one, get one free" offer.

Additionally, 63% of all adults indicated they have responded to direct mail collateral offering a percentage discount on merchandise, up from 54% in 2005.

The direct mail study revealed the following additional results:

* Total adults who responded to direct mail via in-store visits, Websites, 800 numbers or mail remains steady, with 47% in 2003 and 46% in 2007
* The number of Hispanics who responded to direct mail marketing jumped drastically, from 38% in 2003 to 54% in 2007
* 57% of women ages 35-64 prefer that companies they express interest in, send follow-up communication through direct mail pieces personalized to their needs
* 38% of men 35-49 prefer generic direct mail when being contacted by a company in which they have expressed interest
* While 45% of total adults are open to receiving personalized, follow-up emails, younger men and women seem to be more responsive to this medium, with 52% of men ages 25-34 and 56% of women the same age stating email is an acceptable form of follow-up communication
* Text messaging is the most desired method of follow-up communication for younger men ages 18-24, with 23% desiring contact via text message from a company they are interested in, compared to 5% of women the same age
* Comfort levels of adults providing credit card numbers online have increased throughout the years, with 42% of total adults being "very" or "somewhat comfortable" in 2007, up from 32% in 2003
* 40% of total adults in 2007 indicate they are not at all comfortable providing credit card information online, down from 52% in 2003.

The Vertis Communications 2007 Customer Focus survey series also includes findings from the financial, credit card, insurance, publishing, casino gaming, retail and automotive industries.

Tips + Techniques Choosing a Database Vendor by Accutips.com

2007-07-31T05:38:00.001-07:00

How to evaluate your current database services supplier—or select a new one—with complete guidelines for creating an RFP

How do you find the right company to provide all the database services you need—from cleaning and maintaining your current database to building a new one from scratch? According to the experts at Target Marketing Online, you do a comprehensive evaluation of each supplier you are considering.

To compile the RFP guidelines below, the authors turned to a recent database services survey. By studying the responses direct marketers gave to survey questions (such as "what do you look for when you choose a database services company?" and "what does a supplier have to do to give you good service quality?"), they were able to create a series of questions to be used in evaluating your vendors.

The same criteria you use to select a new database services supplier will also be helpful for evaluating your current vendor. It's not a bad idea to reevaluate from time to time. It can help you decide whether you're happy with your current supplier or it's time to put it out to bid. Ask yourself, "Is my supplier doing all it can to offer excellent service? Is my account team accessible? Will they be able to accommodate my future needs?" Your answers will be valuable indeed.

Once you've evaluated a number of firms' capabilities, the next step is to submit a request for proposal (RFP) to each firm you're interested in. Below is a comprehensive list of the issues your RFP should include.

Guidelines for Creating a Request for Proposal (RFP)

Your firm's current net revenue
Industry/market served
Housefile/database profile at present
Number of records
Customers vs. prospects
Source(s) of names
Mailing/media plans/frequency
Current enhancements
Service goals/requirements
Build a new database
Enhancement/modeling
Maintain/clean only

Other services that may be needed:
Mailing
Consulting
Analysis
Database access/software
Online databasing
Timetable/deadlines

Best of luck with all your prospects, and happy shopping!

Why Jerks Win At Direct Marketing by Willie Crawford

2007-07-31T05:37:00.001-07:00

Have you ever noticed that some very successful direct marketers go out of their way to be cantankerous? Have you ever wondered why? Today we're going to discover their secret? It makes many of them millions!

Studies have shown that people buy on emotion and then justify it with logic. We buy new BMW convertibles because we know we'll look good in them. Then we rationalize that "BMW makes a very good car that will prove to be a great long-term investment."

Those direct marketers that come across as cantankerous, or even total jerks, are deliberately tapping into the emotional side of their market. They're doing something called polarization.

Polarization is the art, or science, of getting members of your market to take an emotional stance. You want to get them to either really like you - or dislike you. Those who are neutral rarely buy your products. Remember, people buy on emotion, even though they ‘re often not conscious of it. Getting people emotionally charged INCREASES your chances of making a sale!

One marketer that understands this concept and uses it brilliantly is copywriter Gary Halbert. Gary will tell you that he is the greatest copywriter alive, and he charges for his services accordingly. If you visit Gary's site at: http://TheGaryHalbertLetter.com you'll see that he is very politically INCORRECT. Gary goes out of his way to insult his audience, delivering smack after smack as he educates you on what good copywriting is.

Gary understands that not everyone is his market. So he creates strong feelings, and this drives away those who would never buy from him... and really endears him to those who appreciate his work. This tactic is very effective, and Gary has no shortage of customers making him rich.

Another marketers who understands this concept very well is Jay Abraham. I watched Jay Abraham, Stephen Pierce, and Rich Schefren orchestrate a teleseminar in 2004. Leading up to this teleseminar, they sent out a barrage of emotionally charged, very informative emails.

Their numerous joint venture partners also sent out a tightly orchestrated barrage of emails to their lists.

Those who saw the tremendous value in the free information provided in all those emails were charged up. They were so charged up that many could hardly wait for the teleseminar to take place. I was one of those nudged to sign up for this $497 teleseminar through all of those emails :-)

A final example of a marketer brilliantly employing polarization is a guy who calls himself "The Rich Jerk." I won't reveal his identity, but will tell you that coming across as a jerk is making him millions on the Internet. He is a very good marketer in his own right (he recently sold a website on Ebay for $379,000).

This "Rich Jerk" uses emotionally charged copy on his websites and it's very effective. Part of what makes his copy so effective is that he also incorporates proof of what he says. Reading this copy, you get emotionally charged up, and at the same time, you realize that you've encountered someone who can really help you succeed. You can see how he does this by reading his copy at: http://WhyJerksWin.com

By studying the examples above, you see that using polarization, or even coming across as a jerk, can be a very powerful marketing tactic. It can touch your reader at a deeper psychological and emotional level than many other marketing techniques. However, don't forget that another reason this works in the examples above is that these marketers also deliver tremendous value to their customers. They also PROVE their points.

Without also incorporating proof into their copy, this tactic probably wouldn't work. Without proof they would just turn prospects off. So now you know... jerks win at direct marketing because they employ polarization and proof.

Using Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) For Email Privacy

2007-07-31T04:43:00.000-07:00

Need for Privacy

People have become hypersensitive about their privacy during the last few years. They now expect that their details will be used only for the purposes for which they have been provided and not shared by original trustees. This is especially true of email addresses because of the huge volume of unsolicited commercial email (spam) circulating the web.

In Australia and elsewhere, there are statutes requiring privacy when collecting and using personal information. (In Australia the Privacy Act (Commonwealth) was recently amended to include private sector use of personal information eg, medical records retained by private practices).

In an increasingly litigious society, there are not only sound business reasons, but legal reasons why you should ensure the strictest standards of privacy are applied to personal information of which you are custodian. Despite this, numbers of people using email unwittingly reveal the email addresses of other people to whom they are sending email.

This article tells you how to maintain client confidentiality when sending email to multiple addressees by using Blind Carbon Copy or BCC.

Blind Carbon Copy

The term Blind Carbon Copy is a hangover from the dim, dark ages before word processors when we used typewriters (some of you have probably never seen a typewriter). To produce multiple copies of a document, one had to place a sheet of carbon paper between sheets of plain paper so that the type key impact on the top sheet would be copied to the second sheet (and any subsequent sheets).

It was a somewhat messy, but proficient process. When one wanted to send an original letter to one person and copies to several other people without showing each recipient who the other recipients were, a BCC annotation was made on the original. Each copy displayed only the name and address of the individual recipient, but the BCC notation on the original showed to whom the copies had been mailed. A BCC looked like this: Bcc: Mr Tom Jones, 14 Weaving Court, East Melbourne VIC 3000

Some email programs allow you to enter email addresses into the BCC field and send them. When you do that each recipient receives your message, but the names of other recipients are not displayed.

That is why they are called ‘blind’ – they are not seen.

By using the BCC feature you preserve the identities of those who are on your mailing list and ensure that anyone receiving your email cannot email your list or harvest their email addresses and sell them.

Your Email Program

When you obtain an email program, make sure it has a ‘Blind Carbon Copy (BCC)’ feature. Programs such as Outlook Express and Outlook 200? have BCC capability. Although I have never used it, I'd be surprised if Eudora and other common email programs didn't have it too.

If when you click to send a new email your email client displays only the To … and Cc … boxes it may be that the Bcc feature IS available, but is simply not displayed. Try the View menu or Help menu to see if you can find a Bcc option.

If your email program has a BCC option that you can select as a permanently visible option, select it. If it doesn't, you may need to think about getting a new program.

How to Use BCC

When you send email messages to multiple addressees and you do not want each addressee to know who else has received a copy, use the Blind Carbon Copy field.

Simply enter all the addresses in the BCC field separated by a semi-colon, comma, or whatever your program uses. When you click the send button, your email will go to each individual with only his or her name in the To field. None of the recipients knows to who else the email has been sent.

Outlook 200? will allow you to send BCC addressed email without an address in the To field. Other email clients require at least one address in the To field before they allow multiple recipient addresses in the BCC field. Test the program you use to see if it needs to have an addressee in the To field. If so, address it to yourself. (Surprisingly, email programs usually allow us to email ourselves ... that's why I receive so many emails from Jennifer Lopez (just joking).

If you need to make an entry in the To field, place your own email address in that field and everyone else’s address in the BCC field.

Disadvantages

What you need to know about BCC is that some spam filters automatically delete email addressed in the BCC field so it never reaches its destination. This means that while sending BCC is okay for privacy, your email might not always reach the intended recipients.

A problem I had with Outlook Express 2002 was that if I sent my email using BCC I couldn't print a hard copy of the sent message with the addresses on it. I had to write address details on my file copies for record keeping purposes.

If sending BCC email is likely to be impractical for you, then you need to consider upgrading your email client from the standard run-of-the-mill version to a professional version. That's what I did.

Email Management Programs

If, like me, you distribute large quantities of email regularly to newsletter subscribers, clients, club members, colleagues or anyone else, you will be better off getting a program designed for high volume mailings.

I use and sell a heavy duty bulk email program that lets me do simply, many tasks not easy to achieve with standard email clients like Outlook 2002. For example, the program I use will allow me to:

Automatically record subscriptions to my newsletter
Personalise each email with a recipient's name or any other information I choose to include eg, place of residence
Send as HTML or plain text with or without attachments
Do a partial send to my distribution list eg, if I wanted to email everyone in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, clients 64-73 of 3,000 or all persons whose title is Ms I can do it

By having a separate program for bulk emailing, I overcome the problems involved with privacy and reduce the likelihood that my messages will be eliminated by overzealous spam engines.

If you rely on email to carry out business activities (and who doesn't?), it may be time to consider how well your email strategy meets the needs of your business in today's security conscious society. More information and a free download that will help you save time can be found at our site.

UNDERSTANDING MLM MATRIX PLANS by Judy Thompson

2007-07-31T04:41:00.000-07:00

If you are already involved in, or are contemplating a business using network marketing or multi-level marketing (MLM) as your marketing strategy, the better you understand it, the wiser and more successful you will be.

Network marketing companies select a certain type of compensation plan for different reasons. In this article I want to give an overview of the “matrix.”

What distinguishes the matrix compensation plan from other plans? It is a limited width plan. The width generally ranges from 2 to 5 people on the distributor’s first level. As more people enroll, they go under those first level people. If, for example, there were 3 first-level people, there could be 9 people on the second level, and 27 people on the third level, etc. Thus, an organization could conceivably grow into hundreds, or even thousands of people. The company promoting the products or services will determine how many levels deep they will pay. The company will pay you a certain percentage of the product purchases for each person in your downline. If you have a downline of only a few people, your bonus check will not be very big. If you grow into hundreds or thousands of people under you, then you will be paid a lot more.

A matrix plan allows for “spillover.” Spillover occurs when someone not enrolled by you is placed in your downline, and thus, has “spilled over.” This can be a neat, exciting thing to happen to a new distributor. It should never be counted on as the primary means to build a downline. In fact, probably the majority of people in a matix plan will never receive “spillover” from their upline. To be a beneficiary of “spillover” you have to be in the right place, under an upline member who is doing quite a bit of recruiting. However, it can be a very helpful thing to someone who is serious about building an organization.

The biggest drawback to a matrix plan and “spillover” is that often it attracts the lazy type of person who doesn’t want to work. So, you have a bunch of people joining just looking for their “spillover.”

While the matrix compensation plan is used by only about 9% of MLM companies, it generally is very attractive to people who can just work their MLM business on a part-time basis. The low monthly volume usually required helps it to be a workable plan for both part-timers and the non-sales types. Thus, in spite of some disadvantages to the matrix, people who are willing to do some work are likely to find that success is truly within their reach!

Quiz: What Kind of “Sales Shoe” Are You?

2007-07-30T05:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what type of saleswoman you are? It doesn’t matter if you run your own company or sell for someone else – it is extremely important to know what your style is. What does The Sales Diva mean here? Well – let me throw my high heel on my desk here and I will explain.

Are You a “Shoe-In” With Your Customers?

The most important aspect of selling is to understand and relate to your customer. And before you can do that – you have to know yourself. Contrary to popular belief – you don’t have to twist yourself into a pretzel to be a success in sales. You don’t have to copy anyone else. You just have to be YOU – with all your quirks and also understanding your strengths.

The sales quiz below will help you determine what type of “Sales Shoe” you are wearing…and what areas of selling you need to improve. Answer yes or no to the following questions. Compare your point total to the scoring key at the bottom.

1. I enjoy the challenge of finding new clients.

2. I feel the most satisfaction with a client I have known a long time.

3. I like most networking events.

4. When I am faced with a difficult client I am not afraid.

5. I love when there are lots of details to put together.

6. Money is a motivator for me.

7. I get excited when I am working with a new client.

8. I love change.

9. I love getting out to networking events and meeting new people.

10. Following up with customers is easy for me.

11. Goal-setting is really important to me.

12. I get excited about unknown opportunities.

13. Self-motivation is one of my greatest skills.

14. I love people – that’s why I got into sales.

15. I rarely feel nervous when I ask for the sale.

16. I don’t tend to take rejection personally.

17. I love exceeding my goals.

18. People often tell me that I am a great listener.

19. It doesn’t matter what I sell as long as I believe in it.

20. I love learning and invest yearly in professional development.

21. I think that the word “selling” is a fabulous word!

22. I am an expert at asking questions.

23. I enjoy solving problems.

24. Relationships are my middle name!

25. My customers see me as an expert.

26. I have a clear picture of who my target audience is.

27. I know what I need to do to market myself.

Scoring Key: What Shoe Are You?

22-27 Points: High Heel Pump
You go girl! You are dedicated to helping people and making money at the same time. Just make sure to keep yourself on track – start a Success Team so you continue to stay motivated.

16-20 Points: Stiletto
Great score! You can run a block in your high heels and not even get a run in your nylon. Just remember – to maintain customer relationships – you have to slow down and pay attention to some of the details.

11-15 Points: Mary Jane Classic
You’re doing fine but there is room for improvement. Your shy nature may be holding you back in some areas. You don’t have to be behind the scenes – you get out there and shine! Try taking a public speaking class – it will do wonders for your confidence!

6-10 Points: Sneakers
You’re busy but not much is happening. You may be feeling a little frustrated at why success isn’t coming faster. Dig deep here – what are you afraid of? It’s time to get a mentor and also quit trying to do everything yourself.

0-5 Points: Flip-Flop
Don’t despair! Many of your attitudes about sales can be adjusted – if you’re willing. Use this quiz as a starting point to pinpoint the changes you want to make. Consider reading one professional development book a week and also getting some sales advice for your business.

How to Increase Your Sales BEFORE You Launch Your Product or Service

2007-07-30T01:29:00.001-07:00

Want to increase your sales BEFORE you launch your product or service? The following are some of the most effective ways to do just that:

1. Use Social Proof
What is "social proof"? Simply put, we are all conditioned to watch what others are doing and follow along (think teenagers). Using social proof in your marketing helps you to influence your customers to purchase your products/services, get new prospects to sign-up for your list, and get people talking about you and your offering - and that's just the start.

So, how do you use this psychological trigger in your marketing?
One way is to use results-based testimonials. Ask your current customers or clients to give you results-based testimonials. They literally say, "I used this product and these are the results I got." Having celebrities give these to you is great, but make sure you have testimonials from REAL people. Those are the ones that are really going to cement the idea in your potential buyer's mind that they can do it, too.

2. Answer your prospects #1 objection
To take "social proof" to a deeper lever, anyone who is buying anything almost always has this #1 objection: "Sure, you can do it, but can I do it?"

In addition to using yourself as an example (if appropriate) as evidence that what you are offering does what you say it will, it's also important to make sure you get "social proof" from people in your client/customer's peer group. Then your potential buyer sees people like themself and understands that "Hey, it worked for them, it can work for me, too."

3. Use a time limit
Creating a sense of urgency around your product or service will make it that much more enticing to potential buyers. For example, Jeff Walker just released his "Product Launch Formula" and has promised to sell it for $997 for one week only. After that he will raise his price. He doesn't even have to tell us by how much. Just knowing that you have one week to buy at a lower price creates that sense of urgency.

4. Use a limited quantity
If you are selling a physical product and you are only having 100 produced, then use that information to create the same sense of urgency you would with a time limit. Use a countdown on your website to further create the feeling that if your potential buyers don't buy now, they may miss out.

5. Use a time or quantity limit on bonuses
Additionally, you could offer bonuses for a certain length of time (first week only) or for a certain number of products sold. For example, the first 30 buyers would get an additional special report (valued at $XX).

The last three strategies also help your buyers feel like they are part of your "club" when they join by purchasing your product or service.

Obviously, you can use these tactics unscrupulously, and I'm sure you've seen it or experienced it yourself. But if you want your business to truly be successful, in all the ways that are important and meaningful to you, then you must only use these strategies with integrity and honesty.

If you really are only going to print 100 copies of a physical product, then only print 100 copies. That doesn't mean that you can't do another print run. It just means that you tell your market that you're only going to print 100 now, and if you do decide to do another run, then they will have to wait another two or three weeks before they can get their copy.

If you really are going to raise your price after a certain date, or after a certain number of items are sold, then you must follow through. You can give your current base a chance to buy at the "original" price before you raise it, but you still must raise your price if you say you will.

Your integrity using these strategies will create more sales for you than ever before. But use them to manipulate your prospects and it will come back to haunt you...guaranteed.

Oh, the Mistakes Spokespeople Make

2007-07-30T01:26:00.000-07:00

Question: What do many new spokespeople at technology companies have in common?
Answer: they make similar mistakes and fall into similar traps.
Based on my experience as a media trainer, the most common ones include:

1. Misunderstanding the Media. Too many spokespeople confuse PR opportunities with free advertising. Ouch! No reporter, editor, or host wants to be a billboard for your products or service; their job is to provide interesting and useful information to their readers or audience. And if you help them do so, you'll maximize your chances of positive coverage.

2. Misunderstanding the Spokesperson Role. Some spokespeople think that they're on a sales call when they meet the press. So they toss out puffery and hyperbole or try to "close on the objection." Then they become frustrated by the "poor" coverage, if any, that they receive. The key is simple: inform, don't sell.

3. Lacking Message Points. At first blush, it might seem that telling spokespeople to have message points is as obvious as telling them to wear clothes during an interview. But in fact, many spokespeople do arrive metaphorically naked for interviews - bereft of key message points. Deliver several strong messages well, and you might just see them in print or on the air.

4. Unleashing a Core Dump. When spokespeople feel the need to educate the interviewer about everything that could be known about their products, services, or companies, the interview loses focus. An effective spokesperson knows when to cut to the chase and assess what level of detail the interviewer is seeking.

5. Over-Answering. Most inexperienced spokespeople don't know when to stop talking. By babbling on, they increase their chances of being misquoted or driving the interview off-topic. Don't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory - keep answers short and to the point.

6. Failing to Listen. A guaranteed way to irritate an interviewer is to interrupt or finish his or her questions. You need to establish a rapport and communicate respectfully - just as you would with a colleague.

7. Speaking in Jargon. It's often tough for spokespeople to adjust their technical level to that of the interviewer. But it's also critical. If you talk over the interviewer's head, you'll decrease the chances of an accurate write up; if you "dumb down" the information for a technologically-sophisticated interviewer, you'll likewise decrease the chances of getting the kind of coverage you desire.

8. Missing the "So What?" Too often, spokespeople focus on the intricacies of their technology and forget that ultimately, the game is about offering a better value proposition for your customers. Demonstrate how your products and services solve your customers' problems and help them achieve their goals.

9. Trashing Competitors. Spokespeople can easily lose credibility if they boast about overthrowing the 800-pound gorilla in their market space. Far better to talk about the unique features and advantages of your offerings and how you plan to increase market share. In short, take the high road when it comes to competitors - you'll do more to increase your chances of obtaining the good press you deserve.

10. Playing Tug of War. Some spokespeople believe that they need to come across as "tough," so that they can control the interview through intimidation. Bad idea; you might win a battle or two, but you'll still lose the war. Victory goes to he or she who controls the ink. So be a smart player and check your ego at the door. Are there other mistakes spokespeople can make during an interview? Sure. But if they can avoid the "Big Ten," they'll maximize their chances of a successful experience with the media

Are you leveraging your unpaid sales force

2007-07-30T01:25:00.000-07:00

Five keys to growing your business through referrals

You’ve honed your technical expertise, you’ve established your business and got your team in place, but why was it no one told you you’d also have to develop marketing and sales skills?

That’s not what you were expecting when you established your professional services practice, be that as a lawyer, an accountant, a designer or consultant. In fact the idea of selling leaves your cold.

The reality is most of us dislike selling. Equally, we don’t like being sold to. This simple fact is often overlooked, yet it has the potential to be the key that unlocks the growth of your business.

People do business with those they know, like, trust and respect. In other words they want to build a relationship with you before they invest their hard earned money in your solutions and services.

Referrals are often the most powerful way to expand your business requiring little marketing spend and providing you with immediate credibility through the reputation of the person referring you.

But how often do you miss the opportunity to ask for a referral? Do you have a specific strategy and action plan to manage your referral process? Are you leveraging the support of your unpaid sales force - your clients who already know, like, trust and respect you?

Here are five keys to growing your business through increasing your referrals.

How to ask for a referral

Review your current clients and identify three of them that you can contact this week about the potential of them referring you to others.

When you speak with them, thank them for their business and tell them you enjoy working with them. Advise them you are in the process of expanding your referral based business. Explain that you would like to partner with them to help you grow your business and ask if they could refer you to 2 or 3 of their contacts.

Make sure you advise them of the profile of your ideal client that you would like them to refer you to. If they are able to identify someone, ask if they would contact the person ahead of you reaching out to them to introduce yourself.

Make your clients proud to refer you

Most of us delight in great feedback and there is nothing better than having someone thrilled because of the results they have achieved through working with someone you referred to them.

When a client refers you, their personal reputation is on the line. They won’t refer or recommend someone who they don’t believe in. It’s therefore paramount you deliver to your highest standards when working with the contact you have been referred to.

Connect with your potential new client

When you make contact with your potential new client, reference the person referring you and advise them that your mutual contact thought it would be a great idea if the two of you connected.

Make sure you don’t overwhelm them with your great technical expertise. Actively listen to their challenges and concerns. Offer suggestions and be generous with your advice - make them feel you have their interests at heart.

Remember, you can’t convince them to work with you; even though you have come highly recommended, they have to grow to know, like, trust and respect you on their own terms.

Keep your client in the loop

Don’t forget to keep your original client informed of how things progress with the personal contact they referred you to. That is not to say you should disclose anything confidential – just make sure they know that you have made contact and whether you are going to work together.

Reward your referral partners

Consider rewarding your referral partners, perhaps by entertaining them to lunch or introduce a different service agreement or fee structure to formally reward your clients for their referrals. After all, they’re helping you grow your business and are sure to remember to provide you with referrals more often if they know their support is appreciated.

Don’t wait for your workload to quieten down before you implement a referral strategy. To grow a thriving professional practice, business development needs to be part of your ongoing agenda. Developing and implementing a referral strategy can help you propel the growth of your business without the anguish of feeling you have to sell and with little investment in overheads.

You Haven't Earned the Right to Sell to Me!

2007-07-30T01:24:00.002-07:00

How often do people try to sell us something before we have expressed an interest, have a desire, or are in the market for what they have? It seems the standard for many salespeople is to try to sell to anyone and everyone regardless of the interest level.

When someone attempts to sell us something before we have expressed an interest, the initial thought may be, “Why would I buy from you? You haven’t earned the right to sell to me!”

The fact of the matter is that selling, both online and off, is about determining if there is a need before ever attempting to match a buyer with a product or service. It is about providing enough information for the buyer to make the best decision based on their needs. And it is about gaining trust. The most successful sales professionals are those who are a resource before they are a vendor.

Having been in both brick-and-mortar and online sales and marketing for many years, it never ceases to amaze me how many people try to sell without determining the customer’s needs. They don’t seem to realize that the better the match, the more likelihood for return business. The better the match, the more trust gained. If you depend on repeat business or referrals, trust is absolutely a factor in your customer’s decision to come back to you when they need your product or service.

Anyone who has been in business for an extended period of time (or plans to be) would be hard pressed to believe otherwise. Whatever you are selling, the buyer’s experience from the initial visit and/or purchase will likely determine whether or not they will ever purchase from you again.

When a customer has a great experience from the beginning the chances of them turning into a repeat buyer is more likely. It is a proven fact: it is more cost effective to have repeat buyers than it is to constantly seek out new customers. That is not to say you shouldn't be adding new clients as part of your business model. Building trust with existing clients will add to your conversion rate more consistently.

What is often missed in the equation of sales and marketing is the lifetime value of a customer. Once the initial sale is made they are forgotten. With proper care, a one-time or occasional buyer can turn into a loyal buyer. And loyalty is more often than not based on trust.

We live in a “try before you buy” society. Because of this many buyers use what is referred to as the buying ladder. The buying ladder is very applicable to brick-and-mortar sales as well as Internet sales.

Before buying a high ticket item, buyers will "test the waters.” This can be done in a number of ways: by test driving a car, taking a tour of a home, asking friends and associates for a recommendation. When purchasing on the Internet it can be downloading a free information item or buying an inexpensive product from a website to test out the level of service, quality of product, delivery time, quality of information (in the case of an information product), and response time. It may even depend on the buyer’s “gut feeling.” What are your own buying habits? What process do you go through before making the decision to buy?

When you gain trust people want to do business with you. And they want to tell others about the experience. Have you heard the expression that if someone has a bad experience they will tell more people about that experience than they do a good one? I can’t say that I necessarily agree with this statement. There are occasions when I have heard people rave about a great experience over and over again.

Buying decisions are made for a number of reasons, but they ultimately depend upon whether or not the buyer trusts the process. And if they trust you. It is through the process of building trust that we have earned the right to sell.

Sales Leads: Maximize Your Sales From Longer-Term Sales Leads

2007-07-30T01:24:00.001-07:00

Want to learn how capture and nurture three-quarters of the sales lead market through effective communication efforts?

First, you must learn to slow down. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? The same principles learned within that fable can be applied to your business marketing strategies today.

While business-to-business marketers race to snatch up the most promising and qualified short-term prospects that come in from any marketing-lead-generation initiative, nearly three-quarters of the sales leads that can convert to sales are being heavily ignored.

Why? Because salespeople are measured and paid for winning the race for short-term sales, usually causing them to focus on the easy sales opportunities and to ignore the longer term prospects. And because there usually is no process in place, the job of nurturing, managing and tracking the longer-term pipeline opportunities falls by the wayside.

This lack of a sales leads development process may be costing your organization big bucks in lost sales.

Do you have the patience to move slowly and steadily for the sales in those longer-term sales leads? Or have you, in essence, ended the race to win these latter-day sales?

Industry experts estimate that only one-quarter of those who are going to buy do so in the first six months. Yet, roughly another quarter buys within a seven- to 12-month period, another quarter buys in a 13- to 18-month period and the final quarter will purchase sometime after 18 months. If your organization's concentration is on the first quarter, for quick selling turnaround, you are leaving the remainder of those sales leads (three out of four sales opportunities) out there for your competition to pick up.

These longer-term sales leads must be nurtured with a series of communications efforts designed to move prospects along in their buying cycles. In other words, the philosophy to getting your share of those future sales is simple-stay in sight, stay in mind and stay in the race.

Here are 4 questions to ask yourself when designing your sales lead nurturing programs:

1. How do we best deliver messages to the people who will influence or make the final buying decisions?

2. How do we stay with them as they move through their consideration and buying process?

3. How can we communicate in a way that addresses the prospects' issues and reduces the perceived risk of buying from our company?

4. What can we offer that will cause the prospects to engage when they are ready to move forward with their buying process?

Want to engage prospects and start a sales-winning relationship with sales leads? Here’s how:

Use a series of ongoing communications-by mail, e-mail or phone-designed to keep pace with the prospects' information needs to make decisions about your kinds of products or services. I've found that, as an added benefit, sales revenue per customer is usually significantly higher for those who are included in the prospect relationship-marketing program versus those who are not.

Be sure to include multiple offers that appeal to all stages of a prospect's buying process. For example, if prospective customers are still early in their buying process, they will be more receptive to offers for free information in the form of how-to guides, white papers or e-mail newsletters. As prospects move further along in their buying process, appropriate offers may include those that require a higher level of interest or commitment on the part of the prospect. These include webinar invitations, demonstrations and checklists, and other decision-making tools. As prospects approach the buying ready point, they will be more receptive to such offers as longer, in-depth seminars, needs assessments or meetings with and getting proposals or quotations from your sales and marketing department.

If you use effective and efficient relationship communication skills and not just focus your company's efforts on the easy or short-term sales leads, you can pick up the three out of four sales that others are leaving on the table. And that how you to win the business marketer's sales lead race.

10 Steps to Successful Selling On Ebay

2007-07-30T01:23:00.000-07:00

Step 1: Identify your market. Take a while to sit and watch for what sells and what doesn't out of the items you're interested in. Any market research data you can collect will be very useful to you later on. You'll probably see the sweet spots quite quickly - those one or two items that always seem to sell for a good price.

Step 2: Watch the competition. Before you invest any money, see what the other sellers in your category are up to, and what their strategies are. Pay special attention to any flaws their auctions might have, because this is where you can move in and beat them at their own game.

Step 3: Find a product: Get hold of a supplier for whatever it is you want to sell, and see what are the best rates you can get. Don't be afraid to ring round quite a few to get the best deal. If the eBay prices you've seen are higher than the supplier's, then you're set.

Step 4: Start small: Don't throw thousands at your idea straight away - get started slowly, see what works and what doesn't, and learn as you go. Remember that it's very cheap to try out even the craziest ideas on eBay, and who knows, they might just work!

Step 5: Test and repeat. Keep trying different strategies until you find something that works, and then don't be ashamed to keep doing it, again and again. The chances are that you?ve just found a good niche.

Step 6: Work out a business plan: A business plan doesn't need to be anything formal, just a few pages that outline the market opportunity you've spotted, your strategy, strengths and weaknesses of the plan and a brief budget. This is more for you than it is for anyone else.

Step 7: Invest and expand: This is the time to throw money at the problem. Buy inventory, and start spending more time on your business. Set a goal number of sales each week, increasing it each time.

Step 8: Make it official: Once you've made a few thousand dollars worth of sales, you should really register yourself as a business. Don't worry, it's not expensive or hard to do - a lawyer is the best person to help you through the process.

Step 9: Automate: You'll probably find that you're writing the same things again and again in emails or item descriptions. This is the time to give up on the manual method and turn to automated software that can create listings for you, and respond to completed auctions and payments with whatever message you provide.

Step 10: Never give up: Even when it looks like it's all going wrong, don't stop trying until you succeed. If you keep working at it then you'll almost always find that you make a real breakthrough just when things are starting to look desperate.

Once you get into the swing of things, you might start thinking that you should quit your job and take up eBay selling part time. But it's not always as easy as that - there are all sorts of factors that you need to consider.

How to Use Bonuses to Boost Your Sales

2007-07-30T01:22:00.000-07:00

To boost your online sales, create partnerships with colleagues, and increase the overall value of your product or service, add a bonus (or several) to your offering.

Here are 5 ideas for bonuses you can use to increase your sales:

1. Offer a special report.

Take several of your articles with a common theme that complements your offering and compile them into a special report. If you don't have articles that seem to fit, think of additional information that you did not include in the original product and write it up as a special report. Use your word processing software to write it, then convert it to Adobe PDF to make it look nice (you can convert your documents into PDFs for free at http://convert.neevia.com/). Or offer a special report written by a colleague of yours with information that complements your offering.

2. Offer an audio.

If you are selling a product that is education-based, offer a follow-up teleclass to answer any questions that your customers may have about the material. Or record a special audio to go along with your product that offers some additional material that you didn't get to cover in the actual product itself, or that is an introductory or overview of the material covered in your offering.

3. Offer a resource file.

If you want to increase your customer's satisfaction with your product, offer a quality resource list, so they don't have to waste time and money searching for where to go or who to hire to follow your sage advice. Put together a list of the service providers, websites, ezines, books, magazines. etc. that you personally use (or that come highly recommended to you by your trusted colleagues) and that are related to your product or service. Create a PDF of your compiled resources to offer as a bonus. For example, one bonus that comes with my 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System™ is Alicia's 6-Figure File of Recommended Resources, which is a list with links of who and what I personally use to make my business run successfully.

4. Offer a workbook.

Just like so many self-help books do, create and offer a workbook, action guide, success journal, or the like to go along with your product or service. Pull out the main points of your material and create exercises to deepen your reader's understanding, or create sections in which your reader can add their own thoughts and ideas as they work through your information.

5. Offer a discussion list.

You can do this a number of ways, but the easiest and the one that will require the least amount of effort on your part is to create and offer a discussion list via Yahoo Groups or Google Groups. It's free and can help to build a community of people who have YOU in common, and it gives them a place to offer each other support. You can pop in and out at your leisure, maintaining and strengthening your relationship with your customers.

Another way to do this is by offering a membership site (which is an article for another issue) as a very valuable bonus. For example, with 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System™ I offered Charter Membership spots for a reduced membership fee as a bonus.

If you haven't tried tacking on a couple of bonuses to your offerings, do so and see what happens. My bet's on increased sales... :)

The Importance of Attention Grabbing Headlines.

2007-07-30T01:21:00.000-07:00

It doesn't matter if you have a professional looking website, with a superb product or service. Nor does it matter if your sales copy is the best there is. Without the right wording in your headline, you will not make many sales. Do you know how to create the perfect headline?

A very good friend of mine, Mavis, made the fatal mistake of ignoring the importance of killer headlines. This mistake nearly lost her her business. She had a great niche product, hand-crafted jewellery. She was able to sell loads of beautiful items through her stall at a local market, but she wanted to start selling her wares to a wider market and saw the internet as the perfect medium.

With only basic computer skills, she managed to put a pretty impressive website together. Her sales copy was good, she put in the essential call to action, everything was just perfect, or so she thought.

So what did Mavis do wrong?

Simply, it was the headline. It just didn't work. It didn't have the power to grab the attention of the potential customer. The headline does 90% of the work when it comes to sales copy. Unless you can catch the interest of a customer, you have no customers. Not a plan if you are trying to make a living through the internet.

Did Mavis know how important the headlines where?

She did plenty of research before she set up her website. She read everything that she could get her hands on. Covering all the topics from web hosting to marketing, sales copy to advertising. But nothing on the importance of headline wording.

Everything she read she put into practice. Considering she knew very little before she started, she did an amazing job. Thinking that she had covered it all and with everything in place, she launched her site and generated lots of targeted traffic to it. She only made 2 sales in 4 months. Not looking good for Mavis is it.

She rang me up one day and asked me what was she doing wrong. She told me that she was at her wits end and didn't know what to do. She said that the website was getting lots of visitors, but they weren't staying there long enough to become customers. I went straight to view her website and as soon as the page loaded I could clearly see what the problem was. You guessed it, the headline. The powerful and hypnotic wording was just not there in her headline. That one, singular oversight was costing her dearly. The website was beautifully designed and easy to navigate. The sales copy was very professional, she used all the right calls to action and offered an excellent refund policy. But the fact is, no-one ever saw any of this because they never got past the headline.

I told her to come around to see me and I would show her how she could turn things around. Mavis and I sat at the computer and I showed her the good, the bad and the ugly of headlines on websites. Within a few minutes, she could see where she was going wrong. She just hadn't been using the right words to get the effect that is needed. You have to GRAB the attention of browsing customers, by using powerful, emotional and hypnotic words. So I made us another cup of coffee before we sat down and I showed Mavis how simple it is to make sizzling headlines.

You need to start by creating a 'benefit statement'. This is what will make your reader want to know about what you are selling. Then you sandwich the benefit statement with action words and phrases. These are the true ingredients of attention-grabbing headline writing.

Okay, so what is a benefit statement?

This is simply the end 'result' of what your customer will experience when purchasing or using your product.

In mavis's case we came up with the benefit statement of "own unique hand-crafted jewellery.' Then we decided to sandwich this with 'the perfect way to' and 'delivered straight to your door.' The result:- "The Perfect Way To Own Unique Hand-Crafted Jewellery, Delivered Straight To Your Door." We played around with a few more, but decided to give this one a go.

What happened to Mavis's business?

Mavis went home and immediately set about changing her home page. She removed the old headline and replaced it with the new one. Within 24 hours of Mavis uploading her updated website, 5 orders where placed. By the end of the month she had made sales of $1564. She hadn't made any other changes to her website, just the headline and it completely turned her business around. She did have the advantage of already having targeted traffic visiting her site. Before the change of headlines, that traffic just clicked away from her page, but with the new headline, they became drawn in, taking time to have a look at the exquisite goods that Mavis had to offer. Some people staying long enough to make a purchase. Goal accomplished.

In conclusion, the headline is THE most important thing to take into consideration when writing your sales copy. Getting it wrong can have devastating results. Getting it right can have positively profound affects.

Never, ever underestimate the power of headlines. Unless you want your business to suffer dismally low sales and never really make it off the ground.

If you are having problems writing your winning headlines, you could always pay someone else to write them for you. Or you can get a software program that will do it for you. The first option could be a bit expensive, but there are some fairly cheap software programs that you will be able to use every time you need new headlines, so I would recommend this.

How to Sell Your Expertise Over and Over Again

2007-07-30T01:20:00.001-07:00

Putting all of your eggs into one basket in your business is never a good idea. Diversity is key, which means that your revenue should come from a number of clients (not just two or three) and preferably should come from multiple sources other than your primary service. These multiple sources of income are called "multiple profit centers", or MPCs, a term I first heard when I read Barbara Winter's book, Making a Living Without a Job, back in the days when I was trying to determine how to be successfully self-employed.

I've often been asked if your income sources should relate to your primary line of business, or if they can be varied and unrelated, like a writer who does copy editing and ghostwriting for a living but also owns rental property and scouts garage sales for gently worn children's clothing and sells it on eBay. You can do whatever best fits your personality, but I think it will keep you saner to corral your MPC's under your primary business umbrella.

Robert Allen, in his best-selling book, Multiple Streams of Income, discusses the "five rings of riches", which I think of as ever-increasing ways to create multiple profit centers. The rings include:

Ring 1 -- Sell Your Core Expertise: In this innermost ring, you are selling your core expertise as an accountant, attorney, web designer, security system installer, carpet cleaner, etc. To this ring, I want to add selling tools you've purchased to use in your business but you don't use all the time, like a telephone bridge line that you might subcontract out to other users.

Ring 2 --Teach Others Your Core Expertise: You develop ways to teach others your specialized knowledge or guide others in how to enter your industry.

Ring 3 --Teach General Skills: In the process of running your business, you probably developed a set of business management skills that have led to your success, and can pass that learning along to others in your industry.

Ring 4 -- Sell Other People's Products: You have in your arsenal a listing of both tried-and-true products you've used in your field of expertise, as well as a database of loyal customers. Why not introduce your clients (and potential clients) to these wonderful products?

Ring 5 -- Support Other Infopreneurs: By the time you reach this largest and final ring, you will have become an infopreneuring expert. Allen suggests that this is the time to offer services and advice to other infopreneurs.

Think of MPC's in this way: You own a great business and are phenomenal at what you do and everyone who needs your service should have access to your expertise. However, if you're in a time-based business, as many service business professionals are, there are only so many hours in the day that you have to work with clients. There are two ways to change this: to hire more staff or to replicate yourself. Hiring more staff (or even independent contractors) typically pushes up your overhead costs and will probably only increase your profit margin slightly. Replicating yourself is much easier, and I'm not referring to some Star Trek-like device. By replication, I mean having products available that will either bring clients into your marketing funnel and introduce you to them in a lower-cost, non-threatening manner, or better serve your existing clients without necessarily needing you to personally attend to the client.

The primary method of delivering products to your clients 24/7 and selling in your sleep is via a website. Technology exists that permit visitors to come to your website, read about what you do and how you do it, purchase any number of products from you, and have that all happen automatically. Electronic products are wonderful, as the delivery of that type of product can be 100% hands-off. A physical product that has to be shipped does require some human intervention, but that doesn't mean it has to be you! There are a number of fulfillment companies that have spring up over the years that you can pay to do your product fulfillment for you.

So, what kinds of products could you offer via your website? Here are ten ideas:

1. Special Report
2. eBook
3. Tips Booklet
4. eCourse
5. Audio tapes/CD
6. Teleclass/Telecourse
7. Membership Subscription website
8. Consulting/Training
9. Licensing your content to others
10. Selling other people's products

These ten strategies are only the tip of the iceburg. Take your content and what you know and re-purpose and re-package for profit!

How To Get Meetings With Decision Makers

2007-07-30T01:19:00.000-07:00

'Getting in front of the decision maker' seems to be the holy grail of the sales world. Most people think that the only way to secure meetings is through luck or cold calling. Yet there is an easier way.

The following steps are identical to the steps I followed on my journey to becoming a 'Client Magnet'. Eventually, I didn't have to make any cold calls, because all of my meetings were taking place at the request of qualified, ready to buy decision makers who had already decided that they wanted to work with me.

How to Get in Front of Decision Makers - the easy way

1. Focus on a specific niche because that automatically makes you a specialist and a certain authority.

2. Get known as an expert in your field by speaking at events and conferences populated by your target audience, write articles and get them published in trade publications read by your target audience.

3. At the end of your article or talk offer a giveaway such as a free report that conveys your expertise, and provides valuable useful content to your reader. Give this in exchange for the reader's contact details and permission to stay in touch over time.

4. Send a follow up sequence of messages (automated if possible) that drip feeds further valuable content to your prospect, and subtly conveys your expertise, your authority and lets them know about success stories other clients are having.

5. Resist the temptation to ask for a meeting immediately, the people who are really keen to meet you will call and ask anyway, the others may need more time to get to know you. Don't risk scaring them off by pouncing for a meeting immediately. Being 'needy' for a meeting hurts your credibility too, because in the world of selling professional services, there's an unspoken assumption that if you are any good at what you are doing, then your diary should automatically be full (I know that's not how it works in practice, but that's the bias you're up against!)

6. In at least one of your messages, offer a meeting, but make sure you outline all the potential benefits of meeting with you. It's got to be more inspiring than 'free consultation.' Ask yourself, what does the prospect stand to gain from meeting with you - even if he or she DOESN'T become a client immediately? Will they learn something new, get reassurance, have their awareness raised on a certain area? If you want to 'sell the meeting' you have to sell the benefits of the meeting.

7. Some people will respond immediately, others will need more time. Have a regular follow up (such as a newsletter like this) that keeps you in contact, and continues building the relationship with your prospects.

8. Get used to receiving calls from people along the lines of 'we're thinking of doing a new project a we're wondering how you can help us'. Enjoy meetings which have a completely different dynamic from the meetings you secured via cold calling, because you've been invited in as an expert, and the prospect is already 'pre-sold' and wants to work with you. Notice that your conversion rate is higher at these meetings.

9. Tweak the process. If you're not getting enough meetings, what needs to change? Do you need to get more people into your funnel at the front end, or do you need to improve your conversion process of prospects to meetings?

10. Enjoy the process as momentum builds and the 'snowball effect' kicks in. Enjoy being a 'Client Magnet' and able to pick and choose from a tempting array of potential projects.

Because of the steps involved in laying the foundation, many people shy away from the easy way. It seems like there is too much ground work involved! And maybe there is, in the short term, but you are laying a foundation that will continue to reap rewards over and over. And what's the alternative? Another cold call?

If you don't want to be at the mercy of random projects coming your way, and you don't want to be tied to a desk cold calling for the rest of your life, then this is definitely the path forward that I recommend.

10 HEAVY DUTY Online Sales Grabbers

2007-07-30T01:17:00.000-07:00

1. Give your prospects extra incentives so they will order quicker. It could be free shipping, a faster shipping option, free gift wrapping, etc. Another common example that we have all heard of is buy one get one.

2. Make your small business look big on the world wide web. Design your web site using professional graphics, ordering systems, organized layouts, etc. It's obvious, if you look professional more people will come to you.

3. Attract a lot more customers by giving them clear ordering instructions. Give them all the information they need so they can complete their order easily. People hate nothing more then having to go back and ask for help becuase it wasn't explained right in the first palce.

4. Give your customers buying incentives so they'll make repeat purchases. Offer them discounts, free gifts, bonus points, etc. Give them a reason to come back to you and buy again.

5. Tell people about your site whenever you get a chance. Those people will tell other people and so on. It's a cheap way to multiply your advertising. Word of mouth spreads very fast and the more places you advertise the better off you are.

6. Write and send press releases for your web site. Use a strong headlines, make it newsworthy, and tell the journalist why their readers would like it. Think big and think of the greatest reasons for why your business exists.

7. Use a lot of headlines on your web site and ezine. Some types of headlines are free offers, questions, problem solvers, sales, and statistics. It makes it seem like you are offering more and you can give a better first impression.

8. Design graphics, templates, buttons and banner ads for other sites. Allow people to use them in exchange for your web link on their home page. Make good relations with other web sites and advertise for each other, it could benefit you alot and you may get some good deals.

9. Use time saving promotional software. You can automate your search engine submissions, posting to online classified sites, etc. Automatic submissions are so much better then doing it the manual way one by one, you'll never finish and just waste time.

10. Advertise your online business by dressing in clothes that are imprinted with your ad. It could be a T-shirt, ball cap, coat, etc. We've all seen people dressed like that, wether it be for a construction business or McDonald's.

B2B Sales Lead Investment: Match Your Demand Generation Programs With Your Sales Needs

2007-07-30T01:16:00.001-07:00

Billions of dollars from business-to-business marketing budgets are spent each year on sales lead generation. Billions more dollars are spent to fulfill and follow up on marketing responses, and to determine which sales leads are qualified and ready for sales attention. Unfortunately, much of this investment in B2B sales lead generation is wasted. Why? Because many sales lead generation programs and lead qualification efforts are not in harmony with the needs of sales.

With this in mind, have you optimized your company's sales lead generation programs to be in harmony with the needs of your salespeople, reps, resellers or distributors? Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Have you built consensus with sales management on the definition of a qualified sales lead? Has this definition been clearly communicated to all parties?

Typical definitions include criteria such as:
- Does the prospect have a need or an application for your product or service?
- What is the prospect's role in the decision-making process?
- What is the prospect's timing for purchase or implementation?
- What is the status of the prospect's budget?
- What is the size of the opportunity?

2. Have you calculated how many qualified sales leads are needed in the sales pipeline in order to meet or exceed the company's sales revenue goals? Have you broken that number down into how many qualified sales leads are needed each month and each quarter? Have you built your company's sales lead generation programs with those target numbers in mind?

3. Have you put in place programs specifically designed to weed out the non-prospects and nurture the longer-term, not-yet-qualified opportunities-only forwarding the truly qualified sales leads to salespeople, reps, resellers or distributors for follow-up? Have you budgeted appropriately for this important sales lead development function?

If you answered "yes" to these questions, the good news is that you are not guilty of wasting your company's sales lead generation investments. Instead, you are probably well-respected by the people in sales and corporate management.

Web Site Traffic - 5 Inexpensive Ways to Generate it!

2007-07-30T01:14:00.000-07:00

It is quite obvious that even the best optimised site with the best copy written sales page will not make a dime without one very necessary addition. That 'addition' is Traffic.

Whilst there are many ways to generate traffic most of them cost money with no guarantees that a profit will be made once you have parted with your cash. However, there are also many ways to generate good targeted traffic which need not cost the earth and, in some cases, are even free. Here are five of the best ways to generate low cost traffic; they do involve some input but are well worth the effort.

1. Exchange Links

This is a proven way to generate traffic and a careful study of the top ranking sites on the search engines will show all of them with considerable numbers of links. It is to your advantage to ensure that all sites to which you link operate within a similar niche or theme as your own site. If you share a similar subject you will be more likely to get traffic as your site will be seen as a recommendation by the site they are on.

Another benefit to linking in this way is that your site will increase its chances of a higher ranking with the search engines. This, in turn, can help with eventually getting traffic from the search engines in addition to that from the linking site.

2. Writing Articles

There are many sites on the internet where you may submit articles (newsletters, directories, etc.) Many of these are free of cost so if cash is tight you can start submitting to these initially. If you want to save costs, you can write the articles yourself. There are many freelance writers who are willing to write for you for a small fee, but to save money, it is wise to do the articles yourself if you can.

You should write articles that closely match the theme of your site. Try to write about something you know well. Give tips and guidance learned from your own experiences. In this way you will come across as an 'expert' in your field and this, in turn, can encourage your readers to then visit your site. Always include a resource box at the end of your articles which should be a short bio about yourself and include the URL to your website.

3. Traffic Exchanges

This is a form of link exchange except that members of a traffic exchange view each others pages by surfing. Each time you view a page you gain a credit so the more pages you view the more credits you receive. Your own page is then shown to other members normally using one credit per show. Once you have exhausted your credits you may earn more by again surfing. You also have the option to purchase credits if you wish.

Traffic from exchanges is not generally well targeted and does not produce many sales but it can be used quite successfully to capture names for your subscriber list with the use of a 'squeeze' page.

4. Your Own Newsletter

Once you have subscribers (via the traffic exchanges or other means) will need to send out your newsletter on a regular basis either weekly, monthly etc. This may sound a little daunting in view of the fact that you will need to write many articles on a consistent basis. However, this should present no problem as there a many writers and sites that are more than willing to provide you with free articles so long as their resource box remains at the end of the article. Any promotions you make in your newsletter will inevitably bring traffic to that promoted site and as your list of subscriber grows so, too, will your traffic.

5. Forums

Online forums and communities abound in just about any subject you can imagine. Find several forums that relate to whatever site you wish to promote and, after joining, you should carefully study the topics under discussion and then submit your own offerings by way of answers to published questions or even a question of your own. Make sure that the forum allows you to append your resource box at the end of your posting as this is where your traffic will come from. It is important to know that you are not permitted to blatantly advertise on these forums and to do so will usually mean you will be barred. So it is important that you are allowed your bio at the foot of your posting. Do not bother with any forum where your resource box is not permitted.

Each of these methods can generate a great deal of traffic and, with the exception of the traffic exchanges, the traffic will be very targeted. The method of using articles can, over time, build traffic to really large numbers. However it is important to remember that there are no free lunches in this world. If you do not pay with money then you must substitute with time. The great thing about these five methods is that you will never waste your time - they all get results, proven time after time.

Five Steps to Making Money With Other Peoples Products

2007-07-30T01:12:00.000-07:00

If you want to make money online without having you own products, selling other people's products could be the ticket. Selling others products has many advantages. You do not have to spend time on creating the products, you do not have to set up a system to sell and deliver the products, and you do not have to get a merchant account and pay recurring merchant account fees. The person who owns the product does all of these things for you. All you have to do is market the product and make money with it.

So how can you make money with other people's products? People who have created products usually run affiliate programs. An affiliate program is a way for you to earn commissions every time you sell someone else's product. When you sign up for an affiliate program, you will get your own unique id you use to link to products you are promoting. Once you make sales using your affiliate links, you will generate commissions.

Here are five steps to take to make money with affiliate products:

- Find A Product To Sell. Before going any further, you need to find a product that will sell. A product should have a professional appearance, be presented on a professional web site and be a quality product that you would want to recommend to others.

Once you find the product, join the affiliate program for it and get your affiliate links.

- Create A Web Site To Sell The Affiliate Product. Having your own web site to promote the affiliate products is best. I always recommend that you get your own domain name and web hosting to host your web site.

The cost of domain names and web site hosting has come down considerably since just a few years ago. You can now get a domain name for about $8 per year and web site hosting for under $10 per month. At these prices you don’t have to be a millionaire or commit to a large capital outlay to start your own web site.

- Create Content For The Web Site. To get more visitors and more sales, you need content for your web site. It is not enough to just link to the product with your affiliate link. In order to make money with your affiliate link you need to bring potential buyers to your web site. A great way to bring them in is with content that is of interest to them, and is related to the product you are promoting.

One good way to generate the content for your web site is by creating your own content and articles that are related to the topic of the product you are promoting. Another good way is by using the articles that were written by the author of the product. Many authors allow their affiliates use the authors' articles on their web sites, and use the affiliate link in the resource box.

- Optimize Your Web Site for Search Engines. Search engine optimization is the process of modifying web page content and meta-information to improve the search engine ranking of the page. Successful search engine optimization will greatly increase the number of visitors that come to your web site. The more visitors to the web site you have, the more affiliate products you will be able to sell, and the more money you will make.

Make sure you optimize every page of your web site for search engines; that way you will get more web site visitors.

- Use Your Articles To Promote The Affiliate Product. Article publishing is a great way to drive traffic to your web site. Start by writing a few articles that are of interest to the people who would want to purchase the product you are promoting. Use the About The Author Resource Box to promote the product. Then take your articles and submit them to article directories. Doing this will bring more traffic to your web site and help you make more money.

Remember, you do not need to create your own products to make money online. Follow the five steps we outlined above to make lots of money selling other people's products.

Building Sales by Building Credibility...

2007-07-30T01:09:00.001-07:00

When you're looking to buy on eBay, you'd want to check the seller's credentials. Does she have happy customers? Are there any complaints? What do they say about the way she conducts transactions?

It's the same if you're a consultant, speaker, or coach wanting to charge higher fees. Nobody will want to pay you more unless they know you have satisfied customers.

When a prospect scans your website, brochure, one-sheet, or direct mail campaign, there is one fail-safe method to establish instant rapport: testimonials.

Why should they believe what you state in your mailing? How do they know you're for real? Who else has done business with you? All of these are concerns your prospects have.

Your testimonials may mean the difference between more sales and leads, or them tossing out your message. That's why infomercials broadcast them every five minutes. Moneymaking websites usually have at least one page dedicated to them. And good sales letters include them in the mix.

Which is why you need them in your marketing: to build trust and credibility, to dispel customer fear and anxiety, and to make lots of money.

What to do first...

1. Ask your clients or customers who have benefited from your product or service to give you a brief testimonial. Usually they're more than happy to help. But if they're stubborn, you may want to offer an ethical bribe by saying, "I'll take 15% off your next order," or "I'll include your name in a drawing for my $500 workshop." And if they need help producing one, you can write one and have them approve it.

2. Make sure your testimonials are results oriented. Use specific numbers and amounts. For example, don't say, "I loved your tape album," or "Everyone thought you were a great speaker." These don't fly in this age of skepticism.

To increase trust use, "Your advice made me $40,000 in new sales the first month. We're on target to gross over one million dollars in sales this year. Thanks for your direction."

3. Use a real name and contact information from your client. Don't use initials. It just screams phony. Include a full name, title, brand name, company, city, state (and if applicable), a photo, and a website URL.

4. Include a good mix of clients. Depending on your target market, using high-profile individuals exclusively may not be totally necessary. A testimony from a work-at-home mom in Kansas can sometimes win more favor from prospects than a stuffed shirt CEO from New York.

5. And if you publish a website, a great credibility booster is using audio or video testimonials. Nothing is more powerful than actual clients edifying you or your products for the entire world to experience.

Testimonials are one of the least expensive, most productive tools to add into your marketing arsenal. But most entrepreneurs and business owners either forget or include ineffective, watered-down statements. Or sometimes they're too lengthy or even go overboard in their praise.

But not you...

Follow these steps today to gain credibility in a skeptical marketplace, lower your prospect's force field, and get ready for a dramatic increase in sales and leads.

Power of Testimonials

2007-07-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Acknowledge fears, face skeptics.

Why should prospects believe you? Chances are, your rivals are making similar claims to your company. And your prospect? He or she is probably more cynical than ever before and too buys to spend much time working out the differences between vendors.

So how can you convince prospects you are the real thing? Acknowledge fears, face prospects' skepticism and admit to flaws, problems and errors, says veteran marketer Lee Marc Stein.

Here's his 7-step strategy that turns skeptics into believers and buyers:

1. Recognize the power of skepticism. Every marketer knows the power of testimonials, but the most compelling and believable come from those who were the most skeptical. For example, "I doubted this system would reduce downtime any more than the other vendors we'd tried. But we've improved production 20%." Equally compelling are testimonials that include details of a problem the buyer encountered with your company and how they became a convert after seeing you fix it.

2. Use their words. Customers often say things in more credible language than you could ever imagine. That's why unedited user stories, quoting buyers verbatim and using their words to describe the benefits of your products or services pack a powerful punch.

A recent example: A new magazine targeted at men and women in the National Guard turned out to be a more powerful recruiting tool than anyone expected. Readers weren't attracted to the official stuff, but to the first person accounts with "real soldiers and families telling real stories," reports The New York Times, 2/01/05.

3. Look real. Instead of using fancy photos and professional models in your brochures— who always look too good to be true — try peopling them with real buyers and real workers.

4. Ask them to disqualify! If prospects don't believe you, ask them to disqualify themselves with a quick quiz. Overall, response will go down, says Stein, but your conversion rate should increase.

5. Acknowledge skepticism. If you know most people find your claims hard to believe, say so! Or if your industry has been plagued by companies overpromising and underdelivering, acknowledge it in your marketing material. Stein suggests saying something like, "We know you've heard the hype, the promises that are never fulfilled. But you can count on us."

6. Come clean about problems and stumbling blocks. By admitting faults in some areas, you'll increase prospects' confidence in other areas. It's basic psychology. So if you know your product isn't compatible with some systems, say so upfront. That's why warts-and-all blogs work so well: Customers feel like they're getting the whole story, not some glossy superficial brochure.

7. Provide altruistic value-added info. Another way to prove you're the genuine article: Provide value-added tools that help them help themselves. For example, you may want to offer a white paper that provides: "Six ways to run your business so efficiently you may never need our services!"

Be Direct - Profile of a Direct Marketing Consumer

2007-07-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

Americans may complain about excess junk mail, late-night infomercials and telemarketing calls, but one thing is for certain: they work. Three-quarters of consumers who responded to a direct marketing offer in the past year made a purchase through a direct channel, according to a nationally representative in-person survey of 2,510 consumers age 16 and older conducted for Direct magazine (a sister publication of American Demographics) by Norwalk, Conn.-based research firm Yankelovich.

Consumers who purchase through direct channels differ significantly from non-purchasers in many ways, but most noteworthy is their anxiousness about saving time. Almost two-thirds (61 percent) of direct marketing purchasers say that they regularly multitask in order to save precious minutes, compared with less than half (47 percent) of non-purchasers. They are also more likely to buy takeout food, give up sleep and hire people to do things for them. Direct marketing consumers also lean on the Internet more heavily: 70 percent of purchasers say that they shop online, compared with 48 percent of non-purchasers, and 27 percent make financial transactions over the Internet, compared with 14 percent of non-purchasers. As a result, they are also much less skittish about disclosing personal info online: While 58 percent of non-purchasers agree that it isn't safe to use a credit card to buy something online, only 44 percent of purchasers feel the same.

How To Improve Your Publicity Design

2007-07-29T08:18:00.000-07:00

Freelance designers who specialize in marketing materials are in high demand. As a result, freelance promotions designers can make up to $90 per hour. So what specialized skills do you need to be a publicity designer?

Actually, you don't need any. To move into freelance publicity design, all you need to do is:

1. Familiarize yourself with the conventions of direct selling promotional materials

and

2. Develop a basic understanding of your clients' marketing goals.

I'm a copywriter and I work with designers. I prefer to work with designers who understand the marketing aims of the graphic design assignment I hand to them. I tend not to call upon designers who design visuals that are unsuitable for the sales messages I am trying to communicate in my copy, however good the design looks.

That’s why the tips I reveal in this article are not really ‘design’ tips. They are practical tips aimed at giving you clarity when you interpret your brief. If you want tips on what colors or effects to use, this article isn’t for you. If you want ideas to help you plan your approach to publicity design, read on.

Direct selling promotional material
Direct selling promotional material has one objective: to sell. Every copy section, every photograph, every flash box, every graphic—should reinforce the selling power of the publicity piece.

But surely your job as designer is to make direct selling promotional material look attractive?—it’s the copywriter’s job is to sell the product, right? Wrong. Your job is the same as the copywriter’s: to sell the product. Making the piece look attractive is important, but it’s a means to an end. The real goal is to help your client increase their sales.

So what approach should you take to sell a product through design? Here are 5 questions to ask yourself as you’re reading the brief:

1. WHO IS THE CUSTOMER? What sort of people will read the publicity and buy the product? A clear description of your target audience will help you gauge what sort of feel your design should have. The look of your design should always reflect the preferences of the customer, not your own preferences or the preferences of your clients.

2. WHAT ARE YOU COMMUNICATING? What emotions should you convey? What specific things should you draw the reader’s attention to? Read your client's copy carefully. Use the message of the copy, especially the headlines, to inspire the ‘message’ of your design.

3. HOW CAN YOU REINFORCE THE MESSAGE OF THE COPY? Is your design consistent with the messages in the copy? Can you increase the impact of the copy message in your design approach? For example, if you're designing a brochure for some computer software, and the dominant marketing message seems to be that the software is 'easy to use', your design should reflect clarity and freedom, maybe with lots of white space and clear copy sections. In short, don't rely on your client to brief you properly on what the design should achieve. Take the initiative to work it out yourself.

4. CAN YOU SHOW PRODUCT BENEFITS? Can you demonstrate how good the product is through your choice of visual? Can you show how the product makes a real difference to people’s lives? Read through the copy and make a note of all examples of what the product does for the user. Then think about how you can demonstrate people benefiting from the product in your graphics and choices of photos.

5. HOW CAN YOU PRESENT THE PRODUCT? Can you show the product? Even better, can you show people using the product? Publicity that shows people is proven to be the most successful at driving sales. Good publicity should encourage readers to imagine themselves using the product—so show people of the same demographic using the product! Get as many pictures of the product as possible, and work these pictures into your design.

In marketing, successful design isn’t necessarily the best-looking, it’s the design that best complements the selling message of the copy, thus leading to more sales. Ugly publicity can be successful if it effectively communicates the selling message in a persuasive way for the target audience. Pretty publicity that wins prizes isn’t necessarily successful publicity.

If you want to learn more about improving your publicity design, start by learning about what makes good copy. Work out what the copy is doing and you’ll have a better idea how the design should reinforce it. My advice: Read a good copywriting manual.

Design custom brochures
Brochure design is challenging. The brief to produce an attention-grabbing cover with clean, consistently attractive pages can be daunting. Where do you start?

Remember your best-practice approach for designing publicity. Think about the reader and think about the essence of the product, service, or company that the brochure is selling.

Below are 13 tips for designing custom brochures that sell.

1. Find out what worked in the past. Take a few minutes to go through past publicity with your client to identify a successful look. If the target audience responded well to a particular style of publicity, there may be no point in reinventing the wheel.

2. Ask your client if the company has a house style and if your brochure should be consistent with it.

3. Keep in mind the product’s or company’s brand values when you are creating your general look. Ask your client to come up with five words that reflect the company's brand image and try to respond to them in your design.

4. For a general starting point, communicate an idea, a visual metaphor, or emotion that is associated with the product. Search the royalty free photo sites like Getty-Images or I-stock for images that respond to the general mood—but bear in mind your client will need to pay to use them.

5. Focus the visual idea on the product's Unique Selling Proposition. The U.S.P. is the one thing that readers will find most desirable about the product that is only true of that product.

6. Make the headlines stand out. Reinforce them with visuals if possible.

7. Use photographs as visual anchors. Faces help to humanize the design and make the product or company feel warmer and friendlier. Photos of people who reflect the target demographic work well because they help readers to imagine themselves using the product.

8. Ask yourself what consumer-need the product responds to, and use this as inspiration for your visuals. Some designs work well because they remind people about the nasty things in life they seek to irradiate, then present the solution with a photo of the product.

9. Use visuals to demonstrate the product:

- If the copy is highlighting a benefit, show somebody benefiting.
- If the copy is highlighting a feature, show it (for example, if it’s a small hand-held, show it to scale in someone’s hand; if it has lots of components or is part of big package, take a collective pack shot.)
- If the copy is highlighting the product’s popularity, show lots of people, preferably using the product.
- If the copy is guaranteeing the product, give it a guarantee stamp.
- If the copy is offering a money-back guarantee, show cash or a check.
- If the product is endorsed, show the endorser using the product.
- If the copy is leading with an impressive statistic, show it visually in a table or graph.
- If the product solves a problem, show a ‘before’ and ‘after’.

10. Each spread of the brochure should seek to catch the reader’s attention anew, to keep readers hooked so they carry on turning the pages.

11. Keep to a consistent style but try to let the design evolve with each page. A good brochure should tell the product’s story; it should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Try to reflect this in your design.

12. Give the reader two options: to skim read and pick up the core messages from the headlines, sub-headings, visuals, and captions… And another option to read the headlines and the body copy linearly. Do this by creating a reading area where the general body copy fits into, but also pull out some of the additional copy messages, visuals, and flashes to catch the attention of wandering eyes.

13. Recommend using printing techniques to reinforce the message of the copy, such as spot varnishes, holograms, die-cuts, unusual folds, indented pages, additional pantones, and pull-outs.

When Should You Increase Advertising Spend?

2007-07-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

You may get a bigger payoff from increased spending on advertising if you wait until the economy begins to contract, says new research. That doesn't mean advertising in a healthy economy is a waste of money. But when advertising spending is already high, there's a risk of "overspending," says the study. Too much advertising may help rivals by increasing a buyer's awareness of a category and not your company's brand!
Conventional wisdom was right

To examine the long-term return from advertising, researchers analyzed the performance of nearly 2,700 companies — and grouped them by type (consumer, industrial and service). They then compared returns from advertising in recessions and upturns. They found advertising was an asset that contributed to a company's financial performance for up to three years. And increased spending during a recession produced greater benefits than increased spending when the economy was doing well.

One reason for this outcome: Advertising sends a positive signal about future performance to investors. It works in much the same way that exhibiting at a trade show during hard times may inspire confidence in customers and sales partners.
What this means

If increasing advertising pays during a recession, what's the impact of budget cuts? You may lose momentum, but it's not fatal, finds the researchers. Here's why. Past advertising has a cumulative effect that can help you maintain your position for three years. But to get the biggest bang for your buck, they urge companies to maintain spending at a steady pace.

The researchers also found that not all companies are equal. Advertising spending had a bigger impact on consumer and industrial products than it did on service companies.

Where Consumers Do Their Product Research

2007-07-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder where the vast majority of consumers do their research?

So, how do consumers find out about your products or services? Today everyone thinks that consumers go directly to the web to learn about products and services. But according to a recent survey by eMarketer, consumers are still seeking information in retail stores. The web was the second most popular destination for product research, but retail stores were number one.

If you are in a business that sells through retailers, its important to realize that consumers are going to retailers first and using the web to complete their research. Be sure to create point of purchase displays or product packaging that will provide all the information a consumer will need to make a buying decision.

It's essential that your web based information is in synch with in-store information, pricing, and so on. If consumers see inconsistencies in pricing, variety, or options, they're likely to frequent another vendor or simply buy on price.

Many retailers are using their websites to capture customer information. This can be done at the store level as well. Ask purchasers and browsers to sign up for a newsletter or coupons that will bring them back to your store.

Collecting Information on Your Competitors

2007-07-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

Discover the Do's and Dont's of competitive intelligence.

Collecting information about your competitors makes good business sense. However, you must do so in an ethical and reasonable way. Competitive intelligence from public sources, customers, and third parties can help businesses anticipate market opportunities, trends and competitive strengths and weaknesses.

These guidelines provide a step-by-step guide for acquiring the information you need without crossing the line.

1. Ask questions - If you come across or are offered competitive information and believe that it may be confidential or proprietary ask questions to find out how the information was obtained, or why it was made available.

2. Be ethical - How would you or your business react if you found out that your competitors were receiving the kind of information that you acquired? If you think that a particular way of gathering competitive intelligence may be unethical, you should assume that your competitors would view it the same way.

3. If it doesn't seem right, don't do it - If you're ever in doubt as to whether a source of information or contemplated technique of gathering information is proper or legal, you should contact your manager or attorney.

4. Breaking the law has consequences - If you improperly gather or use competitive information, you can be disciplined or terminated, and you could face criminal and civil penalties. Breaking the law can also result in adverse publicity to your company. Think about how you'd feel if your actions were publicly disclosed on the front page of a newspaper.

5. Legitimate sources of competitive information include:
Public sources. You may gather information about your competitors from public sources such as:
Newspapers, magazines, other published articles and television programs
Advertisements and brochures intended for public distribution
Information freely available on the Internet and online research services
Public filings made with governmental or regulatory authorities, such as SEC reports, patent filings and litigation records
Analyst reports
Industry surveys or reports
Public presentations given by competitors at trade shows and conferences
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and similar requests from governmental or regulatory agencies
Conversations with customers. Talking with customers is essential. The more you know about your customers and their businesses, the better you can meet their needs. However, you shouldn't contact customers for the purpose of obtaining confidential information about a competitor. Customers may disclose information about a competitor's products or pricing, so long as the information is not confidential.
Hiring third parties to obtain information. Sometimes company's hire third parties to help us gather competitive intelligence and information about the market for products and services. Third parties are subject to the same standards of behavior that you abide by, so you should assume that if we can't do it directly, you can't hire someone else to do it.
hird parties conducting focus groups or interviews with a competitor's suppliers or customers generally don't have to identify you as their client, so long as they identify themselves and their company. While a third party doesn't have to disclose the purpose of the focus group or interview, the third party shouldn't intentionally misrepresent the purpose.
A few of your competitors may have informed you that you cannot subscribe for their products and services. In these cases, you should not hire third parties to access the competitor's products or services. However, absent knowledge that a competitor would have barred or prohibited your access, you may engage a third party to subscribe to the product or service.
Keep in mind that your company can sometimes be legally responsible for damages or losses caused by a third party if you authorized or appear to have authorized any illegal actions. This can be the case even if you don't issue direct instructions to the third party, but know of the third party's likely conduct and "turn a blind eye".
If you engage a third party to gather competitive information, you should have the third party confirm that it is aware of, and agrees to abide by, applicable laws related to competitive intelligence.

Some types of information gathering, however, can violate the law or may be considered unethical. Some examples Include:
New Hires. What you can and can't ask former employees of competitors.
ou shouldn't ask or encourage employees who previously worked for a competitor to divulge confidential or proprietary information about the competitor, such as specific details about a competitor's operations and intentions, including pricing, future plans and forecasts which may have been considered confidential or proprietary by a competitor.
If you previously worked for a competitor, you shouldn't disclose information about your former employer that you believe is confidential or proprietary, or bring any of this information into your office.
However, you may discuss items of a general nature with an employee who previously worked for a competitor including anything that's a matter of public record or that wasn't treated by the employer as confidential.
Misrepresenting your identity. You shouldn't misrepresent your identity in order to obtain competitive information, if the person you're seeking information from would not ordinarily give you the information if they knew your true identity. This can be considered fraud. For example:
You shouldn't contact a competitor, posing as a customer, student, private research firm or potential vendor/supplier, to find out information.
When providing information in order to gain access to a competitor's website, you should answer all required blanks accurately, but you don't have to fill in blanks that are not required.
Stealing information.
You shouldn't attempt to acquire a competitor's confidential or proprietary information through illegal means, such as theft, spying or hacking.
You shouldn't perform any surveillance or monitoring of competitors outside of public places or engage in any form of electronic eavesdropping. However, if you're sitting on an airplane or are at an industry conference and happen to overhear a competitor discussing a confidential matter in the row ahead of you, the competitor likely has no reasonable expectation of privacy.
Giving gifts for confidential or proprietary information. In gathering competitive intelligence, you should not give entertainment, gifts, favors or gratuities to induce someone to provide you with information that's confidential or proprietary. You may, however, pay third parties for competitive intelligence that's derived from legitimate sources.
Anonymous packages containing confidential information. If you receive anonymous submissions of competitive information you shouldn't distribute or use the information.
Information marked "Confidential." etc. You shouldn't use or purchase information belonging to a competitor that is marked "confidential" or "proprietary."
Offers to access competitors' products and services. If you're offered access to a competitor's product or service by a customer, friend or other person, and you ordinarily would not be able to access the product or service on your own, you should decline the offer.
Misplaced or unattended confidential information. You shouldn't use confidential information belonging to a competitor that is accidentally misplaced or left unattended.
Dumpster diving. This is inappropriate and it may also be illegal.
Competitive bid information. You shouldn't seek or use information that you may receive about a competitor's bid if you're involved in bidding, especially on government contracts. However, you are free to use information that is disclosed by the government, publicly available or retrievable pursuant to a FOIA or other similar request.
Information offered in business pitches. If a customer offers competitive information to us during a business pitch, we should understand that the customer may owe a confidentiality obligation to our competitors who are also pitching for the business. As such, we should generally decline to receive information under these circumstances. However, if we are being told something very general or high-level, it may be appropriate for us to use this information in our bid and in our larger business strategy.

Regardless of what method you use to collect competitive intelligence, if you have any question as to the legality of your activity, err on the side of caution and chose another method!

How to Develop a Marketing Strategy

2007-07-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

Developing a strategic marketing plan takes work - a firm understanding of the markets you plan to sell to, the products you and your competitors offer, your business objectives, and budget.
Part One- Market:

Objective: Identify and learn about the market segments you currently target and wish to target in the future– what motivates them to consider your products, what is their buying process, how do they consume media and how can we leverage former customer into longer term value for the business.

Steps to Accomplish:
Learn Current Market Segmentation- Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic, Behaviorial
Profile Market Segments- Revenue potential, Market share potential, Profitability potential, Lifetime customer value
Market Research- Primary (research you've commissioned on your own) and Secondary (industry research)

Part Two-Product:

Objective: Learn about the current portfolio of products and new product introductions being planned, primary and secondary uses, usage differences by market, core product benefits, competitors and competitive differentiators, seasonality, historical offers and measurement, lifecycle plan, profitability, complementary products in portfolio or outside portfolio, pricing and profitability.

Steps to Accomplish:
Product management presentations on above
Sample analysis and review
Competitive analysis and technology trends
Usage and satisfaction research- primary, secondary

Part Three- Business Objectives:

Objective: Understand key business initiatives, market conditions and revenue goals that will guide decision making.

Steps to Accomplish:
This year's Business Plan – define objectives for the business in the short and long-term.

Part Four- Marketing budget, Prior efforts & results, other planned tactics & timing:

Objective: Learn the parameters of the marketing plan including budget, previous efforts and success measurements, planned tactics such as committed resources, major sales campaigns and tradeshow events.

Steps to Accomplish:
Marketing meeting to review information and develop calendar of know tactics and market touch points.

Market Plan recommendation will include:

At the completion of this four step process, you should assemble a complete integrated marketing plan based on your business objectives, market segments, market research, product offerings, competitive positioning, and history of marketing success. This document should contain:
An overview of learnings, challenges and trends
Customer and prospect constituent groups
Key market touch points and communications strategies
Tactical recommendations
Measurement
Budget, Return, ROI

It is highly recommended that the plan incorporate a certain level of flexibility at the tactical level. As with any marketing campaign strategy, tactics should incorporate split tests, review and rework of marketing tactics. Budget should be repositioned to support marketing campaigns that show the greatest success.

Would You Like Fries With That?

2007-07-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

The power of up-selling and cross-selling.

Recently while navigating an online bookstore I came across the James Frey book popularized by Oprah's book club: A Million Little Pieces. As I read about this book I was informed that "readers who bought A Million Little Pieces also bought the book, "Lies My President Told Me and Pinocchio."

Folks, I was being cross-sold, yet I wasn't cross about it. The reality of business is that customers want to be sold. They love to buy for their own reasons. Not manipulatively bombarded with sales pitches or indiscriminately pressured with endless offerings, but intelligently informed, guided and suggested with related, logical and natural purchases that further their goals.

Up-selling and cross-selling are two sales techniques used by professional sales and service staffs to increase sales. Are you making the most of suggestive selling?

UP With Selling
Up-selling refers to situations where your customer buys a product or service, and you encourage them to spend more for additional features or packages. They are upping the amount they are spending, albeit for more or better services or products.

Consider the customer seeking a point-of-sale solution for handling charge cards, yet opts to purchase a deluxe POS model for more money when learning of additional capabilities, security and flexibility.

You are shopping for a bare-bones SUV. The salesperson infoms you soccer moms tell him they love having the model with the DVD player in the backseat for the kids. Thus you buy that model with a fancy video system and then extended warranty too.

Sales Crossing Ahead Cross Selling refers to situations where a customer buys a product or service, and is simultaneously sold related items that often complement their purchase. For example: A customer buys a computer and is then sold training services or tutorial software to go with it at additional cost. Ditto when a man buys a suit and is then offered a color coordinated silk tie and dress shirt to go with it.

While we think of these as advanced sales techniques, they are actually rooted in the power of suggestion. People, once they've decided to buy, are naturally swayed by more and better options, additional value, and the excitement following their initial purchase.

Many customers don't know about additional items or options, or how well they complement the initial item they bought. Up-selling enhances their initial purchase, making them more powerful, capable and effective. Cross-selling similarly enhances their purchase, often maximizing its impact on their business.

Suggestive Selling
Salient in Our Lives Quite frankly, we've been up-sold and cross-sold every day. And it's not necessarily a manipulative process. Consider the following examples: - "Would you like fries with that order?" - "For just 49 cents we can super-size that for you." - "When you buy 2 today you get 1 Free!" - "Would you like to purchase our extended warranty coverage on this? It's only...."

I've worked with customer service staffs afraid to sell, others who felt it was manipulative and smarmy to sell. Yet here's a secret: It's really a form of service!

Service Through Sales
When you up-sell and cross-sell: - You are making informed suggestions as a knowledgeable rep - You are apprising customers of options they may not be aware of - You are often anticipating future needs - It's a way to further help your customer.

To be more powerful, to enjoy more benefits, to maximize the usefulness of the products or services they're acquiring. Remember this, when you are the rep who is selling and serving:

- You are in the business of solving problems, generating solutions and making customers happy, or even happier.
- You are the subject matter expert when it comes to the products and services you are representing.
- To the extent you listen and understand the situation of your clients, customers or constituents, you are ideally suited to provide solutions, recommendations and remedies.
- To withhold this from others would be selfish, and poor service. - Any time you can fulfill more needs, address more issues or solve more problems you are easing your client's/customer's life. After all, they already trust you, like you, and are doing business with you.

So, how does one UPSELL or CROSS-SELL? It's easy.

Let's Play Bridge
After you've completed the initial transaction or gotten the initial indication your customer wants to buy, you can then bridge to the Up- or Cross-Sell: Mr. Randle, while I have you on the line, were you aware you can work in multiple advanced speech manuals at the same time?

Oh, by the way Ms. Kennison, did you know.that the book you bought for new hire also has a companion CD for just $9 more?

Mr. Younger, I'd like to take a moment to inform you of a new nationwide program just for businesses such as yours. Incidentally, were you aware that you are 2/3's of the way toward qualifying for a discount on shipping of your office supplies?

Using BRIDGE statements allows you to transition from your initial sale to up-sells and cross-sells. Look anew at the offerings you're selling. For each, what is an up-sell? What can you cross-sell with it?

Make sure your salespeople know the migration paths so they can suggestively up- and cross-sell with ease. In closing, I'd like to thank you for your engagement with this material.

Before concluding, could I interest any of you in a related article on up-selling and cross-selling? Perhaps you'd prefer a training course on suggestive selling? Shall I customize that for you? Consider yourself super-sized!

Add Internet Marketing To Your Marketing Mix

2007-07-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

The importance of Internet marketing is continuing to expand. Surveys of all kinds show a major shift in traditional marketing budgets to dollars being spent online to market all types of products and services.

Internet Marketing Defined. Internet marketing is the use of the Internet to advertise and sell products and services. Within the definition of Internet Marketing you will find mention of pay per click advertising, banner ads, e-mail marketing, search engine marketing (including search engine optimization), blog marketing, and article marketing. Each of these subject areas is important to consider prior to planning your internet marketing strategy.

Internet Marketing Provides Many Benefits. There are many advantages to having a fully executable internet marketing strategy. These benefits include measurability, flexibility, and affordability. Many online marketing tactics provide marketing professionals with the ability to customer acquisition costs. Moreover, marketing professionals are better able to track what marketing campaigns are working and quickly allocate their spending towards higher producing media placements.

Internet Marketing Tactics. As the Internet has expanded, so have the opportunities for marketing online. Here we will take a brief look at each type of Internet marketing and explain the benefits of each.

1. Pay-per-click Advertising. Sites like Google offer pay-per-click advertising for anyone interested in getting their message in front of the right segment or prospective buyer. This method is highly targeted and offers one of the best and most popular forms of internet marketing. Marketers using pay-per-click advertising only pay a fee, based on the competitiveness of a keyword or ad title, when a link is clicked on.

2. Banner Ads. Once the king of Internet marketing, online banner ads have evolved to include animated and flash banners, but the premise remains largely the same. Marketers purchase a specified number of impressions to run on a single site or network of sites and are generally not guaranteed a specific number of clicks.

3. Email Marketing. Effective among current clients and prospects who have requested information form your company, email marketing is a well established means to communicate and marketing your products. However, be aware of CAN-SPAM requirements and contact preferences of those you plan to reach.

4. Search Engine Marketing. If you want web browsers to visit your site, than focusing on search engine optimization and search engine marketing is a must. No Internet marketing plan is complete without ensuring that your site is submitted and included on major directories like Google, Yahoo!, and DMOZ. The dollars spent on Search Engine Marketing of any type will pay huge dividends.

5. Blog Marketing. Getting mention of your site or information related to your products can quickly scale if you are able to effectively tap into the countless blogs that are being created everyday. It is essential that you focus your efforts on blogs covering topics relevant to your product or service offering.

6. Article Marketing. One of the most important aspects of Internet Marketing, is to improve the link popularity to your site and improve the awareness of your product or service offering. To do so, many companies are focusing on publishing valuable content and making available for other to post to their website's.

Regardless of the Internet marketing tactics you choose, be sure to consider an integrated marketing strategy. Be sure that your internet marketing has a specific goal and is supported with a definitive plan and budget. Lastly, be sure to pick up a book, conduct some research, or work with professionals to enhance your Internet marketing know-how.

Marketing Innovation: How to Improve Marketing ROI

2007-07-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

There are a number of basic marketing fundamentals that everyone needs to know in order to generate attention, interest, desire and action among prospects. But to be successful in today’s competitive environment, you need more than a basic understanding of a traditional AIDA model and the 4 P’s (product, place, price, promotion).

A number of years ago, I discovered a marketing methodology made popular by Michael Gerber. For those of you who have never heard of him, you can still find his books on Amazon or your local bookstore. Mr. Gerber referred to this marketing methodology as the E-myth which was comprised of: innovation, quantification, orchestration, and documentation.

This methodology is the key behind major marketing successes like McDonalds, the Four Seasons, and many other well-known brands. Let me explain his methodology and illustrate how it can be applied to your business to deliver significant ROI.
Innovation

If you do what everyone else is doing, you’ll get the same results – if you’re lucky. Most often, those who excel in any market are the innovators, those who are continually trying new things, creating new methods of doing business, or standing for something unique.

Whether you’re Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Apple computer, or Tommy Hilfiger, innovation is baked into the sale, marketing, and product development process. To illustrate, let’s take a look at your run-of-the-mill retail clothing store. When you enter the store, what’s the first thing the sales rep says to you? You guessed it, “How can I help you”?

An example of applying innovation would be to have that same sales representative open with a new greeting, something like, “Hello, is it your first time visiting our store?”. If yes, there’s a perfect opportunity to discuss what makes you unique, how to navigate the store, and so on. If no, the same holds true… “Welcome back. Were you successful in finding what you needed upon your last visit? What can I help you with today?”

Regardless of the actual questions used, the example of innovation in a sales/marketing sense gives you the ability to try something new. This ‘something’ can take a variety of different formats, but most importantly it iis something that can move you towards a greater ROI. Especially if you understand the next step which is quantification.
Quantification

With each innovation, an action is taken – a product sampled, research conducted, a new sales pitch or value proposition delivered. To be truly effective with your marketing you must measure your results.

The most successful marketing programs are always working to improve their return on investment (ROI). The key is to measure each independent element that could possibly influence your result.

Using our example of the retail establishment, you wouldn’t want to ask all of your sales reps to start using a new pitch AND change their dress code. Doing so might dilute your ability to measure the effectiveness of a new sales script. Additionally, you wouldn’t want to change other store elements like the music or store layout at the same time – doing so would make accurate measurement next to impossible.

Now that you’ve tried something new and measured its effectiveness, you’re ready for the third component, orchestration.
Orchestration

After trying something innovative, and measuring the result, you now know what works and what doesn’t. The key is to keep innovating in small ways, continually testing and evaluating the results. Once you have your successes identified, you need to roll them out in a systemic fashion.

All sales and marketing personnel should be utilizing and implementing the latest innovation in all they do. This methodology now becomes your control. Your next innovation is only effective if it produces better results than your control.

Improving your process of orchestration is also extremely important. The faster you implement your innovation across the business – in a consistent fashion, the better your results become. Walmart is a master of this. If there is an innovation in one store, it is quickly shared and implemented with all store managers across the U.S. The result is innovation on a massive scale which has a direct and positive influence on ROI.
Documentation

The top innovators do this last step extremely well. Documentation doesn’t mean creating reams of manuals that are esoteric or difficult to navigate. Rather, documentation is the development of a guide, procedure, or system that allows consistent implementation of the innovations you develop.

As new personnel come into your business, you want to make sure that the innovations and enhancements you’ve made to your sales and marketing practices are fully implemented. The best way to do this is to not expect an employee to memorize a 700 page employee instruction manual. Rather, they should become familiar with your way of doing business - which needs to be documented in a simple, easily understandable format.

You know you’re at a company that does this well when you hear things like, that’s “the Walmart way” or “This is how we do it here”. It’s those companies that create living documentation that is easily understood and implemented that excel.

Conclusion

If you’re trying to enhance your marketing program, or create one from scratch, keep this methodology in mind: innovation, quantification, orchestration, documentation. This process will ensure constant growth and improvement in your marketing results.

Don’t just take my word for it, look at most major brands or category leaders. Under the hood, you’ll find systems for innovation, ways of testing, measuring, implementing, and documenting in a seemingly effortless fashion.

7 Steps for Creating a Powerful Jump Page that Sells

2007-07-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Your jump page is an essential tool for generating online revenue

If you practice Internet marketing, you know the importance of a high converting “Landing Page”. Also called a promotional page, jump page, or squeeze page, effective development of these pages are essential for online marketing success.

After a web browser clicks on a search engine generated link (organic or paid), they are directed to a website or jump page. Depending on your promotional tactics, you may be using pay-per-click marketing to generate sign-ups, inquiries, or sales. Regardless of the specific purpose of your page, one fact remains the same – you want a browser to take some type of action.

In the steps that follow, I will share some landing page best practices that have been provide to increase conversion rates and have those browsers taking the action you’re hoping for. Keep the following concepts in mind when designing your jump-page:
Big, Bold, Relevant Headline. If you don’t catch the attention of the browser with a big, bold, headline that is relevant, than nothing else matters. This is why expert marketers test multiple jump-pages at once – to see which page proves most relevant to browsers. For example, if a user is searching for tinker toys, the headline should be targeted as such - versus saying, “Hey check out these toys you can build with”. Doing so is not particularly relevant and as a result individuals will never get past the first few sentences of your jump page.

Use Visuals. If people have to read beyond your headline and sub-headline before understanding what you’re selling (or offering), you’ll have a difficult time getting them to read any further. This is where visuals come in. Pictures are worth a thousand words and can convey your message quickly and with less effort. Make sure your jump page goes beyond plain text and integrates visuals in the form of a different colored font, pictures, and/or video.

Testimonials Sell. Would you buy a product you never heard of? What if your best friend told you all about it? People like to buy based on recommendations. This is particularly true of online purchases. Having proof points validated through like-minded individuals removes fear and breaks down skepticism. There are a variety of ways to share a testimonial and they all work (photo and quote, audio recording, video).

Provide Something for Free. Encourage action by offering something free in exchange for name and email address. If you’re actually selling a product from your page, consider giving added bonuses for making a purchase. The more you offer at the price point you’ve identified, the more value you create for your potential customer.

Time Bound/Limited Offers. Create a sense of urgency with an offer that is only valid for a short time. You may also make your offer available to a limited number of new registrants. Either method works for creating urgency and encouraging a purchase. You will need to test your time-bound offers to identify the time frame that works best for your potential customer base. The same is true for limited-time offers.

Offer Multiple Payment Options. Believe it or not, some marketers only provide one way for prospective customers to order their product or service. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work that way, nor should it. Give users multiple options for how they pay. From traditional credit cards to PayPal, the more the merrier. Additionally, be sure to include an 800# for any questions they may have.

Test.Test.Test. No matter how good you think you are, you can always do better. Be sure to test your control page, attempting to improve conversions each time. This ensures that your business will continue to grow and you’ll better understand what works and what doesn’t with your target audience. It will also help you better understand seasonal trends.

Creating an effective jump page is essential for successful online marketing. Begin with a basic page that follows the criteria mentioned above. Test multiple pages to determine which has the highest conversion rate and continually tweak the page to improve results. This ensures jump page will continue to produce long into the future.

Pricing Your Products and Services for Ultimate Growth

2007-07-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

Developing an attractive price for what you have to offer is both an art and science. These tips make it easy!

One of the most challenging things you can do as a marketing professional, entrepreneur, or business owner is to price your products appropriately. Often times, individuals have no real strategy for pricing products or understand the perceived value that pricing can create. In this article, I’ll share my 12 year of product experience and what I’ve learned by pricing dozens of products – pricing them to sell.

When considering how to price a product, there are a number of methods for arriving at a starting price. The most popular include zero sum pricing and competitive pricing. Those who price their products using the zero sum method generally begin at zero, add all their costs including manufacturing, overhead, and so on, plus some type of margin to reach an initial price. The margin used in this calculation is based on industry norms or existing margins on similar products.

Competitive pricing is a method where you evaluate the products your competitor is selling and at what price. If your product or service is the same or similar, you’d want to price your product in the same general area. If your product is different, you’d adjust your price up or down based on features, benefits, and value derived.

Another model is called premium pricing which is used when considering a competitive pricing grid. Companies like Cadillac use premium pricing. This method charges ‘top dollar’ for a product that is of better quality or perceived quality. Rolex is another example. It doesn’t tell time any better than a Seiko but it costs much, much more.

Once you’ve determined your preferred pricing method, the next step is to develop multiple pricing options. Too often companies stop with the selection of a pricing method. The top marketing professionals know that the only way to optimize price is through tiered pricing and testing.

There are way too many individuals still pricing their product based on gut feel. The dialogue usually goes like this, “How much should we charge?” “I don’t know, what does competitor X charge for it? $39.95? Let’s charge $34.95 so we can out sell them”. Don’t laugh…this is how 90% of the products are priced out there.

This method would be okay if after you evaluated your costs and were able to charge less. However, using pricing options allow you to charge both more and less for a given product compared to your competitors. Let me explain what I mean.

To illustrate pricing options, let’s use a popular example, the fast food restaurant. Fast food establishments use tiered pricing all the time. Would you like the single hamburger, double hamburger, or the triple? Smal, medium or large drink? Small fries or large? Regardless of your industry, product, or service, you must give the consumer options.

A number of my clients have said that they can’t offer that type of pricing. When I ask why, the answer is often that their product is one size fits all. If that’s the case, determine how you can offer your product in increments. An attorney that charges by the hour can offer his services by the hour or on retainer. A landscaper can add-on additional services such as weeding, edging, or trimming. And an online publisher can provide a basic or premium package. It’s all in the mind set.

Conclusion
When developing a pricing strategy, understand the direct and variable costs associated with your product, the competitive landscape, and the varying needs of your market segments. Only then can you develop a winning pricing strategy. Choose the strategy that you believe resonates with your market and test, test, test. Be sure to offer tiered pricing to give your prospects options and you'll soon be working at the optimal price.

Why You're Losing Traffic and How to Make Them Stay

2007-07-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

Why You're Losing Traffic and How to Make Them Stay
If you’re like most website owners, chances are you’re losing a large percentage of your visitors before they complete a desired action on your website. Although the number of factors that drive potential consumers away can be varied, I’ve noticed many common mistakes in my work of designing websites for optimal performance. Here’s where many sites go wrong:

1. Lack of a Clear Purpose

Why was your site designed? What is the purpose of your site? Are you selling a product or service? Are you sharing information or serving as a forum to aggregate ideas and comments? Are you providing a social benefit?

If your website doesn’t communicate its purpose in 3 seconds or less, you’re going to lose visitors. I’ve seen this on numerous occassions, especially among companies who don’t know what they want their site to be or communicate. Make sure your website has a clear purpose and everything else will follow.

2. Making it Long-Winded and Complicated

Today, individuals have less time than ever before. As a result, time is their most precious asset – don’t waste it. The majority of people using the internet today still prefer brevity over verse. Try to say what you need to say in as few words as possible. If users have to scroll through 2 screens or more then it’s too much.

When writing for your site, highlight things of importance. You can use bulleted lists, short paragraphs, bolded and underlined text. Some of you may be asking about the marketing websites with long copy. If you know what I’m talking about, these are generally marketing pages (squeeze pages) that have been developed to promote a single product or service. This is not what I’m referring to here. For websites, copy should be brief and to the point.

3. Giving Web Visitors Too Many Distractions

As I alluded to before, websites should be designed with the single purpose of directing visitors to the information they want. A real prospect is one that needs the same information you want to provide; the art of sales is directing potential clients to relevant information, and presenting it in a way that visitors see your product or service as fulfilling their needs.

This is the reason why I don’t promote Google Adwords on my website. Why? Because it distracts potential buyers from purchasing what I have to offer. Don’t get me wrong, I make a nice living promoting affiliate products, but I do so on my own terms and I only promote those products that I haver personally reviewed and approve of.

4. Eroding Your Own Credibility

Does your website give first time visitors plenty of reasons to trust you? Website visitors are constantly looking for reasons why they should abandon your site. Does your site have a number of spelling errors or images that don’t display? How easy is it to find your 800 number or other contact information?

If you want to develop trust among your visitors, make sure that the basics are covered, that your site looks and feels the part of a well established company. Present important information in obvious places, have an about section, and make it easy for visitors to contact you via email or phone. This will establish trust and confidence in their buying decisions.

5. Not Giving Web Visitors Enough Options

When offering a product or service, it’s a true benefit to offer multiple options, but not too many. You want to make sure that website visitors have more than one item, price point, or model to choose from. When analyzing why people leave websites, I’ve found that the reasons are much to often simpler than you might think; “I didn’t want everything in the package, only the trading cards…”, “They had X but didn’t offer Y”, “The price was too high…”, etc.

People like options. Identify the most compelling bundles or most popular products and offer solutions at various price points. This is the most effective way to position your products or services.

6. Giving Web Visitors Too Many Obstacles

Removing obstacles to a purchase is the most important thing you can do to ensure optimal sell through. Do you make people go through the order processing system before they can find out how much something costs, or do you demand potential customers read all of the fine print that only a lawyer could understand? Is your order process long and complicated?

When evaluating the effectiveness of a website’s checkout process, I’ve always found a large drop off rate. In fact, the majority of consumers who click, “buy now” never finish the purchase. There are a lot of reasons why, and its unrealistic to think that 100% of these individuals will convert, but a major reason is that the purchase process is much too long and complicated. Keep yours simple.

7. Giving Web Visitors Too Many Forms To Fill-in

Do you attract your visitors with special offers or free white papers and then demand that they fill-out complex forms, surveys, and questionnaires before you give them access to what they came for? If you do, you are probably losing a lot of people you attracted. Keep your sign up forms very brief.

Many websites loose a significant number of individuals who are just no longer willing to complete a long form. Keep your questions to a minimum – only collecting the information you need to take the next step with your prospect.

Conclusion

There are a number of ways to keep visitors on your website and improve conversion rates. I just described a number of the most common mistakes that websites are making today. Start with a clear purpose and put yourself in the shoes of a first-time visitor. Is your website clear, authoritative, trustworthy, and easy to navigate? Think like a potential customer and make your user experience second to none!

Effective Web Sites with Keyword Rich Web Content

2007-07-28T03:34:00.000-07:00

Writing for the Internet is a huge challenge. And this is the main reason why many companies have a separate section for web content writing services or have opted to hire web content writing services in India on a permanent basis to write for their sites. Web site articles and contents need to be changed or revised at least every week. If you’re wondering if that’s exaggerating it a bit too much, let me assure you, unless new information or updates are posted on the web sites every week, even every day, browsers will not be tempted to come back. It’s similar to a shop window display. And every new revision means new articles.

And nobody will be interested in reading articles that are dull. And in the long run this can affect you adversely. Another important aspect of web content writing is accuracy. If the information on the web site is false or inaccurate, it can lead to people being misled, which will not do much good for your business. So, the first step to effective web content writing services is a thorough understanding of the goals of your web site or your organization.

In addition, the content should always be clear and easily understandable to the layman. So, try and avoid fancy language. And last but not the least, the web site should be easily and quickly available to a person browsing. Most internet users, unless they know which web site they’re looking for use search engines to locate web sites on a particular area of interest. A well-written web site home page with keyword rich website content will certainly perform better with search engines than otherwise, where search engine optimization is treated as an afterthought. Search engine optimization of a web site is a mixture of marketing and technology with keyword rich web content, i.e. content that specifically focus on your chosen keywords.

And the web content writing services of India can provide you with such interesting key word rich web site content. When you outsource web content writing services of India, they’ll make sure that your website is visible in all the major search engines, and ranked somewhere in the top. And all that you’ll need to do is to provide them with the keywords you’re targeting, and they‘ll write enlightening, keyword rich content articles for your web site that’ll attract customers and make sure that you’re web site is somewhere in the top position of the search results.

7 Quick & Simple Website Changes That Build Personal Relationships Like Crazy

2007-07-28T03:33:00.001-07:00

So you want make an impact online. You’ve created a website and it’s beautifully designed. You’ve written a sales letter. You have Pay-Per-Click ads and lots of traffic, but no business is coming in. Why? Maybe your website doesn’t work. Could it be missing a personal touch?

Let’s go shopping for a minute. Imagine entering a store that has no salesperson. No one greets you at the door. No one acknowledges your presence. No one answers your questions. No one seems to care that you have come to visit. If you have a question who do you ask? You will probably leave and find someone that does care and can answer your questions.

Does your website provide the best customer experience possible? I like to think of the website like a salesperson. The components of your website represents you when you are not there. What does your salesperson/website look like? What does your salesperson/website say? Is your salesperson enthusiastic or boring? Compassionate or Firm? It is important to build a website for your targeted audience. What does your targeted audience what to hear? Start thinking like your customer.

I have put together some questions to help you start thinking about your website’s components that may need to be changed or modified.

1. Does your website have a crystal clear vision of who you are?
2. Have you included photos that give your targeted customer more visual information? A personal picture is a great idea, but maybe you own a large yoga studio. Adding some studio pictures would bring warmth to the website.
3. Information about your background?
4. Testimonials with valuable messages? Add testimonials with energy. Everyone loves to read rags to riches stories.
5. Do you want your audience to HEAR your message? Have you thought about adding audio to your website? Why not explain your service to them. Save them the time of reading a long message.
6. Have you included an email address opt-in form box? Most web visitors aren’t ready to buy, they are just gathering information. Give them what they want. Inform your visitor with articles and give them the opportunity to receive email newsletters or ezines from you.
7. What does your site REALLY say? The copy on your website is extremely important. It should be clear, concise and to the point. You may want to consider using an informal, you-are-my-best-friend tone. I try to picture one person and write to that person.

Digging Deep To Get The Most From RSS Technology for Marketing

2007-07-28T03:30:00.000-07:00

An integral part of getting the most from RSS is really understanding how RSS works as a technology --- basically understanding its structure and how to best use it to get more readership and better search engine rankings.

The good part is that it's easy and quick to do, without needing any technical expertise and just using standard RSS publishing tools.

A) HOW RSS FEEDS ARE STRUCTURED

RSS feeds contain the basic information about the RSS feed itself and the individual RSS feed content items that actually carry the content you want to deliver to your target audiences or syndicate to other websites.

All of this information is carried within different perscribed RSS feed elements that are used for different purposes.

But how you use these elements may actually define whether you are getting the most from RSS or not.

Now you don't actually need to know how to create an RSS feed, since your RSS publishing software will do that for you, but you need to know what to put in these elements to make the most from them.

B) RSS FEED ELEMENTS

RSS feed elements describe the RSS feed.

Each element encloses the actual descriptionary information, just like an HTML tag.

The most important elements you need to pay attention to for increasing marketing results are:

1. RSS FEED TITLE

The name of the RSS feed, which will be displayed in the RSS Reader when someone accesses your feed, as well as the search engines and so on.

You need to craft your title so that it stands out among other feeds in your subscribers' RSS Readers and attracts them, and is at the same time rich with your most important keywords to assure you achieve better search engine placement for your feeds.

2. RSS FEED DESCRIPTION

A short sentence that describes the RSS feed. Just as with the title element, the description needs to attract your target audiences (in many RSS Readers the description is displayed just below the feed title) and at the same time assure better placement within the search engines.

So keep it user-attractive, conveying the main content points covered in your feed and the key benefits for your readers, as well as search-engine-friendly, with your most important keywords.

3. RSS FEED IMAGE

The image element is used to display your logo on the RSS feed presentation in RSS Readers. The default width for the logo is 88 px and the maximum width is 144 px. Default image height is 31 px and the maximum height is 400 px.

Including your logo in your feed will make your feed more memorable for your subscribers, thus helping you increase actual readership, as well as provide additional branding for your business.

C) RSS CONTENT ITEM ELEMENTS

While the RSS feed elements define and describe an RSS feed on the level of the entire feed, individual content item elements describe and carry the actual information you want to deliver to your audiences.

And if there's any question about it, RSS content items are contained within an RSS feed.

Each content item may then contain some or all of the elements that describe that content item and provide information.

1. RSS CONTENT ITEM TITLE

The title of the specific content item that is of course displayed in the RSS Reader and everywhere else where your content appears.

Your content item titles are one of the most important things in your RSS feed, determening whether your readers will actually read the rest of the content or whether the search engines will rank it high enough for you.

Just think of the title as an e-mail message subject line and webpage title in one. The e-mail subject line is what makes your recipient decide whether he's going to read the entire message or not. You need to keep it to the point and give just enough information to make it inviting to read on.

The webpage title has much weight with the search engines, helping you get higher rankings for your content for the keywords you're trying to optimize your webpage for.

The RSS content item title performs both of these functions for you at the same time.

2. RSS CONTENT ITEM LINK

The URL pointing to a webpage on your website where the user can read the entire content of the content item, if you're publishing your RSS feeds in summary format. A "read more" type of destination.

If you're publishing your feeds in full-text format the link can serve for archiving purposes, for example if your customers would either want to clickthrough to your site and then bookmark your content in their internet browser.

Of course, if you don't want to provide a backlink to your site, you don't have to, as the link element is optional. This could come useful if you're using your RSS feed meerly as a direct communicational channel to send a quick message to your customers or anyone else, without also providing that content on your website.

But since most RSS users actually expect to be able to clickthrough it's highly recommended that you always provide the link.

3. RSS CONTENT ITEM DESCRIPTION

This is where the actual body content of the information you're trying to deliver comes in … the actual story you're trying to tell.

The description element can either be a short summary, or can contain full-text content of the story, with images and almost everything else (there are some restrictions).

Depending on who you ask, some will say that summary feeds are better, while others will vouch their head for full-text feeds. What you decide for actually depends completely on your business model and what you are trying to achieve with RSS. In short, there are no rules.

Also, you might not even need a description.

--> If you just want to deliver headlines of your latest content and have people clickthrough to your site to find out more you could easily do that. This would usually be useful for syndicating your content to other websites, if you didn't want them to publish anything else but your headline.

--> Or the content you are delivering might not even need a description. For example you could create an RSS feed with the latest stock-market updates where the update would be quickly delivered just using the title element. More on this in later chapters. What you do need to know right now is what kind of content can actually be included if you decide for full-text content.

For starters, if you do it right, standard text formating, such as bolding, works just fine in most RSS Readers, although some may even ignore that. Links within the content and images are also not a problem, although again, some RSS Readers might just ignore them.

But still, most of the new ones won't, so adding some flavor to your full-text content should not be a problem.

If you want to go even further, even tables in content should work in most cases, actually enabling you to post a full e-zine issue right inside of a single RSS feed content item.

The worst problem is that different RSS Readers will display this content in different ways, some even not displaying tables at all.

And finally, if you want to syndicate your content to other websites, they might just want a summary instead of full-text content, so you might need to prepare a summary version of the feed as well.

Web Design that is Screen Resolution Friendly

2007-07-28T03:29:00.000-07:00

Surfing the web always brings up a swath of different problems all based on the different settings implemented by the web designers in their signature web designs. Among these problems is a major one that has to do with the screen resolution settings of all the different visitors who may visit any given web design. When it comes to screen resolution, it doesn’t matter how perfect and beautiful the web design may be, it is very frustrating when a viewer either cannot see the images or text properly, or the viewers have to scroll to the side to see the rest of what the site has to offer. It is truly annoying when the width of the site doesn’t fit within the width of a visitor’s monitor’s screen size.

The reason for this is that many older monitors – frequently VGA monitors – have a maximum of 640x480 pixels that they will support. There area also many visitors to your website who have older video cards. This means that no matter how good their monitor and your website, they simply will not be able to handle higher resolutions. You will need to keep this in mind when you are creating a web design for a large target audience. After all, you will want the maximum number of people possible to be able to easily and clearly read and view your website.

So why is it that web designers continue to write for such large screen resolutions – such as 800x600 and 1024x768 when it means that they’ll be sending so many people away from their sites due to the inability to read them or being frustrated from having to scroll sideways all the time? Actually, there are quite a few reasons to explain this web design pattern. For one, there are likely quite a number of web designers who don’t even realize the issue that they are creating. Similarly, there are those web designers who don’t care that some people will not be able to enjoy their websites. Also, we must consider that some web masters have recognized that their target audience are typically equipped with high screen resolution capabilities, and therefore are simply catering to their desired market.

It is indeed hard to believe that there are some web designers out there who can call themselves professionals and not understand the way that the different technologies used by their viewers will be impacted by the web designs that they create. It is hard to believe that a supposed “expert” may not recognize that their web designs won’t look the same on every computer. Of course, web designers can’t always be blamed, since they often have the latest technologies to make their work more pleasant and professional. However, it is up to them to understand that the majority of the internet using world is not using state-of-the-art technologies. These web designers are only trying to put out the most impressive looking visuals for a website.

When it comes to those web designers who know that not everyone will be able to see their website properly, but they just don’t care are the most likely to lose the highest number of visitors. Any graphic larger than 600 by 620 pixels will definitely create a horizontal scroll bar for several website visitors. This is frustrating to visitors who have to scroll in order to read each line of text. Navigation also becomes a struggle because menus may become partially or entirely hidden as the rest of the content is viewed. Furthermore, if the viewer doesn’t realize that the horizontal scrollbar has appeared, they may simply assume that the site is not finished, that it has errors, or that there is nothing additional to see. If the webmaster simply doesn’t care, they’re turning away an awfully large number of people who could be potential clients, part of a potential network, or even contributors.

When the webmaster has recognized that the primary audience of the site has higher screen resolutions, it is quite natural to create a website design that caters to that resolution. While they will usually meet the standard, making certain that a viewer of 640x480 can still see the vital information on the site, the entire itself will have been optimized for their main target audience. This is an extremely professional way to function because it avoids creating problems of viewing the site no matter what the client, and it still gives the most accurate settings for the equipment used by the main visitors