Posted by: SBA Blogger | March 14, 2012

How to Get Free Publicity

  Publicity Secrets: One of the best ways to expand your business, make more money and gain credibility in your marketplace is through publicity.

Publicity means getting coverage in the media (press coverage) as a story or source of information.

What’s more, publicity is FREE, especially compared to advertising.

Publicity is more powerful than space advertisements because space advertising is viewed as purchased content (biased views) and is often overlooked and ignored by readers and listeners.

Publicity is so powerful because if a journalist features you in a story (writes a story about or around you or your business) or quotes you as a source of information, as an expert, you gain tremendous credibility.

You can get publicity by writing to a journalist or editor of a newspaper, blog, magazine or trade association publication (letter to the editor).

You can write an article or booklet and secure valuable publicity as an author.

Aren’t you an expert in your field?
Don’t you deserve to get at least your fair share of publicity?

We have used this very technique to sell over 60,000 copies of our books and publications and build our business development consulting practice.

To discover how you can get publicity and put you and your business on the map, right now, for FREE you can get your copy of The Small Business Advisor’s amazing audio program: “How to Promote Yourself and Your Business with Writing.”

We are offering this classic audio program to You now at no charge because we want you to know that one of our services is writing press releases, which is a cornerstone of building a publicity campaign.

Act now because this special offer is good only while supplies last.

Send your request and mailing address to The Small Business Advisor, PO Box 758, Armonk, NY 10504-0758 USA. Please include $5 to cover shipping and handling. We accept checks, cash and US Postal Money Orders; international members please send an extra $5 to cover shipping and handling.

Good Luck. See you in the media!

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Posted by: SBA Blogger | March 7, 2012

Sales Secret: Check the Words; Make Every Word Count

  Proofread Everything You Write Before You Send a Letter, Email, Brochure, etc.

Listen to Every word you write. When you launch a written piece that’s not “perfect” you tarnish your image and reduce your selling power.

When you work on a document for a long time it’s likely you become blind; We do. In other words, you lose your independent perspective. It often becomes difficult to distance yourself and take a removed, objective view.

Look for spelling errors (typos), grammar errors And incorrect words.

In marketing, some words are More powerful than others Even a one-word change in your pitch can make All the difference between winning and losing the sale. Some words may offend your audience, especially foreigners, different cultures.

Or, maybe you are in a hurry to dash off an ad or promo; perhaps you’re facing a deadline.
Take your time, do It right. Read, reread and proofread your material. Read it aloud and ask someone else to read your ad or letter aloud to you. Close your eyes and focus.

An estimated 55% of our business is marketing and copywriting (the rest is business development), and when we write sales letters and marketing materials, we find Loads of mistakes, even After we run spell check. That’s why we take our time, allow for extra proofreads and re-drafts in our scheduling. Because, Yes, One Word, can and does make the difference between winning and losing the sale.

Today, I received this marketing email from a member of my chamber of commerce:

“Be a Guest at Your Own Pary with Chef Dominick!!!”

What IS a “Pary?”

A “party” I presume. I think Dominick’s mistake is a poor reflection on him.

Other consumers might think that his brand of “pary” is special. I don’t know but I am not inclined to find out.

Anyway, a one-line email from someone I don’t know explains nothing about his food, flare or unique selling proposition. He didn’t pique my curiosity about him or his service.

Okay, I’m going to return to proofreading a business plan for my client.

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Posted by: SBA Blogger | March 1, 2012

The Best Time to Start Your New Business

  Yesterday morning, my son Mike and I played soccer in our traditional Sunday game. Then I grabbed my favorite: well done bacon (burned!), egg and cheese on a roll for breakfast at my local deli. Umm.

A young man who was a senior at Syracuse University was also ordering. I asked him what he wanted to do (career goals and aspirations). He was majoring in economics and wanted to go into finance but the market was really lousy Now so he intends to pursue another field.

Boo!

If you’re committed, keenly interested, in a particular field, Go For It! Now.

Don’t let the naysayer, the negative Nellies or the doomsday team ruin you and quash your spirit.

Leaders build skyscrapers that last a lifetime.

Put another way, in today’s lousy finance environment, [yes there are fewer jobs offered] but at the same time, I suspect that many applicants are running for the hills – pursuing other careers. So fewer people will join the troubled field.

I believe that when you start your career or your business during the Lousy times, the bottom of the cycle, you learn, you tough it out and you have to overcome obstacles that wouldn’t exist during the good times (the boom). So, start when you’re ready, for example, now, and you’ll position yourself beautifully for the next upswing.

Pick your spot, a field that really piques your interest and Go After It!

Entrepreneurs, start your engines now!

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Posted by: SBA Blogger | February 22, 2012

How Networking Secret Yields New Sales

  The other day, I visited my friend Eddie at Le Mer Seafood in Armonk, New York 10504.

Eddie told me that he visited the new steakhouse in town and he saw a former customer who had moved his offices from across the street from his Le Mer Seafood to the nearby office park. The former customer purchased lunch for his entire staff every Friday, but now with the “move” lunch at Le Mer Seafood required a car ride. Too cumbersome.

Eddie greeted the customer; the customer explained the story (the move) and Eddie said, “He would deliver lunch with 1/2 hour’s notice!”

Presto – a $100 order out of the blue.

While I am sure you know the power of networking, here are a few ideas to help you leverage your efforts and win more business:

1. Maintain a list or database of your customers and especially your top customers.
2. Keep in touch with them regularly through letters, emails, postcards, a blog, a newsletter, special coupons, special offers and telephone calls (if appropriate).
3. Even though it may be tiring, show up at the places where your customers go. Woody Allen said, “80% of Life IS Showing Up.”
4. Follow the press in your space: in Armonk, the Chamber of Commerce sends out email announcements.
5. Take a booth at the local parade, carnival or town festival. On a grander scale, this could be a trade show.

Reach out and ring your cash register.

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Posted by: SBA Blogger | February 15, 2012

The Most Important Ingredient for Sales Success

My son Mike, as you may know, is a very accomplished soccer player, top 5% in his grade. Recently, he joined my Sunday game. Ages range from Mike who is the youngest player to Gustavo who’s almost 60. What’s more, half the players are from Peru. Outstanding.

As you can appreciate, the first time young Mike stepped on the soccer field he was a bit anxious. Very Understandable. But once he found his spot and worked his magic, he came into his own and on a relative basis, he was very competitive. After a while, Mike started playing “his” own game, his own style. He even scored two goals.

The key to his success was self-confidence! And that’s the most important ingredient to successful selling – self-confidence!!!

To gain self- confidence as a sales professional, the key is to build your self-confidence.

1. If you are just beginning your career as a sales professional or you haven’t closed a sale in a while, call on your favorite customer.

2. Consider closing a sale with an existing customer. If they already know your product or service, it should be easier to sell them more.

3. Close a sale with the smallest and most popular product or service you offer. Hopefully, this will meet with the least resistance.

4. Set up a sales call with a new prospect and set the goal to showcase your offering, Not to close a sale.

To build your self-confidence, practice your sales pitch and sales technique and take “baby steps” until you are ready to call on the President and boost your sales commissions.

Good luck and send me an email if we can help you brainstorm!

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Posted by: SBA Blogger | February 8, 2012

Customer Service Secret #1: Cause and Effect

  Analyze the cause and effect in your customer interactions and watch your customer loyalty and sales soar!

My nephew, almost 12, went to day camp this summer. He had a great time, although at the end we discovered that his counselors (college age) teased him. For example, they put ice down his shirt. They pressed a slice of pizza against his face. Disgraceful! Custom is to tip the counsellors because they earn a nominal wage without the tips. My nephew told my brother and sister-in-law that he did Not want to give any money to his two counsellors because they abused him. They had the Audacity to tell my nephew that they needed the tips to help pay for college. Unbelievable.

Yes, this treatment and behavior IS egregious and You may think this would never happen in your company, but let’s consider a few scenarios…

1. Your employee has a fight with his/her spouse, partner, children or parents. What kind of mood will the employee be in that day?

2. You hand out Christmas Bonuses and Raises (salary increases) and Jack is annoyed that his raise was a “bit light.”

3. Your employees find out that their healthcare premiums are going up by 15% when their wages increase by only 5%.

And on and on…

Analyze your people carefully. Though this may seem trite, Keep ‘em happy…

Analyze the potential impact your employees have on your customers and the health of your business.

 

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Posted by: SBA Blogger | February 1, 2012

The Extra Gift that Drives Customer Loyalty

  Today I received my new Enterprise Rental Car membership card (Enterprise Plus) (1-866-429-7048). Enterprise Plus is their “frequent flyer” or customer loyalty program.

To my pleasant surprise Enterprise included a “Free Upgrade” on my next rental certificate, coupon or voucher.

Unexpected. Wow.

I don’t know when I’ll need to rent a car, but odds are very high I’ll select Enterprise.

Frankly, I don’t know what benefits I get with their program or how many cars I need to rent before I receive a free day.

BUT, I do understand a Free Upgrade. Plain and Simple. Crystal Clear.

Either I can rent my “normal” car and upgrade or rent the car one level down and drive my “normal” car. The reward is tangible — either savings — money in my pocket or a better car. See it. Your customers will too!

Keeping in mind that customer reward programs help build customer loyalty, which you know:

1. Make the bonuses and rewards interesting and appealing to your customers and target customers.

2. Make it easy to win something, even if it’s a nominal gift. The key is that the bonus, gift or premium is meaningful to your customers. In other words, give your customers a million reasons to come back and become repeat customers.

3. Make the bonus Fun. People love more fun today. Life is just too stressful.

4. Make the reward easy to visualize, simple to understand. People crave simplicity today.

We’ll be reviewing customer loyalty programs in upcoming posts.

Speaking of customer loyalty, to obtain your bonus copy of our Disappearing Rare Book Mystery Game, send your receipt or other proof of purchase from any of our eBooks or the welcome email that you joined Small Business Advisors along with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to Small Business Advisors, Inc., PO Box 758, Armonk, NY 10504-0758 USA. Enjoy.

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Posted by: SBA Blogger | January 25, 2012

New Business Success Secret #1: Hit the GO Button

  The Best Way to Expand Your Business is to Get into the market and test your products and services ASAP.

Don’t make the classic entrepreneur’s mistake and wait too long to enter your market. Or it’s likely you’ll likely refine yourself out of the market and miss the boat. In other words your target market may move away from you.

Find out the actual [likely] demand for your products and services, and Then assess the quality and relevancy of your offering or proposed offering. Adapt based on market feedback!

One of our clients has been developing a particular type of software – a Web 2.0-based online entertainment portal. Sounds very exciting to us, Except the founder has been developing this software for 4 1/2 years. His beta test worked very well and his Relatively Small focus group of 7 people loved the product. What else would you expect (though the gang did make some recommendations for refinements and enhancements).

BUT, the founder has yet to launch the platform and therefore has No realistic sense of how many people will join. Yahoo is in this space and so we know there’s a viable market, but we can’t really assess how many people will adopt my client’s product. He’s sunk his life savings into this venture, even mortgaged his house and tapped his retirement accounts. This case may be or sound a bit extreme But it’s true.

Either way, don’t fall in love with your products and services.
-Let the market decide.
-Conduct tests.
-Launch your products and services as soon as you can or at least begin the marketing process as Early as you can.
-Get candid and relevant feedback
-Then adapt and upgrade your offering smartly, wisely, eagerly and quickly.

Please contact the Small Business Advisor so we can help you be more successful. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you grow your business.

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Posted by: SBA Blogger | January 18, 2012

Blog Marketing Secret #1

  Internet marketing pros and pundits today almost always urge us to Blog, at least Three times every week.

We would probably all agree that blogs are a Very important way to establish one’s business on the Web and attract customers across the globe. In addition, if you’re like us it’s more than likely that you’re overloaded–pressed for time–working on building your business and making money. As a result it’s likely you don’t have a ton of free time to write blog posts.

That’s where The Small Business Advisor can help You succeed and establish your Spot on the Internet.

Top Celebrities work with ghost writers to write books. Why not you!

The Small Business Advisor’s premium-perfect Ghost Blog Writing Service is right on target, professional, unique, innovative and cost-effective. Just let us know your themes, mission, target market and desired spin (slant) and we’ll do all the rest. You can give us some topics and subjects to get started or we can do it all.

Our professional staff of researchers and writers will articulate your message, capture your tone and establish your voice in your marketplace. While you grow your business, we’ll handle all the work and effort, happily! Fresh, customized blogposts, handcrafted Especially for You.

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Posted by: SBA Blogger | January 11, 2012

The Crucial Customer Message: Remind Your Customers

  Be sure to Remind Your Customers About Your Product/Service Offering – Especially your Old & Cold (Existing) Customers.

This may seem like a simple and routine tactic but I can’t count how many of my [new] clients who overlook this easy yet powerful sales and marketing strategy.

Never assume that your customers are familiar with Your Entire line of products and services.

And, I write ‘Entire’ on purpose;

How many products and services do you offer?
1 or 2? 4? 8? 15? 159? 1,500?

How many products and services do your typical customers purchase?
How many products and services do they see?

By reminding and informing your customers about your offering Every Now and Again, you’re providing useful information. And you’ll help unclutter their minds and make your offering stand out.

Don’t overdo it, but don’t be bashful either.

You Never know when your customer (buyer) is ready to buy or when they become Open to you and your message/offering. Often, a correspondence will trigger some thoughts, ideas and needs. And ring your cash register.

Here’s why it’s so important to keep your customers informed about your business, products and services:

–They may have forgotten
–You may have expanded or changed direction
–Businesses change
–Times change
–Circumstances change

–Employees come, employees go
–People’s needs change
–Buyers (customers) quit; new ones arrive
–Companies merge or are spun off, etc.; they create divisions and enter and exit markets
–Maybe you signed this customer years back and have had little interaction since.

Can You Really afford not to keep your customers informed about your offering?

Assuming that your products and services are of High Quality, Your customers will likely appreciate the ‘heads up.’

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