A Business Man in the Making

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Marketing Your Business

In the movie "Mean Girls" starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams the main character Cady talks about something called "word vomit" that's when you start saying things that you really don't need to be saying but you can't help it.

So what on earth does that have to do with your home based business? Well I believe that when almost all new home based business owners are talking to people about their business they have a severe case of "word vomit".

It's really not your fault, you actually think you're doing the right thing. After all if someone wants to know about your business you should give them as much information as possible right? Wrong.

When talking to someone about your opportunity less is always, always, always more. This is not to say that you should keep important information a secret or act like you're ashamed of your business. Does a prospect need to know the type of business you're in? Yes. Do they need to know what they'll be doing if they become involved? Yes. Do they need to know how much money they make on their 3^rd level? NO!

I know that it's super easy to get excited about your new business but don't say too much and risk overwhelming a prospect.

Try to answer only the questions that are asked of you in an honest and professional way without giving people too many details that they don't need.

This is especially true when it comes to marketing online. I can't tell you how many times I see people advertising their home based business and giving way too many details. Think about the way big fortune 500 companies advertise. They talk about their product, service, store whatever and then stop. They don't tell you the starting salary for their employees, the directions to get to their nearest location and the name of the college their CEO when to school. It's just too much information!

Are you starting to see what I'm saying? Less really is more when it comes to your home based business! So the next time you're talking to someone about your business remember to:

- Answer the questions they ask you honestly and then stop

- Don't get bogged down in the little details

- Don't assume prospects want to know something wait for them to ask

Follow these tips and avoid the "word vomit" that can kill your business.

Posted by Rick :: 2:30 AM :: 0 Comments:

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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Four More Ways to Market Your Business in 2009

Your success as a business owner or executive will be largely determined by how many high quality clients you can attract and retain. My last article covered four ways to reach qualified prospects. In this article I will cover four more ways to market your business to potential clients. The key to all of these marketing strategies is to provide good information to a targeted group of people.

Write Newsletters

Effective newsletters are a good way to stay in touch with your clients. Whether they are e-newsletters or hard-copy, monthly or quarterly, newsletters help you establish a brand, develop expertise, and stay in touch.

Press Releases

Let the local press know about some of your clients' success stories. For a quick primer on press releases, visit wikihow.com/Write-a-Press-Release. Visit marketingsource.com/pressrelease/releaseformat.html for a nice sample template.

Website & Online Video

Whatever marketing activities you choose to do, put this on the top of your list. A good website will outline your core services, who you are and who you help, and attract visitors from your target market. There are countless examples to see. Simply Google "Service Business (Your State)" and hundreds of websites will come up. It doesn't have to be an incredibly high-tech site to make a difference, but it does need to be optimized for search engines and you should make a habit of using your other marketing efforts to drive traffic to your site. When creating your website, consider adding video content. Some business owners make entirely new presentations using PowerPoint while others simply use video from a recent seminar. In my opinion putting an informative video on your site (either about your business, about a current trend, or both) is the best way for people to get an idea of what type of business owner you are.

Write Books

Writing a book or two is another way to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Several service business owners have taken their books and created presentations from them. This is a nice situation because they get revenue from book sales and clients become interested in their businesses. It is easier now than ever before to get a book published. If you don't have the time to hire an agent and/or market your book to the publishing houses, you can self-publish or even write an e-book.

We've now covered several marketing activities that can draw prospects to your business. While they are also great ways to stay in front of your current clients, there are additional marketing strategies that can help solidify your relationship with people who already do business with you. My next articles will focus on marketing ideas for client retention.

Visit http://www.GoalRevolution.com for your FREE copy of the GR Newsletter.

Bill Tamminga is the founder of Goal Revolution LLC.

Bill is the creator of the GR Business Growth System and the author of Advanced Business Triage, a set of white papers that explain Bill's systematic business assessment and growth plan for service business owners and managers, high end sales professionals, and independent financial planners. He also wrote The Ultimate Success Tool.

GR corporate training offers reasonably priced leadership, management, sales, and marketing courses. The course texts come from leading institutions including Harvard Business School, the University of Southern California, the Gallup Organization, and others.

Labels: 2009 Business Marketing, 2009 Marketing Tips, Business, Marketing

Posted by Rick :: 7:59 AM :: 1 Comments: