Small Business Advertising – In 47 Seconds

I know it’s bad form to send visitors away from your site,
but you have to see this video.

I don’t know if it’s a real company or not, but this is the
kind of video that will spread like a fire during a dry spell
in Califorina.

You may have to watch an ad first, but hang in there and watch
the salmon video.

Here is the link:
www.spikedhumor.com/articles/97915/John_West_Salmon.html

You can do this,
Blase

Small Business Sales Tip – There Is No Competition!

I was having a conversation with one of my clients the other day that I need to tell you about.

She owns a retail store and that’s what I normally coach her about, however she has another business that she has started asking me questions about and this is the part I am exploding to tell you.

I am not going to tell you what she does, it’s a great niche and I know how people love to copy what other’s are doing. The niche does have a lot of competitors also. Now here is the interesting part. The product she sells is sold by her competition for around $400.00.

She sells the same thing for $800.00 and she sells a lot of them!

I have told my kids and my clients for years you have no competition and here is another case that proves my point.

Taking my advice she has asked her customers, “what was it that made you decide to buy from me?”

Their answer is always the same. They tell here that they have contacted her competitors by phone and by email and they never call back. My client always calls back or responds to emails almost instantly. She will take the time to answer any and all questions that her prospects may have. She will keep helping them as long as they ask.

Is it worth it?

You tell me, she’s making twice as much as her competition if they do make a sale. She closes just about every prospect that contacts her.

There really are four principles here.

1. You don’t have any competition!
2. Give outstanding service to everyone!
3. People are looking for someone to give them advice and information before they make a purchase!
4. You don’t have to be the low priced leader to sell something if you can add value!

Hopefully this gives you something to think about and I think it eliminates an excuses I hear all of the time.

“There’s too much competition” That’s just B.S.! So you can stop using that one.

You can get more sales and marketing tips for free from www.GSSAM.com

Now go sell something,
Blase

Advertising Tip – Are You Confused?

Talk to almost any advertising agency, or Fortune 500 company
exec about advertising and promotion, and you will almost
certainly hear buzz words like ”fragmented advertising” and
“consumer-centric campaigns” and long discussions about the many
pitfalls and difficulties of creating effective advertising
campaigns today.

What is fragmentation exactly? It’s the increase in the number of
available methods for getting your message to your audience.

One of the main difficulties faced by any entrepreneur is that
advertising has changed and evolved over the last few years. It
now includes visual, audio and electronic media.

If you do a Google search for advertising, you may feel
overwhelmed by all the options available to you now — if you
just look at the options for your Website you’ll find popups,
popovers, audio messages, flash video, RSS, even animated “sales
people” that can be programmed to appear right on your Website
and interact with your customers. And that’s just the tip of the
iceberg!

So is traditional advertising, which includes billboards,
radio, television, newspaper and magazine, dead?

Not by a long shot. According to one top advertising mogul,
traditional advertising methods are still around because they
still work.

The trick is to figure out who your target market is, what they
want, and how they look for that information.

Mark Twain said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the
right kind of advertising.”

If you know your customers, you should spend your advertising dollars on
the mediums they use to look for answers.

If your customers are senior citizens who are not online, then
focus the majority of your advertising dollars on the newspapers,
magazines, television, and radio that they are reading, watching
or listening to.

If your target market is working parents, you need to know how,
when and where they get their information. Is it on the Internet?
What radio stations do they listen to? What magazines are they
reading? Do they watch television? When? Why?

So what are your best options for creating an effective
advertising campaign?

Here are some simple steps:

1. Know your audience. What do they want? Where do they shop?
What do they read? How old are they? Where do they hang out? Do
they need your product or services? Can they afford your product
or services?

2. Know your competition. Be prepared to do a little detective
work. What are your three main competitors doing to advertise?
Where are they advertising? How often? What types of advertising
methods are they using? How long have they been running? Are you
reaching the same audience? Is your message different?

Look at what they’re doing right, and figure out creative ways
that you can make your advertising just a little bit better, or
differentiate yourself from the crowd.

3. Next take a look at what the “big dogs” in your field are
doing, and see if you can adapt some of their methods to your
target audience and your budget.

4. Know your message. What exactly are you trying to say? What do
your customers want to hear? Why should they buy from you, and
not someone else? Make every word count.

Chances are, your customers are more tech-savvy than they
were five years ago, or even one year ago. The Internet has made
unbelievable amounts of information accessible, but it also has
contributed to the “information overload” consumers complain of.

Another side effect of the Internet is that your customers have
probably become used to getting “instant gratification” when they
are looking for information, products or services. They want it,
and they want it now. Are you giving your customers what they
want, when they want it?

If you want to have an effective advertising campaign, don’t try
to be everything to everyone. Think of your advertising as a
conversation between you and your one “ideal” customer.
Remember, if you’re giving your customers what they want, they
don’t perceive your ads as a nuisance, they see them as a
service.

Traditional advertising is not dead and you can use it to your
advantage if you pay attention to who your customers are, and
what they want.

For more FREE marketing information go to www.GSSAM.com

No go sell something,
Blase

Sales Tip – Easy Sales Increase

I was speaking to an associate today and a life lesson that
I had a long time ago came to mind.

Almost thirty years ago I was a rookie in training for the
NCR Corporation. I was out working with a guy that at the
time I would have called an old timer. He was probably younger
then than I am today.

Any how we are out all day making calls, this was back when
you actually could make cold calls and see people. Well it
was about 4:00 pm and we were heading back to the office, at
least that’s what I thought we were doing when all of the
sudden this guy pulls over and parks the car.

He reaches into the back seat and grabs his little index card
file, which I had seen many times before and pulls out another
card.

Then he looks at me and says, “I’ll bet you thought we were
going back to the office didn’t you?”

Well he says I learned a long time ago that by 4:00 pm all
of my competitors have already gone home so it’s not a problem
to see somebody this time of day. He also said that if you will
just force yourself to make one more call per day that’s 250
calls per year extra!

WOW! That’s powerful stuff, but so simple.

So how does this apply to you? It doesn’t matter what job position
you are in. If you are a salesperson make that extra call. If you
are a telemarketer make that extra call. If you are a business
owner do one more thing on your to do list before you go home.
If you are an employee trying to climb the corporate ladder you’ll
be amazed at how fast you will go up if you follow this action plan.

Apply this to your personal life spend an extra ten minutes talking
to your spouse. Pick up the phone and call some one you’ve been
meaning to call. Maybe spend a few more minutes with the kids.

Just think what is one more thing I can do today before I call it
quits? You will be amazed at how just one more thing everyday adds
up to some really big things when the year is done.

For more “FREE” helpful information go to; www.GSSAM.com

Now go sell something,
Blase