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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor Newsletter for April, 1998 CONTENTS
++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTES/TIPS/etc SOCIAL SECURITY INFO. Your social security records are important (especially in light of possible Year 2000 problems!). Get a current copy by calling the Social Security Administration at 1 (800) 772 1213 and ask for a "Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement," Form SSA-7004 or get one over the internet at http://www.ssa.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT BUSINESS. NASA has a couple of programs of interest to small businesses. The Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) The general objective of the SBIR Program is to provide increased opportunities for small businesses to participate in federal research and development. The goal of the Congress in establishing the STTR program is to transfer technology developed by universities and federal labs into the private marketplace through the entrepreneurship of a small business. Learn more about these programs at http://sbir.nasa.gov. PASS. If you are interested in marketing to the U.S. Government, you must register with PASS - the Procurement Automated Source System managed by the Small Business Administration. Registering with this central referral system of small businesses interested in selling to the government can bring you business with almost no effort. Registration is free. Call 1 800 231 7277, the PASS hotline. Over a thousand government procurement offices and commercial contractors now use this system and many routinely rely on PASS to help them identify small businesses for contracting opportunities. Don't miss out on this opportunity! SMALL BUSINESS STATISTICS.
Just in case you don't think your small business makes a difference or
if you feel alone, take a look at these facts from the SBA and SCORE:
"404 Error." This is the error message returned if a link is bad or incorrect in your website and can cause you to lose a visitor. I recently was made aware of a very clever way to solve this problem. When the fix is implemented, clicking on a bad link will return a page of your choice instead of the useless "404 Error" message. Here is what to do: Find the file named ".htaccess" which is located in the root directory of your website (get there via ftp). Edit the file to add the following line: ErrorDocument 404 http://www.yourdomain.com/404.cfm. "404.cfm" is a new html page that can be anything you like. To see what I did, go to my site at http://www.isquare.com. Now, change the URL to read http://www.isquare.com/xyz.htm. "xyz.htm" does not exist so you will be taken to my "404.cfm" page. INTERNET STATISTIC. A Better Business Bureau study has determined that the average price limit at which respondents would be uncomfortable purchasing an item on the Web is $1,500. [Higher than I would have thought … ed] UNINSTALL IE4. Uninstalling Internet Explorer 4 can be a major job. Get help from the Microsoft site at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q174/2/65.asp or visit the Netscape site at http://www.netscape.com that has (big surprise!) uninstall instructions for IE4. WHO'S LINKED TO YOUR SITE? Here is a repeat (by demand) of a popular hint. Find out who is linked to your website by using Alta-Vista with the following search string: +link:http://www.yoursite.com -url:http://www.yoursite.com UPS vs U.S.P.O. Don't automatically think the UPS is always the best choice for shipping at the lowest cost. Many companies that do a lot of shipping (such as Home Shopping Club an Nieman-Marcus) are switching to the Postal Service as their preferred carrier. The reason is cost. UPS is not small business friendly anymore - home businesses no longer get the lower commercial rates. Consider the USPO when shipping - we use them almost exclusively and only resort to UPS if we need really speedy delivery and are willing to pay the price. Also, the USPO is getting very service oriented - in fact starting in 1999 there will be tracking services. Get with it UPS before its too late. SPRINT TELEPHONE SERVICE. I'm convinced that if there were really truth-in-advertising, no telephone company would ever advertise. Consider Sprint's latest "deal" - their Sprint Sense Home Office package that is advertised as 1000 minutes for $100/month. Hmmm 10- cents/minute, not bad except for what you are NOT told unless you ask - billing is rounded UP to the nearest minute making it not such a good deal after all. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ NATIONWIDE ISP's
Many of us travel extensively and would like to keep in touch while on the road. Using a nationwide Internet service provider (ISP) can make it much easier to retrieve e-mail or keep in touch with the office. Pricing is pretty much the same regardless of who you choose, about $20/month and an additional $5.00 or so for an 800 access number. Here is contact information for eight of the largest: IBM: www.ibm.net,
800 455 5056 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ NO BUSINESS IS
TOO SMALL TO SELL TO UNCLE SAM The United States Government is the world's largest purchaser of goods and services to the tune of over $225 BILLION dollars annually. Virtually everything you can think of is purchased in both large and small quantities. So, have no doubt that whatever service or product your business is selling it is being sought by this prolific buyer! Also, get the idea out of your head that the Government only deals in large purchases and with large companies. Sure, they buy airplanes and submarines for billions of dollars but in fact this level of buying accounts for less than 5% of all Government purchases. The majority of purchases are for $5,000 or less from small and "micro" businesses! The government does not make any distinction between small businesses and home businesses. Furthermore, and equally important, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has a mandate to make sure small businesses obtain a certain percentage of everything the government buys. Because of this, nearly all government agencies have special small business programs that are designed to ensure this mandate is met. The SBA also maintains a presence on the Internet (http://www.sbaonline.gov). Don't overlook them as a source of current information and assistance. Now then, how can you possibly pass up a customer like this? So what's the catch? None, really. There is a perception that doing business with Uncle Sam is so hard that the trouble is not worth it. The secret to selling to the government is to be knowledgeable about the process. Here are a dozen initial steps you can take that will put you on the road to making the largest customer in the world yours! ONE. Determine the Standard Industrial Code (SIC) code for your products or services. This code is used by many agencies when purchasing and you will need it when filling out various forms. SIC codes are listed in "The Standard Industrial Classification Manual" (700 pages!) which is available at most larger libraries. Check the reference section. You can also purchase your own copy from the Government Printing Office for $29. Call them at 202 512 1800. TWO. Get a CAGE code. This is an alphanumeric identifier assigned by the Defense Logistics Services Center and identifies your business. CAGE numbers are used by many government purchasing activities to identify the firms with which they do business. This code is especially important if you want to sell to any of the Defense Agencies. You obtain a CAGE code by first contacting the agency with whom you are interested in doing business or an authorized Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) who will complete a portion of Form "DD 2051." You then complete the form and submit it to: Defense Logistics
Services Center There are too many PTAC's to list but here are three. Contact one nearest you and ask for the contact information of the PTAC that serves your area: Economic Development
Council of Snohomish County University of Nebraska
at Omaha (NBDC) Long Island Development
Corp THREE. Ensure that each agency with who you might do business has a copy of your SF-129 (Solicitation Mailing List Form) so that you will receive copies of any solicitation from that agency. Copies of this form may be obtained from virtually any government agency. Simply call and ask for the "Small Business Representative." Review the U.S. Government section of your local telephone directory for numbers. You can also get copies from the General Services Administration Business Service Center in your area. Call 202 708 5804 for the office nearest you. Also check with the SBA who can assist you with determining which agencies may be interested in your product of service. Call them at 1 800 827 5722. FOUR. Visit or call the office of any government agency in your area and talk with the small business representative about selling to their agency. FIVE. Get listed in PASS. This is the Procurement Automated Source System which provides a central referral system of small businesses interested in selling to the government. This can bring you business with almost no effort at all and it's free! Get a PASS application form by calling the PASS hotline at 1 800 231 7277. If you are a minority owned business, get listed in ABELS (Automated Business Enterprise Locator System), another important database. Get an application by calling the Minority Business Development Agency at 202 482 1958. SIX. Review the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) for contract awards to determine sub-contracting opportunities and to check which agencies are purchasing your product or services. You may find copies of the CBD at most large libraries, you may subscribe at a cost of $260/year by contacting the Government Printing Office at 202 512 1800, or best of all you may view the current issue for free on the Internet at: http://www.fedmarket.com or http://www.govcon.com SEVEN. Share ideas with local companies doing business with Federal government agencies. Most newspapers carry listings of companies that have won government contracts. EIGHT. Market directly to other contractors, state and local agencies who receive Federal contracts. Find who they are by reviewing the CBD. NINE. Pursue micro & small purchases. Most agencies purchase millions of dollars of products in amounts of $5,000 or less. Make sure that you indicate you are interested in these small purchases when you talk with the various agencies. TEN. Ensure that your company brochure is in the hands of every procurement agency you can locate. Try to get it into the hands of the small business representative for each agency that purchases your product or service. The small business representative can be located by calling various agencies (local numbers if a facility is near you) or their Washington, DC headquarters. Simply ask. Additionally, your local SBA office may have lists of contacts. ELEVEN. Visit or call your local SBA office and ask for assistance and ideas. Specifically these folks can assist you in determining what agencies might be interested in your product or service. TWELVE. Obtain a merchant card account (accept credit cards for payment). Most agencies are now using credit cards for purchases less than $2,500. Lastly, let me mention the importance of "getting connected" to the Internet. Virtually all government agencies now maintain webpages that include up to date information regarding what they purchase and their procurement procedures. Check out The Small Business Advisor website at http://www.isquare.com and follow the link to "US GOV BIZ" for more details on selling to the government. Good luck! (This article is an excerpt from "United States Government-New Customer! (540pgs) by Robert Sullivan. It is available from the publisher for $27.95 plus $4.50 s/h. Toll-free: 1 (800) 375 8439) ++++++++++++++++++++++++ WHAT'S IN A TITLE? by Dr/Bob/Robert/ (take your pick) Sullivan When someone is introduced as "Dr" or "Mr" or "Bob" we all immediately formulate opinions as to who this fellow is and how we should react to his words. We react to the title. It's sort of interesting, and curious, but it's something to think about in your business dealings. Using a title selectively can be advantageous - depending on the situation or the audience. I'm proud of my academic achievements but in the business world it pays (literally) to remember who you are talking to. For example, when I'm giving a seminar or selling one of my small-business related books, I'm "Bob" - I do not want to give anyone the impression that my talk is going to be academic in nature, nor do I want to make anyone uncomfortable. My books indicate that the author is simply "Robert Sullivan." The book is not a "text book" and I don't want to do anything to convey that impression. When I'm consulting, I become "Dr. Sullivan," hotshot high-powered academic. I want my customer to be impressed(!) and to get the feeling he is dealing with someone who can assist with his problem. Use your "title" only when it makes sense. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ SECRETS TO A
SUCCESSFUL EMAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN Email marketing campaigns fail for many different reasons, but the most common mistake online marketers make is not designing the campaign in a manner to produce results. Over the past couple of years I've developed this list of key elements to ensure my email marketing campaigns are both profitable and successful. Now I'm going to share them with you so you're email marketing campaigns will do the same for you. Element # 1: Choose Your Mailing List Very Carefully Any email marketing campaign is only as good as the mailing list used. There's many different choices when determining the source of your mailing list so you want to be very careful when making this decision. Too many times email marketers believe the best way to produce results is by using shotgun-marketing techniques with harvested email lists. The premise is based on large numbers and the law of averages, in that you'll produce results simply by sending your ad out to as large a number of recipients as possible. This is a very ineffective way to produce results. The key of choosing your list is based on your target market. You're ad may be great but if your mailing list doesn't consist of your target market, you just as well not send it out. You can use a very small targeted list and produce incredible response rates, depending on your ad, but you can get in the 15% to 35% response range. Before you purchase a mailing list, make sure the list owner can tell what market is represented on the list. Element # 2: You Want To Produce Responses Not Sales When you advertise, your goal is to get the prospect to respond by requesting more information about what you're offering for sale. Too many times online marketers try to make the sale in their ad and all too often they fail. Your ad must focus on the most powerful benefits your prospect will gain from the purchase of your product and how they can get more detailed information. You want your ad to sound as if you're talking with each prospect personally to get the best response rates. Element # 3: Make Your Ad Brief And To The Point In today's fast paced society, people are busy and your email marketing needs to take this into consideration. Look to your own experience to help you out here. When you're searching for initial information you don't want to wade through a mountain of information, you want information that's brief and to the point. You'll have more time to go over the more detailed information in the sales material once you've made the initial inquiry. If your ad rambles on and doesn't get to the point quickly, your prospect will simply skip over your ad and move on to the next. Pick the most important benefits of your product and let your prospect know what they are and how they'll solve their problems. Make sure your ad gets directly to the point about your offer. Don't make your prospect guess about what you're offering. How do you expect them to request more information if they don't understand what you're offering them? After reading thousands of ads, the most common mistakes are made in both the length of the ad and that it doesn't get to the point. Element # 4: Give Your Prospect An Incentive To Respond The most powerful word in advertising is "Free!" When you make an offer of a free sample or report, your chances of getting a better response is dramatically increased. Discounts and limited time offers can also be used in your ads, but they're best used in the sales letter when trying to produce an order. For the best responses, make your incentives immediate and short term. You want to create a sense of urgency when using incentives. If you can generate more ad responses using incentives, you're increasing your chances for making more sales. Element # 5: Include A Strong "Call To Action" Have you ever read an ad that when you finished you couldn't figure out what to do next? This is a fatal mistake that's made in many ads. Don't be timid here, make sure your prospect knows exactly what to do if they want more details. You can have them send an email, visit your web page, call a phone number or any other method of delivery you've chosen, just make sure you give your prospect some options and make the call to action strong. This is an excellent place to combine an incentive. Element # 6: Track And Record Your Responses Developing a successful email marketing campaign isn't just having a great ad, its having a great ad and knowing what kind of responses it'll produce in a specific target market! Your ad might be very successful in one target market and less successful in another. But you won't know this if you don't "Track and Record Your Responses!" You can use special codes as department numbers or form numbers, but the best strategy I've used is in linking a specific ad to an autoresponder or web page. Make sure you always record the responses on a tracking form for evaluation and reference. Element # 7: Follow Up With Every Response It completely baffles me why an online marketer would spend their time, effort and money to advertise and then make no attempt to follow up with the prospects. You've created an interested prospect because they've asked to get more details, don't stake the success of your business on the fact that after they've read your sales letter, they'll place an order without you asking them for the sale again. If you don't follow up and ask for the sale again, you're passing up the opportunity of a 20% to 30% increase in your sales. I don't know of any business owner who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to increase their sales by 20% to 30% percent and you can accomplish this by just following up with your prospects! Element # 8: Test Your Entire Email Marketing Process The key to producing a successful email marketing campaign is: "To Test Your Entire Process!" Test, test, test, test! Think about this: Is your ad pulling the most responses it can or can it get a much larger response rate? You'll never know unless you test. Here's where you can take a small profit and create a fortune for your business. You want to take a systematic approach that'll give you quantifiable results for comparing specific ads, sales letters, markets and advertising mediums. But be very careful. Don't make wholesale changes, test each component in your process separately. Test, test and test some more! Be patient and be persistent! Element # 9: Expect Questions From Your Prospects No matter how well your ads and sales letters are written, you'll still get questions. Online prospects are more educated and want more information before they make their buying decision. In fact, before I make a purchase online, I send an email to the advertiser asking anything, just to see what and how quickly they respond. You'd be amazed at how many times I never receive a reply. When you do respond, do it honestly and quickly. They're hot prospects when they ask a question, so get them the information they want and as quickly as possible, before they cool off. If you don't want the sale just do nothing. Element # 10: Set Reasonable And Achievable Goals In most email marketing campaigns, a 1% to 3% response rate is considered very good. You can and will see better and worse response rates by carefully selecting a targeted email list. But you need to set reasonable and achievable goals for your campaign. If your goals are set too high and can't be reached you'll become disillusioned and stop marketing. You want to be able to reach some of your goals so set them up in steps to keep building from. Final Thoughts: Once you begin your email marketing campaign you'll begin to see for yourself which of these elements you've mastered and which ones you still need to work on. In to give your campaign the best possible chance for success, make sure you've considered and applied these 10 Key Elements. Make your selections carefully and with a specific goal in mind and soon you'll find that you're easily obtaining your email marketing goals and producing incredible profits from your online marketing campaign. To Your Online Marketing Success! (Terry Williams is an internationally known online marketing expert and the publisher of "Internet Marketing Issues." For more details e-mail his autoresponder, mailto:virmbaimi@intersuccess.com or Visit: http://www.intersuccess.com/bkstore/books.htm. Subscribe to IMI For Free at mailto:Sub-IMI@intersuccess.com) ++++++++++++++++++++++++ MILLION DOLLAR HEADLINES Here are some of the all time great business pulling headlines. They've generated huge responses for the businesses running them. As far as I know you can't really copyright a headline, so you can plagiarize or adapt them for your own ads. Read the headlines, then I'll tell you why they work so well: * THE TRUTH ABOUT GETTING RICH * YOU CAN LAUGH AT MONEY WORRIES IF YOU FOLLOW THIS SIMPLE PLAN * HOW MANY MISTAKES ARE YOU MAKING RIGHT NOW? * BANKING SECRETS BANKS DON'T WANT PUBLISHED * THEY LAUGHED WHEN I SAT DOWN AT THE PIANO, BUT WHEN I STARTED TO PLAY.... * THE FIVE MOST COSTLY MISTAKES IN BUSINESS So what makes these headlines great? They all immediately attract the readers interest, and they all strongly suggest that the reader will benefit in some way. But before you start using headlines like this, think about your offer first. You can't use this kind of powerful headline unless you have a powerful offer to back it up. Some headlines are fantastic at drawing attention to what's on offer in the advert. Suppose you're selling stereos, you could run with this headline: "Stereos on SALE." Boring! Or you could adapt this headline: "Costa Mesa Man swears under oath that his new energy pill does not contain cocaine or any other illegal stimulant... "It's a food, not a drug," he says." In fact an Australian marketing consultant wrote a very powerful ad for a stereo retailer that achieved incredible response..."Local business owner swears under oath that the stereo's he's selling so cheaply didn't fall off the back of a truck." See how easy it is? When you come across a marketing technique that impresses you, whether it's a headline or something else, pay particular attention to it and adapt it to your own business.
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