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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 March, 2002 The Small Business Advisor NEWSLETTER for March, 2002 (ISSN #1089-3121) Check out The Small Business Advisor website at http://www.isquare.com. Visit our advertisers - they help make this free newsletter and our site possible. Subscribe/unsubscribe info at the end of this newsletter. THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR: H-P Work where you want and stay connected, with the HP Pavilion Notebook PC. Light and streamlined, this notebook is perfect for an active, mobile lifestyle. Stay connected with customers, co-workers and partners, and access information on the go. Wherever you want, whenever you want. Buy now and get up to $100 cash back. Stay connected with HP. To find out more about this offer, visit the following URL: http://adfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/1264-5788-4298-1 ========================
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How many times have you called for some sort of service (clean your gutters, paint a garage, fix an appliance, etc) and the call is not returned? Makes you pretty mad, doesn't it? Think you will go back to the company that didn't have the courtesy to return your query? Why no call? In many cases, the business you are calling is simply "too busy." In other words, they don't need your business - at the moment! Just about all businesses have busy times and experience cycles in their activity. You too, I bet. But … Don't ever be "too busy" to talk to a potential customer. Customers you have today may be gone tomorrow and you'll be looking for new ones! Every inquiry you receive is important - don't put off the customer by not returning the call. You might be busy but rather than risk losing a potential future customer, take the time to return the call and explain that while you would like to help you are full up at the moment but will follow up as soon as possible … and give an estimate of the time. Don't forget to keep your word - if you're still busy, make the call anyway and let the customer know. This way you might save that customer for future work. ========================
Hello again, Lisa Lake here with more tips for the beginning home businessperson. As you may know from my past articles, after raising my kids I went back into the work force, and I faced down several challenges. I'm a non-traditional businessperson, and I had to learn the system the hard way. I didn't have a business degree, and I didn't have the years of experience my co-workers did, but, being a reasonably intelligent person and a hard worker, after only a glitch or two I found myself really succeeding. Well, after a few years of commuting, I found I really missed the freedom of being at home, so I decided to go into business for myself. I was not so surprised to find that I now was facing a whole new set of challenges. Working at a corporation I just had to show up and be good at the job I was hired to do. Working at home I soon discovered that I had to be an expert at everything, especially marketing. When you're in business for yourself, you've got to have a way of bringing customers to your business. After a few months of trying different approaches, I learned that the best way to market, at least for my business, is on the web. I've streamlined my best web marketing ideas into what I call my 1-2-3 program, and I'd like to share it with you. Here they are. 1. Get a great web site. Business is seldom done over the phone these days. It's all web based, and having a great web site is crucial, because it's the first impression the customer has of you. If your website isn't professional, people will just move on, won't they? There are several cheap and even free website services on the web. Just do a search and pick the one that works best for you. You can pick decor and font and all kinds of stuff to make your site seem more like you. (be careful about getting too cheap with you website - you want your site to be professional in appearance … ed) 2. Get listed on search engines. This is really important, too. A great website doesn't do you any good if nobody can find it, now does it? This can be a little more expensive, but you'll find it pays off if you do it right. Choose a popular engine or two, and then register key words that you think people who are looking for your type of business might use. Most pay-per-click engines offer a ranking when you submit words so you know where you'll be on the list when you pay a certain amount. Try to get top ten listings with at least two of your terms. 3. Use Autoresponders to get in touch with prospective clients. Have a place on your website where interested customers can enter their email addresses. Then have an autoresponder service send out one, three, or even seven follow-up mailers. This is a great way to bring in people who can't quite make up their minds. There are lots of great sites that are cheap or even free that offer this service as well. Again, do a search and pick the one that works best for you. This combination of website, search engine listing, and autoresponder has worked great for me. My business is booming now, and I couldn't be happier. Give it a try and I bet it will work for you. Lisa Lake has created a list of top promotional methodsat http://MyAdBlaster.com Reach her at mailto:lisa@myadblaster.com or 801-328-9006
You can increase your sales by neutralizing the unspoken objections your prospects may have to buying from you ..BEFORE you ask them to buy. Neutralizing unspoken objections will increase the sales you get from your web pages, sales letters and personal presentations. Neutralizing objections is easier than it sounds. Most of your prospect's objections to buying fall into 1 of only 3 categories. Let's look at these 3 categories of objections..and some proven tactics you can use to neutralize them. 1. THE MONEY OBJECTION Most of your prospects have (or can get) the money to buy what you're selling. But they have a money objection. Some think your price is too high. Others believe they can get a better value from a competitor. You don't have to reduce your price to neutralize these Money Objections. Here are 2 proven tactics that work for any business. Enhance the perceived value of your product or service. For example, some businesses include with each sale a manual, CD or downloadable e-Book crammed with information related to using their product or service. Another effective tactic is to promote yourself or your company as a "Specialist" catering to the special needs of a narrowly defined targeted market. Prospects feel comfortable when buying from somebody who thoroughly understands them and their unique needs. They want to do business with you -- even if you don't offer the lowest price. Here's a simple 3-step process you can follow to develop yourself into a specialist: Step 1: Divide your primary market into several more narrowly defined specialty markets. Step 2: Learn everything you can about prospects in each new specialty market ...and about how your product or service meets their special needs. Step 3: Customize your sales message to appeal directly to the special interests and unique circumstances of prospects in each specialty market. TIP: If you're attracting many prospects who really don't have (or can't get) the money to buy your product or service -- you need to change your market. Target a market where prospects have an intense desire for the benefits produced by your product or service ...AND the money to buy it. 2. THE PRIORITIES OBJECTION Some of your prospective customer didn't buy from you because they put a higher priority on spending their money for something else. You can get many of these sales by persuading them to make YOUR product or service their priority. For example, develop some special offers your prospects can't resist. Create offers so enticing your prospects feel compelled to make your product or service their priority purchase. TIP: Include a deadline for every offer. It forces procrastinating prospects to make a decision. Many will decide to buy immediately so they don't forfeit your "good deal". 3. THE SKEPTICISM OBJECTION Your prospects bought things in the past that didn't produce the promised results. That makes them skeptical of your promises. Some of the ways you can overcome their skepticism include: ** Eliminate any risk of loss. Guarantee your customer's satisfaction. Offer to refund your customer's money if they don't get the results they expect. ** Prove your history of delivering what you promise. Provide testimonials from satisfied customers as evidence you've lived up to your promises in the past. ** Make yourself available -- personally or by phone. This is especially effective for Internet Marketers. Prospective customers feel more secure when they can talk with a real person. Neutralize all 3 of these unspoken objections before you ask your prospects to buy. Do it in your web pages, your sales letters, your personal presentations -- every message designed to generate sales. You'll see an immediate increase in your sales volume. Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in generating low-cost leads. Contact him at BobLeduc@aol.com Return to top of page - Back to Home Page - Back to Archive Index |