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Small Business Marketing

Where Are The Best Ads for Small Business Marketing?

By Charlie Cook | October 23, 2007

If you’ve ever wanted to look for ideas you could use for marketing slogans, radio commercials or video ads – you’ve probably been frustrated. To find the good marketing ideas you have to search through all the trash that’s out there.

Wish you could find one place to go to where someone already had put together the best video commercials, radio as and marketing slogans?

Finally there is a resource you can use to get marketing ideas and advertising ideas for your next marketing campaign. Use this link to check out the best business advertising ideas >>

Charlie
Marketing Ideas That Make You Money

Should You Fire Yourself from Being Your Small Business…

By Charlie Cook | October 18, 2007

I finally gave myself a promotion yesterday. Have you earned one as well?

No, I’m not just patting myself on the back for growing my business, I’m firing myself from all administrative tasks and promoting myself to focus on the few parts of my business no one else can do. Should you be doing the same?

Are you up to your eyeballs in work? Are you spending dawn to dusk doing marketing, administration and fulfillment? If you are, you’re wearing too many hats and it’s time to relinquish most of them.

When I first started my marketing business, I spent my time writing, building and improving my web site, boxing and shipping my marketing courses, providing one-one-one coaching and a host of other tasks that kept me busy six days a week. My hard work paid off and my business grew – up to a point.

When administrative and operational tasks started taking time away from writing and coaching, I fired myself from the web work and fulfillment. I hired a webmaster and a virtual assistant to get orders out on time. Are you in this position too?

Some small business owners have a hard time delegating substantial work after being in control of every aspect of the business, but take it from me; the assistants I hired were faster and better at doing the web work and fulfillment tasks than I was.

Delegating administrative tasks and web site maintenance freed me to focus on the core of my business, where my real passion is, and to pursue another passion. I was able to work from my ski home in Vermont for the first time last winter.

The result? I skied a (personal) record of 30 days last winter and achieved record sales.

Want to free up more time so you can grow your business? Use this link to find out how >>

Yesterday I reorganized again and virtually kicked myself upstairs to a corner office. I let go of all administrative and operational tasks and hired my new assistant, Ros, to manage email broadcasts, product delivery, customer service, project management, PR and new product development. I’m confident she’ll do a better job than I’ve been doing.

Why would I fire myself from all administrative jobs?

With the 10 or more hours a week I’ve just given myself I can take on more coaching clients, finish the next book I’ve been writing and start a new service which could grow my business by another 100% next year.

How should you focus your time to grow your business? Use this link to find out how >>

Focus your time on your marketing strategy , developing new products and services and delivering the services that need your personal expertise.

How can you get relinquish all those time consuming administrative tasks?

Start by creating a job description of your next assistant. Look over your To Do list. Ask yourself, “Could someone else do this task or is this something only I can do?”

I spent two weeks doing this exercise. Every time I spied a task on my list that fell into the administrative or operational category, I added it to my job description for my new super assistant.

Find out how to free yourself from being your business so you can grow your business >>

Once you’ve defined the job and the skills your business needs, how can you find good people? What do you do if you don’t want employees? How much will it cost? Where can you find the answers?

If I’d had the time I would have written ‘Outsource & Delegate‘. It’s that good. Use this link to to claim your copy of this book >> >>

You owe it to your business to download ‘Outsource & Delegate‘
right now and start implementing these time-saving, life-changing
techniques right away. Use this link to find out how >>

– Charlie Cook
Small Business Marketing Ideas That Make Sense

Are You Using The Right Marketing Ideas to Open Doors to New Business?

By Charlie Cook | October 12, 2007

Why It Wouldn’t Open…

I was in the bathroom shaving when my wife called up from the garage. She was running late and wasn’t having any success starting the car. She’d put the key in the ignition but it wouldn’t turn, and she wanted my help so she could get going with her day.

When she handed the key to me I knew right away what the problem was. It wasn’t going to start the car no matter how many times I or she tried it. Why?

We own two cars, an Audi and a VW Passat. The keys look identical except one has the Audi logo on it and the other a VW symbol. My wife in her early morning semi-awake state had grabbed the wrong key. She was trying to start the VW with the Audi key. When I pointed out her mistake she switched keys and was on her way.

Your marketing is the same as a car. If it’s not getting you where you want to go the first place to look is the key you are using to get things started.

Want to unlock your marketing and get sales rolling in? Use this marketing idea >>

Your business marketing message is the first thing your prospects see or hear when they read your materials or hear your ads. With the right one, you’ll grab your prospects attention and interest and you can get a virtual or real conversation started.

If your marketing message isn’t starting up marketing conversations then you’re using the wrong one. No matter how hard you try, no matter how many times you use it or how much you spend on advertising or mailings it’s never going to help you get where you want to go.

If you’re frustrated with your sales, the first place to look is your business marketing message. Starting a flood of sales can be as simple as making a switch to a different marketing message, one that works.

Want more clients and customers? Find out how to get things started with this marketing idea >>

Charlie
Business Marketing Ideas You Can Count On

What My Wife Knows About Small Business Growth…

By Charlie Cook | September 13, 2007

Is it women or just my wife who knows this?

I hear it regularly from my wife. She keeps telling me I’m too busy and it’s time to get more help. I also hear the same thing from my male clients. They call me and tell me they just talked to their wives and want to go ahead with a project so they can focus on growing their business.

Yes, I and many men have the tendency is to go it alone instead of getting help when we need it. Do you do the same?

I don’t know whether its just my wife and the wives of the clients I attract but its good advice.

If you want to grow your business you have to stop being the business, doing every task and wearing every hat. When you do that you don’t have time to focus on the more important tasks, like growing your business.

Do you need to let go of some of the tasks you do in order to grow your business?

Here’s a simple way of deciding. Take out a piece of paper and divide it into 3 vertical columns.

In the first column make a list of all the things you could outsource or teach someone else to do. In the second column list the areas you could use some expert adivce – legal, accounting and marketing – so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. In the third column – list the tasks only you can do.

Then get the help you need to free your time up so you can grow your business. I had one client who was about to build ten pages for his web site when his wife brought him to his senses and prompted him to hire a web designer to build his web pages so he could focus on the next big profitable project instead.

Are you getting all the help you need to grow your business? Or are you wasting your time do tasks someone else could do for you?

If you want to succeed, take my wife’s advice and get help and you’ll see your profits soar.

– Charlie
Small Business Marketing Ideas That Work

What’s The #1 Lead Generation Small Business Marketing Mistake…

By Charlie Cook | September 11, 2007

“My business is like a roller coaster. When things are going well, I’m too busy working on projects to do any marketing. Then I finish those projects and don’t have enough leads to market to.

How can I smooth out these ups and downs and grow my business even more?”
– Bill, a management consultant Cambridge MA

Ever wish you had more leads to pursue when sales take a dip or you finish a project?

Or, even better, leads to pursue before sales take a dip or the work slows down?

With a steady flow of business, you could manage staffing and cash flow better and significantly increase your annual revenue.

When I asked Bill what he did to follow up with the hundreds of senior managers he worked with each year, he sheepishly told me, “nothing”. He didn’t have a follow up strategy. I asked him how many business cards he’d collected at the last talk he gave to over 50 senior managers. His answer? “None”.

Don’t be mislead; Bill is a successful consultant. He works with CEOs and top-level managers at Fortune 500 companies. But he was making one big mistake, and it was keeping him from being as successful as he could be.

What’s the mistake Bill was making? Bill didn’t have a lead generation system or a follow up system. When there was a drop in the demand for his services, he had to start his marketing from scratch.

Want to avoid making this common marketing mistake?

Use this link to find out how >>

How can you get off the roller coaster and bring in a steady stream of business?

Think like a squirrel.

As fall approaches here in Old Greenwich, CT the dozens of squirrels in my neighborhood are busy doing what squirrels do; they’re collecting nuts and storing them away. They instinctively know that the more food they gather, the happier and fatter they’ll be, come February.

They have a system for collecting nuts each fall that gets them through the long winter.

Weathering the ups and down of the business cycles requires the same kind of planning. To come out on top, you need a marketing system for collecting leads, storing them and following up on them. The more qualified leads you have in your database, the happier you’ll be.

What’s the easiest way to generate more leads every month? Use this link >>

A lead generation system gives you an organized way of contacting prospects, qualifying them, prompting them to contact you and helping them make the decision to buy from you.

Is your lead generation system working as well as it could be to bring in a steady stream of new clients? Is it providing you with new sales from long-standing clients?

Put Your Lead Generation Marketing System to the Test

1. Do you have a system?

Bill had no system whatsoever for generating leads. He was getting occasional referrals, but referrals alone weren’t growing his business.

2. Does it work to prompt 10% of all people exposed to you or your marketing to contact you?

Whether you are giving talks to large gatherings of your target market, as Bill is, or marketing online through your website, the basic concept behind a lead generation system is the same. You want to motivate as many qualified prospects as you can to contact you.

Most small businesses and service professionals have websites, but few sites generate more than a trickle of leads. The graphics, content and marketing messages on your site should prompt a minimum of 10% of site visitors to contact you. If this isn’t happening, your site is broken and you need to fix it.

3. Do you have a sequenced system of communication for converting prospects to clients?

In my experience, only 1 out of 10 small business owners have a system for converting prospects in place. So if you don’t you’re not alone but if you want to grow your business you need one.

Once a prospect expresses an interest, you’ve gotten them to take the first step in the process. It doesn’t mean they want you to sell them. Usually that is the quickest way to kill the sale.

Prospects want to get to know you, trust you and discover the value of your product and services. Whatever media you use, your follow-up communication should accomplish this.

What’s involved in setting up your lead generation system? Use this link to get the details >>

You don’t have to go nuts to develop a solid lead generation system. With a simple, strategic marketing system in place, your business can grow every month, whether you’re immersed in a project or on vacation.

If you don’t already have one, put your lead generation system into place this fall and see your business continue to prosper this winter.

– Charlie
Small Business Marketing Ideas That Work

Is Your Business Running On Empty… Use this marketing idea

By Charlie Cook | September 3, 2007

Marketing Ideas #4

– Charlie Cook
Small Business Marketing Ideas to Keep Your Business Running At Full Speed

How to Increase Repeat Sales…

By Charlie Cook | August 30, 2007

When I came back from lunch on Wednesday I found a package waiting for me from a copywriter who does work for me. I wasn’t expecting anything and was intrigued. Eagerly I opened the box to find a heavy gold tinted fountain pen.

I got it! A writer sending a pen as a thank you, but a fountain pen!

I haven’t used a fountain pen in decades. It was a nice thought but it wasn’t something I or anyone I know could use. Given the thousands of dollars I’d paid him it seemed cheap and went straight into the trash.

It’s not that cost is issue with a a thank you present. I’ve received Tiffany crystal from a financial advisor that cost hundreds of dollars. But it didn’t fit in our home and I couldn’t figure out what to do with it.

When you send your client a thank you present – you don’t want it to be outdated, out of place or useless – or they’ll think of you in a similar vein.

Now you know what not to do, what should you do to increase repeat sales?

You just made a sale or finished a project for a client and you’d like to get them to buy from you a second and a third time. You enjoyed working with them and you made some good solid cash and you like to make it happen again.

You know it’s at least 8 times easier to sell an existing client then a new one and you’d like to reduce your marketing costs and increase your profits. So what’s the solution?

When a client buys from you its based on the strength of the relationship. They could have bought a similar product or service from anyone but they picked you because they liked you and trusted you. It’s the strength of your relationship that gives you a competitive advantage.

What can you do to keep this advantage?

Every one likes to be appreciated and saying “Thank You” is one way of letting your clients know they are more than just another dollar to you – but to make it work you need to say thank you in the right way.

When you send a client a thank you present – send them something they want, will keep and can use. Do that and they’ll think highly of you.

For example I had one client that I’d worked with for a couple of years who spends a lot her time sailing with her family. I sent her a gift certificate to the marine supply store in her town. She couldn’t thank me enough.

Similarly a virtual assistant of mine, knowing I did a lot of hiking and skiing, sent me a gift certificate to LL Bean. I was delighted.

When you know your client well it’s easy to think of something they want that you can send them. What do you do if you don’t each client well enough to provide a thank you present tailored to their interests?

After answering a couple of questions over the phone about Blogging for Al, I received a gift pack of the barbeque sauces his company makes. Every one likes food, and thanks to Al’s gift for five minutes of my time, I won’t forget him.

You can also give clients travel certificates such as my client GetUpAndGo.com provides. Every one likes a vacation and the gift will give you permanent shelf space in your client’s minds.

What can I give you as a thank you for being a subscriber that you’ll keep and you can use?

I can give you the secrets you need to transform your web site into a profit center so you have all the money you need to take more vacations. And I’ll give you $100 off if you act before Sept 1st. Use this link to get the details >>

Most web sites don’t even generate a repeat visit much less repeat sales. Want to know how to change that so visitors come back again and again to buy from you over and over? Get the details >>

Charlie
Marketing Ideas That Work

What To Do When Business Starts to Dry Up…

By Charlie Cook | August 28, 2007

Want to flood your business with more leads and sales?

– Charlie
Small Business Marketing Ideas That Get Attention and Sales

How to Market Your Small Business in Tough Times

By Charlie Cook | August 21, 2007

“My sales are off by 50% from two years ago. In 2005 we sold and installed over $1.2 million worth of audio and video gear in homes in the Chicago area. This year we’ll be lucky if our sales are half that. What do we do?”
– Steve, Home Audio and Video

Even if you’ve been on vacation the last couple of week’s you’ve probably noticed investors in the stock market are starting to run for the door and the real estate market is plunging in parts of the country.

How does this affect your business?

I don’t want to scare you too much, but unless your small business marketing helps you stand out from the competition, selling your products and services is going to get harder in the next few years. How bad is it? Should you be running for shelter with your business?

Absolutely not!

That’d be the worst thing you could do. What’s happening in the stock market and real estate market and elsewhere in the economy are natural corrections – but there is a ripple effect and people are becoming more cautious in their spending.

Should you be concerned?

Yes, but worrying won’t pay the bills. You need a marketing plan to come out on top.

People are still spending money and still need your products and services but they’re becoming more discerning. It’s easily possible to continue to grow your business. You could even double sales in the next 12 months, but to do so you need to stand out from the competition.

Do you want to stand out from the competition? Want to uniquely position your products and services so you can continue to grow your business?

If so, you’ve got the right objectives. Now you need to learn the most powerful secret in marketing, one that can help you double or triple your business within months.

The secret to successful small business marketing is simple; give your prospects the information they want.

I know what you’re saying.

You already do this and you’ve got a list of satisfied clients to prove it. But despite a successful track record you’re still not attracting as many new clients as you want.

I’m sure your products and services are what people want and you’ve got many satisfied clients to prove it. But if you’re not getting all the business you can handle, then your marketing isn’t working hard enough.

Most small business marketing fails because it mistakenly gives prospects information they aren’t interested in and won’t respond to.

Want to stop struggling to succeed with your business? You’ll become highly sought after when you find out how to use your marketing to position your business as the unique solution for your prospects.

When you sign up a new client, your goal is to make them happy by providing the superior service or products. What you are doing when you provide quality services is putting your clients’ interest first, and it pays off in repeat sales and referrals.

The same principle works in marketing. Put your prospects’ interest first in your marketing and you’ll stand out from the competition, become highly sought after and have more clients than you ever imagined.

This sounds incredibly obvious and simple, but the fact is that hardly any businesses actually do it. When you do, you’ll put yourself light years ahead of your competitors.

Ready to attract more clients? Discover exactly what to do to get all the clients you can handle. Use this link to get the details >>

– Charlie
Marketing Ideas for Small Business Owners That Get Results

How Can You Create A Sense of Urgency With Your Small Business Marketing?

By Charlie Cook | August 17, 2007

What’s one of the biggest obstacles to increasing your sales?

It’s getting people to buy from you now, today, this second. It’s overcoming your prospects’ natural tendency to put off making a decision. Without a sense of urgency they won’t take action, won’t take out their credit card or send you a check and you won’t make as much money as you could.

What keeps your prospects from buying from you today and what can you do about it? Use this link to find out >>

Everyday I look at the list of things I want to do; return calls, writing, coaching, managing the business, biking or kayaking, dinner with the family etc and its chock full with more things than anyone could ever do in a day.

What do I do first? I circle the items on my list that are urgent to my business and to my sanity, the things that are my top priorities for the day. If I complete those items then I take a look at the other items on my list.

But you know what really happens?

Typically other urgent items get added to the top of the list and some tasks wait a long time to get done or simply fall off the list. Sound familiar?

You may have the world’s best product or service and be getting a trickle of orders but if you want to turn it into a torrent you need to prompt your prospects to buy today! Take fifty prospects in any given month and only one of them is likely to buy.

It’s not that they don’t want your product or service. But without any sense of urgency, your prospects don’t take action and your sales stagnate. How frustrating is that?

My son, home for the summer from college, is the same in regards to cleaning his room. It’s low on his list of priorities and the piles of clothes never get cleaned up despite repeated requests. However my wife’s latest threat that she’d start throwing out anything she found on the floor did get his attention.

We all do the same thing – put things off we know we should do. When do hardware stores sell out on flashlights or batteries? When a hurricane is about to hit or the power goes out.

Do you want to keep losing sales because your marketing lacks the urgency it needs to prompt prospects to buy? Want to eliminate obstacles to sales and increase your profits? Use this link to find out >>

How can you create a perception of urgency and increase your sales?

Use FEAR!

No, I’m not suggesting you try and scare your prospects with impeding doom, catastrophe or the threat of random acts of violence. Making your prospects panic isn’t the best way to start or maintain a long-lasting profitable relationship and you’d probably get in trouble with the law.

What I’m talking about is using FEAR OF LOSS as a motivator. Tell someone they’re about to lose a great opportunity and they’ll want it even more.

Does this really work?
Take a look at online auctions. If you’ve followed a few you’ve noticed that a week before an auction ends, there are only a few bidders. Then, boom, in the last few hours or even in the last minute the number of bidders will double and the price people are willing to pay skyrockets. More than once I’ve seen items be auctioned off on Ebay for more than its retail price in stores.

Why? Why does this work so well? No one likes missing out getting something they want.

If you want people to buy from you today you need to put it at the top of their list so its urgent. You can use:

– Time
– Limited supplies
– Offer added benefits

Of course make sure your offers are believable and accurate.

The auction model works particularly well because it combines limited-time and limited-supply to create a sense of urgency. You can do the same with your marketing.

Are you losing 67% or more of potential sales because of obstacles in the marketing and sales process? Want to discover how to stop losing money and easily increase your profits from the same number of prospects?

Find the answer before you lose another sale. Use this link to find out >>

– Charlie
Small Business Marketing Ideas That Work