Tips from September 18, 2009 The Small Business tips today discuss nonverbal communication by your website.
Your website should be visually appealing, as well as easy to navigate to communicate important info to visitors.
Be color friendly. Be sure to choose colors appealing on monitors, as well as for those who are color blind.
Have a theme throughout your web site. Each page should have similar headings, footers, & design.
Text should be big enough to read easily by everyone visiting your website, especially your target audience.
Daily Overview: Communicate clearly online by using common sense, organization, & always keeping your target in mind.
By Cheryl Sowa · September 18 2009
small business tips, small business, online, tips
Tips from June 18, 2009 The Small Business tips today will be how to close a sale.
Recognize the time to close. Distinguish their mood and personality. If the client is stressed, busy, or in a rush, stress the important points and tone down your presentation. If the client is relaxed and willing to talk, go through your presentation thoroughly.
Debrief your prospective client. Restate the benefits to your product or service and what the prospect can expect. Reiterate what you have agreed on and what the client needs to do.
Decide on a closing technique. There are hundreds of ways to close, but the most common is the direct close approach. Once you feel you have gotten over every objection and can fulfill the needs of your prospective client, go for it.
Make a closing statement and ask for their order approval. Include all necessary information the prospect needs...
By Cheryl Sowa · June 18 2009
small business tips, small business, sales, tips
Tips from June 17, 2009 The Small Business tips today will be how a sales team can grab a prospective client’s attention to lead to a successful sale.
Set limits on how much you talk. On average, 60 seconds is the maximum to talk about yourself or your business. Engage the prospective client to signal the next time you can speak so you avoid rambling.
Ask open-ended questions to enable dialoguing with your prospective client. Prompt them with questions that cannot be answered with a yes or no question. Begin with what, where, when, why, or how.
Do not manipulate, lead, or control your prospective client. Encourage the other party to reveal their opinions about your product or service.
Build rapport. Being kind and courteous goes a long way and you will gain the trust of your potential client. An individual who can trust a salesperson is more willing to do busines...
By Cheryl Sowa · June 17 2009
small business tips, small business, sales, tips
Tips from June 16, 2009 The Small Business tips today will be steps in order to make a successful sales call.
Use a professional greeting and introduce yourself and your company. Let the other party participate in the greeting. Be general and keep your prospect curious by not introducing the product right away.
Express gratitude when informing the prospect the reason for your call. Don’t waste any of their time, and show appreciation towards the prospect. Give the purpose of the call in the form of a question, and sell what your product can do for them and not just the product itself.
Set up a second meeting to give a full presentation. If your prospect wants to discuss your product right then and there, do so. If not, set up a meeting at a future date and give two specific times for them to choose to put you in control.
Thank your prospect for their time and give your contact information.&nb...
By Cheryl Sowa · June 16 2009
small business tips, small business, sales, tips
Tips from Friday, May 8, 2009
The Small Business tips today will be about tracking the results of your advertising, it’s absolutely fundamental to your success.
Coupons and offers with different codes for different runs or medias will help you find which ads and which route will do best for you.
In testing different offers, headlines, copy and design, save money: test ads on less expensive media; cheaper newspapers, smaller ads, etc.
Record how many calls from each ad come in. Use a phone extension even if you don't have one. It's a great way to track each ad.
You can also track by asking for your customer's zip code or phone number. This will tell you the demographic return.
Daily Overview: If you don't track your customer response rate, you will never know what is really working, and where you are just throwing your money away.
By Kim Fenolio · May 08 2009
small business tips, marketing, small business, Advertising
Tips from Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Small Business tips today will cover the elements you need to know in order to make a Yellow Page advertisement work.
First determine if Yellow Page advertising is for you. How many repeat customers open the phone book every time to look you up?
Know your customers, your category, and what your competition is doing before ever speaking to a YP sales rep!
The 1st ad noticed is the 1st ad called over 50% of the time. Have a strong visual presence to draw attention: HIRE an artist.
Customers looking at yellow page advertising are already sold. Give them the benefits & the facts so they'll call YOU.
Daily Overview: If Yellow Page advertising is for you, make sure you stand out from the commonly designed ads. Be Different!
By Kim Fenolio · May 07 2009
small business tips, small business, tips, advertisements
Tips from Wednesday, May 5, 2009
The Small Business tips today will be about direct mail: an immediate response media – people either respond or trash immediately.
To succeed w/ direct mail advertising, you will have to be aggressive. Don’t forget you have to sell. List benefits, ask for the sale.
Be aggressive with descriptive writing. Be graphic. Be visual.
Biggest benefit you offer that makes you different from competition: unique selling position. Make it stand out so that YOU stand out.
The REAL key to success: testing. Test each part until you find the best possible combination that achieves the highest profit.
Daily Overview: The only thing that counts with direct mail advertising in the end is the response rate. Sell. Test. Test. Sell.
By Kim Fenolio · May 06 2009
small business tips, marketing, small business, Advertising
Tips from Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Today’s Small Business tips will cover taking advantage of the fact that 57% of adults in the U.S. read a newspaper daily.
Newspaper advertising is sold by the column inch and different classifications may have different rates.
A smaller advertisement run repeatedly does better than a larger ad run less often.
You can't afford the same old newspaper ad these days. Design and word to evoke emotion for attention! Motivation for action!
Talk with your newspaper staff to locate your local target audience; pay for that circulation.
Daily Overview: As always, you have to provide value and build trust. Get attention, create desire & ask for action repeatedly.
By Kim Fenolio · May 05 2009
small business tips, marketing, small business, Advertising
