Small business marketing can now be accessed by Google TV for about $100.00 depending upon the run time of your commercial. You can upload a video commercial right from your computer. This is so cool! Check out this video for the full scoop.

What did you think?? Leave me a comment below!

How would you feel if you could sell more products or services,  AND sky-rocket your sales with zero resistance? It’s easier than you think.

Let’s face it, we all hate to be sold. How many times have you entered a department store and had a store clerk ask…”can I help you?”… only to replied…”no thanks, I’m just looking.”

Have you ever avoided a sales clerk because you didn’t want to go through the “selling” process?

Last year when I went down to my local car dealership I felt like Elvis Presley. I never saw so many sales people walking towards my car as I pulled in. I felt like a piece of meat thrown over board into shark infested waters. It was such a turn off, I quickly looked at some vehicles and left.

It’s a fact that 82% of us dislike the selling process and avoid it at all cost.

So how do you sell more with zero resistance?

The times have changed,  selling more by pushing products and services on your clients simply doesn’t work. You have to become your client’s confidant.

We all love to do business with people we like and trust. People we feel are like us, understand our needs, and are willing to listen.

I recently had our air conditioner replaced. I had three different sales men come out. Only one took the time to share with me what would take place, and how it would benefit me. He shared with me how my utilities would decrease, how the air would circulate better throughout the house, leaving it cooler or warmer depending upon the season.

He took the time to explain why it was important to have the air ducts hanging properly without restriction. He also pointed out why some rooms would cool better than others,  and how this would alleviate that problem.

By the time he left my home I felt like he understood what I really wanted from a new air conditioner. I felt as though I had a trusted friend whom I could rely on.

Before he left he suggested a better filter, which I agreed too, and purchased. He also suggested I have the unit serviced once a year, which I agreed too, and also purchased.

In order for you to “sell more” you have to educate your clients about your products and services. Share with them all the “benefits” that your products/services provides.

Let me give you a quick example of how “selling more” would work in a beauty salon,  then you can incorporate it into your small business.

Lets say your staff member is doing a facial for a client. Your staff member would explain what they’re applying, AND what the benefits are to the client. Inform your client on how your product will keep their skin youthful looking with fewer wrinkles. Explain what the sun and wind does to their skin, and how using your product can combat the aging process.

Then simply ask your client if they’d like to take some home to use on a regular basis. Explain the “benefits” of using your creams daily, and why your products out perform the cheaper “store bought” products. This will easily boost your sales with zero resistance, AND it completely removes your staff from the burden of selling. But what you’ll love most about “selling more”, is that your clients won’t even know that they’re being sold…PRICELESS!

Contact me if you need further assistance, AND let me know what you thought of this article by leaving me a comment below. Good, bad, or ugly, your feedback is important and welcome.

Helping you increase your small business sales,

I received a call from a potential client yesterday. She told me that her salon wasn’t attracting enough clients, and her beauty salon was down 33% for the year. (Yikes!)

To make a long story short, I asked her what she was doing to acquire clients,  she told me that she had an ad running in her local newspaper, a web site, and she relied on referrals.

So I began with some diagnostic questions like…

* How much money did you plan to make this year?
* How many clients do you need each month to reach your goals?
* How much money do you have budgeted for marketing your salon?
* What contact information are you collecting from your current clients?

Fortunately Debbie contacted me before her salon went into an acute comma never to be resuscitated.

First, you have to know your numbers (yearly gross, monthly break evens, number of clients needed, average monthly sales,  marketing budget, etc.)

Second, you can’t expect to catch a “net” full of fish with one or two poles. Meaning, you have to have a minimum of 6-8 ways to attract clients depending upon your specific goals, and needs. Ask yourself this question…Where would my potential clients go to look for my services? (newspaper, yellow pages, website, mailbox, internet, etc.)

Then you want to make sure that you have as many marketing strategies that YOU need (poles in the water) that will put you in front of your perfect prospects consistently and cost effectively.

Here are just a few marketing tactics that will help you get your message in front of your perfect prospects.

1. Direct Mail: (Postcards, sales letters, and fliers.)
2. Newspaper: (Make sure it’s your “local” paper.)
3. In Store Fliers: (Promotional programs, etc.)
4. Web Site: (Make sure your web site is optimized for your local area, you should dominate page “one” on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask.)
5. Social Media: (You can find professionals and potential clients in your local market using Facebook & Twitter.)
6. Text Messaging: (Keep in contact with current clients.)
7. Email Marketing: (Another way to inform your clients about up coming promotions.)
8. Newsletter Marketing: (Position yourself as the “expert,” and offer your tips, products, and services.)
9. Referral/Affiliate Program: (Get your happy clients referring friends, family, and colleagues.)
10. Yellow Pages: (More people are looking on the internet, but still a viable media.)
11. Val-Pak: (This is a good place to do one of your “value added” marketing promotions.)
12. Article Marketing: (Write and submit articles showing the world your expertise.)
13. Networking: (Join a group of like minded individuals. Local Business Assoc, Toast Masters, Marketing Assoc, etc.)
14. Radio/TV: (This is expensive and it’s a “shot gun” method.) If you use this method wait until your small business is thriving, AND test small before you spend thousands of dollars.

If you have several small business marketing poles in the water “simultaneously” I guarantee that you’ll attract more customers. AND the 13 (minus radio/TV) small business marketing strategies mentioned above are all “cost” effective. These are just a few marketing poles that you can implement immediately to attract a consistent flow of new customers.

When you know your numbers you can set up a marketing “system” to attract enough customers so that your small business doesn’t end up in the emergency room.

Remember… “If you don’t take the time to work on your business, the business you once thought was the key to your freedom, could easily become your captor.” Glen Andrews

Contact me if you need further assistance, AND let me know what you thought of this article by leaving me a comment below. Good, bad, or ugly, your feedback is important and welcome.

Helping you increase your sales,

Positioning strategies are all about how your prospects perceive you. To start off, nobody likes to be sold. Give your prospects enough information to make a buying decision in a safe environment and watch your sales soar.

Would you rather come to a decision on your own after acquiring the proper information, or would you rather have a pushy salesman try to convince you that his or her services are perfect for you?

Decide how you can position yourself as the expert in your field. People are easily persuaded by people of authority, and by people they perceive to be experts.

Let me ask you this. When your doctor prescribes you medication, do you question their judgment? No! Why not? Maybe because you consider your doctor to be an expert in the field of medicine. Lets say your lawn guy come to you and tells you that you have a disease that’s killing your grass, would you believe them, and be willing to take the proper steps to prevent it? In most cases yes! Why? Because you see them as the expert, someone who has the knowledge to solve a particular situation.

We have been programed from childhood to respect and listen to experts and authority figures. Or at least people we think are experts or authority figures (Dentists, Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers, Police, Politicians, Engineers etc.)

So, how can you position yourself as an expert? It’s fairly simple. Set up marketing systems to let your prospects acquire more information about your expertise. You can do this through websites, Free recorded message lines, audio CD’s, free reports, articles, and direct mail.

If you set up this system properly, you’ll only deal with prospects that are ready and eager to do business with you. You have to STOP trying to convince your prospects that you’re their solution, and allow them to come to that conclusion on their own.

When you’re trying to sell someone on doing business with you, what’s their first reaction? No thanks, just looking. They immediately pull back and reach for their canister of anti-sell mace, they shoot you right between the eyes, you tear up, and go running to momma without a sale. Okay, so I got a little carried away, but you get the picture.

We are all programed to want what we cannot have. Let your prospects jump through a few hoops. Let them come to a buying decision on their own by the information that you provide. The information you provide will position you as the “Rock Star” of your industry. Let them acquire the knowledge they need to make a decision by themselves.

When you let your prospects come to their own conclusion they’re less likely to have buyers remorse. Positioning strategies allows your prospects to come to the conclusion that you’re the expert, so you’ll rarely haggle over price. And in most cases, you’ll be able to charge a premium.

Positioning strategies should be incorporated throughout your marketing material (website, direct mail, free recorded message lines, your staff, your articles, videos, free reports, etc.)

The way you market to your customers or prospects either strengthens or weakens your position. If you’re marketing your business in the same boring way as your competitors, you’re doomed to mediocrity. If you’re sitting around waiting for prospects and customers to come to you, you’re doomed to mediocrity. In today’s economy you have to use positioning strategies in order to make things happen.

Positioning strategies start with how your prospects receive information from you to make a buying decision. If you have a prospect call you to set up an appointment, and the appointment is made for next week. Why not send them a free report on all the benefits your services or products provide.

Explain how your services or products compare to your competitors. Explain exactly what your product or service will do for them, and how it will make their lives better. You can send testimonials along with a free report. You can send case studies proving your expertise. You can have celebrity endorsements. You can have before and after pictures.

Do you think you might have a better chance of doing business with this person? Of Course! And you won’t waste time trying to convince him or her of your expert status. Testimonials are a great way to let your customers do your selling for you.

One of my clients received a phone call from a potential prospect who was inquiring about his services. Before understanding these positioning strategies, he naturally tried to sell his prospect over the phone (ugly, painful, and time consuming.)

Once he understood these strategies, he immediately turned prospects into customers. When speaking to a potential customers, collect their name, address, and phone number. Let them know that you’ll send them more information on your products or services.

Let the information that you provide, prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you’re the qualified expert, and that your products or services are far superior than your competitors. Let your prospect know that their search is over, and there’s only one expert, YOU!

Putting these simple positioning strategies to work in your business, will give you market dominance. Do you think your competitors are using these positioning strategies to make their prospects feel more comfortable about buying? Nothings worse than trying to beg, force, or convince your prospects into doing business with you. It’s easier to position yourself as the expert. Give your prospects the information they need to make a buying decision in a safe environment, and watch your sales skyrocket.

Let me know what you think of this article. Good, bad, or ugly your feed back is encouraged and welcome.

To your marketing success,

The question and challenge is how do you build an opt in list of qualified prospects who are willing to exchange cold hard cash for your products or services. Lets face it anyone can set up an opt in box, BUT not everyone can get people to take action and fill in their name and email address.

You have to know your prospects challenges in order to offer them something of value to where they’ll exchange their email for your widget (e-book, newsletter, video training, audio CD, report, etc.)

Your prospects will NOT give up their email address just because you beg for it. Whatever you decide to give your prospects in exchange for their email information make sure it’s of high quality and value, otherwise you’ll have a disappointed customer who will no longer trust you.

There is no sense in building an opt-in list with customers who don’t trust you, or won’t buy from you.

Take the time to give them a product or information that they can use immediately, and see results. You cannot hold back bits and pieces of the puzzle in hopes that your customer will call. If you do this, you’ve lost a customer for ever.

The best way to build an opt-in list is by giving away something of high perceived value in exchange for their name and email.

Consider these strategies when building an opt-in list.

1.    First you must have an email capture page through a reputable company. I use Aweber.  If you need an email capture account go to http://www.aweber.com

2.    I personally like offering a FREE video training series because it has a high perceived value and you can build a stronger relationship over a period of days. Video is like TV and it’s  growing in popularity. Using video you get to become the celebrity in your niche. Your prospects are more likely to trust and believe someone they can see, and hear.

3.    You can offer a quality FREE report that will help your prospects solve a particular situation that will have them coming back to your site, and hopefully passing your e-book along to others.

4.    You can offer a FREE audio CD which also has a high perceived value. You can read and record your FREE report and burn it to a CD. If you offer a CD you can also collect your client’s full address which will come in handy in the future.

5.    You can also offer your prospects an opportunity to test drive your product or service for 30 days prior to buying. Just make sure you capture a credit card number and their information.

6.    You can offer an audio book, or e-book that you can deliver to your prospects at no cost to you.

The most important key in building an opt in list is to make your prospect feel like their missing out on key information that could change their lives. If you can do that you won’t have any problem building an opt-in list.

Think about what information you could provide that’s so compelling to your prospects that they would crawl across broken glass naked to obtain.

To your marketing success,

Online email marketing is a powerful way to build rapport, prove your expert status, and keep in contact with your customers. It’s the most inexpensive way to stay in front of your customers and increase sales up to twenty two percent by offering special promotions through email marketing.

This can all take place within minutes using email instead of weeks using snail mail. Remember that email is just one way to market your business. You should be using several different small business advertising strategies to maximize profits.

As a small business owner you have to build a client list. For this writing I’ll assume you collect email information from your customers. So let’s begin with how you would accomplish a successful email marketing campaign.

First, you must have an email auto-responder account (It collects the names, emails, and home addresses of your customers and automatically sends messages that you set up in advance.)

If you’re looking for a good auto-responder for basic email capture I use and recommend Aweber communications. They’re simple and inexpensive. http://www.aweber.com

Here are the keys to a successful online email marketing campaign.

The first critical step to having a successful online email marketing campaign is getting your email opened and read. Your subject line is very important. Always use your customer’s first name in the subject line followed by a short provoking message. You have the ability to place the names of your customers anywhere you want in your subject line or body copy so that it looks and sounds personal. (Example: Subject line… Frank, see if this helps!)

As long as Frank is familiar with you, he will open your email.  Using an email auto-responder you can also track how many of your customers open your emails. This allows you the opportunity to test, and make adjustments quickly. Once you find out what works best,  you can put your auto-responders on auto pilot giving you the ability to focus on other aspects of your business.

Second, make sure you also use your customers name in the salutation (Hi Karen or Dear John.) This will give them that warm fuzzy feeling like it came from a friend. Here’s the tricky part. Once you get them to open your email, what you say in your opening paragraph will make or break your online email marketing efforts. Tell your customer’s what’s in it for them. Explain why you’re sending the email, and all the benefits they’ll receive from your product or service.

Let me give you a quick example of how an online email marketing campaign might look. Let’s say my niche is golfers.

Your subject line: John, can you help me?

Hi John,

I’m sending you this special message because you are one of our best customers. I know you’ve spent a lot of money on Titleist golf balls in the past so I had to bring this to your attention immediately. I made a huge mistake and ordered too many of your favorite Titleist golf balls.

They’re not selling as I had hoped and my boss is NOT happy. I’m grasping for straws so I need your help, and I’m willing to make you an incredible offer if you act-NOW!

You’re well aware that we normally charge forty five dollars for a single dozen, but if you order today I can let you in on a tremendous give away (hopefully this won’t come out of my pay) at only thirty one dollars and ninety cents. Yes! Only $31.90 for your favorite golf ball. That’s over a 30% discount.

You’ll receive the number one ball in golf at a huge discount and the look and feel of a superior ball when playing.

There’s only one challenge. I have to sell 47 dozen more before I’m back in good graces with “the boss.”  Please help me out and order today at http://www.titleistgiveaway.com or call me directly at 800 321-4536

If for any reason you’re not completely satisfied you can return them immediately for a full 100% refund if NOT used. I’d hate to see you miss out on this once in a lifetime offer so please order a dozen or two right now while it’s on your mind. You won’t see this price ever again (I hope.)

I really appreciate your help,

Frank Overbought

P.S. I can only offer the Titleist golf balls at the low price of only $31.90 for ten more days. At this price they will go quickly, so please Call Now!

When sending online email marketing, make sure they’re short and sweet. You want your email marketing messages to sound personal, like you’re writing to a friend. The more personal they sound the better your response.

WARNING: Please don’t send a solicitation with every email. If you’re going to build a strong lasting relationship with your customers you have to give them great information along with great products and services. Your ratio should be approximately 70% advice and interesting content, and only 30% solicitations. This will keep your customers from opting out of your emails.

To your marketing success,

How to optimize your website:

Before you register a fancy web address, you must first figure out what your prospects are searching for. In other words, if someone was to go looking for your product or service, what keywords would they enter into Google to find you?

You can use your name as your website URL, and use your specific keywords as content pages. Each page you create should be focused on a specific keyword that you want to rank high for in the search engines.

Try and niche your keywords so that they’re very well defined. You don’t want a broad keyword. You want a keyword that people are searching for, but not so broad that you cannot compete for that keyword. A broad keyword for me would be “Marketing.” It would be very difficult to optimized your website for that broad keyword.

Your web address can be your name or what your site concept is about. I have two blogs. One is GlenAndrews1.com. The other is a specific niche called AndrewsSalonMarketing.com

I also have a key word website Small-Business-Advertising-Strategies.com.

My branding site is GlenAndrews1.com and it’s about marketing and personal development. AndrewsSalonMarketing.com is about helping salon owners with their marketing. Salon Marketing is one of my specific keywords so I made sure it was used in my sites URL. Small-Business-Advertising-Strategies.com is all about marketing your small business. Small Business Advertising is my keyword.

I’m going to show you how to  optimized your website with a system that does it for you. So don’t get discouraged, keep reading.

After you have chosen several keywords that best describes your product or service, you need to write separate articles for each of your keywords. One of my website optimization keywords is “writing e-zines.”  I would need to use that keyword in my headline, my very first paragraph, and throughout the body copy. If your article is one thousand words, then your keyword should appear approximately seven to ten times throughout the article. Your keyword will appear less for short articles, and more for long articles.

Search engine spiders will crawl your website to determine how relevant your article is to your specific keyword. That’s why you must seed your articles with specific keywords that you would like to rank high for at the search engines. This is how to optimize your website using keywords.

After you have accomplished your articles seeded with your keywords, you need to get back-links to your web site. You can do this several ways. One is to submit articles with your web site link in the author’s resource box. You can get back-links from social networks like Face-Book, You-Tube, and Craigs list. The key is not how many back-links you have, but how many quality back-links you have. Your back-links should be from other websites or directories that rank high in the search engines, and if possible, relevant to your site concept. My keyword for this page is “how to optimize your website.”

You also need to submit your website to the search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask.) When I started my first website I made the mistake of thinking that when my website was complete it would automatically be picked up by the search engines. WRONG!

I have built several websites. All of which failed until I understood what the search engines were looking for. If you want to get your website optimized using specific keywords that target your perfect prospects let me know. I can help you for a fraction of what you’ll pay an seo company.

Please comment on this article below and tell me if you thought it was helpful or not.

To your marketing success,

Whether you’re marketing your products or services online, or offline, you must have good headlines.

When you read your local newspaper do you read every article? No, neither does anyone else. We all scan looking for good headlines to determine whether or not we’ll read the entire article. Why is it that so many people buy magazines when checking out at their local grocery stores? It’s because of the “captivating headlines.” When done properly good headlines grab our attention and makes us wanna know more. We’re all curious by nature.

It’s no accident the National Enquirer out performs all other newspapers and magazines. The Enquirer understands that they have less than 6 seconds to grab the attention of their prospects. They also understand that they need to hook the customer into buying the magazine based on good headlines.

When I started my first business several years back, I lacked the understanding of how powerful good headlines could be. I made the mistake of using my company name along with my services as a headline. It looked like an over-sized business card. Once I understood the psychology of good headlines and how powerful it could be to capture the attention of my perfect prospect, my business literally changed in weeks, NOT months or years.

If you’re using your business name as your headline try something different.

Good headlines provoke curiosity… “How To Attract 25 New Clients A Week Without Working Harder” or “The Simple Truth About Running A Small Business That Keeps You From Making The Money You Deserve” or “WARNING: Don’t Hire Another Employee Until You Read This”

Can you see the difference? A Good headline should state the benefits to your potential prospect. The headlines sole purpose is to capture the attention of your perfect prospect, and make them want to know more. The purpose of the headline is NOT to attract everyone. The purpose of your headline is to attract only those prospects willing to exchange capital for your services. Your headlines must speak to a specific prospect and lure them into your sales message.

Next time you’re reading through your local newspaper or magazine, keep track of the headlines that capture your attention and see if you can use them in your business.

Take for example the first headline above…”How To Attract 25 New Clients A Week Without Working Harder.” You could change that to fit ANY business. “How To Lose 25 Pounds Without Working Out.” Or “How To Attract 25 Of The Hottest Women Without Batting An Eye.” Can you see how these headlines would attract completely different prospects? A good headline is benefit driven and offers a solution to their specific situation.

Once you understand how to write good headlines you’ll never worry about competition again. This one marketing strategy will also separate you from your competitors and give you a competitive advantage in your market. Give it a try and see for yourself.

Did you find this article helpful? Leave me your comments and then pass this article on to a friend or colleague.

To your marketing success,

Here’s how to write a sales letter. There are 9 key ingredients that must be considered. But first you must determine “who” will receive your sales message. This is critical to the success of your sales letter. The “who” is the most important ingredient in your marketing campaign. You can send an average sales letter to a great list and have a decent response. On the other hand, you cannot send a great sales letter to a bad list and expect any response. You must match the “right” message to the “right” audience with the “right” media.

You must know whom you’re talking to in your sales letter. Are they men or women? Are they older or younger? Are they affluent or middle class? Do they own a home or rent? What are the demographics of your perfect client or customer? Understanding this will give you the best opportunity for success when writing a sales letter that sells.

Here are the “Key” ingredients to writing a sales letter that gets results!

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 1: The Headline must grab the reader’s attention and make them want to know more. The headline is the most important ingredient when writing your sales letter. If you mess this up, it’s GAME OVER. Your headline must provoke curiosity or state benefits to the reader. Example . . . Let’s say you’re selling a product to expecting women. Here’s a headline that would grab their attention. “7 Secrets Expecting Moms Need To Know About Their Pregnancy That Their Doctors Aren’t Telling Them.” Most expecting mom’s would stop what they were doing and want to know more.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 2: When writing your sales letter make sure you personalize the salutation when ever possible. This will give you higher readership. People love to hear and see their name. It’s been tested and proven to increase response by 11%-33%. Example . . . Dear Mary, NOT Dear Customer. Use their first name and you’ll increase your readership AND response.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 3: You can add a picture of you or your product in the upper left hand corner of your sales letter. Or a picture that ties into your sales message. We did a sales letter for salon owners where we had a picture of several people combing through the woods looking for lost customers. The headline said . . . “Janet, Have You Been Taken Hostage? We Haven’t Seen You In Our Salon In Months, So We Sent Out A Search Party To Find You, etc.” This sales letter received a twenty-three percent response from their old customer list.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 4: Your “body copy” should state your customers “problem.” What are their fears? What keeps them awake at night? Next, you need to agitate the problem your customer is having. And last, you need to show your customer or client how your product or service can solve their situation. Make sure you tell them about the benefits your products or services provide. Your customers or clients only care about what’s in it for them. Benefits, Benefits, Benefits!

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 5: You must have an irresistible offer. Give your reader a reason to buy what you’re offering. Make your offer so irresistible that they’d swing from a rotten vine across a snake filled pit of venomous vipers to obtain your product or service.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 6: Make sure you have a deadline in your sales letter to get your customers/clients to respond immediately. Example . . . I only have 120 seats available, and this letter went out to 1200 others, so you must hurry and reserve your seat now before they’re all gone.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 7: Call To Action: Tell your customers exactly what you want them to do (call this number, go to this web site, fax back this form, etc.)

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 8: Always have a “P. S.” at the end of your sales letters. When people receive letters in the mail, their first instinct is to find out who sent it. So they look at the end of the sales letter, and 93% of the time they read the P. S. first. Your P. S. can restate the offer, the deadline, or both.

How To Write A Sales Letter Key # 9: Add testimonials to all your sales letters for credibility. This will boost sales and response.

Finally, when writing your sales letter, make sure you’re talking to one person. Your sales letter should sound personal, as though it came from a friend. A powerful sales letter is critical to your online and offline business success.

ATTENTION: If you just cannot fathom writing your own sales letter click on the link below

How To Create Powerful, Money-Making Sales Letters For Your Business in Just 2 ½ Minutes…Without Writing!

Please comment on this article below and tell me if you thought it was helpful or not.

To your marketing success,