A friend of mine sent me an email, frustrated and upset because she had 3 client invoices outstanding, and her clients had not so much as even “suggested” the money due, was on its way. My friend was in desperate need for the money, she had worked hard for her income, and her own bills were now overdue.

“I have sent two invoices to each client, and have not heard back from them yet,” she complained. “I go through this every month with at least one client and it is so frustrating,”.

Business is business and one of the most important aspects of considering your business a success, is of course, the revenue generated. But there is also a certain ethic about getting paid, that parlays the success factor as well. Everyone hates to pay bills. Everyone also knows they have a responsibility to do so. In a harsh economy, or when times grow tight, the bottom line is that employers and employees must still get paid. Even if it is a small amount due, say, $125.00, that may be just what the employee needs to pay that electric bill, and the utility companies do not wait for THEIR money anymore. So the electric or water is turned off. Then there is a turn-on fee, and late fee adding insult to injury, and the rest of the budget goes haywire, all because that one check did not come in the mail on time.

I personally have never understand a system that punishes you for NOT having enough money. Another friend of mine, lost her husband in the war. She had to move out of the army housing with her 2 children, and find a p. She had no “extra” funds, but a little bit to get started until her husbands probate was cleared.

When my friend went to get the utilities turned on, she found that each utility company, the water, the gas, the electric and the trash company, all required deposits. Now she and her husband had fallen on hard times, just before he left for another country, and they had been behind in their bills with the collectors demanding payment. They worked out an agreement with the creditors, like responsible people do, however, the companies had a policy that the deposit amount you pay, is based on your credit score.

This poor woman, had to pay $300.00 just to have her gas and electric on, and $150.00 to have the water turned on. The policy did not care WHAT anyone’s circumstances were, they just knew your score was not up there where THEY thought it should be, so they made lots of money off of people who were already barely able to live. I had heard the same complaint from a disabled senior, who became sick suddenly, and had to move. Her deposits were sky high and it didn’t matter that she was disabled.

Business people have to realize that bills have to be paid. When one bill falls short, a whole chain reaction of events take place that your not aware of. Remember, the small business person or contractor, do not have the option of collection agencies, and rarely, deposits…so let’s remember to pay the small guy first. Their lights may depend on it.

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Tags: business, strategy, planning, ideas, start

Direct Marketing

Of all the proven marketing strategies, none have gained as much reputation as direct marketing. A successful direct marketing campaign will give you amazing results and will propel your business to newer heights. If you can set up a database of the most probable and right customers and mail to the right customer all the time, then your direct marketing campaign will produce better results. The right customer will read your mail while the others will dismiss it as junk. You want more people in the right customer category than in the junk category. Boost your mail with the right information and dialogue. List the benefits of your product or program in small sweet paragraphs. Finally make an impact with it.

Online Marketing and lead generation

If there is anything in the last decade that has changed the way we live, then it is the internet. So you need to incorporate the internet into your business marketing program. There are several online marketing strategies that are proven winners. Lead generation, affiliate marketing, direct marketing and many more such marketing programs are available online. There was a time when lead generation on the internet was considered to be a dead end. But now there are more precise lead generation models that have put the earlier lead generation practices behind. Lesser number of fraudulent leads is being generated and the other online marketing strategies are also improving.

Guerilla Marketing

This relatively new low cost marketing strategy has created a huge impact on online marketing in the last few years. It relies on the principle that direct marketing is saturated and customers today are unaffected by these strategies. Hence guerilla marketing relies on getting you and your product in the places which customers are most likely to be present in the future. This has a great chance of giving your business the right kind of boost and a head start. There are many strategies that are used in guerilla marketing. The thank-you-take-away packet is one of the most used methods. This not only gives your customer a value added service by means of the packet, but it also thanks the customer for using your service. This keeps your company fresh in the minds of the customers.

Other methods

Besides these, there are many other marketing strategies that can be a part of your winning business plan. It all depends on what your target audience mainly comprises of. Put in the right amount of research and you will surely hit the right note with your marketing plan.

William King is the director of Wholesale UK Distributors, Importers, Dropshippers & Manufacturers Directory, Wholesalers, Traders, Manufacturers, Dropshippers & Distributors Directory, and Canadian Wholesalers and Dropshippers Canada Dropshipping Directory. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

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Tags: business, marketing, plan, strategy, advertising

My wife, Anne and my daughter, Jo were doing a tour of the gem stores. As beautiful as the stones were, I had reached overload but Anne and Jo had insatiable appetites for ‘bling’. While they were oohing and ahhing, I took a seat and relaxed. I noticed that the salesman behind the counter was watching a middle-aged couple intently as they browsed around. It seemed clear to me that they were just browsing with no intention of making a purchase and I wondered if he had seen something in their body language that I had missed.

As they were about to leave the store without having bought anything, he said: “Excuse me Madam” addressing the woman specifically “I notice you love sapphires as much as I do. Can I show you something?”

“Oh, no thank you,” she said, “We were just looking”

“Of course. No. This is not for sale. It’s an exhibition piece but I love sapphires too. You must see this before you go” and he produced the biggest and most exquisite sapphire I had ever seen. The effect was as if he had hooked her with a fishing line and reeled her over to the counter with her husband in tow. I hadn’t noticed she was paying particular attention to sapphires but he had. He talked enthusiastically about sapphires as she nodded in complete agreement. Here was a man who understood the beauty of what was surely the most spectacular of all gems. They were on safe ground. This gem was clearly way beyond the means of all but the very rich. He wasn’t selling but sharing a mutual passion.

He dropped into the conversation that they had a number of extremely expensive sapphires that they couldn’t put on display for security reasons. Would she like to see them? You bet she would! He produced a tray that brought a gasp from her bosom. The most expensive gem on the tray was £10,000. She was in ecstasy. There were a number of smaller gems on the tray, some of which had been mounted onto rings. She admired each gem in turn until she came to one that looked as if it might possibly be withing their price range. “How much is this?” she asked but her husband was already shaking his head to remind her that they were looking, not buying. The salesman had spotted the husband’s gesture. “Oh that one is very expensive, I’m afraid. It’s because of the cut of the gem. I couldn’t let that go for less than £500″

She looked at her husband “Could we…?”

“No we can’t,” he insisted, “I told you – we’re looking, not buying “

The salesman looked sympathetically at her and said: “I’m so sorry, Madam” and was about to put the tray back when he seemed to have an idea. “Wait a minute” he said and produced a form. “We can sell to dealers at considerable discounts but only to dealers, you understand.”

“Oh, we’re tourists, not…” the man began but the salesman brought his finger to his lips and politely shushed him. “If you were to tell me you were dealers, I would be happy to take your word for it. We don’t always ask for evidence.”

“Oh, I see” the man said, getting the hint but still a little wary.

“Are you a dealer?” the salesman asked. The man’s wife was nodding vigorously, urging him to say yes.

“How much discount?” the man asked.

The salesman lowered his voice “I could let you have it for £350″

“Oh Steve!” his wife hissed excitedly. There was no way he could say no and stay on good terms with her for the rest of their holiday. He filled in the form and handed over his credit card.

Were they conned? No. Manipulated? Certainly. Misled? A little, but certainly not conned.

Although it is unlikely that the ring had ever had the £500 price tag, the salesman never expected to sell it at that price. He knew the answer would have been no even if he’d initially quoted £350 because her husband was clearly adamant that they were looking, not buying. However, judging by similar rings on display, it was certainly worth the £350 they paid for it. What the salesman did was pitch it just beyond their price range and then appear to go out on a limb to bring it just within their price range. This made it irresistible. It also rewarded the man’s ego. He could tell the folks back home that he told them he was a dealer and got them to knock £150 off the price, earning him a little kudos. He had also been able to impress the salesman by buying a ring that the salesman had clearly assumed to be beyond their means (“Oh that one is very expensive, I’m afraid…” ). He had made the man feel wealthy and powerful. The man was happy. The wife had the ring she wanted at a fair price and the salesman made a sale that was about to walk out the door. Everyone was happy and no one was ripped off.

The salesman had watched her and made a note of what pressed her buttons. He had also correctly estimated what they could afford to spend, perhaps by their dress or by their manner. He then lured her with the prospect of seeing sapphires she would be unlikely to see on display and fed her passion for them by expressing his own. Although the ring was no more beautiful than the rings on display she had already seen, it had become infused by the beauty of the gems that were way beyond their reach. He didn’t make her want it. He didn’t need to. The desire was already there but tethered by the knowledge that they were looking, not buying. He simply untethered her desire by feasting her eyes on unattainable gems before bringing one almost to within their reach. Then, when she had dared to hope that it might be within their reach and experienced the disappointment, he brought it actually within their reach. He had created a situation in which the husband could not say no and she couldn’t go home without it.

Despite the manipulation and the misleading initial quote – and, of course, the whole cock-and-bull story about dealers discounts, the salesman had essentially done nothing morally wrong. Quite the contrary. He had liberated them and he had empowered them. Their holiday budget might be £350 lighter but they would have no reason to regret the purchase. He had provided a rare and enriching experience that few get the opportunity to enjoy. How many of us have ever held a £10,000 sapphire in our hand? He had given them exactly what they wanted at a fair price that they were happy to pay. He had given them a moment they would cherish forever.

I was once told by a salesman that “Anybody can sell the people what they want. The trick is to sell ‘em what you’ve got.” This is not only a pretty shabby approach but it doesn’t hold true. We often see something we want that wouldn’t break the bank to buy but still we walk past because we don’t feel free to spend that much on ourselves. We feel it would be irresponsible. Heck! It’s our money! If we can’t afford it, we can’t buy it but, if it’s within our means then we do ourselves a disservice by denying ourselves what we want just because we feel it’s too indulgent. We do this all the time. This salesman liberated his customers from the constraints of their self-denial.

Fortunately, he didn’t pull the same stunt on my wife and daughter. I guess I must have looked every inch of the £25 I had in my pocket.

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Ron Tocknell – EzineArticles Expert Author

Tags: marketing, ethics, manipulating, unethical, strategy

“We are all ready to complete your application,” the woman told me. “We just need to ask you a couple more questions.”

In theory this makes a lot of sense. I mean, hey — when someone applies for a credit card, it’s only logical that questions would follow. It’s like that snail I was going to compliment earlier, whereas I must give credit when — and only when — credit is due. But this theory should not apply to me, as I have not applied for a credit card within the past couple of years, not even to get a free mug or basketball with my favorite baseball team imprinted on it…

“I didn’t apply for a credit card,” I told the woman.

And this was true, of course, because who I am to lie to a person on the other end of the phone without being a politician?

“Well, you were recommended to us,” she told me.

Now, this is a nice gesture as well. I am normally honored when people recommend me for something, even when I am recommended to give up my place in line, or to give up my seat on the bus. But in this case I needed more information…

“Who recommended me?” I asked.

It was a question so succinctly worded that it could only produce an accurate and succinct answer…

“Ummm,” she said. “Well, we thought you would be a good fit.”

I can understand being a good fit for a college, a job or even a sweatshirt. But what exactly does it mean to be a good fit for a credit card? The fact that I have the desire to buy things and often must act upon those desires in order to live? I bring up this whole debacle in the column not only out of lack of other subjects to address, sans the snails, but more so because I think credit card companies need to learn from the phone call I just discussed, in the following three ways:

1. Never tell someone he or she is a good fit unless the person tries on the credit card beforehand, at which point the card is probably so stretched out that it no longer works. But then again, neither does this whole telemarketing plan regardless.

2. If you tell a person he or she was recommended by someone, make up a name of a person who served as the recommendation-giver. In times of creative lapses, use the name “Jason A. Creditcard.” This may seem incredibly fake, but the level of fakeness will never be surpassed by the false level of sincerity involved in this phone call.

3. Rather than telling a person that he or she has applied for a card but apparently didn’t realize it, use a snappy line such as “We’re trying to give you credit, dude!” This takes away from the professionalism of the phone call, but on the flip side, everyone likes to be called “dude.” And some of us even like credit.

Following these tips will probably destroy the purpose of marketing ploys, but then again, I guess that could be the point…

But I digress.

Greg Gagliardi is a teacher and writer. His stream-of-consciousness weekly humor column, “Progressive Revelations,” has been ongoing since 1998.

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Tags: ethics, marketing, research, strategy, communications

Knowing how to write a press release gives you a boost ahead of other entrepreneurs. A successful press release generates enough interest in the media, whether offline or online, to write about your company. That means increased visibility with potential customers. While publicity may not lead directly to increased sales it does lead to the increased probability of sales. Here are 3 tips on how to write a press release.

1. Keep your approach newsworthy. How many times have you seen a headline that says “Big Company Announces the Release of New Product”? Probably many times, however that headline doesn’t snag the attention of anyone. It’s boring. The purpose of the headline is to entice the news media to actually read the release. If you can tie your release to current events so much the better, the odds will increase it will get read.

Stress the benefits of your product or company, rather than the attributes. If your new system runs 50% faster than competing systems a reader may not be interested, but if you tell them they can accomplish twice as much in half the time that may perk up their ears.

Look at the release from the point of view of the media and their readers, not from your point of view as to how publicity can benefit your company.

2. Pack all the important information in the first paragraph of the release. That may sound counter intuitive, but sometimes only the first paragraph is read before the decision is made whether there is media interest. Answer the questions of who, what, why, where and when. Expand on the answers more fully later on in the release.

3. Keep the release to one page which is about 350 words. The release isn’t supposed to tell the entire story for your company but to get the media to be interested enough to call and write a story. And don’t send the release as an attachment. These days most attachments are deleted unread, even if labeled “press release.” Don’t link to the release as a pdf file. Reporters have short attention spans. If they have to take the extra step of following a link, they may just go on to the next release in the pile.

Follow these three tips when learning how to write a press release and your releases will be more effective in generating media coverage for you, your company, and products.

Get Your FREE report How to Unleash the Write Press Releases Tips, tricks, and techniques to get your company the publicity it needs for success. Dee Power is the co-author of several nonfiction books including “The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author’s Success,” “58 Ways to Find Money for Your Business, “Inside Secrets to Venture Capital” and “Attracting Capital From Angels.” More Internet marketing tips.

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Tags: public, relation, press, release, strategy

The quickest way to internet riches is through some kind of lead generation system. What I mean by that is, you need to create a way to capture qualified leads, maintain them as a captive audience and sell them exactly what they want.

If we consider the true purposes of public relations, the first thing that comes to our mind is it’s impact on the growth and development of a business. In order to achieve success in it’s objective, a PR exercises provide information to the people which occur to informative as well as entertaining for them. Public relations can be defined as sweaty palms; involving efforts in convincing a reporter about the range and expertise of your business, or compelling writers to pen down a press release about your organization, or spending countless hours in faxing the stories to hundreds of editors.

The right PR strategy is the right application in the right manners so as to bring rewarding results to your company without much involving in daunting efforts as discussed above. If you implement the right PR strategy with the help of a good public relations company, you can experience constant ringing of phones at your office, can see people showing interest by asking about your products or services, getting credibility and proving yourself a skilled company owner in the industry and hearing thousands of people learning about your services. And this all you accomplish on a very low budget without costing much to you. In order to make a proper business presence, every businessman should go for the right PR strategy.

With the implementation of the following PR strategy following invaluable marketing tactics suggested by a good PR firm, you can avail assured success in your business;

Creation of Creative Story Pitches: With the help of a great story pitch, your products can directly enter into the minds and heart of the people. Unnecessary promotion of your business may not do much for your succession. Instead make a different story which includes financial, professional, emotional and spiritual benefits and entertainment for a reader.

Go to the Target Audience with Right Media Message: It is very important to understand to whom you need to target as the audience of your products. If the customer bases of a product are women in 30s, you probably can not ask media to focus on girls in their teens. This step taken for your PR strategy with the right media Message will help you achieve your marketing objectives.

Let a PR firm or a spokesperson represents your company: Make sure that your company objectives should be expressed by a PR professional. Suppose an editor or a reporter is going to schedule a meeting or an interview with somebody at your workplace to get the information about the product, here a spokesperson is required to deliver the right message in a right manner.

In short, PR is a never-failing marketing strategy that helps your business yield tremendous outcome with the correct implementation. And you need to give serious attention to execute a long-term PR strategy for the benefits of your organization and is impossible to achieve without the help of good Public Relations Firm.

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Tags: pr, strategy, public, relation, firm

Successful product launches are key to a company’s success. For a start-up company, the success of the launch may well determine whether the company survives.
And yet in nearly 30 years of advising companies, from start ups to Fortune 500s, I’ve identified 5 common mistakes that can sink a launch. Here they are the five:

1. Assume the product/technology/service will sell itself.
Lots of things have changed in the past few years. But one thing remains the same: People will not beat a path to your door if you build a better mousetrap, UNLESS, they a) know it exists; b) are convinced it really is better; c) their current situation is painful enough that they have a desire to change; and d) they can afford it.
2. No “Story.”
Start-up entrepreneurs often get so caught up in their solution, they forget to mention the problem they set out to solve. Established organizations often assume everyone already knows the problem. But venture capitalists, analysts, potential customers, and especially the media, need to hear your tell “The Story.” Part one of “The Story” is the pain/frustration/fear/loss that your solution solves. Part two is your solution filtered through the concerns of the audience.
3. No articulate, excited beta users, early adapters, satisfied customers or clients willing to “go public.”
Reporters crave the opportunity to talk to people who have used the product or service. From the very beginning of product testing be looking for willing customers and exciting stories. (There are ways around this lack of users willing to comment publicly, but that is a separate topic!).
4. One presentation fits all.
I recently learned of a CEO who gave a group of industry analysts the same presentation he had given to venture capitalists. In addition to being a painful experience for him, it created a lasting skepticism on the part of the analysts. Yes, we know everyone is already stretched thin and working long hours, but VCs, analysts and the press are audiences crucial to success. If no one in house can put together a powerful presentation, hire an outside source to do it. It’s too important to leave to amateurs.
5. Media attention before the message is clear and the spokesperson is ready.
Media attention is great, IF the coverage is good. But companies, especially start ups, often go after the media before they’re ready. A big play in Computerworld, the Wall Street Journal or Moneyline can set the company and the product or service being introduced back significantly if the messages aren’t persuasive and the spokesperson comes across as uninteresting, unclear, or defensive.

And now to keep you focused during your launch, I invite you to claim your Free Instant Access 400-year-old tool I’ve adapted to help you stay on message by visiting this site.

From – Lou Hampton, The QuoteAbility(tm) Coach and Speak to Lead.com

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Tags: PR, strategy, Mistake, product, launch

If you’re a local business owner, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to win big with web marketing. You just need to know how to use local online public relations (PR) to boost business, that is, to generate free messaging or promotion. When local organizations produce their own educational, informative, valuable online news content, it increases search engine rankings, traffic, and business. Here are three easy ways to get started.

Add a News Section to your Website

Every local business needs a news section on its website. News pages are a web-savvy way to manage content about events, sponsorships, new products or services, and company news. When news content is written with keyword-rich titles that link to webpages with more great content, it boosts credibility, communication and — best of all — search engine rankings.

Write Your Own Press Releases

You may think you can’t have a news section because you don’t have any news articles written about your business. Wrong. Write your own news to generate buzz!

For example, I recently spoke at a local women’s conference in Southern California. I wrote my own press release and added it to my website to share with current clients and potential clients, and to boost my search engine exposure with keyword-rich content. I also wrote a short description of the event to clearly communicate what the event was for, how to attend, and why.

The press release was informative and increased my website’s local search visibility. I used a title with strong local key phrases to boost local search engine visibility:

female entrepreneurs + business owners + Ventura, CA (location)

The final title was: “Female Entrepreneurs and Business Owners get a Healthy Dose of Web Marketing Therapy at Women’s Expo in Ventura, CA, March 14th, 2009″.

Send Press Releases to Local Online News Sites and Event Calendars

If content is king with web marketing, then outreach is queen. You must submit your press releases to local newspapers and stations receive this free visibility. Remember, these local news sites need content. They want to hear from you! For example, my team sent the press release described above to a local newspaper. As a result we received free exposure on the Ventura County Star site, the largest newspaper in the area. They were happy for the content. We were happy for the free exposure.

Local online event calendars are another rich resource for you — usually free. Look for calendars in local newspaper, radio, TV, chamber of commerce, and community college websites. If you have local business events, get them on these sites and help local websites help you.
Communicating your own news, events, awards, and content online will win you free exposure and wider visibility.

Lorrie Thomas, M.A., is a marketing educator, writer, strategist, web marketing expert and speaker. She is the founder of Web Marketing Therapy, a smart, fun, full-service marketing agency and a recession-friendly self-help online marketing educational resource. Her “wild web woman” team serves small businesses, entrepreneurs and marketers. Their work ensures marketing treats the cause (vs band-aiding symptoms) so all marketing pieces click. She teaches Web Marketing Applications, Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Marketing Applications classes at UCSB Extension and UC Berkeley Extension. Ms. Thomas was on the founding team at ValueClick Media. She speaks nationally on a number of marketing-related topics and caters her presentations to the business, niche, skill sets and professional concerns of her attendees. She writes for several online publications including wilsonweb, She is has been interviewed by the eCommerce Times, DM News and Tech News World and quoted frequently as a nationally recognized marketing expert in this Site.

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Tags: PR, strategy, relation, business