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It's Almost Halloween, What Scares You?
By Steve Hurst | October 30, 2008
If you like Halloween and scary movies and haunted houses and getting the wits scared out of you, may I suggest a totally free, readily available entertainment? Take a look at your own business and see how many marketing mistakes you are making and figure out how much business you are losing because of it.
THAT should REALLY scare you.
Part of sales and marketing is selling or marketing you and your business to your customers and FUTURE customers. However, I’m amazed at how many business people make these simple marketing mistakes. I call this idea …. “No Brainer Marketing”.
First “No Brainer Marketing” tip…..Carry Business Cards! And by that I mean, have them with you at ALL TIMES. Not in your car, or at the office, or somewhere else. Have them with you. I have to admit this is one of my biggest pet peeves. You’re talking to someone, they are telling you about their product or service, you ask them for a business card and they do NOT have one with them. I guess they don’t WANT any business.
I realize in this day and time it seems a lot of people think they don’t need business cards. I disagree. Before I leave my home or office, I grab my business cards and YOU should too. Once you have them with you….Pass them out to everyone you can. Business cards are the cheapest form of marketing and advertising you have…..USE THEM!
Second “No Brainer Marketing” tip….Have a Website! It doesn’t have to be some big elaborate site, but you need some kind of website. It’s another type of marketing for yourself or your business. And it’s fairly inexpensive compared to other forms of marketing. Your website could be informational or used to sell products or services….whatever it is…..it’s one more marketing tool for you.
One more thing about websites….if you have one or get one….make sure you use your domain name as your email address. Let me explain. Example, say your website is [www.yourwebsitename.com], make your email something like, [yourname@yourwebsitename.com], not [yourname@yahoo.com], [yourname@aol.com], or [yourname@comcast.com], etc…make it YOUR domain name.
Again, I’m amazed at the businesses that have websites but use a different email address. Now I understand that some people may not know how to have this set up…..but ASK someone…find someone who DOES know ….then do it (as a side note, if you still don’t understand this or would like advice, contact me and I’ll be happy to help you or point you in the right direction).
Last, but certainly not least and maybe even the MOST important of all…the third “No Brainer Marketing” tip…..Know What You Do! Be prepared when someone asks, “What do you do?” And I don’t mean, “I fix computers”, “I sell insurance”, take the time to plan out a “script” and memorize it so that you can tell anyone who asks, precisely what you do. Most sales and marketing people call this your USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
Think of it this way…you are on stage in an auditorium, with hundreds or thousands of potential customers seated in front of you. You have 15-60 seconds to convince them to hire you.
What would you say?
Once you perfect your dialogue, you’ll be prepared when someone asks, “What do you do?”
If you are not making these marketing mistakes, congratulations, however if you are making any of these SCARY Marketing mistakes, start now to increase your marketing techniques.
To Your Success,
Steve
www.spnmarketing.com
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Steve Hurst has been working in sales and marketing for over 30 years. For 10 years he had his own computer business which included website building and consulting. The past 5 years he’s owned his own Business & Technology consulting business. Using his sales and marketing skills along with his knowledge of technology, he’s helping his clients increase their sales and profits by utilizing today’s technology.
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All writings here are copyrighted by Steve Hurst. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.
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