3 Tips to Marketing Yourself At Other Special Events

How often do you actually attend special events in your local community? As a small business owner, you never know where your next client will come from. Be part of your community. By attending events in your local community, you are giving your company and yourself extra exposure you would not have otherwise.

If your company focuses on consumers, local expos and community fairs might be a great way to get involved.

Be sure to bring plenty of business cards.

Your business cards are the most cost effective way for you to market your business. It always amazes me how many business people I run in to at all types of events that don't carry their business cards with them. I've even met people in line at a coffee shop and made a connection with them. There is no excuse for not carrying a few cards with you at all times.

Be sure your business cards not only contain your contact information so it's easy for someone to contact you later, but be sure to include what you do on them. Too many times I've met someone while I'm out at an event and got their business card but once I got back to the office I couldn't remember what they really did. Make it simple for them to remember who you are AND what you do.

Don't just go to hang out and eat.

It doesn't do any good to go to any event if you don't stop by and make conversation with the other businesses that are at the event. Make new connections. These are business relationships that you should have so you can keep involved with the area and other businesses around you.

Your relationships aren't about the sale. They are about the relationships you can build with other people and how you can come together to help each other. If you keep this in mind, the sales will come by default and be much better and more qualified in the long run.

If an event had expo booths at it, be sure to talk to each of the exhibitors. Get to know what they do more. What can you do to help them out? Maybe you'll find someone that has the same type of customer that you do and you'll be able to work out a cross promotion with that business. You'll never know where your next great lead source may come from.

Follow up with the people you meet.

Just because you talked to someone at an event and gave them your card doesn't mean that they will call you. They are busy too. You need to be proactive and take action yourself. Pick up the phone and give them a call. Email them a quick note telling them it was great meeting them and invite them to meet for coffee or lunch some time. Build the relationship quickly. You'll impress them by your quick action and you'll speed up the relationship building quite a bit.

There is gold in your own community. Too often we think about the bigger picture and how we can get in front of thousands of people when we are missing the smaller more targeted crowds in our local community. You will never know where you might find your next big clients. Just get out there and be part of your community.

How Can Marketing CD or DVD Salesletters Explode Your Sales?

People generally wouldn't even consider reading 90 minutes of sales copy but they will listen to it or better yet, watch it. If you send someone a 16 page sales letter, they may read it IF you've done an excellent job of writing it but most will just skim over the main points. A CD or DVD on the other hand, has a higher perceived value and is more likely to be watched.

With Video becoming so powerful both online and offline, you can take your sales presentation to a whole new level and make a lasting impression on your new prospective clients.

Which do you think would make a better impact, a printed sales pitch talking about your product or a video that shows a demonstration of the product? What it is, how it works, how to use it. And, what if you added testimonials to the video? Instead of a bunch of written testimonials from faceless people, your new prospect can see the reactions on their faces and the true excitement they have about your product or service.

So let's talk about a few key things that you can use in your CD or DVD Salesletter that will really make an impact on your prospects.

1. A Good Introduction -
Make your prospects connect with you and the leader of your company. If you are the owner of the company, you should do a short introduction video with an overview of who you are, why you started the company and what your vision is for you and your customers. Help them make a connection with you. This will help them feel like they know you and this will help them trust you even more.

Remember, people buy from people that they know, like and trust. Even if this isn't professionally done video, just be genuine and your prospects will feel more at ease with you and your company.

2. Demonstrate The Product -
Nothing can sell a product or service better than seeing it in action. Show the prospect how the product works. How does it save them time? How does it save them money? How does it make their family happier? Show the step by step process. A real demonstration of the product will really give them the nuts and bolts of your product or service. You can tell people about your product and what it can do but if you show them, you'll see the WOW in their eyes and really make a lasting impression.

If you can show a sample of another customer of yours using your product, that's even better. If your prospect sees another person “just like them” using your product easily and having a good time doing it, you've made your sale even easier. One of the biggest hold backs many people have with buying a product is the fear of not knowing how to use it correctly. Set their mind at ease and show your other customers or clients using the same product with a big smile on their faces.

3. Be Sure To Include Happy Customer Testimonials
- No one can sell your product better than a happy, excited existing customer. You should be using testimonials on all of your marketing no matter what it is. Video is no different and is even more powerful that anything else out there. Video not only says what your happy customers are thinking already but your prospects can see the excitement in their expressions. It puts a real face to a name and adds credibility to your testimonials. The more excited your customers are, the more believable they will be. No matter how good the testimonial is, you'll never get the same impact from a text only testimonial as you would from a video with your customer talking about how great your product really is.

The great thing about a CD or DVD salesletter is that you don't have to spend a fortune to create them. If it's in your budget, I would recommend hiring a professional but if you don't have a budget for it, you can create your own CD or DVD with software you might already have on your computer and a basic camera that shoots video or an inexpensive camcorder like a Flip Video.

Cameras and Video editing software have come down on price so much that you can could start creating your own DVD salesletter for under $200 for everything anymore.

Don't forget that you can also use the same videos you created for your CD or DVD on your website too. Adding Video to your website can make a huge impression on your prospects and do most of the selling for you. You could have them learn about your product, watch a demonstration video and watch a ton of testimonials... All before you even talk to them!

You don't have to have a big budget or a big fancy Video Production team to make use of video on your CD or DVD salesletter to really make an impact on your new prospects and impress them with your products and services. Your CD or DVD salesletter is sure to make a big impact on your prospects and make your job easier when it comes to selling your product to them. Your CD or DVD salesletter could easily be the most productive piece of your marketing mix.

Using Thank You Letters In Your Marketing Mix For Repeat Business

How many times have you actually received a Thank You letter from someone that you bought something from? I'm betting, not very many times. Your existing client list is over 10 times more likely to spend more money with you than someone that never has purchased form you before.

Whether you send a gift certificate, a 2 for 1 special, a free gift or even just a simple Thank You letter appreciating them for choosing you over the other businesses they could have picked, these types of letters are always memorable and encourages your customers to return to you before looking elsewhere. It also helps them feel good about you and they will be more likely to refer you to their friends and business associates.

Let's look at a few ideas that can make Thank You letters more effective for your marketing mix.

Immediately after the sale, send the customer a simple thank you letter.

This should be a personalized thank you letter or card telling them how much you appreciate their business. If this is a service business where there is a project in phases, you can even explain to them what they can expect over the duration of the project.

This not only educates them on the process and attention to detail your company has but also reassures them of their purchase. Some people can get buyer's remorse after making a purchase. Especially if this is a large investment. This simple follow up Thank You letter will put their mind at ease and make them feel much more comfortable about their decision of choosing you to work with.

Monthly Thank You follow ups
Remind your customers about the great service and experience they received with you.

A simple reminder Thank You can remind customers about the wonderful experience they received from you. Remember that people are busy and it's your responsibility to remind them of your products and services. You want to keep on the top of their minds and build the relationship with them. Let them know how you you value them as a customer.

Not only should you remind them of their value to you as a client but show them you mean it. You can include discount coupons or gift certificates to invite them to come back again. You could include a 2 for 1 discount and invite them to bring a friend with them. This will really encourage them to bring in referrals and show other people how great your products or services are.

Send them a discount on a new product you have to offer. Just because someone ordered one of your products, doesn't mean they know about the other products or services you offer. This is another way to not only thank them for doing business with you but to also educate them on your other products and encourage them to use your services for those products as well.

Don't loose touch with your existing customers.
They are the lifeblood of any business and using a simple thank you letter or card can really make a difference and keep you in the top of their minds, build the relationship and help them want to give you referrals. This lifetime value can dramatically increase the sales from any one client if done correct.

A Simple Call Can Explode Your Direct Mail Results And Help Your Small Business Marketing

Direct Mail is a great marketing tool for any small business marketing plan. It's the staple for many businesses world wide and has been for years. But, many small businesses don't have the budget for large mailings on a regular basis. One simple way to increase the return on investment on any direct mail campaign that you do, can be to simply pick up the phone and follow up.

Most small businesses just send out one letter, postcard or mailer to a list of prospects and never do anything else. And most don't get the results that they expect from that mailing. The key is follow up.

Here's a great step by step process that will increase the chances of any direct mail marketing piece to be much more successful and explode your sales.

First send your prospects a sales letter designed to look like it was personally mailed to them. Be sure to include their name in the letter with Mail Merge and personalize the letter a bit to sound more personal. You should set up a campaign of 3 letters to be sent out once every 3 weeks.

Be sure to reference the previous letters in the second and third letters.

Now, here's the kicker.

After the third letter, call the prospect. Yes! Actually pick up the phone and call them.

We all hate making cold calls in any sales position but this isn't really a cold call. You've already made a connection with them. When you call then, you're not trying to make a connection. You're actually following up to make sure that they received your letters. That's the purpose of your call. You'll start off by asking if they received your letters.

If they did, did they have any questions?
Who are they currently using for the services you provide?
Why do they use that company?
Would they be willing to sit down and talk with you about your product and how you can improve their business with your product?

Now you can get your foot in the door for a meeting and get in front of them.

Just because someone didn't call you from your direct mail piece, doesn't mean that they weren't interested. We all get busy and if they are a business owner you know they are even more busy. This might be the perfect opportunity to get to the top of their mind. They might have planned on calling you already and just had not had a chance to stop and do it.

I've personally used this several times and ended up with twice as many leads because of the phone calls than I did than by people actually contacting me after our own direct mail campaigns. That's a 50% increase from the mailers by themselves.

If they haven't received your direct mail pieces, here's your opportunity to update their contact information and still ask for the appointment. You could send them to your website and walk them through the benefits and advantages of your products or services and still end up with the sale.

So for small businesses direct mail is a great tool to add to your marketing mix but a simple 5 minute phone call following up to any mailing campaign you do can really explode your results and get that new client in the door that will pay for the entire campaign.