“I can do it myself” said the frustrated business owner.
Let’s face it, it’s hard for a business owner to give up a responsibility in his/her business for fear of it not being completed or a variation of staggering reasons.
Most entrepreneurs treat their business as if it was their own children and it’s hard to just let anyone take care of your kids…right.
This is why it’s important when considering to outsource a function within your business that you are comfortable with that company and that they have your best interest at heart.
However we live in an outsourced world.
More and more companies are looking to outsource certain functions of their business so they can focus on running the business better.
Companies are outsourcing their HR department, Billing, Client Service, Advertising & Marketing, Project Management, Payroll, Accounting, Distribution and a host of other functions.
Reducing costs may not be the only reason to consider outsourcing, however for most this is the ideal situation.
There are many benefits to outsourcing:
•    Focus on your core business!
•    Reduce risk in most cases!
•    Compete with big businesses!
•    Focus on other projects!
•    Increase overall efficiency!
My company for example will handle a company’s entire marketing and advertising needs from strategic market planning to total implementation to finding out what makes your client’s love you.
This in essence frees up your company from having to either higher someone for this particular position which the average salary being a little over $75,000 per year, plus benefits.

Or, having to hire an ad agency who’s primary goal is to sell expensive media and win awards that make them look good and lead to more client’s for them.

Be careful; Ask trusted advisior for recommendations when looking for qualified advise.

Tags: direct marketing, help, hiring

How many of your clients Love You?

How many people send you a complimentary letter or email?

Your love letter may arrive by way of the U.S. Postal Service, via a fax or e-mail, or through a voice-mail message.

There are two great reasons why you should save a copy of every love letter or “white mail” (positive messages) that you receive.

Here’s the first:

When clients tell you what they like about your product or your service, you’ll discover you may have the ability to improve the things that they like.

If they approve of a product, then you can make or acquire more of it.

If they like your service, then you can make sure that you maintain its quality.

Odds are good that if one customer takes the time to send a message to you, then the way that they feel would apply in a similar way to many other customers.

Negative comments can also be turned positive.

How? They show your honesty.
They show you are not perfect.
They show you are human.
People know mistakes happen and that nothing is perfect.

The second reason for hanging on to your “Love Letters” is to use its comments as positive testimonials about your product/service.

Unsolicited remarks tend to be more open and honest than testimonials for which you have to ask.

If you want to use a customer’s comments in your promotional material, you should ask for his/her permission.

Oh. By the way. It’s okay to paraphrase and/or edit a testimonial so long as you do not change the meaning of the message.

Or you could pull out a short phrase. Even a word or two and use as a testimonial.

Give him/her credit in your marketing by including name, city, and state.

Phone numbers, e-mail addresses and photos also are extremely beneficial.
However, only use them when your client gives you specific written approval.

Sometimes, I’ll use a stock photo of a different person that fits the same age range if I can’t get permission.

Some people are overly concerned about their privacy, but most people probably will grant you the permission that you seek.

I can’t stress it enough:
Testimonials are a great tool. Use them to your advantage.

When you talk about how great your product/service is, people assume that it is part of your marketing and salesmanship—and rightly so.

However, when someone else praises your product/service, it sends a much more powerful message.

Now, what are you going to do with the Love Letters that you receive?

Tags: advertising, criticism, email, love letters, marketing, markteing, Selling, testimonials, white mail

It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

This statement also applies to your business.

What if you have developed a marketing campaign that is working well?

What if your marketing is bringing in all kinds of sales leads and increasing sales and profits for your business?

What if you have tested and proven your list and your headlines?

What if your offers in this campaign are the best that they can be?

What if no other marketing effort that you have tried has beaten its results?

Wouldn’t it be insane to change it?

You would think so.

However, many business owners get bored with using the same marketing message over and over again.

Consequently, they change their campaign midstream.

These owners never get the full benefit of their campaign.

This, folks, is insanity.

Sometimes the reason that these business owners change their approaches is that they listen to their spouse, employees, family members, friends, clients or someone else who has gotten tired of the campaign.

As a result, the business owners changes his marketing before they should.

Whatever the reason, if something isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
If a marketing campaign is working, then stick with it!

A profitable marketing campaign must be allowed to run its course.

You will know when it is time to change or develop something new when your current campaign stops working.

Again, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

You can see this mistake made over and over in many businesses.

Advertising and direct-marketing efforts that are working are abandoned midstream for the “next big thing.”

Don’t waste the money, time, and effort that you have invested in creating a marketing campaign by making this same mistake in your business.

How sane are your marketing efforts?

Tags: advertising, business, campaign, insanity, marketing, money, sanity, you

If you play by the rules of your industry,
or if you do the same thing as your competition,
how will you ever gain more clients?

Be inventive, creative, or even outrageous to capture a bigger share of the available business.

Boring is and will always be boring.

Creative marketing will help you to crush your competition.

Follow your gut.
Go with your hunches.
Do it smart and careful.

Keep an eye on what your industry competitors are doing.

Many times it makes sense to do the opposite of what they are doing.

Do your own strategic marketing, it will set you apart.

Your future clients will notice that you are a unique business with different ideas.

What ideas do you have to out-market your competitors?

Tags: competition, marketing, rules, unique

What marketing efforts are your competitors using?

• Call your competitor on the telephone and pose as a prospective client.
• Talk to their sales staff
• Ask the right questions and most salespeople will tell you exactly what you want to know about their business. Many salespeople love to talk about themselves and their business. This can help you with your research.
• Collect your competitors’ brochures, ads, and sales letters.
• Record their voice messages and their radio and TV commercials.
• Visit their booths at trade shows and go to their showrooms.
• Also, check out their Web site(s).
  Most Web sites will give you a lot of information about how the company does business with its clients. The site may even provide a list of clients, which can become a great “target list” for your own sales efforts.
  While visiting the Web sites of your competitors, request more information regarding their companies and their products/services. Then, keep an accurate record about how quickly they respond.

Tags: competition, ideas, information, marketing, marketing ideas, salespeople, sandy barris, spy, weakness, website

The following secrets are not in any order. Each is valuable on it own or combined with other secrets. I highly recommend that you do combine them because when combine your multiply there strength.

Tags: business, marketing ideas, marketing secrets, techniques, tips

I was watching a story on the local news in which a reporter was bashing a travel agent. The travel agency didn’t refund the fees paid by a group of seniors who had had their trip canceled due to a mistake by the travel agency. That one news report probably will hurt this travel agent’s business for a long time.

How your business handles complaints will make the difference between keeping clients and losing them.

Handling complaints quickly and professionally will prevent the spread of negative reports about your business. If you fail to handle complaints quickly and professionally, many people will hear about it and may never give your business a chance.

Smart businesses offer strong guarantees to eliminate this worry. The stronger your guarantee, the more confident that people will feel when the time comes for them to decide whether or not to do business with you.

The most effective guarantee that you can offer is a “100% money back, no questions asked” guarantee. Most importantly, you absolutely must honor this guarantee when the time comes.

Depending on the industry that you are in, it sometimes may be impossible for you to offer a “100% guarantee.” However, you should still offer the best guarantee that you possibly can.

In addition, you should have step-by-step policies and procedures in place to handle complaints when they arise. The sooner that you get these complaints resolved, the better.

If a client is unhappy with you or, even worse, is mad at you, then s/he will spread the word to others. You will lose valuable clients and the profits that they generate.

What procedures do you have in place to handle any complaint with the utmost efficiency?

What guarantees can you offer?