bizthreads.net: Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Yep, in business circles, I'm known as ‘The Negotiator'.  The common line is ‘are we negotiating?' My answer — ‘Always'.

Negotiating is the art of bargaining, with the object being two or more reaching a common goal. Negotiating facilitates mutually beneficial agreements and is therefore crucial in all areas of business. The main focus should be on getting what you want, while developing or building good relationships with whomever you are negotiating with. Negotiating is an important business skill  - you'll get better with time and experience.  With good negotiating skills, you'll have the power to boost your business and transform a good business into a flourishing one!

Good Negotiating Prerequisites

Negotiating requires sound communication skills to be able to communicate your requirements effectively — this means, don't be shy. During your conversation, you should be able to gauge the requirements of the other party. For effective negotiations, balancing the needs of both the concerned parties is equally important. You should have thorough knowledge about your company, the projects your company is currently handling or has handled before and the products or services it offers — you should also know about the company that you are negotiating with! 

You should be able to analyze an offer and make quick and good decisions, depending on the situation. To make profitable decisions, you should have a clear objective when negotiating a business deal. Without prior assessment of the deal and the situation, you will not be able to decide whether the deal should be accepted or turned down. You should be able to evaluate the risks involved in a proposal. 

Most savvy businesspeople expect you to negotiate, and if you don't, they may wonder if you're really serious or if you know anything about business.  So don't be shy — get out there start negotiating right now! 

What do you need to differentiate your business from the online crowd?  You need to build an Internet identity.  What do you need next?  Take a look below!

First and foremost you need a website. This will allow you to present and describe the sales/business opportunity in your own words and pre sell the product before sending your visitors to the sales page.

You also need an auto responder opt-in box. Most visitors will not make a purchase on the first attempt. So, capture their details with an auto responder opt in box and follow up with emails. Follow-up emails reinforce your brand name and non-aggressive persistence wins sales.

You definitely need a photograph and signature. Scan a well groomed, smiling photo of yourself (in business attire!) and a penned signature. These add a personal touch. If your readers establish a personal connection with you, they will be more willing to make a purchase based on your recommendation. Audio is also recommended. If you have a good speaking voice, combine this with your photograph and signature to humanize the site and establish rapport with your audience. For this, all you need are recording software and a microphone.

A blog, as an add-on to your main website or as a free alternative until you are generating profits, can combine the aspects of name branding. Update your blog with content specific to you. A Domain name is also useful. You can register one and add a link to your blog.

The Internet is the best media for making sales with a minimum of effort.  Don't miss out! 

I'm constantly on the lookout for effective ways to promote my business and services.  I've discovered that one of the most effective and efficient is article submission! 

Branding and Credibility

First of all, at the end of your article, you can generally add a resource box including your name, business, credentials, web site and e-mail addresses, thereby making it simple for people to contact you. By publishing articles regularly you can come to be known as an expert on all topics you write about. This gives you, and by extension your business, extra credibility.

Exposure and Advertising:

Some of your articles may be placed on a publisher’s home page. You can gain extra exposure from each issue placed on their home page. Archived e-zines ensure greater exposure people can read previous articles before deciding to subscribe. A lot of people subscribe to e-zines and tend to trust the recommendation of editors. So, for each published article, the traffic to your website will probably increase.

The resource box display on each article is free. This lets you spend your profits on things like Google Adword campaigns or buying advertisement space in e-zines that don't publish your articles. Allowing an e-zine that has a free content directory on its web site to publish your articles can multiply and spread your advertising all over the web! These e-zines allow visitors and readers to republish your article as long as the resource box is intact, thus spreading your information. 

Your articles may also lead others to hire you to write for them - articles, e-books, etc. or speak at seminars. You also gain people’s trust. If they like your article, they are more likely to buy your product or service.  

Infomercials- Excellent Promotional Tools

More and more small businesses are utilizing infomercials as a way of promoting their products.  Sure, the longer infomercials can be a bit on the expensive side; but having your product run on one of the popular ‘shopping channels' can work wonders for your bottom line!

FAQ's in Infomercials and What They Cover

The FAQ's in infomercials are framed with the objective of providing complete information and answer all customer queries on customer service, after sales service, demonstration or any training program conducted by the company. Questions regarding product efficacy are also included.

The focus, however, is on the unique selling proposition of the product. This sets it apart from competitors in the market. There are queries on how the product would satisfy the need of the customer in a unique way. Once this information is effectively conveyed through the infomercial FAQ's, consumers are inclined to buy the product subject to their needs, resulting in an expansion of the customer base.
 
In the consumer market, the price of a product is a vital factor that determines the sales volume. Professionally designed infomercial FAQ's justify the price tag and display its competitive nature. Questions relating to the lowering of prices, when down payments are made in case of high priced products, are also covered in the FAQ section of infomercials.

Purpose of FAQ's in Infomercials

Professionally designed infomercial FAQ's strive to inform viewers about the salient features of a product, answer questions and clear any doubts that they may have. FAQ's focus mainly on USP, customer service, after sales service and the price of the product.

Well-designed infomercials have been known to drive up product sales nearly 200%!  Approached correctly, it can do the same for you.

Well, the more I stay in the business game, the more I learn about marketing!  A fairly new concept to marketing that is being used widely online today is Viral Marketing - an idea used to disseminate a marketing message while creating considerable brand awareness. This concept can be applied to endorse your business online without any additional monetary investment on your part!

Viral Marketing Tips:

· Email signature: Usually, email programs allow you to create a signature attached to outgoing email and replies. A tagline can be included along with a separator, like a dotted line, between the body of the email message and your signature.

· Customized screensaver: A customized screensaver should be created and free downloads offered to visitors of your website. It should relate to the theme of your online business.

· Use a ‘tell a friend' script: This allows word-of-mouth advertising by visitors of your website, who will promote it when they communicate with their friends or associates. You could even install some attractive ‘tell-a-friend' scripts. A ‘thank you' note could also be sent to people by email, which could be the most effective marketing message about your business website.

· Participate in User Forums: Participating in various user forums related to the theme of your business will help promote your business.  You should add a signature to all your forum posts.  You should try to position yourself as an expert in your field on the forums people will then seek guidance from you, and visit your company website more frequently.

· Write articles and allow free reprinting: This is one of the most effective tools that can be used online. You could write articles on topics that are relevant to your area of business, and submit or trade them with as many websites as possible. These articles should be made free for reprinting. This will popularize your company’s website among various webmasters, as well as people reprinting the published articles.

These viral marketing tips can help enhance the popularity of your website, and build its credibility. By implementing these guidelines, you can promote your website to a wide variety of people and help increase your sales!

I used to use telemarketing religiously, as a way of getting the word out about my business.  But then, I hit on a great way to more than double my returns and success rate — direct mail.  You can use direct mail to boost your sales, and it isn’t that hard.

Frequent Mailing

Maintain a regular mailing schedule, because a single letter will forgotten quickly. If the time gap between each mailing is too lengthy, customers may move on to your competition!  You don’t want this to happen. 

Address Your Target Audience

Direct mail can give you the chance to address a specific group of people. That’s why your first target group should be the customers who buy from you. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting your current customers while you are busy with luring potential new ones.

Enclose a Sales Letter

One of the very first things people do is read the sales letter! Make sure that you create an attractive sales letter, mentioning the benefits of your products right up front. Create a catchy headline highlighting the main selling points of your product or service, and place it prominently at the top of your sales letter.

Provide Sufficient Information

Describe your products or services in detail. Provide as much relevant information as you can. Direct mail gives you enough scope to provide in-depth information, unlike television or newspapers where there are space and time limitations. 

Create a Sense of Urgency

Add a sense of urgency to your direct mail pieces — customers need to know why they should take action NOW! Print the deadline on the envelope to persuade the customer to open the mail and read it. It should induce them to take action quickly or else lose potential benefits.  Speaking of benefits…..

Mention Benefits

Make sure that the message you communicate expresses a tangible customer benefit, because most people want a reward to open your mail, especially if it looks like junk mail! Create an intimate connection through direct mail.

When you know how to create great direct mail pieces, you’ve got the key to success. Now put that phone down and head out to the printer’s!

When I need to save money on advertising costs (which is always), I advertise in e-zines.  Besides reaching my target market quickly, I can create an e-zine ad in no time, with minimal cost.  Here's the how and why of e-zine advertising.

E-zines-The Right Media to Advertise

One of the best ways to advertise your product is through e-zines. It gives you the means to target people who you think would be interested in what you have to sell. However, first make sure to identify your market. That is, make sure of the section of people most likely to be potential customers. Then select an e-zine that reaches the maximum number of your target market.

Advantages Of Advertising in E-zines

The rates for advertising in e-zines and search engines is far less than what you would have to spend on traditional media like newspapers or television. The cost of one TV commercial can let you advertise on the Internet for months, if not years. E-zines are the fastest way to reach your target market. You can start getting orders literally within minutes of your advertisement being viewed.

How to Go About E-zine Advertising

E-zine advertising is an easy way to target customers and involves very low costs. You can join an e-zine directory, which will give you access to information about free advertising offers by many e-zine owners. You will also be able to get bonuses and freebies. You can visit websites like E-zineFinder.com, which maintains a regularly updated list of more than five hundred e-zines and newsletters. It is a ready resource for articles, advertising information and publisher interviews.

One of the most cost effective and best ways to advertise your product is through e-zines. Selecting the e-zine that reaches your target customers at a high rate can ensure successful results and boost your sales substantially.

Avoid Being A Copycat!

A common mistake made by small business owners (even me!) is to emulate others when advertising their business. They usually use the services of the yellow pages, newspapers and radio spots. By adopting this approach, you may only end up with low returns that neither help in raising income nor justify spending. Copying the methods adopted by others is no way to deal with the serious business of advertising!

The traditional methods of advertising make little impact these days. You may have to resort to innovative methods of advertising that not only cut down on expenditures, but also produce betters results. The very purpose of advertising is to use all the available media to direct the attention of the customers towards the services and goods offered. Traditional methods of advertising have been in use for ages. However, they are known to produce a negative impact on the average customer, who is fed up by now with traditional approaches.

Offer a Free Product or Service

The trick is to resort to promoting your business with a free offer of a product or service, to some non-profit organization and create an opening for advertising your business. This is most effective for small businesses. One example of this type of advertising is offering free magazines for the waiting room of a doctor. Many patients visit the doctor daily and have to wait for a while before a scheduled appointment. A dozen magazines, offered for free and bound in transparent plastic, with a half page advertisement of your business placed in the pocket of the plastic cover, would give excellent coverage for your business.

Take Advantage of Free Publicity

Another way to advertise is to get free publicity. Announcements of your products and services can be published in magazines. A broadcast on the local radio or TV would work wonders for your business. You could attempt to publish an article in the local paper. You could also contact the local Chamber of Commerce or any other civic association and offer free classes or lectures about the business.

By thinking outside of the box when it comes to advertising, you can get the most bang for your buck and make your business more profitable at the same time!

The Internet business game can get pretty tricky, especially for newbies. For those of you not in the know, Google Adwords is an online advertisement tool created by Google and is used by many online businesses today to advertise their products and services on the Internet. If you want to start a new online ad campaign, then I’ve compiled this handy list of tips and tricks that will help you create captivating ads with Google Adwords and boost your profits!

1. Headline, Headline!!

Yes, the headline is by far the most important part of your ad. To make an ad that captures attention, make your headlines as catchy and attractive as possible. Choose relevant keywords that are more likely to be searched for. Usually, a good headline does most of the work!

2. Be Precise And To The Point

Make sure your ads are precise and to the point. Nobody has the time to go through long-drawn-out ads. Include a keyword here and there, and underline it or make it bold, to grab the viewer's attention.

3. Invest Wisely

Do not invest too much money in these campaigns. Staying within a pre-set budget is essential. It would be wiser to invest around 10$-$15 in the beginning, and then increase the amount as you get returns. Caution is the best precaution, as you stand a risk of losing the entire money you invested in your ads. So, go by the adage ‘thrifty is nifty', and take it easy with the money.

4. Pre-Advertise

Before you actually launch your product, conduct a small survey, which will identify the people who are actually interested in your product. To do so, release a few ad details in the beginning, so that customers know what they can expect. Evaluate ad performance, and make necessary changes.

5. Track Your Account

Analyze the way your account is performing. Check statistics and create reports. This way, you will know where you are headed, and can adopt changes to your account, according to the situation.

When you use Google Adwords the right way, you can definitely boost your sales. But you do have to be careful to set your budget right, because with Google, it’s easy to overspend if you don’t watch it!

If you have leads but can't convert them into customers, then what good are they? One of the most-asked questions I get is on how to do this effectively — it's easier said than done, unless you have the experience, like I do!

One of the effective ways to convert sales leads into sales is by reviewing the leads on a weekly basis and determining what follow up action has been taken on leads that have come in.

Write An Interesting and Informative Newsletter and Keep Updating It

In Internet marketing, you work towards directing targeted traffic to your site. Make sure that you have an interesting newsletter that allows the visitor/lead to know about the product when they go through it. The newsletter must be informative and not merely an advertisement for your product. Even if a sale is not made when the prospect first visits your site, the newsletter should generate interest. Your customer will gradually become familiar with you and your product after successive visits to the site. Keeping the newsletter regularly updated is a must.

Categorize Leads into Different Categories

Assess and categorize your sales leads into immediate buyers - those that may buy in about a month's time and those who will buy in around six month's time. Then develop appropriate action plans respective to each type and put them into action. For long-term leads, you may consider the Drip E-Mail system for automatic sending of helpful emails every 2 weeks or so. You should be sure to obtain their permission before you add them to your mailing list, or else you could be in big trouble!

Respond Immediately to All Inquiries

You'd be surprised (as I often am) by the number of companies that don't do this. By giving a quick response to prospective buyers, you can create a powerful experience. The impression that people get is of a serious and honest company or person who is truly interested in doing business with them and is able to promptly help them with whatever they need.

To convert leads into sales, you may write an informative and interesting newsletter periodically. By taking care to give a quick and courteous response to all inquiries, you can ensure the continual growth of your business!