Surefire Way To Never Have To Compete On Price Again!

“There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.” – Roger Staubach

With an 18 month old daughter... who is now very mobile... and a second child on the way, my wife and I decided it was time to fence in our yard for both their safety and our sanity. So we started to solicit estimates from a few vendors. Much to our dismay the prices for what appeared to be comparable fences varied by over $2000. Unfortunately for the vendors, there was little if any differentiation between them. They asked too few questions and made too few recommendations. They essentially positioned themselves to compete on price... in my opinion, the worst positioning a small business can take!

So as responsible and mindful consumers what did we do? While we didn't hire the lowest price vendor, we did however ask the one that gave us the best warm and fuzzy feeling to at least come close to the lowest price. We don't mind paying a few extra dollars for that warm and fuzzy feeling, even amongst the current state of the economy. And my guess is that many other consumers feel the same.

My suggestion... avoid this scenario for your business at all costs! Don't position yourself for a price war. Stand out!

How? It's simple... Be willing to do the little things that your competition is either unwilling or too lazy to do.

Why? Because it's the little things that make all the difference! It's the little things that show you actually care! It's the little things that justify your existence and your fees! It's the little things that get you hired!

We're not talking about breaking the bank here. If you put just a little creative thought into this, there are literally dozens of little things you could do to out-class the competition.  For example:

• Provide your prospect with a tips sheet on selecting the best vendor and/or solution.
• Educate your prospect on any unforeseeable hiccups they may experience in the buying process (e.g. special permits and variances they may need to move forward, other expenses, etc.).
• Provide price quotes from and/or public information about a few of your competitors to show how you clearly are the best choice. I don’t mean bad mouth your competition. Just stick to the facts and point out the differences between the companies that seem to matter to your target market most.

And to keep your existing clients happily paying your fees, you can model...

• The chiropractor who buys balloons and sings Happy Birthday to his patients.
• The cleaning company who leaves mints on your pillows and fun animal shapes out of a towel at the foot of your bed when their done cleaning your home.
• The landscaper that provides you with great time-saving and beautification tips for your yard.

Sounds so simple right? Yet so few small businesses do these little over and above gestures. These little gems are examples of great marketing!

I'd be willing to bet that most customers of these vendors won't be so concerned if their prices were a few dollars more.

The bottom line... Be remarkable amongst an unremarkable world! Do that and you most certainly won't be competing on price any longer.

© 2009 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, marketing articles, compete on price, remarkable marketing, target market, small businesses, small business marketing

3 Keys to Getting More Referrals from Your Network

I hate to be the one to break it to you however I’d estimate that more than 90% of business networking is a waste of time. It’s non-strategic, poorly executed, and bears little fruit… there I said it!

Now, now, wait a minute! It doesn’t have to be a waste of time. It’s just my opinion that most business professionals are either, whether they know it or not, not very good at it or are simply lazy. That’s unfortunate considering the large volumes of time and money that small businesses throw at this marketing strategy.

For the networking rock stars of the world, networking tends to be very fruitful. They get qualified referrals from their network on a regular basis. They constantly are connecting with a steady stream of targeted prospects. Why? – Because their networking is typically very strategic and very well executed.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point”, he introduces the concept of “connectors” as people with a special gift to bring the world together. Now combine that concept and attribute with author Seth Godin’s concept of “sneezers” from his book “Unleashing the Ideavirus” and now you’re talking! You’re networking with people your target market both already knows, likes and trusts and that will actively and willingly help you get your word out. Network well with these people and let the referrals roll – that is of course assuming that you, your product, and your service are worth referring.

Let’s be clear here though, you’ve got to earn referrals. Just because you believe you deserve referrals doesn’t mean you’re going to get them. You need encourage them. You need to ask for them. You need to make it easy, lucrative and fun to refer business to you. Networking rock stars understand this… they don’t leave this to chance… they create their ideal reality. How do they do this? Well here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Make it EASY for your network to refer business to you! How?

• Make sure you regularly nurture relationships with those who either are in your target market or have access to it… especially networking rock stars!
• Make sure they clearly understand who you serve and what you serve them with… remember this is your responsibility not theirs.
• Be clear and specific in asking for what you want.

2. Make it LUCRATIVE for your network to refer business to you! How?

• Paint a clear picture of what’s in it for them.
• Always reward the behavior you want to see repeated.
• Recognize them for their generosity and referral savvy publicly in front of their peers… people never seem to tire of this type of positive PR.

3. Make it FUN for your network to refer business to you! How?

• Hold a referral contest where the person who refers the most business to you wins something they deem valuable.
• When you’re “THE MAN”, you become magnetic and people will always want to be around you and please you. So become “THE MAN” or if applicable, “THE WOMAN”.
• Everyone loves free stuff! Free is fun so if at all possible, let them sample your goods and services. This will give them first-hand experience and most likely will encourage them to speak more favorably of you, more often.

So in closing, some key questions to ask yourself are… point blank, are you referable? Are you making it easy, lucrative, and fun to refer business to you? Are you continually developing your networking skills to increase your refer-ability factor? Are you consciously and continually making an effort to identify and nurture the networking rock stars in your network? If so… GREAT… keep it up! If not, then as one of my mentors James Arthur Ray says “When would now be a good time to start?”

© 2009 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then you won’t want to miss Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' (www.MotivationalMarketer.com). Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute' (www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com/marketingminute), -- a multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, marketing artcles, referral marketing, referrals, refer, referrable, refer-ability factor, qualified referrals, connectors, sneezers, networking rock stars, networking, network, target market, small businesses, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, James Arthur Ray

Marketing Expert Series: 3 Killer Tips to Trade Show Success

Recently I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with trade show expert and author John A. Hill, Founder and CEO of John A. Hill & Associates, Inc. I have to say John is simply a fountain of incredible information regarding trade shows. This presented a challenge for me as I simply could have spoken to him for hours and hours on the subject however I was able to pull from my conversation with him 3 simple yet incredible tips that in and of themselves could explode your trade show success. So without further adieu, here you go:

Dean:  John, in your book “Tips and Tales from the Booth” you break down trade shows into three distinct parts:

1. the pre-show effort,
2. the show effort itself, and
3. the post-show effort.

If you could give only one tip for each one of those, what would they be?

John:  Well, as far as the pre-show effort is concerned, I would say, know the show that you are going to.  So many people go to a show and they don’t know their audience, they don’t know the profile of the attendees.  Therefore, if you’re selling toys, and you go to a show that has people 60 years old and above, I don’t think it’s a good show for you.

In the same way, I think that it’s important that you know the show you are going to.  In fact, I recommend to all my clients that they go to the show first before they actually exhibit so that they can see what they are getting into.

Dean:  And I agree with that.  I see that often myself where, number one, a lot of people don’t even know who their target market really is, let alone match it to a specific show that caters to that target market.  Does that seem to be the case?

John:  Absolutely, they don’t do enough investigation regarding the trade show to know exactly who is going to be there and the type of clients, the type of attendees that are going to be at the show, and would it be a show that they would invite their clients to.

Dean:  Fantastic, that’s a great tip.  Now how about the show itself?  What would be the one tip there?

John:  As far as the show itself, everybody in the booth should tell the same story.  So I recommend that they have a script.  There’s only so many questions that you are going to be asked at a trade show and if you have a script everybody should be able to say the same thing.  And with the script you should have a good qualification form.  Those two things go hand in hand.  Not just one that will give you your name, your address and your telephone number, but to really qualify you because if you’re at that booth, you’re there for a reason.  If an attendee comes to your booth, he or she is there for a reason.  They want to do business; they want to find out about your product.  So if you have a good qualification form and you answer the right questions from your script and so forth, there’s no reason why they won’t stay with you and want to give you as much information as possible.

Dean:  Now that’s fantastic.  Whether it’s the marketing process, the sales process we see it all the time.  A lot of times we get the same exact questions over and over again.  So what you’re suggesting is basically have answers to those, is that correct?

John:  Absolutely.

Dean:  That’s a huge tip.  Now the third element that I wanted to ask was the post-show effort.  What would be the one tip there?

John:  Follow up; follow up; follow up.  You have to continue to follow up because those are qualified leads and if you’re not taking advantage of them and so forth, I think you’re missing out on a major opportunity to close good business for your company.

Dean:  Fantastic, fantastic.  So in closing, I just want to add onto this, first thank you John for these tips, they were fantastic.  And if anyone listening to this or reading this would like to get more information or more tips such as these, John has recently released a fantastic book, a very comprehensive book, but an easy read and a fun read called, “Tips and Tales from the Booth, Avoiding Trade Show Mistakes.”  My guest again today was John A. Hill from John A. Hill and Associates and thank you very much.

John:  It was a pleasure to be here, thank you.

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, marketing articles, trade shows, John A. Hill, John Hill, John A. Hill & Associates, tips and tales from the booth

Networking 101: 11 Tips to 1-on-1 Meeting Success (Part II: The Final Six)

Well I certainly hope you enjoyed part I of this article where I shared with you the first five tips of my “11 Tips to 1‑on‑1 Meeting Success”. To quickly summarize, they were:

1. Come Prepared To Play

2. Confirm the Appointment at least 24 hours in Advance

3. Dress for Success

4. Make It Easy For Them to Find You

5. Be Respectful of Their Time

If you’d like to review them in detail, you’ll find part I of this conversation on my blog the Motivational Marketer’s Journal at www.MotivationalMarketer.com.

In the meantime, as promised, here are the remainder: 

6. Shut-off Your Cell Phone
Unless in dire emergency, nothing screams disrespect more than your cell phone ringing in the middle of a conversation… and you answer it. You say to the person you’re meeting with: “Hold that thought for a second, I’ve got to get this.” Translation to the person you’re meeting with… you’re not important, this call is. 

7. Be Clear About Your Intentions
Why do you want to meet with them? Don’t mislead them with false intentions. Is this just a meeting to get to know one another better? Or is this a sales meeting where you’ll be introducing your products and services? They’re likely to be upset if they’re expecting good conversation and it ends up being one long sales pitch. 

8. Maintain Proper Eye Contact
Don’t look over their shoulder as if you’re waiting for someone better to enter the room. Don’t check them out as if you were looking for a cheap thrill. This is business networking. You’re not hanging out at some singles club. Give them the respect they deserve. 

9. Listen Twice, Speak Once
Translation… let them do most of the talking and really tune in to what they are saying. Lending a true ear is one of the biggest signs of respect. 

10. Take Notes
Before proceeding with this one, be sure to ask for permission. For example you might say: “You’re sharing some very important stuff here. Would you mind if I took a few notes to make sure I don’t forget any of it?” This just oozes respect as well as lets the other person know that you believe what they’re saying is important… a major compliment. 

11. Identify Next Steps
The meeting’s just about over. What now? Where do you go from here? Does it make sense to take this relationship to the next level? How so? Whatever the outcome of the meeting, communicate whatever next steps you feel makes sense… even if it’s nothing.

So in closing, remember it’s all about respect… it’s all about courtesy… it’s all about making them feel important… it’s all about going deep enough to develop a strong rapport. Why? Because people do business with people they know, like, and trust. And in order to create that possibility, you’ve got to be willing to do whatever it takes to earn it.

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, marketing articles, networking 101, networking, meeting success, business professionals, surface networkers

Networking 101: 11 Tips to 1-on-1 Meeting Success (Part I: The First Five)

It’s scary out there! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve encountered so-called business professionals who simply didn’t get it. They simply didn’t get the fact that business is all about people. They simply didn’t get the fact that people do business with people they know, like, and trust. They simply weren’t willing to invest the time and effort needed to develop strong, mutually beneficial, and enduring relationships. Yet they wonder why this marketing strategy called networking doesn’t seem to be working for them.

These types of business professionals are what I call “surface networkers” and there are literally tons of them out there just cluttering up the networking avenues. The good thing about it though, is the vast opportunity it presents to those who really do know how to play the networking game… “players” so to speak…they tend to stand out like a beacon of light.

So you’re out their networking your tail off at a local networking event and you’ve met what you believe to be a “player”. They’re magnetic. They’re charismatic. They just seem to emanate this vibe that makes them irresistible. You reach out to them after the networking event and schedule a 1-on-1 “get-to-know-you-better” type of meeting. Now what?

You want to impress this person. You want to go deep. You want to explore how you may be able to help each other going forward. How can you make sure you give yourself the best chance of accomplishing that? Well here in part 1 of this 2 part series are the first 5 of the 11 tips that can help you do just that. So here goes: 

1. Come Prepared To Play
For starters, Google them. Check out their web site. Read their current news letter. Do they have any current press releases? If so, read them. In other words find out a little something about them as well as their industry prior to the meeting. This is a sure sign of diligence and respect. 

2. Confirm the Appointment at least 24 hours in Advance
Face it, we’re not perfect. And as busy professionals we can sometimes fall victim to our own busyness. That said… a little courtesy reminder can go a long way.

3. Dress for Success
One rule here; Dress as best you can without making the person you’re meeting with feel uncomfortable. 

4. Make It Easy For Them to Find You
If needed, provide directions to the meeting location. Exchange cell phone numbers. And just in case they may not remember what you look like… and yes don’t flatter yourself, this is a possibility… wear something distinctive and let them know about it (e.g. I’ll be wearing a green tie).

5. Be Respectful of Their Time
Arrive early and wrap it up on time. If for some reason you’re going to be late, give them a quick courtesy call. If the conversation is going so well that it’s about to go into overtime, make them aware of the time and either continue with the meeting (if it’s acceptable to both parties of course) or, break out your calendar and set a follow-up meeting to pick up where you left off.

That about wraps up the first five tips of “11 Tips to 1‑on‑1 Meeting Success”. In part II I’ll share 6 more whoppers that can make or break any meeting. Stay tuned.

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, marketing articles, networking 101, networking, meeting success, business professionals, surface networkers

Keep a Keen Eye on These to Not Only Survive but Thrive in This Downturn Economy

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." -- Lao-Tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Now that could either be a great thing or the scariest possibility for any small business owner or independent professional. Especially with a bit of an economic downturn on our hands… let alone the doom and gloom people seem to be perpetuating around it.

So tell me… where are you heading and how do you know for sure? Is the marketing you’re currently doing working? Is it bringing you a steady flow of new qualified prospects? Is it strengthening your brand? Is it making you money or just draining your precious resources at a time where you simply can’t afford for that to be the case?

Now on the surface you may believe you know the answer to questions like these however, are you 100% positive?

Well one of the most important and tangible parts in determining whether or not anything in your business is working is by maintaining sound metrics.  Yes, I do believe that certain aspects of your marketing are not practical to track and measure.  However, there are plenty of key metrics that are easily gathered.  For example you might keep metrics on things like:

• Number of projected versus actual new Clients each month
• Number of projected versus actual repeat Clients each month
• Number of projected versus actual new prospects each month
• Return on investment for specific advertising or marketing campaigns
• Return on investment for each marketing strategy in general
• Number of web site visits per month and where the visitors are coming from
• A monthly “Profit and Loss Statement” which shows your monthly income, monthly expenses, and whether or not you were profitable during that period. The key here is to analyze and know what the numbers mean and how you can alter your marketing to improve them.

And we could go on and on and on here however I hope you get the point… the numbers simply never lie! And if you know how to read them, they can empower you to make better decisions.

For example, one such way is to look for trends. Compare the most recent month, quarter, and year to the one previous (e.g. August 2007 to July 2007, Quarter 3 2007 to Quarter 2 2007, and the year 2007 to the year 2006). Compare specific months from different years (e.g. August 2006 versus August 2007). Compare specific quarters from different years (e.g. Quarter 3 2006 to Quarter 3 2007).

Additionally look for trends dictating the effectiveness of specific marketing campaigns. And to risk stating the obvious, do more of what’s working and less of what’s not… yes it’s that simple. However, you’ll never know whether a marketing campaign is working or not if you are not collecting and analyzing metrics.

So in closing, remember the numbers never lie. And for small businesses and independent professionals, it’s times like these that separate the “men from the boys” so to speak. So the big question remains, where are you heading and how do you know for sure?

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, marketing articles, metrics, small businesses, small business owners, independent professionals, economic downturn, economic turmoil

Can Your Web Site Pass the "Triple-I" Test?

Let’s just assume for a moment that you’re able to convince your target market to stop by your web site.

Would they find it cozy and inviting… cozy and inviting enough to want to stay for a moment? Would they find it valuable… valuable enough to stick around… valuable enough to take your desired action… valuable enough to come back periodically for more?

These are all very important questions that anyone who has a web site that expects any kind of positive result needs to regularly think about and continuously ensure. That’s why I put together a simple system that I call the “Triple-I” test to assist web site owners in giving their web site a regular “check-up” so to speak. Let’s begin…

The 1^st "I"… Inviting
It starts with the basics. First off, your web site needs to be welcoming and approachable. How? It needs to be clean, neat and organized. Ace the clutter. It needs to be easy for your target market to find their way around to get what they want. It has to use an inviting color palette that sits well with your target market. It has to load quickly and use a comfortable combination of text, imagery, and multimedia. And most importantly, it has to be consistent in look and feel with your overall brand.

Now this might seem like a lot of ducks to have in a row however, your web site visitor passes judgment on you in a split second. If they feel comfortable, they’ll stay a moment. If they’re not comfortable… gone! They’re gone as quickly as they can click their mouse.

The 2^nd "I"… Interesting
If your target market is comfortable enough to stay beyond that first split-second, you’ve got a matter of about 3 to 7 seconds to grab their interest. How? An attention-grabbing headline would be a great start. And now that you’ve piqued their interest, you have to give them reason to stick around. How? Stretch their comfort zone. Make your web site experiential. Make it interactive. Create a sense of community. Tap into multiple senses by using multimedia such as audio and video. Use your web site to educate. Use it to position yourself the way you want to be seen by your target market. The key components here are to establish credibility and value.

And lastly the 3^rd "I"… Initiative
Bottom line… your web site must cause your target market to do something. It must be able to capitalize on that comfort zone you’ve established. It must get them into the habit of doing the things you ask them to do. How? Tell them what action you want to take. Make it a simple, non-threatening action such as signing up for your complimentary electronic newsletter. Be specific though, don’t leave it to chance. Just make sure you under-promise and over-deliver this way they feel good about the experience they are having with you and will look to deepen their relationship with you.

So in closing… please note that you really want to get some outside, unbiased, honest feedback to really know how your web site stacks up. Yes, some solid web site statistics such as conversion ratios would be effective here also. However, be conscious of the softer-side of proof… the more intangible stuff that tends to play on the emotions of your target market. This in my opinion is where the real power of effectiveness lies.

So… does your current web site pass muster? Be honest now. The only person you would be fooling is yourself. If it did pass muster, go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back… you deserve it. Don’t fall asleep at the wheel though. Keep on doing what you’re doing and more.

Now if it didn’t pass muster or you’re just not sure, get some help. If you’re serious about your business, do yourself a favor and empower your web site to get you the results you need to succeed.

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, marketing articles, web site, target market, comfort zone

5 Tips to Empower Your Web Site to Sell for You

Hey small businesses can use all the sales and marketing help they can get… am I right or am I right?!

The typical small business just doesn’t seem to have the means to hire the team they need to bring in the business. This is a big problem that typically forces the small business owner to try to go it alone… becoming the so-called “Chief Cook & Bottle-Washer”.

Now where there’s a will, there’s a way and there are ways around this dilemma. One way which we’ll discuss here is to empower your web site to become a virtual sales person. How? Well here are 5 tips to help make that happen:

1. Provide Lead Generation
It’s simple… Everyone loves free stuff. So the idea here is to offer something for free on your web site that your ideal prospect would love to get their hands on. In exchange, all you ask for is their contact information and the right to market to them going forward. Essentially you are dangling a carrot in front of them… a carrot in the form of a free special report, a free newsletter, a free eBook, free tips and tricks, free discount coupon, or a free whatever.

Chances are if they’re interested enough to sign up at your web site, they may be interested in what you offer at some point.

Keep in mind, you should be trying to build or solidify a relationship here with your prospects, not sell them; so this free giveaway must be value driven not sales pitch driven.

2. Establish or Further Your Credibility and Brand
Since people most often buy from people they know, like, and trust, your web site can be a great tool in helping build the comfort level needed to influence your prospects to buy from you.

Some great ways of doing this are by providing references, case studies, and testimonials of satisfied customers. These forms of unbiased third-party justifications are powerful at removing the fears out of doing business with you!

3. Provide Pre-sales and Post-sales Support
The possibilities here are endless. Tactics can go from as simple as a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on your web site to more interactive methods such as blogs, forums, online chatting, and more. These tactics are great to help convert those prospects who are either “sitting on the fence” or just can’t seem to get enough information to make a decision.

4. Allow Prospects to Buy Your Products and Services Directly From Your Web Site
Hey if your prospect is ready to buy, they’re ready to buy. Why stand in their way? Give them the ability to buy whichever products or services that you see fit right from your web site using either their credit card or some other immediate means such as PayPal.

The bottom line here is that people buy first with emotion and then justify their purchase afterwards with logic. So capitalize on that emotion… Get them while they’re hot so to speak and help them justify their purchase afterwards with your stellar post-sales support.

5. Provide Full Contact Information
This final tip is one that may seem like common sense but I guess it’s not because I come across web sites all the time that either do not provide full contact information or hide it so well that it’s almost impossible to find.

The idea here is to make it real easy for prospects to find you both online and offline. Provide full contact information that at a minimum includes a phone number, a fax number, an email address, and a physical mailing address because the lack of providing one can make a prospect question whether or not you are a real business.

Best case scenario is to provide this information on every page of your web site this way you prospect has it at their fingertips if they want it.

So in closing, the key lesson here is leverage. If you got a web site, make it work overtime for you. Give it a chance to earn its keep. Why not? It cost you money to create it and even more to maintain it. Milk it for all its worth!

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute' at http://www.onlinemarketingmuscle.com/marketingminute/ , -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

Small Business Marketing Strategy: A Labor Day Approach to Finishing Your Year with a Bang!

Unbelievable! Labor Day is here again... how the years seem to fly by. This time of year always seems to tune me back into marketing. Why? First off because of all the big Labor Day promotions and sales that local retailers tend to bombard us with. Secondly because of what Labor Day stands for. For us Americans it’s a day to reflect on all the work and workers who made America the great country it is today! And thirdly because the year is two-thirds over already and that leaves me with the last third of the year to meet, or better yet exceed my business goals for the year.

So what I like to do is (for my business anyway) is to use the days surrounding Labor Day to do some reflecting on what’s working and what’s not working with my marketing as well as make any necessary adjustments to my marketing plan. So here’s my 3 step approach to doing just that:

Step 1 - Revisit and Refresh Goals As Needed

This goes for both personal as well as business goals. Ask yourself... Have my needs and wants changed at all? Do I still have the same passion for those things that I wanted at beginning of the year? Why or why not? Contemplating these types of questions will both tune you back into what you’re doing and why.

Step 2 - Reflect on Past Marketing Efforts

Take a look at the marketing you’ve done so far this year. Has it worked? How do you know? Well you can start by looking at the numbers because they don’t lie. How many qualified prospects did each marketing campaign bring forth? How many clients? What types of marketing strategies and tactics did you enjoy doing the most? Learning from your efforts here will significantly increase your marketing success going forward.

Step 3 - Reevaluate the Remainder of Your Marketing Plan

Now that you have a grip on what marketing worked or didn’t work and why so far this year, take a look at the marketing you have on deck. Does it still seem appropriate? What will your marketing budget support going forward? Can you step up your marketing to play a bigger and better game? The criteria here are quite simple. Do more of what’s working and less of (or eliminate) what’s not.

So in closing, I’d like to leave you with a quote from unfortunately I don’t know who to attribute this variation to. Anyway it goes like this: "Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it". So do yourself a huge favor and take the time to learn from your past marketing efforts. Something tells me you’ll be glad you did.

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute' at http://www.onlinemarketingmuscle.com/marketingminute/ , -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

marketing articles, Dean Mercado, Online Marketing Muscle, small business, marketing strategy, Labor Day

Facebook: Gold Mine or Waste of Time?

Social networking is all the rage right now and comes in a multitude of flavors... guaranteed to be something for everyone. There is one however that appears to be on fire right now… and that’s Facebook.

Millions are using it and thousands upon thousands are joining into the craze every day.

So the big question becomes… how about for business… does it make sense to use Facebook as a means to promote your business?

In one word… absolutely! And here are 10 great reasons of why you need to be on Facebook now:

1. Use It to Promote Your Brand
Dunkin Donuts has Facebook users passing out virtual treats from their menu… creating massive top-of-mind and brand awareness. Why not do something similar?

2. Use It to Do Highly Targeted Prospecting
Facebook makes it real easy to both locate and open up conversation with people with specific interests and commonalities.

3. Use It to Connect On a Deeper Level with Your Prospects and Clients
People buy from people, not businesses. Leverage Facebook to become more personable, human, and reachable. Write on your “friends” walls… add some photos of yourself… use Facebook’s “Groups” feature to build your own community within Facebook… the possibilities are endless.

4. Use It to Promote Your Specials and Events
Facebook provides a number of ways to automatically notify your “friends” on Facebook of any time sensitive special or event. For starters try a combination of Facebook’s “Events”, “Status”, and “Wall” features to let others know what you’ve got going on.

5. Use It to Drive Traffic to Your Web Site
Provide some links throughout your personal profile as well as create a page for your business that contains links that drive prospects back to specific areas of your business’s web site.

6. Use It to Improve Your Search Engine Rankings
As far as improving your overall search engine rankings, there is nothing like one-way incoming links from highly popular and trafficked web sites such as Facebook. According to Alexa.com, at the time of this writing, Facebook is ranked as the 8^th most popular site on the web… that means out of all the web sites that exist on the Internet today… and there’s a lot of them… there are only 7 web sites that are more popular than Facebook.

7. Use It to Do Highly Targeted Advertising
Yes this one does cost money however because of the amount of information that Facebook knows about its members, it has the power to pinpoint where your ads are placed... thus giving your ads a greater chance at success than most advertising mediums.

8. Use It to Increase Your Credibility
Position yourself as an expert in your field by sharing some tidbits of wisdom on a regular basis and soon prospects will being seeking you out. Again leveraging features such as “Events” and “Groups” will set you well on your way to accomplishing this.

9. Use It to Obtain Easier, More Direct Access to Mentors
Outside of the Facebook world, what I’ve found is that it has become more and more difficult to reach mentors directly. Typically there is an assistant of some sort playing traffic cop. While in Facebook, at least at the time of this writing, I’ve found it much easier to reach the actual person I wanted to reach. They were actually managing much of the Facebook interaction themselves. Now what you do with that access is up to you.

10. Use It to Aggregate Feeds from Your Other Sources
Whenever I update my blog, a notification gets posted on my “Wall” for all my Facebook friends to see. Whenever I “tweet” using another Social Networking application called Twitter, again my Facebook profile is automatically updated. This stuff is powerful! Talk about working smarter not harder. Facebook, especially with the large assortment of add-in applications, has the capability to integrate some of your key online marketing tactics with your Facebook profile and pages.

So in closing, the name of the game is changing, and that game for right now at least is Facebook. In my opinion, Facebook is the epitome of where the Internet is headed. It provides an environment that fosters community, is experiential, interactive, immediate, unique, and completely addictive. And take it from me… these are all really good things for your business and Facebook.

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute' at http://www.onlinemarketingmuscle.com/marketingminute/ , -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

3 Tips to Getting Sizzling Referrals Every Time

I don’t know about you but if done right, getting referrals from satisfied customers in my book is the #1 way of connecting with new and qualified prospects… period!

Why? Well think about it… Whose advice would you take about buying something? Someone you may not know trying to sell you something or someone you know, like, and trust who just had an amazing buying experience and feels strongly that you’d be crazy not to purchase as well.

This kind of referral is powerful! And as a matter of fact, it should be a goal of yours to get at least three of these from every customer you serve.

I have to warn you though… these types of referrals don’t come easy. You have to earn them. How? Well here are three tips to help you do just that.

1. Set the Expectation Up Front
Make it a condition of doing business together that if you do what you said you would do and they are thrilled with your work… not just happy… but thrilled with it… that in exchange they will refer you to at least three people that you may be able to serve in this manner as well.

Another possibility could be to provide separate prices for your product or service. The first one is the full price for your product or service. And the second one is a discounted price based on their agreement to provide at least three qualified referrals by project’s end.

Either way it may help you to help them understand that this is how you get your customers and that this approach allows you to keep your marketing costs down… and that savings can get passed onto them.

2. Always Under-promise and Over-deliver
Yes, you may have heard this one before, however since I run into small businesses all the time not adhering to it I felt it should be addressed.

You want the referrals… you’ve got to blow your customers away. Don’t make the mistake that many inexperienced salespeople make of giving up the farm in initial negotiations just to get the deal. Make sure you hold some gold back that you can unexpectedly throw them as a bonus. Here are a few ideas for this:

• Refund them the difference if you were able to save them a few dollars on any product purchases you made on their behalf. For example, “Hey I was able to negotiate a better price for you on the widgets we will be using on this project, so here’s a refund check for the difference… enjoy”… How cool would that be!
• Throw in some training to help them use the solution you delivered more effectively.
• Or how about making a follow-up phone call a week or so after the transaction is complete to ensure they are still thrilled with the purchase.

3. Hold Them Accountable
Hey if you did what you said you would do and more, then it’s their turn to do what they said they would… refer you some business. Now do yourself a favor here and don’t let them off the hook so easily… work with them to collect your referrals. If they’re unwilling to refer, find out why. Maybe they’re not as happy with you as you thought. You can’t fix it if you don’t know what it is.

For projects that are more than just a simple one-time transaction, it may make sense to prod them periodically along the way to ensure they focus on not only referring you, but referring you perfect prospects.

So in closing, remember if you don’t ask, you don’t get. So ask because it simply is the easiest and most lucrative way to grow your business.

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute' at http://www.onlinemarketingmuscle.com/marketingminute/ , -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.