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Homepage.
Write From Home
Kim Wilson
P.O. Box 4145
Hamilton, NJ 08610
Tel: (609) 888-1683
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10 Tips for Growing Your Business the Organized
Way
by Maria Gracia
Growing a business is similar to tending a vegetable garden. Knowledge, careful
planning, organized systems, use of proper tools, continuous care, and
dedication give you the very best chance of producing a beautiful and abundant
garden that brings forth fresh veggies for years to come.
The same is true when it comes to growing your business. By following a specific
sequence of steps, just like growing a garden, you can succeed. Neither can be
accomplished with a haphazard approach.
Discovering how other businesses are growing, thinking through your marketing
strategy, taking an organized approach, using the proper tools to get the word
out and focusing on achievement will help you reach your business goals and set
you on the right path towards accomplishing your greatest success.
- PROSPECTING. For most services and products, it is imperative to
first generate qualified prospects. Only then do you work on converting
those prospects into first-time buyers, repeat customers, and finally,
life-time customers. If you’re trying to generate an immediate sale,
chances are, you’re going to be disappointed with the results. You will
make most of your sales by following up with your prospects repeatedly.
- WHAT IS A PROSPECT? A person is a prospect only if they:
a) have a genuine interest in the particular service or product you provide
AND
b) have responded to one of your offers
AND
c) they have provided you with contact information (name, e-mail, etc.)
AND
d) they have the authority to buy your service/product and can afford it.
Everyone else is a stranger. Not a prospect.
- TARGET. You can’t try to market to everybody. When you do,
you’re marketing to nobody. Pick a niche market and focus on your main
audience. Target them in all of your marketing materials.
- OFFERS. To get people to respond to your marketing, develop an
enticing offer and get it in front of as many people in your target market
as you can. Perhaps, a free tips report, free e-zine, or free sample. The
best offers are generally the FREE offers.
- GETTING THE WORD OUT. There are a multitude of ways to get the word
out about your offer. You can try traditional marketing, such as direct
mail, press releases, networking, ads, etc. Or, you can use the Internet,
such as online networking, joining in discussion forums, submitting to
search engines, link exchanges, affiliate programs and so on. Whatever you
choose, schedule time each day to market your business. Write it on your
calendar. When it’s written down, it is more concrete, and there is a
better chance that you will do it.
- FOLLOW-UP. Once you begin to generate prospects, it is imperative
that you get their contact information (i.e., name, e-mail address, and any
other pertinent information) into an organized database. Why all the work?
Because follow-up is the key to successful marketing. Once you have contact
information, you can continue to make enticing offers for your product
and/or service (discounts, gift certificates, 2 for 1 deals, etc.)
- ONE SERVICE/PRODUCT. Choose ONE product or service to market at a
time, or you’re liable to confuse your prospects. You can have more than
one product listed on your website. However, when you contact your
prospects, it’s best to focus on one product at a time.
- GUARANTEE. Guarantee your products or services. Offer, at minimum,
a 100% Money-Back Guarantee. When it is clear that you stand behind your
services/products, you will have accomplished a trust-factor. This is called
risk-reversal.
- PROACTIVE. Don’t use the Passive Marketing technique. That’s
when you distribute general information, verbal and written, about your
company, and then just sit around waiting for the phone to ring, or for your
e-mail inbox to fill up with orders. In the real world, it doesn’t work
that way. You have to be proactive.
-
TRACK. Track. Track. I can’t say this enough. Keeping accurate
numbers will help you make good marketing decisions. If you don’t know
what’s working, you’re going to waste a lot of time and money. However,
if you do know exactly what’s working for you, you’re practically
guaranteed to reach your goals.
by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!
Want to get organized? Get your FREE Get Organized Now! Idea-Pak, filled with
tips and ideas to help you organize your home, your office and your life, at the
Get Organized Now! Web site
http://www.getorganizednow.com
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Have You Read...
I Wanna
Win
by Cheryl Wright
If you want to win writing contests and earn that elusive tag of
'award-winning writer' or if you just want to hone your skills, this book will
point you in the right direction.
New to freelance writing?
Read
this informative article.
Read
Glossary of Writing Terms
Authors Area
Agents &
Publishers
Book Marketing
Publications
(Electronic & Print)
Resources
Associations &
Organizations
Job Boards &
Guideline Databases
Research & Reference
Classes, Workshops &
Seminars
Links
Author &
Writer Web Sites
Writing Sites
|
Writing
and Illustrating Children's Books
