Don’t Be Shy! If you don’t promote your business, who will? You have to initiate the promoting process. You have to be excited about your business before anybody else can be. If you don’t believe in the quality and the benefits of your product or service, your prospects won’t either. Present yourself with confidence and enthusiasm. And if that doesn’t come naturally to you, fake it until you make it!
Be Persistent! Persistence is power when it comes to increasing sales and profits. Far too many home
businesses fail because they fail to follow-up enough to produce results. Percentage-wise, many more sales are made after the seventh or eighth contact than after just one.
Look Professional! This not only means “dressing for success”, but printing for success. While business dress is casual these days, your corporate identity should not be. Your website, business cards, brochures, catalogs, advertising, newsletters and flyers need to present a consistently professional image.
If you can afford to have all your publications professionally designed, it would be money well spent. If
you want to do it yourself, I would recommend a program like Microsoft Publisher for beginners. It comes with prepackaged designs for everything from business cards to letterheads, envelopes and postcards. It costs about $130, but when you consider the many things it allows you to do, it’ll work out to next to nothing.
Get Smarter! Not everyone is an MBA, or needs to be to succeed. There’s even enough to fill a book called “What They Don’t Teach You In Harvard Business School”. What is important that your learning process continues. I have included a recommended reading list toward the end of this book, but the one thing you absolutely need to know is who your target audience really is, and what makes them tick. That’s critical. Otherwise, you can do a whole lot of wheel-spinning, and wasting money on ineffective advertising.
Set Goals and Deadlines. Make a list of both your primary and secondary goals and attach deadlines to
them. State your goals in specific numbers as much as possible. Example: 10 new accounts this month, 15 % increase in sales this coming quarter. Writing these down and referring to them daily until accomplished make them real and sharpen your focus.
Offer To Be A Speaker. Business and civic organizations are always looking for speakers for their meetings and get-togethers. Make yourself available by contacting these groups and offering to talk about your area of expertise. This has the double benefit of getting you publicity and promoting your product or service.
Write Tips/Articles For The Media. Newspapers and other publications are always looking for helpful tips and articles that would be of benefit to their readers. Submit problem/solution type articles related to your product or service. State common problems and share insightful tips that can solve them. Your payment for this comes in your byline which should include your business name. I occasionally write articles for newsletter and magazines. The following is the byline I submit:
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Gretchen Tussey, Marketing Specialist
http://www.tusseymarketing.com/
The Social e-Marketing Specialists
gretchen@tusseymarketing.com
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Have Some Serious Fun! The most successful people are those are doing what they love to do. And you’re in a business of your own choosing. Don’t let little frustration get you down. Don’t let stress slow you down. Enjoy yourself!
Live it, Love it, Promote it. And above all, believe in yourself!
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