I told her that there was no way I could give her all the info she needed on the topic but that she just needed to show the agents how much better a gift basket would be received and how that might result in a referral at a later date. But the best piece of information I gave her was to refer her to the Gift Basket Tips Message Board.

I took a couple of minutes and did a quick search for ‘market to real estate’ and found a great post from 2002 about selling to real estate agents. The post had a little bit of bickering in it but overall it was loaded with some great information. Here’s the link for anyone who might want to read it:

http://www.giftbaskettips.com/discus/board-auth.cgi?file=/4/2774.html

Also, for those of you selling to real estate agents, don’t overlook some of the great products offered that would be perfect for your market. The first that comes to mind is Too Good Gourmet, check out the adorable boxes at the bottom of this post that are perfect for those “Welcome To Your New Home” baskets. Be sure to click over and check Too Good Gourmet’s listing.

Reba

Since many of us dislike tackling unpleasant tasks anyway, we tend to procrastinate and then feel guilty about putting off something so important. It’s quite probable we will wind up feeling even more miserable and anxious about the upcoming conversation and might even lose sleep or make ourselves sick over it.

Initiating such a discussion doesn’t have to be nearly as painful as imagined. With the right mindset and a little preparation, you can learn to handle even the most difficult topic with ease and confidence. The following tips will enable you to do just that.

1. Realize that your goal is to benefit the recipient and others as well as yourself. Even though the recipient may not agree with you, especially at the time, usually they will come to understand the necessity for the conversation.

2. Focus on the possible positive outcomes of having the discussion sooner rather than later. The discussion wouldn’t be necessary if the situation wasn’t causing a problem for someone. Focusing on how things will be different when the problem is gone will make it easier for you to approach the discussion.

3. Prepare for any possible reaction to the discussion. Have a back-up plan for handling any response to what you say. You may be presented with anger, denial, silence or even disbelief. Knowing in advance exactly how you will deal with any of these circumstances will give you the confidence you need to proceed. You cannot control a person’s reaction, nor can you predict it, but you can always prepare for it.

4. Have a reward planned for yourself upon completion, especially if the topic was an especially difficult one for you.

Following these tips will help make you a more competent communicator, and who wouldn’t benefit from that?

The article below was posted on the old blog a couple of years ago. Since it had so many comments and the information is still timely, I didn’t want to lose the information, so here it is again. For those of you who haven’t read it, I hope you enjoy the information.

Feel free to leave your comments.

Reba

Myths and Misconceptions About Starting a Gift Basket Business
By Reba Collins

Do you want to start a gift basket business? Are you overwhelmed with the many online resources that are available or concerned that you’ll lose money by investing in a program you don’t need? While starting a gift basket business sounds fun and easy, it’s still a business and needs to be approached just like the start-up of any other business.

So, how can you be sure that you can succeed at owning your own gift basket business? Learning to read ‘between the lines’ will better prepare you for what’s really involved. Here are some common phrases that I hear often when talking to people about opening a gift basket business and a little extra information that most don’t want to hear:

#1 - It’s Simple & Easy

Simple and easy depends on who’s speaking. A doctor may tell you it’s only a ’simple procedure’ but that doesn’t mean you should attempt it yourself.

As businesses go, a gift basket business IS simple to operate. Many people run their gift basket businesses from their homes or from a small office/warehouse. You just need a little creativity, some designs, some inventory, a phone, and the willingness to sell. If you understand how the business works you will be amazed at the simplicity - but getting to that point will require time and experience. You may have to invest in some training both in gift basket design and marketing and on how to run a business before you get to the point of being able to call it “simple”.

Those who have learned from experience can look back and see how simple it COULD have been if they’d known what to do all along. Getting some good training can be a great assistance to your business efforts.

#2 - Anyone Can Do This

Sorry - starting a business of any kind is stressful and requires a learning curve; a gift basket business is no different. If you are attempting to start your business out of desperation or the belief you will make easy money, you will face enormous obstacles. On the other hand, if you are truly seeking a business you can learn, work at and make a living from, a gift basket business can do that for you.

Studies of successful business people concur that those who “make it” have common qualities of persistence, patience and desire. These qualities are essential when trying to start a gift basket business as well - do you have them?

#3 - Turnkey

The term ‘turnkey’ used to mean that a business was set up and ready to go. You will find the term in business classifieds where the new owner can just step in and start running the business. Unfortunately some marketers use the term to suggest a gift basket business is fully automated - that there is no work involved. The term is often seen on eBay where marketers are selling gift basket websites.

I’m sorry to burst your bubble, there is always work involved when starting a business, no matter what business your trying to start up. If the business really is turnkey, then you will begin work right away because it has already been set to go. If you want an automated business, don’t go into the gift basket business, it will never be automated. There will always be gift baskets to design, make and get delivered.

#4 - It Won’t Cost Much

You absolutely CAN start a gift basket business with little money, but be prepared that a combination of little money and lack of experience will stifle your efforts immensely.

Most individuals who start or run a business with no money have learned how to make use of the their business experience. They have paid their dues by trying other businesses that cost money. Often they have spent time in and around the gift basket industry and they’ve been able to see where they can cut costs.

If you are prepared to spend a LOT of time researching before starting your business you may be one of the few who does it right the first time. For most people though, expect to pay something towards your gift basket business education before seeing results - you just can’t buy experience.

Beyond education, also expect to invest in the supplies and inventory you will need to fill your orders. Starting small is okay, just be sure you have enough money to invest as you grow.

#5 – I Won’t Have To Do Any Selling, I’ll Sell My Baskets On The Internet

Again, you absolutely CAN sell your gift baskets on the internet, however, building and marketing a website is not as easy as the old saying, “build it and they’ll come”. Internet marketing has become a sophisticated process that includes optimizing your website to get ranked in the search engines, building a newsletter list and email marketing, and creating content to draw your customers back to your site.

Recently there’s been a lot of talk about businesses marketing with their blogs and RSS feeds, do you even know how to do any of this? Again, either you have the experience, you spend the time and money to gain the experience or you hire someone to do it for you, but don’t think people will just “show-up” when you launch your website. And lastly, never think that you’ll be able to get out of selling because you have a website, business is selling, and this goes for a gift basket business the same as it goes for a Fortune 500 company.

Starting a gift basket business obviously has its share of work involved, but if you find you have a passion for creating, selling and running your own business, and love to create gift baskets, then a gift basket company can have enormous payoffs. As long as you are willing to sacrifice time and money to achieve success, running your own business is enormously satisfying and can give you more time to do what you really want to do in life.

Creating a successful gift basket business is within the grasp of nearly everyone who is prepared to stick to it. Face the task of starting your business with realistic expectations while continuing to dream big and you may just surprise yourself!

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About the Author:
Reba Collins is the owner of Gift Basket Wholesale Supply ~ http://www.giftbasketwholesalesupply.com. Stop by and sign up for our newsletter and receive our FREE 8-Day eCourse ~How To Make Beautiful Gift Baskets~.
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Please feel free to pass this article on to a friend or associate. You can also reprint this article as long as it’s reprinted with no changes and the resource box is printed along with it including the link back to the Gift Basket Wholesale Supply website.

The other day I was writing a sales brochure for a West Coast manufacturer. As I got to what I’ll call the “proof” section of the brochure, I was rummaging around for testimonials.

The company already had a full-blown Web site and a solid PowerPoint presentation. So I was hopeful that I’d find some ready made testimonials or at least some material I could use to create some.

As it turned out, they had one case study with a couple of customer quotes. I pieced the material together to create one measly testimonial. It was less than adequate.

Well, maybe it’s no big deal. After all, I wrote strong copy. Why even bother with testimonials? I’ll give you four good reasons.

1. Credibility

Testimonials give your company, product, or service credibility. Everyone is bombarded with advertising messages every day. It’s a brutal marketplace. If you want to sell something to somebody, you stand a much better chance if you can convince them that you’re credible. Testimonials are like references on a resume. They’re the people who vouch for you.

2. Identification

Your prospects identify with your customers who are providing the testimonials. They have similar concerns, problems, hopes and desires. They commiserate. This is good. You want this in your marketing. (Sorry, but your prospects don’t identify with you. Not really. You’re trying to sell them something!)

3. Proof

Proof, alone, is reason enough to gather and use testimonials. This is where your customers say, in effect, “They’re right, Mr. or Ms. Prospect. They can save you 50% … or make you feel 18 again … or make you enough money to retire at 50. They did it for me and I’m thrilled!” Testimonials notarize your marketing speak.

4. Closure

Testimonials help close the sale. Sure, they can be used throughout a marketing piece. But they definitely come in handy toward the end. You’ve introduced the problem or need, your product or service, the features and benefits, and more. Then you line up your testimonials, all the customers whose heads are nodding and saying, “Yep, it worked for me.” Soon after, you ask for the order.

For many reasons, testimonials give your prospects the confidence they need to buy from you for the first time. And once your prospects turn into new customers, the door to repeat sales swings wide open.

(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel

Neil Sagebiel is a veteran copywriter who has served clients such as Microsoft, The Seattle Times, Lucent Technologies, March of Dimes, Airborne Express and Unisys. To sign up for his FREE expert tips to help you write better and sell more, visit http://www.neilsagebiel.com.

Neil Sagebiel may be contacted at http://www.neilsagebiel.com

Naming a business is like laying the cornerstone of a building. Once it’s in place, the entire foundation and structure is aligned to that original stone. If it’s off, the rest of the building is off, and the misalignment becomes amplified. So if you have that gnawing sense that choosing a name for your new business is vitally important — you’re right. With 18 years in the naming and branding business, I’ve witnessed the good, the bad, and the really bad. Here’s how you can avoid the worst of the mistakes and get off to a good start.

Mistake 1: The Committee (Getting all your clients, employees and family members involved)

We live in a democratic society and it seems like the right thing to do- involving everyone in an important decision. This approach, however, presents a few problems. The first and most obvious fact is that you will end up choosing only one name — so you risk alienating the very people you are trying to involve. Second, you often end up with a consensus decision, resulting in a very safe and very vanilla name. A better method is to involve only the key decision makers, the fewer the better, and select only the people you feel have the company’s best interests at heart. The need for personal recognition can skew results– so you are best served by those who can park their egos at the door. Also make sure you have some right brain types in the mix. Too many left brains and the name often ends up too literal and descriptive.

Mistake 2: The Train Wreck (Taking two words and colliding them head on)

When forced to come up with a creative name, many aspiring entrepreneurs will simply take part of an adjective and weld it onto a noun. The results are names that have a certain twisted rationale to them, but look and sound awful. Someone starting a high end service franchise then becomes QualiServe. It’s a bit like mixing chocolate syrup with ketchup- nothing wrong with either but they just don’t go together. Other common truncations include Ameri, Tech, Corp, Tron, etc. The problem with this approach is that it’s simply forced – and it sounds that way.

Mistake 3: Where’s Waldo? (Names so plain they’ll never stand out in a crowd)

The first company in a category can get away with this one. Hence you have General Motors, General Electric, etc. But once you have competition, it requires differentiation. Imagine if Yahoo! had come out as GeneralInternetDirectory.com? It would be much more descriptive, but hardly memorable. And with the onslaught of new media and advertising channels, it’s more important than ever to carve out your niche by displaying your uniqueness. Nothing does that better than a well conceived name.

Mistake 4: The Atlas Approach (Using a map to name your company)

In the zeal to start a new company, many businesses choose to use their city, state or region as part of their name. While this may actually help in the beginning, it often becomes a hindrance as a company grows. One client came to me with complaints he was serving more of the market than his name implied. He had aptly called it St. Pete Plumbing since he hailed from St. Petersburg, Florida. But yellow page shoppers assumed that was also his entire service area. With a little creative tinkering we changed the image of St. Pete from a city to the image of St. Pete himself, complete with wings and a plumber’s wrench. The new tag line? “We work miracles!”

Other companies have struggled with the same issue. Minnesota Manufacturing and Mining was growing beyond their industry and their state. To avoid limiting their growth they became 3M, a company now known for innovation. Kentucky Fried Chicken is now KFC, de-emphasizing the regional nature of the original name. Both of these companies made strategic moves to avoid stifling their growth. Learn from them and you can avoid this potential bottleneck.

Mistake 5: Cliché you say? (A good name is worth a thousand words)

Once past the literal, descriptive stage, the thought process usually turns to metaphors. These can be great if they are not overly used to the point of trite. Since many companies think of themselves as the top in their industry, the world is full of names like Summit, Apex, Pinnacle, Peak, etc. While there is nothing inherently wrong with these names, they are just overworked. Look for combinations of positive words and metaphors and you will be much better served. A good example is the Fortune 1000 data storage company Iron Mountain, which conveys strength and security without sounding commonplace.

Mistake 6: Hide the Meaning (Make it so obscure, the customer will never know!)

It’s great for a name to have a special meaning or significance. It’s sets up a story that can be used to tell the company message. But if the reference is too obscure and too hard to spell and pronounce, you may never have the opportunity to speak to that customer. They will simply pass you by as irrelevant. So resist the urge to name your company after the mythical Greek god of fast service or the Latin phrase for “We’re number one!” If a name has a natural, intuitive sound and a special meaning, it can work. If it’s too complex and puzzling, it will remain a mystery to your customers. This is especially true if you are reaching out to a mass audience.

I pushed the envelope a little on this one myself, naming my branding firm Tungsten, after the metal that Thomas Edison used to create brilliant light. However, my clientele consists of knowledgeable professionals who appreciate a good metaphor and expect a branding firm to have a story behind its name. It’s also a way to differentiate my services (illuminated, bright, brilliant). So while it works for a branding firm, it would not do well as an ice cream parlor.

Mistake 7: The Campbell’s Approach (Using alphabet soup to name your firm)

This is a trend that is thankfully wearing off. Driven by the need for a matching domain name, many companies have resorted to awkwardly constructed or purposefully misspelled names. The results are company names that sound more like prescription drugs than real life businesses. Mistake 2 sometimes gets combined with this one and results in a name like KwaliTronix. (Or worse- mistakes 2 , 4 & 7, resulting in KwalTronixUSA). It’s amazing how good some names begin to sound after searching for available domain names all night. But resist the urge. Avoid using a “K” in place of a “Q” or a “Ph” in place of an “F”. This makes spelling the name, and locating you on the internet, all that much harder.

It’s not that coined or invented names cannot work, they often do. Take for example, Xerox or Kodak. But keep it mind, names like these have no intrinsic or linguistic meaning, so they rely heavily on advertising – and that gets expensive. Many of the companies that use this approach were either first in category, or had large marketing budgets. Verizon spent millions on their rebranding effort. So did Accenture. So check your pocketbook before you check into these type of names.

Mistake 8: Sit On It. (When in doubt, make no change at all)

Many business owners know they have a problem with their name and just hope it will somehow magically resolve itself. The original name for one of my clients was “Portables”, which reminded some people of the outdoor restrooms or the portable class rooms- neither one a good association. This added to the confusion when phone operators tried to explain their new concept of moving and storage. After some careful tweaking, we came up with the name PODS, an acronym for Portable On Demand Storage. The rest is quickly becoming history as they expand both nationally and internationally. Peter Warhust, President and one of the original founders states, “For the record, changing our name to PODS was one of the best moves we ever made”.

Exercise Experience, a former Florida based company, was frequently confused with a health club. In reality, they sold very high-end fitness equipment. This brings up a very key point — it’s better to have a name that’s gives no impression than a name that gives a wrong impression. Much of the ad budget we spent on Exercise Experience was used to clarify that they sold fitness equipment. This was valuable airtime that could have been put to better use selling the equipment rather than explaining the business. Ultimately, the company folded. It’s not to say it was solely because of the name, but I believe it was a factor.

Mike Harper of Huntington Beach, CA, bought a thirty-year old janitorial and building maintenance company named Regency. We both agreed it sounded more like a downtown movie theatre than a progressive facilities management firm. After a thorough naming search, we developed the name Spruce Facilities Management. Spruce not only conveyed the environmentally friendly image of a spruce tree, (something important to the client), it also meant “to clean up”. The new tag line fell right in place – Spruce… “The Everclean Company”.

It’s only a matter of time before Southwest Airlines and Burlington Coat Factory and others who have successfully outgrown their original markets begin to question their positioning. Much like 3M and KFC, they may need to make a change to keep pace with their growth and image.

In the fever to start your new business or expand a current one, take time to think through some of these issues. According to the late Henry Ford, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it”. Albert Einstein took it one step further claiming, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. By tapping into your creativity and avoiding these potential pitfalls, you’ll be able to create a name that works both short and long term – one that allows for future growth. Like the original cornerstone of a building, it will support upward expansion as your company reaches new heights.

Phil Davis President Tungsten Brilliant Brand Marketing

Phil’s life goal of “creating environments where people thrive” reflects his desire to assist in personal, professional and business growth. Phil founded and ran a full service ad agency for over 17 years and now works full time as a business naming and branding consultant. Phil resides with wife Michelle and four energetic offspring outside Asheville, North Carolina

Website: http://PureTungsten.com Email: Phil@PureTungsten.com

Phillip Davis may be contacted at http://PureTungsten.com or Phil@PureTungsten.com

Are you thinking about starting an on-line business? Maybe you have a vague idea of what’s required – maybe you haven’t a clue. This article outlines three basic, non-negotiable things that you will need.

1. Premium web hosting

I suppose it is possible to make a modest income on-line without your own website. But, it is practically impossible to make serious income without your own site. This applies whether you’re selling on eBay, marketing affiliate programs, or selling your own product or service.

A web host provides you with your space on the internet. You want to make sure you get a host who can provide you with plenty of space to grow and excellent data transfer rates. The last thing you want to do is fall for one of the free services that only gives you a small amount of space or can only handle a very limited amount of traffic. You don’t want to be forced to move your site to a different web host after quickly outgrowing your free space.

2. Sequential auto responders

As may be evident from the name, an auto responder can automatically reply to emails. A “sequential” auto-responder can be set up to send multiple, sequential emails at designated time intervals. For instance, if you invite your web site visitors to sign-up for a free e-zine (i.e., electronic magazine), your web page would be programmed to send an email to your auto responder e-mail address. The auto responder would then send one, two, or more messages, at programmed intervals (perhaps a week apart) to your visitor. This builds your “brand name” in the minds of your visitors and increases the chances that they will buy your product. And, guess what? You’re building your “brand” with little effort on your part! Imagine the time this would take to manually send these emails to each web visitor?

3. Advice from a trusted source

So, what are the key steps in marketing your product or service? The internet is a virtual sea of information. Navigating through it is best done with the help of someone who has already learned through the “school of hard knocks”. Perhaps you personally know someone who has this knowledge, but if you’re like most people, you really don’t know whom to trust. My advice is to find a product or service which offers this type of “how-to” advice. The available options range from fluff to very valuable. Let the buyer beware! There are several ways to verify the claims being made by the sellers of these services. First, check the traffic numbers for the service’s web site on alexa.com. The lower the web site ranking, the better. Next, ask for advice on the internet marketing forums. Many of the participants in these forums know their way around the internet and can help you evaluate the quality of a particular product or service.

Dave Keegan works full-time as a systems analyst for a large corporation and has quality ideas to help people get started in internet marketing. For more information, visit: www.dkeeganonline.com

Dave Keegan may be contacted at http://www.dkeeganonline.com or dkeeganonline@mchsi.com

We attach significance to the turning of the calendar, and when the calendar turns to a new year, it means more than learning to change a digit when we write a check – we’ve started a new chapter. It is instructive for us to think about how we can get the most from the end of chapter 2005. Here are my ten recommendations for you:

Reconnect with an old friend or colleague. You know who I mean. The person who came to your mind as you read that sentence. Make the effort to call or contact them. But do more than just say hello. If they live close, get together for a meal or an evening. If they live further away, schedule time for a long, relaxed phone call. However you connect, make sure that you spend time on more than just “the good old days” and the old stories. Learn about what this person is doing, their goals and dreams. And see what you can do to help them achieve those things.

Spend one day in service to others. Volunteer your day to a service organization. Go to a nursing home. Rake the neighbor’s leaves. Use your professional skills in a pro bono way. It doesn’t matter what you do, just do it with a giving heart.

Read one book you’ve wanted to read. If you are a big reader, you already have a stack to read. Pick one and commit to getting it read. If you read less and don’t have a book in mind, talk to someone you trust and admire and ask them for a suggestion. It doesn’t matter what the book is; pick it, and read it.

Give someone a book that you have found personally valuable. Maybe it is the book you are now going to read. Maybe it is something you read in January, or maybe it is your favorite children’s book. Again, what the book is doesn’t matter, the joy comes in identifying a person who will enjoy and benefit from it the way that you did. When you give them the book, make sure you share with them why you are sharing it with them – it will mean so much to them.

Make a list of the things you’ve learned this year. Hopefully it is a long list! Don’t try to do this all at one time. Give yourself a place to write and a couple of days to allow your mind to find these nuggets.

Identify the top five. Review the list you made and pull out the five that are most important to you. Write them down and think about why they are so valuable to you and how you can benefit from them today and in the future.

Make a list of the most fun things you have done this year. You will have fun making this list – and yes I do mean make a list!

Identify why they were the most fun so you can do more of it next year. This only makes sense. Once you have thought about your “most fun”, figure out how to get more of it into your life – whether it is an experience, time with specific people or whatever.

Commit to having another experience before December 31st that you could add to your “most fun” list. Too often fun gets sidelined, especially near the busy end of the year. Don’t let it happen. Make sure that you have some big fun before the end of the year.

Make a list of things you want to learn next year. Some things in life we learn serendipitously, and those are precious indeed. But we can also determine what we want to learn and why. Make some of those determinations now before you turn your calendar to the New Year.

Some of these are forward-looking tasks, some retrospective. That is intentional. It is important for us to consistently and regularly reflect, and of course when we look to the future we will see where we are going – and correct our course to get where we want to go.

These items may feel more personal than professional. Actually they are both. If you are reading this from a professional development perspective, I urge you to do these items.

These actions will be like magic in your life. Your life will be richer and more satisfying and you will be moving in the direction of your potential when you do these things.

Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

Kevin Eikenberry may be contacted at http://KevinEikenberry.com or info@KevinEikenberry.com

If you’re a small independent business owner it could serve you well to take a birds eye view of your entire money making process for your business.

1. Looking at this year’s activity and make sure you’ve identified your most profitable customer - profile the characteristics that help you identify similar customers in the marketplace so that you develop your message specifically to target the customers with the characteristics you’ve identified as those of your most profitable customer.

   In my promotional products business I want relational customers vs. transactional customers. All of my marketing and sales efforts are designed to attract the client that is looking for a trustworthy, reliable promotional products distributor with great ideas. The customer that wants a cheap transaction with no loyalty on either side of the table is probably not my customer and I’m not offended when they don’t want to buy from me. As I’ve been doing business over the last 15 years I’ve identified the transactional customer as a time waster for me. I end up doing a lot of research and servicing of an account with very little profit.

2. Establish or fine tune the marketing message to the prospect you’ve identified with your profile as most likely to be your most profitable customer. Look at everything you are doing, saying and printing about and for your business - Is your message clearly spoken to the target customer?

3. Identify the most effective activity to reach your prospects and schedule that activity so that it happens consistently. If you bring customers in by running ads in your local newspaper then schedule them for the entire year. You get a better rate if you contract for a years worth of advertising.

   If the activity that brings you business is your weekly email newsletter then sit down and plan your editorial calendar for the year and begin to write the articles now. You can always edit or add to them before you send them out for those written far in advance. By using autoresponders you can schedule the email newsletter well in advance.

   If the activity that builds your customer base is face to face selling then you need to be sure that you are calling on customers to schedule appointments. You should identify how many prospects you need to call to get appointments, and how many appointments you need to create sales for your product.

4. Understand your sales cycle. Whether or not you are running ads, sending email or scheduling appointments you need to understand what happens and how long it takes to finally close the sale. The rule of thumb is “the more costly the investment the longer the sales cycle.” No matter what you sales cycle is you need to plan your most productive activity to steadily continue to draw in new prospects while you’re finalizing sales for other customers.

   I have a few small business owners who ask if they should take the time to do this kind of review of their business plan every year. YES, in fact, do a mini version of this every week to be sure that you’re on track and making money consistently. Your income will be consistent if you’ve

   • Identified your customer
   • Established your most effective message
   • Identified the most productive activity
   • Understand your sales cycle

Take the time to do this review before the end of this year and give yourself the gift of more business next year.

About The Author:

Melody Campbell, The Small Business Guru, has been a very successful small business owner since 1987. Her website, The Small Business Guru Membership site offers on going education in the core competencies to becomeing a Master Small Business Owner. In depth coverage of small business topics are available to members. Try first month for $1 https://www.thesmallbusinessguru.com/public/10.cfm

Melody Campbell may be contacted at http://www.TheSmallBusinessGuru.com or Melody@TheSmallBusinessGuru.com

You study your website stats and see the amount of traffic coming through. Nice numbers. But when you compare your traffic against your sales, what do you get? A small fraction of 1%? Wouldn’t you love to see those conversions grow? But how can you get them to buy?

The secret isn’t some magic trick or tool. But your Internet marketing is just shooting into the dark if you don’t know the needs that lead people to buy and how to focus your copywriting to tap those needs.

Two main needs drive all people no matter what the demographic: 1) a desire to expand their world and become more than what they are, and 2) a desire for safety. These needs conflict: the desire to grow leads us to head out into the unknown; self-protection leads us to circle the wagons and dig in against unknown dangers.

Each person strikes their own balance between these two contradictory needs. Understanding the way that different personality types balance these needs is the key to effective copywriting for them.

Methodical Personality Type

The methodical personality type balances strongly toward safety. They need facts, lots of details, to assure themselves that they are making the safest, most logical choice. Make no mistake, methodical personality types decide to buy based on their emotions like everyone else, but they feel a need to back up their desire to buy with sound intellectual arguments.

To get them to buy, your copywriting needs to help them narrow their choices. Avoid giving them too many options. They easily get lost trying to find the best option among a series of equals.

One option to offer, though, is between your plain product at a cheaper price or a more expensive price with lots of additional features. Methodical thinkers are much more likely to choose the more expensive version because it reinforces their image of being a wise shopper. And it changes their decision from deciding between buying or not buying into deciding between buying a more valuable deal or a less expensive offer. But either way, their decision gives you a sale.

Give them solid reasons to buy and buy now. Lead them through your sales process in an easy and non-threatening way. Give them the details they need to make themselves feel that they made a rational decision. They want their purchases to be well-reasoned and risk-free, and want to see themselves as smart shoppers.

Competitive Personality Type

The competitive personality type is less averse to risk, but still needs to feel that their purchase reaffirms the way they see themselves. They, too, consider facts in making their purchase, but rely more on gut feelings of how well the purchase puts them ahead of where they were.

The key to copywriting for this personality type is to recognize their need to see the way they define themselves reflected in what they buy. Recognize what types of self-images your product reflects and sprinkle your sales copy with words and phrases that help your competitive types see your product reinforce their self-image.

Cast a wide enough net in fitting your product’s image to theirs, but don’t try to cover every possible self image or you’ll get too generic to appeal to any of them.

Gregarious Personality Type

The gregarious personality type seeks to feel connected to those around them. They are more willing to trust, more willing to venture into the unknown, but are hesitant to assume the full risk until others have proven that the path is safe. They respond especially well to copywriting that shows how your product has benefited others.

Catch their attention by talking about positive results that others have experienced. Testimonials of satisfied customers or pictures that show happy people enjoying your product also are important. Make sure your copywriting provides them with evidence that others have found your product worthwhile. They’ll feel more comfortable taking their own risk with it.

Spontaneous Personality Type

The spontaneous personality type is the most open to exploration. They are the trend-setters, the early adopters, who blaze the trail for everyone else. They will take risks. But not unless you offer to fill the chief need for something better, something that will let them to grow beyond what they are.

Surprise them. Intrigue them with the unexpected and they’ll make that leap of faith with you. Present them with the boring old status quo approach and they’ll move on to something more intriguing.

Understanding what drives these four different types of customers is essential to copywriting effectively for them. In copywriting, as in clothing, one size most definitely does not fit all.

About The Author:

Jeff Baas is an avid student of the principles that promote success. See these principles in the Seven Steps to Starting a Small Business Online that guide his tips and recommendations at http://www.onestopwebsupport.com

Jeff Baas may be contacted at http://www.onestopwebsupport.com

Did something catch your eye in a direct mailing this past week? Have you recently gone to a website and encountered something entirely new that you’d like to try out? Did a friend of yours try out a new marketing idea and generate a few thousand dollars of extra business overnight?

As a small business owner, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the hype of new marketing techniques that promise quick rewards for little cash. I’ll even admit that we copywriters are trained to overcome your psychological objections to buying what we’re selling so that you’re ready to whip out your wallet right then and there.

And especially in certain marketing circles, the marketing materials for a new whizbang idea are so compelling, you’re driven to dump everything you’ve been doing in order to start trying the latest, greatest end-all be-all marketing technique right away. But this can be dangerous to your bottom line — or even your entire business.

Whenever you try out a new marketing idea, it’s important to proceed with caution.

Here are 6 quick tips to keep you on track:

1. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

If you have been sending out a direct mailing that steadily brings in business at a rate that you are happy with, don’t stop using this technique just to put new life in your marketing plan.

Instead, test different types of offers/approaches/what have you using a small portion of your mailing list (10% is a good start), see what works best and then test some more using that approach as your control. Make sure that you apply whatever you learn from these tests to your other campaigns, and then test some more.

2. Measure your results in order to determine what works best.

There’s no reason to try something new if you’re not able to see what works.

For example, I recently tested a different approach on a page on my website that is solely dedicated to generating subscriptions to my Avenues to Marketing Success Newsletter. To see if the new copy worked, I sent prospects coming from one online source to the new page and tested the old version of copy against the new. I then tweaked the version that worked best until I found a balance that got the best response from my target audience of small business owners.

3. Marketing isn’t just about the numbers.

Sometimes a marketing campaign you’ve already got rolling doesn’t work its magic right then and there. It has a slower, but longer-lasting effect that will generate long-term sales for you and build trust in your group of prospects.

This is a concept so near and dear to my heart that I’m literally writing a book on this, in fact, and I have found that over time, even campaigns that don’t generate an immediate boost in income have residual effects that ensure the longevity of your business.

So remember that you’re selling to people who need time to warm up to you and might not respond the first time you try a new marketing tactic. Give your older marketing idea a little time to work its magic.

4. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve had clients approach me wanting to use a new marketing idea because 3 people gave testimonials on a website stating that they made millions overnight.

I don’t doubt the authenticity of many, many of these testimonials, which often come from reputable marketers who have built a legitimate business rapidly, but there is a reason why the vendors selling these sorts of products use disclaimers stating that the income earned is atypical and may not work out for you. Their market is not yours, their circumstances are not yours, and most good things require work to accomplish, regardless of what is claimed.

But don’t let this discourage you. After all …

5. It’s always OK to try something new; just make sure not to discontinue the marketing you’ve been doing that gets results.

The 10% rule works here as well. Spend 90% of your time and money on marketing that you know has worked before and will work again and again, and use the other 10% to try new techniques. This way you won’t miss out on a stellar new idea, but you also won’t bankrupt your business if your new marketing idea fails.

6. Wait 3 days to decide.

That’s all. Just wait.

Sure, it’s tempting to jump right in the moment you read scrumptiously mouthwatering copy that shows you how countless business people before you have turned tiny businesses into multimillion-dollar conglomerates ONLY if you buy today, but that’s the point: The copy is designed to get you to act now.

Even as a copywriter myself who’s fully aware of the sales techniques involved (and uses them when it makes sense and is ethical to do so), I know how hard it can be to resist the temptation to buy the very moment you encounter it; it happens to me as well, and theoretically I should know better.

To ensure that you’re making an educated decision, stick a note in your calendar to revisit the idea after 3 days and see if it still looks as good as it did the day you first encountered it.

In any case, expanding your marketing horizons to include new marketing ideas is always helpful if it allows you to learn more about what your prospects are looking for. Just proceed with caution, use a little moderation and you’ll see which one of your new marketing ideas works and which ones don’t in short order.

About The Author:

Want more small business marketing tips like these? Published by Jennifer McCay, the free Avenues to Marketing Success Newsletter helps small business owners like you find more clients more easily without selling their souls. Sign up today at http://AvenueEast.com!

Jennifer McCay may be contacted at http://AvenueEast.com