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Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’
How To Increase Sales By Tracking Leads
Most sales training books and courses spend a lot of time on closing the sale, but very little time is spent on discussing the leads that, well, lead to those sales. The sales process begins with generating leads, so it is important to understand as much as you can about them in order for your business to be as profitable as possible.
Can you count the number of leads you received over the past 30 days? Most mentally review and can name a handful of quality leads they talked to, but a good amount of potential leads are lost every month.
What’s the big deal? Because a company spends so much time and money to get leads, the more you know about them, the more profitable the business will become. And, if you can use your newly found information to either reduce the cost of your marketing or the time that you spend, wouldn’t that be worth it?
First, you need to be able to track specific information about how you get leads. Here are a few areas to start analyzing:
1. What is the main venue through which you get your leads? Before a lead becomes a lead, they are only prospects – someone who visits your website or that you meet at a networking group. Identify your main sources for gathering prospects, such as the Internet, trade shows, networking events, or direct advertising.
2. Then, answer the question, what specific sources do you get your actual leads from? For example, specific sources could be a particular trade show, an online blog a direct advertising campaign, an existing client referral or a pay per click advertising campaign.
3. Finally, what is the quality value for each of the leads you receive from those general sources and specific sources? I have found that this is easiest to derive by assigning a percentage value to every lead received from a source. So, if a lead actually results in a sale, it receives a higher percentage value than one that expressed interest but didn’t get past the proposal stage.
You will be able to spend your marketing budget and your time much more efficiently once you understand where you leads come from and the quality of those leads.
Get more small business success strategies and claim your free white paper: “7 Ways Your Stone-Age Accounting System is Stealing Money From You Every Day … And, How to Get it Back This Year” to learn about an online accounting program that makes it simple to track your leads and conversion rates.
Joint Venture Marketing Lets You Dream Big For Your Business
Because of the big price tag for most small business marketing budgets, the are often the first expense to be cut when times are tough . Unfortunately, with no marketing budget sales often plummet, perpetuating the sequence. One way to keep your dreams alive even when times are tough is to consider the possibilities of joint venture marketing.
To be specific, a joint venture is when two or more business owners plan to contribute collectively toward a project that will benefit them all. In English, this means that small business owners have the opportunity to contribute toward a goal that everyone will benefit from. A joint venture can be as simple as working with another business owner to cross promote your products, or as complicated as collaborating together on an elaborate weekend event.
Whether simple or complicated, there are benefits to all who participate in joint venture marketing. First, is your chance to create more power from your marketing budget. When you are not footing the entire bill, you might be able to afford advertising on radio or TV where in the past you were limited to print. Not to mention that everyone’s sales force is expanded by the other participant’s customers and contacts.
A newer business owner can quickly establish credibility by working with strategic joint venture partners. If you choose successful joint venture partners, your credibility will grow rapidly as people perceive you to be similar to those you associate with. And the added bonus is that by taking advantage of these successful business owner’s skills and knowledge, you will bypass many of the mistakes a new small business owner might make along the way.
You can dream as big as you want by taking advantage of joint venture marketing. With the right partners, there is no ambition that is too high. Small businesses are thriving through joint venture marketing, even during these tough economic times. Yours will too when you seek out the ideal joint venture partners to meet your objectives.
Get more small business success strategies and claim your free white paper: “7 Ways Your Stone-Age Accounting System is Stealing Money From You Every Day … And, How to Get it Back This Year” to learn about an online accounting program that makes it simple to track the success of your joint venture marketing.
Using Backgrounds and Settings to Film Compelling Internet Web Videos to Promote your Business
More and more small business owners are turning to online Internet web video to boost their Internet marketing. But, most small business owners aren’t experts at video and are concerned over the proper techniques in how to use their video camera. Sites and backgrounds are very important in creating professional looking videos. Here are some background and site location tips for how to use your video camera to best promote your business.
1. Be Prepared to Shoot From Different Off-Site Locations.
Avoid staying cooped up in your office taking videos of you just talking to a camera. Shake things up a bit by finding an interesting site that relates to the subject of your video. In front of a brick wall to discuss getting out of a rut, or a busy street corner to discuss making the right choices might be good ideas. Any location that conveys the message of your video in an inventive way will capture your audience’s attention.
Anticipate different weather conditions when you go on location. Make sure you have a sturdy cover for your camera in case of snow or rain. And be prepared to re-record the vocal portion if wind conditions result in poor sound quality.
2. Use Different Settings for Your Backgrounds to Emphasize Your Video’s Point.
Background can be used in addition to location to emphasize your video’s subject matter. Video is so powerful because it speaks to your audience’s visual senses as well as their audible senses; this can make a powerful non-verbal statement if you select your background well.
A crowded bus depot would be a much different video setting than sitting in a church or taping from a sports event. Make sure to keep your eyes open for different setting options you have right in your neighborhood that you can use when filming your videos.
3. Arrange Your Background.
The visual arrangement of your video is important, so make sure you arrange the background in such a way that it is visually appealing to your viewers.
For example, if your background is very large, the best place for you to stand would be halfway between the camera and the background setting. If you are too close to the camera, your viewers will not see the background. If you are too far, the audience won’t see you closely enough to make a connection. It’s important to remember that you need to stand back further than would seem necessary. A wide screen setting is the default for most video recording, so you need about 10 feet to give your viewers the entire picture.
Internet web video is the future of online promotion, and if you know how to use your video camera well it will be simpler to create powerful, impactful videos fast. Effective backgrounds and settings will help tremendously in making compelling Internet web videos.
Marty Dickinson is an writer, trainer and owner of a small business just like you. He has had failures and successes using online web video to market his business, and would like to share the lessons he learned with you. Visit Internet Web Video Presentation Tips to find more ideas and techniques on how to market your business through Internet web video.
A Simple Way to Use Settings and Backgrounds in Your Internet Web Videos That Will Help Promote Your Business
More and more small business owners are turning to online Internet web video to boost their Internet marketing. But, most small business owners aren’t experts at video and are concerned over the proper techniques in how to use their video camera. Sites and backgrounds are very important in creating professional looking videos. Here are some background and site location tips for how to use your video camera to best promote your business.
1. Be Prepared to Shoot From Different Off-Site Locations.
Avoid staying cooped up in your office taking videos of you just talking to a camera. Shake things up a bit by finding an interesting site that relates to the subject of your video. In front of a brick wall to discuss getting out of a rut, or a busy street corner to discuss making the right choices might be good ideas. Any location that conveys the message of your video in an inventive way will capture your audience’s attention.
Anticipate different weather conditions when you go on location. Make sure you have a sturdy cover for your camera in case of snow or rain. And be prepared to re-record the vocal portion if wind conditions result in poor sound quality.
2. Use Different Settings for Your Backgrounds to Emphasize Your Video’s Point.
Background can be used in addition to location to emphasize your video’s subject matter. Video is so powerful because it speaks to your audience’s visual senses as well as their audible senses; this can make a powerful non-verbal statement if you select your background well.
A crowded bus depot would be a much different video setting than sitting in a church or taping from a sports event. Make sure to keep your eyes open for different setting options you have right in your neighborhood that you can use when filming your videos.
3. Arrange Your Background.
The visual arrangement of your video is important, so make sure you arrange the background in such a way that it is visually appealing to your viewers.
For example, if your background is very large, the best place for you to stand would be halfway between the camera and the background setting. If you are too close to the camera, your viewers will not see the background. If you are too far, the audience won’t see you closely enough to make a connection. It’s important to remember that you need to stand back further than would seem necessary. A wide screen setting is the default for most video recording, so you need about 10 feet to give your viewers the entire picture.
Internet web video is the future of online promotion, and if you know how to use your video camera well it will be simpler to create powerful, impactful videos fast. Effective backgrounds and settings will help tremendously in making compelling Internet web videos.
Marty Dickinson is an writer, trainer and owner of a small business just like you. He has had failures and successes using online web video to market his business, and would like to share the lessons he learned with you. Visit Internet Web Video Presentation Tips to find more ideas and techniques on how to market your business through Internet web video.
A Simple Way to Find Subject Matter For Internet Web Videos to Promote Your Business
Internet web video is fast becoming an all essential tool in promoting your business on the Internet. Equipment is much easier to use and less expensive, and the small business owner can now produce their own Internet web videos at a cost within their budget. But for many small business owners, the biggest challenge is how to find topics for their Internet web videos. Here are some tips.
1. Keep it Simple.
Choose specific video topics for your Internet web videos and prioritize them. Make sure each video topic is specific and won’t contain too much information. You will lost your audience. Your aim is to make lots and lots of simple short videos!
There are essentially three main categories that almost all Internet web videos can fall into, including those that are educational (step 1,2,3 how to videos), timely (breaking news) or entertaining (for fun). If you run into challenges thinking of topics to present on your Internet web video, ask yourself three questions:
What can I educate people about in my industry?
What new or interesting things are happening in my line of work that I can explain or comment on?
What do I enjoy doing that would entertain others on video.
Using this process, you will probably find more than enough topics that can promote your business through video.
2. Limit Video Length.
In today’s multi-tasking age with numerous distractions competing for a person’s attention, five minutes is about the maximum you can expect a viewer to pay attention. It would be even better if you can communicate what you want to say in as short as 30 seconds. At any rate, the shorter you can make your Internet web video while still providing quality content, the better.
3. Make Every Second of Your Video Count By Outlining What You Want to Cover.
Because time is a factor when producing internet web videos, every second of your presentation matters. But, it is not practical or advised to memorize a script. To be honest, most business owners would never produce a video if they had to memorize a script every time they wanted to make one.
There are many outlining techniques you can use, all of which are similar to the strategies used for impromptu speaking skills. I would like to suggest you try just one simple outline for presenting your video topic:
a. answer a question or your view of a problem in one sentence
b. share a short example of why the topic is important
c. give a step or sequence of steps that can be taken right now to move toward a solution
d. restate your answer to the question
e. challenge the visitor to take action with the steps you’ve just revealed
Internet web video is an ideal vehicle to promote your business to its fullest potential. Finding subject matter for your Internet web video is easy if you use the suggestions above. Before you know it, you will have as many subjects to video as you have time to produce. Have a great time!
Marty Dickinson is an author, speaker and owner of a small business just like you. He has had failures and successes using online web video to promote his business, and would like to share the lessons he learned with you. Visit Internet Web Video Presentation Tips to find more tips and strategies on how to promote your business through Internet web video.
A Simple Way to Find Subject Matter For Internet Web Videos to Promote Your Business
Internet web video is fast becoming an all essential tool in promoting your business on the Internet. Equipment is much easier to use and less expensive, and the small business owner can now produce their own Internet web videos at a cost within their budget. But for many small business owners, the biggest challenge is how to find topics for their Internet web videos. Here are some tips.
1. Keep it Simple.
Choose specific video topics for your Internet web videos and prioritize them. Make sure each video topic is specific and won’t contain too much information. You will lost your audience. Your aim is to make lots and lots of simple short videos!
There are essentially three main categories that almost all Internet web videos can fall into, including those that are educational (step 1,2,3 how to videos), timely (breaking news) or entertaining (for fun). If you run into challenges thinking of topics to present on your Internet web video, ask yourself three questions:
What can I educate people about in my industry?
What new or interesting things are happening in my line of work that I can explain or comment on?
What do I enjoy doing that would entertain others on video.
Using this process, you will probably find more than enough topics that can promote your business through video.
2. Limit Video Length.
In today’s multi-tasking age with numerous distractions competing for a person’s attention, five minutes is about the maximum you can expect a viewer to pay attention. It would be even better if you can communicate what you want to say in as short as 30 seconds. At any rate, the shorter you can make your Internet web video while still providing quality content, the better.
3. Make Every Second of Your Video Count By Outlining What You Want to Cover.
Because time is a factor when producing internet web videos, every second of your presentation matters. But, it is not practical or advised to memorize a script. To be honest, most business owners would never produce a video if they had to memorize a script every time they wanted to make one.
There are many outlining techniques you can use, all of which are similar to the strategies used for impromptu speaking skills. I would like to suggest you try just one simple outline for presenting your video topic:
a. answer a question or your view of a problem in one sentence
b. share a short example of why the topic is important
c. give a step or sequence of steps that can be taken right now to move toward a solution
d. restate your answer to the question
e. challenge the visitor to take action with the steps you’ve just revealed
Internet web video is an ideal vehicle to promote your business to its fullest potential. Finding subject matter for your Internet web video is easy if you use the suggestions above. In no time at all, you will be able to create and post as many videos as you have the time for. Have a great time!
Marty Dickinson is an author, speaker and owner of a small business just like you. He has had failures and successes using online web video to promote his business, and would like to share the lessons he learned with you. Visit Internet Web Video Presentation Tips to find more tips and strategies on how to promote your business through Internet web video.