Lessons From The Best Marketing Books of All Time

Business networking. It’s an essential part of any small to medium sized business owners life. Some people don’t think that they’re in the right business for networking to be effective. Perhaps they are in retail. That’s a fair point but it’s not always about who’s there, but who they know! Business networking is certainly something to be tried out, whatever line of business you’re in.

So below are some top tips on how to effectively network your business:

1: Pick local groups:

This may sound obvious, but plenty of business owners think they have such a great local presence that they can go further afield to meet other business owners. Networking is about building relationships and more importantly, keeping them. There’s always someone who doesn’t know of you and they may turn out to be your best customer.

2: Attend regularly:

As mentioned in number 1, keeping a relationship is as important as building one. Not being a regular each week will not keep you in the front of someones mind when they come to refer your particular business to a friend or colleague. Also, sometimes (and this has happened to me) a colleague may hold off on ringing you for an order because they think you’ll be at networking next week. If you don’t show, they will only look elsewhere.

3: Don’t give it the hard sell:

Be social and clear about what you do and people will come to you when they need to, regardless of how good your pitch is.

4: Listen and take notes:

Your brain can’t remember everything, so take notes of what everyone is there. This will come in really handy for future referrals.

5: Be a giver and not just a taker:

Ok the number one reason we all go networking is to get business for ourselves. But always try and recommend networking colleagues when you can, and use them too! You will only reap the rewards. People remember and comment on the business owners who don’t give anything in return for the business they have earned.

6: Work with your competition:

Some networking group allow more than one of the same type of business through the doors. Use this to your advantage. Refer customers maybe not in your locality to them, maybe you’re too busy that month to handle them efficiently. Pass them over! Alliances will made between you and a relationship built on trust will sprout. This is much better than being in constant competition with each other.

That’s it really. Most points are really just common sense, but it’s surprising how many business owners don’t follow them when networking.By Robert Glover

Today’s trade show floor options include rubber matting, textured wood, trade show carpet, and a variety of other forms of floor coverings. Variations on traditional and more contemporary options are plentiful, and choosing the right one is crucial. The right base can add visual interest, define your booth area more clearly, add comfort underfoot, and even carry your company logo. When you’re ready to order trade show flooring for your business, don’t forget the accessories. Too many people order carpeting for their convention display without considering what extras they need in order to set up, break down, transport, and store their floor coverings

What Accessories Do You Need For Your Carpet?

Trade show carpet is often shipped from event to event rolled up and packaged in tubes. Once you unroll your carpet, you’ll need to find a way to line up the lengths of carpeting and keep the carpet flat, since it can have a tendency to curl after being rolled up. Be sure you have plenty of two-sided tape to fasten your trade show carpet securely to the floor beneath. You may also want to bring clear tape to secure power cords to prevent visitors from tripping.

Plastic sheeting is also an excellent investment if you want your trade show carpet to retain its bright color, prevent wearing in high traffic areas, and protect it during setup. You may also want a clear plastic sheet to cover your floor graphics while still letting them show; this will keep the graphics crisp and fresh for years. Ask your carpet supplier to include plastic sheeting cut to fit over the area. Proper bags will protect your trade show flooring between uses and during shipment as well.

Installing Raised Trade Show Flooring – The Tools You’ll Need

A raised deck is more complex to put together and takes longer to install than most standard options. Be sure that when you order raised floor components, you ask about what tools you’ll need to install the interlocking pieces. You may also need risers that can be attached underneath, raising it as much as four inches, if you need the additional clearance for electrical wiring, cables, or conduit.

Some raised panels require metal fasteners or clamps to join the individual sections, while other options can be put together easily because they use a snap lock system. Make sure you know which kind you’ve ordered so you aren’t caught without the proper tools for installation or break-down.

Soft Floors And Rubber – Installation Made Easy

If you’re looking for comfortable, attractive trade show flooring that’s easy to install without tools, look for interlocking soft floor tiles or recycled rubber tiles. These oversized, interlocking squares lay flat without any effort on your part and easily snap together for a durable, secure base for your booth. You will, however, want to purchase shipping cases or trunks, as the individual squares are rather large and can quickly stack up to a considerable height when broken down after the event is over. The right sized case will keep everything clean and protected between uses.

Securing Electrical Cords And Plumbing

Don’t neglect the accessories you will need in order to provide electricity to your booth when you’re shopping. If you are using soft flooring, there will be instances when you need to run extension cords, power cords, or even conduit over the surface. For these situations, it’s essential that you use strong, clear tape to secure cords to prevent tripping. You may also want to buy some cord covers or small conduit to bundle multiple cords and protect them from damage.

Trade show flooring is an important element of your booth. By making sure you have all the proper accessories for installation, storage, and safety when you order your trade show carpeting or some other base, you’ll save yourself plenty of headaches in the future.
By Chris A. Harmen

Marketing for the solopreneur really means attracting more clients. People in my circle of influence consistently comment about my ability to be creative yet practical about attracting ideal clients for myself and for my clients. How do I do it? I have an eight step process that I follow consistently to keep my pipeline filled with my ideal clients. Not all of them are ready to work with me at the same time or in the same program, and that’s perfectly fine with me. Filling my pipeline with my ideal clients and building a genuine relationship with them is paramount to my immediate and future success. Here are my eight steps.

1. Commit to Attracting New Clients

I find that most solopreneurs find it difficult, if not impossible, to find time in their day to commit to marketing. This is a big catch 22 because if you don’t spend time on attracting your ideal clients, you will end up either working with anyone to crosses your path, even though they may not be ideal for you, or not finding any clients or customers.

What you can do today:

You calendar is your best friend when it comes to client attraction! Use it. Find a minimum of eight hours in your week to focus on attracting your ideal clients. Don’t worry right now what you will do with this time. Just carve out time on your calendar by noting: Creative Client Attraction Time.

2. Profile your Ideal Clients

It may be true that anyone can buy your products and services, but figuring out who is most likely to buy your services will benefit you tremendously. When you know who is most likely to buy from you, you can spend some of your creative client attraction time to find large groups of these people. This allows you to be very strategic and targeted in the way that you use your time and where you spend your marketing budget. In addition, when you carve out a niche market, you become an instant expert! Who would you rather see if you have a heart issue: a family doctor or a cardiologist?

What you can do today:

Look at your existing client list – who do you like working with the most? Which clients and customers bought the most from you? What are common characteristics? Do they share a common trait – for example, are they all attorneys, mothers of preschoolers, business owners? Keep asking questions until you find some commonalities. These are clues to your target market.

3. Know Your Target Market’s Problems

Now that you have identified your target market, it’s imperative to learn what their struggles are. What are their pain points? What would they pay almost anything to have fixed? Once you have uncovered their problems, you can then create a meaningful solution. Once you create and communicate your solution, making sales and helping others becomes much easier.

What you can do today:

Understand that people don’t really care what you do. They only want to know if you can solve their problems. Take some of the client attraction time you’ve set aside and figure out the problems that your niche wants solved. You can do this in a variety of ways: a written survey, an online survey, informal communication with your clients and prospects, a focus group or even an email with a single question.

4. Define Your Unique Selling Proposition

Chances are very good that you can name at least one other business that does the same kind of work that you do. So how are your clients and customers to decide who to work with? This is where your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) comes into play. Your USP tells the world how and why you are different than the rest. Think of the Food Channel. This channel is filled with cooking show after cooking show. We can see a variety of chefs prepare glorious meals and teach us how to make them in our own homes. What is it about each show that either draws us in or not? Here’ an example, “I’m Rachael Ray and I make 30 minute meals.” In 10 words, we understand what we’re going to get from her. Fast meals. Is she the only person who can make fast meals in 30 minutes? Absolutely not! But she’s the first one to say it and build her empire around it.

What you can do today:

During one of your Creative Client Attraction time blocks, write down 100 (yes, 100!) things that make you unique from your colleagues and competitors. The reason why I say 100 is that I want you to really dig deep and get beyond the superficial. Once you have that list, determine how you can use one or two of those things create statement that makes you stand out. Perhaps on Rachael’s list she wrote down: Fast meals.

5. Create a Marketing Plan of Action

Now that you know all of the foundational pieces to your creative client attraction plan, you are ready to take a thirty thousand foot view of your current marketing activities. Your marketing plan of action is just that: an action plan that spells out exactly how you will reach out to your target market and, like a magnet, start attracting them to you.

What you can do today:

During one of your Creative Client Attraction time blocks, assign yourself this task: Make a list of all of the marketing tactics you are currently using. Which ones are paying off for you? Which ones are costing you money? Do you have the basics down: a great marketing message, an elevator speech, a high quality business card? Do you have a way to constantly reach out to your prospects, like an ezine? Do you have a compelling free offer to entice your target market to sign up for your ezine? Doing this assignment gives you the power to start making important decisions on where you spend your client attraction time and where you don’t.

6. Leverage Your Business

Creating leverage in your business is imperative. By leveraging your knowledge, you can start to shift your business away from only working hours for dollars, as in, “I charge $1000 a month for my services.” The truth is, if you only offer one way for your clients and prospect to work with you, you are leaving money on the table and are not serving them as well as you can. By creating packages and products, you can help more people and make more money. It’s the definition of a win/win!

What you can do today:

What common questions, problems or concerns do you hear from your customers and clients? How can you bottle and sell your solutions? There are many ways to do this but here are just a few ideas: ebooks, membership programs, teleseminars, coaching clubs. You can really get creative in this area of your client attraction! Put this assignment in your Creative Client Attraction time blocks.

7. Create Systems in Your Business

Have you ever said, “I just need to duplicate myself!” If you have, then you are ready to create a system around whatever you are frustrated with. To get ahead and stay ahead, having systems in place will help alleviate your frustration. Plus, having systems makes scaling your business so much easier.

What you can do today:

During one of your Creative Client Attraction time blocks, add the things that you would like to systematize. Processes like your client intake system, invoicing and tracking, filing, appointment setting, social media are all good things to systematize.

8. Closing – Turn Prospects Into Clients

To be great at creative client attraction, you need to know how to turn prospects in to clients. Otherwise, you’re just engaging in prospect attraction! Closing the sale does not ever have to make you feel pushy. If you are like most business people, women particularly, you have leads, but you don’t follow up. Why? Most of the time, it’s due to fear. Fear of being perceived as pushy, or having to talk about money or fear of being rejected.

What you can do today:

During one of your Creative Client Attraction time blocks, task yourself with making a list of your prospects. You will probably have between 5 and 50 if you really think about it. These are people who have shown some interest in your business. Make a decision to contact them and like Nike says, just do it.

By Meredith Liepelt

If you don’t ward off competition your small business will be left in the dust. Your business needs to stand up and stand out! Take charge with article marketing.

You have something totally unique to your business: Your Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. Employ your talents with the written word. Article marketing is hot right now. It is a wonderful tool to gain a reputation as a subject matter expert. Articles can also increase website traffic.

Many entrepreneurs are jumping on the article bandwagon. Many site owners are crying for submissions. But here’s the deal: everyone can write articles. However not everyone should. Let me repeat that: Not everyone should write articles.

Just as a poorly constructed website will hurt a business, poorly written articles can do even more damage. Websites don’t always have a name attached to them. The public doesn’t know if you created the unprofessional site or if someone else created it. However with articles, you’re attaching your name to it.

Many so-called authors don’t even realize that their work is horrible. In attempting to promote their business they inadvertently damage their own credibility. Plus they just don’t look very intelligent. Below are some common mistakes:

Run on sentences: Try to keep sentences to fifteen words or less – the fewer the better. You won’t hold the reader’s attention otherwise. I’ve seen some with thirty, forty and even fifty words or more in one sentence. That is one sure fire way to lose the audience.

Long paragraphs: Keep it to three or four sentences maximum.

Too familiar: It’s good to speak in a conversational tone. You should write like you speak – but don’t get carried away. Using phrases such as “let’s look…” or “We just talked about…” is too cozy. Minimize the use of pronouns.

Misuse of words: Spell check is a wonderful tool but it won’t always pick up context. There and their are often not used correctly. Other errors often used are lay/lie, saw/seen and many others.

Before submitting articles anywhere, have someone else review it. Pick someone who will be objective and honest. Family and friends tend to always respond in the positive. If it is truly a horribly written article it is better to find out before it lands on the World Wide Web!
By Laurie Ayers

Eco-chic isn’t just a trend; being kind to the earth has an enduring effect that will last much longer than your current trade show displays. Although going green is a great idea for all aspects of life, it’s also a great selling point for current clients and new customers alike. When you show them how green your company is, they’re more likely to want to buy from you. The key is to take small steps to become more ecologically responsible, and then think of creative ways to show that at your trade show exhibits.

Eco Consciousness Begins With Packing Your Trade Show Exhibits

One of the most wasteful parts of a convention is the amount of packing material used in the shipping process. Although shipping can be hazardous for any unit, the waste generated by unpacking and doing nothing to reuse or recycle the materials is much more hazardous to the environment. If your company regularly uses packing peanuts and cardboard to ship your stands, there is a lot that you can do to reduce your impact.

First, you can almost always recycle your packaging. Even if you just bring a big box to store all your packing peanuts, it’s a good first step. Remember, you’ll need that packing material again to ship everything home. Why not save it? The same goes for your cardboard. You can continue to reuse these materials for your next trip. There’s no reason to throw them away.

Eco-Friendly Giveaways At Your Trade Show Displays

Another big waste comes in the form of most giveaways. Much as they’re a great way to increase publicity for your trade show booths, they’re also a big drain on the environment. This fix is a simple one: get them from a company that uses recycled, sustainable materials. You’d be surprised how many products now have a green version, and common convention giveaways like bags and pens are no exception. You may pay a slightly higher price per item, but in the end, the extra expense will be well worth it. Your customers will enjoy knowing that their chosen business partner is also helping save the planet.

Consider Renting Trade Show Booths Rather Than Buying

In some cases, purchasing trade show displays rather than renting them can have a negative impact on the environment. The obvious exceptions are trade show booths which are made from sustainable materials, like bamboo. For most other units, however, sustainable craftsmanship isn’t really an option yet, and just the process of making them takes a lot of resources.

For these types of exhibits, green companies often choose to rent rather than buy. If you are particularly eco-conscious, renting an exhibit might be the best decision for you. However, if you are looking for a more permanent option, see what can be done to make your display more sustainable.

Think Outside The Box

Part of being eco-friendly is finding new ways to change things so you’re doing the right thing for the environment. While this guide offers suggestions, it’s ultimately up to your company to find new, innovative ways to make these ideas your own. Don’t think about what visitors will see when they come to your trade show exhibits; think about what will actually make a difference. When being green really becomes a philosophy, your visitors will notice, and your numbers will improve accordingly.
By Chris A. Harmen