How To Jump Start ANY Business

by: Nandang S Nugraha | Total views: 124 | Word Count: 1206 | View PDF | Print View

 by: Robert Vilardi

Typically it is said that when you open up a new venture,
it takes fro 2 to 5 years of steady growth before you can call it a
success. All things considered, this is true and because it is true, it
is all the more important to do everything correctly, right from the
start! So here are 7 guidelines on engagement for every business
entrepreneur.

1) GET AN ON-LINE PRESENCE:

It is a different world out there and worldwide access
can increase your sales dramatically. It’s just like fishing. If you
are on a lake with 100 fishermen and only 10 fish in the lake, odds are
slim you are going to get anything unless you have the perfect spot and
the perfect bait. However, if you are on the same lake with the same
number of fishermen and there are 10,000 fish. The odds are you will
have a great day out on the water. That’s exactly what a web presence
does for you. It allows more fish to check out your bait! OK, enough
with the fish! Getting hits on your site is another topic.

2) GETTING HITS:

One thing about building a web site, they all start at
the bottom. Where they go from there is a matter of money, tenacity and
hard work. If you have the funds you can do pay-per-click. A good place
to start is http://www.kanoodle.com/return.cool?query=pay+per+click.

Other than that, if you want to manage your own site, the
right keywords, manual site submission and tweaking will become a way
of life. Getting the know-how will also become a way of life. There are
a lot of e-zines available to help you out. One of my favorites is http://www.merlesworld.com/newsletter.htm.

3) FREQUENTLY OVERLOOKED ALTERNATIVE MARKETING:

Naturally word of mouth is by far the best and
eventually, no matter how big your audience, the truth about your
company will spread far and wide. In the mean time, if you are doing
business locally, business cards, fliers, mailers and door hangers are
very effective parts of your marketing arsenal. Especially if you are
in a localized business such as the Real Estate or Mortgage Business.
As a rule of thumb, for every 100 you send or give out, a 2 % return is
considered standard. None of these techniques by them selves are worth
very much nor will they bring you a stream of business. But used in
tandem and with consistency, the business will continue to build. You
should also keep in mind that some of these applications work better
for certain business’ then they do for others but generally speaking;
you can judge your effectiveness by the 2% rule benchmark.

a. Business Cards:

One should make it a personal habit to hand out a minimum
of 20 business cards per day. It doesn’t matter if you gave them one
the last time you visited. When you send out your monthly bills both
personal and business, drop a card in the envelope. When you eat out at
a restaurant, leave a good tip and a card for the server. If you hand
out 100 in a day, you can consider yourself done for the week. Good
steady habits will help you win in the end!

b. Fliers:

We have all seen them on telephone poles, car windows and
trees. They have their place depending on your type of business. They
are mildly effective and very business specific for example, home
based, weight loss, etc.

c. Mailers:

If your budget allows, mailers can reach a larger area
and you have the ability to pinpoint your target audience by zip code,
income level, recent car buyers, recent mortgages, new home owners,
etc. I have tried different types of mailers including form letters,
postcards, special delivery looking letters and even tube type mailers.
Unless you target a very specific need such as wheel chair sales to
wheel chair users, 2% is the rule.

d. Door Hanger:

Pizza places all over the U.S. do it everyday. They
wouldn’t be doing them week after week if it did not work. I found this
to be an effective tool for almost any localized business.

e. Local Throw Away Paper:

Every town has them and they are typically very
affordable for reaching thousands of people. You can choose which zip
codes you would like your ad to appear in. Different zip codes
typically have different income levels so the response you may get from
one zip code may be totally different in another. You will have to play
around with a few before you find out which one clicks. A good way to
reach perspective prospects but like fliers and door hangers, they are
usually work better for some business than others.

4) WHICH ADVERTISEMENT IS WORKING:

P.T. Barnum once said “50% of all my advertising is
useless, if only I could figure out which 50%”. The next section is on
toll-free numbers but I found a great use for them other than
voicemail. Whenever I run a marketing campaign every piece of
advertising I use has a different extension number. By simply putting
my 800 number along with a different extension number, I can track
which ads are effective and pulling in leads. I have used various 800
services, the best for this purpose is by far FreedomVoiceMail at www.freedomvoicemail.com

5) 800 AND TOLL-FREE NUMBERS:

I recommend a voice mail service for any business that is
serious about becoming a success. Why spend all your time advertising
and planning only to miss the call when it comes in. If you do not
answer, someone else will reap the benefit of all your hard spent
marketing time and advertising money. When you have an 800 or Toll-Free
voicemail number, you will never miss a call and the general public is
more likely to perceive you as a legitimate company. The least
expensive way I have come across is a service called Freedom Voice
Mail, www.freedomvoicemail.com.
They have different systems available on a monthly basis and there are
no long term contracts. Each system includes your own unique toll-free
number. If you already have you, you can transfer it to their system or
you can get yourself a vanity number such as, 1 800 buy this.

6) PRESS RELEASES:

Sending out a Press Release to various newspapers in the
areas you do business in can be a big fast boost to your company! The
key to writing a press release is to keep it short and to the point
while adding enough pertinent information where the newspaper can
re-print snippets of your information. Almost every word program
available today has a template press release included in their
programs. Still feel a little shaky; there is a lot of information
available on the net. Type in writing press releases and you will be in
press release heaven.

7) ARTICLE SUBMISSION:

Submitting articles on line are probably the best things
you can do to increase your rankings in the search engines and give
your business authenticity. There are plenty of submission sites
available. Go to any search engine and type in article submission being
specific to your field such as real estate article submission.

About the Author

Robert Vilardi former VP for Specialty Rest., in charge of 27 operations, has sold and taught catering marketing with annual sales in excess of $125 million. Robert holds a Florida Realtors License, teaches Ethics for the Pasco Board of Realtors and is the Vice Chairman of their education committee. An active Mortgage Broker, he writes the Sunday Article for the Florida Saint Petersburg Times Real Estate and Mortgage section. His Mortgage Website www.rjvilardi.com is considered by many to be the most informative mortgage web site available on the Internet today. Mr. Vilardi can be reached at rjv@rjvilardi.com.

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