One common mistake I see small business owners and entrepreneurs make time after time is this — relying on one source for leads.

In fact, I can’t tell you how many times I tell someone I’m in marketing and what they say to me is “oh, the only thing I do for marketing is word of mouth.” (I’m going to write an entire article about word of mouth marketing, maybe two, because that is hands down the most misunderstood marketing strategy.)

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I just got my THIRD full of hype canned phone call from a well-known internet marketing guru!  I recently spoke on a Team call for this (products class I’m in) of how I really despise recorded phone call messages from the mega stars in my field.  I know Internet Marketing isn’t the only way.

But, not being really there and hawking a new program?  I don’t feel unique, special or all warm & fuzzy and I’m very likely to not hang on to even listen to the tinny well-crafted marketing hype!

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Yep, there’s a photo of me with Gene (yes, THAT Gene Simmons from KISS). He spoke at the recent Glazer-Kennedy Marketing Summit in Nashville. And along with getting my photo taken with him, I also got an autographed copy of his book ‘”Sex, Money, KISS,” which I read on the airplane on the way home.

So, what did I learn from Gene? (Other then his rather controversial views of women and marriage?) Well, he’s quite the entrepreneur. Here are two gems you can instantly apply to your own business:

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Did you know that one of the quickest ways to draw attention to your business is by conducting interviews of people in your niche whose name is familiar to your target market?

This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to add loads of targeted subscribers to your email list, and it can a lot of fun, too!

You can interview them over the phone and record it, offering the audio as a way to entice people to sign up for your list (and you can ask if your interviewee would be willing to do the same - most will). Or you could do a written interview via email and offer the written transcript as a bonus to those who sign up for your Free Taste.

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A question I often ask my target market is, “what’s your biggest challenge with building your business online?” And one answer I get frequently is this:

How do I make my website earn money?

If you’ve got a business online, then it’s likely you have some sort of web presence. Perhaps it’s a one-page ’sign up for my list’ kind of site, or a full-blown brochure site with a menu of choices, or maybe your site is in the form of a blog. Regardless of what kind of site (or sites) you have, if they’re not doing what you want them to - and since we’re in business, ultimately that means making some sort of a profit - then it’s time to make some changes.

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1. Understand the difference between your Target Market and your Niche. A target market has distinguishing demographic characteristics; for example, recently widowed professional women under 50. A niche gets more specific in characteristics that might not be as easily identifiable as demographics; using the previous example, you could further narrow the target market by including only women who want to remarry and don’t know how to meet suitable men.
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I’ve always been a big proponent of double opt-in for building your potential customer list online. Primarily because it adds a layer of protection against frivolous spam complaints — it’s hard to argue that you didn’t sign up when I have a record of you clicking the confirmation link.

This week I’ve learned of two colleagues’ experience with double opt-in: one positive, one negative. The difference? It all depends on who your customers are!

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Do you find yourself competing on price? Do you often talk to a prospect, think you have made the sale and then they decide to shop around and buy based on price? If this sounds familiar, then potential clients probably perceive you as a commodity. They think the service you’re offering is much the same as the service offered by LOTS of other people. So it makes sense for them to shop around and buy the cheapest. Wouldn’t you? Read the rest of this post »

I love the metaphor (or is it an analogy? I always get them confused!) of you and your business as a lighthouse, and your customers as boats, looking for you.

I think I first heard it from Chris Hutchinson, trusted business advisor to Solo-E. But I don’t think I’ve seen it as vividly described as it is by Jan Stringer in this wonderful article about Strategic Attraction™.

Particularly humorous is the image of a lighthouse sprouting arms and legs and running up and down the beach…read more to see what I mean!

In MBA Marketing 101, we talk politely about target markets, niches, segmenting, etc., etc. All nice impersonal words that mask the real truth — we don’t want to work with people we don’t like!

Sometimes it takes a wakeup call to realize how much time and energy we are wasting talking to individuals who are never going to hire us, and who really aren’t going to benefit from anything we tell them anyway! Read Andy’s hilarious take on this subject: Trimming the Freaks.

Personally, that’s what an answering machine is for…