Voice Mail and On Hold Messages Regardless of whether your business has an expensive multi-line phone system or you utilize a cell phone, your voice mail announcement and any “on hold” monologue must be pleasant and informative.  When recording these announcements think about the business phone announcements you’ve heard.  What stood out as positive, interesting, or useful?  What was an irritant?  Here are some tips to help you get started:

Speak clearly.  Provide pertinent information.  We’ve all heard, “Your first impression is a lasting impression.”  You want every impression of your business to be a positive one.  Does your answering announcement communicate 1) Your business name  2) The service you provide.  3) A courteous and warm image?   Does your on-hold recording offer  1) Other business contact information such as your web site address or FAX number  2) Mention of promotions that you’re offering  3) Tips or suggestions that will provide convenience or value for your caller?

Email Signature If your first impression is a lasting impression, imagine what position of priority your last impression must be!  At the conclusion of your email include a signature line listing your full name, your direct phone number, and your company’s  full URL including http://   This enables your recipient to simply “click” the link and be transported immediately and magically to your site.

Are you listed on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook?  Will having this information provide value to your recipient?  Will they care?  If the answer is yes, then by all means include a discreet button that links to these sites.  If the answer is no, Don’t Do It! The fact that you’re tech savvy and up to date on the latest social media trends may or may not be a bonus in the eyes of your email recipient.  Is your recipient a client/prospect, member of the media, your best friend?  Are you a doctor, retail salesperson, lawyer, house cleaning professional, president of a country? What’s appropriate and in line with the impression you need to convey?  Not sure?  Ask your significant other, your Mother, or a trusted advisor for their opinion.

Today’s Challenge: Review your phone announcements.  Re-record if necessary, as many times as necessary, until it sounds appropriate as representative of your business.  Take a look at your email signature.  Should information be revised or added?  No email signature and not certain how to “install” one?  These links may help:

http://email.about.com/od/outlooktips/qt/Create_Email_Signature_Outlook.htm

http://www.gacdl.org/signature.htm

The key to effective marketing is to be constantly visible to your target audience in a consistent manner.  First and foremost, keep in mind that everything that leaves your hand, your desk, and your office is a vehicle for marketing and publicity.  Secondly, recognize that a successful marketing strategy is not one action, but the cumulative effect of all business actions.  Keeping these things in mind, let’s begin with the easy stuff:

Business Cards Don’t out-think yourself by being stingy with your business cards.  Perhaps the person that receives your card isn’t your ideal contact, but they’ll most likely know someone that’s been searching for a reputable provider of the very service in which you excel. Drop cards in fish bowls for drawings at local restaurants.  Leave a brief note of thanks for good service on the back of your card as your leave the dry cleaner, the restaurant where you had lunch, the library, the auto shop, liquor store, anywhere that you have an ongoing relationship.

The Faberge’ Organics commercial that ran during the 70′s was offering Marketing 101 when it proclaimed  ”I told 2 friends, and they told 2 friends – and so on, and so on…”  Provide people with the ability to market for you. Business cards aren’t expensive.  Give several away when you meet a prospect.  Don’t hesitate to ask an existing client to share your card with others that they feel can benefit from your product or service.

It’s your business and no one is going to market it as energetically as you will, and most won’t market it at all if you don’t initiate the process! Be consistent in your efforts to keep your company visible to your target market constantly.

Today’s Challenge: Give away 25 business cards within the next 24 hours.  Leave a comment on this post and let us know how you shared your card.

Don’t leave home without this Perfect Pair of JV ebooks – Entrepreneurial Joint Ventures: Psychology + Soul ebook #1 and Entrepreneurial Joint Ventures Boost Business Success ebook #2 – even if you have a ‘home’ business!

Claim your F.R.E.E. copies now, here: http://tinyurl.com/Perfect-Pair-of-JV-ebooks. For more info, keep reading…

Entrepreneurial Joint Ventures: Psychology + Soul ebook #1: You don’t have to be a regular viewer of the popular TLC television show What Not to Wear to understand which one or two Entrepreneurial Cliff Jumping outfits best suits you. In fact, being a successful entrepreneur living the lifestyle you want is definitely do-able if you first open your eyes and mind to the possibility of joint ventures.

This ebook is perfect if you…

* Are a bit shy about revealing the “real you” behind your Entrepreneurial Cliff Jumping outfit(s) to prospective joint venture partners

* Are wary about committing to a joint venture partner

* Are curious about how to attract JV Dynamos instead of JV Duds to your beautiful blossoming business

* Want a lighthearted but deeply wise ebook to read

Entrepreneurial Joint Ventures Boost Business Success ebook #2: What reasons are you considering a collaboration? Some will help steer you toward a venture of success, while others may get you something other than what you were hoping for. Complete three action plans as you discover what joint ventures really mean in time, energy and money. Take a reality check to your considerations with this ebook.

This ebook is must have reading if you…

* Feel you want to collaborate but aren’t sure you are cut out for it

* Aren’t sure of the alternatives, other than joint ventures, to consider for boosting your business

* Would like to know the tell-tale signs that you are ready for a joint venture

* Like action planning to help you draw conclusions in your decision making

This is your chance to get something F.R.E.E. from us about the art and science of successful joint ventures.

Grab these two freebies here, http://tinyurl.com/Perfect-Pair-of-JV-ebooks, while you can!

*Bonus*: To access Pat Weber’s blog post, Everybody’s talking but who’s listening?, which includes the article Collaborating Success Depends on Communications, click here: http://tinyurl.com/Collaborating-Communicating

Recently we were on our way home from the gym listening to our 9 year old sweaty, red-faced daughter complain about how ‘Tough’ her instructor was during their workout, and how the other instructors ‘Never’ make them work that hard. My husband told her that maybe her instructor was having a bad day to which she replied without the slightest hesitation, “Yeah, well I hate “Tick-off Tuesdays’!” I about split a gut I laughed so hard!

I got to thinking about that night and realized that her quick reply contained the same elements that make for great copy writing.   She’s a walking, talking, copywriter and doesn’t even know it!

For business owners, writing compelling copy that will connect with your prospects and move them to take your desired action is one of the most difficult things to do.  Here are a few lessons from a 9 year old that will surely help you along the way…

She had “been there and done that” or in other words she had actually been through the experience.  Now when creating copy for your business you don’t actually have to ‘experience’ whatever it is you are writing about, but you do have to ‘know’ what it is you’re writing about. This might mean you have to roll up your sleeves and get dirty – or in other words – do a bit of research.

You want to be able to answer:

What’s the BIG Idea here?
If I were a prospect for this product, what benefit would I want most?
What’s exciting about this product?

Next, she didn’t stress about her response. She was relaxed which allowed her subconscious mind to just come up with her statement.   Copywriting is the same.   After you’ve done your research just relax and let your subconscious mind go to work. It will no doubt come up with the answers to these questions. If all this seems a bit far out to you, just know that almost every writer (of anything) in the world uses this process… knowingly or unknowingly.

She talks incessantly! The best writers write… and… write a lot. It’s that simple. The more you write and, the more often you write, in general, the better you will become. Just make sure to set time limits. Write for 30 minutes then take a 5-10 minute break.  Make sure that during the break you do something that’s not mentally taxing. Walk, have a snack, take a snooze,  etc – you get the idea! This is a sure-fire way to keep you from getting writers block!

She doesn’t hold anything back. She wasn’t afraid that what she was about to say might not sound good – she just blurted it out. In simple, plain old English! No fancy-pants elaborate knowledge of the English language was needed. Copywriting should be the same way. Make your rough draft fast and furious! No editing allowed. This allows your creativity to just flow onto the paper without worrying about making mistakes. And realize… it’s ok to suck! Every word on the page doesn’t have to be picture perfect. The reader is not going to die if you make a mistake, we’re not talking brain surgery here – we’re talking copywriting!

She’s always got her nose stuck in a book. Good copywriters read a lot. That’s what makes them good storytellers.  And good storytelling (”in print” or “in person”) is paramount to persuasion and selling. Need proof? Research Gary Halbert. He was a master storyteller. And he honed his storytelling skills, from what I’ve read, by reading fiction. His copywriting was almost impossible not to read. He was completely masterful in drawing you in with his stories.

And last but not least… she’s always keenly aware of what everyone else is doing! To become a great copywriter… become an observer of what’s going on around you. You see, many people go about their day half-asleep, paying little attention to the things that happen around them and to them. Big mistake! Your life can (and should be) source material for your copy. If you keep your eyes open you will begin to gather a collection of stories and experiences you can pull from and incorporate into your copy.

So put your thinking cap on, grab your computer, do some research, sit back, relax and let the words start flowing.

And now to learn more empowering tips for entrepreneurs visit http://www.JennAndAlbert.com to claim your FREE 10-day training series “Business Success Inside and Out”

Learn more about what services Dale offers at DaleLittle.com. Contact her by April 1st, 2010 for a free 1 hour coaching call. Just mention this podcast.

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Call for Interviews: I am looking to interview business owners, authors, experts, and interesting people on a regular basis. If you would like to tell your story on this podcast, please contact me.

Credits: This podcast was recorded using Skype and Pamela. Thanks to Joe Magennis and Desiree Scales for technical advice. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Editing done with Audacity.

Bradford Shimp is the publisher of AllBizAnswers.com.

Upcoming book titled: “How Your Local Small Business Can Get More Customers On The Internet” shows business owners anywhere how to use the unlimited reach and power of the Internet to generate more qualified leads, then convert those leads to paying customers.

This book is an excellent resource for small business owners everywhere!  It’s clear, concise, and packed with  practical, user-friendly online marketing information, tips, and techniques. So often business owners are faced with the cold hard truth of knowing what they need to do, but not having a clue as to how to do it or how to do it effectively. Merrill tells you exactly what you need to do to create a web site that effectively drives sales to your company, and escalates your profit.

More companies are realizing that Internet Marketing blogging is a crucial part of their online business strategy, however it is a real shame that many people spend hours writing articles and blog posts and then destroy their hard work by spamming the article / blog post with too many outbound links.

Here are some of the actions people take:

• They start panicking because they have a lot of search engine competition.
• They register many Free Blogs and fall into the trap of “overload”.
• They are so desperate to get their main website ranked that they damage their blog posts by placing too many outbound anchor links pointing to the website that they are trying to help.

HERE IS THE SHORT TO THE POINT ANSWER.

BACKGROUND

We publish many articles, press releases and blog posts on behalf of clients.

We have realized that if you have more than two outbound links in your text that the search engine ranking and priority of your blog post gets downgraded.

SOLUTION

1. Write shorter articles which point to the complete article located on your main website.
2. Place one contextual anchor link within the first sentence of the blog post. This ensures that if another website syndicates your RSS Feed that your main anchor link will appear on the syndicating website.
3. Make sure that the title of the blog post contains the main “anchor link phrase” – The title of this blog post contains the phrase “Internet Marketing” and the first outbound anchor link is on the phrase “Internet Marketing” which is pointing to one for our website EuropeInternetMarketing.com.
4. And if you must, you can place one outbound link at the end of the post that gives credit to the author.
5. Schedule your blog posts – WordPress offers you the option to schedule your blog posts – Depending on how many blog posts you have to publish, try to schedule the publication for one a day or every second day
6. Rather, have fewer blogs and work them correctly. Publish at least one post or article per week per blog.

Dale Little, Business Strategist, asks “Why are you in business?” Some people say it’s to get rich. Others say it’s so they can be their own boss. Why do you do what you do?

Do you enjoy your work? Do you bounce out of bed in the morning eager to begin the day, tackle a project, or solicit new business?

Business owners typically have a vision for the future of their company. More often than not the path to achieving that vision may become blurred or even rocky on occasion.

What do you do when that happens? Here are alternatives used by some business owners:

1. Consult a mentor.
2. Take a class or check out some online forums.
3. Take a break. Go for a walk. Read a book.
4. Initiate a brainstorming session.
5. Doodle, Squiggle, or Journal thoughts and ideas. Don’t be concerned if they’re random. Any one of them could produce the solution or alternative.

Wow! It’s already Tuesday afternoon! How’s your week going?

Suggestion: Over the next three business days, try to complete the following business builder options.

1.  Log on to all of your established professional networking sites and post something about your business. Promote yourself!

2.  Write one article or web press release… and Publish It!

3.  Refer an associate or colleague to a business professional that will benefit from their services.

You haven’t joined very  many professional sites?  That’s okay.  There’s no better time than now.  Check out  Twitter Not sure what to do with Twitter?  Take a look at this article. Linked In is a great site for networking.  I highly recommend joining Linked In Groups that focus on your peers (You can learn from them.) and your target market.  Entrepreneur Connect offers options for networking and article publication.

Writing articles and press releases can be intimidating.  Social Media consultants like Lisa Cole, owner of Cole Communications, can teach you the tricks of the trade.  Already know how to write the articles and releases, but not sure where to post them?  Take a look at this list.

Agendas An agenda assists the meeting coordinator and participants in preparation for the meeting, as well as staying on track during the meeting. An agenda needn’t be complicated. It should list the topics for discussion, if the presentation of topics are to be divided among participants the presenters should be identified, and there should be a specified time allotment for each topic.

The meeting agenda should be circulated in advance of your meeting time.  The agenda should include, or have an attached cover letter that lists the date, time, and place for the meeting.  Also, be sure to provide the meeting goal, all relevant background information, and assign items required for preparation and/or participation in your meeting.

The clock. A clock has multiple roles in meeting planning and productivity.  When contemplating what time to begin the meeting, take into consideration peak business activity times, as well as any other “time” criteria that might be adversely affected by several employees being in a meeting and not at their desk.  Keep to the schedule.  Respect that everyone has other deadlines and obligations that they must return to.  If a meeting is going to be lengthy, schedule 10 minute breaks every hour or so.  If the meeting appears to be headed into overtime, consider setting a second meeting to wrap up unfinished business.

Be objective.  Remain professional. Typically, emotions or boredom are the main causes for a meeting to flying off the schedule track.  As meeting coordinator, stick to factual information.  When emotions begin to run high, steer the meeting back to the topic at hand.  Set the professional example by speaking clearly, with courtesy and respect.  The best tool available for keeping a meeting objective and on track is Robert’s Rules of Order.  If you don’t have the answer for an unanticipated question, don’t panic.  Make a note of the question and let meeting participants know when they can expect the answer, and how you’ll be sharing the information.

Meetings can go well, or they can be a disaster.  With a bit of advance planning, open communication, some clock watching and professional decorum your meeting will go off without a hitch.