Atricle Dump - Business

Advertising and Marketing on a Small Budget; Delivering the Message
Many small businesses or even large corporations do not understand that you can market your wares on a relatively small budget. It is all about delivering the message to the target customers or target market and the more inexpensively and more efficient you can do that the smarter you are and the better marketer you will be.Are you spending more than you would like on Advertising? Would you like to cut costs and save money? Do you believe that you can deliver your message for less?Well, that should be your goal, even if you decide to use the money saved to deliver your message more times or too a larger percentage of your target market or target customers. You see; Advertising and Marketing on a Small Budget is possible and desirable, the key; Delivering the Message.How do you deliver the message in your business? Do you spend a lot on advertising? Is that working for you? Are your customers getting the message? Have you set a reasonable budget for your marketing and advertising projects?Are you getting the right exposure to your target market for that budget? Are you looking at more efficient ways always to deliver your message? Well, you should and you should indeed consider all this in 2006 when marketing for your company. Think on it.

scount offer on the inside fortune part!

13. Bring a small ice chest with bottled waters, sodas and quick, easy snacks in case you can't get a break, however step out and eat quickly and don't leave your food and drinks on your tables in plain sight. This is why you want at least one other person with you so you can break each other.

14. Don't let your leads get cold! Immediately contact leads and thank them for dropping by your booth. You'll want to set aside the whole next day after a good size show to do your follow up - enter names into a spreadsheet, mail merge them to labels if you want or handwrite them on a quick note with your business card in it or preprinted card or letter written specifically to them as a thank you for stopping by your booth, etc. You could also have preprinted follow up postcards ready to go. If your leads get cold, one of your competitors will beat you to them and if you don't do your follow up YOU'VE WASTED YOUR TIME AND YOUR MONEY at the show!

Here are the 9 Tips Tradeshow Attendees Should Follow:

To Market your Small Business, Get Out of the Crowd
Most Americans like to be viewed as individuals. We don't want to be seen as "just like" anyone else, because we're not. So why do so many businesses advertise their services just like everyone else?One theory is that most people don't study copywriting or hire a copywriter. They depend upon the folks at the newspaper or the yellow pages ad salesman to tell them what should be included in their ads. They mistakenly believe that those folks are experts who will help them build their business.Of course those people have no knowledge of the business or what it offers -- and most of them have no training in marketing. Their business is selling ads, not writing good copy to fill those ads. So they advise you to do what everyone else in your profession does. It's safe, after all. Everyone does it.The sad thing is, it doesn't help the business and it doesn't help the consumer who is looking for a specialist to solve a problem.I've been reading a lot about this problem lately, so just for fun I opened my yellow pages at random. I found pest control. Of 14 companies listed, 8 had some form of block ad. Each ad listed several varieties of insects and mentioned that the business is insured. Most displayed a picture of a spider.Two companies were geared toward removing mammals, and that's where I found the only glimmer of individuality. Both listed a variety of animals, but one had a subhead stati

Here are some simple tradeshow do's and don'ts that you may or may not know, but you might want to review them every time to decide to attend or become a vendor at one. I've compiled these from years of doing different tradeshows, biz expos, kid's expos, health fairs, community festivals and more while working at various jobs and with my own marketing business as well.

Learn how to work the room OR be the vendor everyone wants to stop at with my 23 tradeshow techniques!

Here are the 14 Things Every Vendor Should Know:

1. Bring your friendliest employees or friends to work the booth with you, at least one other person so you're not managing it by yourself. You want high-energy, happy people in your booth that know about your business but most of all ones that know how to talk to people.

2. Try not to stand or sit behind your booth, sometimes it's more appropriate to put your table behind you while you stand out in the aisle pulling people into your booth with a great “hook” or catch phrase. In fact you can put the chairs they give you away you shouldn't really ever sit down in your booth. Those who sit at their booth are not as inviting or seem less interested in getting people to stop.

3. Do not talk on your phone or to other workers in your booth; always have your attention focused on the attendees passing by. If you look busy, people won't stop.

4. Practice your hook, a quick attention getting phrase to get people interested and to stop. You might say something like “Want to know how to lose 10 pounds in 10 days?”, “Find out how to save $100 on your next _____”, “Having trouble figuring out how much to save for retirement?” or something like these.

5. Do not try to spend too much time trying to 'sell' anyone that day or you'll be spending WAY too much time with that one person. You'll want to meet and collect info on as many people as possible; you can always follow up with them later. Try to make a note or check mark those bus cards of those who might be hot prospects so you'll remember later. Having a booth at a tradeshow is like an instant database boosting venue; you want to be focused on getting the name, address, phone and emails of everyone you possibly can at all times.

6. Bring a clever giveaway of some type of promotion item, pens tend to be overused. Think of something people will not only keep or use but that will also have some type of correlation with your type of business. I've seen letter openers, flashlights, plastic water bottles, computer dusting brushes, mousepads, coffee cups, sticky notes and I use little books to put business cards in with my logo and website on it so they always have it on hand.

7. Hold a drawing for a free gift - not a discount off your services, but something anyone would want. Not everyone will want your services. Have a big bowl or basket for people to drop their cards into AND have a drawing slip in case they don't have cards and make sure to collect all info including email addresses - this obviously builds your database which should be the MAIN REASON you are there.

8. Offer incentives if they sign up now with you or purchase today, a discount or throw in a gift certificate just for taking the time for a consultation (Ex: Give them $10 to Starbucks or something when they show up for the appointment?).

9. Make your booth interactive, think up some way for the attendees to “get involved” in your booth so they take the time to stop. I've seen real popcorn machines that give off a great smell, big spin wheels with corresponding prizes, puzzles to figure out right on the spot, questionnaire to fill out (bonus, it gets you more info too), video playing on a television, chair massage person giving free massages in your booth, card game or magic trick.

10. Have a large (3'x8' average size for booths) full color banner for trade shows with your business name or logo, tagline or catchy phrase/headline on top, phone & website in big bold letters too. You want as much signage as will fit in or around your booth that people can spot across the room. Don't get fancy with lettering; remember the goal should be to get people to stop at your booth and for you to capture their info.

11. Make your booth stand out with balloons, music or larger signs if possible. Many tradeshows that are inside allow you to hang signs or such from the ceiling and often times you can get electrical to your booth so you can have fun, energetic music - everyone loves music. Just make sure the music isn't too loud so you can't hear people or they can't hear you when they stop by.

12. Bring goodies, candies or some kind of original food if possible, not just the normal Hershey's Kisses or hard candy; the more original you get with this, the more people want to find your booth (I've seen someone with a popcorn machine at their booth for example with cute red and white stripped popcorn bags). If you can get something with your logo on it or name too, that's a plus but it's not necessary unless it's your only giveaway because people will just eat the food/candy and throw away the wrapper. I used to give away individually wrapped fortune cookies and stuck a label with my info on the outside but you can get fortune cookies for example with your unique phrase, name, logo or even a discount offer on the inside fortune part!

Here are the 9 Tips Tradeshow Attendees Should Follow:

Midwest Tornado Aftermath Shows Cultural Cohesiveness
When tornadoes struck Pettis County, Missouri, last week we received a vivid example of the importance of culture on how we react to situations. According to reporter Chuck Orman of the Sedalia Democrat, Jerry Yoder and family emerged from the farmhouse's cellar to find the second story and room addition were completely destroyed. Extensive rebuilding needed to be done yet their Amish faith doesn't allow for any modern conveniences, such as power tools and machinery.The Amish culture is well organized and devoted to each other. Soon after the tornado had passed members of the local Amish community began arriving to help in the rebuilding. By Thursday more than 72 unpaid volunteers had repaired the Yoder home and put a new roof on his barn.This illustration shows the bonds of cultures as exemplified throughout the world by virtually all cultures.Experiental Impact of Diversity Growing up, Amish children experience an estrangement from non-Amish when they are out in the community because they look different. This experience is shared among Amish children who grow up knowing a sense of unity is instilled that will last forever. When adversity strikes this unity causes the community to band together.This exemplifies many other cases of cultural unity throughout the world. Having similar past experiences, members of a cultural group find it easy to unite because they have simila

tendees passing by. If you look busy, people won't stop.

Here are the 9 Tips Tradeshow Attendees Should Follow:

Non Compete Agreement: How Does A Non Compete Clause Affect You?
A non compete agreement or (no compete clause) is often used by employers to protect themselves against their staff leaving their company to join another company (ie. a competitor).The fear is that when leaving the company, an employee could take assets with them to their new employer that would hurt their current employer.Imagine for example you sell plumbing equipment and have built up a significant customer base while working there and decide to leave your employer to join a rival plumbing supplier in a similar sales role. If you took all of your business from your current employer to your new company, it would certainly hurt your current employer very badly.As a consequence, companies typically try to protect themselves from such things happening and a non compete agreement is one way of doing so.Here are some examples of non compete agreements that I’ve seen included in job offers:A non compete agreement that prevents the person from working for a direct competitor for a certain period of time ie. one year. A non compete agreement that prevents or limits the geographic area in which the person works for a competitor. A non compete agreement that limits the industry or trade that a person can work in for a period of time ie. one year. What should you do when faced with a job offer that contains a non compete agreement?t so they always have it on hand.

Here are the 9 Tips Tradeshow Attendees Should Follow:

Employees Or Independent Contractors For Business
A small business faces one or the other dilemma because of its limited resources and capital. At particular stages of growth, you may require an extra hand but find that your cost factor is restricting. You might think of hiring a contractor instead. Whether to hire a new employee or an independent contractor is an important business decision. Both options have their own separate pros and cons.Hiring an Independent Contractor1. AdvantagesReduced Overhead: This means reduced costs in expenses, payroll, benefits and other overheads. It also reduces stress on covering cost revenue for a new venture.No Health Benefits: It reduces the high costs of employee health benefits that are a huge financial burden on small businesses.Work on Demand: It offers flexibility to the changing work demands of your company. You can do without it during periods of slow growth period.No Training Needed: The contract work force is fully trained and highly specialized.2. DisadvantagesLack of Control: The contractor has the choice of control over the job being executed.Compensation Rates: These can vary for different projects and depend on the market demand.Legal Aspects: Classify employees and contractors correctly to avoid liability of employment tax and penalties on account of misclassification of an employee as a contractor. Go by a simple rule of thumb. If you have the r

s too. You want as much signage as will fit in or around your booth that people can spot across the room. Don't get fancy with lettering; remember the goal should be to get people to stop at your booth and for you to capture their info.

Here are the 9 Tips Tradeshow Attendees Should Follow:

Have You Selected Wrong Materials for Chemicals?
Chemicals are very much a part of our lifestyles. Every household detergent, solvent, and bleach that you use in your homes is a result of some production efforts from manufacturing plants somewhere in the world around you. Fertilizer, automobile radiator coolant, shampoo, soap, insecticide, paint solvent, lubricants, fuel oil are just a few that I can name right now. I’m sure you can find more around you, but you get the point. We use chemicals everywhere.Anyone who has visited a chemical processing plant is sure to notice the many pumps, agitators, tanks, piping, and valves that are installed there. Liquid have to be transferred from one place to another. Pumps are therefore very important in a chemical processing plant. Without them the chemical processing plant will literally come to a halt!One of the main jobs for Plant Engineers is to maintain the numerous pumps installed at their plant. These pumps can count into the hundreds or even thousands, depending on the size of the plant. So you should realize that to do a proper preventive maintenance, it is no mean task. There must be regular schedules, proper tracking of jobs done, available manpower and skills, suitable tools, replacement parts, materials and a proper system of administration of all these.Sometimes, even with all the maintenance activities being carried out, pumps do fail. And when they do, plant engineers will have to find out wh

scount offer on the inside fortune part!

Here are the 9 Tips Tradeshow Attendees Should Follow:

1. Have a goal in mind - How many people you want to meet? How many cards you want to pass out or collect? Do you want to make at least 2 good contacts? Are you targeting the vendors or other attendees? Know who you're targeting so you don't go off track and you make the most of your time while you're there; some of these can take some time to get through and you want to be efficient.

2. First of all, please, for goodness sakes bring enough business cards (3 times as many as you think you will need). You can even have more in your car.

3. Allow enough time to walk the whole show without being rushed. For a larger business expo you'd want to allow at least 4 hours. For a small community event you can usually allow about 1.5 - 2 hours.

4. Rather than carrying around heavy brochures, collect the cards of serious prospects and follow up with them later; you can always mail anyone there some follow up information about you or your company. They won't have time to talk to you too much anyway since they are there to make contacts for their own business, so don't be pushy with your stuff. Remember, they paid to be there, you didn't.

5. Wear a nametag and possibly a shirt with your logo on it as well so people recognize you and see your logo and make that connection - this is branding for small businesses. Plus it allows those who might need your product or service to see what you do easily when you're walking around.

6. Wear comfortable clothes with pockets and/or carry a large bag to put all the info in that you pick up. Pick up everyone's business cards that you talk to so you can follow up with them afterwards. Even if they're not a hot target prospect, they might make a good referral source for you if you built a good rapport with them. In fact, you might pick up all the vendors' cards as well as any attendees you meet - the more the merrier for your database!

7. Don't try to sell your product or service to someone who has a booth. This just says that you were too cheap to pay for a booth yourself so you thought you'd go and try to sell everyone while you were there. If the vendors are good prospects, then get their cards and contact info and say hello, but then go back and call or write to them later to introduce your business to them - if they're prospects today, they'll be prospects tomorrow.

8. Enter all drawings given at all booths - for the simple reason to see how they follow up. Many of them won't follow up with you, which means they are wasting their tradeshow dollars but that's ok, notice which ones DO follow up with you and how they do it. Those companies will be more likely to do business with you simply because 'they get it'. Plus you might discover some cool ideas for your own follow up strategies.

9. Be outgoing and have lots of fun! If you look like you're having fun, more people will want to meet you and talk to you - hence, you build a bigger database!

Do you realize how many contacts you can make at the appropriate type of expo or show for your business and target market - TONS!

Most of you probably know all of this, but are you doing it? Are you having booths at trade shows for your industry? There are so many out there that you may not even be aware of.

To find tradeshows in your area the best places to look are the local venues' websites who hold such events regularly - the community centers, convention centers, concert halls, etc.

Have fun!

**** Scroll Below for a SPECIAL BONUS! ****

*************************BONUS!***************************

List of Items Any Vendor Should Bring to a Trade Show:

bus cards, brochures

sales or special offer flyers

plastic (or other) holders for bus cards, brochures, flyers, etc.

promo items and basket to display them in

fish bowl to collect cards in

signup sheet for email

drawing slips for those without bus cards to enter drawing

drawing prize

sign and holder to show FREE DRAWING

risers for table display

extra tablecloths, colored napkins and or tooling to match theme

banner or large sign

balloons, matching colors to theme

Office supplies: regular pens & large fat pens, extra paper for handwritten signs, regular tape and packing/duck tape, tablecloth clips/holders, paperclips, safety pins, velcro stickers, metal banner hooks, clipboard (s), dice for game, rubber bands, name badge holders or nametags

basket of candy or some edible goodie either with bus card attached or not

flowers, candy and/or decor for table

portfolio to show

brag book to show

bio sheets

list of services and fees

new client packets

rope or hooks for signage and banners

ice chest with waters, snacks (for the vendor!)

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Winners are positive thinkers. But without exception they also know that the powerful force of positive thinking must be leavened with a proper dose of negative thinking for Class A performance. They ask themselves six basic questions of their performance as they begin each day on the job.

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