Marketing Opportunity for Illinois Small Businesses to Obtain Contracts from the Government

A management consultant friend of mine wrote an article last week. He cited several sources of potential small business marketing opportunities in Illinois. The article says there are significant opportunities available for enterprising companies. This is not a cake walk, however, since any governmental process which can be slow and tedious. But help and assistance is available through offices scattered through Illinois. Read the rest of the article and follow the links contained at diywebjem.com/blog/

Has the economy slowed your sales? Try some newer Web marketing techniques when traditional methods do not work!

Old school marketing techniques such as telemarketing, cold calling, direct mail, e-mail campaigns, etc., are known as “Outbound” or interruption based marketing. They have put time starved consumers and businesses in a “do not interrupt me” defensive mode. Protective shields (voice mail, spam filters, etc.) guard against attacks.

Organizations must adopt to the consumer's altered buying patterns to survive these turbulent times. Realize how people search for information and answers to questions. They do so on their terms, not yours. They do so when they are ready and at times convenient to them. This is especially true of more affluent and higher educated people.

Where do they turn to for information and answers to their questions? The same place you turn to, the WEB. Of course they do! It is open round the clock. Consumers scour Websites, reviews, forums, blogs, and social networking sites such as MySpace, facebook, LinkedIn. Information is dispersed almost instantaneously via Twitter and other broadcasting means.

The key to your Web success is adopting to this newer “Inbound” or permission based marketing. I define this loosely as being at the right place at the right time. Or, in other words, when someone searches for your service or product, make it easy to find you, 24/7/365. Make it easy for them to find you and your information. Prepare your site for Google searches through optimization. Then get your self known by blogging, article marketing, video marketing, press releases, etc.

Comments are welcome.

Yes You Can Apply Basic Selling Techniques to Your Web Marketing

Admit it if you are clueless about what Web E-Marketing is all about and want to start doing something about securing your future!

I read a statement on the Web recently about small business owners with Websites who just don’t get it. And how, frankly, they are being left behind by the “I do get it!” crowd. Why is this? Because they neither take the time nor pay the freight.

My personal view is Web E-Marketing is simply all about getting people to buy from you. It is not about rankings or Search Engine Optimization or pay per click advertising. It is about marketing your product or service, generating traffic (or potential customers) and selling your proposition.

Every professional salesperson knows the drill. However, too many business owners are not professional salespeople. If you fall into that category, there is good news. Salesmanship is a learned art not something you are merely born with.

If you doubt your results you must first ask yourself some questions. Some of your answers may be disturbing, so prepare yourself. First of all, be honest in your answers.

What makes you unique? Where is your niche? How are you different from your competitors rather than the same? And, how can you capitalize and leverage your uniqueness on the Web?

Keep the faith. You can do an honest assessment and learn the basics of E-marketing. Look, you have come this far with your business, do not stand at the sidelines and wait for the lotto. You can take it to the next level. Take the time and the road to success is yours on the information highway.

To be continued….

For more tips and pointers, visit our Website, http://www.diywebjem.com

Learn to Apply Today’s Chicago Tribune Article to Search Engine Optimization

An article appeared in today’s Chicago Tribune that has many lessons that can be applied to E-marketing your Web business. Part of the secondary headline caught my attention as did several parts of the story. Sandra M. Jones talks about retailers using special services to promote sales in the article .

Some of her very interesting observations follow. “Shoppers are motivated by price more than anything these days….” Sales are everywhere and shoppers “..are tuning out the endless barrage..”

She quotes Theresa Williams of Indiana University: “…there has to be a new approach rather than just run another sale.”

In this recession a sale is not merely enough. Ms. Jones continues: “Merchants are putting away their red pens and drumming up novel ways to tout a bargain without cutting into profits.”

Sandra mentions loyalty programs, new and creative ways to get people to shop, and more. As an example, Bottega M, an Oak Park (IL) shop, lets customers bring in old clothing and their seamstresses can be hired to do alterations.

The days of unbridled affluence and unlimited credit are gone and people are just not spending the way they used to with . Part of the change, according to Nancy Koehn of the Harvard Business School, is “the rise in consumer information…” People search the Web and “…find the best price for just about anything..” Add to that “..the decline of imaginative merchants.”

Read the rest of the story.

“Holy Toledo, Batman!” as Robin would say to his crime solving partner. I am sure we, as Webmasters, can all learn how to better promote ourselves if we study these principles and apply them. If we promote our passion and dare to be different.

Sell what makes you different, not what makes you the same. Identify a market niche where you excel. Learn about free tools available to do it yourself e-market on the Web. Commit to the sweat equity and use those tools to promote your business which will drive visitors to your Website. Learn more about do it yourself Web marketing at our Website.

You Can Learn to E-Market your Website from Newspaper Articles!

I must confess I am a reader of “print” newspapers and magazines. I prefer them to electronic versions. Although papers are shrinking more and more daily, I still like washing the ink stains from my hands.

I especially like reading two papers on Sunday mornings while watching Sunday Morning and George Stephanopoulos. The time spent in front of the TV is shorter with DVR recording and fast forwarding through commercials. However, since the size of the newspapers is smaller, it thus compensates.

In the past there were many times I could not finish the papers until after both programs ended. This was especially true when there were some really interesting segments. Now it seems I finish well ahead of the programs.

Where is Andy Rooney?

Later I’ll be sharing a very interesting newspaper article with you which can help with your E-marketing and Web Business.

Niche E-Marketing Success Story, a.k.a. The Train is Leaving The Station

I have a story (not another! you say) to tell you this morning. Let me preface this by saying story telling is a salesman’s tool. We use analogies to get our point(s) across. Prior successes become the story lines for a salesman’s act. For we salespeople know we are on stage everyday with our potential customers and clients. All business owners must consider themselves to be salespeople and learn some of our basic sales techniques (i.e. moving people to decide), especially in these economic times.

All salespeople know we must perform well to get rewarded. If we successfully entertain, we get our applause a contract or commission, and get to keep our jobs and benefits! If we are not entertaining we are boo’d, get rejected, ugh(!), and feel badly.
Sometimes our audience even throws rotten fruit at us, too!

Wait, stop, cease and desist! You only feel badly if you are not a true professional for professionals know that a “No” is OK and part of the process. You simply cannot satisfy all of the people all of the time. It is really the “maybes” – stall tactics like, don’t call us we’ll call you, we’ll let you know, or ignoring the calls and emails after your hard work - that drive us up a wall!
Lead, follow, or get out of my way….Please!
Some salespeople are charming and insincere (per my cousin Barbara – I love you!). And some are blunt and frank. Guess what category I fall into?
My wife’s Website continues to draw national business as well as local customers. I recently posted a picture of a new kit for her to market in anticipation of an upcoming event. I needed about 30 minutes to post the previously taken pictures, write copy, and set the prices. In that time I made sure the page and all the items on it were Search Engine friendly. I uploaded the page’s incremental changes only in two minutes. That evening I posted two blog entries as my only advertisement, total time about 15 minutes.

My wife took an order for 21 kits yesterday morning, with add ons. And that is just one order!

Small business owners, attention, may I have your attention, please!
This is the POWER of today's Web. Knowing your niche market, knowing how to make your site search engine friendly, knowing how to advertise your product or service, and moving quickly. For the Web moves at lightening speed and you have to react FAST in an ever changing and competitive arena. It is the future of retailing and marketing.
I believe the Web and e-marketing can be applied to ANY business. That includes any Web business you choose now, or in the future to build.

What you need to survive in this competitive and hostile economy is to identify a niche market or a part of the market you are presently in, and a niche within that market where the competition is weakest. Take one of your products or services (or produce another that you have expertise in) that fills a need in that market. Stir in time and know how and bring the skill sets to a boil. Let it simmer for a while as the aroma fills the marketplace.

If it fails, write it off and cut your losses. If it works, improve on it and duplicate your efforts in another, or newer, part of that niche. If you are truly skilled and motivated already, start several at one time. Learn from one and apply o the other.

Or you can just do what you have been doing in the past, and keep headed where you were going in the past. You will indeed get there.

“Cause” the love train is leaving the station and “if you miss it, I feel sorry, sorry for you.”

Building a Web Business – Part 2 – Dealing With Sales 101

See the preceding blog article for the first in this series.

As a salesman I love to hear a “yes, I’ll take it”. I am an actor on a stage, and a sale is my applause. I am not afraid to hear “no thanks,” for I know I cannot please everyone. But maybes drive me up the wall! I define “maybes” as any stall tactic. Mostly it comes from people who cannot make a decision. And, I have heard most of them…call me back in a week, check with us later, we’re not ready, it’s not in our budget now (well then when?), we’ll call you when we are ready, don’t call us – we’ll call you. I hear nothing lately that is very original.

People who are not courteous also upset me. Mostly, they do not return phone calls, or in this day and age, emails. Or they use caller ID to screen their calls. I guess am old fashioned, I long for the days when chivalry ruled. But I am mature enough to (mostly) not get angry. I only get angry with people and customers who pull this “shtick” even though I have known them or been servicing them for years. Or, if they blatantly lie to me. That is why I generally do not sell to friends and people I know.

To all of you out there I say: “Attention people! Attention! We salespeople are people to!” You think we like to have our feelings hurt? (I still do not know how can you hurt feelings? As I used to say to my daughter…where are they? Can I fix them for you?) I know it may be hard to tell us to our face, or even call us, but at least drop me an email and tell me I did not make the cut! I will understand and I forgive you, in advance! It’s NOT personal, I hope! If it is, please tell me so I can Fix it!

Building a Web Business – Part 1 - Foundation

I am a salesperson who doesn’t sell, that is I do not “hard” sell. I never even knew how to ask for an order until it was shoved in my face. That is until someone came running down the street after me, shouting, come back, we want to buy!

Over the past 27 years I have been steadily successful in an industry I knew nothing about when I entered into it. That was despite the fact I had used the industry’s services in a retail business for years. I was a part owner of that retail business as well.

After the first day of training I came back home and said to my wife: “What have I gotten myself into? I am lost!” At that time I held (and still do) a BS degree in economics and an MBA! The company’s product (and services) was in an applied technical field. My educational background included three years of college engineering studies, advanced mathematics, and I worked for three summers drafting for the Cook County (Illinois) Highways Department. The company had an advance training platform, including video tape training and evaluation.

Despite the adversities and being desperate for a steady income, I became a salesman who learned. I studied my company’s products and services and looked at them from a customer’s point of view. I looked for my customer’s needs and I told stories. I looked for applications within my products and services to solve prospect’s needs. Then I offered my prospects a solution. Sometimes those solutions included services from competing companies!

Personal comment: My momma didn’t raise a fool! I would rather get a large piece of the pie rather than no pie!

Finally, I let them make an adult decision. By being frank I developed a following based on trust. When I made a promise to do something for a prospect or a customer, it happened.

To be continued...