Christmas Advertising Ideas

Christmas has to one of the hardest and easiest things to advertise for. It is very easy to slap together an ad and give a certain % off an item or service and call it good. Despite what you pocket book feels like during the holidays, spending is decreasing for the majority of the shoppers out there. So to get these dollars is getting harder year after year. You need to make your product or service stand out and be more “needed” than the next ad. I’ll go into a few ideas next post on what we can do to make your ad or offer stand above the crowd.

The Master has spoken!

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Everywhere you want to be

The Visa Gift Card. This is one of my favorite rewards to give my employees. I currently employ 13 very talented people and 11 of them have received this reward.in the past 30 days.

They are excellent rewards for those hard working individuals that deserve a little extra love from the boss. They can use them just like cash, but they aren’t as quick to use them to pay bills with them. It is kind of a forced “spoil yourself with something” tool that is a big hit. You can find these at most stores. I think even Wal-Mart has them. Put one up for a bonus to the next employee that books the most appointments, sells the most items, or makes you the most money. This isn’t for those that are employee of the month and I’ll tell you why next time.

The Master has spoken!

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Marriage survival

This is a tough one. Starting and running a business is a very successful endeavor. But with this reward comes trials and heartache. I believe that if you are to succeed in your business life, you need a good support partner. If your partner isn’t behind you 100%, then it will be an uphill battle the whole time. You must also take a break from business and live your life. Make your significant other the most important thing in the world. Because hopefully, he or she is just that. Do a lot of small things for your spouse to make up for all the time you will be spending at your business. Get some fun stuff for the bedroom to spice that up as well from Tickled Pink. Go on a romantic trip to one of my favorite places Catalina Island for 3 or 4 days. Anything to show them they are the most important thing in your life.

The Master has spoken!

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Did you remember insurance?

Insurance is one of those things my clients always don’t figure into their fixed monthly costs. There are 2 types of insurance that you absolutely have to have for your business.

The first is liability insurance and it can save your butt. It’s pretty straight forward. If someone gets hurt on your property, you are liable. Shift that liability to your insurance company and be done with it. Most policies will run you around $50 a month depending on your size of business and what services you offer. Make sure you ask your agent if it covers your type of business. I know some construction type businesses or medical business insurance can run pretty high there.

The second type of insurance is for loss from fire, theft, or vandalism. This is good if your business is in a high risk area or has high dollar equipment. My wife’s tanning salon is open 24 hours, so her insurance is very important for those late night, up to no good type.

There are also other types like Error & Omission, Architects & Engineers, and Accountant insurance. Ask your agent about the type that you need. I’m just here to remind you.

The Master has spoken!

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eBay your soul

There have been some funny things sold on eBay and I think it’s hilarious. This eBay place is by far one of the most successful online ventures ever. I think it is an excellent place to supplement your business income. I don’t think it should be done once in a while when you need some extra cash. It should be a part of your business. There is little overhead on eBay and it is very easy to do. Think of it as an extra salesman on your work force. There are downfalls to online auctioning, and that is shipping. If you sell very large or heaving products or even services, it will be hard for you to make a success of eBay. One way to combat this is maybe having your vendor drop ship the item directly to your buyer with your business on the packing slip. Another is just to offer pickup only. This will limit the area your buyers come from. That will also help with services.

Another new thing that has been popping up is local auction houses like BSTnow.com (Buy Sell Trade). They are in the infancy stage, but they are going to be making a big move soon.

Take the online auctions and integrate them into your new or existing business and help supplement your revenue.

The Master has spoken!

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Getting the first appointment

The first appointment is the toughest to get for outside salesmen. How do you do it? Is there a right and wrong way to go about it? Let me tell you from 12 years of outside sales experience, there is no right way. What works in one town might not work in another. Let me tell you what I do. I make a list of contact names and numbers and start at the top of my 40 or so prospect list. I call and ask for the person I need to talk to by first name. When the gate keeper(secretary) asks who is calling, I tell them it is David. Simple as that. If they ask what it’s concerning, I say it’s personal. Simple as that.

I then talk to the decision maker and tell them I just need to make an appointment and that is all. Have a little pitch ready because they always want more info. Mine is…”I have a way to cut down your advertising costs. Would you like to do that, no strings attached?”

When I don’t get an appointment, I always make a note of it, then stop in on them on Wednesday and Thursdays. Just pop in and get right to the point. Tell the secretary that he should be expecting you(because you told him on the first call that you might swing by). Just don’t try to sell them on the first call or contact. Just make the appointment.

The Master has spoken!

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I’m so excited, I might pee my pants!

Ya, so that is a little over the top. But let me tell you what else is worth saying. When you talk to a prospect, customer, or client with some excitement in your voice, it will transfer to them. This will make the whole buying/selling process much more enjoyable and easy. Record your sales presentation or pitch with your normal tone, and then once with your excited tone, you will see and feel the difference. If you aren’t excited to be there doing your sales job, then you should find another career. Love what you do and show it!

The Master has spoken!

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Insurance or no?

The big question. Should you offer health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance to your employees? I have a couple different takes on this. I don’t believe you should have to pay for your employees insurance as a standard. I do think you should have a plan that employees can get a discount as a group, but you should have to pay for this. You might think this is wrong to do, but let me explain. Free insurance was offered as a way to keep employees healthy and able to work more. This is not the case anymore. Employees are more apt to work because they have to pay their bills. No longer do employees take an actual sick day. They usually work sick, and then call in when they want to play.(That’s the truth). So use insurance as a reward or a type of raise. I bet if you asked most employees if they would like a $1.00 raise or insurance, they would pick the raise. So in there end, I think offering a group insurance for the discount is good, but I wouldn’t pay for it.

The Master has spoken!

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24% of them do it….do you?

The newest research says that 24% of consumers hop online to research before they decide to make a purchase. Of those people, only 38% actually buy online and the rest make a decision who to go with locally based on their online research. Even if you are a brick and mortar store, you still need a huge online presence. While some of you may be businesses that service nationwide like I do, I safe to say most of my readers are local businesses looking to open up a business or increase their profits and revenue. Local business searches are up from the last 5 years 800+%. This is due to the fact that consumers are now wise that they can get usually get what they are locally and don’t have to go to places like overstock.com or amazon.com to shop. But you do need to be found online for these local shoppers. Make sure to consider when you are thinking where to spend your advertising dollars. You can go here for help with small business marketing help.

The Master has spoken!

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