Take It To The Customer

In the past, purchasing ad space was the solution to every entrepreneur's marketing challenge. Then it was direct mail, followed by telemarketing. But with advertising and postage costs on the rise, these tactics have lost some of their appeal.

Today the competition is fierce for a customers' attention. In order to compete, you need to employ take-it-to-the-customer techniques. Some of these techniques can include attending trade shows, seminars, and sending them to your website.

You want to promote your business and in doing so you want to maximize referrals and conduct effective public relations campaigns. The following are five sure-fire, inexpensive marketing methods:

1. Be an expert. Don't overlook your most accessible source of promotion: yourself. Give speeches to industry groups, colleges and community organizations, or offer workshops at conferences and business expos. Provide sign-up sheets or marketing materials for potential customers. Also, be a reference for customers, clients, vendors and related businesses by circulating relevant information and providing contacts. After all, home-based businesses thrive on a steady stream of referrals from clients.

For those of us in the lease purchasing business, this means writing articles for publication. Don't make it difficult, write about the deals you've done. Give speeches at local real estate clubs on lease purchase. Network with local groups (accountants, mortgage brokers, financial planners, etc.). Operate your lease purchase business as we do, as a business, and referrals will come to you, rather than you chasing the deals.

2. Create a press kit. Getting quoted in the media or having an article written about your business is a great and inexpensive way to target your market. Watch for trends that you can tie your business into. Your press kit should include a profile of your company, biographies of its principals, product fact sheets and testimonials from customers. Make a list of trade magazines, local newspapers, and radio and TV stations to which you can send short releases on new products, deals, awards or special events.

Again, for those of us operating a lease purchase business, become the local expert in lease purchasing. Offer to write articles. Be sure to do a press release when you start your business, and distribute it to the local newspapers. If you run a group meeting, seminar, or any type of special event be sure to send a press release to the local papers, radio and television stations. Send out follow up letters after your deals are completed to get testimonials, and keep a journal of your deals.

3. Circulate newsletters. Newsletters are a great way to showcase your company's expertise and keep your name in front of prospective clients on a regular basis. They show that you are not just a salesperson-you are an expert with important information to offer. Develop a mailing list of clients and send copies of your newsletter quarterly.

Again, for those of us in lease purchasing a newsletter can be the perfect vehicle to use as a follow up piece to send to sellers, tenant buyers and investors.

4. Network. You'll save money by selling through trade or professional groups. Swamped with running the daily operations of your business, you may feel you have little time to give. But you'll learn about sales leads by joining groups of like-minded individuals. Also, serve on the boards of community organizations, and host house parties tied to your business-you can hire students from cooking or catering schools or work out an arrangement with a local restaurant to keep costs down.

Whatever type of business you are operating networking is a must. Develop a networking plan and follow through with it. We discuss this extensively in our home business manual. Check it out at our products page on our site.

5. Form alliances. There are several ways you can band together with complementary enterprises to reduce costs and increase business opportunities. Some involve complex legal paperwork, such as a joint venture or a strategic alliance. Others are less formal partnerships, such as a virtual corporation, where you assemble a group for a specific project or client. For instance, as a contractor, you might partner with two other companies to win a bid. Another type of alliance is a consortium, where a group of companies with different specialties share their services; for example, a consulting firm teaming with a graphic artist and a photographer to create brochures and other marketing materials.

In regards to forming alliances in lease purchasing, we have mentioned on numerous occasions to work with accountants, mortgage brokers, financial planners and real estate agents. The key to forming and keeping alliances is to reciprocate and to pay great referral fees. You have to be sincere when forming alliances, if not, don't bother.

Copyright DeFiore Enterprises 2002

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com

____________________

Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!

Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!

Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!

Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!

Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!

---

Tradeshow Booth Cures - Knick-Knack Knockouts

Okay, we were kidding about the smoke, but not about the mirrors. Mirrors are exceptionally useful Feng Shui devices, especially in regards to manipulating the flow of... Read More

Postcard Direct Mail Marketing: 15 Ways To Grab Attention

If you use direct mail postcards to generate leads or sell a product or service, you need to create postcards that grab your prospect's attention. The place... Read More

How to Develop an Effective Company Profile -- and Why

What is a company profile? A company profile is essentially a resume for your company that you use to... Read More

4 Sales Strategies with Your Trade Show Exhibition Booth

Trade show booths can act as an excellent source for generating sales enquiries in the short run. Companies are able to demonstrate their products or services and... Read More

Stretch Your Marketing Reach

One of the most cost effective marketing strategies you can utilize is an online newsletter, also referred to as an E-Zine.You can provide valuable content to your... Read More

The Power of because...

"Do it!", "Do it now!", or "Do it because..."Which of these commands is most likely to get the response you want?If you picked the third, the one... Read More

Marketing On The Cheap: Become a Joiner

Recently I wrote an article on the benefits of joining your local Chamber of Commerce as a way of getting exposure for your business. See "Marketing on... Read More

Customer Retention with a Personal Touch

Personal contact with customers is a crucial element in the success of any new business ? and it's one of the most common casualties of growth. As... Read More

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 2

NB: You can read part one here: http://EzineArticles.com/?id=58690Could buying popcorn in a theatre be a 'conditioned' response? Could it be that people are 'trained'... Read More

7 Marketing Lessons I Learned From the Muscleheads at Golds Gym

Can I share a secret with you?I love working out. So much that several years ago I considered a career in fitness. I modeled for Reebok and... Read More

How to Handle Jargon at Your Web Site - and Why

If you sell a technical product or service, you probably know you have jargon at your web site - specialized terminology that the average person doesn't understand.... Read More

11 Powerful Marketing Tips

Each of these 11 marketing tips is based on a marketing strategy or tactic proven to boost sales. How many are you using?Tip 1: Your customers buy... Read More

Communication Breakdown - Dont Let It Happen To You

Do you have Communication breakdown?How are you communicating with your contacts?We need:Contacts we can send emails to regarding our business opportunities.Contacts we can build up a good... Read More

T.E.A.M Profit

As you network and meet other business owners, keep this philosophy in mind: "Together Everyone Achieves More Profit"Remember this when you meet someone with a business that... Read More

Pay for Performance Pricing Models for Search Engine Optimization

I do think that it is entirely possible for an SEO and client to work out a pay for performance pricing structure that is fair to both.... Read More

How To Start A Mail Order Business

The Mail Order business is not a business of itself, but is another way of doing business. Mail Order is nothing more nor less than selling a... Read More

Copy SoapNet and Make Money

Whether you want to admit it or not, soap operas may hold the key to your home business success. This article includes a few home and small... Read More

Identifying, Creating and Using Your USP?

What's your USP? Don't know, or worse still, you've never heard of it.USP is an acronym for Unique Selling Proposition. It's vital for every business to identify... Read More

Top Five 2004 Required Marketing Tips Needed to Succeed

When marketing your practice, as well as designing yourbrochure, web site, business card, flier, advertisement, orother marketing effort, we recommend investing the time andeffort needed to effectively... Read More

Mark Twain?s Great Marketing Idea

To tell you the truth (and about 53% of this article is true), I don't know where I heard this story about Mark Twain. But I've heard... Read More

Freebie Seekers? Turn Them Into Clients and Referrers - or Turn them Far, Far Away

Many service business owners these days are "giving away" their business services ? and then wonder why people aren't hiring them in droves. In the name of... Read More

Global Market in the Cyber world?Go and Get It !

With the Internet opening up the doorway to the global market, everybody is up and running to reap the maximum benefit of this widely used medium. Not... Read More

Network Your Way to Success- 12 Tips to Jumpstart Your Business

Lots of people network but few reap the rewards of zeroing in on their potential when it comes to networking. Here are some tips to help fill... Read More

Walking Talking Advertisements

So you've made a sale. Great!Now what? You're not just going to sell your new customer a product and let them walk away, are you?Not when you're... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Eye of the Storm

It's 1954. Yes, Mrs. Patricia Smith has been a good teacher today. She has remained on task and kept her Third Grade Pupils in line. But she... Read More

Think Creatively While Reinventing Your Marketing and Selling -- Its For Your Survival!

We live in a world that for many has become technology advantaged in business and life. Imagine, for a moment, just how communication, science, art, medicine, automation,... Read More