You have probably been forced to slash your advertising budget. Business people are discovering that social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter will bring new customers. Just think of it as a new and inexpensive way to advertise.

Many of you have probably heard of the sites, but don’t know where to start. There are new companies forming to meet your needs. Just make them prove the results! The Internet is full of scams. Don’t fall for the, “we’ll keep doing it until it works” line.

Unlike traditional advertising, there is no need to spend thousands of dollars and wait months to measure the results. The typical investment is less then $700 and the good ones will offer a money back guarantee.

You can see marked results in as little time as a week. You can measure the additional traffic to your website by viewing your sites analytical reports. Examine the report to see how long people are staying on your site and the number of pages they view.

If your web traffic has increased, but the phone is still isn’t ringing, it’s time to re-evaluate the content on your website. Most websites will allow you to make changes yourself, rather then needing to pay your hosting company. Remember, it’s your website. You should be able to make content adjustments.

If you need help sifting through the information, get help from those you know and trust. That is part of the mission of this site.

Ken Cole

All of us are struggling with the economy. Business is down, hundreds of thousands of people in Oregon are looking for work and bills are piling up… You may need some extra cash, especially if your spouse or significant other is one of those recent pink slip recipients.

Yahoo news published 7 Great Side Jobs for Extra Cash, written by Cherie Berkley with PayScale.com; but I felt we could expand on that list for those of us in the beautiful Pacific Northwest!

In the tradition of the great depression, setting up a doughnut and coffee snack cart and walking around downtown could generate some income. Not sure if the City of Portland would like it, but I bet so long as you keep moving, pushing a cart around the streets of downtown is no worse than setting up a long term trailer in a parking lot?

Personal assistant is a great opportunity for the not so busy house mom/dad. Running errands than busy people no longer have time to do has value. The same type of errands you would do for a busy home owner, you could offer to a busy small business owner.

Along the save vanes, a downtown courier is another opportunity. Picking up and delivering things for downtown business can not only put dollars in your pocket, but maybe open some networking doors.

What other ideas can the community come up with? Add your comments to this blog article and be sure to include a link to your website so visitors can see how creative you are!

Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
a division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

Keep ‘Em Coming Back

Some while back, I discovered this little note and thought the idea was worth considering.  It seems that The Arlington, VA Chamber of Commerce keeps their members coming back for more with a unique door prize. The Chamber contributes $100 to an initial door prize drawing. At every monthly Business-After-Business networking function, a member’s name is drawn…and you must be present to win! If the member isn’t there at the time his/her name is drawn, the Chamber contributes another $100 to the prize. The current door prize is now worth $1600!! As the prize gets bigger, the more members make it a point to show up!

I wonder if this would work here.

Coach

http://cli.gs/ueyNNE

With business slowing during this recession, it is critical to keep up with current trends. Twenty years ago, it only took a business card and a listing with Better Business for you to seem credible. Today customers expect you to have a website. For many businesses today, working out of your house is just smart. Previously it may have caused and concern.

Your website should be the storefront window to your business. If your current or potential customers feel that it is unorganized, messy or ugly, they may keep looking. It only takes a click to find your competition. If their site looks better, they will probably shop there for a while.

So, it’s time to redefine how you are doing things. Your website must be a living and breathing thing, which requires changes. Without updating, your website will look like the person who shows up to a business appointment wearing a 1970′s polyester leisure suit.

A good website will draw customers from areas you never thought to service. That is, if they can find you. Sometimes cyberspace seems larger then the Galaxy on Stat Trek and just as weird. A few years ago, the trend was to hire a SEO company to drive traffic to your website. Too often they took your $5,000, but the results faded like a bouquet of freshly cut flowers.

Today with services like Twitter, Twellow, Cli.ngs and others, you can see positive results in a matter of weeks rather then months or years. There are new companies forming who require modest investments of $500 or less to prove this method can work. The good ones will even offer a money back guarantee.

So don’t be caught in your underwear when Publisher’s Clearing House shows up with a big check. You can learn to compete in the ever, changing business cycle.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

Today businesses are going through a major paradigm shift. Major industries are loosing substantial market shares because of the changes. Technology is advancing so fast that traditional educational systems can’t keep up. Students are graduating with outdated knowledge. Here are some examples:

In the past both large and small businesses have depended on Newspapers, Radio, Direct Mail, Yellow Pages and TV for advertising. All of these methods are seeing huge reductions in revenues. There is currently a move requiring customers to “opt-in” to receive a phone directory. Many major newspapers are going broke throughout the country. Most direct mail pieces are seldom read. Radio stations have been replaced by recorded music stored on an ipod.

So what’s happening? It’s the Internet. People are relying on the web for information rather then traditional sources. Television Network news is loosing viewers because they have already seen the news stories on their web browser.

Websites like Facebook, Digg and Twitter are revolutionizing how we connect and keep in touch with each other. Social networking used to mean a party. Now it is an essential marketing tool for business.

Too often business people are lost in cyberspace. We don’t know how to engage in the new technology. And where will we find the time? Many business owners already work 50-60 hour workweeks. Even the videos take too long to learn the material. So what do we do?

Look for companies who can do the work for you, or will instruct you how to stay abreast of the new tools. Guess where you will find them? That’s right, they are listed on the Internet.

Some of the new cyber guru’s could be living in your own home. Your pimple-faced teenagers have the time to play with all of the new toys, and they will be impressed when you ask them for help.

Another source could be colleges and technical schools. No matter where you find them, you need their help. If you don’t respond, you will watch your market share fade away.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

Losing Your Customers

There are lots of ways to get customers to not return.  Losing customers, is it a problem?  You have to work very hard to chase a customer away.  How do you do it?

One way is to ignore to them.   Whatever they have to say about you, your company or your service, you don’t hear them.  Doesn’t she know that you are busy?  You have better things to do than stand about jawing about something.  She will just have to wait or come back, when you will have more time.

I heard a while back about a sales associate who told a customer that the store was closing in about ten minutes.  When the customer objected and said that he wanted more time, the sales person said, “No, I’ve got to close at 5.”  In any case the customer left and from what I heard, he had wanted to make a substantial purchase, in the order of $5000.  The sales person wanted to get home to watch the local basketball team play.  I’m sorry, but that is not good customer relations and it will never make “raving fans”.

Coach

http://cli.gs/ueyNNE

We have all experienced the expertise of someone who was attempting to get you to buy from them.  They suggest something, and if you object, ask for your reasons.  If you tell them what it is that best expresses why you don’t want to do business with them they simply modify the sales talk to be more appealing in the direction you told them about your own position. 

Some typical objections are:

1. It costs too much.
2. It won’t work.
3. I’m different; it won’t work for me.
4. I can wait: my situations not that bad.
5. It is going to be too hard.

You have likely thought of these too when someone tried to sell you a service or a product before.  But think about it.  Each time you HAVE purchased the service or  product and gotten great results, you kick yourself for not doing it sooner.

Think about who you know that does web site construction or is an expert in search engine optimization and you do know someone who is an expert in this field.  Hire them.

Coach         http://cli.gs/ueyNNE

For a fuller treatment see: http://www.zeromillion.com/marketing/break_down_5_most_common_objections.html

When Joe’s Sports started the liquidation sale, the company had already been purchased by a liquidation company. They purchased all of the inventory and fixtures at a huge reduction in price. Then they raised some of the prices in the store almost 50 %, so I told you to wait.

They are now getting serious and offering some real values,  but you still need to be careful. I almost purchased a broken display product, which had parts missing. All sales will be final, with no returns. All warrantees will be by the manufacture. Few manufactures will cover missing parts on opened items.

But if you know what a product should sell for, you can find some amazing deals. If the boxes are not factory sealed, open then up and inspect the product. If you are not sure it is all there, walk away. That’s better then buying defective merchandise.

So get your credit card out and stimulate the economy.

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

Portland Business Community is committed to helping local business grow and thrive in these tough economic times. To that end, we are announcing plans to host a FREE training seminar and business networking event.

The training will be a hour and a half long session on how to create effective business blog articles to:

1. Gain better search engine visibility
2. More web traffic
3. Strong ties to your industry

The event will also include time before and after the seminar for face-to-face business networking. No membership fees, no seminar fees; just valuable information you can use to grow your business.

Why are Bear and I doing this?

Because we know the secret to succeeding in business is helping others come together to network and learn. Through stronger bonds with our community everyone in the network will benefit from increased commerce and cooperation.

More information will be forth coming as we secure meeting space and finalize the details.

Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
a division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

You can get more clients, simply by asking for them.

Getting referrals is as easy as asking. You have not, because you ask not.

If getting referrals is so easy, why do so many not get them?  For example, many small businesses never ask for referrals, they simply think that their clients will automatically take care of them.  Not so.  Also they may feel that asking for referrals makes them feel uncomfortable.  They hope for them, but forget that the client is deeply concerned about their own affairs and simply dismisses you when not engaged with you.  We all focus on our stuff and so our contacts are out of mind when they are out of sight.

Let’s assume that you have done good work and they are happy with what is going on.  Now is the time to ask them for a referral.  It can be as simple as saying, “I am delighted that we were able to work so well together, and that we did get what you wanted.  You may know, that my business depends on word of mouth and I would like to ask you to give my name and business information to those you know who could profit from my services.”  What’s to lose?  If you don’t ask, you already have a “No.”  If you ask you may get a clear “Yes” which beats a “no” any day.

People like to help others, especially if it is cost free.  Referrals are like that.

Make this request a routine.  Record what happens.

Coach

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