The Purpose Driven Business

I'd like to start this article off with a question. What's the purpose of a business? Or, perhaps more specifically, what's the purpose of your business? Do you ever think about that throughout the course of the day? Or, does it only haunt you at night or when you are trying to clear a jam in the copier?
Ten years ago I would have gone with Peter Drucker's answer - The purpose of a business is to create a customer. Today, after 25 years of business ownership and asking several hundred small business owners this very question, I would have to say that the real purpose of a business is to give the owner of that business more life, more freedom.
In all my years though, I have never had a small business owner give me that answer. Many business owners instinctively go into business with the goal of achieving something that fulfills their dreams, but the making it, fixing it, shipping it quickly consumes. The phone rings and business owner reacts without thought to the demand on the other end.
At some point this wonderful vision of freedom and expression that you had for you business became just the opposite--The monster that methodically took the life right out of you. Has anyone come to realize that your business can rob you of your life it you are willing to let it?
So, what's the answer?
I think the answer to this puzzle comes down to two things - focus and connection.
Focus involves a discovery, or at least rediscovery, of what you want most out of your life. That knowledge then must become the focus of your thoughts and the basis for your business decision-making. See, unless you know and focus on what more life and more freedom really means to you and only you then you will never be able to go about building a business that delivers it.
Connection is the systematic application of your purpose in life to the day-to-day function of your business. There has been so much written about the need to "leave one's business behind at the end of the day" and I think that's part of the problem. As I'm sure you've discovered, you can't leave it so all you do is wrestle with it. Better to find a way to connect your business to your life. Now, in some cases, that may mean making dramatic changes in the way you go about your business, what your business does and who your business serves.
I can't give you all the answers to life's most persistent questions in the span of this article, but I can tell you this - Wake up or else. I'm not going to dwell on the "or else" as I suspect you may have already experienced it in some fashion.
I will however leave you with this paraphrased thought from an Ogden Nash poem titled "Portrait Of An Artist As Prematurely Old Man" - Most of will regret our sins of omission, the things we didn't' do, far more than the sins of commission, the things we did do. See the full text here.
Find what you want out of life, find what you are willing to leave behind in order to get it and then connect that purpose every single day with what you do and you just may actually catch a glimpse of the magic that owning a small business can bring.

By John Jantsch
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John Jantsch is a marketing coach and the author of Referral Flood - How to create a flood of new business without spending one dime on advertising. You can get more information at www.ReferralFlood.com.

Have You Created an Impossible Business?

Have You Created an Impossible Business?

It's easy to think that any business can be successful if you work hard enough, but there are many situations where this just isn't so. Consultants, coaches, and other service professionals often start a business believing that all they need to do is charge a "reasonable" fee and sell "enough" of their time. But unless you do the math to prove or disprove your assumptions, you may be creating a business that can never succeed. Here's what can happen:

Impossible Business #1
My client Molly was selling her services as an image consultant to individuals who wanted an updated or more professional look. She charged $50 per hour, which she thought was the most anyone would realistically pay to work with her. In most cases, she traveled to a client's home or went shopping with her client.
Including travel time and lunch meant that Molly could only make two appointments in one day. The average appointment was two hours long. So the maximum amount Molly could earn in one day turned out to be $200. But in order to earn that amount five days per week, Molly would have to schedule ten different clients, all of whose schedules were able to adapt to whatever times she had available.
This was hopelessly unrealistic. Even if Molly had been able to make the scheduling work, when would she have had the time to do the marketing required to land that many clients? It turned out that the maximum Molly could really earn using this model was about $500 per week. After paying her taxes, she couldn't even cover her monthly living expenses.

Impossible Business #2
Fred was a student of mine who worked as a software consultant for midsize corporations. He typically charged $75 per hour, and when he landed a contract, it often consisted of 20-100 billable hours.
Because Fred's earning capacity was so high and he disliked marketing, he spent a lot of money on marketing himself indirectly. He purchased display ads in industry journals and directories, mailed expensive brochures to large lists of prospects, paid to exhibit at trade shows, and hired a telemarketer to prospect for him. Fred also worked on contracts that came through agencies, who often took 20-30% of his earnings as their percentage.
Fred was earning as much as $80,000 per year, but he was losing about $10,000 per year in agency commissions, and spending $20,000 per year on marketing. In return for all his hard work, he was earning considerably less than he had at his last job.
Making the Impossible Possible
New consultants, coaches, and other professionals almost always overestimate how much they can earn and underestimate the amount of time and money required to successfully market themselves. They also forget that they will have to cover not only their living costs and business expenses, but pay self-employment tax, buy their own health insurance, provide for their own retirement, and allow for unpaid vacation and sick time.
If Molly or Fred had taken the time to sit down with a calculator before starting out in business, they would have quickly discovered that they were on the wrong track. But both of these businesses were able to be rescued.
Molly began selling her time by the day instead of by the hour. She offered her clients a full-day package that consisted of a wardrobe review and consultation in the morning and a shopping trip in the afternoon. By charging $395 per day and scheduling three clients per week, she could earn more than double than she did previously.
She also began offering a monthly one-day image workshop as a way of bringing in more income while giving prospective clients a chance to experience her work. The workshop became her main source of new clients, and marketing the workshop turned out to be easier than marketing her personal services.
Fred learned how to market himself less expensively through networking, speaking, and writing articles. Instead of buying booths at trade shows, he was showcased there as a presenter, and spent time networking with the other attendees. The same publications where he used to run ads now ran his articles. Rather than paying a telemarketer, he started picking up the lunch tab for people he thought could refer him some business.
As a result, his expenses for marketing and commissions dropped from $30,000 per year to $10,000. At the same time, his income rose to $100,000 per year, because as his visibility and reputation grew, his services were more in demand and he could command higher rates.
If earning a decent living as a self-employed professional sometimes seems impossible to you, start asking how it could be possible. What can you change about how you are marketing yourself, how much you are charging, and how you are packaging your services? While it could be that success will come if you just work a little harder, it's more likely that you first need to start working a little differently.

By C.J.Hayden
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C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients NOW! Thousands of business owners and salespeople have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income. Visit her web site at http://www.getclientsnow.com.

Business Ideas on a Budget

10 Legitimate Businesses You Can Start for Under $20

Whether you're starting a business on the side while still employed elsewhere, a student or homemaker looking for extra income, or unemployed and trying to figure out what to do, there are plenty of opportunities for you to start up a side business inexpensively. It's unlikely any of these will make you a living in the first few months, but they all have the potential to grow into full-time businesses. We'll take a look at 10 such opportunities and, most importantly, tell you what to do with the $20!

1. Webpreneur
It's what everyone who's ever surfed the Web dreams of—just stick a web site up there and watch the cash roll in! Well, that just doesn't happen overnight, but the fact of the matter is it's really not very hard to do. To do it right, start by picking a subject matter you know a lot about.
Then get a domain and create a web site. It doesn't even matter what technology you use—just be totally anal-retentive about it looking good and provide plenty of original content. Now find some appropriate affiliate programs—that's where your revenues are going to come from. Next, learn everything you can about search engine marketing and promote the heck out of your site. Last of all, set aside time every week to put new content on the site, delete dead links, and other maintenance. Now do this three or four times, and you've chosen your topics well, you might actually have some decent income from it.

2. Consultant
Getting into consulting is relatively simple. All you have to do is know how to do something better than most people do, and be able to either teach people how to do it or be willing to do it for them. Networking is the key to success in this business, so start by making a list of everyone you know and giving them all a call.

3. Housesitter / Petsitter
Particularly since 9/11, people feel an increased need for security, and housesitting gives them some reassurance while they're out of town. This one's great because it basically requires no particular skills, just trustworthiness and reliability. Be sure to have personal references available, and you'll also need reliable transportation. If you're an animal lover, petsitting is an easy add-on.
4. Professional OrganizerPeople these days are simply overwhelmed by their "stuff".
While there is an ever-growing trend of people wanting to simplify their lives, most of us haven't done it yet. It's not that people really have no clue how to get organized, it just keeps moving to the bottom of the stack, both figuratively and literally. There's a prime opportunity for people to come in at a reasonable rate and get houses organized. And while there is a National Association of Professional Organizers that you can join when you're ready, mostly it takes common sense, organizational skills, and a familiarity with what can be had at your local office supply and The Container Store.

5. Avon Independent Sales RepresentativeCosmetics is a virtually recession-proof business, because it's an inexpensive way for people to feel good about themselves. Avon is the largest consumer direct sales company in the world, with annual sales of nearly $6 billion. In business for well over 100 years, they have both a highly reputable product line and one of the few highly reputable multi-level marketing structures (in fact, they invented it). They also offer fashion and wellness products in addition to their beauty products. And while they bill themselves as "The Company for Women", a fairly substantial number of men have actually been very successful as Avon reps. The secret to making a living at it rather than just a little extra spending money? Build your downline—just like with any other network marketing or direct selling business.

6. Personal Services - Shopping & Errands
This is a great one going into the holiday season. Believe it or not, there are people who wouldn't be caught dead going anywhere near a mall, but they're not comfortable with buying certain items online, either. Again, trustworthiness and dependability are the key traits for this. If your car's not reliable, pick something else. Also, you won't need cash, but you'll need available credit on your credit cards, since you really can't use theirs. Consider an American Express or a Diner's Club that don't have preset spending limits. Or use a card that gives cash back reward or frequent flyer miles, and you'll make a nice little bonus for yourself.
Spend the $20 on: $1 on flyers and the rest on classified ads.

7. Desktop Publishing
It's amazing how many people have a computer and still don't know how to make a decent flyer! If you've got a good design sense, are extremely familiar with your word processor, and already have a laser or high-quality inkjet printer, you can get into desktop publishing. Create a really great-looking portfolio for yourself and go door-to-door.

8. Tutoring
With the growing dissatisfaction with our education system and the huge growth in homeschooling, there's an unprecedented need for tutors these days for kids of all ages—even adults! If you've got a topic you can tutor in, contact the local schools, particularly private ones, and local homeschool groups, and offer your services. Don't be concerned if your topic is highly specialized—even those are in demand.

9. eBay Seller
Yes, there really are people who make a decent living buying things at garage sales and flea markets and selling them on eBay. The big secrets? Stick to products you know (or learn before you start) extremely well, package your goods carefully, and provide impeccable customer service. It helps to have a digital camera or a scanner, but it's not required.

10. Secretarial Service - Typing / Transcription / Proofreading
Many small businesses and individuals have a need for these services, but not enough need to hire a temp through an agency. Assuming you've got a computer, a printer, and e-mail (and the necessary skills), you're all set. Be prepared to charge by the job, not by the hour.
One last thing—beware of home-based business scams that require a substantial buy-in, such as envelope-stuffing or craft item assembly. You may not lose money on it if you stick with it long enough to get really fast at it, but you'll probably never make the kind of money you're expecting to. Better to do something on your own.

By Scott Allen

The Realities of a Work-at-Home Dad

It is well after midnight and I am just starting to write this article. I have attended a Valentine’s party at my son’s preschool, had two meetings at clients’ offices, lost a large contract that we had bid, played toddler street hockey, closed a deal by phone with another client on the other side of the country, cooked dinner and watched the winter Olympics as a family, attempted an internet conference, and now, in less than five hours my son will be waking up ready for a new day. Being a work-at-home dad is the hardest thing I have ever tried to do.
When you work at home you are, in effect, taking on a second job. Your family, the same family you decided to stay home and raise, the family that counts on you to be there, is your number one job. Anything else is secondary. Sometimes you have to remind yourself of that. I want to give you a glimpse into what it takes to balance work and family, all under the same roof. I am an extreme case. I take care of my son full-time and run a small company full-time. The extreme nature of my situation helps to flush out the real issues. I hope my experience can help you make an informed decision about working at home.
First, establish your goals. This is not about your business plan. This is about why you want to work at home in the first place. Do you need the money? Do you want to stay connected with your career skills? Do you feel like less of a person because you are not contributing to the family income? Economics is hard to argue with, but your self-concept has less to do with the needs of your family and more about your emotional needs.
After you decide why you want to work at home, you must decide what you gain and what you will lose. Being a work-at-home dad (WAHD) is a real juggling act, literally. I have been able to establish a pretty good routine since I only have one child. My company was young when he was young so I was able to be more flexible. Now that my company is placing more demands on my time I have to be careful to keep my self-defined priorities in place.
You lose control of time when you work at home. Every parent knows that their child has a schedule, a routine that has been developed over time. Starting a new business will initially disrupt that rhythm. Eventually you and your kids will adapt to the new routine but you have to remember that your kids are job number one. When push comes to shove, you will find yourself working late into the night and during the weekend when your spouse is home and can help with the childcare. No matter what time you go to bed after a long night, you are up when the kids get up. This is only an inconvenience when it happens occasionally, but over a long period of time, the effects are more long-lasting.
Lack of sleep or irregular sleep patterns can effect your physical and mental health. The fact that you stay up late with unfinished work, or work on weekends has an impact on the time you get to spend with your spouse. Those quiet moments without the kids that are so precious once you become a parent.
Then there is the loss of personal time. Face it, we don’t get very much personal time as it is. When you work at home, your personal time is the first thing to go.
You hope to gain monetary reward for your efforts to work at home. This would seem obvious, but for those who are considering starting their own business, the money is not always there in the beginning. I am not going to go into the detail of what to expect when starting a business. There are others with far more experience in that field. I will encourage you to evaluate your realistic expectations of what income you will receive based on the effort you will have to invest as a WAHD.
There is a definite feeling of being productive when you start generating income from the home, but don’t let this cloud the fact that this is more of an emotional issue. As a stay-at-home dad (SAHD), you are doing one of the most important jobs you can ever do. It is our society that defines a person’s value based on monetary gain. That said, it still feels good. So, I’m weak.
Another benefit that working imparts is contact with adults who are not talking about children or running to wipe a nose. Adult conversation seems like such a simple thing, but you don’t miss it until you are without it.
Your children lose having 100% of your attention. You can work out a solution, however, especially if your kids still take naps or are old enough to entertain themselves for prolonged periods. This is where establishing a routine will help. My son takes a three hour nap in the afternoon. (Yes, I realize how lucky I am!) This is time I can spend working or talking with clients on the phone. During nap time, my work has little impact on time with my son. When he wakes from his nap, I make a point to quit work and make the next four hours family time. He and I play until we start dinner. Mommy comes home, they play, we eat, they play a little more, she bathes him, we watch a little TV, then at 8:00, she takes him up for the bedtime routine. Then I go back to work until about midnight. For me, I found a workable balance with naps and scheduling. I wonder if this would have worked so well with another, younger child or if my son did not take such grand naps. My routine may sound hectic but, to me, it would be far worse to work outside of the home and never get to see my child until just before bedtime.
Besides the absolute fact that they always have a full-time parent at home, your children get to see their daddy do a job, other than the job of being daddy. I feel very good about my son growing up in what is essentially a cottage industry. Modern communications technology and computers have afforded my business partner and me the opportunity to return to the home to raise our children and still work. There are other businesses that don’t require the same technology, but I find it certainly helps. See the Slowlane web site http://slowlane.com for a list kid-friendly businesses.
The key to success as a WAHD is a routine. There is not much you can count on with children other than their love. They do adapt well to and generally enjoy a steady routine. The younger the child, the easier to build a routine around both work and family. I have found that the routine actually finds itself. If you relax and don’t force it, you will see a pattern of events that you can work your business around. My son’s nap schedule is a good example of this. Your routine should be adaptable. For example, if you know that your kids go ballistic when you get on the phone, don’t answer the phone when they are an active part of your moment. Use an answering machine or voicemail. I got a bit more creative and have my voicemail dial my pager so I will know if someone left a message. I found this particularly convenient when it was diaper time. The moment you pull the diaper off, the business line WILL ring.
I found that a routine was easy to establish and maintain my child. I imagine it requires more patience and creativity with multiple children. (In my case, another birth right now and I would have to back out of my business responsibilities.) My son was small when my business was small. They have both grown at the same pace and after three years, my increased time on the phone is not an issue with my son because he can spend some time alone playing. Another thing I did to help my particular situation was to include work space in family space. I did not make my office a separate room in the house. I purchased a professional style cubical and placed it in one side of the family room. That is where my son spends his inside time. The desk is against a wall of windows that overlook our fenced back yard. I have structured the back yard so that it has always been as child friendly as possible and there is no way for him to get out. So, inside or out, I can keep an eye on him even if I am working at my desk or on a call.
I have two routines, one for the two preschool days and the other for the two non-preschool days. My wife is home on Fridays, so I am off home daddy duty that day. Preschool is nothing more than a four-hour Parent’s Day Out program offered by a local Methodist church. (It used to be call Mom’s Day Out; they changed it to Parent’s Day Out the next year without prompting. Times, they are a-changin’.)
My wife leaves for work at 7:30 AM. I drag out of bed a mere 15-20 minutes before she leaves so I can get a shower and an update on anything my son may have eaten for breakfast. If it is a school day, we are out of the house by 8:30 and I pick him up at 12:45. I use those four hours for meetings with clients, business errands, and networking. We get home from school and he goes down for his nap around 1:30. For the next three hours, I can work on the computer, make or return business calls from when I was out. If you notice that gives me about seven hours of work time. That is a routine, time I can count on. When my son wakes up around 4:30, the family time kicks in. When his mommy takes him up to bed, I am back "on the clock" until about midnight. (Notice my wife and I have very little time to communicate with each other)
On the non-preschool days, my mornings are a mixture of being with my son and taking phone calls. Sometimes he goes with me to the office supply store or the post office. One day a week I meet with a mommy friend and her son at the local fast-food ball pit. The boys get some time together and I get a little non-work adult talk. I have never been able to hook up with another SAHD in my area, so I have connected with a few mommies in the neighborhood. The kids are the common ground and we have built some very strong relationships. Once again, I feel very fortunate. After lunch and the ball pit, it is off for that wonderful nap again. Beginning with the nap the rest of the day’s routine is the same.
This all works out very well and look great on paper, but real life is never so perfect. Many times I have a deadline that forces me to work longer hours. The only hours available are those like right now-- after midnight. It does not matter what time you go to bed, your child still wakes up at the same time. So working at home has had a serious impact on my sleep schedule. And as I inferred earlier, I don’t get to spend much time with my wife, either. She is in bed much earlier than I, since I stay up working. Even during waking hours, we barely get to have a moment alone to simply talk. Many times conversations wait until the weekends. In our case, we have been married over 15 years and have a very good ability to communicate with one another. It is not always fun, but we are happy to make the sacrifice for a cause that is so important to both of us: Someone home with our son.
When your work and your family are under the same roof, you have to make a concerted effort to separate work from the home, even though both are in your house. If you can’t separate, you will never leave work. For your own sanity and the sanity of those around you, it is nice to establish some boundaries. Some ways to help you with this are to set up a special place to work, a separate room or office location in your house. I would recommend a separate phone line so you don’t have to take business calls after hours. You can also set up certain days or times for working, very much a part of establishing a routine.
Another issue is zoning. You may want to discreetly check to see if what you are planning to do and how you are planning to do it is in conflict with your area zoning regulations. Many times you can operate a home office anywhere, as long as you don’t have a line of clients visiting your house or hang a sign out front. It is best to check, especially before you invest any money.
Networking can be difficult for the WAHD. I found that my son in a stroller was a real door opener. Receptionists are happy when I walk in, are enamored with the idea that I stay at home, and allow me to march in to see the person I want to see, even though they might have filtered me out had I not had a "cute baby" with me. I am not going to go into a list of networking tips. You can find a great networking article, reprinted with permission from the November 1997 issue of Business Start-Ups magazine in the Slowlane - Articles area. I was quoted in the article, telling how I went out to a local store for milk and, during a casual conversation, I said I was a SAHD and had my own company. That always leads to the inevitable… "Your own company! What do you do?" What a great time to yank out a business card. And they even asked for it. Being a WAHD is still a new concept for many, it is a great topic to work into conversations. You never know where those conversations may lead!
Before you dive into the role of working at home, you need to evaluate why you want to do it. You need to discuss your ideas with your family because the decision will impact them as much as it impacts you, since you are there for them. Evaluate your family and whether the business you want to do will be a good fit for your family’s situation.
If you are considering working at home and taking care of the family/house at the same time, remember these two things: 1) It is like working two full-time jobs for 1/2 the money; and, 2) There are only 24 hours in a day, whether that is enough or not. Good night.

By ----Jay Massey is co-owner of Coco Design Associates, Inc., a graphic design and internet design company with locations in Pensacola, Florida and Montgomery, Alabama. Jay has been a stay-at-home dad since the birth of his son in August 1994, opening for business two months later. Jay also administers http://slowlane.com as a voluntary service and resource for all online stay-at-home dads

Home Business and Self-Employment

The Fruits of Your Labor

Most articles on home business and start-ups focus on the strategies and tasks required to get a business up and running. Experts rush in to tell the entrepreneur how to avoid disaster. But sometimes the struggling entrepreneur needs to be boosted -- and bolstered -- by the reminder of the rewards that come when you're finally successful.

First off, you get to sleep again.
Zen peace doesn't come easy when you're working to get a company up and going. The whole notion about not worrying over things you can't control is a wasted idea for the entrepreneur. You're not sure what you can and can't control until you're been running the business for years. You will worry about everything at first. Once you get to the point where you can pay your bills (even if late) without borrowing money, you'll get to sleep again. That is, until it's time to push your growth to the next level -- then it's back to late-night pacing.

Second, you get to go to movies or buy CDs again.
Entrepreneurs give up dozens, even hundreds of small pleasures such as buying a new CD by a favorite artist. Or going to a new movie. You don't have the time and you don't have the money. These were small, common pleasures when you had a job. When you're fighting to make ends meet, you give up much of your old life. There are some entrepreneurs that don't squeeze their lifestyle down to bare necessities, and many of those entrepreneurs fail. Successful entrepreneurs are typically able to live on air, water and crackers for months, even years.

Third, you get to take a vacation.
The first vacation I took after launching my first business happened three years into the start-up. I went to Hawaii for a week with my wife and in-laws. I spent two or three hours each day picking up and returning messages while the family was off visiting the U.S.S. Arizona and the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I took one weekend day completely off to go snorkeling.
My wife thought I was compulsively attached to the business and she was correct. At the time, I thought that spending two or three hours a day on business demonstrated I was quite detached. After all, I wasn't on the phone eight hours each day, which is what I really believed the business needed.

Fourth, you get to tell people you run a company rather than explaining you're trying to start a company.
Running a company means it's supporting you. Trying to start a company means you're still borrowing money to pay your bills. There is also magic in saying you own your company. When Steve Jobs was fired from leading Apple, a company he co-founded, he was offered a VP position. He turned it down and launched a new company, NeXT Computer. He felt it was preferable to be the leader of a small company rather than a second-string spot at a large company. "At conferences and trade shows, CEOs talk with other CEOs," he said at the time. "CEOs don't talk with VPs." Apparently Jobs wanted to spend time talking with generals rather than lieutenants

Fifth, and most important, you get to reintroduce yourself to your family.
You will get to find out how many kids you have and what grades they're in. If you can't break away from your company, it helps if you can involve your family in the business. At least then you get to see them. When I ran a magazine, my wife was the art director -- partly because she was an artist and was good at it, and partly because we couldn't afford an art director. She examined printers blue-lines at the hospital the day after our son was born. All three of my kids have spent time sitting on Dad's lap during sales meetings. But the true fruits of the labor come when you can take extra time off with your family because you own your own business.

.. by Rob Spiegel

Rob Spiegel is the author of Net Strategy (Dearborn) and The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to Internet Start-ups (St. Martin's Press).

Service With a Smile

Not sure how to market your service business? Focus on these 5 tips for bringing in new customers, and you'll be glad you did.

With so much attention being paid to marketing new products, entrepreneurs building service businesses may feel overlooked. The truth is, marketing a service can be tricky. For some companies, success depends on creating a bundled offering that includes the features customers or clients want most. For others, it's all about differentiating based on customer satisfaction, with heavy emphasis on testimonials and ongoing customer input.
If you're searching for the best ways to win customers and build sales for your service business, here are five important tips you can't afford to overlook.
1. Find a way to differentiate.
If you were to take an analytical look at your competitors' ads and brochures, you'd find one glaringly obvious similarity--most are satisfied with "me too" marketing themes. Consequently, few ever stand out from the pack. Careful differentiation is essential to successfully growing a service business. What sets your company apart from all the rest? Perhaps it's the group of services you offer or the way you excel at customer satisfaction. For best results, identify the unique benefits you provide, and make them the central focus of your marketing message.
2. Add value by bundling services.
While product marketers often compete solely based on price, for many service businesses price is a sign of quality. So if you price your service below your competitors' services, you may communicate to customers that it's of lesser worth. Instead of lowering your price, why not add value? Focus on what your customers want most, and find a way to bundle those features (or even some select products) into your mix. This will increase the perceived value of what you offer and give your company a leg up. You may even be able to raise your prices on higher-value offerings.
3. Market to existing customers.
For service marketers, the sale doesn't end with a purchase: It's the beginning of a relationship that continues with delivery and support. As a result, satisfied customers or clients have the potential to become repeat buyers. Do you have a program in place to market to your customer base? The good news is that upselling current customers costs less and yields significantly higher revenue than marketing to new prospects. To build sales, use direct marketing, including e-mail and direct mail, to offer special promotions to your customer base throughout the year.
4. Win more referrals.
Do you rely on referral audiences to send business your way? It's not enough to simply call on your referral prospects. You must also create a group of marketing tools for your referral sources to use with your prospective clients. Suppose you owned a home health-care company. By supplying brochures and other materials to hospital workers to give to patients requiring at-home care following a hospital stay, you'd ensure that your complete information got through to your most qualified prospects.
5. Raise your visibility.
To reach potential customers across multiple channels, consider expanding your advertising in search-corridor media--where customers turn first when they're ready to buy. Yellow Pages advertisers, for example, may benefit from expanding into online paid search, with emphasis on local search through engines such as Google and Overture. Link your ads to a terrific website, complete with in-depth information about your company and its services, and you'll give customers confidence in your ability to meet their needs. And don't overlook PR as a means to increasing your reputation in the community. You can sponsor events, write articles for publication, offer yourself as a speaker and participate in a range of networking opportunities that allow you to build positive word-of-mouth.

By Kim T. GordonEntrepreneur Magazine - May 2005