…pay attention to your actions (or those of your employees) when you think no one is looking!

1. If you have a vehicle with advertising (name, number, company, etc) – do drive respectfully and show some courtesy. Cutting people off, swearing, yelling, slamming on the breaks, weaving in and out of traffic – not good! People will remember your company – but for all the wrong reasons!

2. On your way home from work? Don’t drop your cigarette butts, empty fast-food bags, candy wrappers out the window! (People around you, or behind you – as you are driving – probably don’t appreciate it.)

3. Don’t get “into it” with people around you. Whether that is about a parking spot you considered yours, someone cutting into line in front of you or you cutting in line. If it happens right before you are getting into your vehicle – people remember. (Whether it’s you or your employees!)

Instead – do the little things – even when no one is keeping “track”… open the door for someone else, pick up the trash on your way, wave someone into your lane of traffic, let someone merge, buy a cup of coffee or a lunch for a soldier, police or fireman…or anyone – just because. Be kind, be nice, be considerate. This too will be remembered…but for all the right reasons.

Check out this great article by Cath Lawson. It’s all about staying focused and taking small steps toward your goal – while enticing the customer to make the journey with you.

The article gives you a variety of tips in order to keep your clients and gain new ones.

And while you’re at it – check out the rest of this great blog!

Remember the definition of “Insanity” (My abbreviated version)? Doing the same thing that you’ve always done and expecting different results? Is that how you’re going to outwit the current economy?

If that’s your plan, good luck. However, if your business has slowed down, maybe you need to change your thinking…and the things you’re doing. As we’ve discussed yesterday – you have to know where your business is coming from. Once you know that, you can adapt to become more successful.

Who are your clients? What do they have in common? And what is appealing to them? Why do they do business with you? Is it your service? Your product? Your employees? Your personal touch? Your willingness to go the extra mile? Whatever it is – use it to your advantage and expand on it.

Check out this article by Dosh Dosh, to start thinking outside the box. (And no, huge ads like the “Ram Challenge” are not needed. Be creative and keep your audience in mind!)

Just because we’re all trying to save money and “go back to basics” doesn’t mean you should stop doing what brings you business! Unless all your business comes from referrals, advertising needs to be part of your business plan.

What changes are you making to outlast the current economy?

How is the recent economic downturn affecting you/and your business? Is it the same old, same old? Has your business gone down? Are you finding yourself considering changes to save money?

Before you do anything drastic (like lay-off your employees, cut marketing, cancel suppliers, etc) you have to take a look at your past year first.

Where did your business come from? (You DID track that, right?) Were most of your clients Walk-ins? Did they call from Ads? Was first contact made via Internet? Were they referrals? What item/product/service sold the most? What supplier offered not only the best product for the best price, but the best service?

Before doing anything drastic, you have to take a good look at your existing business, because you might inadvertently cancel/cut the one thing that brings you most of your clients/business; i.e. you might cut advertising in certain publications due to price, but those might be the very ones that bring you the most income. So be sure to take all those details into consideration.

Once you’ve made your decisions on how to move forward, review your business plan and adjust it for 2009.  Keep an eye on your expenses, treat your customers well, provide a great product and/or service – and have a great year!

If you’re sending out Christmas Cards this year…maybe you could send out just ONE more – to a recovering soldier. Send it to the address below and make someones Christmas a little brighter.

A Recovering American Soldier

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Ave NW

Washington, DC 20307-5001

Feel free to forward this information – within your circle of family and friends, at work, at the Gym, in Church etc.

With all the latest news telling you how to increase your customer base through blogging, bookmarking, twittering, offering certain styles of podcasts and reports, etc – it’s easy to forget that while all these techniques can be valuable – if applied right – the one thing you shouldn’t change or leave out –  is you.  

What do I mean by that? It is you who drives the business, you that people identify with, you they want to know (In this case ‘you’ = ‘your brand’). That means that it’s ok to try new things, make changes etc – but it’s not ok to forget who you are. You have to be authentic. Start relying too much on the latest marketing trend – and people will leave.

Why? Because they can tell if your being authentic – or not. This means sharing a bit about yourself, your story, your background and what drives you. People want to know your story. Unless you do business, based on being the cheapest, you have to provide a reason for your clients to come back. Getting to know you is one of those reasons.

How do you share your story with your clients?

I am posting this for a friend…so if you’re interested – please email me – and I’ll forward it.

This gentlemen is looking for writers who are interested in supplying some articles for a newsletter, subject: Health – in exchange for being the featured article and free advertising within the newsletter.

He was thinking of having Personal Trainers, Nutritionist, etc – anyone associated with the Health field – as writers. What do you think? Worth the time in exchange for free exposure/marketing?

Technology ic changing daily. Just when you thought you knew what the lasted and greatest development consisted of-  it’s passe.

For many businesses it’s vital to be up on the latest, know what’s being talked about, etc. Are you up to that challenge?

If you’re not sure where to begin looking and learning, check out some of these sites:

Google Trends

Yahoo Buzz

TrendsSpotting

Wikileaks

What sites would you recommend to spot the latest?

After telling you all this time that we live in the Springs – I thought I’d stray from the “business posts” – and show you, just why, we love living here. It’s truly “from the Prairies to the Mountains” and it offers something for everyone – from family oriented to quirky and unique.

How can you not love a place like this?

Have YOU been here? If so – what are your experiences?

I’ve written about planning for a Business Expo previously. In order to make this opportunity a success, you have to be prepared and know who you are trying to reach, what message you’d like to get across, what product will you highlight, and how will you start a conversation?

Well, last week was another Expo in Colorado Springs. This time, it was a Business Expo, with a wide variety of different businesses presented. But once again, it was more of the same old, same old, rather than the new and unexpected.

Booth, staffed with representatives, ranging from bored to enthusiastic (take a guess which got more traffic?), pamphlets and flyers, give-aways like pens, paper clips and cups, business cards and drawings for prices.

Guess what? It’s been four days – and not ONE follow up. Yes – it was a Holiday weekend – however, Friday would have been a good day to “shoot out” an email, or make a phone call.

It was always my opinion that businesses exhibit at Expos to gain new clients, and not taking advantage of all the walk through traffic of “fresh bodies” really misses the purpose of the expo.

Aside from some new gimmicks – nothing was new. Two things that were memorable: One of the booth had a gentlemen drawing carricatures if you gave him a business card, and another booth (a bug terminator company), had their display set up as part of a house – with bugs (rubber! but still oh so gross) crawling around and over the booth – including the floor space in front of the booth.

Did that get them more interaction? Possibly. However – did that get them more clients? Doubt it. No follow up, nothing. Specially the booth with the drawing gentlemen…what a wasted opportunity. All this foot traffic – and not one person of this business even talked to the people waiting in to line to be drawn…

So…let’s recap this. If you are planning on attending an expo, follow these 5 steps:

1. Be prepared – decide up front who you would like to meet, what your message should be and how you’re going to follow up.
2. Think outside the box – dare to be creative, dare to be different. The idea is not to conform, but to stand out and be memorable.
3. Plan ahead – Decide on your follow up, bring some cards to write while it’s slow, bring a laptop to input business card information and send out emails.
4. Engage with Expo Attendees – be open, friendly, enthusiastic, but don’t try to keep them forever. State your purpose, answer questions and let them LEAVE – unless they decide to hang around. Then have something to offer them. A discount, a newsletter, new info, tips and tricks.
5. FOLLOW UP – You’ve just met all these new people, collected all these business cards! Don’t just let them languish in your drawer! THIS is what you paid your fees for, this is what it’s all about!!! NOW the REAL work begins! You have to continue the conversation – in many cases START the conversation…because if you had a drawing, many people will just drop their card and move on. WHAT are you going to say to them? How are you going to engage them? Keep them interested? If you do nothing, you might as well through your money out the window! (Or you can just give it to me…)

So what are you going to do the next time you’re planning on attending an expo? Was this one a success for you?