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Marketing Articles |
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| Why Smart People Dont Know How to Market |
| As an educated professional, your success is based on what you know, your education, your intelligence, and your creativity. Even if you're just starting out, you've achieved success just to get your many degrees and pass those licensing exams! Your clients return and refer because you apply your expertise and insight to guide them to appropriate answers for their unique situations.
But who's growing your business while you're busy tending to your clients' needs? What are you doing to attract a More.. |
| Read more About Why Smart People Dont Know How to Market |
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| Painless Marketing for People Who Hate to Market |
| Face it?you know you've got to do something to keep a steady stream of clients coming to your professional service firm. But when it comes to the m-word (marketing), you'd rather not. Do any of these statements sound familiar?
If we're good enough, clients will find us or we'll get plenty of referrals.
We don't have time - we're busy enough and have to maximize our billable hours.
We can't afford to market - we have no extra money.
We have brochures and a website - isn't that enough?
We don More.. |
| Read more About Painless Marketing for People Who Hate to Market |
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| CRM: Strategic Engine or Just Another Tool? |
| CRM'strategic engine or just another technology tool? How would you answer this question about your company's CRM initiative? It depends on how honest you are in answering some other questions, including:
Do your people have real decision-making power to provide great customer service?
Do you have the right people with the right knowledge and skills?
Are you including people across the board, not just in your customer service and call centers?
The bottom line is that people skill sets need t More.. |
| Read more About CRM: Strategic Engine or Just Another Tool? |
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| How to Up-Sell Change |
| As Freud cautioned, it's insanity to keep doing the same thing and expect different results. You know things have to change. Business as usual is a guarantee to fail. Your boss supports you, but is fairly lukewarm about resources and time commitments. Your staff agrees but then claim they are too busy. Activity traps, inertia, disinterest, ambivalence, fear? people fabricate (consciously or unconsciously) lots of reasons to avoid making change. This is a frequent organizational dilemma: a needed More.. |
| Read more About How to Up-Sell Change |
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| The First Rule of CRM for Financial Services |
| Things have to change. Cross selling is not going to happen simply by installing new CRM technology. A corresponding movement from a transaction mentality to the underlying CRM principle of focusing on the long-term relationship is required. What does this mean for financial services? Stop pushing products and start building relationships.
The Consumer's Perspective
Let's take a look from the consumer's perspective. Financial illiteracy is alive and well, especially with baby boomers. Next, th More.. |
| Read more About The First Rule of CRM for Financial Services |
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| A Successful Solution: 10 Things to Consider |
| A provocation for the coming year, decade, century or millennium.
By now, you've set a working direction for the year, establishedclear-cut objectives. Your first-iteration plan to reach them should be in place. This now seems like an ideal time to rethink the whole thing, doesn't it? After all, one of the effects of internet time is that plans are subject to change just as soon as - or perhaps even before - they are written.
Along these lines of thinking, perhaps there are some items youmisse More.. |
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| Marketing Brain Trust |
| Rest assured that no matter how smart you are, you do not know everything about marketing. You don't even know anything about marketing your product! You can't figure everything out yourself, or see all the angles, or provide every bit of critical thinking.
The solution? Create a marketing brain trust.
Use the mastermind principle which says more brainpower brought to bear on an issue means more ideas and greater insight. Gather together a mixed bag of thoughtful, intelligent people who have a More.. |
| Read more About Marketing Brain Trust |
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| Your Secret Marketing Weapon |
| As a professional service provider, you're paid for what you know. People come to your firm for the expertise you offer, first and foremost. Did you also realize that this is also your secret marketing weapon?
By sharing what you know, you actually attract people to you and build their confidence in you as the right solution for their problem. Now many professionals are afraid to "give away" trade secrets or expertise for free, but that's not what I'm talking about. This is about putting conten More.. |
| Read more About Your Secret Marketing Weapon |
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| The M-Word (Marketing) Phase 2 |
| Last month we looked at what you need to do before you spend money on marketing brochures, a website, advertising or even go out to network. During Phase 1, it's all about crafting your message. Key steps include getting clear about your market niche, developing a clear message about how you solve your target clients' problems, articulating what makes you their best choice, packaging your services so clients will buy, and demonstrating why they should trust you.
Skip Phase 1 and chances are you More.. |
| Read more About The M-Word (Marketing) Phase 2 |
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| Differentiate or Die |
| Sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it? Well, I can tell you from personal experience with both my own business and with my clients, "differentiate or die" is not an exaggeration. Whether you're a small one-person shop or a large government agency, solvency and the future of your business rely on you standing out in a competitive marketplace.
Everyone is vying for the same client dollars, whether your clients are consumers, other small businesses, major corporations, or federal agencies. Your target c More.. |
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| How to Profit from Your Expertise (Part 1 of 2) |
| Are you looking for a natural way to market your professional services? What if you could exponentially multiply the number of motivated, pre-qualified prospects you reach in a fraction of the time that networking and referrals require?
Now what if you could be the person in a crowed room with whom everyone wants to talk about your services? And no, they don't want to sell you something?they want to buy what you've got.
Too good to be true? Not if you know how to leverage the knowledge you get More.. |
| Read more About How to Profit from Your Expertise (Part 1 of 2) |
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| Like Brushing Your Teeth |
| What do the following things have in common: brushing your teeth, regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, paying your bills on time, cleaning your gutters, spending quality time with your spouse and kids??
They're all forms of regular "self-care" that, if you neglect them for a period of time or take the wrong approach, there will be costly negative consequences.
The same goes for marketing.
Do any of these symptoms sound familiar?
? Your phone does not ring regularly with new prospects.
More.. |
| Read more About Like Brushing Your Teeth |
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| Getting Your Services Used |
| Every day I talk with professional service providers who do great work, have a valuable service that really helps people?and struggle to get their services used as much as they'd like.
They get a lukewarm response after an initial conversation while networking, the referrals come in but don't convert to real business as often as they'd like, and they can't seem to get prospects to see them as that much better than other professionals offering similar services.
Or they may get some attention fr More.. |
| Read more About Getting Your Services Used |
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| The Role of Marketing for Boards of Directors |
| Small and emerging companies often do not put together a board of advisors or board of directors for many reasons. Some entrepreneurs believe that businessmen and women would not be willing to serve on their board of advisors for the little or no compensation that the new company can afford. Another reason small and emerging companies do not have boards of advisors is that often the entrepreneur does not want advice from others. In some extreme cases, entrepreneurs believe they do not need advic More.. |
| Read more About The Role of Marketing for Boards of Directors |
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| The M-Word |
| It was a real eye-opener to hear the perceptions people have about what it means to market professional services, as well as the anxiety the "m-word" (marketing) conjures up. It reminded me that, just because professional service providers have a lot of expertise in their chosen field, it doesn't mean they have the same level of understanding about the business of growing a practice.
As a matter of fact, expertise can get in the way of being a good marketer. As a highly-trained professional, it More.. |
| Read more About The M-Word |
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| How to Leverage Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool |
| Second in a series of three articles:
What if you could reach thousands of prospects, build fruitful, pro-active relationships with them, and stay top-of-mind with them on a regular basis?and not spend a fortune in the process?
If this sounds too good to be true, then you've not mastered the art of leveraging your firm's online strategy. A web site is one of the most unique and powerful marketing tools you have, if you develop and use it correctly. It can also be a huge drain of wasted money a More.. |
| Read more About How to Leverage Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool |
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| How to Take Your Law Firm to the Next Level |
| How to Take Your Law Firm to the Next Level
Third in a series of three articles
SO you've done such a good job at bringing in new clients to your firm that you're swamped with business, your firm is large and growing, and all parts of your marketing system are in place and running smoothly? Congratulations!
If you can confidently answer "yes!" to the following metrics, then you're ready to take your practice to the next level:
? Is your firm's mission perfectly aligned with your market?
? Do More.. |
| Read more About How to Take Your Law Firm to the Next Level |
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| Effective Marketing |
| For any business to be successful whether on or offline it has to be marketing effectively. You are going to need more than a great looking site with fabulous products or services to obtain success. You will need to run an effective marketing campaign and for this you will need a marketing plan.
To obtain online success you will have to be involved in planning from day 1 and you will have to work seriously if you intend to earn a decent living.
You will need an action plan and this should star More.. |
| Read more About Effective Marketing |
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| Ten Effective Ways to Capture Market |
| 1.Evaluation of Existing Products / Therapies
2.Assessment of New Products
3.Market assessment of products for the defined markets of
BF- RoW with the objective of providing insight and direction
for short term and long term business planning.
4.Planning of the required Sales Force according to the ROI
5.Optimize field sales force by providing motivational seminars and sales techniques.
6.Enhancing in Hospital, In Clinic Effectiveness of the field force by introducing highlight points to More.. |
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| More Scams! Do you Really Believe It? |
| Quit spreading those chain letters, nothing is going to happen to you if you don't mail it to the next person. However, there is a better chance that if you continue mailing, you may have the FTC on you. Chain letters are illegal even when they do not make a profit. But, this is another story. Most chains never make a profit except for the guy that starts it.
1. Big companies don't do business from chain letters.
2. There is no kidney theft ring in New Orleans - No one is waking up in a bathtu More.. |
| Read more About More Scams! Do you Really Believe It? |
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| Matrix Web Sites - Scam or NOT? |
| While I am not talking about the movie "Matrix", you may be wondering like many others if Matrix Web Sites are Legal!
Before answering this, you may know that there are some wonderful deals offered on the net, that will make you want to jump at it. Keep your shirt on. While you may be thinking that this one could be legal, the FTC may be knocking on your door. Let me assure you, when you participate, you had better make sure you KNOW what you are doing.
You are personally responsible for what More.. |
| Read more About Matrix Web Sites - Scam or NOT? |
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| Are You Losing Business? |
| As a small business owner, you are grateful for all of your clients or customers. But did you know that small business lose over 62% of sales because they don't follow up? You are caught up in the business of running your business you don't take the time to follow up with your clients.
After moving to a new city recently I've been, of course, searching out a new hair salon. The first place I tried was what seemed to be a very upscale salon that offered everything from hair cuts to nails to a ma More.. |
| Read more About Are You Losing Business? |
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| Too Much To Do: Four Keys to Effective Delegating |
| Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. General George S. Patton
Many people think they have too many important things to do, but thats not the real problem. The real problem is either 1) you are trying to do them all yourself, 2) you have no way for anyone else to do them, or 3) all of them simply aren't that important.
One solution is to shrink the things you classify as important, and that avenue should certainly be your firs More.. |
| Read more About Too Much To Do: Four Keys to Effective Delegating |
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| To Be Successful Sell to Wants not Needs |
| My mother used to tell me, tongue in cheek, that I never wanted anything in my life- everything I asked for was something I needed!! Think about it. We say, "I need a new car." "I need to go on vacation." "I need someone to clean my house." When was the last time you heard someone say, "I want a new pair of shoes." I bet even Amelda Marcos said, "I need a new pair of shoes."
As consumers we justify our purchases, at least in our own minds, as being something we need. As business owners, selling More.. |
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| 25 Ways To Get More Business |
| Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include Pauls name and resource box, and keep all hyperlinks as live links.
Complete Article with Resource Box at end:
Need more business? Who doesnt?
Thankfully, new business is pretty easy to get, but you do have to do something to get it. Usually something you aren't currently doing. Here are 25 ways you can bring in more business, and if you do things right, more profits.
These are not long term business strategies. These are short t More.. |
| Read more About 25 Ways To Get More Business |
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| Putting Your Website to Work |
| Websites have replaced the brochure as the "must have" marketing tool for businesses large and small. While virtually every business has a website, few are harnessing the potential of their websites and the Internet in general to promote and grow their businesses. So how can you be sure your website is working for you?
First, you must look at the role you want your website to play in your overall business and marketing strategy. As with any tool you use to promote your business, your web promot More.. |
| Read more About Putting Your Website to Work |
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| Professional Marketing |
| Have you looked for marketing advice on the internet recently? There is no shortage of self-proclaimed 'gurus' from which to choose. But what kind of advice are they shilling out? Too often, it's over-the-top hype, blatant commercial ad copy and other tips designed for selling an inexpensive product to the general public.
When your target market is other businesses or involves a costly product or long-term service, these methods can be not only ineffective, but also often counter-productive. A More.. |
| Read more About Professional Marketing |
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| The Most Important Marketing Principles of All Time |
| As you have probably experienced there is a lot of hype in the business and marketing world. New concepts, revolutionary methods and the like land in our in boxes every day. But I'm going to confirm something you probably already know - the fundamentals of marketing haven't changed for decades. Here's my summary of the marketing principles that have stood the test of time.
1. Know your customer. Know their wants and desires.
2. Offer the customer more benefits from your product or service than More.. |
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| Develop Your Curiosity And Increase Profits |
| If anyone was to ask me what my greatest strength was I'd say curiosity. The reason I would say that is because curious people learn a lot. On the internet there is stacks to learn. Curiosity will help you learn what you need to know.
Here's some of the common things internet business people want to know:
- How can I get more traffic to my site?
- How can I get more sales from my site?
- What can I do to make my site successful?
- How can I convert more browsers into buyers?
- What are my comp More.. |
| Read more About Develop Your Curiosity And Increase Profits |
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| The REAL Key To Successfully Marketing Any Product! |
| The REAL key to successful marketing of any product is building relationships. The most successful tools for this strategy are forums, communities, coops and the new form of media desktop software, i.e. "Your Easy Street's" new Media Pilot. In order to properly build product sales, you must gain trust and understand the needs of the people you are selling to, or you'll get poor returns on your efforts and investments.
In regards to the forums, If you want others to read your post, then read and More.. |
| Read more About The REAL Key To Successfully Marketing Any Product! |
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| Communicating Our Attitude |
| The goal of successful marketing is to create long lasting relationships with your prospects by marketing your business with passion. When you're not excited about what you're doing, no one else will be either. Our passion for what we do in business is communicated through our attitude. Our attitude comes shining through in a variety of ways. How can you create an attitude that paves the way to success for you and your business?
1. You are what you speak. The words we use say everything about w More.. |
| Read more About Communicating Our Attitude |
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| A Common - Yet Easily Avoidable - Marketing Mistake |
| December is a month in which many organizations make plans for the coming year. Now is a great time for you to look at your marketing systems for attracting and retaining customers.
Although front end systems such as advertising, public relations, press releases, direct mail, sales letters and promotional items are important, equally as important as what you and your staff do after you gain new customers. It never ceases to amaze me how companies will invest money in campaigns to gain new custo More.. |
| Read more About A Common - Yet Easily Avoidable - Marketing Mistake |
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| Secret of Strategy - Part 1 |
| A step-by-step guide to creating a growth strategy based on your current situation and future possibilities.
I'll bet you think you already have a strategy.
And well you may, but strategy as a concept is just like love: much used and little understood. Many businesses (and that includes small entrepreneurs, large corporations, non-profits, community organizations, governments, NGOs?the works) neither know what strategy really is, nor how to get one.
And even if you do, in fact, have a strateg More.. |
| Read more About Secret of Strategy - Part 1 |
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| Secret of Strategy - Part 2 |
| How to Create Strategies That Work In Today's Markets.
Of course you've heard that when you do what you've always done, you'll likely get what you've always got. In this case that means playing the tactical game: coming up with acceptable--or worse--comfortable options and executing them as time permits. Likely, what you'll get is business as usual, and things will be... well, they'll be fine.
But "fine" may not be what you're after, and you are probably reading a series called "How to Create More.. |
| Read more About Secret of Strategy - Part 2 |
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| New Years Planning Critical Success Factors |
| New Year's is a good time for strategic planning or re-planning your business. But don't think that's the only time. If you feel the need to re-consider your strategic plan - by all means - go ahead.
Whatever time of the year it is, you have probably set a working direction for the rest of the year, including clear-cut objectives. Your first-iteration plan to reach them should be in place. This now (whatever time it is - if you are thinking about it) seems like an ideal time to rethink the whol More.. |
| Read more About New Years Planning Critical Success Factors |
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| Reverse The Risk And Boost Your Profits |
| As a business owner or marketer, if you don't reverse therisk in your product and/or service offerings, you're reallymissing out in what can be one of the most powerful weaponsin your marketing arsenal.
Risk Reversal Defined
Risk Reversal, in essence, means that you, the business owner,assumes all the risks associated with the business transactions, and your customers none.
Why Reverse The Risk?
The main reason that you'll want to reverse the risk is so that you may boost your sales and prof More.. |
| Read more About Reverse The Risk And Boost Your Profits |
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| Misrepresentation - Through Silence! |
| We're back to the subject of ethics, more specifically, business ethics.
But unlike ethical dilemmas we've discussed in the past - when people are confronted with bizarre, freak circumstances they had never planned for, and then face agonizing choices regarding how to react - I'm now talking about cases where people willfully and proactively steer events in a certain direction.
Take the case of the owner of a $32 million business whose daring entry into entrepreneurship was recounted in a lead More.. |
| Read more About Misrepresentation - Through Silence! |
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| How To Create Urgency So People Buy Now |
| ..products or services now. They may not revisit your web site or see your ad again.
How do you do this? You must use a limited time offer. Limited time offers stop people from putting off buying your products or services. It stops them from procrastinating.
There are many different types of limited time offers. Here are a few.
Limited Time Price Offers
For example, Order Now! While the price is still low.
After Dec 23,1999 this price will go up to...
Limited Time Discount Offers
For example More.. |
| Read more About How To Create Urgency So People Buy Now |
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| Marketing On The Cheap: Join The What? |
| Your local Chamber of Commerce.
Now before you stop reading, I assure you this really works, and no, this is not an advertisement for the Chamber of Commerce although it may read like one.
What seems now like a hundred years ago I owned and operated a company that was made up of three components: a monthly magazine that we converted over to the Internet (http://www.sbmag.org); a graphic art studio; and an advertising agency. While we were in our infant stages, one of the tools I used to build More.. |
| Read more About Marketing On The Cheap: Join The What? |
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| Knowing When To Charge More and To Charge Less |
| More And More
It was notable that when I started my business twenty years ago, I came up with a certain "minimum" profit I wanted to make. Within a very short time I didn't feel that profit was enough and I gingerly started to charge more. Then more. I kept stretching and kept raising my profit requirement.
NOW THIS IS THE MOST INTERESTING PART: The more I raised my prices, the more I attracted higher paying clients. Each step forward helped me release the fear that I couldn't get more (or tha More.. |
| Read more About Knowing When To Charge More and To Charge Less |
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| Metaphysical Marketing |
| The foundation of success is in your mind. You do not need to struggle, seek and strive to build your business. You can use mental and spiritual laws to create and attract all the elements that insure success. Wouldn't you love to set your business on "automatic pilot" and enjoy the ride?
The Law of Reversed Effort
The application of prosperity principles in business allows us to become aligned with these spiritual laws to learn how to "receive" success instead of "trying" to make it happen.
More.. |
| Read more About Metaphysical Marketing |
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| Sell Your Name, Not Your Product |
| Do you know what the majority of people sell? I could not tell you what Michael Green sells, but if he does sell something, then I would probably buy it. His name is popular among the "Marketers".
When you were in school you probably remember that some guys and girls were more popular than others. Those were the ones that were voted as Vice Presidents and or course Presidents of the school faculty group.
It wasn't that they were any smarter or did anything better, but as you know they did get More.. |
| Read more About Sell Your Name, Not Your Product |
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| Creating Your Own Lead Capture Pages |
| Having a downline can be golden. A downline is a group of folks who have either signed-up or have already agreed to at least look at what you send them.
There are currently many ways to get a downline on the internet, and more coming all the time. For example, promoting certain programs, such as surf exchanges, may allow you to build a downline. This can be a pretty good way, but you must check into the particulars of the specific program you are using, because some will not allow you access to More.. |
| Read more About Creating Your Own Lead Capture Pages |
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| Viral Marketing |
| Viral marketing involves the use of surf-exchanges, and if you don't know what a surf-exchange is, its a site that you can join, often for free, and exchange web page views with other members.
You submit the website you wish to promote, and then you usually get a 'start page' that you load into your web browser and you start to view other web pages. It's usually on a timer of about 30 seconds and for every certain number of web pages you view; you earn a 'credit' which means that your page will More.. |
| Read more About Viral Marketing |
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| Using Purchased Leads |
| A little advice about using leads that you purchase from another source;
These are not opt-in leads per-say, that you have gathered using lead capture pages.
They might join your list, but initially this is a whole different animal.
First, some basic advice;
1.) Make sure these leads are 'fresh,' no more then a month old. A week is best.
2.) Make sure your leads come with complete data;
First and last names,
Home address,
Phone number,
Date and time of opt-in,
Ip address and URL they opt i More.. |
| Read more About Using Purchased Leads |
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| 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 a company grows, the president tends to fade away into his or her office. That can lead to loss of leverage right at the point when a company is starting to take off and needs it most.
The danger is that the company can become just another faceless entity that the customer deals with every day. This danger increases in this era of reliance on compute More.. |
| Read more About Customer Retention with a Personal Touch |
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