How to Market Your Small Business

The first rule of marketing for small business is to get the attention of your client. Basically, the people that you need to create as customers have to know that you exist. So first, you have to have a key message that you communicate clearly in your advertising. So for example, what attention grabbing headline should you use, what title will you give to an article?

You get the attention of your customers by letting them know what results they can expect from your product or service. People want to know what's in it for them but they are not interested in knowing how you will do this. A good and attention grabbing marketing plan will show people how you can solve their problems.

Next, you have to get people interested in what you're selling and create trust between the customer and you. Now that you have everyone's attention people want to know more. At this stage, you have to provide more information so that people will know what you have to offer. You have to let them know what kind of results they can expect by using your product or service.

You can dispense information in many different ways. One way is to write an article, or a tip sheet, or create an audio tape. You have to show that you are a source of information to your customers, so that people want to know more and are given information so they will trust you in the future.

If you have grabbed the customer's attention and gained their trust, the customer at this point should be able to see the needs or wants that you can fulfill for them. At this point you have to make it very clear that you can give them what they need.

Basically, this is where you make it clear that your services are right for them. You go into more detail about the type of things they need and show them how well their needs match with your company.

If you have gotten this far with the potential customer, you have to make the deal. Basically, you have determined that working together is going to work very well for both parties. Now it's time to make the final deal.

This involves putting together an agreement that is satisfactory to both sides. Make sure everyone knows clearly what the expectations are, and that you won't disappoint in the end. You will have to negotiate the deal at this point, and make an agreement to start with the work.

If you have now examined your current marketing and sales strategy, look at where you might have gone wrong in the process. You may have skipped several steps in the process and as a result, you're not getting the sales you need. Luckily it's never too late! You can get started now turning things around. Good luck!

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About the Author: Shonda Miles is a business consultant and business coach. Gotta Take Action provides informative articles and advice to women-owned businesses who are ready to skyrocket their profits. Learn more about how to catapult your business success by visiting http://www.gottatakeaction.com for more information. If you enjoyed this article, join our newsletter Hot Marketing Tips today.