Ask Questions When you or your staff speaks with a prospect on phone make sure you ask how they heard of your business; was it a referral or an ad in local newspaper? It’s such simple way to gather valuable information many small business owners overlook it.

Be sure to ask your prospects how they heard of your business.

Make It Easy for Your Prospect to Help You Make it easy for your prospects to properly identify marketing piece to which they respond. If you have multiple phone lines into your office you can easily accomplish this by assigning a unique phone number to individual marketing efforts. This way, you or a staff member can ask what number your prospect dialed or, if you have right phone system you can look at phone to see which line call is on.

Data Entry Should Be Easy Too Once you or a staff member have garnered information you seek from your prospect, make it as easy as possible to have this information to be entered into your database system. If you employ a staff, make certain everyone is up to speed on your latest systems. Training is a must.

Move Your Marketing Forward The idea is to gather as much information as you can about which marketing mechanisms generate best (and worst) response, who is responding and why they chose to respond.

Once you have this information you will be better able to think like a future client, cater your marketing material to their needs and generate more leads and sales.

What are some other steps you can take to measure effect of your marketing efforts?

And so question, Which are you, a peacekeeper or a peacemaker? Do you see opportunities or do you only see problems? Are you busy keeping peace, or are you actively confronting and resolving those issues in your life that are calling for resolution? How do you view challenges you are currently facing, annoyances or welcomed opportunities?

Do you look forward to and welcome opportunities that challenge and grow you in process? Have you accepted fact that sometimes life is not comfortable but that "real life" happens in midst of this discomfort? Are you content to accept what life dishes out or are you scratching and clawing in trenches to pull from life and yourself things you want and deserve?

Which is it going to be for you, Victim or Victor? The choice is all yours.

I offer these as my final thoughts on subject:

Those of us who are crazy enough to think we can change world, our world, are one’s who will surely do it. If you want to make your world a better place in which to live, start by seizing opportunities that are right now before you.

Make that telephone call… Write that letter… Confront that person…Then tell them you love them. Accept that setback and move on to next battle… Share gift of ‘you’ with somebody, anybody. Forgive… Forget… Do something… Do Anything! Live!!

Thanks for sharing your time with me. I welcome your thoughts, comments.

Live some. Love some. Learn some. Everyday.

C...