1. Validate Objections Openly acknowledge common concerns in your marketing materials and presentations. If you are a small firm competing against larger companies, don't try to sweep this obvious fact under carpet. Point it out and use it to your advantage.

2. Understand Objections Use questions to get prospects talking about each of their concerns. If you charge high prices for your services, ask them what their concerns are about price. With right questions, you'll find out where to take discussion or how to refine your marketing strategy.

3. Educate Prospects Once you have a clear idea of your prospects' distinct priorities you can explain benefits of using your high priced service or how smaller size of your firm is actually to their advantage.

When to Address Objections The best time to address objections is in your marketing materials. You can use your brochure, your web site and other materials to validate prospects' objections, understand their concerns and educate them. Assuming your prospects read your materials, you can use this approach to eliminate objections before you even have first conversation with a prospect.

Of course, not all prospects will read everything you provide and some will have lingering concerns despite your best efforts. Until sale takes place, you should assume that your prospects might have questions that need to be addressed. What can you do about these persistent objections?

Use your marketing conversations to get prospects to clarify their concerns so you can address each one. For example, don't wait until last minute to find out that person you've been talking to needs to consult their boss. Early on in your marketing effort, ask them who needs to be part of purchasing decision so you can include them from start.

Prior to asking for sale, get your prospect to identify:

- When would be right time to use your services? - What information do they want to see in a written proposal? - What they like and don't like about their existing supplier? - What their financial or other objectives are? - How a smaller company could better meet their needs? - What benefits would justify costs?

Your marketing objective is to make it as easy as possible for your prospects to become clients. Unanswered questions and concerns get in way and result in lost sales. Eliminate these up front in your marketing and you'll find many more prospects signing up to be clients.

Google AdWords

In October 2000, Google announced its new content-targeted advertising program. Google AdWords was a huge "out-of-the-box" success, boasting well over 100,000 advertisers to date.

AdWords Select

In February 2002, Google launched AdWords Select, an updated version of AdWords self-service advertising system with a number of new enhancements, including cost-per-click (CPC)-based pricing.

Google AdSense

In June 2003, Google anounced AdSense, a program designed to maximize revenue potential of a website by serving highly relevant ads specific to content of page, launches with initial partners, including ABC.com, HowStuffWorks, Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc., Lycos Europe, Knight Ridder Digital, About.com, CNET and others.

Google Deskbar

In November 2003, Google announced Google Deskbar, a free software download which enables users to search Google without using a web browser.

Gmail

On April 1, 2004, Google announced a new web-based mail service called Gmail that will include a gigabyte of free storage for each user. The service also includes a powerful search engine to locate and retrieve messages, which are displayed in a "conversation view" that chronologically arranges all emails sent or received with same subject line. Gmail also includes relevant advertising delivered with same technology that scans web pages as part of AdSense service.

To say that Google has had a meteoric rise to stardom would be an understatement. Years ago, who would have thought that little search engine with funny name would reach such massive heights that a monolith like Microsoft would find it tough competing.

So, what's next? Only Google knows for sure. However, I for one would like to see it tackle current click fraud problem with same excellence, zeal and determination its shown in its other remarkable achievements.

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net