You'll always need to find new prospects for your business. But don't overlook prospects you already attracted. Many are close to buying. Use these four simple procedures to convert those "almost customers" into paying customers.

1. Make A Memorable Impression

Create a reason for prospects and customers to notice you ...and to think of you when they encounter a competitor.

Many prospects who do not buy from you first time will come back to buy later. Existing customers will also remember you. They'll come back to buy again - and they'll send pre-sold referrals to you.

One easy way to establish a memorable identity is to create an important reason for customers to do business with you instead of with your competitors.

The advantage you offer doesn't have to be dramatic to be memorable IF you promote it aggressively. It can be as simple as delivering faster results, more personalized attention or a better guarantee than your competitors.

Tip: Combine several small advantages like those described above to create a big (and more memorable) advantage over your competitors.

2. Follow Up Consistently

Most prospects do not buy first time they see or hear about you. But they will if you follow up with them.

Your follow up can be as simple as contacting them occasionally with a new offer. Or it can be more complex such as publishing a weekly newsletter with useful information and articles.

If you don't already have a way to collect their address, you can get it by offering a valuable gift that you deliver only by email or postal mail.

For example, offer a special report, a list of sources or some other valuable information they cannot get anywhere else. These are valuable to customers and prospects - but they won't cost you much to provide.

3. Make Sure You Answer These 7 Buyer's Questions

A few years ago, I took a break from public relations to work on my first local city council race. The candidate was actually my older brother, a person very active in his community but felt it was time to do more in realm of public service. So he decided to run for office.

From beginning we both knew that one of biggest problems he would face, as a first-time candidate, would be how to gain name recognition. One of ways in which we planned to circumvent problem was by integrating use of cable-access television into our communications strategy.

Yes, cable-access television! I know it sounds strange, and old Wayne's World skits from Saturday Night Live must certainly come to mind. In fact, most small-business owners do chuckle at mere mention of medium, but what they often don't realize is that many of same media strategies used in political campaigns can and are regularly implemented to promote small-business owners and their company services. Here's what you should know in order to take full advantage of this often under-used medium.

Respect Cable Access Hosts as Potential Customers

Sure, many cable access hosts are just ordinary citizens who want an outlet for expressing their views, but many of them also have prominent professional careers. No matter what their backgrounds happen to be, don't they also represent potential customers? You bet, and by appearing on their shows, you get a chance to describe your business in plain speech, talk directly to your customers and also practice doing interviews.

Contact Cable Access Hosts Early

Each cable outlet is different but most only allow hosts to produce a limited amount of shows so that everyone gets an equal chance at exposure. But, did you know that you can also use this information to prevent your competitor from appearing on future shows? Here's an example of how we did it.