Networking Your Home Business within Circles of Influence

Written by Stone Evans


When you need an auto mechanic or an air conditioning repairman, where do you turn for help? Sure, some people turn torepparttar yellow pages. But most will turn to friends and family and ask if they know of anyone who can dorepparttar 117022 work.

The best place for your business to be positioned is to berepparttar 117023 business onrepparttar 117024 tips ofrepparttar 117025 tongues ofrepparttar 117026 people asked to make repparttar 117027 referral.

THE 300 RULE

Preachers, funeral directors and people in a few other professions have learned "the 300 rule" through their own personal experience.

"The 300 rule" states thatrepparttar 117028 average person knows 300 people on a friendly level. Wedding planners tend to make reservations for 300 guests. Funeral directors tend to need to make room for 300 mourners. You getrepparttar 117029 idea.

DOODLING WITH CIRCLES OF INFLUENCE

Imagine your circle of friends, family and acquaintances, a.k.a. your circle of influence. Now, draw your circle of influence as a circle on a blank piece of paper.

Next, contemplaterepparttar 117030 people in your parents' circle of influence. Some people who know your parents also know you. Therefore, you will share some influence withrepparttar 117031 people your folks know. Now draw your parents' circle of influence on your piece of paper.

Your circle and your parents' circle will intersect in one area, althoughrepparttar 117032 larger majority ofrepparttar 117033 two circles will not intersect. If you are like most people,repparttar 117034 two circles on your page at this point looks very similar torepparttar 117035 MasterCard logo.

Now imagine drawing a page full of intersecting circles, each circle representingrepparttar 117036 circle of influence ofrepparttar 117037 people who are within your own circle of influence. Imagine trying to encapsulate an accurate rendering of where your circle andrepparttar 117038 circle of your friends will actually intersect.

Some circles will share a large area of space, while others will barely cover one another.

Actually, you can only imagine at this point what your piece of paper will look like. The actual layout ofrepparttar 117039 circles imagined in this analogy is simply too overwhelming forrepparttar 117040 mind to comprehend.

How to Win the Advertising and Promotion Game

Written by Stone Evans


I am certain that, as a business owner, you have often entertainedrepparttar question as to how much to spend and where to spend your advertising dollars. For most small business owners, these questions can add torepparttar 117021 headaches suffered inrepparttar 117022 course of normal everyday operations of their business.

THERE ARE NO SIMPLE ANSWERS

The how much to spend and where to spend it questions have no easy answers.

Depending on your type of business, many people suggest thatrepparttar 117023 *how much* should be equal to anywhere from 4% to 10% of your gross receipts.

The quandary is that a business cannot survive without a fresh flow of incoming customers. But, a business can seldom generate a fresh stream of customers without spending money to getrepparttar 117024 word out about their business.

THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

Have you ever paid for advertising and sat back to awaitrepparttar 117025 fresh flow of customers, only to find yourself sitting and sitting and then sitting some more?

Don’t feel bad about that. It has happened to many of us before.

See, knowing where to spendrepparttar 117026 advertising money is not enough to getrepparttar 117027 job done.

Where to spendrepparttar 117028 money only begins to highlightrepparttar 117029 other issues connected with advertising:

· Marketing Plan · Advertising Strategy · Headlines, Ad Copy and Visual Presentation · Trackingrepparttar 117030 Success of Your Advertising Campaigns

THE MARKETING PLAN

The Marketing Plan is used primarily to identify your own products and services, costs, strengths, weaknesses andrepparttar 117031 strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

To learn more about constructing your own marketing plan, visit repparttar 117032 Small Business Administration website for a comprehensive study ofrepparttar 117033 elements of a Marketing Plan:

http://www.home-business.com/nav/articles/links/sba_plan.html

ADVERTISING STRATEGY

It is important to understand what you expect to gain from your advertising.

Do you simply wish to get your name known so that when your customer will need you, they will think of you first? Or, do you wish to get your customers in your front door on Saturday?

Do you want your customers to come in and take a look around to discoverrepparttar 117034 next object that they cannot live without? Or, do you want them to come in and buy a specific widget?

Do you hope that enough people will come in to buy enough products or services to pay for your single ad? Or, do you expect to gain a lifelong customer who will help pay for your advertising overrepparttar 117035 course of several years?

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