Tips for Using Articles to Build Your List

February 28th, 2010

Writing articles relevant to your target audience is a great way to build your list. By providing potential clients with content they can use, you’ll give them a reason to visit your sign-up page. Here are three tips for effectively using articles to build your list.

Tip #1: Survey Your Target Audience First
Fusing the needs and wants of your target audience into the titles of your articles will ensure what you’re writing is relevant. Take time to find out what they really want to know, what kind of information you can offer that will have them turning to you for more.

An effective way to find out what they want is surveying, and there are some great tools available. Two popular, easy to use tools are AskDatabase.com and SurveyMonkey.com. Ask the people in your target audience what issues they struggle with, and then tailor your titles and content accordingly.

Tip #2: Create Your Article
As you write your articles use key words and content that will demand the attention of your target audience.  Some of us enjoy writing our own articles, but if you don’t, you can still create great content. Buy a digital recorder and record yourself answering the questions your target audience is asking.

You can also record yourself whenever you give a talk to a group. Once you have some recordings made, hire a transcriber to transcribe your audio. At that point, you can either edit the transcript into separate articles yourself, or hire a copy editor to create the articles for you.   By recording yourself and then having a good copy editor create articles from your transcripts, you’re more likely to meet the requirements of the editors on article directories.

Tip #3: Submit Your Articles
Once you have articles ready to submit to article sites, take advantage of article submission services to do that for you quickly and easily. Submitting articles yourself is time-consuming and distracts you from doing things only you can do for your business.   Be sure to provide a link back to your sign-up page.  As people read your articles, they should be directed back to your site.

Put Your Article Strategy in Motion. Writing and submitting well-written articles filled with useful content relevant to your target audience is an effective way to build your list. Consistently creating and submitting articles won’t build your list overnight, but great articles can definitely drive traffic to your sign-up page. If you haven’t tried article submission, it’s time to add it to your overall marketing strategy.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Tips for Using Articles to Build Your List

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Posted in Advertising, Business Networking, Business Success, List building, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Motivation, Niche Marketing, Personal Productivity, target audience | No Comments »

Buy Back Precious Time

February 27th, 2010

In any typical working day, most people have only two to three really productive hours. So, why not just cut out the other four to five hours and focus on the two to three that are really getting results?

You may be thinking that you need to work all the hours you do to get everything done. It may seem impossible for you to cut your working hours down. But it is possible!

Understand that the way you work comes from years of habit. It comes from having once been an employee, where you might have been able to get the work done quickly, but you still had to be present at the office because the boss would be upset if you went home at 10:30 am.

Well, you’re the boss now, and you can alter your business hours to suit yourself. You will be just as, if not more productive than you are right now, and you will buy back precious time for yourself.  Time is the one thing you cannot create more of, but in this case, you can.  Here are some questions to consider in your quest to buy back more time by being more productive ….

Are you over-servicing your clients?  Start by becoming really aware of the things you’re doing that keep you working harder and longer than necessary. Then take control, rein yourself in, and stop doing them.

If you’ve set what you think is a commanding daily rate for your services, are you subconsciously working more hours to justify that rate? Do you end up essentially doing three days’ work just to rationalize the higher rate that you charge?

Take a closer look here because, you’re still not making the money you think you’re worth. You are over-servicing the client. It’s not just about the rate. It’s about how much time you put into the service you offer.

Are you offering all sorts of extras that involve a lot more follow-up and that you aren’t being paid for? If your clients are perfectly happy and satisfied with what you’ve provided, your work there is done. Your clients aren’t going to turn away your free services, particularly if they were already willing to pay for your expertise. If you think you have more to offer your client, create an upgraded package and sell it to them. Continued access to your services should not be available for free.

Are you striving for perfection?  Do you continually work on a product or presentation that is already fine because you think it could be better? This is your own need for perfectionism coming into play, particularly if you are creating products or programs.

Perfectionism stops you from moving forward. You will be more productive by creating a product that satisfies your client’s needs and getting it into their hands, rather than tweaking it over and over.

Start to take notice of where are you creating extra, unnecessary work for yourself. It’s a habit that you have to break.   Change your habits to maximize those productive hours. Then spend the time you’ve bought back however you choose.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Buy Back Precious Time

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Home Based Business, Marketing, Motivation, Personal Productivity, Small Business Ideas | No Comments »

Determine Your TRUE VALUE

February 26th, 2010

What comes easily to you?  The thing that you believe is just common sense, is in fact, the most important thing for you to share with the world. We all have things which come easily to us, in fact so easily, that we fail to recognize that other people can have difficulty doing the very same thing. To unleash the power of your online business, you must determine what this thing is. This is your unique value proposition.   Your unique value proposition is your ‘Gold’. It is what you can leverage to create and grow an online business; a proven method of boosting your business’s bottom line, without boosting your required long term time investment.

Try This Brainstorming Exercise: Draw a large square on a blank piece of paper. The square should fill the entire page. Within the square, draw two lines dividing the space into four quarters. In the top left hand quadrant, write the words, ‘hard to learn’. In the top right hand quadrant, write the words, ‘easy to learn but hard to do.’ In the bottom left hand quadrant, right the words, ‘hard to learn, easy to do.’ And, in the bottom right hand corner, right the words, ‘so easy to learn and easy to do.’

Now, write thoughts that come into your mind about your skill sets, placing them into the appropriate quadrants:

• Hard to Learn - What seems extremely challenging for you to learn? If it’s hard to learn and you have to study for years to do it. And, it takes a fair about of effort and focus to do it.

• Easy to Learn, Hard to Do – Filling paperwork. This task is easy to accomplish, yet hard to make yourself do it, at least it is for most people.

• Hard to Learn, Easy to Do – This would be something which is hard to learn initially, but easy to do once you learn it as you love it.

• So Easy to Learn, Easy to Do – This is something you wouldn’t dream of charging people for as you get so much pleasure doing it.

Now that you have completed the exercise, consider where the most money to be made in the world would fall in terms of categories. Where most of the world thinks that there is money to be made is in the hard to learn, hard to do quadrant. The assumption is often made that anything which is hard to learn will have less competition, causing the compensation to be greater.

But, your true value, the area in which you can make the most difference for yourself and for the rest of the world, is the place that comes most easily to you. That’s where your natural talent lies. And, that is the quadrant which you should be operating out of.

Now that you know what your true values are, you can align your online business with them. By doing the brainstorming you’ll discover your unique value proposition, and you will be taking the first step toward boosting your business’s annual revenues.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. She publishes a free, weekly newsletter for trainers, speakers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Determine Your TRUE VALUE

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Personal Productivity, Small Business Ideas, Success Secrets | 1 Comment »

Help Clients Make The Decision To Buy

February 25th, 2010

You may be fully aware of the tremendous difference that your services make to an organization or an individual, but you have to find a way to link that difference to end results.

One of the really important things you need to do in your business is identify the results you achieve.

One way that you can ascertain the results you’ve helped a client achieve is to go back and ask them. If your contact has told you that since they used your services or product, they got X number of results, find out the implications of those results – in terms of time or money.

I did some negotiation skills training for a client, who told me, “it really made a difference.” That’s all fine and good, but I asked them to quantify what difference it made.  In their case, they were able to measure what their goodwill budget had been the year before compared to the current year, and I was able to get a statistic from that.

If you’re a coach, and you’ve been able to save a particular client 2 hours every week in their work week, that’s valuable time over the course of a month or two. But, if you factor those hours at the rate that client gets paid, it could work out to your helping the client make additional thousands of dollars a year.

You have to look at what you’re doing in terms of increasing sales, or reducing cost, or saving time, and then work through it that way. Calculate what the net benefit is for the client. Always remember, clients make the decision to buy something based on the benefits.  You may need to do a bit of research to make those connections.

Think of yourself as a salesperson who is putting together a presentation that quantifies all the benefits. Or, as a bit of a lawyer, arguing in court and putting together a case. You have to bring together different pieces of information and statistics to make your argument.

It’s not that you’re stating you are definitely going to help a client save this amount of time or money, but you’re getting people to think in terms of end results for their business.

To get your potential clients those results, you must first prompt your existing and satisfied clients for a specific answer about how your service benefits them. Be willing to go back to your contacts and talk to them about the difference you’ve been making. Ask them to quantify it.

They won’t think about it until you ask them. But, by asking the question, you’re also raising your value in their eyes too.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. She publishes a free, weekly newsletter for trainers, speakers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Help Clients Make The Decision To Buy

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Posted in Cash Flow, Closing The Sale, Marketing, Sales Motivation | 1 Comment »

The Power of Scheduling

February 24th, 2010

If you’re like many busy business owners, you likely have an outstanding project you’ve been wanting to complete.  But you just can’t find the time to finish it. Your calendar is packed and there’s no way to clear enough white space to complete the task from start to finish. There’s an easier way to complete a big project, and it doesn’t require going away on retreat.  Learn the power of scheduling to help you complete your big projects without feeling overwhelmed.

Focused Time is Powerful.  Learning to focus your attention on one thing is the key, but you must schedule in that focused time. It may seem contradictory to say you must schedule in time when you can’t clear your calendar. But scheduling becomes most powerful when you set aside regular blocks of time devoted to a single task.

Suppose you have a product in mind that will benefit your clients greatly. The problem is that you know it will take two solid weeks to create and package the product. None of us has that kind of time to devote to a single business activity.

Instead, schedule an hour each week to work on a key part of the process. Regularly scheduled time with a consultant to help clarify the project may be a good first step. Never underestimate the power of expert help to move things forward. But no matter what piece of the project you’re completing, dedicating focused, scheduled time to it is easier than clearing your entire schedule.

You may not have two weeks of uninterrupted time, but you do have an hour a week. Over time, those one hour blocks can add up to a completed product. The secret is not to get hung up on never having time for the whole project. Instead of giving up on completing the project, schedule it in blocks of time and get it done.

The power of scheduling doesn’t just apply to big projects. It can be helpful with every other aspect of your business. If your virtual assistant needs monthly input on your newsletter, have her add it to your schedule so it’s ready when she needs it. For tasks only you can do in your business, set up a system and a schedule so you’ll know when it needs to be done and when you’ll do it.

Capture your time in this way rather than scrambling to get it all done. You’ll soon see that it’s so much more effective. Focus completely on the task at hand until it’s time to do something else. Embrace this as a saner way to bring order to your days. No matter what it is you never seem to find the time to do, you can create the time by learning to schedule.

If you’re struggling to find the time to create products, meet with staff or finish large projects, try harnessing the power of scheduling to get it all done. Small blocks of time, regularly scheduled, and the added assistance of an expert when needed, will put you in control of your days and make you more productive than you ever dreamed.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

The Power of Scheduling

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Motivation, Personal Productivity, Systems | 1 Comment »

Recognize Your Niche

February 23rd, 2010

Are you waiting for that “aha!” moment to finally figure out your special role on the world’s stage? Do you expect that one day your specialty will just hit you like a bolt of lightning?

If you’re waiting for the light bulb to turn on, you may end up sitting in the dark for a very long time. More often than not, identifying your niche and your specialty is more like a silhouette emerging through the fog.

In my own experience, picking a niche always comes about gradually. You’re working on one thing, and then another thing similar to that, and before long, you are being associated with a specific specialty or setting.

You probably don’t even realize it as it happens because the process of creating your niche is steady and progressive – the feeling isn’t at all like your expectations. No fireworks, no clashing symbols.

The whole evolution of my own niche probably took 12 to 18 months. I didn’t just ask myself one day, “I wonder what my niche is?” and the next day decide to be a cold calling expert. And, once I became a cold calling expert, I didn’t stop there.

You need to just keep going and continue defining yourself in your business. Ask yourself, “What is it that people are struggling with that I can help them with?”

I honed in on the area of appointment setting and appointment making. At that time, no one else was really offering courses on that specific topic. That helped me to stand out in the marketplace. Part of the reason that I stuck with that niche was that the market kept me on track.

I’m not where I am today because I decided at a very early age that I wanted to be an appointment setting expert. If there is a demand for what you are doing, the market will tell you whether you should continue in that direction. It just may not be a direction you ever saw yourself heading in.

Keep it simple.  Look around you and ask yourself, “What am I seeing that’s coming up as a problem for people time and time again?”

You can look at the needs of existing clients, read trade magazines for your industry or visit online forums to find similar topics that come up again and again.

There will be some that you’re drawn to and others where you don’t have that same attraction. Follow up on the ones that you feel a pull toward and see what happens.

Don’t confuse identifying a niche with “what’s my purpose in life?” That is a much bigger question. You are a magnificent being with so much to do on this earth. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to boil it all down into one sentence.

But, that’s actually exactly what you need to do when you pick a niche. Boil it down. Pick one phrase. “I help ____ to achieve or to solve ____.” Maybe you help moms who want to start their own business, or need another example here.

If you’re approaching your niche as a life purpose question, it’s going to be nearly impossible to answer. Take yourself off the hook and take that pressure off yourself.

Your niche will evolve with your business. Again, learn from my situation. I didn’t stop at being a cold calling or appointment setting expert. Today I’m teaching people how to find new business. The way in which I’m helping people and the types of people I’m helping is completely different from what I started out with.

So, don’t be concerned that what you decide today is irreversible. The market may take you in another direction over the course of time.

Approach finding your niche more pragmatically. Identify the area where you think there could be demand and where you feel you’ve got some expertise and can add some value. You don’t have to have it all perfectly figured out from the outset.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Recognize Your Niche

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Posted in Business Networking, Business Plans, Marketing, Niche Marketing, Success Secrets, target audience | 4 Comments »

Make More Sales By Gaining Trust and Confidence

February 22nd, 2010

You know that you’re the best, but your customers need to believe that too. There are several ways for you to gain their confidence and trust so you can earn their business.

Sway potential clients in your favor by taking away the risk of doing business with you and making your offer irresistible.

•  Offer a  guarantee. Personally, I have a guarantee when I’m offering my products or workshops. There is some grey area here, however. Some of my higher-value coaching services are more time intensive for me and don’t include a guarantee. The reason I don’t offer one is that I don’t want to give people an opt-out clause. When these high-caliber people step up in a big way and want to get the results that a high level coaching from me can deliver, I want to know that they’re fully in the game.

It’s a big challenge to make a massive transformation or a big leap in business. You don’t want clients like these to be running for the door or the emergency exit the moment the going gets tough. So, in some cases, guarantees are counter-productive and could actually end up helping clients resist what you’re offering.

So, you have to decide whether or not a guarantee is right for your market.

•  Alleviate their fears. Sometimes people won’t sign on or purchase something because they’re skeptical that what worked for other people won’t work for them. You need to show them how, even if they may have failed in the past, this time they will succeed. Include additional follow-ups or features that your competition doesn’t provide to show that you can help them accomplish their goal or fulfill their need. Be creative and really give some thought as to how you can remove the risk for your potential clients.

•  Make your offer irresistible. Pile on so much value that there is just no way they can lose. Include all the things your targeted clients could possibly want so that they just can’t pass your offer by.

There are few different ways to do this. Quantify the benefits of your services. For example, if you’ve got a program where for a $1,000 investment, your client will be able to make or save $10,000 in the next three months, you need to tell them that. Don’t assume that they will figure that out. Quantify the benefits specifically.

If there isn’t an easy financial comparison in your business, you do need to dig a little because this can really help you and help your clients. They will be able to wrap their heads around what you’re offering and make an informed decision because you’re giving them all the information they need.

The more you quantify, make your offer irresistible, and remove risk, the more successful you’re going to be.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Make More Sales By Gaining Trust and Confidence

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Posted in Business Success, Cash Flow, Closing The Sale, Customer Loyalty, Customer Retention, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Strategies To Keep Good Customers, Success Secrets | 2 Comments »

Get A Better Response From Your Joint Venture Partners

February 21st, 2010

You’ve chosen your potential joint venture partners. You’ve sent them a compelling email that gives them all the information and creates lots of excitement about your promotion. Now you’re waiting for the positive responses to come in.

But what if they don’t?

There will be people who say no, who aren’t interested in the partnership. There may also be some who don’t respond at all – maybe they didn’t receive the email.

Don’t be discouraged. They aren’t necessarily lost causes.

If someone says no, or doesn’t respond, try to maintain the personal connection you established in the email. Phone them and say what you put in your email.

During the call, outline your idea. If they express interest, get into the details of how the promotion works. And then just ask them, “Are you onboard?”

Don’t assume the answer is negative if you don’t get a response. You’ve got to follow up. This is your business. This is you thinking big and wanting to partner with big players. So you’ve got to act big to do that, and you’ve got to take what you’re doing really seriously.

There are also times when a little creativity might help. For example, you may work in an industry where there aren’t many potential partners, and those you would like to approach are really “big fish” who might be too busy to work with you. Sending an email probably won’t make much of an impression on them. So be creative about how you get their attention.

You could mail them something catchy. I’ve seen people mail things like fake money or fake checks with a note saying, “This is play money but I’m hoping to send you real money soon. All the details are inside.” Wrap it up in a box so it stands out from the other mail and gets noticed.

I don’t recommend sending an actual product without permission. Some people get totally bombarded with products that they haven’t asked for and that take up space in the office. You don’t want to do something that will be a nuisance to them.

Also, some people may want to view your product before they endorse it. But do ask permission. Don’t just send it to them unannounced.

Unfortunately, you are going to get some no’s. Not everyone you contact will say yes. But don’t get discouraged. Just keep going and don’t give up.

Expect that some people will say no.  Aim for more partners than you think you’ll need. Update and add to your jv list constantly in order to be sure you’ll have enough joint venture partners on board.

Once you get the ball rolling the excitement will really begin. The promotion and partnership will build momentum.  And it will become a self-fulfilling energy that will keep you inspired to continue with future partnerships.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Get A Better Response From Your Joint Venture Partners

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Posted in Advertising, Business Networking, Business Plans, Business Success, Internet Business, Joint Venture, Marketing, Website sales | 1 Comment »

The Key To Setting and Getting The Right Price

February 20th, 2010

If you want to have a successful business that serves clients, sooner or later money has to change hands. And that means sooner or later you’re going to have to say, “This is what I’m offering you and this is the price.”

If you have a problem with that, you’re not alone. I see a lot of people missing this step when they map out their business plan. You shouldn’t misstep here though, because it is an obvious and necessary detail. Without it, you are not going to be putting any money in your bank account.

The only thing that will put money into your bank account is you showing up and saying to that customer, “Here it is. Here is what it costs. Here is how to pay.”

This can be a difficult thing for people to do sometimes. But, really, there is no reason that you should be afraid to ask for the money. Maybe you’re frightened of the possible rejection. Maybe you’re frightened of negotiation and the possibility that you’ll have to say no. Maybe you’re afraid to actually set the price in stone.

If you set up your price before you even begin taking on clients, there isn’t anything to be concerned about.

Approach this detail from its end point. Design your total client-getting system so that it takes you all the way through to collecting the money. In fact, what I really want you to do is start with collecting the money and then work backward – detailing all of the steps that need to happen in order to get to that point.

You simply cannot deliver outstanding results for your clients if you’re worried about money.

So, it’s important that you begin with the end in mind. Be focused on your end point.  What type of clients do you ultimately want to attract? From there you can begin to develop lead generation systems that will attract the right type of people. People who will be raising their hands, wanting in on your offerings. They won’t be haggling with you about price because you’ve done your research. You know that your services are valuable to them.

This pricing determination has to start before you generate a single lead. By the time you begin your lead generating, you should know how you are going to convert clients and how much you are going to charge them.

So, in essence, you are making decisions from your destination, not from your starting point. This is something that I’ve learned in my own business. When I’m evaluating anything now, I make my decision based on where I want to be 12 months from now.

Something might look like a huge investment to me today. But I know that I’m growing and stepping into something bigger and that I’m going to be in a completely different place 12 months from now.

I know this because I’ve doubled or tripled my income every year for the past three years. When I view something from that destination, something that might look like a huge investment now is actually quite miniscule.

So, make decisions from your destination. Know how much you will charge for your services. Know how you will bill your clients. Get good at asking for money. It is in your best interest and theirs. You can’t treat your clients as well if you’re constantly worried about money.

Start with the details of collecting the money and you will no longer wonder, “How can I ask for this much money from a client?”

The Key To Setting and Getting The Right Price

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Posted in Business & Money, Business Plans, Business Success, Cash Flow, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Success Secrets | 2 Comments »

How To Win Big Business

February 19th, 2010

You can compete with the big name players in your market. You can attract corporate clients to buy your services, whether they involve negotiation skills, presentation skills, sales skills, or dealing with difficult clients and colleagues.

Sometimes, the idea that you’re at a disadvantage to the big companies is more in your own head than it is in your potential buyer’s eyes.

Here’s a simple formula to follow when competing for big business:

Be confident in your ability to deliver your product or service  +
Distinguish yourself from the competition =
Clients will jump on your offering rather than you having to compete for their business.

Don’t be intimidated by the larger businesses who offer services similar to yours. Don’t let the heavy hitters in your area give you an inferiority complex.

Your business actually has a massive advantage over these bigger players…

•    Many of these larger structures tend to offer fixed programs and fixed courses. There’s usually not a lot a room for customized, pick-and-choose type training. You’re not restricted in a way that a larger company would be. That actually means you can have a lot more flexibility for your client. You’re much more able to be responsive to their needs.

•    Big companies tend to send in a very charming and persuasive sales person to close the sale. They go in with all the glitz, pretty brochures, maybe they even take the client out to lunch. Then they outsource to the most inexpensive person they can find to deliver the service, still charging the client a premium rate. Clients soon discover that the person who is actually put in front of them to deliver the training, do the consulting, or whatever the service is, doesn’t have that experience, that credibility or that authority.

Make it obvious, in your marketing material and also in your sales meetings, that the person the client meets going in, is going to be the same person that their end users meet. Without actually saying anything negative about the bigger company vying for their business, you’re planting a seed of doubt. You’re not badmouthing the competition, but you are giving the client something to think about that they may not have before. Where possible, you always want to sell yourself on your strengths as opposed to just going in and knocking the competition.

•    When your business card is basically your name, you can sometimes feel, “I haven’t got the weight. I haven’t got this huge impressive organization behind me.” But, you have to start seeing that as a real advantage. Don’t underestimate a client’s ability to appreciate the fact that your business success hinges on your delivering the very best. You’re not just following some automated process. You’re really engaging with them and really getting to understand their business, so you can make recommendations based on your expertise and what you’ve uncovered as their real need. You’re literally staking your reputation on your service.

So, just because you’re not as big or as famous as some of the others, doesn’t mean you’re at a disadvantage. You’ve got to start to think about, “What do I have that these guys don’t have?”

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

How To Win Big Business

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Posted in Advertising, Business & Money, Business Plans, Business Success, Cash Flow, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Presenting, Sales Leads, Sales Motivation | No Comments »

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