How much effort do you put into writing your business card copy? Do you add the “traditional” information – company name, tagline, your name, and a phone number – or do you really dig into the copy and develop a headline and a strong call-to-action? If you’re not using every bit of your business card to market your business, you can rest assured that it will likely be tossed into a forgotten pile of other unmemorable business cards.

Think of your business card copy as prime real estate for marketing your business. Every space on that card has the potential to turn a profit or turn away a prospect. Use it wisely, and you can rest assured that your cards will work for you. Waste the potential, and all you have is hope that you’ll get a return call.

If you want to add more bang to your business cards, here are seven tips that can transform your card from a piece of simple cardstock to a money-generating mini billboard:

Use color. It’s always a good idea to use color on your business cards because they’ll stand out in a stack. Chances are that the recipient has a few other business cards in his or her desk or wallet, so you’ll want to make sure that your card draws attention. Avoid being overly showy; just find a card that makes the statement you want to convey with eye-catching designs that aren’t too complicated.
Add a headline. Do you want your business card to be a calling card or marketing media? When you add a headline, you’re pulling the recipient into your sales message, not just telling them who you are.You’ve got limited space, so be sure that your headline grabs ‘em by the eyeballs and pulls ‘em into your marketing message.
Add sales copy. While you won’t have a lot of space to write a full-blown sales letter, you can add a tagline that encapsulates your sales message. For instance, my business card says, “Deb writes. You profit. It’s that simple.” The copy gets straight to the point and lets the recipient know how they’ll benefit from my services.
Use both sides of the card. Business cards are inexpensive these days, so it pays to take advantage of two-sided printing. Use the back of the card as a continuation of the front, highlighting how your business can benefit the recipient.
List your services. The back of the card is a good place to list a full menu of the products and services you offer. If there are too many to list, highlight the biggest sellers, and be sure to indicate that there’s more available at your website, storefront, etc.
Add your picture. Adding a picture is very important to your branding strategy. You want the recipient of your card to identify YOU with the product or service you’re selling. You don’t have to take a professional photo. Ask someone to take a picture with a digital camera, crop it to a headshot, and upload it to the front (or back) of the business card. Online print shops make this easy to do.
Add a website address. Today, potential customers and clients are more likely to check out your products and services online before they contact you. If you don’t have a website, don’t worry. It’s easy to do. Buy a domain name and a hosting plan, and you can use a website wizard that will do all the hard work for you. Some will even write the copy for you. By having a website that sells, you’ll get more mileage out of your business card.

Don’t overlook your business cards when it comes to developing a powerful marketing message. Consider them prime real estate for marketing your business. Make them stand out, develop a sales message that rocks, and then step back and watch your business grow.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deb_Mills

There are five key elements that can make or break your attempt at successful nonverbal communication in business:

Eye contact

Gestures

Movement

Posture, and

Written communication

Let’s examine each nonverbal element in turn to see how we can maximise your potential to communicate effectively…

Eye contact

Good eye contact helps your audience develop trust in you, thereby helping you and your message appear credible. Poor eye contact does exactly the opposite.

So what IS ‘good’ eye contact?

People rely on visual clues to help them decide on whether to attend to a message or not. If they find that someone isn’t ‘looking’ at them when they are being spoken to, they feel uneasy.

So it is a wise business communicator that makes a point of attempting to engage every member of the audience by looking at them.

Now, this is of course easy if the audience is just a handful of people, but in an auditorium it can be a much harder task. So balance your time between these three areas:

slowly scanning the entire audience,

focusing on particular areas of your audience (perhaps looking at the wall between two heads if you are still intimidated by public speaking), and

looking at individual members of the audience for about five seconds per person.

Looking at individual members of a large group can be ‘tricky’ to get right at first.

Equally, it can be a fine balancing act if your audience comprises of just one or two members — spend too much time looking them in the eyes and they will feel intimidated, stared at, ‘hunted down’.

So here’s a useful tip: break your eye-to-eye contact down to four or five second chunks.

That is, look at the other person in blocks that last four to five seconds, then look away. That way they won’t feel intimidated.

Practice this timing yourself, away from others. Just look at a spot on the wall, count to five, then look away. With practice you will be able to develop a ‘feel’ for how long you have been looking into your audience member’s eyes and intuitively know when to look away and focus on another person or object.

When focusing on individual members in a large meeting or auditorium, try and geographically spread your attention throughout the room. That is, don’t just focus your personal gaze (as distinct from when you are scanning the room or looking at sections of the room) on selected individuals from just one part of the room. Unless you are specifically looking to interact with a particular person at that moment of your presentation, select your individual eye-contact audience members from the whole room.

Gestures

Most of us, when talking with our friends, use our hands and face to help us describe an event or object – powerful nonverbal aids.

We wave our arms about, turn our hands this way and that, roll our eyes, raise our eyebrows, and smile or frown.

Yet many of us also, when presenting to others in a more formal setting, ‘clam up’.

Our audience of friends is no different from our business audience — they all rely on our face and hands (and sometimes legs, feet and other parts of us!) to ‘see’ the bigger, fuller picture.

It is totally understandable that our nervousness can cause us to ‘freeze up’, but is is in our and our communication’s best interests if we manage that nervousness, manage our fear of public speaking, and use our body to help emphasise our point.

I found that by joining a local Toastmasters International club I was rapidly able to learn how to ‘free up my body’ when presenting to others.

Movement

Ever watch great presenters in action — men and women who are alone on the stage yet make us laugh, cry and be swept along by their words and enthusiasm?

Watch them carefully and you’ll note that they don’t stand rigidly in one spot. No, they bounce and run and stroll and glide all around the stage.

Why do they do that?

Because they know that we human beings, men in particular, are drawn to movement.

As part of man’s genetic heritage we are programmed to pay attention to movement. We instantly notice it, whether we want to or not, assessing the movement for any hint of a threat to us.

This, of course, helps explain why many men are drawn to the TV and seem transfixed by it. It also helps explain why men in particular are almost ‘glued’ to the TV when there is any sport on. All that movement!

But to get back to the stage and you on it… ensure that any movement you make is meaningful and not just nervous fidgetting, like rocking back and forth on your heels or moving two steps forward and back, or side to side.

This is ‘nervous movement’ and your nervousness will transmit itself to your audience, significantly diluting the potency of your communication and message.

So move about the stage when you can — not just to keep the men in the audience happy, but to help emphasise your message!

Posture

There are two kinds of ‘posture’ and it is the wise communicator that manages and utilizes both.

Posture 1

The first type of ‘posture’ is the one we think of intuitively-the straight back versues the slumped shoulders; the feet-apart confident stance verses the feet together, hand-wringing of the nervous; the head up and smiling versus the head down and frowing.

And every one of the positions we place the various elements of our body in tells a story—a powerful, nonverbal story.

For example, stand upright, shoulders straight, head up and eyes facing the front. Wear a big smile. Notice how you ‘feel’ emotionally.

Now-slump your shoulders, look at the floor and slightly shuffle your feet. Again, take a not of your emotional state.

Notice the difference?

Your audience surely will, and react to you and your message accordingly.

A strong, upright, positive body posture not only helps you breath easier (good for helping to calm nerves!) but also transmits a message of authority, confidence, trust and power.

If you find yourself challenged to maintain such a posture, practice in front of a mirror, or better yet join a speaking club like Toastmasters International [http://www.toastmastersa.org/champion/index.html].

Posture 2

The second type of ‘posture’ comes from your internal mental and emotional states.

You can have great body posture but without internal mental and emotional posture your words will sound hollow to your audience.

For example, the used car salesman at ‘Dodgy Brothers Motors’ might have great body posture and greet you with a firm handshake, a steady gaze and a friendly smile. But if in his heart he is seeing you as just another sucker then sooner or later his internal conflict between what he says and what he really thinks will cause him to ‘trip up’.

His body will start betraying his real, underlying intentions and you’ll start to feel uncomfortable around him, even if you can’t figure out why.

But, if that same used car salesman had a genuine desire to help you find the right car for you, and he puts your needs before his own, then his words and actions will remain congruent (in harmony) with his underlying intentions and you will trust him, even though you might not be able to identify why.

I have seen some supposed ‘self help’ gurus who don’t actually practice what they preach. Consequently their words ring hollow to me and their books, cds, dvds and training materials remain unpurchased.

I have met salesmen and women who don’t actually make the money they claim to make in their ‘fabulous business opportunity’, and while their words are practiced and polished, and their body posture is ‘perfect’, their words ooze like honeyed poison frm their lips and I remain unconvinced.

This second type of ‘posture’ is fundamentally tied to truth and honesty. It is about ‘walking the talk’ and being who you say you are.

It’s about not trying to sell something you don’t believe in or use yourself. It’s about not trying to pass yourself off as an expert when all you’ve ever done is read a book on the subject.

It’s all about making sure that your words and your intentions are underpinned by truth and honesty. Because all of us, no matter how polished a presenter we might be, are at the mercy of our body and its ability to ‘tell the truth’ in spite of what our lips might utter. Nonverbal clues rule!

Written communication

I could spend a lifetime writing about the art of written communication.

There is an art (and also a science) that can be learnt with diligence and practice. To write too formally; to write too informally; to write too briefly; to write too lengthily…

My first suggestion would be to avail yourself of one of the following three books, each of which is absolutely brilliant at giving you the skills and insights into effective business writing:

The Business Style Handbook: An A-to-Z Guide for Writing on the Job with Tips from Communications Experts at the Fortune 500 by Helen Cunningham and Brenda Greene

The Elements of Business Writing: A Guide to Writing Clear, Concise Letters, Memos, Reports, Proposals, and Other Business Documents by Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly

Effective Business Writing: Strategies, Suggestions and Examples by Maryann V. Piotrowski

From persuasive memos to complaint letters, sales letters to executive summaries — these exceedingly useful guides help you to write clearly and in an appropriate format, style and tone. Each book has numerous examples that show how to overcome writer’s block, organize messages for maximum impact, achieve an easy-to-read style, find an efficient writing system and much more.

In conclusion…

There are five key elements that can make or break your attempt at successful nonverbal business communication:

Eye contact

Gestures

Movement

Posture, and

Written communication

Nonverbal communication in a business setting requires not only recognition of these elements, but confidence in meeting their challenges.

Good luck and remember to communicate with passion!

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Hopkins

Imagine you’d given an early autumn evening party outside, on your lawn under the trees. The next morning, you awoke to discover (1) winds overnight had blown many leaves off the trees, covering your grass with leaves and (2) a guest had left a message on your voice mail saying that one of her diamond and something-or-other earrings had fallen off while she was standing on the lawn and could you please look for it.

Imagine that you spent that next day on your knees on the lawn, lifting and turning over one leaf and then the next looking for the earring and that, on the 500th leaf, you found it. 499 leaves that didn’t pay off. 15 seconds per leaf, four per minute, 240 per hour, about two hours work. Would you be tired? Yes. Bored? Probably. Resentful? Possibly.

Would you feel rejected after turning over 499 leaves? Are you nuts? Leaves are just leaves. So, why do we feel rejected when 499 prospects say “no” or “not now?”

The most frequently requested topic I receive for my Weekly Sales Thought column and for our sales training is “prospecting” or developing new business. Sometimes, I sense that the requestors are asking for a magic twist that will transform their new business development activities so that prospects will arrive, swooning, at their doorsteps, a variation on the “one day my prince/princess will come” story, and that they will never again need to face “rejection.”

My extensive research on the subject has led to the following conclusions:

1) There is no such magic prospecting pill, wand, potion, dance, chant, phone script, mailer, or love potion.

2) We can’t make people be prospects if they don’t want to be.

3) The best business-to-business new client attractors have developed and use several techniques that DO work for most people, most of the time, to reduce rejection.

FOCUS: Think of this as “diamond earring under a leaf.” Very clear focus. The best new business developers we know can tell us exactly what “good prospects” look like, and they don’t fool around with companies or individuals that don’t fit the profile. This also means that they can train their referral sources to send prospective clients who will be good prospects.
REASONS TO CALL: When we approach prospects for appointments, we need better reasons than “you’re next on my list of 200 names.” While that may be true, we need another reason — some danger that’s coming, some benefit that’s emerging, a new idea, a market trend, an introduction, a possibility to consider. The idea is to connect with people on the issues about which they’re thinking to, to attract them to us with value or opportunity. We can make it specific to a company or a moment in time, based on our research (e.g. “we expect the price of oil to increase 50% by next fall so we’re calling to….”) or general, related to the benefits our products or services generate.
REFERRALS: The best new business developers typically make very few cold calls. They have developed reciprocal referral relationships that provide most of their new connections. The referrals can come from “centers of influence” (typically 3 – 5 of them) or clients and friends. By the way, referrals from clients are a LOT easier to ask for and receive if we are brilliantly serving them.
GROOVE UP SLOWLY: Pouncing suddenly from the weeds on unsuspecting prey (i.e. cold calling) is good sport, but it’s a lousy new business development strategy for most people. The best new business developers we know develop relationships and network relentlessly in a community (however they define it). They put themselves in places and activities in which their prospects or referral sources congregate. Instead of pouncing from the bushes, they gain peoples’ confidence over a period of time, then ask questions that open conversations leading to business discussion. It’s a very natural process, part of a 24 x 7 job.
REPETITION: Back to the leaves on the lawn on our knees. If we can’t reach our prospects (the diamond earrings) through referrals (e.g. specific directions to the location of the earrings on the lawn), we’re going to be turning over leaves until we encounter prospects who are interested in our messages.

Boring? Yes, it could be. The best new business developers see it more like a good game of cat-and-mouse. The fun is in the hunt, trying different approaches, ideas, and messages They decide the frequency, whether it’s once a year, four times a year, or eight times a year and touch them with messages that inform, connect, or refresh prospects’ memories about the value the sellers provide.

Repeat, repeat, repeat. 498 leaves to go. No rejection. They’re just leaves.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicholas_T._Miller

According to Andre Ferris of Parmasters Canada 12 cents of every corporate dollar should be set aside for marketing. “This is an area that many businesses neglect. The old approach of shouting your message using a ‘megaphone’ just isn’t as effective. Marketers have to be more savvy. Today’s successful marketing campaigns invite potential customers to become more involved. Engagement is key and giving your customers a voice is powerful.” Here are some tips on how to hit a marketing homerun and to generate new business in today’s business culture.

1) Revamp your website. Make sure you website is not simply a static online brochure. Nothing will have customers fleeing your brand quicker than the perception of being stuck in the past. Your website must be both interactive and informative. Having white papers and free downloads about information and facts regarding your industry is an excellent start. Content-rich material will engage your visitors and keep them coming back for more. Remember, in this day in age, you are not just selling products, you are contributing to a marketplace of ideas. And consumers will reward your innovative approach.

2) Get blogging. The blogsphere is a vast and wonderful place. You and your brand need to be apart of this. Setting up a corporate blog, or individual blogs for your employees, is a valuable asset to your marketing strategy. This is where your customers, or more importantly potential customers, can interact directly with you and find out exactly what you are all about. ‘Friends’ are more likely to buy from you than complete strangers.

3) Press Release it. Press releases used to be the sole domain of the press. Not so anymore. There are many press release sites out there like Prolog that are valuable assets to getting your message out. Press releases should be professionally written and polished before being submitted. It use to be that you would only send out press releases for big news. With these online press release sites becoming more and more of an online factor, press releases can be more frequent, detailing news about your company or brand that consumers will find engaging.

4) Go Viral. With over 2 billion videos being streamed daily on YouTube, having a channel on there is a must. Simply put, people love watching videos. With a little creativity and patience, you can build a nice little marketing campaign on YouTube and watch it go viral. For example, when two guys first filmed the ‘Mentos in Diet Coke’ experiment, the video went viral and was viewed by millions in a matter of days. Can you imagine the impact this had on the sale of Mentos and Diet Coke?

5) Be Sociable. Social media is a powerful marketing tool. Facebook and Twitter are vast platforms for your company and brand. The trick is to know how to use these tools, and others, to get your message out there. Books like ‘The New Rules of Marketing and PR’, authored by David Meerman Scott, can give you guidance on how social media campaigns can help you not only get your brand out there to billions, but to also monitor the social media channels available to see what consumers are saying about your brand. Monitoring and responding to consumers is almost as important as your brand. There are social media consulting companies out there than will not only set you up on social media platforms, they will create content-rich articles, monitor the social media universe and track your brand, and also keep you current with social media trends and best practices. A very valuable service indeed.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_James_Ferris