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I got another one of those calls the other day. . ."Can you make me a brochure?" Many business owners have been sold on the notion that they need a tri-fold brochure or they are not in business. Forget it... everybody's got one and no one uses it.

Your potential clients need an education. They need to know how you are different. (The typical tri-fold brochure simply confirms that you are the same.)

Every small business should create the following pieces of information and format them in a way that allows them be printed inexpensively and updated often. I like to call this approach, the Marketing Kit. Your marketing kit starts with several professionally printed pieces that are the framework for up to 10 or 12 different educational documents. The core components are:

1. A pocket folder - A multi-use workhorse, this piece alone, if designed well, can send the message that you are in business to stay. (This one will cost a little but it has many uses)

2. A marketing kit template page - This should be a professionally printed piece that carries your logo and contact information but is different than your letterhead. This is the base piece for the pages described below that insert into your pocket folder. (Your actual marketing files can be MS Word type documents that are laser printed. This gives you the ability to change and update your content and also allows you to tailor your marketing kit content to specific prospects.)

Some combination of the following pages should be created for your marketing kit.

+ The Difference Page - Hit them with how you are different and shower
+ them with benefits of doing business with you. Don't tell them what
+ you do. I like to keep this one to the top 3 or 4 things that you do
+ that your target market will value. Think benefits that are unique

+ Deeper Differences - Now take each core difference and tell the reader
+ in greater detail why and how that difference is important

+ A list of services/products - Okay, now tell them what you do or what you offer.

+ Deeper Product/Service Descriptions - Go into detail on each of your
+ product or service offerings

+ Case Studies - Pick representative clients or industries and outline how your product or service solved someone else's challenge. People learn in different ways and case studies allow them to see themselves getting relief. I think this format works well. State the situation, the problem, your solution, the result. Over time you can collect more and more of these and draw upon the ones that fit an industry or problem that in relevant to your prospect.

+ Testimonials - Get quotes from real live clients and create a page titled - "See what others have to say about us." These quotes can be some of the strongest selling tools you have. New technologies make it easy to create audio and video testimonials too.

+ Client List - In some cases, just simply listing who else you do business with can present a compelling case.

+ Process Description - Show them how you do what you do. Create detailed checklist and flow charts that show them how you keep your promise. In many cases you have these anyway but by making them part of your marketing you can demonstrate how much more professional your organization is. These also help you justify why you charge a premium for your services. Many people underestimate how much really goes into delivering a quality product or service. So show them.

+ Your Story - Many companies have interesting or even gut wrenching histories. Tell them your story in an open, honest, and entertaining way and you will win their hearts as well as their heads.

All of the above pieces can, in many cases, be word processed files that are laser printed onto the template I described above. You can learn even more about how to use this unique tool here

This format allows for very inexpensive printing and a great deal of flexibility when you need to update, change or even personalize your magnificent marketing materials.


John Jantsch is a marketing coach and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing System. You can get more information about the Duct Tape System and download your free copy of "How To Create the Ultimate Small Business Marketing System in 7 Simple Steps" by visiting his marketing web site DuctTapeMarketing.com

If you are a web site owner, no doubt you are always looking for ways to generate revenue from the screen real estate on your site. You may be selling products or services, or perhaps your web site is just an online brochure for your company. Either way, at some time or another perhaps you signed up for some affiliate program that was intended to help your revenue stream.

If you have taken the time to do this, I have a question for you. Did you ever get paid?

One of the things that most people are unaware of when signing up for affiliate programs is the threshold for actually getting a check. What I mean is, some affiliate programs require that you have a certain amount of money in your account before they will cut you a check. If your account does not meet this requirement within a given time frame it is often possible that your commission can be "absorbed" by the affiliate provider. In many cases this may be outlined in the "fine print" that we never take the time to read because we are so busy.

So you can have all of these ads on your site, people are clicking through, you get a notice that someone bought something, but you never get paid.

In one instance, I had an affiliate ad for an ink jet cartridge company on my site. I was curious about it because their prices were very low and I knew if anyone ever clicked through to the site interested in printer ink, they would probably buy some. So I tried an experiment. I needed ink and instead of going directly to the site, I clicked on the affiliate link. I bought $75 worth of ink and then waited for the notice that I had sold something ( this is how some affiliate programs are supposed to work ).

After a few days, I logged into my account to see the activity. The amount of sales showed was $0.00. I was a bit upset so I wrote several e-mails to the web site owner complaining that my account showed no sale even though I had bought $75 myself. Their response? No Response. Here is something to think about. What type of recourse do I have in this situation? Absolutely none, because I can't prove that I clicked on their ad to buy. Again the internet proves that it is the wild frontier and lawlessness prevails!

This was not however the only experience of mine. I have had many affiliates over the years and many of them constantly showed no sales, even though I knew people had bought from them. Some of my affiliates did notify me of sales, but never paid because of "the threshold".

Hold on, there is a light in the darkness.

In the world of affiliates, there are some that do pay and pay well and often. One of them is Google. I have had Google Ad words on my site for some time and I regularly receive checks from them. In fact my clients who have put Ad words on their sites also receive checks. It was the consistency of this that prompted me to look into other affiliate programs and to get rid of the ones that did not pay and believe me, there have been many.

So I would ask, do you have affiliates advertising on your site? Are they making you money? Are they providing you with statistics that enable you to measure how many people have clicked on an ad? If the answer to the latter questions is "no", consider trying Ad words. Even though the signup takes a bit of time, you will probably have greater success at getting paid than with other affiliates, the ads take up less space, and you have a lot of flexibility in the types of ads that will appear on your site.

In order to be as responsible as possible, I need to footnote this article with one more detail. If you do have affiliate programs that are not making you money the problem may be that your web site does not get much traffic in the first place. If your site does not have a lot of visitors, it is possible that no one will ever click on an affiliate link. So when it comes to deciding on whether affiliate programs are working on your site, before you dismiss it as a fraud, be sure to monitor your site statistics and be sure that your traffic is large enough to support ads. If your site does not get many visitors, don't waste your time adding affiliates, instead spend the time learning how to get more traffic to your site and put the effort into doing those things!

Jeff Glaze is the editor of AtlantaEvent.com and this newsletter. He is an author, speaker and the President of Mostcool Media, Inc.. Looking for a speaker for your next meeting? Call 678-508-5975 to book Jeff now.

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Editor's Note: I received this offer from a friend who is a speaker at this event. She told me the seminar tickets cost up to $99 and she could invite as many comp attendees as she wants. I do not know what the program is about, but I do know her and it might be a good seminar.

You've honed your technical expertise, you've established your business and got your team in place, but why was it no one told you you'd also have to develop marketing and sales skills?That's not what you were expecting when you established your professional services practice, be that as a lawyer, an accountant, a designer or consultant. In fact the idea of selling leaves your cold.

The reality is most of us dislike selling. Equally, we don't like being sold to. This simple fact is often overlooked, yet it has the potential to be the key that unlocks the growth of your business. People do business with those they know, like, trust and respect. In other words they want to build a relationship with you before they invest their hard earned money in your solutions and services.

Referrals are often the most powerful way to expand your business requiring little marketing spend and providing you with immediate credibility through the reputation of the person referring you. But how often do you miss the opportunity to ask for a referral? Do you have a specific strategy and action plan to manage your referral process? Are you leveraging the support of your unpaid sales force - your clients who already know, like, trust and respect you?

Here are five keys to growing your business through increasing your referrals.

How to ask for a referral

Review your current clients and identify three of them that you can contact this week about the potential of them referring you to others. When you speak with them, thank them for their business and tell them you enjoy working with them. Advise them you are in the process of expanding your referral based business. Explain that you would like to partner with them to help you grow your business and ask if they could refer you to 2 or 3 of their contacts.

Make sure you advise them of the profile of your ideal client that you would like them to refer you to. If they are able to identify someone, ask if they would contact the person ahead of you reaching out to them to introduce yourself.

Make your clients proud to refer you

Most of us delight in great feedback and there is nothing better than having someone thrilled because of the results they have achieved through working with someone you referred to them.

When a client refers you, their personal reputation is on the line. They won't refer or recommend someone who they don't believe in. It's therefore paramount you deliver to your highest standards when working with the contact you have been referred to.

Connect with your potential new client

When you make contact with your potential new client, reference the person referring you and advise them that your mutual contact thought it would be a great idea if the two of you connected. Make sure you don't overwhelm them with your great technical expertise. Actively listen to their challenges and concerns. Offer suggestions and be generous with your advice - make them feel you have their interests at heart.

Remember, you can't convince them to work with you; even though you have come highly recommended, they have to grow to know, like, trust and respect you on their own terms.

Keep your client in the loop

Don't forget to keep your original client informed of how things progress with the personal contact they referred you to. That is not to say you should disclose anything confidential - just make sure they know that you have made contact and whether you are going to work together.

Reward your referral partners

Consider rewarding your referral partners, perhaps by entertaining them to lunch or introduce a different service agreement or fee structure to formally reward your clients for their referrals. After all, they're helping you grow your business and are sure to remember to provide you with referrals more often if they know their support is appreciated.

Don't wait for your workload to quiet down before you implement a referral strategy. To grow a thriving professional practice, business development needs to be part of your ongoing agenda. Developing and implementing a referral strategy can help you propel the growth of your business without the anguish of feeling you have to sell and with little investment in overhead.

Krishna De is one of the founders of Oneocean. They have established an organisational development and talent management consultancy which is straight forward, outcome driven and that provides solutions that help create successful, inspiring workplaces - one where everyone is engaged, feels valued for their unique strengths and is proud to be part of. Find out more about Oneocean at oneoceangroup.com

A good friend of mine shared this story some years back I think it is an appropriate message and might help you as well as some of your employees.

It was Christmas afternoon and 12 yr. old Randall was lounging on the sofa watching cartoons. Toys were scattered all over the floor as were the boxes in which they came. Under one of those boxes were two toys crushed to oblivion from being inadvertently stepped on. Randall simply shrugged them off and threw them out with the trash. His father said, "Do you have any idea how much time your mother and I spent picking those gifts out?" To which Randall responded, "Gee, I'm sorry! What do want me to do about it?"

In May, Randall asked his father for a baseball glove so he could play in a league over the summer. His father told him, that if he wanted a baseball glove, he would be glad to drive him to a store and let him buy one...with his own money. Randall had no money as he quickly spent his money within days, if not hours, of his receiving it. So, he had to find jobs that would pay him enough to buy his glove.

For three weeks, mowing yards and cleaning gardens and garages in the sweltering Southern heat, he saved his money. He then asked his father to take him to the store and found the perfect glove... but it was four dollars more than he had saved. His father patted him on the head and told him not to worry. "Another week of working, and you'll have what you need." Randall was aghast, but the following Saturday, the two returned to the store and Randall, with his own money, bought not only the glove, but a brand new baseball as well.

That was in 1962. Randall still has that glove and the tattered remains of the baseball to this very day. Every gift he received that Christmas was gone before the following Valentine's Day. Why? Almost every adult reading this knows the answer is that Randall worked for the glove but didn 't for the gifts, so, he valued the glove more. That is, he placed greater value on something he achieved through his own labors than on something easily acquired with no labor at all.

But what seems obvious to us as adults when we look at Randall is almost completely missed when we apply it to ourselves. As adults, we want many things and we sometimes want, if not expect, for them to somehow be given to us. In the workplace, we want yearly raises and praise. We want time off and leave time to tend to our vet appointments. But what do we insist we give back in return?

As employers, we want loyalty and blind acceptance of new policies. We want employees to trust us and give us the benefit of the doubt. But what, as employers, managers and supervisors, do we insist on giving back to the relationship to earn that trust?

It's been said that the only value that a given object has is whatever anyone is willing to spend on it. This is no different when we are talking about the bonds we create in a relationship. Whether it is between friends, family members or relationships in the work place, the only value it has is what each party is willing to devote to it. That means, if we want a greater value placed on our efforts, we must be willing to make efforts that are valuable. If we wish to be held in high esteem, we must be willing to do things that are esteem able.

I think it was Thomas Paine who so aptly wrote, "What we attain too cheap we esteem too little; it is dearness only that gives everything its value." As a typical adult, when you tie your shoe properly in the morning, you do not think to yourself, "Wow, I am really great! I tied my shoe!" The reason is simple. Although you did an excellent job tying your shoe, it took no real effort. By now, tying your shoes well is almost automatic. So, too, is how well you do your job.

When my daughter was about six years old, we were watching an accomplished pianist both play a very complicated piece and conduct the orchestra at the same time. I sat in awe. She, on the other hand, simply enjoyed the music. I said, "Wow, he makes it look so easy," to which she responded, "Well, Dad, that's because to him, it is." Since that day, I've been very unimpressed by how well people do things and far more impressed with what effort it takes to do it well. It is the sweat equity required in an activity that makes it worthwhile.

The next time you find yourself complaining about how hard something is to achieve, remember that if it were easy to achieve, it wouldn't be worth achieving. Be glad that there is a struggle in your life; for it is the struggle that makes the things you achieve, like that achieved by Randall...a golden glove.

© 2006 - John Delves is the owner of Southeastern Training & Development, Inc. Find out more about John and his work at setrainingdev.com