Do you know exactly what you’d say to describe your business if you only had the 60 seconds it takes to ride an elevator with an inquisitive person?

Make sure you have a strong, compelling elevator speech that you feel good about – something that you can easily say to all those new prospects and associates you’re going to meet in this new year of business success!

Here are some guidelines to make your elevator speech more effective:

• don’t list your credentials
• don’t go into a technical spiel about your product or service
• don’t label yourself, i.e. I’m a lawyer, I’m a business consultant, etc.
• don’t sell features of your product or service
• must answer the following questions:
  • what is your product or service
  • who is your market
  • what makes you unique
  • what are your benefits
  • what problem do you solve
• try to have a “hook” – some statement or question that piques their interest
• be passionate about what you’re saying
• try to tie into emotions – what worry or pain do you help/fix/prevent?
• try to spark their curiosity and get them to ask questions
• give them an action at the end:  i.e. visit your website to get free report, or get their business card or email address and you’ll send them more information, etc.

Your action for this week is to write out your elevator speech, check it against the above criteria and then practice it 10 times until it feels natural.  You want to make sure you really love saying your elevator speech or your discomfort is going to come across.

Believe me, I found out the hard way that I needed to re-work my elevator speech when I found I didn’t want to introduce myself to people at the seminar I recently attended. Not the best use of a networking opportunity!

So mark time into your schedule right now and make the commitment to you and your business to do this marketing action this week – and get results!

Just a quick note to say how much I’ve enjoyed “talking” to you. You are the reason my business exists and I sincerely hope that I’ve made some kind of positive contribution to your business and personal success in 2008.

I look forward to getting to know you better in 2009 and I wish tons of good things for you, your family and your business now and over the next year.

Best wishes and warm regards!

In all the flurry of gift buying - business and personal - don’t forget to give yourself gifts as well.

How about the gift of pulling out your “successes” folder and re-reading encouraging and complimentary emails and letters that your clients, associates and vendors have given you over the year.

Or what about giving yourself a few hours to just sit and daydream, vision, imagine where you’d like to be by the end of 2009 - what would you and your business look like?

Why not give yourself the gift of confidence and write down the names of 5 people whom you admire and would love to do business with but feel they are way out of your league.  Brainstorm some kind of joint venture or partnership you can approach them with - where it’s a win-win for both of you. (I’ve got my list of people!).

How about the gift of reading an enlightening and inspiring book?

Be good to yourselves this season and start off the New Year feeling empowered and positive because you’ve remembered to give yourself a gift - or two!

My friend and social media expert Nancy Marmolejo has a solution for entrepreneurs who are eager to reap the benefits of Facebook and Twitter without having to add hours and hours to their already busy days.

Is getting your social networking act together on your “Things to Accomplish in 2009″ list? If not, it should be and I’ll share with you why:

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are proving to be important places to market your business and make valuable connections with clients, referral partners, the media, and more. This past year millions of business owners jumped into social networking for the first time… but many are now finding themselves knee-deep in overwhelm.

Why the overwhelm? With the fast paced world of Web 2.0, it’s hard to stay up to the minute on everything… especially for those of us who don’t live our lives plugged into a Blackberry! (OK, even you Blackberry users get overwhelmed from time to time, right?)

On December 16 and 17 Nancy will host a virtual class “Quick and Easy Social Networking Tips For Entrepreneurs: A Proven 3 Part System to Boost Your Visibility, Expand Your Network AND Save You Hours of Time On Facebook and Twitter”.

If you don’t yet know Nancy, she’s an experienced social networking user who teaches highly effective, time saving tips to entrepreneurs. Her 2 part class will reveal a proven system that she personally uses to stay highly visible on Facebook, Twitter, and beyond.

Space is limited, so do sign up today. Even if you can’t make the live class, Nancy will make sure you get her customized video tutorials, complete Quick Start Guide, transcripts, bonuses and more.

Learn more and sign up here:

http://www.profcs.com/app/?af=867012

P.S. Remember, you can sign up for this valuable class even if you can’t make the December dates. http://www.profcs.com/app/?af=867012

P.P.S. Make 2009 your year of social networking ease by checking out this class.

I’m sure that you’re like me in that as the end of another year rolls around, I tend to get contemplative about where I am, where I’ve been and where I’m headed.

I’m going to do myself a favour this year (and I encourage you to do the same).  I’m not going to give into that little bit of fear and start looking around somewhat frantically for the marketing tactic I’m sure I must be missing that could be the “magic bullet” to guarantee continued success into 2009.

I’m going to spend a couple hours over the next 3 weeks and look at what marketing worked and didn’t work for me in 2008.  Then I’m going to make a simple plan for 2009 that includes the marketing tactics that are working for me and replacing the not-so-profitable ones with a couple new strategies for the New Year.

Marketing is not rocket-science; there are no magic bullets (despite what some online marketers promise); and you CAN market your business successfully and joyfully with some common sense, consistency and willingness.

Good luck and have fun marketing this week!

Do you love to connect with new people?  Is the thought of attending a networking event thrilling for you?  If so, take advantage of this core marketing strength in marketing your small business.

When you enjoy doing something and are good at it, then you can do it quicker, easier and with more enjoyment.  Doesn’t that sound great - especially when it comes to marketing?

Below I’ve outlined the most common (and effective) beginner and advanced marketing strategies that you can use if networking (online or offline) is your core marketing strength.

Beginner marketing tactics for networking include:

• participate in social media such as Facebook, My Space, YouTube
• participate in internet discussion lists, forums and blogs
• join networking groups and breakfast clubs
• join local Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade

Advanced marketing tactics for networking:

• join and/or create affiliate programs
• host a club, association or special interest group
• serve on committees and Boards
• attend professional organization/association meetings
• create strategic alliances and joint ventures

By choosing marketing tactics that are based on your core marketing strength, you’ll be well on your way to successfully and enjoyably marketing your small business.

Do you love speaking?  Do you get a “high” when you connect with people by sharing your knowledge via speaking engagements?  If so, take advantage of this core marketing strength in marketing your small business.

When you enjoy doing something and are good at it, then you can do it quicker, easier and with more enjoyment.  Doesn’t that sound great - especially when it comes to marketing?

Below I’ve outlined the most common (and effective) beginner and advanced marketing strategies that you can use if speaking is your core marketing strength.

Beginner marketing tactics for speaking are:

• give free talks - professional organizations, community groups, service clubs, networking groups, small businesses
• do teleseminars/teleclasses
• do podcasts
• do an audio ezine

Advanced marketing tactics for speaking:

• give media interviews - radio, TV, newspaper, magazine
• host workshops and seminars
• be a guest speaker at conferences
• develop an audio program
• host an interactive webinar

By creating a marketing strategy that is based on your core marketing strength, you’ll be well on your way to successfully and enjoyably marketing your small business.

Please let me know which of the above marketing tactics work for you!

Do you naturally gravitate towards marketing tactics that involve writing?  If so, take advantage of this core marketing strength in marketing your small business.

When you enjoy doing something and are good at it, then you can do it quicker, easier and with more enjoyment.  Doesn’t that sound great - especially when it comes to marketing?

Below I’ve outlined the most common (and effective) beginner and advanced marketing strategies that you can use if writing is your core marketing strength.

Beginner marketing tactics for writing include:

• write articles and submit to online submission sites
• write articles and post to your website
• have a blog
• write an ezine
• write press releases and news releases
• create autoresponders and email campaigns

Advanced marketing tactics for writing:

• write articles for industry and association publications (print and online)
• write ebooks
• write a book for publication
• write info products
• do guest blog posts
  • I do Resource Nation
• offer articles to strategic alliance partners and affiliates
• write a column for a newspaper or magazine or an online site
• write a newsletter
• write and send out direct marketing pieces

Have I left anything out?  Please let me know (then I can start using it too!).

I made an email mistake this past weekend and angered a few people - they perceived it as spam.  I felt just sick about it and felt even worse when I got a couple really nasty emails.  Actually, it was quite surprising the level of anger and how lowdown dirty people got - to the point of calling me stupid and a liar (when I apologized for the mistake) and worthless.

I was quite taken aback but the kind, supportive emails I got (accepting my apology) far outweighed the negative ones.  It just made me realize the whole truth around the importance of working with people who I like.  Of course it’s important that they like and trust me….but it’s also important that I feel the same way towards my prospects and clients.

Making and having a connection with people you’re “talking” to, is so key in marketing.  Having a way for people to make that connection with you (via a free-giveaway or sampler) needs to be one of your core marketing strategies.

Well, we learn by our mistakes and I learned a lot this weekend!  Let’s just hope I don’t have to learn something that way again….

I was in LA this week (hot and of course very smoky due to the fires) for Ali Brown’s last Online Blueprint Success Workshop.

As you know, networking is not my most favorite activity and I did have some struggles with it - read today’s article to find out more.

However, talking with lots of different people only reinforced for me the important place that my Ready Made Marketing Plans^TM have in the world of online marketing.

Seminars, such as Ali’s, are great for giving you motivation and pumping you up with lots of enthusiasm and confidence.  However, when you get home and start to implement many of the new things you’ve learned, you get stumped because you still don’t know the exact steps and resources you need to get specific marketing tactics up and running.

The workshop ended up being a form of a survey for me and it clearly showed me that there is a need for the products and services I offer.  So that alone was worth the trip down!