If You’re Not Upselling, You’re Leaving Money on the Table
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A while back, my hubby and I were on our way back from one of my
speaking engagements, and decided to pick up dinner to go. So we
called one of our favorite teriyaki joints (Seattle’s Best, on 1st
Ave S), to place an order.

Since it’s a little out of the way for us normally, we hadn’t eaten
there in a while. So we were rather excited to have it conveniently
located on our route home.

Then life got even better…

The woman who took my husband’s order asked if we’d like brown rice
instead of white!

Now I don’t each much white rice. But I love brown rice! In fact I’ll
order it every time if given the option. So this was a very pleasant
surprise.

My husband said yes right away even though it cost a bit more. And
boy was it good! This place has the yummiest teriyaki sauce, and it
is divine on rice (white or brown).

I can say for sure we’ll now be going out of our way to eat there
more …And I bet we’re not alone.

My husband and I were very impressed from a sales and marketing
standpoint too. Because they’re clearly paying attention to changes
in people’s eating habits, and changing their menu to suit. And
they’re maki ng sure customers know about this new option…They
actually asked for the upsell!

—–
Upselling doesn’t have to be hard or uncomfortable
—–

With the simple act of asking if we’d like their newest menu item as
a substitute, Seattle’s Best made $1.90 more. And now we’ll be there
more often, and spending more money each time to get that fine brown
rice.

All they had to do was let us know this option is now available, and
boom, they grew their business. Best of all, I’m thrilled to have
spent the extra money.

This was upselling at its finest. And it’s most simple.

What’s interesting is that big companies and chains often train their
employees to ask if you want to make it a combo, add fries with that,
try their new dessert, etc. Yet it’s rare to see this done in small
restaurants (or any small busines s).

Which is silly. Because it’s one of the easiest things to do. And
almost any business can do it (not just restaurants!).

When I worked in my parent’s animal hospital, we boarded pets. And we
always asked if clients wanted their pets bathed before going home.
More than 50% said yes.

Added convenience for them, more revenue for us!

The key here is…We were trained to ask.

All too often small business owners (or their employees) just don’t
ask. Maybe because they aren’t comfortable selling.

Or they feel like they don’t have time to train employees in this
much detail.

Or don’t know how to get the employees to do it.

Or, even worse, they think the employees are asking, when in reality
it’s not happening (When was the last time you had a “secret shopper”
call in to see what employee s really say when they answer the
phone???).

In the last case, the poor business owner is usually left thinking
the promotion isn’t working. Or the new product or service is a dud.

When in reality clients don’t know it exists!

The bottom line is, you have to let people know about other options,
or you probably won’t sell very many. Thankfully, you don’t even have
to be there in person to do an effective upsell.

—–
5 Easy Ways to Upsell Your Products and Services
—–

1) If you sell and ship products, put an ad or coupon for a related
product or an upgrade in the box.

2) Send new clients a thank you card with a promotion for or mention
of one of your other services.

3) Put a sign up in your store or office announcing a new offering or
special deal. Just make sure it doesn’t get lost in the clutter. And
ideal ly train your staff to point it out.

4) Send targeted follow-up emails to clients or customers offering
them a related product or service (you can do this automatically with
a good email autoresponder and shopping cart)

5) On your Website, offer an added discount for buying two products
or services together (Amazon does a great job of this by always
offering a second book on the same subject below your main selection).

Remember, upselling is really just a matter of offering something
else your customer is likely to want, based on what they’re buying
now. Simple as that.

You’re doing your clients a HUGE disservice if you don’t tell them
you have something else they may want or need. And you’re leaving
money on the table in your own business.

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ON THE BLOG
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Get useful tips and interesting marketing info on my blog at

http://www.marketing-junkie.com.

Tawk to me!! I created this blog to be a 2-way street so we can chat
about marketing together. I’d love to know what you think of the
articles and ideas I’m posting.

This week on http://www.marketing-junkie.com:

+ “12 Proven Ways to Power up Your Next Sales Letter”

+ “Make Every Minute Count by Donna Amos”

Visit http://www.marketing-junkie.com, read, and leave a comment.

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USEFUL TIPS
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Facebook is Now Open for Business (es)

Or at least it’s now set up for businesses to more easily market
their products and services on the site thanks to the new fan pages,
and the ability to get your own custom URL once yo u have 25 fans.

For example, I now have http://www.facebook.com/unchainedentrepreneur
as the fan page for TheUnchainedEntrepreneur.com. Easy, memorable and
a perfect place to communicate all things business separate from my
personal Facebook page.

Just make sure you create the personal page first, then a separate
fan page for your business. Otherwise you’ll run into problems down
the road. Once you’re on there, start a conversation, join other
conversations and offer info of value. Before you know you’ll be
building your own online community of fans.

©2010 Stacy Karacostas. All Rights Reserved. www.success-stream.com

Practical Marketing Expert Stacy Karacostas specializes in taking the
stress, struggle and confusion out of growing your business. Get tons
of marketing tips and ideas, plus grab a copy of her info-packed FREE
REPORT “The 7 Deadliest Small Business Marketing Sins…Are You
Guilty?” at http://www.success-stream.com

Social Media is quickly growing into one of the most-used marketing tools for work-at-home moms. One of the largest social media websites, Twitter.com, can be an effective way to spread the word about your business and learn from other top representatives in your business niche. However, it can take a lot of time to determine the best ways to use Twitter effectively for business. Below are ten tips to help shorten that learning curve.

1. Choose a Meaningful User name
If possible, grab your business name as well as your own name for use on Twitter. Having an easy-to-find and easy-to-remember username is essential.

2. Brand your Twitter page
Don’t leave your Twitter page boring and plain – spice it up. Make sure you add your logo, contact information and any other inform ation that will be helpful for customers and visitors to your page. You can use a website such as TwitBacks.com to create a free or very low-cost background to bring life to your page.

3. Learn the Lingo
Twitter can be very useful, but it can also be very frustrating … especially if you have no idea what all those little symbols mean that fly across the screen. Take the time to research the meanings of the tags most often used on Twitter. One great place to do so is right on Twitter itself: http://help.twitter.com/portal

4. Follow industry leaders
Veteran entrepreneur Diana Ennen shares this tip: “I love to follow industry experts on Twitter and gain all their business insight.  It’s almost like being right there in their office and getting in on their trade secrets.  Not only do they post tips and how to information, but often share their business successes and mistakes and that allows me to learn from them.  It ‘s so worth it!”

5. Interact
Don’t be shy! Take a few minutes each day to comments on what others are discussing or to throw out a question or idea. You never know when a topic is going to spark a response and help you build relationships with customers and your fellow Twitter users.

6. Don’t make it all business news – be YOU
It’s great to share about the things going on in your business and you certainly will want to share specials, discounts and other items of interest to your customers. However, as a small business owner you have the unique ability to put a personal face on your business. Let your customers and readers get to know a little about you as well as your business.

7. Run Contests
Twitter is a great fast-paced way to a run a contest. By having a great prize you can create a viral network of “tweets” about your company and the giveaway you’re holding. Sit down beforehand and plan out some great 140 character tweets that you can use throughout the giveaway time – whether that be minutes, hours or even days.

8. Share
Make your Twitter feed a worthwhile read for your customers. Share tips that apply to your target market, links to articles and other informational tidbits. Create a #hashtag for your business or topic (see #3 above) so that you can track re-tweets and mentions of your posts.

9. Be Thankful
A great way to make friends and build contacts is to thank others who re-tweet (RT) your posts. Send a shout-out saying thanks or feature them at special times like FriendFriday (#FF). They’ll know that you’re grateful and you’ll build a community that supports you – and each other.

10. Promote Others
Contrary to popular belief it IS in your best interest to work together with other entrepreneurs and to help spread the word about great things that they may be doing. Not only will people be drawn to your Twitter feed for great information, but they will see that you’re willing to share about more than your own interests. Another great benefit is that those you help promote will one day be there to help promote you as well.

Twitter is a great marketing tool for work-at-home moms. It can help drive traffic to your website as well as aid you in building relationships with your target market. Use the tips above to help guide you in how to best use social media to benefit your business and your customers.

–
Jill Hart is the founder of the popular Christian work-at-home website CWAHM.com. Jill is also the co-author of So You Want To Be a Work-at-Home Mom (Beacon Hill Press) with Diana Ennen. Hart and Ennen are also hosting monthly teleseminars to help entrepreneurs  http://tinyurl.com/2c9vlo9. Article is free to be reprinted as long as bio remains.

Three Tips To Get You Started Blogging for Business

Over the last several years blogging has become the foundation for social media campaigns of businesses big and small. Where Facebook and Twitter help keep companies in the limelight, spreading the word about special events, discounts and newsworthy items, blogs are the place where companies build their reputation and make sales.

As popular as blogging has become, I often hear from home-based business owners who are trying to figure out exactly what a blog consists of and how they can use one to benefit their business. Below are three tips that can help maximize the impact of your business blog.

1. It’s All In The Name

Be sure to choose a name for your blog that is both descriptive and easy to remember. Try to stick to either your business name or the name of your star product/service. If none of these are available consider using your name or business tagline.  Also, consider possibly adding in your keywords … such as Publicity Virtual Assistant.

2. Use Keywords Effectively

When you write posts for your business blog be conscious of the words that you choose. Pepper your posts with keywords relating to your business, products, services and brand. These keywords will trigger Search Engine results and help you reach the top of the results for your keywords. Be careful not to overuse keywords, though, because readers will get frustrated  and the Search Engines consider that against the rules. Also, consider keyword phrases – often called long tail keyword phrases (why, I’m not sure!).  Long tail keywords are simply a sting of words that make up a phrase that represent your keywords. Think, what would people type in Google to find me.  Examples, “how to start a business.”  Think … how can I define my blog more (or this particular post). I wrote this blog post on … (fill in the blank), now what keywords do I need to put in so others can find me?

3. Quality Information (No Fluff!) & Fresh, Regular Content

Another thing to consider when writing business blog posts is to keep your posts informational. The more quality content you offer to readers, the more often they will visit your blog. Also, by posting regularly your readers will get to know the schedule and tend to visit your blog on a regular basis because of it.  You know your audience best.  What do they want to hear?  Need to hear? Solve that problem that you’ve been having and you know others are having too.  Consider adding in reviews, recommendations, etc.  Your blog can be so much more than you talking about your business.  What fun thing can you add?  Contest, giveaways, etc.

There are many ways to use a blog for business use. If used correctly, a blog can be a terrific tool to inform potential customers of your business. Be sure to update your blog regularly so that the content remains fresh and people coming back for more great information.

*Tips from Jill Hart of Cwahm.com and Diana Ennen of VirtualWordPublishing.com. These tips can be used if you include this short bio.

JOIN JILL AND I THIS FRIDAY FOR OUR TELESEMINAR ON BLOGGING.

JULY 9th at  2:00 p.m. EST.  Please join us!

http://tinyurl.com/2c9vlo9

Please feel free to save it to your hard drive and/or print it off for your future use.

Publicity VA Summer Success Series –final

Thank you,

Diana Ennen

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Ever feel like you’re talking to yourself at your blog and at social networking sites? If so, try this experiment. It will lead to more comments at your blog, on your Facebook wall, on Twitter, and even at niche social networking sites.

Choose one of the following phrases and add it to the end of your blog posts or messages:

–”Am I wrong?”

–”Am I crazy?”

–”What do you think?”

–”Do you agree?”

–”What’s your best advice?”

–”How many of you are guilty of this?” (I use this phrase after linking to an article that talks about “the biggest mistakes.”)

–”Your thoughts?”

–”What’s your best tip?”

–”What’s your Number One pet peeve?”

These are all conversation-starters. They show your readers that you’re curious about what’s on their minds.

Sometimes those magic phrases lead to a lively give-and-take.

When I end my messages with one of those questions, I generate more comments at my blog and more retweets from my followers on Twitter.

You can also use those phrases when pointing to controversial content at somebody else’s site. Don’t shy away from sharing other people’s information on Facebook.

One of the best ways to do that is by creating a Facebook Note, where you can upload photos, link to other websites and use HTML to command attention.

Not making good use of Notes is one of the mistakes we discussed during the recent teleseminar on “11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook.” You can read about the other 10, and learn how to access the transcripts and recordings, at

http://budurl.com/jfgw

How many of those opportunities are you missing?

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Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine featuring tips, tricks and
tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy cheat sheet “89 Reasons to Send a Press Release.”

If you like these tips, please pass them on to your friends, clients and colleagues.