If you use the internet for even one aspect of you’re business I’m sure you’re already well aware of the difficulties involved in getting people to visit your site. We’re all familiar with the old way to present material to your clients or prospects, lots of paper for them to look at before they set it down and get sidetracked. What if you could put all of that information onto a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray disc instead of bulky, wasteful paper presentations? What if when they put your disc in their computer it went directly to your website?

When you move to this kind of solution for your business it just gives you that little extra zing your competitors don’t have. The amount of information you can present on optical media is almost endless, even more so now with Blu-Ray media quickly working to replace the DVD. The internet is fast and there is a lot that can be done with FTP sites or many other tools, but who has time to wait for a download? I sure don’t. There is also something about holding a physical CD in your hand that can’t be beat, odds are the CD will even get left out on a desk for someone else to look at and maybe become interested in, if you make a snazzy label they might even borrow it to see what’s on the disc, and what happens when the disc goes into their computer? It takes them to your website!!!

Ok, that’s great, but who wants to pay all that money to get tons of discs duplicated at some duplication house that has a turn around time too long to impress your client or customer, and more discs than you could need in a lifetime? Nobody! In the business world we all know time is money and the faster you can turn a prospect into a client, the faster you can get the money in your pocket. That’s why you bring the duplication in house. When you incorporate an automated duplication system into your business you not only gain a tool for marketing, but since you own the system you can use it for anything! Archive your documents onto CD, backup important information and label it with the click of a button, provide detailed reports to your customers on an easy to navigate CD, not a gigantic pile of papers or a million other things. Since the system is fully automated you are able to submit a job with a few clicks of a button, walk away to complete other tasks, then return to pick up your fully burned and printed discs so you can get on with your business.

The future is on its way and soon automated CD duplication systems will be just as common as the office copy machine, only way more diverse and environmentally friendly. There are literally hundreds of ways that you can incorporate these into your business, why not see if this can help you out. If you have questions on how this might benefit your company feel free to send me an email with a little information on your business and I’ll be happy to let you know some ways to improve efficiency and environmental impact.

Julian Faras is a full-time Sales Executive for Microtech Systems and an expert at increasing productivity and profits while decreasing the amount of paper we depend on. To learn more, please visit http://www.microtech.com

You may also contact Julian directly at jfaras@microtech.com

Business leads are one of the most important parts of a marketing plan. It allows companies and individuals to find investors, donors, response buyers and even a new business to expand company production. However, looking for business leads is not as easy as it may seem because you have to go through thousands of consumers and contacts before you can find the right leads.

Fortunately, there are different methods of gathering business leads today. Such methods include:

1) Collecting Telemarketing Lists - One way of gathering consumer leads and business leads is through telemarketing lists. These lists contain demographic-specific telephone numbers of consumers and businessmen who are interested in buying your product and services or doing business with you.

2) Creating E-mail Lists - Through the Internet, you can easily promote your products and services as well as contact investors directly on their personal e-mails. However, simply collecting random e-mails is not effective in increasing sales. Instead, gathering e-mail lists of your target consumer leads or business leads should be your goal. This way, you can reduce the need to sort those who are truly interested with those who don’t care about your business.

3) Conducting Surveys - Surveys are great marketing tools. This enables you to know what your target audience needs and wants. As such, you achieve feasible business leads that will surely sell, instead of leaving your products to chance. This way, not only can you create sellable products that your consumers will buy, you also build solid email lists of your “preferred” clients.

4) Gathering Targeted Contact Information - If you want reliable business leads and consumer leads, you should also gather contact information from new homeowners, new movers and new business. Thus, you can keep track of your customer base and investors even if they changed residence or company addresses.

Improving sales is doable if you only know where to start. Looking for business leads by conducting surveys, creating email lists, collecting telemarketing lists and gathering targeted contact information are four effective ways to gather contact information of consumers and businesses, even of new homeowners and new business. If you know that your sales are dropping, switch to another marketing plan that includes these methods of building business leads and you would be shocked how your sales dramatically increased.

Richard Rivera provides demographic-specific sales leads and lists to optimally direct your marketing efforts ways and expand your customer base. Visit http://www.kingsbridgelists.com for more information on Business Leads and Telemarketing Lists

In this day and age it seems as if everyone in the world has their own online business. Sometimes I see 12 year olds with their own website. It really is a phenomenon. With the increase of websites going live so too does the need for advice about online marketing. It is hard to find good quality online marketing advice without having to pay some “guru” top dollars for him to spill his guts on some “secret strategy” that no one else knows about. I don’t know about you but I am completely sick of it. This article will help you find advice about online marketing without having to pay the huge price.

Let us start with the mother of all search engines - and quite frankly the most popular marketing method for online marketers - Google. Google is where information seekers go to find information of their topic of interest and is also the number 1 most sought after place to be found for website owners. Most website owners believe that if they can rank in the top 10 for any particular keyword they will get lots of traffic from Google and will therefore earn a fortune. For this very reason it makes it hard for the “information seekers” to find legitimate information about online marketing. If you were to do a search on “online marketing advice” you would most likely find some very brief information on your topic and then a link to someones affiliate product or service. This saturation if the online marketing niche is exactly the reason it is so hard to find valuable and legitimate information about the topic. The following tips will help you find and target the legitimate sources on the internet and help you discard the ones just trying to make a quick buck on the internet.

Tip#1 - When doing searches online for your keyword term never click sponsored listings as these are paid to be there and someone is more than likely trying to sell you something.

Tip#2 - After the search Results are displayed look at the top 5 results. Click to each of the sites and quickly but thoroughly run a quick scan of the site before reading any of the information on the site. Check to see if anything is being sold. If anything is being sold then this is most likely a page that is going to try to draw you into purchasing something. Their advice would be biased and in the site owners best interest and NOT yours. Quickly skip any sites like this.

Tip#3 - In your results you may see some sales pages that were optimized for the keywords that you input in your search. It is not a good idea to take advice from a sales page as the information is most likely biased and only there to drag you into their own marketing funnel.

Tip#4 - A lot of online marketers (Site owners) are not going to like this article because it is defying everything that they have tried to setup to this point. Ignore any attempt by them to try and tell you otherwise. I am writing this article just so that the truth is known. The same truth that “online marketers” would not want you to know.

Tip#5 - Last but not least follow your gut instinct. If you think the information is a farce, it most likely is. Just look for a few more sources before making any conclusions. If you find other sources stating the same thing then it is okay to assume your gut feeling was wrong. Other than that you are most likely correct.

For more information about the author Patrick Bankay or for more legitimate advice about online marketing you can check out his frequently updated squidoo lens at http://www.squidoo.com/onlinemarketingadvice

What is guerrilla marketing for law firms in particular? Now that you mention it, the term “guerrilla marketing” is used by many people. What does that term mean anyway? The father of this approach is Jay Conrad Levinson who wrote the original book on the subject in 1983. His books have sold in the tens of millions of copies, are now all over the globe in 37 languages and the approach is taught in many MBA programs worldwide. Much like the brand “Xerox” that became a generic name for making copies of something at one time, Jay’s brand name became a generic term for inexpensive strategies that get maximum results. There is no reason guerrilla marketing for law firms can’t work for you.

What does Jay say this approach is about? “The essence of guerrilla marketing is a blend of common sense, realistic expectations and dedication to a plan. It is hardly a miracle worker, but when done properly, does seem to work miracles for those with patience, aggressiveness and willingness to constantly learn.” In one of Jay’s many books he says “If you begin to use a low-cost but power-packed arsenal of marketing weapons, you can out market your competition before your competitors outsmart you.”

To be successful in guerrilla marketing for law firms you need to create the correct mind set as well as keep you mind open, see yourself as in the “law business” as well as know what strategies/tactics will work for your personality in your practice areas. You also will need to make a plan and work the plan consistently, persistently and be well targeted over time. You can do this since it is much easier than what it took to become an attorney is my thinking and experience. Naturally the key issues are having the “right knowledge” and “implementation” of that right knowledge in guerrilla marketing for law firms.

Marketing knowledge is everywhere of course - articles, books, tapes, CDs, and seminars. The key thing here is the “right knowledge” in guerrilla marketing for law firms. Beyond that and even more important is the “implementation” part once you know the right knowledge. Coaching is all about implementation of the right knowledge, having a plan and working the plan.

You can download free now the 125 page Report titled “31 Proven Law Firm Marketing Strategies” by Henry Harlow and much more. You can increase your income; reduce your work hours as you serve your clients better than ever - guaranteed.

http://www.Law-Firm-Marketing-Coach.com

Like most Kitchen & Bath Dealers, when I opened my dealership, I had a rough business plan and an idea of how I was going to market.

It was generalized and not very detailed. Sound familiar? I think the biggest mistake made was I really did not do a Market Study of who was doing what level of Kitchen & Baths in my market area. How can you get specific if you don’t understand the details of your market, market area, and market prospects?

A comprehensive Marketing Analysis should first look at the overall industry as a whole, then you would define your market geographically, demographically and sociographically. In English,that means, what area of the map, who lives their and what is their income, home value, etc, etc. I cannot stress this enough. Know Who, What & Where your going to target your marketing so that you don’t waste money on advertising outside those parameters.

Which is your business going to focus on,The consumer, home builder, allied professionals etc. Of course you will do projects for all of them, but your pricing and marketing strategy has to focus on one or two of them. Don’t be a “Jack of all trades, Master of none”. You should come out of your marketing analysis phase with a clear understanding of who you are, who your primary client base is and how you are going to compare with the competition in your market area.

Your Marketing Strategy should define your goal. What do you expect to accomplish and what is your budget. Remember, it doesn’t matter how big or small of a firm you are, you should always have a clear, defined budget and stick to it.

The percentages I spoke about in the last newsletter are very accurate and every Kitchen & Bath business should try and stick to them. For your review:

New business 7-8%

2-3 Year old business is 5-7%

An established business is 3- 5 %.

Remember to ad 2- 4% for brand development if your a new business.

When you do your plan in advance and stick to it, a side benefit is with truthfulness you can tell the advertising sales people that constantly call on your business- ” My budget & plan is already spoken for this year, Thank you.”

Timing is important, you should set your budget on the current years sales /overhead expenditure percentages for the following fiscal year. The 3rd Quarter is when you start to do the spending comparisons from previous year and in the middle of the 4th quarter your budget for the following year should be set.

Next step is to figure out how your going to communicate your strategy that you have defined, then you have to test the results. Some examples of Target Markets and some specific strategies that you might consider. Each market is different and you have different dealer profiles, so bear with me as I offer some examples.

The best marketing is one on one, direct contact with the prospect. Go out and get the prospects, don’t just sit in the showroom and wait for them to come in. As a rep, I just love sales people that say ” Oh man, business is slow this quarter, and yet their butts haven’t moved off the chair in front of the computer with solitaire on the screen..I digress….sorry. If you know who your target prospect is from your analysis, there is no excuse why not to go after them.

A Newsletter, keeps in touch with your existing client base, while a Four Color Brochure, introducing your firm and its services-with Testimonials will help turn new prospects into clients. You can do this economically and along with one on one dialog be effective. These provide both flexible and cost effective marketing tools.

I find that Direct Mail Advertising only attracts the price shopper, looking for a “deal”, and I am not convinced at a 2 % response rate that it is cost effective. The big 4 Color Slicks Magazines are great for Branding, but you need to do it correctly commit to two years at every other month, It is certainly costly and most effective for branding your business with affluent prospect. It is a mistake to spend all of your marketing dollars on the 4 color slick magazines. I find that putting ads in the local Theatre and Opera Programs will do the same branding with the same affluent prospect and are less costly.

I had done some TV on the Cable Channels such as HGTV, I found that to be as effective as the 4 color slick with some side benefits. It reaches the mighty middle prospect and affluent prospect (depending on which show it airs.) A pleasant side effect is that if you do a tasteful ad and the principle is on then your existing client base is reminded of you and talks about you. (More of a reason to earn those A referrals) It is more cost effective than the 4 Color Slicks and I believe does more in the short run. I think TV, radio done right really works, but it is a big budget item. I know how to get the production done, what to look for in the statistics of who is watching what and how well it can Brand your business. I am not talking about one of those cheesy cable commercials either.

These examples are just a few of many, many. Each firm is different, that’s why you need to Analysis, Strategize & Plan specifically for your business. Stick to a budget and timetable and be flexible. Follow the yellow brick road to your business pot of gold.

www.KitchenSalesCoach.com is a website designed to provide the small to midsize Kitchen & Bath Retailer with tips, strategies and ideas to be a invaluable resource to your clients.

My profit strategies are proven to put more money onto your bottom line and be a more customer service oriented business to really ramp up your referral energy. Make money specifying and project managing appliances, countertops and construction and not get bogged down by rising project cost.

Sales/Designers can learn to stop wasting time doing free designs for people who are price shoppers. Sales/Designers can earn a “Project Retainer” on the first visit without spending hours on the drafting board or computer to make a presentation hoping they will buy or retain you!

www.KitchenSalesCoach.com is your resource for increased profits and more sales!

Even high-priced marketing execs can get derailed when it comes to finding time to learn new things. For small to medium-size enterprises, where you’re usually your own Chief Marketing Officer, you’re even more likely to face that dilemma.

All marketing officers operate in the shadow both of quarterly numbers and of the bucking economy–which makes for neither a stable nor an easy job. Not surprisingly, caution and conservatism tend to rule when so much is in turmoil around you. The three biggest *mistakes CMOs are making today:

1. Spending only 6% of their budget on the Internet, when audiences are spending 14% of their time (as much as on television viewing) on the Internet.

2. Failing to understand–and take advantage of–the greater accountability of Internet advertising… Close to 75% trackability for the web versus 25% for, say, television.

3. Not realizing how incredibly targeted their advertising can be on the web. For example, an advertiser for ski vacations can display ads when the customer is searching for ski vacations, reading an article about ski vacations, browsing a website on ski equipment or watching an online video on improving your skiing skills.

The Internet has had a profound influence on all media–and on how we much we use and trust each of those channels. Reports say about half of CMOs on the job today have a good command of promotional possibilities with the Internet, and the other half don’t. And then there are the rest, who have neither an executive marketing officer nor the resources to do all that research, strategizing, and testing.

It’s becoming ever clearer that personalizing your advertising and promotions is powerful. But how to get there is another story. Never has such a vast learning curve been required for so many, just to do business effectively in our world today.

Don’t feel you’re alone. I’m pleased to say I am partnering with a couple of agencies that specialize in interactive marketing approaches that deliver measurable ROI. Give me a call and let’s talk about where you’re thinking about moving ahead.

Sincerely,
Barbara

P.S. If you have questions about how serious interactive Internet marketing can deliver measurable results for your business, call me at 773.292.3294 or 216.472.8502. Barbara Payne, managing principal of a ReallyGoodFreelanceWriter.com LLC, helps professionals and executives find their true voice and use it effectively to build market share, increase sales and strengthen customer relations. She’s a member of NAWBO, NEOSA and the Direct Marketing Association.

Contact her at barbara@reallygoodfreelancewriter.com or by calling 312.416.7965. Learn more at http://www.ReallyGoodFreelanceWriter.com

Increasingly, “Location, Location, Location” is being replaced by “Customer, Customer, Customer.”

This doesn’t come as a surprise to any savvy business person: What you know about your customers will help you serve them better and encourage them to spread the word about the value of your products and services.

However, how you go about learning as much as possible about current and potential customers is the true key to sustained success, especially as small businesses find themselves vying with national brands locating here or marketing via the web.

Sure, you can learn a lot through face-to-face discussions. Nevertheless, in 2008, some of the same detailed market analysis tools used by the biggest companies in the world are accessible to you.

Whether your business is in retail, restaurant, banking, insurance, financial services, or other businesses that services homeowners; you have a need to know your customer’s buying habits and lifestyles. Why? It helps drive sale of the products and services in your business.

Understanding which customers are most likely to purchase your products and services helps you target potential buyers more cost-effectively. Furthermore, by knowing where these customers live, you can make location-based decisions on your stores, restaurants, and branch locations.

When you shop, does the sales clerk ask for your zip code or telephone number? Do you use loyalty cards, store credit cards, charge cards? If so, these techniques provide the data necessary to develop customer profiles.

Businesses increasingly are utilizing location-based technology, demographic studies, traffic patterns, sales, homeowner location, and other data to describe customer lifestyles and buying habits (psychographics), identify ideal store locations, determine high and low volume product categories, locate their competition, estimate potential sales volume, and track average daily traffic volume. The same opportunities are available to the smallest business, due to continuous technology advances.

The use of decision support tools directly assists larger companies to understand their current location dynamics and markets that lead to their success, and identify where else these dynamics exist to support additional growth strategies.

It is not by chance that Home Depot, Chili’s Restaurants, Ben & Jerry’s, Wal-Mart, Pier One, Outback Steakhouse and other national brands are locating in your communities. Their decisions to build a store, hire and train staff, purchase inventory, and advertise in specific ways using these decision-support tools substantially reduces the associated investment risks.

They know who their best customers are; where they live; what the sales potential is from each customer; and which locations can maximize their investment. Increasingly, “Location, Location, Location” is being replaced by “Customer, Customer, Customer.”

Different businesses develop different concepts. A good location for one retailer may not be the same for another. Why? Location value is determined by the customers in that trade area. Customer concentrations drive the location decision!

Market researchers have established lifestyle segmentation systems that encompass up to 72 clusters or divisions based on life stage, demographics, income, purchasing habits and other unique characteristics of residents in specific neighborhoods.

Neighborhoods and households are labeled. These clusters and divisions are critical, since they are statistically likely to act in similar, predictable ways. Most stores service several predominant clusters or divisions. Researchers have categorized the over 111 million households in the U.S. into these segmentation systems.

What is your business concept’s “trade area?” You need to know how much time a typical customer is willing to spend to drive to your business. “Drive time” is often a product of the cost of the good or service. Consumers will drive further to purchase a bedroom set than they would to buy groceries. Today, location-based technology can cost-effectively produce a polygon-shaped map of your “drive time trade area.”

Once you know your dominant customer segments and your model trade area, you can graphically plot the major and minor clusters within each. Then, you can augment this with:

* Daily traffic counts by your site location,

* Competitor location(s),

* Trade area product demand,

* Total households in the trade area, and

* Total population and other demographic data.

You also can determine whether an additional location for your store in the trade area would cannibalize (steal sales from) your existing location.

Data to help you market and advertise cost effectively

Want to market and advertise to the households in this trade area?

Consider a marketing message that “fits” the lifestyles and buying habits of your predominant segment profiles - using print, radio, television, or direct mail. Today, you can target direct mail only to specific households that are most likely to purchase your products and services, saving money on wasted eyes bought in a mass media campaign.

Second-home owners, for example, purchase much differently than full-time residents.

Want to determine if a potential, new location will be successful?

Develop a customer profile model, a model of your successful trade area, and an analysis of alternative sites to determine if these sites have the critical factors (profitability analysis, penetration and product performance, competitor location, cannibalization analysis) necessary for a successful location.

Want to know if your existing product and service mix is maximizing your current locations?

Analyze consumer-spending estimates for your trade area’s demand for specific products and services in 20 major categories and hundreds of individual items. These categories and items are indexed to national averages for each segment cluster or division and can help you understand why certain products and services are disappearing from the shelves and why other products are gathering too much dust.

How do you start this analysis?

1. If you are not yet collecting customer-specific information (street address is the ideal), start collecting it.

2. Analyze your sales and inventory data, as well as total cost of goods sold, to determine high and low sales categories.

3. Locate where your competition is.

4. Consider utilizing location, segmentation, and market analysis to increase your competitive edge.

Remember, technology advances have made this process very affordable for the small, local, or regional service business. You can compete effectively with the chains.

About

Want to know more about how you can acquire the information discussed in this article? Contact Warren at http://www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com Warren J. Rutherford President of Rutherford Advisors Inc. is an Accredited Associate, IIB, a CMT Accredited Senior Mentor, a BNI Assistant Director in the SE Mass/RI Region, and a Pitney-Bowes/MapInfo reseller. He provides business advisory and mentoring services to small and medium-sized business, and performs market research for businesses. Copyright 2008, Rutherford Advisors, Inc. All rights reserved.

Retailers who have been indulging in discounting by dropping prices and holding pre-sales before major holidays risk losing customers over the long term. Discounting can cause a business’ customers to become conditioned to sales or discounts. If a change in the economy of your infrastructure were to require a price increase, you will likely lose a large portion of the client base that you worked so diligently to build.

There are several reasons why a business should avoid using discounting as a technique to increase sales, including:

Volume

Too many companies fail to account for the effects of price on sales volume. While reducing prices could yield additional customer purchases; can the purchases match and exceed the necessary volume levels for profitability when taking into consideration the deep discount?

Impact on Customer Relationships

Dropping and then raising a price back up can create ill will within your customer base. Some companies use this pricing strategy to engage a customer or to make a sale, hoping that this sale will result in a residual long term customer. Once the loyalty has been established, some companies then participate in price gauging, losing those initial customers to their competition who has a more consistent pricing model. Deep discounting can also tarnish your brand, unless you are looking to be considered over the long term as a deep discount retailer.

Impact on the Industry

Price cuts that are not backed up by the manufacturing company’s production cost reductions can lead to competitive counter attacks, potentially eroding your company’s profits. Competition can also be created among similar retailers unexpectedly, forcing you to take a lower than expected profit per item sold.

Margins are an essential component for a business’ bottom line. To read more about the importance of business margins, visit my blogs to read another one of my articles. There are several available strategies to avoid discounting your products for sale. Your business can give away gifts with purchases that have a high perceived value to its customers.

Businesses with outstanding client service are not concerned with discounting. Evaluate your current customer satisfaction levels and your current business practices to determine how you and your business can provide outstanding customer service. In addition to great customer service, a company with outstanding products & services does not have to concern itself with discounting. Ensure that your business is offering the best products available in its field or industry so that you can demand the appropriate pricing for the product’s value.

While discounting may be implemented and appropriate for some retailers and businesses, the concept should be carefully considered for its effects on your business. The use of alternatives to discounting will be more beneficial for your business growth over the long term. Consider which strategies will be the most effective for your business and business niche.

Mark Gwilliam, FCCA, uses his international experience to coach small business owners on how to run successful businesses. He combines his natural enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge with his proven ability to provide practical down-to-earth solutions for his clients. He has written several books and owns several companies which offer small business owners integrated business solutions. He writes several business articles in his weekly newsletters “The Bizness” and “Successful Marketing Strategies”. To read these and to have access to more tools and resources to turbo charge your business, visit his sites at http://www.mark-gwilliam.com and http://www.themarketingdude.com

White papers are the sleeping giants of marketing tools. This is great news for businesses who haven’t discovered them yet, because “[r]esearch indicates that IT executives examine an average of 30 white papers each year, that nearly 90% of executives find [them] helpful or extremely helpful and more than half claim white papers influence their buying decisions.” That’s according to Bitpipe online, February 2004.

What is a white paper?
A white paper is essentially a hybrid of a magazine article and a brochure. Its job is to educate first, then sell; it convinces readers they have a problem or need, then offers the company’s product or service as the solution. They are effective in getting attention because their salesmanship is subtle. White papers position the company in a place of authority, trustworthiness, and expertise; they’re a “soft sell,” powerful for generating leads.

What do you do with a white paper?
White papers are always given away free, and are usually distributed electronically. Post them on your website; distribute them by e-mail; syndicate them online. Bitpipe is perhaps the best-known white paper source, although there are others. People searching for information on your topic find them on these sites, read them, print them out, keep them, share them, and refer to them repeatedly.

How will white papers benefit your business?
As compared to a brochure or other marketing piece, a white paper enjoys a long shelf life. People keep them for their useful information and often come back to make a purchase up to a year later. They also can be reworked into trade publication articles and other pieces. For a company wanting to establish itself as a standout in its field, white papers are an excellent investment.

The bottom line on white papers…
If you’re a business executive looking for a copywriter to write white papers, congratulations on a smart move. Your support will contribute to a stronger finished product. With the right amount of input and feedback from you, he or she can create an effective marketing piece with a wide reach, a long shelf life, and the power to make huge profits for you.

Lisa J. Lehr is a freelance copywriter specializing in direct response and marketing collateral, with a special interest in the health, pets, specialty foods, and inspirational/motivational/self-help niches. She has a degree in biology, has worked in a variety of fields including pharmaceuticals and teaching, and has volunteered for many causes including special-needs kids and literacy. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, art, music, outdoor exercise, and all things Celtic and Renaissance.

Have you signed up for her free e-mail series on marketing strategies?

http://www.justrightcopy.com

Sometimes our best lessons come from children.

I was about three years old when my dad and I walked into a bakery. As he placed his order, I stared into the glass display case with all the pastries. As he was finishing his order, he glanced down, and asked, “Lanie, do you want one?”

“Yes, daddy,” I replied enthusiastically.

The woman behind the counter handed me a round pastry, with whipped cream, and a cherry on the very top. I immediately ate the cherry. As we turned to leave, the pastry fell to the floor. Before I could say anything, the woman offered me another one which I was happy to accept.

This time, as we turned to leave, it was obvious I deliberately dropped the pastry as soon as I ate the cherry.

“Lanie, why did you do that,” my father inquired.

“I only wanted the cherry,” I replied!

My father made a common mistake. He assumed we were talking about the same thing. Actually, he was talking about pastries, but all I saw was the cherries. Anyone who has spent time with young children has probably had a similar experience. Children enter conversations with a much narrower base of experience. From this limited perspective they often miss the subtleties or even the main part of the conversation.

Surprisingly, this doesn’t change as we grow up. We each enter conversation with certain limitations and gaps in our knowledge base. No one knows everything. And yet, every time I attend a networking event, I see people making the same mistake my father made. They assume the other person with whom they are engaged in conversation understands what they are talking about when they use technical or jargon-laden language.

The listener smiles politely, but has no real understanding of what is being said. The result - Instead of focusing on the message, and how they can help you, they are thinking about their next client, next conversation or possibly a lovely pastry with a cherry on top.

So how do you engage someone who is completely unfamiliar with what you do? The same way you engage a child. Simplify the concept, making connections to things in their realm of experience.

Just for practice, before you head out to your next networking event, imagine you are about to enter a 2nd grade classroom, and the teacher has asked you to tell the children what you do! How would you describe your company, position or process?

If you can simplify the message for that audience, you can find something somewhere in between for a room full of adults. Try using these simpler, shorter sound bites at the next networking event you attend. You may be surprised as the shorter answers and simple explanations are more likely to generate a response or question from the listener.

And because your listener has a frame of reference for your comments, you may end up with more referrals, sales, and the occasional cherry!

A veteran of corporate America, Lorraine Ball teaches business owners across the country how to use creativity and planning achieve exceptional results. Her marketing firm, Roundpeg http://www.roundpeg.biz, helps small business owners find a starting point for growth and change. An accomplished marketer, she has won regional and national communication awards. Her books “The Entrepreneur’s Notebook” “Business Map” and “Confessions of a Networking Junkie” are popular resources for business owners across the country.

Lorraine has an MBA from the University of Texas, and a BA from Queens College, City University of NY. She has been on the faculty of the University of Indiana.