Marketing

For those in any type of retail operation the flyer that looks like cash that can be redeemed or buy one get one free, or get a percentage off, or it''s a tax free weekend, etc. can work wonders. Couldn''t you also mail a flyer to your customers that states, "Good toward your purchase, when you refer a friend".

In all businesses, you need to get your customer to tell you what they like about your business. For example, whenever we get an email or a telephone call from a customer that praises our services or products, we ask if we can use it as a testimonial. You must get their permission (unless however you receive unsolicited mail from them). Again, ask your customer for a testimonial. For example, if you liked the dinner at our establishment, please fill out this form. We appreciate your time, so by doing so, we will provide your next entrée for half price. We put incentives in our books and services for our customers to get back to us with their opinion.

I can remember back when I worked for temporary agencies, they were forever giving out pens, pads, magnets, etc. to keep their names in front of everyone. Think of Pizza Hut and Domino''s. How many magnets do you have with their name and telephone numbers on your refrigerator. When we ran our Matching Numbers business, we made up shirts and jackets that we wore everywhere. You''d be surprised how many customers we got in the grocery store, post office, fast food places, who asked us for cards or about our business.

There is a whole separate industry that deals with advertising specialty items. You name it, you can get your name on it. Mugs, pens, business cards, memo pads, etc. These items can get the word out on your business not only to your customers , but also to your customers'' customers. Memo pads are especially nice. People have a tendency to jot notes on them and then give them out to others. So they are a very far reaching tool. Advertising with Specialty items is almost as good as referrals.

Be sure on your promotional material (brochures, flyers, newsletters) that you indicate how your referral program works. Be sure to indicate what type of incentives you offer. Be sure to be very specific in outlining what your customers need to do. For example, fill out this form and mail it back (or fax it back) with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of those you are referring. You don''t have to ask for all of this information, however, if you are going to snail mail you will need their address.

Be sure when you do your networking at your organizational meetings or chamber meetings that you tell people about your referral program. Business people appreciate being rewarded for referrals they give you. However, too many people never follow through, which is why for many businesses their referral program goes by the wayside. This is one area where we stress to our students you tell all your networking partners, your tenant buyers, your sellers, and all of your family, friends, in fact, everyone you come in contact with that you pay a percentage of each deal you do (an average deal is $5000) to them if they refer someone and you do a deal with that person. Believe me when I say, once they receive one check from you, they become a walking advertisement for your lease purchase business.

There is one caveat to offering a referral program and that is you must DO GOOD BUSINESS. Your credibility is at stake. You want to be viewed as a reliable, dependable, and trustworthy individual. You need for people to want to buy from you, and because you did such an outstanding job, tell everyone else about you.

So, are you using the Secret Weapon?

Copyright 2003 DeFiore Enterprises

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it''s like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com', 177, 'Referrals . . .The Secret Weapon, Marketing, Marketing articles, Marketing information, about Marketing, what is Marketing, Marketing Information', 'Referrals . . .The Secret Weapon plus articles and information on Marketing

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The Name is - I AM.

However, Mrs. Smith is squeezing the chalk a bit too tightly because she has just had a thought about George and the Lord of the Universe is feeling the pain. I AM has never felt so much pain since the "Big Bang". Let''s just say that IT IS - right now - is having a case of upset stomach.

(This is only a metaphor, of course, but it is as good as any. When it comes to I AM, be careful. Just use metaphors)

Mrs. Smith feels the chalk getting hot in her hand. She looks at the chalk and is mesmerized. She trembles because IT now has a light pink glow to it.

Suddenly, like in the movie Star Wars, an image of a person appears on her left and another image of another person to her right. The person on her left is Greek. She''s sure of it because she has a replica of an ancient Greek Vase on her mantle at home with a picture similar to his on it.

Because George is only 3 years old and can''t reach it yet, the Vase is still in one piece. Mrs. Smith takes comfort in that remembrance even in the present moment with this "stranger" standing to her left. Her focus is amazing.

To her right, again, out of nowhere, has appeared an image of a 19th Century Scientist with a head full of graying unrulely hair. She recognizes him too from his picture in a recent issue of Life Magazine. Also, she has read about him in science books since her own 5th grade.

(Mrs. Smith likes to read and she likes to read, of course, to you know who...)

She looks at them both, turning her head one way, then the other way. Then she looks again at the chalk in her hand, which has now dissolved. It is now a thin film of white spreading up her hand and arm beneath her blouse and shows no sign of stopping.

If this keeps happening, she is going to look like Casper the Ghost and she knows it.

The pupils meanwhile see nothing, hear nothing, but do catch a wind as at an Exit at the ground floor of a Skyscraper and an odd smell. Still, they are watching the clock very, very carefully, as they always do.

The Scientist on Mrs. Smith''s right whispers into her ear - "Hurry, you must run and save the children." The Greek on her left says nothing, but has a look of profound sadness on his face because he would wish to take her place. But it is too late for that and he is feeling very unlucky. But he is there to grant her moral and spiritual support and to be a witness to this great event. It''s suppose to be a privilege, but...

"Why could He not have been ''Chosin''?" (One of my Links)

Meanwhile, I AM, back at HIS?HER?ITS? Castle, is doing some quick math.

With not even a moment for thought, Mrs. Smith bolts from the Classroom. The children are in shock because their teacher has just disappeared. Vanished! Also, the Door to the Classroom has vanished!

Did I AM borrow the door?

They are now feeling a slight tingling in their ears, but nothing more, and there is very little dust. Where is Mrs. Smith now?

Mrs. Smith is free of the building and is flying faster than Superwoman. In two seconds she is over Pilot knob. Another five seconds, she is over West Virginia; another five, she is over Canada and gaining speed.

Moments laters, she is 1,000 miles high over the North Pole and heading into outer space in an almost perfect straight line.

But she just keeps on moving. She doesn''t know why. She only knows that she MUST. It''s almost as if she has the energy of George inside of her to drive her forward like a supercharged engine. It''s an interesting feeling!

Now what she doesn''t know won''t hurt her. She''s fast approaching the Speed of Light, 186,000 miles per second. She now has shattered the Speed Limit of the Universe and there are no Star Wars Cops to catch her or pull her over.

But she keeps on running and running and running. Her body is now the size of a Proton, but with the same Mass plus the Door - 239 lbs. She feels nothing, sees nothing. She just knows that SHE IS and that''s all that matters. Now she knows, without knowing it, what Plato wanted.

Time and Space have been left behind and she is now approaching an Unknown quantity - the Speed of Light squared. She is now located somewhere beyond the farthest galaxy 20 billion light years from earth and she is fast approaching the edge of the Universe.

Of course, as in any good movie, or in our Imaginations, she penetrates the hymen of the Universe One Hundred Trillion of a Trillionth of a Second before she reaches that magical threshold of speed.

You know enough math to figure it out - her body mass plus the door, 239 lbs, times the speed of light squared. It''s not much for I AM to work with, but it''s just enough. Thank you, Mrs. Smith. Thank you!

Suddenly, there is a Terrible Singularity. There are no laws or rules or theories of any kind, nor is there language. The temperature is so hot, it''s cold, but if you want to know - its around 6 trillion trillion degrees Fahrenheit.

A brand new universe has just been born beyond the boundary of our own and it is growing temporarily, until the temperature cools down, at a speed much faster than the speed of light in any direction it wants to.

As this new expanding Universe cools down, ''ittle, bitty particles much smaller than atoms will form, and these will somehow find each other and get together and make hay, and you know the rest of the story.... don''t you?

No you don''t. Neither do I. You see, the Imagination is Infinite.

I AM smiles at the Greek Man and at the Scientist and says, "You''ve done a good deed today and I sure do appreciate it." And I AM is feeling much better already.

However, a second thought comes to MIND. I AM looks around Himself/Herself/Itself and wonders, "Where''s George?" Then, just as suddenly, I AM disppears,as if HE IS is running for His/Her/Its own life.

The Clock in the Classroom now stands at 10:30am. and the children have gleefully gone outside to the play while the Principal goes in search of Mrs. Smith and the school custodian.

End of Story, except that.... "Whoa!" to all you Marketers! Before you go out to the Play Ground of Life to do your business, I want to make sure you have learned this lesson well:

HE IS. Therefore, YOU ARE.

HE IS is in you; YOU ARE are in I AM.

What are you going to do with I AM?

More importantly, what is I AM going to do with you?

How much POWER do you have? (You will need some scales to find out exactly if you are caught up purely in the physical world)

What are you going to do with it?

I have just walked out my back door. It''s @ 7:00am. A fall Spider has woven its web. Trapped inside the web is a lightning bug. The Spider devours the glowing bug. I have never seen this before. It is a Sign and a Wonder.

TEST: How much power does the Spider now have and what is She going to do with it?

(Answer to be provided in Meaning and Marketing: The WILL)

Resources:

Other Articles in this series Under the title of Meaning and Marketing: The Hurricane, The WILL, the Links, the Trigger

Plato''s "Apologia" Five Dialogues Plato, G. M. Grube, Grube G. M. A. (Translator)

The Bible, Exodus, Chapter 3:14 The Bible, Gospel Of John, Chapter 8:58 The Bible, Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10:15 (That''s A.M. EST)

E = mc²: A Biography of the World''s Most Famous Equation David Bodanis Einstein in Love: A Scientific Romance Dennis Overbye Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein''s Letters to and from Children Alice Calaprice (Editor), Foreword by Evelyn Einstein

Chosin: Heroic Ordeal of the Korean War Eric M. Hammel

THE TRIGGER: http://home.hawaii.rr.com/chosin/Main.html

Paul Snell lives with his wife, Jean, and younger Son, Steven, and their dog Blackie, in Lexington, NC. He is a former Presbyterian USA minister and has been in Network Marketing full time since 2002. Paul, at the age of 61, has recently been diagnosed as Bi-Polor with A.D.D as a minor component. He, with the encouragement of his great Mentors at the PowerShift Loop, is an Advocate for the treatment of mental illnesses - all kinds. Go, Larry King live!

You can contact him at psnell100@excite.com or visit his website at: http://www.BestBizOpps.info', 177, 'Meaning and Marketing - The Eye of the Storm, Marketing, Marketing articles, Marketing information, about Marketing, what is Marketing, Marketing Information', 'Meaning and Marketing - The Eye of the Storm plus articles and information on Marketing

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If you are serious about commission mailing, you will take thetime to look over each offer in the Big Mails you receive. Mosteverything one needs to follow the nine steps above is offeredin the various Big Mail Packets, most of it free.

There is money in mailing, but it is not as some advertise it You won''t make $50,000 a year by working one hour a week fromyour kitchen table. NO! It doesn''t work that way.

If you will follow instructions, be happy with from $100 to $400a week, spending a few hours every night, five nights a week,then you too can make money in mailing the various offersavailable to you.

The nine steps listed above give you everything you need to getstarted. It is now up to you. You invest only what you wish,you grow as big as you want. Just one note of advice... Whenyou send your commission circulars, send more than one of akind... You will pay the same postage to mail one as you will tomail several. The more you mail at one time, the better theodds of receiving orders. It''s also a good policy to never getyour circulars and your name lists to mail to from the samedealer.

Yes! Using these nine steps can put you in the commissionmailing business!

Making Money With Your Own Adsheet!

When you are in a position to publish your own adsheet you willbe able to expand your basic commission mailing business foradditional profits.

Adsheets are usually started by the publisher cutting ads fromother magazines and making paste-ups with these "Freebies". Thepublisher then mails his adsheets to these various dealers andasks them to re-run their ads with him at $$ per column inch. This is a risky beginning because many dealers are not in aposition to buy, or do not want to purchase additional ad spacefor one reason or another.

There are a number of publishers who have a method for startingadsheets that is almost 100% risk free. They send you partialpage, or full page ads, that pay from 50% to 100% commission andyou may run these ads over our name in your first edition ofyour adsheet. As paid ads come in, you simply replace thesefree ads with the paid ads.

Until you get paid ads for your publication, you have a chanceto make money whether you have paid advertisers or not. Moreover some companies will give you substantial discounts ontheir various mailorder programs if you run their 3x6 ad in thefirst edition. Thus you can make money off of their ads and youget professionally designed mailorder programs at very littlecost.

Also, there are a number of mailorder companies that have fullline printing plants and they will print your adsheet for you atvery competitive prices, in the event you don''t have your ownprinter.

As you dig deeper and deeper into the world of mailorder, youwill be able to locate and contact many firms and individualswho will offer many and varied programs and services.

How to Get Your Circulars Mailed Free!

There is another way to get your circulars mailed free. As soonas you can afford it, become a supplier of commission circulars.The easiest way to do this is to take "all-profit" offers andhave circulars printed on two sides. On one side have your ownname and address printed. On the other side leave space for arubber stamp imprint.

Offer these circulars to circular mailers on a commission basis.They keep a commission from 50% to 100% on the one side, andyou make your profit on the other. Use the same method for anyoffers that you develop for yourself.

You can reach these mailers by advertising in, or subscribing toseveral mailorder trade magazines and adsheets. Another way tolocate mailers for your literature is to notice the ads bymailers; usually at the bottom of their ads they state"Commission Circulars Mailed Free", which means they get oneside and you get the other, as above.

If you really want to get rolling using this method, take two"all Profit" offers, one on each side, and give the mailer 100%on one side. You still make yours on the other offer.

Also, if you are interested in obtaining additional commissioncirculars for yourself, include "Commission Circulars MailedFree", in your own ads.

Still another way to get your literature mailed free is toinclude this little note in all your advertising... at the endof the copy... "Stamp appreciated". It only costs you twowords, but it could save you a great deal in postage. If youare advertising in trade publications or adsheets use "SASE"which means "Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope". The savingsfrom envelopes, addressing labor and postage can add up fast. Many small dealers use this method exclusively, even in thelarge circulation magazines. They have been using it for yearsand it still works!

How to Make $100 mailing 100 EnvelopesBy Using the Exchange Mailing Plan!

Regarding this plan they have been telling you to have 5,000 3x6commission circulars printed, the circulars offering $1.00 itemsand paying 50% commission on every order received. Then mail100 each to 50 "Exchange Mailers" in 50 envelopes marked X-100SY(which means Exchange 100-Send yours). When you receive 100circulars from each of the exchange mailers, mail out one eachin 50 envelopes. This way 100 envelopes mails your 5,000circulars. If you have a good circular offering a popularseller, and the exchange mailers you sent yours to, are honestand dependable, you should receive at least a 2% return. Thenthey state that this plan will bring $50 profit.

This is the complete plan and they say it works. That it isworking every day for many mailers and that it will work for you!

I have no doubt that it works; however the $50 profit theymention is Gross Profit before any expenses. Figure it up. Bythe time you purchase the printing, the envelopes and thestamps, your expenses will leave you little if any Net Profit.

Of course, if the exchange mailers send you top pullingcirculars for their "fast selling products" and you receive 50%or more commission on orders from these, you can make asubstantial Net Profit, perhaps enough to pay for your time andeffort.

If you are serious about making money at home, commissionmailing is one way to do it, but you must have circulars thatoffer top selling items. In this day and age of inflation andhigh postage costs it is difficult to make a buck by mailingcirculars selling only $1.00 products. You should have a veryminimum selling price of from $5.00 to $8.00 in order to pay youa reasonable amount!

For just the postage and handling, many mail order firms willsend you commission circulars and the names of other mail orderdealers who will send you all the names you want, FREE! Thereare other dealers who are happy to send you their circularswithout the cost in order to defray their mailing expenses. Allyou have to do is write and request their circulars or place asmall display ad in various mailorder advertisers and ad sheetsindicating that you mail good commission circulars free!

You can get the names of a number of printers in the mailorderbusiness who print commission circulars for a very reasonablefee. I would suggest that you order 6,000 3x6 circulars ratherthan 5,000 as suggested on the prior page for the simple reasonmost printers like to keep their printing formats and priceschedules in round figures and 6,000 3x6''s (approximately 2-3/4x 5-1/2, not actually 3x6) will fit on 1,000 sheets of thestandard size 8-1/2x11 paper.

If you handle your commission programs on a conservative basisuntil you have tested and proven the value of each program, youcan very well make $100+ by mailing 200 envelopes with anexchange mailing plan!

Postage Saving Tips

As with all your mailorder programs, just like any otherbusiness, you must operate efficiently and save dollars wheneverand wherever possible. In your commission mailing programs itis especially important to get the most use out of every dollaryou spend on postage and mailing costs. Errors and lack ofplanning when preparing mailing programs costs untold millions. Incorrect scales and mistaken rate calculations account for manymore millions. The use of machines for folding and inserting,etc., can save substantially when your mailings get large enoughto warrant their use.

Most letters mailed at one ounce rates weigh much less than oneounce. Save money by stuffing your mailings with othercirculars and inserts unless your mailing involves a specialoffer that is best promoted separately. Most people do notrealize that a #10 envelope plus five standard 8-1/2x11 sheetswill go at the ounce rate. It also is a saving idea to print onboth sides of your documents.

With a small battery operated mail opener that costs less than$20, you can open most envelopes quickly and easily withoutdamage to the inserts.

To maintain your mailing list on a current basis it will pay tospecify "Forwarding and Return Postage Guaranteed", and "AddressCorrection requested".

See your postmaster for third class bulk rate information. It''s a simple procedure to get set up forBulk mailing. After an initial charge you can renew for anannual fee. You will get back the cost of the fees just in thefirst few hundred mailings, and ride at the bulk rate for therest of the year. However, it can take from a week to two weeksfor delivery. Paste on color stickers are used to indicate thedestination, making it easy to sort and bundle by zip areas, etc.

Note to editors:
To show my appreciation to the editors that use my articles, I offer a free solo ad. Simply send an email to me by using the form on the contact me page on my website to tell me the url the article was used on or send me a copy of the ezine it was used in.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer

This article may be distributed freely on the Internet as long as the resource box remains intact.
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DeAnna is the publisher of the ezine, Prospecting and Presents.
Subscribers get one free ad per week.
Subscribe today by visiting http://www.pnewsletter.com
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In conclusion, we recommend that you never start any campaignwith a mailing list when advertising is so much cheaper. Whileit may prove to be more profitable than advertising, keep thisrule in mind:

When you''re ready to try a mailing list, be fully prepared tolose every penny you spend in buying and mailing that list,because it could happen.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer
This article may be redistributed freely on the Internet as long as the resource box remains intact.

Resource box:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
DeAnna is the publisher of the ezine, Prospecting and Presents.
Subscribers get one free ad per week.
Subscribe today by visiting http://www.pnewsletter.com
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$', 177, 'When, Why, and How to Use Mailing Lists, Marketing, Marketing articles, Marketing information, about Marketing, what is Marketing, Marketing Information', 'When, Why, and How to Use Mailing Lists plus articles and information on Marketing

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And as you market your product or program to the world, you say - "Better watch out because here I come! And I am powerful! I am dy-no-mite."

If you don''t say this, then you ought to.

So Mr. & Mrs. Meaning, how much power do you have behind the Meaning that is You and Yours? A lot? A little bit? How much? Do you know?

Of course you know! You have as much power as you WANT or are willing to grab. And you grab as much as you need to get the job done and no more because you have to save yourself for the next task, the next job. You have to pace yourself carefully and conserve your energy because you don''t live for one day, or one week, or one month only in your business. You have to think about the future in your business - the long range future - and plan for it.

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I am handing out helmets now. They are made of a special metal, an alloy of titanium and steel and are covered with 1/3" layer of rubber and plastic. The helmets are painted and tatooed anyway you WANT them TO BE and they are beautifully waxed. Are you ready?

The Helmets are your IMAGINATIONS. Do you have them on? You do have an Imagination, don''t you? If not, just pretend you do. That will work just as well.

Are you having fun? Not sure? Why aren''t you sure?

Suddenly you find yourself in Patricia Smith''s third grade classroom at Old Richmond School in Felix County, NC. It''s 1953. A pupil is gazing out the window toward Pilot Knob about 20 miles away and S/HE IS wondering if recess time will ever get here. So is the pepple on the window sill.

But we need not be bored because we know what''s coming, don''t we?

Other Articles in this series: The Eye of the Storm, The WILL, the Links, the Trigger

About the Author:
Paul Snell lives with his wife, Jean, and younger Son, Steven, and their dog Blackie, in Lexington, NC. He is a former Presbyterian USA minister and has been in Network Marketing full time since 2002. Paul, at the age of 61, has recently been diagnosed as Bi-Polor with A.D.D as a minor component. He, with the encouragement of his great Mentors at the PowerShift Loop, is an Advocate for the treatment of mental illnesses - all kinds including Substance Abuse. Go, Larry King live!

You can contact him at psnell100@excite.com or visit his website: http://www.BestBizOpps.info ', 177, 'Meaning and Marketing - The Hurricane, Marketing, Marketing articles, Marketing information, about Marketing, what is Marketing, Marketing Information', 'Meaning and Marketing - The Hurricane plus articles and information on Marketing

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