Three hundred marketing tools to choose from! Plus there are cheat sheets and best practices of how to take advantage of each.
Smile: People do business with people they like. Make it a rule to smile at strangers. A smile can even across by phone or email, so keep grinning.
30-Second Pitch: This is called your elevator pitch, 30-second commercial, and positioning statement.
Handshake: Keep it firm and don’t have a limp fish. In most instances it is better to shake a hand harder than do it limply.
Voicemail: Be happy, don’t have background noise, hang up cleanly. These are basic things that most people don’t do. And remember to call them back!
Personal Packaging: So few people put thought into this, but it adds a world of credibility. Think about the combination of things that you do to make an impression on someone else. What is your hair, tone, body language, facial expresssions, and clothing saying about yourself and your company?
Business Name: Make sure that it is tied to your business activity & strategy and is memorable. If you want help on this, find Creating Your Business Name module under the Small Business Solver tool.
Eye Contact: Maintaining eye contact with someone that you are speaking to, either one-on-one or to an audience, makes them feel more connected to you.
Use People’s Names: Not everyone has a perfect membory to be able to do this. But one trick to help you is to say the name a few times when you are first introduced. Another is to ask for the spelling if it is a new name to you, as you may remember it better if written out.
Business Cards: There are a lot of tricks to creating good business cards. But the most important thing is to have one.
Networking: You can’t go to everything, so make sure that you go to ones that will help your business. And make sure that you use these best practices!
Mentors: You never know who your mentor knows. Leverage their contacts and make them one of your fans. If unsure of how to get a mentor or what to do once you have one, check out Get a Mentor and Getting the Most Out of a Mentor modules in the Small Business Solver tool.
