We are enjoying an uncharacteristically warm November in Winnipeg.  But with the thought of plummeting temperatures and drifts of snow the idea of a warm vacation always comes to mind.

Over the past few years the travel game has changed a lot.  Discount websites like iTravel2000, SellOffVacations, Priceline and Hotwire have challenged the revenue streams of many local travel agencies.  Do your typical store front travel agents have a place in the business world?  For the time being, I think the answer is yes but not sure how long.  My interaction with this travel company was the inspiration to this post.

I called this travel company because my wife had booked with them last year.  Our primary reason? They double our points on our Visa card.  Since the agent we used last year provided some good information we call back again this year…warm lead initiated.

The call started ok but nosedived shortly thereafter.  Below is a post-mortem and hopefully you’ll increase your sales by plugging up your lead leaks.  I see the following 8 things occur on a regular basis all of which can vaporize your leads:

1. No Email Signature – especially a phone number.  The latest and greatest smartphones like Blackberry, Apple have the ability to dial the phone number in the email signature
2. How about giving multiple numbers like your office and cell number? I can’t buy from you if I can’t contact you
3. Lack of a personal sales page (Website, Blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter etc.) – keep me abreast of what’s good and not so good in the world you live and breath – that’s how you develop relationships.  And if I like ya – I’ll point more people in your direction. MORE WARM LEADS – wouldn’t that be great!
4. No contact info on personal sales page….see #2 above
5. Old or incorrect contact info on personal sales page
6. “Contact Us” link only on one page

If you are in the game of sales make it easy for me to buy from you. As I am ready to BUY but still have yet to book a vacation.

Need more help with Marketing Strategy that can lead to more sales? Email me at ron[at]naidacom.com.

For TV and radio it’s the correct demographic and the proper frequency coupled with the right message. 

For newspaper it’s placement and call to action. 

For yellow pages it’s content. 

A proper campaign ususally means BIG BIG BUCKs.  It also means nice fat juicy commissions for the sales rep who sold you the campaign.  In my opinion, the only time one should consider using the above broadbased mediums is when you feel like burning cash!  Think about it for a second…when is the last time you picked up the yellow pages?  I personally picked up the yellow book once this year…looking for a plumber when my waterheater sprung a leak.  How about TV?  I can honestly tell you I have never hurried out the door to McDonald’s when I saw one of their commercials airing…have you?  Same thing for radio and newspaper…quick! what ads come to mind when you think of the last radio commercial or newspaper ad?

Want to save a few bucks?  Figure out how you can help your customer make a decision to buy and make sure that you are closest to him/her at the time the decision is made. 

I recently made the decision to purchase an in-ground pool for my house.  How did I choose my pool builder?  Well, when I tossed the idea of getting a pool I asked friends that had pools who did they use…you see…the name of the game is referrals.  I then proceeded to check out websites for information on pools and found not much to be had.  I met with 3 pool builders and one by one they all came out to give me their pitch.  It was a bit of a hassle because we had to coordinate meeting times etc and each meeting took about an hour.  In my opinion a lot of time wasted as the pool building process is pretty much the same.

So what can a small business owner do to get more business?  Develop a BLOG or website that engages the visitor’s emotions and provides all the information they are searching for. 

Remember this, in general people DO NOT like being sold to but they love to BUY.

A small business blog or site should contain several key elements:

• a sign up box to allow visiors to get free information or stay up to date with your business via email,
• information to overcome any possible obstacle to making a purchase,
• a way for your site or blog to be interactive with your visitor,

You can set up a Blog or Website in as little as 3 EASY Steps.