Every business offers features to clients. Features are nice, but they are more about you and your process than about your clients. Offering a feature such as a “one hour start up consultation” is great, but it doesn’t let the potential client envision how your business will work for them. Creating benefits from features shows clients what’s in it for them. When you let your clients know the BENEFITS of working with you, it’s easy to PULL them to you.

So how do you create a benefit from a feature? By asking the question “Why would my client care”. So let’s walk though a few examples.

Feature – one hour start up consultation Question – “Why would my clients care that I offer a one hour start up consultation?”

Benefit /Answer – The one hour consultation gives my clients a jumpstart on getting clients.

Feature – my clients receive is recordings of each session Question – “Why would my clients care that I offer a recording of each session?”

Benefit /Answer – clients can fully participate in the moment and review the important information we discussed later, so they don’t miss anything.

Being clear on the benefits of your features and the benefits of working with you will help you create compelling copy that motivates clients to take action and call you.

Small Business Coach and Marketing Strategist, Jennifer Davey, is the author of the “Getting Clients Home Study Program”, the step-by-step guide to getting clients, building your business and making more income. To discover more details on her Home Study Program and get a copy of her 14-Step Formula for Getting Clients visit http://jjscoaching.com/free-marketing-tips/

I do not have a Mac, I have a PC. Since I am not a huge lover of Vista, but do not want to get Windows 7 until it has been out for a while and I am sure it has no/fewer (I would settle for either of these) glitches, I have been looking for and testing shareware/freeware for clients and I have just found Google Docs. Right now, I really like this FREE net based collaborative product.

It is on the web. It is easy to use and it is very familiar to Windows in the menus and the look. I can create calendars, documents, spreadsheets and presentations with this online product. G-docs has templates for resumes, project management, budgets, calendars, research papers, to-do lists and invoices.

You can use the templates or make your own through G-docs.

Google Docs accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, and PPT, so you can upload your docs to it as well to share with clients in the email (Gmail). Go HERE to access this resource and get a tour.

Let me know what you think about it.  You can respond on this blog or go to my website for DSA Virtual Assistant Services and comment in an email to me.

I hope you get a chance to use it and I hope you like it like I do.

Email Address.  Always verify the email address of the recipient.  Making sure your email goes to the correct person the first time ensures you look professional and competent.  Nobody wants to be known as that person who cannot even address an email correctly.  If you cannot even do such a simple task, others will wonder what else you have problems with.

Subject Line.  Make sure it is suitable and meaningful.  An address line of “Hi” could be spam, or to a friend.  In business, the subject line should be short and to the point.  You have the body of the email to expand on your point.  While you want to be short, you also want to be specific in your subject line.  A subject like “Safety Meeting on Monday” is always better than just “Meeting”, or on the flip side, better than “We are having a meeting on Monday re:  Safety”. 

Message Greetings.  Email should always have a personal greeting.  Depending on your relationship with the recipient, it may be just the first name or the full Mr., Mrs..  If you are sending to someone in an official position, look up forms of address for them and use them. 

Body of the Message.  Keep the body of the email as short as you can.  Be respectful of other’s time.  Unless you are in a technical field, keep the technical jargon down to a minimum.  It is always better to refer to an attachment that can be downloaded or printed in proper form than to put too much unformatted information into the body.  

Use an active voice rather than a passive one.  For example,  “The team set dates for deadlines”  sounds better than “Deadline dates were set by the team.” 

Unless talking about   a specific person, keep your language gender neutral.  “Salesperson” instead of “Salesman”

Be Polite.  Use “Please” and “Thank You”.  Do NOT USE ALL CAPS – that is considered screaming in email etiquette.  Never put anything into an email that you would be embarrassed to have attributed to you.  

Sign off professionally.  Sincerely, Thank You for Your Time, etc.  Use your name and if appropriate, use your title and include your phone number and fax if needed.

Proofread.  Use Spellchecker and then reread it one more time – out loud if you can.  Spellchecker does not catch the difference between “form” and “from”.

Respect confidentiality.  Do not mindlessly forward emails.  Not all information is for everyone, and not only is it unprofessional, it could get you fired.

Your mission statement should be based on benefits to present and future customers and should focus on the market(s) your organization is trying to serve.  Do not focus on your services, but on the benefits to your  customer.

Your marketing plan objective.  To make money??  Not really.   Your objectives should be realistic, measurable and time specific.   Not “To be the BEST in the business”  But more like “to achieve XX percent share of (your local area/global/immediate neighborhood…) business within the next XX months” .  Your objective should flow from your mission statement

Objectives give you a direction for your business.   Objectives should be motivating and challenging and give you something to strive for in a specific direction.  Remember, they can always be updated and changed!

SWOT analysis.  SWOT stands for (internal) Strengths and Weaknesses, and (external) Opportunities and Threats. 

Strengths and weaknesses are about  your organizational resources, such as costs, marketing skills, financial resources, company brand, capabilities and available technology – technology you already have or are planning on getting in the near future.   Determine what you have – those are your strengths, strengths are used to develop your competitive advantage.  Then look at what you are lacking – those are your weaknesses. 

Opportunities and threats  are about the forces, events and relationships with your external environment.  The economy right now could be an opportunity and a threat to your business.  An opportunity to move into a slot that someone has left vacant, or a threat since people are more likely to be cutting costs themselves. 

Performing a SWOT analysis allows you to identify your competitive advantage – what is superior to your competition – where do you need to be careful?

The Four Ps.  Product, Place, Promotion and Pricing.   This is your marketing mix.  A unique blend designed to create a mutually satisfying exchange with your target market.   

Product – You must know your product in order to advertise it at it’s best.  Product needs to offer your customer value for the money.  My product is my experience in administrative duties for businesses.   I am selling ME.  Most service companies are doing the same.  They are selling their or their employees expertise.

Place (distribution) strategies – how are you going to make your product available to your customers so they get what they want when they want? 

Promotion strategies- this mix includes advertising, networking, public relations, personal selling – all part of promotion of your business.   We want to inform and educate our target market of our product.  How you go about doing that depends on your creativity and your budget.  Think about those girls who work in the coffee huts in bikinis.  That was cheap!!  And they got press about it – a lot of press – and even negative press (for them) increased their business.  You may not want to go to those lengths – there is no way I will work in my office in shorts, much less a bikini, but I am sure you can think of a lot of creative ways to get the word out there. 

Pricing strategies – price is the most flexible of the four Ps.  This is an important competitive weapon that you can use by way of simply lowering your price, or by offering discounts or coupons.  Try not to go too overboard in being competitive and undercutting the competition, this could end up with you in the red if you cut into your costs too much.

Once you have determined your SWOT and the Four Ps, then you must follow up on your plan.  Just making the plan will not make your business a success.  You have to implement your plan and reevaluate your plan on a regular basis to make sure you are still staying competitive and making money.

This is a VERY simplistic overview of a marketing plan.  Check the web, google “free marketing plan templates” for more information.  I am not in marketing, this is just stuff I have learned lately trying to get my business off the ground.  I found a site for free templates that I really liked HERE. 

Good luck on all your marketing endeavors.

Do you remember the old commercial “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” ?  Well, when Google talks about SEO, we all better listen.  A year ago, Google published a PDF version of their SEO Starter Guide.  For those of us, like me, who just found it, it is an invaluable resource for getting your website closer to page one.  Google has never published a step by step How To Get Onto Google Page One, but this is the a nice way of getting closer and getting the information straight from the horses mouth. 

Go HERE to download your own starter guide.

Some resources to use are the internet, the Census Bureau, and your local library for some Marketing information.

1. Start out by making lists.

     a. Your skills

     b. Your experience

     c. Talents

     d. Strengths

            i. Put a star next to the things you ENJOY

2. Your lists are your guideline to brainstorming a “services offered” list. This will be a list of the items you can consult on or accomplish for your clients

3. Using your lists, determine your target market

     a. Which target market would benefit most from your service

     b. Which target market are you most FAMILIAR with?

     c. Is there a new market that you want to be a part of

4. Determine your objectives for your business and a business name

5. Using the first four steps, create a simple business plan

     a. Mission statement – the nature and philosophy of your business

     b. Goals – expanding on your mission statement – better defining marketing ,financial and operational goals

     c. Objectives – expand the goals to measurable and achievable objectives

     d. Financial requirements – even if you are not planning on getting loans, you need to know where the money is going and will be coming from for at least one year.

     e. Marketing Plan – More on this tomorrow – it is a HUGE area

         i. Product

          ii. Place

          iii. Promotion

          iv. Pricing 

         v. SWOT

     f. Sales Projections

     g. Operations

           i. Bio on all owners and partners

           ii. Costs associated with owners and partners – salaries, bonuses, etc.

           iii. Operations policies – how to add customers, how to add investors or future partners, how to communicate with them and what type of software you will be  using. Are you going to have an accountant or use an accounting system yourself?

          iv.  Are you going to have a storefront or work out of your home office?   Some established businesses will lease you a corner of their space.  You have options.

     h. Create a projected Profit and Loss statement for three, six, nine months and a year

     i. Financial plan for the next three years. Include:

          i. Financial needs

          ii. Sources of funding

6. Research the business entity you will be using

     a. Sole Proprietor – owned and run by one person – taxed as an individual. Owner has unlimited liability

     b. LLC – Limited Liability Company – owners have limited liability. Can be owned by one or more people. Owners are taxed as individuals. This is not a corporation

     c. Corporations – There are several types of corporations – a C corp, an S corp and more. A corporation is a legal entity on its own. The owners have no liability. The defining feature of a corporation is its legal independence from the people who create it. If a corporation fails, shareholders normally only stand to lose their investment. Owners are taxed twice – once on the corporate profits and a second time as income for themselves.

7. Set up company bank account and a merchant account so you can take credit cards if that is what you want.

8. Buy the equipment you need immediately

     a. Make lists again –

          i. The equipment you HAVE and the supplies it needs (ex: What type of toner does your printer need?) Keeping a list makes it easier to replace supplies as needed.

          ii. The equipment you WANT or will be UPGRADING in the future

9. Talk to a lawyer (or not – you can do this yourself if you want to…) about creating contracts for your clients, confidentiality agreements

10. If you have employees, you may want business policies handbooks

11. Create or have created for you a website, blog, newsletter, etc.

12. Create or have created for you a logo, business cards and stationery – letterhead, envelopes, etc.

13. Develop your marketing materials – introductory letters, welcome kit for new clients, giveaways with your logo on them – pens, mugs, keychains… Are you going to have print ads or do it all face to face? How about mass mailings? Window decals for your car? Car magnets? This is where brainstorming is a wonderful thing. Buy pizza and entertain your friends with the easiest, least expensive and possibly the wackiest ways to get your name out there. You want your name known.

14. Join your local chamber of commerce.

15. Volunteer your time and effort. Not only do you feel good and do something for your community, you are getting to know people in your area.

16. Join local networking groups and online groups. Both have lots of brain power behind them.

17. Get out there and TALK to EVERYONE about your business.

And good luck.  There are lots of books you can look through, and there are basic business plan templates you can get on the internet for free.  A lawyer can draw one up for you – anyone can draw one up for you – including you.  I created my own business plan from a lot of sources.  I would be happy to help you – all you have to do is go to http://dsava.com.  My contact information is in my contact page.

Once I had my letter created and my FAQ sheet created, all I had to do was figure out that I had no envelopes and I was running low on labels.   You would think that in the past two weeks that might have occured to me – obviously not.  So, I bought envelopes, and while I was there, I got extra ink for my printer and more paper.  (And a PC headset and microphone, a seven port USB adapter, a stacked file holder and another Thumb Drive.)  I have to admit I really cruised the store – I am not sure if I was procrastinating or just so excited to be out of the house…    Anyway, got back and got set up to stuff envelopes with my letter, my FAQ sheet, my business card and a discount coupon for 20% off first ten hours good through November 30, 2009.  

This may not sound like much, but I was so excited to get these out.  When I am at work, I am so focused, but to do things for me – well, I get the heebie jeebies and want to just go smoke, or eat something, or get down on my hands and knees and clean around the toilet with a toothbrush!!!  Anything but get out of my comfort Zone. 

What are my next steps?  I am creating post cards and brochures and flyers for follow up and my Very Next Step is to send out the same mailing to other communities around me and to follow all of them up with a phone call and a personal visit.  Now, that will be out of my comfort zone.

Who knew there was so much involved in marketing.  I was thinking that I would just create a business and the world would beat a path to my door.   Right.   Hindsight and all that… 

Marketing involves much more than putting an ad in the paper or creating a website.  I will not go into SEO here, but I wanted to share a few things that I have learned lateley.

A business plan is a great idea – why didn’t I think of that.  I have taken classes and seminars in creating a business plan and I helped to create one for a nonprofit.  But did I think I needed one?  Of course not. 

Why you need a business plan:   Financing is one reason to have a business plan, another is to have a goal and to see how you are going to reach that goal.   – But for me, there was only one reason I needed a business plan – For the MARKETING Plan!! 

Targeting the right market – In a business plan, you determine your target market – another words, who is going to buy your product or service.  Is your ideal customer young or old, single or married, middle class or with no money worries?     Will they have any concerns or worries about he type of service/product I am offering?

Step One ~ Understand who my ideal client is – Is there a gender for my ideal client?   How about an age?    Occupation and salary considerations?   Education level and lifestyle?   What about dreams and challenges?

Step Two ~ How well do I understand my ideal client?   Am I in this market myself?   Do I understand the lingo of my ideal client?   (I would not be able to market to skateboarders since I had no idea that “Sick” and “Ridiculous” were actually good things – whatever……)   How will I get my target market’s attention?   How do I let this group of ideal clients know about my services?   What inspires and influences this group?   Can I align my product/service with them to reach my target market?

Step Three ~ Do I know the needs, emotions  and the challenges of my target market?   For me, as a business in the startup phase, I can identify with the challenges of starting a small business.  I know that Logos become of immense importance to you but it is frustrating to figure out how to create one without paying through the nose.   After you get your logo created, you need business cards,  brochures and on and on.  

Step Four ~ Do you know what benefits your target market is looking for?   Can you provide something better/cheaper/quicker than anyone else?   You have to be able to put yourself in their place.  Know what they are looking for in a product or service.

Step Five ~ Are there any concerns about the product or service I am providing?   Safety concerns, confidentiality concerns, concerns about your experience.   Be prepared to answer concerns about your product or service – they are normal and you should have answers to each of  them. 

Once you have prepared a marketing plan, all you have to do is reach out to your market and get those customers.  

And that  is a whole ‘nother blog post

Some documents have to be kept permanently, some for one year and some in-between. Do you know the requirements? If not, read on…

KEEP FOREVER – Vital Statistics – birth certificates, marriage and divorce papers, social security cards, and passports KEEP ONE YEAR – Household bills – especially credit card bills. After a year you can get rid of them by shredding or scan and keep in your computer for longer if you want. Check all bills for duplicate charges – especially those credit card bills

KEEP TWO YEARS – Investment Records – At the end of each year, if you get an investment summary for the year, you can keep that only and shred the monthly reports. This includes records of contributions to an IRA – you already paid taxes on that money – you do not want to be double taxed.

KEEP THREE YEARS – Bank Statements and cancelled checks. This is all so much easier if you are with a bank that has records of all this. Chase has my statements for the last 7 years and I can get copies of all cancelled checks online.

KEEP SIX YEARS –Charitable Deductions – Medical Records – and Tax Returns – from the date you file – IRS has up to six years from the date you file to audit you. If you are unsure – keep for seven years from the date you file.

DURATION OF OWNERSHIP PLUS SEVEN YEARS – Home Related Records – Title and Deed to your house – Property Tax – Home Improvement and Repairs – and Warranties.

Do you regularly miss payment due dates?  Are you paying late fees on your bills?  Do you bounce checks because you were trying to pay a bill on time?  Besides creating tension in your household, irregular bill paying habits can ruin your credit, making it hard to buy a car or a house.  The good news is that you can make bill payment a simple, quick chore, and spend your time and your efforts somewhere more effective in your life – like taking the kids to the park for an afternoon.

How to steps:

 Depending in when you are paid, either designate one day a week, every other week or once a month to pay bills.  I usually pick Saturday morning for the upcoming week.    Mark that day on your calendar as you would any meeting.  If you have several large bills that are due all around the same time of the month, try to get them changed so you pay them when you get paid.  I have a large mortgage, so I pay that every two weeks – half and half.  

Check your bank balance before you start to pay bills.  Sounds like a no brainer, but you could be surprised, especially if you have any autopays on your bills.

Have one place for your bills – a desk, the kitchen table, whatever works for you.  Keep all your bills in one place.  If you do not have a desk or a filing system, a numbered  accordion file works well to hold your bills until you are ready to pay them.  

I highlight my bills as soon as I open them – the due date, the amount due and the total due for such items as credit cards, car payments and my mortgage.   Once you have highlighted them, put them into the accordion file under the due date.  I also stamp my bills with the date received on the upper left corner. 

Once you have paid your bills, stamp the date in the upper right corner – if you do not have a stamp, just write the date paid and the check number used along with the amount paid. 

Make sure your checkbook is clear and concise.  It makes it easier to find mistakes or to research bills.

My bills are in QuickBooks, but you can use Quicken (quicken.com) or Microsoft Money (Microsoft.com/money) as well.  You can even use an excel spreadsheet – read below on my blog for free excel spreadsheets. 

You can set up bill pay with your bank or with vendors.   The majority of my bills are set up to be automatically paid – my car payments, credit cards, electric, my mortgage, cable and phone/internet are all set up either through my bank or through our  payees.  I made the decision to pay through the bank when it would have cost me more to make payments through the internet….. wonder why they charge me extra when they are assured of getting their money and no one has to open another piece of mail if I mailed in my check????

When I set up my automatic payments:

I set my credit cards to be paid $25 per week on each one, that way I can make extra payments if I want, but I know that more than just the basic payment is made each month. 

 I also set up my mortgage to be paid bimonthly – half and half, that way I make one extra whole month’s payment per year, and I get that put solely towards my principal.   I am going to cut an extra 8 years off my loan, and that means less interest, plus I own the house that much sooner.  

Automatic payments also allow me to dictate when I will pay – I realize that the company has that much more time to play with my money, but I also figure that I will not miss a payment and mess up my credit and I have peace of mind that my bills are on time.  My cable payment and my internet/phone payments are both due at the end of the month, but I also have my two car payments due around the 25^th of each month.  So, I saved and doubled up and paid one car payment on time and then I made a payment for the next month three weeks early.   I pay my phone/internet and cable bills in the middle of the month. 

Keeping bill paying simple and streamlined is the best way to keep your life more simple and streamlined.  If you get paid every Friday and pay your bills every Saturday morning, then you know what you have left over for the savings account and for fun.