In this Post:

• Learn one of the most affordable ways to Market your business.
• Learn how an ACT! addon (for marketing) has helped one customer with specific financial results.
• One click access to a special report normally reserved for customers only to help you get started.

Let’s be honest here, most of the small businesses across the country have been hit hard with the recession, quite a few have closed up altogether, while others are running very lean organizations while they endure the current economic downturn.

While it is important to make necessary adjustments and even stay ahead of the financial challenges a small business faces, it is equally important to identify new ways to get in front of customers and prospects, otherwise known as marketing.

Why Marketing is Key to Surviving Tough Times

One of the most affordable ways to get in front of customers in a personal and meaningful way is with email marketing. Done right, email marketing allows you to connect with customers on a regular timetable and in a valuable way, and is one of the reasons I’m looking forward to ACT! 2010 with its end-to-end marketing capabilities. It is the first time ACT! has included a built in tool for customers to actually build their business using the net. Customers only have to activate the SwiftPage service by choosing the appropriate level based on their needs.

Email Marketing Case Study

SwiftPage Email has been around for several years, and is the engine powering the ACT! 2010 end-to-end marketing solution. I recently encouraged a long-time ACT! client who was wanting to do more marketing with ACT! to *not* leave the product until doing a marketing test with the SwiftPage addon.

After getting him setup and started with the SwiftPage service, I let him go for a couple days, and then followed up with him. He told me that has a whole new level of activity in the office, calling on targeted leads who have a renewed interest in his company’s products and services as a result of a couple emails he sent to his database using SwiftPage. He now has the capability to interact with contacts in his ACT! database, based on their interaction (viewing, opening, clicking links) in his email.

UPDATE: I just spoke with him on the phone to get an update, and these are two results he is most excited about:
1.) Sales. In less than 1 week, his company closed 4 “deals” as a direct result of the emailing activities done with SwiftPage. This represents a 7-8% revenue increase.

2.) Cleanup. He was also able to clean up his database, and identify dead leads due to people replying, saying they already had a solution, or were no longer interested, etc. This information allowed him to redirect sales resources away from those who opted out, to those who wanted more information.

He is pleased, and needless to say, we haven’t talked about his company leaving ACT! (which, by the way, is highly customized for his business) since then.

Getting Started with Email Marketing

If you haven’t taken the time to execute an email marketing plan, this could be a great opportunity to do just that. There is special report reserved for my clients entitled:

“5 Fatal Mistakes of Publishing a Newsletter and How to Avoid Them”

I’m making available at no cost via direct download (it does require Acrobat Reader). It is a quick read, but I’ve done what I could to pack it full of content. You can get access to it here.

For many, this recession has been difficult, and the truth is, some businesses haven’t survived. It doesn’t have to be that way, with renewed effort on affordable lead generation approaches like email marketing, you can get results faster. Now with ACT! by Sage 2010 having marketing functionality built in the product, once activated, my hope is even more customers will experience increased sales and profits.

NOTE: You can get started right away with SwiftPage, they support all versions of ACT! back to version 6!

It’s Your Turn: What have you observed as effective when it comes to getting through an economic downturn in your business? What marketing tools are you using? Any experience with Swiftpage? Chime in using the comment boxes below.

*Image by lepiaf.geo

Technorati Tags: act 2010 software, act by sage 2010, swiftpage

Disclaimer: This was written with business owners in mind, I talk about ACT! later in this post…

In my quest to know if I had what it took to start and run my own business, one man told me he read a book that totally changed the way he ran his floor cleaning business. E-Myth by Michael Gerber…

After reading it years later, I fought some of the concepts he presented, but eventually realized I was operating as a ‘technician’. If you have read the book, you know what I mean. I began to thoroughly document all my key internal processes (which I later converted to videos, surprise surprise), and hired someone to do what I find mundane and inefficient.

I finally had the opportunity to meet Michael just last week, and he said many things which resonated so poiniently with me…let me share one here…

“You don’t need an Expert, you need an Expert System!” -Michael Gerber

Please read that again, outloud… Did you get that? You don’t need a specialized coach, expert, or consultant you need a specialized, expert system. I found this statement asounding….In fact, I want to shout this from the rooftops to all of my clients and prospective clients, You don’t need me, you need a system! I would be honored to assist you in acquiring and integrating the right system in your business.

The cool thing is he just came out with a book the day before this picture was taken…and it sounds like a great one, “Awakening the Entrepreneur Within: How Ordinary People Can Create Extraordinary Companies“ As I perused some of the pages, it was clear to me that this Sage has put together another gem, and the reviews thus far seem to reflect that sentiment. Did you know he has a ‘Dreaming Room’?

Part of creating a solid ACT database system or any contact management system is to first understand the role of the database in your business. What is it going to do for you, how is it going to serve your business? These aren’t always easy questions to answer, but the answers will help you get successful with the system much faster than not answering them at all.

Consider what Gerber says, you need a top notch system…we all do, you’re not alone. Software isn’t what we need, but an expert system. Software is a tool to help automate the expert system. Make sense? Tell me what do you think of what Gerber told me. Am I taking it too far, or simply a misguided zealot? Please leave your comments below.

Technorati Tags: Business, contact management, e-myth, michael gerber, video, Webinar

People say they learn a lot from me, truth is I learn from customers and subscribers all the time. Yesterday I talked with a customer who articulated something I think might benefit others. It was pertaining to the idea of upgrading his ACT software after receiving an upgrade notice from Sage Software, he said, “I got some critical enhancement products as a part of my ACT install, I know how it all works and interconnects with my business process, as a result I’m cautious about installing a soon to be released upgrade.”

The truth is, he has quite unique combination of ACT Addon installed on his computer…each with a critical business purpose, allowing him to focus on what brings in revenue, selling. However, it does bring up a very fair question.

Should I upgrade?

For 2008 and beyond, with any software, the question people are asking…Should I upgrade?

Here are some questions ACT users must ask before answering the upgrade question. Take time to write out the answers to these questions, and be as specific as possible.

1.) What new features in the software will…
a.) Make me or my organization more productive.
b.) Make me or my organization smarter about the data in my database.
c.) Give me or my organization a competitive edge
d.) Help me or my organization make customers and prospects lives better.

2.) How will the existing configuration carry over to this new version?
a.) Will it support the operating system I’m running?
b.) If using templates, and mail merges, will it support the version of my word processor.
c.) Am I using any addon or enhancement products, and if so, are they supported on the new version. If not, when will an update be available, and what will it cost (many are free)?
d.) The Database itself, have others experienced problems upgrading their database for this new software, can I perform a test migration of my database to see if there are any problems before putting it ‘in production’? (this is CRITICAL, and I always recommend a professional to evaluate at least this part…it is your customer/prospect database, the lifeblood of any business…partner with someone you trust)

3.) Handheld integration, Palm Treo, Motorola Q Phone, Apple iPhone, Blackberry, phones running Windows Mobile, Pocket PCs, etc.
a.) If synchronizing with a handheld, will the synchronization software I use work with this new upgrade?
b.) If upgrades are necessary, what is the process to obtain and install the upgrade?

4.) If your database is shared
a.) What will it take to install the upgrade to all computers.
b.) Consider items outlined in #2 and #3 above for each computer.
c.) Do I need help to get it done right, or am I willing to learn and do it myself?

Based on feedback from my subscribers in recent months, there has been general frustration when learning that their new computer was incompatible with ACT 2007. The new system had the Microsoft Vista operating system, or Office 2007…or both (to be fair, there is a patch to make ACT 2007 function under Vista, but there are significant limitations, and while others have reported it working 80% of the time, the patch is not supported for those using the Premium version of ACT, more info here http://www.act.com/vista2007/). My advice to them and to you is the following…Anytime you are thinking of getting a new computer or new software, two questions should pop in your head,

“What are the productivity gains?”…and
“How will this effect my existing applications?”

As my customer has learned, much like business itself, computer systems are becoming more complicated, not simpler. They need to work for you, not the other way around. If you sufficiently answer those questions, and test it before diving in. It just may save you some grief.

Travis

PS: These questions are a good outline when considering an IT vendor to help you with software or system integrations. If they don’t ask you these questions in some form during the process, determine what process they follow to deliver successfully for their customers.

**Want to know if the latest version of ACT is right for you? Get FREE instant access at:
http://www.WhatsNewWithACT.com

Technorati Tags: ACT 2007, Business, handheld, iphone, mail merge, sage software, upgrade, upgrading

While in New York, I got to have lunch with one of my subscribers. Dan is a long time ACT Software user, and a very skilled business professional (afterall he works in New York!).

If you’ve known me for very long, I’m always learning, and always interested in things that can make busy professionals more productive. This time I was the student…

Dan introduced me to a very interesting services. Basically it uses text messaging and voice recordings to communicate more efficiently with just about anyone who has a phone that can receive text messages.

Here’s how it works:

1.) After you’ve setup your account, you call a number, and you are prompted with “who do you want to message?”
2.) You say the name, names, or group of individuals you already entered in your address book.
3.) Record your message.
4.) Message sent.What the recipient gets is an email or an SMS text message (cell phone), they call the number, and hear the message you just recorded, with an option to reply.I see this having several distinct advantages…the dangers of text messaging while in transit go away… You can communicate more effectively with your team or customers because it is a one way message, and no room for idle chatter, if a recipient has a question, they can simply reply and send you a message back, all hands free.

A great way to give a quick update to many regarding… stock market information, legal proceedings, update on Mom’s surgery, if it’s a Boy or a Girl! A lot of possibilities here.

I just setup my account, but need to call my mobile service provide to get my text messaging fixed, at this point I am able to use the service via email, and their web console.

Check out Pinger, and see how you might improve your communications. Thanks Dan for a great lunch, and a great tip…hopefully more than just myself will benefit from it.

Feel free to leave comments on this service or others you’ve discovered, and integrated into your business practices.

Technorati Tags: Business, email

What do Larry King, Harvey Mackay, Mark Victor Hansen, self made billionaire Bill Bartmann, and Alex Mandossian, all have in common?

—> They all personally have a relationship with “The Connector.”

This connector is Larry Benet, and I would like to introduce you to him.

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Larry has spent his life meeting and cultivating relationships some of the most successful people in the world.

In fact, it took Larry just 90 seconds to receive a breakfast invite from Larry King. But that¹s just the beginning of the story.

Vic Conant, CEO of Nightingale-Conant had this to say about Larry:

“Larry has brought ideas to us that will allow us to penetrate new markets, which have the potential to generate millions of dollars for Nightingale-Conant and help raise hundreds of thousands for charity.”

This Wednesday, I want to introduce you to the gentleman that can help you meet and develop a relationship with anyone. You never know when you may meet someone that will help you earn an extra $50,000-100,000 this year.

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***By Special Arrangement***

By special arrangement with Larry’s office, I’ve been able to secure him for a no-holds-barred teleseminar briefing on March 28th (this Wednesday). As my subscriber, you can attend the
live call…on me. Larry agreed to spill the beans so you can:

»» Learn the secrets to quickly turn your contacts into profitable long term relationships that can boost your profits virtually overnight.
»» Do what master relationship builders do that enables them to turn a 2 minute conversation with anyone into the foundation of lucrative money-making deals.
»» The proven method for landing lucrative joint ventures.
»» Avoid the biggest mistakes people make when meeting someone for the first time.
»» Leverage technology to accelerate the relationship building process and dramatically increase your profits.
»» Learn the Magic question that opens closed doors and instantly allows you to connect with anyone, anytime, anywhere.

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When you become a master connector, the world is your oyster. You can meet anyone you want. You can meet and work with the most successful in your industry. You can create grand-slam deals that will explode your business.

It all starts and ends with people. I like what John D. Rockefeller, had to say, “The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee, and it is worth more than any other
commodity under the sun.”

Join me, won’t you?

-Travis

PS: There are limited spots so
claim yours before they are gone.

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Technorati Tags: Business, teleseminar