Discover How to Generate Sales For You & Your Business Partners With Ease

by todd@toddbatessytems.com (Todd Bates) on November 7, 2011

Generating sales is great. A great way to generate high quality leads that are easy to turn into sales is through referrals.

My goal for you is that you have a group of complimentary businesses that send you leads you can turn into business. You might be an insurance agent, orthodontist, dentist, real estate agent, or business consultant. There are always different groups that you can network with and gain referrals from.

What you will discover in this training is:

  • How to generate sales from businesses that you currently network with in minutes without having to spend a fortune.
  • Why a different approach to business networking is required in the current economy and for the next 36 months when you want real results.
  • How to build a solid network of businesses who can send you highly qualified leads that will generate results in the next 37 days with less than 3 hours of work.

At the end of this training I invite you to call me directly at 303-841-8008.

To your success,

Todd Bates Business and Marketing Coach

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How to Avoid a Newsletter that Sucks with 4 Simple Tips

by todd@toddbatessytems.com (Todd Bates) on November 2, 2011

In Just over 6 Minutes Discover 4 Components To Incorporate as Part of Your Newsletter

Newsletters have been part of many businesses marketing strategies for years.  Some proudly display their monthly newsletter on the counter of their store, some mail out hundreds (even thousands) monthly, and still other business owners blast their email list with their digital version.  While many people are flooded with “junk mail” both in their inbox and at home, still some business owners are sending the same tired newsletter.

As a marketing piece, the newsletter is one that often breaks the 7% rule.  Business owners hold on to sending it because they always have a story of that great customer they would have lost if they stopped sending it.  To help you get the most of your newsletter (or even help you get results if you are just starting one) I invite you to incorporate the 4 methods below.

  1. Make it Simple – Look at the front of your newsletter, is it engaging?  Does it draw people in and make them want to turn the pages?  From a powerful headline, to images (with a caption) that quickly engage your audience make it easy for someone to see what is important to them.
  2. Have a Clear Goal – As a part of your marketing strategy a newsletter can’t simply be to “provide information”.  Each month your newsletter should target a specific goal for your business.  The goal could be more in-store visits, more phone calls, more internet sales, etc.  With a clear goal in mind it will help you adjust everything from your layout to your copy.
  3. Speak to them Normally – Whether you are talking about finance or R/C airplanes make it simple.  A newsletter that is too confusing, uses too much jargon won’t get read.  A complex newsletter will only catch your prospects glance as they throw it in the trash can.
  4. Have a Clear Call to Action – Preferably your call to action is on every page.  Make it easy for someone to order, call you, or even go to a specific page on your website (hey those QR Codes can sometimes come in handy).

Whether you are sending your newsletter by email or printing it for mailing it is costing you time and money.  To ensure that your newsletter earns it’s keep as part of your overall marketing strategy run it by this checklist to see if it passes the test.

Discover how your newsletter can be just 1 system in your 4 marketing systems that bring you business with my free Marketing Manifesto.

When you are tired of searching the web, downloading reports, and reading endless blogs, call me direct, on my cell phone at 303-841-8008 to discover how I can help you get your business to the next level.

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Are You Getting the Most out of Each Marketing System for Your Small Business?

by todd@toddbatessytems.com (Todd Bates) on November 1, 2011

Todd Bates Ad on YouTube

Small 1 Penny Ad on YouTube

As people launch new marketing efforts there is an air of excitement.  Whether it is a new website, using video marketing, launching Facebook ads, or putting a pile of sales letters in the mail it is always exciting to put new systems into action that can generate more sales.

The attraction of putting something “new” into action often keeps business owners chasing “new”.  Should the results not be as fantastic as they anticipated they tend to think “well that didn’t work, I need something better, newer, etc”.  Chasing the silver bullet doesn’t work.  While there is no doubt that at times you do need something brand new to help your business, it doesn’t happen as often as people think.  More often you can make tweaks/changes to your existing marketing that will work just fine.  In fact, sometimes a small tweak to your marketing can transform what is OLD into something that is NEW.

You Don’t Always Need “New” Marketing, You Might Just Need a Change To Your Existing Marketing

Let’s take a recent test that I ran with my team.  Each week, I and my team upload videos into my YouTube channel.  Those videos generate thousands of views and send traffic to my website (which transform into leads and sales).  I challenged my team to get MORE out of the videos.  When I looked at the traffic reports, leads, etc I didn’t feel we were getting the most out of the YouTube channel.  It takes a great deal of effort to record videos, write descriptions, so getting the most out of that effort isn’t optional it is mandatory.

Ask “HOW” Questions When Looking at Your Marketing Systems

Here are the questions that I posed to my team:

  • How can we get more traffic from my videos on YouTube?
  • How can we get the most traffic without spending much money?

I like to ask “how” questions because it creates the atmosphere of problem solving without placing blame.  After a couple of weeks, my team came back to me with a concept that very few people are using on YouTube.  Dare I say it is near Ninja style with how they put it into action.  Without boring you with the details, here is what the result was:

  • An ad pops up only on my videos that directs people back to the site
  • The ad costs as little as .01 per click

Would you be willing to pay .01 to get eager prospects back to your website?  I certainly am willing to pay that price and I told my team to keep the process going on all of my videos.

The bigger question, for you, is what are you willing to tweak?  It might not be YouTube, it could be your website, your sales letter, your presence on Facebook or any other marketing system, but the KEY part is putting someone else (you already have too much on your plate) in charge of enhancing your marketing systems.

When you want more help tweaking your marketing, generating more leads simply call me direct, on my cell phone at 303-841-8008.

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The Ugly Truth to Increasing Your Website Traffic Today

by todd@toddbatessytems.com (Todd Bates) on October 27, 2011

One online marketing topic that hasn’t lost any steam (even with Facebook) is the concept of traffic.  While those of us in Los Angeles may dread the word “traffic” most business owners with an online presence crave it.  After all the more people that you can expose to your product or service the more opportunity you have to generate sales.  It’s really a simple formula when it comes down to it:

X Volume of Traffic * X Conversion Rate = $$ Volume of Sales

Even with this simple formula in place (and yes the numbers can change on a daily basis) the art of getting consistent and reliable traffic seems to be one that most business owners consistently chase or simply “hope” gets better.  With regular changes to search engine algorithms and 100’s of millions of people spending countless hours on everything from YouTube to Facebook it can often seem overwhelming on where to focus your efforts to achieve the maximum volume of website traffic for your business.

There isn’t a silver bullet when it comes to increasing your website traffic

While some people may be chasing the silver bullet, or trying to use killer black hat methods to “game” the system achieving a top ranking isn’t always glamorous (or even quick to be had).  Whether you are competing in a highly competitive local market or you are branching out and competing for traffic on an international level there are key methods that you can put into action that will help you crank up the traffic and sales from your online marketing efforts.

WARNING: The Tips You Are About to Read Take Effort, You Won’t Rise to the Top for $29 and with 5 Minutes of Effort

  1. Content – There is no way around it, search engines like content and want to serve up the MOST relevant and engaging content to those who are making searches.  You can’t put up a 20 page website today and say “it’s done” and then wait for the traffic to start pouring in.  Part of the strategy to increase traffic to your website must include a consistent stream of regular UNIQUE content.  Whether this means you dust off your keyboard of outsource the writing of content have a plan in place that ensures your site is updated with fresh engaging content every week (or maybe even daily).
  2. Link Building – The greatest website in the world with the largest base of content can get ignored (ok maybe not ignored, but you will be missing a huge volume of traffic) if you don’t let the search engines know there are other sites that “think” your content is great.  This can be a labor intensive job, but there are a few services that can make it easier and still provide quality work.  When you can get a number of quality sites linking to you, with the right keywords, you will be in a position to capitalize on a tidal wave of traffic.  The process of Link Building isn’t one you do 1 time and forget it, it is a process that doesn’t stop (unless of course you want the traffic to stop).
  3. Social Networking – From BING to Google the search engines are aware of the importance of social networking.  This includes everything from Twitter, Google +1 to the powerful Facebook.  Incorporating social networking elements in your site and ensuring your social marketing efforts compliment your website will allow you to get more eager prospects to your home on the web.

When you have a online marketing strategy in place that includes fresh content, effective link building, and social networking you will be on your way to driving sales daily from your website.

Start getting more traffic to your website from social networking, link building, and content today by starting with my FREE power-packed Marketing Manifesto.

When you are tired of endlessly searching the internet, trying to find someone to write your content (or even do link building) simply call me direct today at 303-841-8008.

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Planning for Success in 2012

October 26, 2011

2012 is right around the corner. Planning for next year may not have yet crossed your mind. A business plan shouldn’t take months to create or days to read once it’s done. The key to business planning is to have a bullet proof plan that works regardless of the economy and yet is easy to [...]

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Is Some Marketing Better Than No Marketing?

October 19, 2011

Sometimes No Marketing is Better Than Bad Marketing Most business owners understand that they need to do some marketing.  Counting on people walking by your store or hoping for referrals can leave you stuck in survival mode, or worse.  You can’t just hope people will make a purchase today, so the feeling of putting “something” [...]

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How to Avoid Paying for a Magazine Ad that Sucks

October 12, 2011

Don’t Let Your Magazine Ad Suck…in 4 Minutes and 14 Seconds Discover Key Marketing Tips for Your Next Ad Even with the onslaught of new media, smart phones in nearly every persons hands, iPads, and Android tablets seemingly everywhere magazines still exist.  Walk by a newsstand and you will find everything from a local publication [...]

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Why Your Marketing Department Might Not Be Helping You as Much as You Think…

October 11, 2011

The Difference Between Someone Who Makes it Look Good and Someone Who Makes Your Phone Ring Marketing departments exist in companies of nearly every size.  They usually get a bad rap.  They are blamed when sales are low and rarely get credit when sales are good.  For the marketing departments that support sales teams, they [...]

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What Would You Do If You Got Punched in the Face Each Day?

October 6, 2011

Many industries have gotten hammered by this economy.  From real estate to service businesses to major retailers like Circuit City nearly every type of business has been hit by the economic downturn.  For many business owners they have said it feels like a “punch in the stomach” watching their sales figures fall and having to [...]

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Avoid a Sales Letter That Sucks

October 3, 2011

Discover Key Sales Letter Tips to Avoid a Sales Letter that Sucks In today’s age with sexy marketing options ranging from Facebook to Google Pay Per Click the traditional sales letter sometimes gets forgotten.  After all with 700+ million people on facebook and billions of searches performed each month on Google, who wants to send [...]

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