So your finishing up a sales meeting with a potential client, you are pulling out your best closing statement to give them every reason to use your services and they utter those dreaded words…”Let me think about it and get back to you”.

More often than not you will hear this phrase however don’t think of it in any negative way. It’s just another opportunity to market yourself again and here is a marketing tip to consider: Make sure your prospect is left with a “leave behind”. If your meeting with a client face to face, not only is a business card essential, but a leave behind is something that may sway the decision down the road.

A leave behind is exactly what it says, something you leave behind to make the customer remember you. It’s literature about your service and/or business. It should be a standout piece that will speak to your potential clients what you are all about.

Some great tips on creating a leave behind from Zan Jones, founder of SalesJaz:

• Make it juicy! Think of some great facts about your business and how you approach them. An insurance agent might leave behind an article on “7 Facts that Contribute to Auto Insurance Cost.”
• Go for functionality. Office supplies or business aids that your client will use on a daily basis will keep your name alive. Mouse pads, pens, or post-it notes with your logo are hard for people to throw away because they are usable.
• Know who you are. Make sure the leave behind accurately reflects your business and has obvious tie-in to the product or service you provide. For example, a carpet cleaning company might leave a calendar with monthly stain cleaning tips to help maintain a spot free carpet.
• Let your business card do the work. A car dealer’s business card might have “5 Things to Consider When Buying a Car” facts printed on the back. I worked with someone at Hershey Chocolate who taped a small Hershey bar on the back of her cards. Create a reason for your business card to be saved.
• Use pictures and market to the pain. Think about the pain your clients might experience without your product or service. An attorney might leave behind a brochure with a photo of a smiling family and list reasons to have a will in place.
• Wait until you actually leave. That’s the idea of the “leave behind.” You don’t want the client to be checking out your golden nuggets of information while you are still talking to them. It has to be enticing enough for them to look at it, read and save after you have left.

Hmmm another logo gets created where I am truly stumped and can’t figure out what kind of business/industry this is? If your logo doesn’t describe at the very least what you do or what your industry is…the prospects of getting clients are kinds of hard. Take a look at logo guru David Airey and his article on “What makes a good logo design.”

In the meantime….can anyone figure out the logo above and tell me what kind of business or industry it is?

While perusing the web today, I came across an interesting article written by Nick Rice over at Small Business Branding. The article has 9 Branding Tips for Small Business and some are excellent points. I do have to totally disagree with Tip #1 that states “The design of your logo really doesn’t matter”. What are your thoughts on this? I would love to hear all your comments….

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.
The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:

• Confirms your credibility
• Connects your target prospects emotionally
• Motivates the buyer
• Concretes User Loyalty

To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact. From a business card to the logo on your fax cover sheet. The branding should be consistent.

A strong brand is invaluable especially when prospecting. It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It’s a foundational piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.

The first step in the process of developing your brand strategy is to define what or who your brand is and than you create the foundation or look for all other components. Your brand definition will serve as your measuring stick in evaluating any and all marketing materials and strategies. Begin the process by answering the questions below…

1. What products and/or services do you offer? Define the qualities of these services and/or products.
2. What are the core values of your products and services? What are the core values of your company?
3. What is the mission of your company?
4. What does your company specializes in?
5. Who is your target market? Who do your products and services attract?
6. What is the tagline of your company? What message does your tagline send to your prospects?
7. Using the information from the previous steps create a personality or character for your company that represents your products or services. What is the character like? What qualities stand out? Is the personality of your company innovative, creative, energectic, or sophisticated?
8. Use the personality that you created in the previous step and build a relationship with your target market that you defined in Step 5. How does that personality react to target audience? What characteristics stand out? Which characteristics and qualities get the attention of your prospects.
9. Review the answers to the questions above and create a profile of your brand. Describe the personality or character with words just as if you were writing a biography or personal ad. Be creative.

Now look at your current marketing collateral – are any of these points addressed? Is the look of your materials building a presence for your product or service, if not, perhaps it’s time for a little reevaluation. We are here to help when you are ready!

This article is courtesy of Laura Lake, About.com. To read more on brand strategy visit About.com

Networks are a great place to promote your business, not only do they help you build relationships with the business community but also establish credible referrals. Effective business networking is the linking together of individuals who, through trust and relationship building, become walking, talking advertisements for one another.

1. Keep in mind that networking is about being genuine and authentic, building trust and relationships, and seeing how you can help others.

2. Ask yourself what your goals are in participating in networking meetings so that you will pick groups that will help you get what you are looking for. Some meetings are based more on learning, making contacts, and/or volunteering rather than on strictly making business connections.

3. Visit as many groups as possible that spark your interest.Notice the tone and attitude of the group. Do the people sound supportive of one another? Does the leadership appear competent? Many groups will allow you to visit two times before joining.

4. Hold volunteer positions in organizations. This is a great way to stay visible and give back to groups that have helped you.

5. Ask open-ended questions in networking conversations.This means questions that ask who, what, where, when, and how as opposed to those that can be answered with a simple yes or no. This form of questioning opens up the discussion and shows listeners that you are interested in them.

6. Become known as a powerful resource for others. When you are known as a strong resource, people remember to turn to you for suggestions, ideas, names of other people, etc. This keeps you visible to them.

7. Have a clear understanding of what you do and why, for whom, and what makes your doing it special or different from others doing the same thing. In order to get referrals, you must first have a clear understanding of what you do that you can easily articulate to others.

8. Be able to articulate what you are looking for and how others may help you. Too often people in conversations ask, “How may I help you?” and no immediate answer comes to mind.

9. Follow through quickly and efficiently on referrals you are given. When people give you referrals, your actions are a reflection on them. Respect and honor that and your referrals will grow.

10. Call those you meet who may benefit from what you do and vice versa. Express that you enjoyed meeting them, and ask if you could get together and share ideas.

Experts urge small business owners to “brand” their businesses with a logo and a set of consistent marketing materials. However, they rarely explain the reasons behind this advice, here are 10 reasons

why…

1. To look “bigger” and “established.” Home-printed business cards or cards printed with Microsoft clipart scream “small-time vendor” to your potential clients — and that is how they will want to compensate you.
2. To attract more clients. Some clients look for a well-defined company, and “look and feel” may be one of their criteria for making a purchasing decision.
3. To brand yourself. If you are a consultant, you need a logo in order to build an image and a brand that is greater than your individual identity.
4. To give clients a sense of stability. You may not have been in business “since 1908,” but if you have invested in your identity, you are more likely to remain firm and relevant in the eyes of your customers. It goes a long way toward building that all-important “trust.”
5. To convey that you are reputable. A logo and professionally-printed materials show that you are committed to both your business and to your clients.
6. To explain your company name. If your company name contains a little-known word or an acronym, the logo can give visual clues to its meaning.
7. To be more memorable. Forty percent of people better remember what they see than what they hear or read. So to have graphics associated with your business, and to keep those graphics consistent, makes you more likely to be at the forefront of potential clients’ minds when they need your goods or services.
8. To stand out in your field. A well-designed logo and an identity system can put you far above the competition, especially when paired with a strong marketing program.
9. To differentiate you from your competitor. A well-designed logo can have many subtle meanings and can begin to tell the story of how you do business, including the special practices that make you stand apart from the competition.
10. To show your commitment. Do it for the sense of personal pride that it will add to your practice.

These are just a few good reasons that will help boost your business and your confidence, so consider developing a company logo and marketing materials as soon as possible. If a marketing budget is sparse consider building piece by piece.

Good marketing design makes a difference. It can make your business look professional and more efficient. It can define your business image and in some cases, increase your sales. Ad agencies and graphic design studios can help you achieve this by working closely with you to find the right solution; communicating throughout the design process. Many small business owners make the mistake of having the local printer design their marketing materials. Your local printer should NOT be your marketing resource – Printers print, designers design visual messages. They have the knowledge, experience and skill to put together a good marketing campaign for you. Think of it this way, would you let a plumber pull your tooth? As extreme as the thought is, it really emphasizes the difference in fields. So next time you need some marketing collateral, make sure you find a good graphic designer (eh hmm, hi!), and in most cases, the designer always works hand in hand with a printer and can get some very cost saving printing done since they know how to correctly set up a print job.