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I have recently gotten more involved in my Video Marketing for my new extra-income driving business venture. In doing so, I have noticed how much more people I am connecting with across the country. Last week I had 3 sales conversions within 2 days all as a result of my videos. Although I knew YouTube.com was a great resource, honestly I didn't realize how beneficial it would be to my company. Here are some interesting statistics I found in regards to how much video marketing works.

According to comScore, the global leader in digital business analysis, so you understand the potential for marketing with video: http://www.incitecreativeinc.com/resources/articles/Does-Video-Marketing-Work?/

• 89 million people will watch 1.2 billion videos today. Yes, today. Not for the week, or for the month, or for the year, but every day.
• Businesses spent $1.4 billion in video marketing on 441 billion videos in 2010. This number continues to increase.
• Video is popular across all age groups. Although 18 – 34 year olds spend the most time watching video, over 80% of the population across all age demographics watches video. So it isn’t just your teen that consumes content on the screen.
• Probably the most important statistic of all, comScore reported that on average retail site visitors who view videos are 64% more likely to purchase than other site visitors.

These stats should give you a little hope when venturing out into Video Marketing. Although it can be scary because you are making yourself available for people to critique, it can still be great for business.

According to Edelman and Adobe, the stats below show how much audiences enjoy videos that tell stories. UNIQUE stories at that. I believe people are captivated by unique stories because of the authenticity. My husband sometimes gets on me about where I choose to shoot my videos but in my research I have found that when you are real with your audience they connect more. Of course that is to an extent. You should never go on camera with a messy house in the background or in your pj's, etc. However, is you have a nice office space or living area feel free to have in the background.

So far Video Marketing is going well for me as a tester campaign. The following are 5 tips on how to make video marketing work for you.

1. Know why you are doing this. Having a lot of viewers is great, but you want to make sure they are targeted viewers that want what you have. So make sure you present it well.

2. Have a script. As boring as that sounds, a script will at least guide your video in the direction it needs to go. Although you may be recording alone, millions could potentially view your video so it can be nerve-racking while recording. So you want to make sure you have a clear understanding of what you are saying to your audience and that there is minimum babble.

3. Be patient & Have time. These two go hand in hand. As I stated earlier, taping can be nerve-racking and lead to having to do a lot of takes. Don't get frustrated, impatient or stop taping because of this. Make sure you regroup in between each take and feel free to practice before taping.

4. Use the right keywords. This is the most crucial part of Video Marketing. You want to make sure you use the correct words in your title and in the tags. I would suggest researching  what videos in your content area are getting the most views and why. Look at the titles and the tags. Revamp the title to fit what you are doing and see if you will show up on the first page of YouTube for the keyword. That should be your goal. For example: If you are looking to target people who are looking for diet pills, then look up "diet pills" on YouTube. What videos are coming up and what are their titles? Research this and apply to your video. After posting your video, test the keyword to see if your video pops up on the first page. If not, keep editing your title and tags until you do (without full-on copying anyone, of course).

5. Camera equipment. Some people believe they need a high-tech video camera with bells and whistles, which (don't get me wrong) is not necessary but  will be great when you start to get those millions of viewers. But to start out, the video camera on your computer will suffice. Or on your phone like a Samsung Galaxy or iPhone. For the phones, just make sure whomever is camera man has a still hand while recording.  The convenient thing about using your video cam is that you do not need anyone to record for you and you can record alone.

These are just a few tips to consider when starting your Video Marketing venture. I hope they help. Let me know how Video Marketing works for you!

Tamara

Busy925.com
MicoreInternationalOnline.com
BeFamousOnline2.com

Raise your hand if you have time to go door-to-door selling your services? Raise your hand if you have the mental capacity to sign up for and remember every social network possible to sign in everyday and advertise your services? Lastly, raise your hand if you have the time to sit in front of your Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn pages all day to publish numerous posts, marketing your business services? I don't see many hands. And if I see one or two, great for you! But let's be real! A lot of us don't have time to do all the things we want for our business daily. We are just too busy! Some us have full-time jobs, families to tend to, the kid's activities to attend, community obligations, etc. So, it takes a lot of effort to grow a successful business.

Luckily for us 'busy' people there are online services that will help us with our business needs for little to know money. Like: hootsuite, aweber, contact me, campaign monitor, prweb, ejunkie, and now busy925!

Even though it goes unnoticed, cold calling is probably the most effective way to grow your business. Believe it or not, cold calling is a part of business development. Steve Richard shares in his blog, 'Outbound Prospecting The Cold Calling Tactic That Works' that 71% of sales reps stated that most of their best deals came from self- generated outbound efforts. "Successful businesses do not sit back and wait for the phone to ring or marketing leads to fall in their laps. They proactively make business happen. The fact is outbound prospecting (a.k.a. cold calling or warm calling) is one well kept secret to 21st century business growth, especially for B2B service and technology companies"( Steve Richard).

If you are still skeptical, check out Diane's story. She's a mother of 3, divorcee that was fired from her 3 corporate jobs. She used cold calling as a method to not only find a job but to build a successful consulting business. You could also check out my friend, Melissa Taft  who fell ill when starting her network marketing business. She used cold calling as a method  to build her business because she couldn't go out and prospect. She is now in one of the top levels of the company and a motivating leader.  So, how can cold calling help your business grow? Like in these stories cold calling can help strengthen your 'sales skills', get you new customers, thus getting more business, and gets the word out about your company. 

Now, you just have to find the time to do it! Well, not really. That's what Busy925 is for. Busy925 is an outbound calling service that assists small businesses in their growing. They not only handle the outbound cold calling but every other call too! They will make your prospecting, follow-up, reordering, pre/post attendance generation, and marketing survey calls!

With all the services available to help with your social networking, email marketing, list building, and now cold calling, being 'busy' will never be an issue again!

Tamara

Believe it or not, cold calling is still an effective sales tactic. If done properly, you can get the business attention you've been craving. Unfortunately, most of us would rather sit in the dentist chair listening to the smooth sounds of the drill extracting the cavity in the back of our mouth! Cold calling should not make you feel THIS ill. The following 8 tips will help you realize how effective good cold calling can be for your business and maybe ease some of your fears.

Cold Calling Tip #1: Research your target market. 
Make sure you research the market you are interested in calling. Do market research (or google it! Save yourself some time and see what others have done already.) Find out as much as you can about the types of people or companies you're trying to reach. Will there be secretaries or employees answering the phone? Does the phone call go directly to the owner? What do these companies need that you can offer them?

Cold Calling Tip #2: Always have a script.
I know you want to be yourself when you call, as to not have it seem "scripted" or "planned" that you were calling this company. But believe me. If you don't have written down all the details you want to share in the call, you will fumble over the words and get hung up on! Make sure you have a step-by-step script written in advance so you know how to lead the conversation.

 Cold Calling Tip #4: Keep in mind, the gatekeeper is your friend!
The "gatekeeper" is better known as the secretary, employee, receptionist, or relative that keeps the "riff-raff" away. They are there for a reason so you should appreciate them. Get them on your side! A great way to do that is to say, "Maybe you can help me...". Make sure you always get their name and refer to it several times in the conversation.  

Cold Calling Tip #5: Focus on your goals and reward yourself.
Make goals for yourself, like if you are calling huge corporations, you will talk to at least 6 owners within the week. Or, if you're contacting small businesses you will get 2 new clients. Remember that cold calling isn't ALL about getting a sale, but a chance to make a sale. If you're able to make some appointments or share what you do with a few people, then you've had a great week. After you have reached your cold calling goals, reward yourself! Have that massage, go to that fav restaurant, get that long-awaited mani/pedi, whatever. But do something to get yourself motivated to keep going!

Cold Calling Tip #6: Be specific.
If you are setting up appointments or call backs, make sure you specify when you will meet. INSTEAD of asking when's good for the customer, say something like, "it would be great to meet up, how would this Thursday at 4pm work for you? No? Well what about Friday at 4pm?"...be specific all the time, so people feel even worse if they bail on you :), that's just reality.

Cold Calling Tip #7: Know the facts.
According to AllBusiness.com, "Eighty percent of new sales are made after the fifth contact, yet the majority of sales people give up after the second call". So don't be that person that thinks, "it's not working". You have to build relationships and work people up to where you want them.

Cold Calling Tip #8: Outsource it!
These calls are not the most fun thing to do with your time. Most of us have other things we need to worry about within our business, that cold calling takes a backseat. So, why not outsource it? Have someone else do it for you! I know what you're saying though, "it's too expensive to hire a professional to make these calls!" But I have news, now it isn't!

Busy925©  is in its beta stages, helping small businesses grow one cold call at a time. Busy925© makes the calls you're 2 busy 2 make! Any cold calling, marketing surveys, customers you need to follow-up with and see if they're interested in more products or services, post expo calls, Busy925© will call them too! If you have constant leads, follow ups, or reorders  that need to be made monthly, Busy925© has affordable monthly plans that take the responsibility of your cold calls right out of your hands! Let them worry about it and tell you how it goes. Right now, Busy925© has a Grand Opening special. Get 30 calls made  for only $20! Don't miss out on this opportunity. Only available until 11/11/11!

Cold calling is the new black. The thing to do to build a successful business, the thing to do to find new customers. Believe it or not there are people out there that need your business! Find them or let Busy925© do it for you! Check them out here... Busy925.com

A couple of weeks ago, I had a great team meeting led by my business partners, which just so happen  to be my distinguished parents, Dr. Jerome and Cheryl Garrison.  My father spoke about how to approach someone and talk to your cold market  and I wanted to share this effective way to get more prospects or get connected with someone that can give you hot referrals for your business! My father studied these strategies from Network Marketing Gurus such as Bob Schmidt and Zig Ziglar and shared them with our team:

There are 3 things you need to find out when speaking to a prospective business partner or customer:

1. Find out who they are by using the PIN strategy (which we'll get to in a sec)

2. Find out when they can talk again

3. Decide what type of client they would be:  Business Partner, Customer, or New Friend

1.When considering opening up your market and approaching people you see when you're out  grocery shopping, or at the mall, or even at the gas station, there are several things you need to consider. First, you should probably be in a good mood and have a great attitude. You should be ready to present yourself with confidence and great knowledge and love for you business! IF and only IF you see someone who fits in the prior categories should you use this strategy. The PIN:

P= Personal

You need to find out about the person. Go up and introduce yourself. Edify the person and give them a compliment. For example say, "I couldn't help but notice how sharp you looked, how nice your makeup was, how firm your handshake was". Then ask them about themselves. What do they do for a living? Do they have a family? Do they work long hours?

I=Interest

Find out what their hobbies are. What do they like to do for fun? These questions are building trust and allowing your future prospect to trust you and become more comfortable talking to you.

N=Need

Find out what their needs are. What MORE are they looking for in life? (NOTE: Some people are very content with their lifestyle. Whether it be stressing from check-to-check or spending more hours working, away from family or no vacations to make more money, "to each is own".)  You could ask them, if you could change 1 thing about their life or career, what would it be?

2.After using the PIN strategy find out when and how would be a great time to reconnect with them, contingent on if the person and conversation went well, of course. You might ask something like, " Do you keep your income options open? I would love to share with you what I do", or " I enjoyed talking to you, I would like to talk to you more about what I do and how it might help you, when would be a great time to meet up with you again?" or even " Do you have a card or number so we can connect again?"

3.Keep in mind that while you're talking to people you should be thinking of the categories and figuring out where they would fit in. Would they be a:

 Business Partner: Do they seem industrious, would go the extra mile, are they influential, are they a good communicator, are they open-minded, are they warm and easy to talk to, do you think they're reliable person? 

Customer: Do they have a need for new makeup or have health issues you might be able to help them with? Do they like to throw parties? Do they like candles? Etc.

New friend: Believe it or not, most people might end up in this category. But if you think about it, what's wrong with having a new friend? Especially  if they already own business, you could help each other out.

So, there you have it, some strategies you can use when speaking to a brand new person or what we call someone in your cold market. Speaking to new people can expand your business greatly. You never know who you can come across and what they can help you do. So, consider it!

Tamara

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If you need help staying focused and motivated to be the best you and gain a profitable business to increase your finances let me help you. Subscribe to my blog today and receive a FREE 30 minute consultation and 1 follow-up appointment. ONLY FOR A LIMITED TIME, SUBSCRIBE TODAY! http://www.garrisonprosperitysolutions.com

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