Does your voice mail snooze or lose?

IN THIS ISSUE

1.    New! Brainy Article Bank
2.    Does Your Voice Mail Snooze or Lose?
3 .   Quote of the Week
4 . Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
5 .   A Little Fun
6 . Smell the Coffee

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1. New! Brainy Article Bank

I have created a new section on my website with free downloadable articles to help women and
small business owners succeed. It's called "Brainy Article Bank." The articles posted there are
designed to help small business owners learn to attract more customers, close more sales, earn
more revenue, boost their bottom line, and drive their competitors crazy.

Brainy Article Bank already has lots of F~REE articles about marketing, sales, running a business,
women business owners, balancing your work and life, and more. Although I've always had free
marketing articles posted on my website, when you visit, you'll see that this section of Marketing
Idea Shop's website has been expanded and revamped into categories. Please take a look at
Brainy Article Bank.

If you are an author and you'd like your articles included here, send me an email pitch with a
brief (50 words or less) description of your proposed article and I'll let you know if it qualifies for
posting. Articles must focus on making small businesses more successful through good marketing,
PR, advertising or sales techniques. How-to articles with solid examples are especially encouraged.
I am especially interested in articles about balancing your life.

And be sure to tell your associates, clients and friends to visit Brainy Article Archives.

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2. Does Your Voice Mail Snooze or Lose?

What's wrong with these voice mail messages?

"Hi, this is Janey. I'm either away from my desk or on the phone right now, so leave
a message!"
[no company name, boring and useless message, doesn't give any valuable information]

"At the sound of the tone, you know what to do."
[no name, company name, boring and useless message, no specific instructions]

"This is Janey." "And Michael." (Jointly) "We're not here right now, so leave a message."
[not professional, may be okay for a home voice mail message, but certainly not work]

"You've reached the voice mail system for XYZ Company. If you know your party's
extension, enter it now. For a company directory, press 9."
[easy to get lost, frustrating for the caller, time-consuming to get to the person you want to reach]

If you're running a small business, voice mail is a necessary evil. But you don't have to make
it boring, confusing, useless and unprofessional!

How about using your voice mail to sell? You can:

Give a hint or a tip about your product or service.
For instance, I recently got voice mail at Rowena's, a cake and gourmet foods producer
in Norfolk, and this is what I heard, "Have you tried Rowena's Wonderful Almond Cake?
It's not just for dessert anymore. Try slicing it and using it as French toast! It's delicious.
We'd love to hear how you serve Rowena's gourmet foods. Leave us a message and we'll
get back to you." However, you might want to begin a message like this with, "To bypass
this message and leave a voice mail, hit zero" so you don't tick off the people who call frequently.

Offer a weekly special.
"Hi, you've reached the ABC Flower Shop and this week you can get a dozen roses for just
$2.95. Leave a message so we can let you know how to take advantage of our terrific special.

Invite your callers to visit you on the web.
"We can's speak to you personally right now, but visit us on the web at www.marketingideashop.com
or leave a message so we can get right back to you."

Start with an inspirational quote and be sure to change this weekly (or daily).
"This is Lois Carter Fay at MarketingIdeaShop.com. Success is doing what you love and
loving what you do. If you want to be more successful, leave your name and number so I
can get back to you."

Say something funny about your product or service.
The Dollar Tree, for example, can simply use the company tagline, "making a billion
dollars a year, one dollar at a time."

Have one of your customers leave a testimonial on your voice mail.
"Hi, this is Tom Jones from XYZ Company. Lois Carter Fay has been helping me with marketing
for the past year, and I've been amazed at her creativity and the results. You will be too. Leave
a message so she can return your call!"

Be a bit whacky.
"This is Lois Carter Fay at Marketing Idea Shop. I thought about sitting around waiting for your
call, but my website was calling, so you'll have to see me at the site. Come to
www.marketingideashop.com and we can 'visit' there! Or, leave a message and I'll call you back."

Remember to make your message short—10 to 15 seconds max—and speak clearly. Practice
your message before you record it, and make sure you listen to it before you finalize it. Evaluate
your results and change your message frequently.

If you have a great voice mail message that you use or have heard, send it to me and I'll print
them in a future issue.

For more practical sales tips, buy 52 READY-TO-GO SALES MEETINGS, an ebook I wrote with
Jim Wilson of Selling Strategies, Inc. For less than $1 a week, you'll learn how to improve your
sales success with simple, easy-to-learn, practical ideas that anyone can implement. Learn to
quickly develop a relationship with your prospect, find out what their hot buttons are, and close
more sales...so you make more money!

Read more about it or download it and be reading it in
minutes here.

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3. Quote of the Week

"Life may not be the party we had hoped for, but while we're here we might as well dance."

Meredith Hamilton
Expert Communications

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AND NOW, A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSORS...

What's your definition of success?
Email your comments to me.

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4. Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers