Sure, there’s more competition online these days, but if online sales are any indication, the number of people who are actively shopping online is also on the rise.

According to Forrester Research, online sales reached a staggering $172 billion in 2005–a number they predict will rise to $329 billion by 2010!

If you want in, you’d better become familiar with the new technologies and new tools that have opened up worlds of opportunity that make it easier–and cheaper–than ever to start an online business and immediately start profiting.

Here’s some of them, and the tremendous opportunities they offer.

1. Instantly Boost Your Traffic With Pay-Per-Click Advertising: The search-engine landscape has changed dramatically. We used to recommend getting listed on eight major search engines: Altavista, Excite, HotBot, InfoSeek, Lycos, Northern Light, WebCrawler, and Yahoo!. Today, clear leaders have emerged: Google, Yahoo! and MSN.
   • Yahoo! Search Marketing: Yahoo’s sponsored search lets you advertise your site in the search results of the following search engines: MSN, Yahoo!, AltaVista, InfoSpace, AlltheWeb and NetZero.
   • Google AdWords: With Google AdWords, you can have your ads show up in sponsored search listings for certain keywords–and you can also advertise on other sites that match your audience.
   • MSN AdCenter: MSN has recently entered the arena of paid search with MSN AdCenter. So far, it’s the only PPC engine to offer keyword-based demographic targeting.
2. Make Sure Your E-Mail Gets Delivered:E-mail marketing is still highly profitable. Not only is it a great and inexpensive way to establish relationships with your customers, your promotions and follow-up offers can be completely automated. However, while you used to be able to send e-mail to absolutely everyone, these days you have to be very careful. If you want to take advantage of the profit-boosting power of e-mail marketing, you must make sure your e-mails comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.
3. Promote Your Business With New Internet Marketing Technology: Technology has been furiously advancing, paving the way for new and highly effective ways to promote your e-business. Let’s look at some that have had the biggest impact:
   • Audio and Video: The internet has come a long way since its text-only roots! Programming languages such as JavaScript and programs like Macromedia’s Flash have allowed for web video, audio, slide presentations and other interactive elements.When used right, audio and video as part of your sales process can now have a dramatic impact on your bottom line. Use short audio and video clips of you and your customers to personalize your site and reassure visitors that you’re a credible business.
   • Blogging: Blogs are informal web forums that invite feedback and discussion. They’re free to set up and use, and so simple that they can be created in minutes using sites such as Blogger.com.As a result, blogging has exploded in popularity over the last few years. With a business blog you can reach a wider audience, generate better search engine rankings, boost your revenue, and develop a rapport with your customers.
   • Podcasting: Podcasting (the delivery of audio files–typically MP3 files–via the internet) is one of the hottest new technologies to hit the market. It allows you to publish audio content that interested listeners can subscribe to via RSS “feeds” so they can automatically receive your audio broadcasts without having to go to your website.For more information, read “Using Podcasting to Promote Your Site.”
   • Direct-to-Desktop Technology: Direct-to-desktop technology is a way to deliver information straight to your subscribers’ desktops–without having to wrestle with e-mail filters, bouncebacks, or your competition! Here’s how it works: The sender uses an application that formats and sends the information straight to a “reader” that’s been installed on the recipient’s desktop.

Final Thoughts

The unique benefits of having an online business (low overhead, inexpensive advertising and a global reach) can produce huge profit margins–and for tens of thousands of internet entrepreneurs, a level of personal and financial freedom they could only dream about before.

Sure, there’s more competition online these days, but the opportunities are also growing! So if you you’ve been putting off starting your first online business because you thought you missed the boat–or if you want to ramp up an existing one–there’s never been a better time to take action and start generating life-altering wealth of your own.

With the explosion of technological advances and resources, running an online business is now so accessible that literally anyone can get online very quickly–and immediately start profiting from their own internet business!

Do you know your customers? How do they like to interact with you? How well are your online channels performing? Can you anticipate their changing needs? Are they advocates for your brand or will they easily move to your competitor?

By learning more about your customer’s lifetime behaviors, you will develop stronger relationships and increase loyalty. We offer strategic customer relationship management (CRM) solutions tailor made to your specific industry and your specific customer. We will promote growth and profitability by providing a compelling, consistent customer experience across every channel.

CRM solutions enable a better understanding of your customers and their specific expectations. We offer:

• Technology platforms that align business units across departments, enabling collaborative information sharing.
• Strategic alliances with world-leading application providers including Oracle, SAP, Avaya, Genesys, Infor, KANA, and Nortel.
• Extensive industry-specific strategy, implementation, integration and infrastructure expertise.
• The right mix of hardware, software and services that can help drive a successful CRM implementation at your company.

Your custom CRM solution is based on customer-focused strategies, will incorporate all necessary departments, and is built on a scalable architecture that can start small but adjust to growing volumes of data. We have technology integration and project management expertise to help ensure a successful, consistent implementation across your business processes. Let us help you turn customers into advocates — driving increased profitability and growth.

All types of advertising will work if they’re used properly — not just “tried.” The fact that the various forms of media utilize each other illustrates that no one kind of advertising is superior.

Radio stations promote themselves on television and bus cards, TV stations list their programs in the newspaper, and newspapers use outdoor billboards to increase circulation. You’ve probably also noticed the large number of ads by dot.com companies in these traditional forms of media.

If you’re going to use advertising correctly, you must meet these four requirements:

1. Demographics. You must know what segments of the population comprise your customer base and be able to define them according to the standard age and gender groups used by the media to define their audiences.
   • Gender: Male, female or adults (includes a balance of male and female).
   • Age range: Depending on your business, you may choose more than one of these: 12-24, 18-34, 18-49, 25-54, or 50+

   Your customer base can shift with the opening and closing of other local businesses, universities, military bases, the influx or departure of university students, or just the natural aging of people in your community, and you need to keep track of these changes. This step is critical because it’s the basis of every advertising decision you make.

   If you’re not absolutely sure who your customers are, you can waste money advertising in the wrong places. Once you’ve identified your customers, you have to know where they hang out. Your reps can provide specific demographics regarding their audiences.

2. Location. Use only radio stations, TV programs or publications that can deliver your message to the right demographic groups. Ask your media reps to define the primary audiences they reach, and spend money only with those that match the demographic groups you’ve identified as your customers. Never buy advertising according to your own personal taste or because you like a particular rep!
3. Message. You have precious few seconds to tell your story, so squeeze the language. You wouldn’t say “Send assistance as soon as possible” when you could yell “Help!” You also need a hook–a reason for someone to come to your location instead of a competitor’s. Ask your media reps for copywriting help. Many stations and publications employ copywriters, but a creative media rep can do a great job. Your newspaper, magazine, and direct-mail reps will also be happy to lay out your entire ad.
4. Frequency. Without enough frequency your customers won’t see or hear your message. Radio, television and print are three distinct critters and require detailed explanations regarding schedule placement. It’s better to place a substantial schedule on one station or in one publication than to spread a small budget out and not achieve effective frequency anywhere.

Whatever you decide to do, don’t just try advertising. Use it to get results.

Your telephone is not the enemy. It’s not covered with spiders and it won’t electrocute you if you touch it. It’s your fear of rejection that’s your problem.

Granted, not too many people are brave enough to willingly put themselves in a position to be rejected. However, those who do will find all sorts of long-term rewards for the temporary pain they’ll experience.

With the right attitude and by paying close attention to what happens, each rejection you deal with will be a learning experience. You’ll learn what not to say and when not to call. The key here is to turn that around so you can master what to say and when to call.

With every rejection, you’ll want to take a quick moment to analyze the situation in order to benefit from it. Rather than letting it ruin your attitude for the next call, you should find yourself saying, “Well, that didn’t work. What’s a better way to say it?”

With proper fine-tuning, you’ll soon find your calls being well received and you’ll experience fewer rejections. To save you some time on this learning curve, here are eight points you need to consider before making any business calls.

1. Develop a professional greeting. Don’t just say hello and jump into your telephone presentation without taking a breath or allowing the other party to participate. Your greeting should err on the side of formality. Begin with Mr., Mrs. or Ms, as in “Good morning, Mr. Smith.” Or “Good evening, Mrs. Jones.” Everyone else says, “Hello.” Be different. Be professional.
2. Introduce yourself and your company.“My name is Sally Smith with ABC Company. We’re a local firm that specializes in helping businesses like yours save money.” Don’t get too specific yet. Don’t mention your product. If you do, that allows the other party to say, “Oh, we’re happy with what we’ve got. Thanks anyway,” and hang up. By keeping your introduction general, yet mentioning a benefit, you’ll peak your prospect’s curiosity and keep them on the line longer.
3. Express gratitude. Always thank the potential client for allowing you a few moments in his busy day. Tell him that you won’t waste a second of his time. “I want to thank you for taking my call. This will only involve a moment of your time so you can get back to your busy schedule.” Don’t say that you’ll “just take a moment.” The feeling evoked by them hearing that you’ll take anything from them will put them off.
4. State the purpose of your call. It’s best if you can provide the purpose within a question. “If we can show you a way to improve the quality of your product at a lower cost, would you be interested to know more?” This is very likely to get a yes response. At this point, you’re ready to start selling an opportunity to meet this person or to get their permission to provide them with more information. You’re not selling your product yet–you’re selling what your product will do for him.
5. Schedule a meeting. Get a confirmation to meet, either in person or to teleconference to get the information you need in order to give a solid presentation. If he’s so interested that he wants to do it right then and there, that’s OK.
6. If a face-to-face meeting is the most appropriate next step, use the alternate-of-choice questioning strategy. Offer him two times, “Mr. Johnson, I can pop by your office at 2:15 p.m. today to discuss this further. Or would 9:45 a.m. tomorrow better suit your schedule?” You didn’t say, “When can we meet?” When you use the alternate of choice, you take control of getting the appointment. And note: Asking for an off-hour gets you noticed. There’s something about setting a meeting at an off-hour that says you’re a salesperson who’ll be punctual and respect your prospect’s time. Try it.
7. Thank them for their time today and for the upcoming appointment. Reconfirm the date, time and location of the appointment. Ask for directions if you need them. Tell him how much preparation you’ll do in order to make the best use of the time you’ll share. Give him your contact information this way: “If anything else comes to mind that I should be aware of prior to our meeting, please contact me at (212) 555-1212.”
8. Follow up. If your meeting is more than a few days in the future, send a letter of confirmation immediately. If the meeting is tomorrow, send an e-mail confirmation. Keep it short and upbeat.

Do you draw a blank when you try to write a sales letter? Do your ideas sound good in your head but don’t come together on paper? You’re not alone.

These seven tips can help you write more effective sales letters:

1. Be the customer as you write. This is the most important aspect of a good sales letter, but it’s often overlooked. Imagine yourself as the reader of your letter, and write what the customer wants to know–not what you want to say. You have one page to attract a customer; you’ll lose the opportunity if your sole emphasis is on your business. Remember, your customer’s main concern is fulfilling his or her needs and desires, not increasing the balance in your bank account.

2. Organize your letter. Sales letters, just like high school term papers, need an introduction, a body and a conclusion. In the introduction, tell why you’re sending the letter. The body is your “sales pitch,” where you’ll explain why your offer is irresistible. The conclusion wraps it up by briefly bringing your points together and asking the customer to take advantage of the offer.
3. Make it easy to read. Many sales letters are thrown away without being read simply because they appear too complicated. Don’t let this happen to you. Use the following guidelines:
   • Write in a conversational style. Write exactly as you normally speak; formal tones are usually unnecessary in sales letters.
   • Use short sentences. Once you start writing more informally, you’ll notice your sentences will get shorter.
   • Compose short paragraphs. People like to have breaks in their reading. If it doesn’t flow smoothly and sound natural, rewrite it.
   • Edit and then re-edit your letter. Besides being difficult to read, misspelled words and grammar errors destroy the credibility and effectiveness of your letter.
4. Capture your reader’s attention. Headlines are not limited to ads. They can also be used in letters to tell readers something they want to know in a bold way that grabs their attention. You can also use longer headlines–up to three or four sentences–to present important information. In either case, always make the headline compelling so customers want to read the rest of the story.
5. Get your readers interested. Involve the reader in the letter by bringing it to life with a steady flow of interesting information. Write in an active voice.

   Build on your sentences and paragraphs so the reader is encouraged to continue reading. Every sentence needs to be interesting; a reader can become bored quickly.

   June Van Klaveren, owner of Compelling Communications, a copywriting firm in St. Louis, recommends including a handwritten note or an arrow in a different color ink to highlight an important fact and retain your reader’s interest. “I also include a `P.S.’ at the bottom of the letter,” says Van Klaveren.

   “You can count on this and your headline being read because you’ve piqued the reader’s curiosity.”

6. Make your readers want your product or service. This is best done by answering the reader’s question, What’s in it for me? People are bombarded daily with billboards, commercials and direct mail–all trying to sell something. Your letter can stand out by not selling, but offering benefits.
7. Ask your readers to take action. Potential customers won’t know what you want unless you tell them what to do next. If you want them to call you, say that in your letter and provide your phone number. If you want them to visit your facility, invite them to stop by and give them clear directions and specific office hours.

It’s also important to urge your readers to take action right away. The longer it takes them to respond, the less likely it is you’ll hear from them. If you’re running a promotion, offer the special for a limited time. If you only have a few units available, be sure to state that quantities are limited. This generates urgency to follow up on your letter.