PROSPECTS FOR PENNIES
Prospects For Pennies :
Find Gold In Abandoned Advertising
Here ’ s an age-old business puzzle : You need advertising to get clients and make money , but you need money – and lots of it – to advertise . How do you solve it ? Start by using ads abandoned by your out-ofbusiness competitors .
Count the signs listing phone numbers as you drive down the street in a commercial area or the number of ads you notice as you surf the net . Signs and ads are often paid in advance for a few months or more , which is why when a business closes up shop , their ads stay “ open .” The same is true for classified ads that run for six months or more . To take advantage of their prepaid advertising , call the number listed on your competitor ’ s signs and ads . If you hear a ring , move on to the next ad . If you hear a recorded message informing you that the phone number has been disconnected , call your local phone company and ask them to redirect the abandoned phone number to your business line . Yes , it is that simple . And yes , it works .
Once you redirect a former competitor ’ s old phone number , your phone will ring almost immediately . Prospects who are calling on those up and running advertisements will now be automatically forwarded to you . When prospects call , don ’ t be sneaky . Let them know that the company they are looking for is no longer in business , but you will gladly serve them .
After you ’ ve checked all of the ads , start with the online phone listings for your local area . If you want to attract prospects outside of your region , check competitor ’ s listings in the toll-free directories , which you can also find online . Then , move on to other online directories . Search industryspecific directories for ads , sponsored listings and regular listings . For example , if you are in the party rental and supply business , you might find competitors in one of the resource directories for event planners .
Don ’ t forget to check your old trade show directories . Most people hold on to their directories as a resource , so find out if any of your competitors listed in the directory have gone out of business and redirect all of their prospects to your company . And don ’ t stop there . There ’ s a lot of prospecting to be done . Redirect abandoned fax numbers , and then move on to web domains . You can often purchase dumped domains on the cheap , and then redirect the domain to your website .
Besides the phone number and web domain strategy I just taught you , my favorite tactic is redirecting failed live events . If you know of a seminar , workshop or other live event that would attract your customer base , reach out to the event hosts two weeks before the event and find out if they plan to go through with the event as planned . Two weeks is right around the time events are cancelled due to low registration . If the hosts want to cancel , offer to partner with them to do a smaller , alternative event for those people who did register , and share in the revenue . You get access to the registrants who now see you as an authority ( co-host ), the attendees have a fantastic experience , and the original hosts save face by sending people to a more “ intimate ” event . It ’ s a win-winwin .
So before you blow your budget on street signs , billboards , fancy websites , fullpage ads or even live events , look around . It takes a few hours of your time to find abandoned opportunities , and just pennies ( or nothing ) to redirect prospects to your business . There ’ s a lot of gold out there . Happy digging . +
PROFIT FIRST : A Simple System to Transform Any Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
by : mike michalowicz In Profit First , Michalowicz explains how this age-old accounting formula turns great businesses into cash-eating monsters , trapping you in a day-to-day , check-to-check struggle to survive . He reveals how to flip that “ Frankenstein Formula ” and take profit first without compromising your business , and why the Profit First Formula of Sales – Profit = Expenses actually forces innovation , supports sustained growth and skyrockets profits .
BY : mike michalowicz KEYNOTE SPEAKER & AUTHOR
Mike Michalowicz is the entrepreneur behind three multimillion dollar companies and is the author of Profit First . He is globally recognized as the guy who “ challenges out dated business beliefs ” and teaches us what to do about it . To learn more about Mike and get access to a treasure trove of entrepreneurial tips , visit MikeMichalowicz . com .
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