Business On a Budget

I'm sure I don't have to explain that business is down for us WAHMs . In general people are spending less and ( trying) to save more. This has truly affected business as we know it , but there is hope !
Just like we have to scale down on the household spending we also need to scale down on the business spending . I made this tough decision today as the cost of advertising is not being coverd to the same degree as before. I have traditionally used Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing to promote my online businesses and I spend around $100.00 a month in promoting ( after adsense profits) . Since this had been paying off , I could justify the expense. Adsense revenues are down and it seems that in desparation other businesses are increasing their PPC bids , forcing me out of the PPC market . Is this happening to you ?

I decided to forego the PPC for a while , until the economy improves. I can't just stop advertising my businesses so here is a step by step guide of what I am or will do to keep advertising and promoting my businesses without the big budget !

Divide and Conquer
I am dividing my businesses ( yes there are multiple businesses) into online and home party or off-line. I am likewise dividing the advertising budgets. I tend to spend less money on the home party businesses ( there are 3) and more on the online businesses ( there are 7) . If you have online and offline businesses I recommend looking at which side you spend more money advertising and which is more profitable. Spend the most money on your most profitable business. This really isn't the time to be promoting something that is making relatively little money .

Avoid Pay per Clicks.
People seem to be wish listing or window shopping lately . I have excellent , targeted key words , but now a low ROI . It seems people are clicking, looking, wishing , but not buying . I have moved my advertising to Jayde , which guarantees top ten ad placement in over 200 smaller search engines . It costs just 12.00 a month and up. This is a much more affordable option than PPC.

Cooperative Advertising
I am really going to promote my Cooperative advertising websites . I have alot of businesses because I do mainly fundraisers . I just set up 2 new websites , www.catalogfundraisers.info and www.brochurefundraisers.info ( yes I am creating backlinks to promo my new websites for free , see how simple free advertising can be ! ) . By having more than just my website and businesses promoted , cooperatively advertising with other WAHMS, I can spend more time and effort marketing and advertising that website , and in turn the websites of the other WAHMs in my coop advertising group !

Stop blowing money !
I usually buy my business supplies from Staples or Office Depot , my promotional stickers from Zazzle or The Booster . Silly Me ! I could sell and buy from myself through affiliate sites like BigCrumbs and earn money back, sign up as a consultant on a Website like Whisperedkisses.com or I could just scour the dollar store for useful items . I looked at the Dollar Tree down the street and found
Catalog Envelopes 12 for $1.00
Blank Round Stickers 300 for $1.00
Blank Address Labels 150 for $1.00
Pens 12 for $1.00
And a really cool Hostess Booking tree that I will cut out construction paper leaves ( $1.oo/pad at Dollar Tree ) leaves with booking rewards on them and hang them on this cute tree at my wildtree herbs parties. I already have Leaf template fom my scrapbooking supplies , but you could cut one out , preferably one related to your Business , and promote bookings at your parties . But I digress. The point here is to stop blowing money on business supplies and think out side the box and create some supplies for yourself. Sure this sounds like extra work but on my dollar store shopping spree I ended up saving 32.00 compared to my usual supply purchase ! That's 32.00 to pay for gas or make up for lower party /online sales!

You have a GREAT idea ( heck even a good one)
Please let us know !


Jami
If you're looking to start , looking to better, or looking to share your Home Based Business , you're in the right place !

Building your Home Party Business in 2009

I am not much for tele-semminars , in fact I avoid them like a disease. For some reason , maybe my personal New Years resolution to take my Direct sales businesses off line and into customer's homes, I listened for 90 minutes to a tele-semminar from Karen Phelps (www.karenphelps.com) . Holy CRAP ! This was exactly what I needed !! I have been trained by some of the "best" direct sellers in the United States ( debateable) , not one can hold a candle to Karen Phelps . Aside from actually being able to hold my attention for 90 minutes straight ( ok I pushed 5 and paused the semminar for 30 minutes to cook dinner) , she gave actual real world tips on how to talk to customers from the dreaded phone solicitation to creating a sense of urgency for your customers to book, and the all important drumming up new business when you don't know anyone or you have taken a hiatus from your business . Some key points she brought up that lit up the "OH YEAH" bulb in my brain were :

1: Create a sense of urgency with your words . For example instead of trying to book a party by saying I am running a huge special with XYZ company for the 1st week of January and I have a couple days to choose from , Say I am running a huge special with XYZ company and have January 3rd and 4th left , I wanted to give you the first shot at booking your next party before I contact the rest of my customer list . This creates more of a sense of urgency for your potential customers. Instead of using I have some, or I have a couple , use the I only have a few dates still left ..

2. Dont give new customers a chance to turn you down . Instead of saying I am a rep for xyz co. and we have awesome hostess promotions , would you like to book a party, try I am a rep for xyz co. and we have awesome hostess promotions WHO do you know that might be interested in hostessing a party and getting some free stuff ! You have eliminated the Yes/ No aspect of the question ( where you only have a 50/50 chance of getting the response you want ) , now your open ended question could end in the potential customer nominating herself or a friend or family member. If she claims to not know enough people on her own offer a buddy bash where she and another person hostess a party together and split the hostess rewards !

3. Be exciting and talk faster ! Karen believes that people are attracted to others who are full of energy and positivity , especially on the phone . Always leave a message and give a short time frame like "call me back in 24 hours so I can be sure there is a spot open for your party".

There was much , much much more and if I had the money I would buy her training program "The Whole Enchilada" , but I am buying one of her books that I really think will help me in 2009 to keep my resolution . If Karen Phelps is speaking within 100 miles of my city I am for SURE going to be there. If you want to become a Karen Phelps Groupie , like I think I am becoming, start by visiting www.KarenPhelps.com or dialing in to listen to the free tele-semminar I did , The number is (712) 432-0453 Pin: 6494740#. This recording will only be available through Jan 4th !!!!


Best of Luck with YOUR business !