September, 1997


Form of business...
Did you know that business forms are-well, a form of our business. In other words, we print business forms. So the next time you run out of 3-part packing slips or continuous invoices give us a call. We'll be happy to help you!

Instant business...
The lead time for getting business in the door can be several weeks. This is especially true if you're working with large companies that must go through layers of decision making. Here are five stopgap ideas for getting instant business.

  • Get on the phone. Begin with your past client list; satisfied customers are a great source of business. Then call those who have expressed interest but haven't bought in the past. Finally, cold call. Although most of us hate it, it does work.
  • Make a special offer. You can have a Spring Special, a New Year's Discount, or a free initial consultation.
  • Special pricing. Some money beats no money. Offer a price that's so tempting that prospective clients can't say no.
  • Subcontract. Scout around and find out who's busy. See if they need help or if they've had to turn away business.
  • Volunteer. Sometimes what begins as a volunteer effort ultimately becomes paid work.

    • More web traps...
    Here are more of the 10 most notable land mines on the road to successful Net marketing as outlined by NetMarketing magazine.

  • Don't think about Net sales as much as Net marketing. You don't ask whether you've made money on the telephone today. There'll be plenty of time down the road to quantify directly how much money you've made on the Net.
  • Don't obsess over your domain name. Think and act quickly, as the name may already be taken. Make sure you're comfortable with it; changing a domain name is tedious beyond description.
  • Don't design for yourself. Design for the user surfing your site under the worst possible conditions.
  • Don't try to save money with a low powered Web host. Know as much as you can about what you need before you start shopping.
  • Don't separate your marketing people from your technical staff. Your marketing people are responsible for moving the ink around in such a way as to attract readers, while your systems people distribute the message. You need both otherwise the operation will be out of sync.
  • Don't fill up your site with shovelware. The trick is to play to the strength of each channel of communication.


    • Quote of the month...
    "My hopes are not always realized, but I always hope.""Ovid

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