If much of this information is new to you, don't be concerned. There's never been a better time to start getting some real results from your business.

Make sure you make notes as you progress through the book. That way, when you come to writing your first few strategies, you'll find it much easier.

Now it's time to get started-there's so much business out there to be had. It's just up to you to get out there and claim it.

Leads

This is definitely the most thought-about area of marketing, and obviously the most glamorous. Most businesspeople invest, or should I say waste more money trying to get potential customers than they do in any other area of marketing.

Running an advertisement is easy; after all there are enough salespeople constantly calling you with offers of airtime or space so all you need to do is say Yes. Hey, they'll even write the ad for you. And, you guessed it, I'm being sarcastic when I say they're brilliant at writing ads to help you sell things.

By the way, if you want to learn more about how to write ads, read my other book, Instant Advertising.

But to start the money flowing, let's go through all the different strategies you can use to bring new prospects to your business. And, just to make sure you focus on doing what works, I'll give you my hints, tips, and ratings on each one.

Remember, the ratings indicate value for money spent. Ideas with a rating of 2/5 might bring a better response (in pure number terms) than something rated 4/5, but because it's more expensive, the acquisition cost of each sale skyrockets.

Perfect examples are the first two tips in this chapter. Local newspaper advertising gets 4/5 while advertising in one of the big dailies gets only 3/5- That's because, dollar for dollar, the local paper offers better value.

If you want to make a sale, you've first got to generate leads. And if you want to increase the amount of business you do, you need to increase the number of 54