your energy where there's likely to be a need for your services. Uncovering a business opportunity often means broadening the range of your skills and services. As you're targeting all sorts of different businesses, you'll often need to learn about many different industries in order to be really

to your product or service, the more likely he’ll be to buy your product or service. So let’s get back to the drill vs. hole analogy. You could also say that nobody who bought a website actually wanted a website. They wanted to … Sell a product or service Promote their business or organization

taught influence skills to executives over 3 to 5 day training classes, I know that teaching influence skills in any format is challenging. This article laid out a set of principles, and practical ways to apply them. I hope they help you to be more influential when you market and sell your services.

We web geeks have a problem. If you’re like me, you probably taught yourself how to design or program websites for the love of it. But, one day, maybe after you built a free site for a friend’s company or your church, this thought passed through your mind: “I could get paid for doing

unhappy clients on your hands. If you go the buy it now route, you can use any of these tools to sell your productized services with a buy now button. Invoicing There are also pros and cons to using an invoicing approach: There is more friction in the process--email back and forth

or no customer base. • runs the risk of fielding more support queries than anticipated • may delay long-term growth because of the lack of immediate cash flow Services -- Advantages • generates income faster, because it's easier to sell your services than a brand new product to the marketplace • provides

technical expertise and could be worth thousands to your client. These services may be time consuming, but they also provide further opportunities to meet your client and help them increase sales. Your business relationship will grow stronger and, the more successful they become, the more work they will put your way. Do you sell statistical services? Are you considering it? Are your clients making the most of the information?

In today's market, if you can't write good proposals, you won't be able to sell. Let's face facts: we're in a buyer's market when it comes to freelance services. For every job you bid on, you're competing with five, ten, or even more other freelancers. I recently put out an RFP for a Web design

area for selling domain names, sites, scripts and more. Webmaster-Talk.com Marketplace: A general sales site that allows you to do everything from promoting your services to selling your established sites. General listing fees are free, but services such as promotions will cost you credits

Depending on who’s talking, the hottest item that should be a top marketing priority for businesses in 2012 is … Social media Mobile marketing QR codes Video marketing Location-based services (LBS) marketing Did I miss anything? When I quit my web business in 2005, none of these existed. What

of videos for Google Engage. In a nutshell, the Engage program offers training and tools to help SEO professionals offer AdWords services to their clients. One of the videos outlines the steps necessary to sell such a program: Preparation Fact Find Pitch Overcome Objections Close Those five

book, focuses on what he calls the reverse sell. The reverse sell is all about stepping back and not being too anxious to sell your services. At its best, it even means encouraging the prospect NOT to buy. For instance, "Well, it sounds like you aren't interested in moving forward with me..." I've

Last week, I wrote about how web designers can transition to print. Here's how to sell digital media like a print rep. Selling Yellow Pages is challenging. Those who don't leave for greener pastures eventually “bleed yellow”—meaning, once it's in your system, no other job will satisfy. A few

I've got a couple of businesses that sell products, tangible products (see, for instance, my collaboration with my wife at www.momsonedge.com). I have to say that marketing products is so much easier than marketing services. For instance, my wife sent out some samples of our products to some

we do—consultative selling—is a far cry from other types of selling. I’m not suggesting you behave like a used car salesman; but I am suggesting you act like some type of salesperson and (dare I say it?) … sell your services. That begs the question, are salespeople born or made? I believe

In my last article, I outlined 10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Starting a Web Design Business. When I graduated from design school, if you’d told me that within eight years, not only would I be selling my services, but I’d be teaching others to do the same … I would have said you were out of your

as services as a commodity. This drives up the perceived value of what you're selling, and the fear that it has limited availability makes people act fast to purchase. Scarcity can also present an opportunity to engage your audience in a new way. By creating an interesting background that shares

In my last three articles, I’ve written on various sales axioms I’ve learned over the years. Here’s another important one you should take to heart: How you interact with the customer is more important than what you sell. Every customer interaction is an opportunity to sell—not your product

if your starting price is three, four, or maybe even five times that? Is $500 a lot of money? You can’t answer that outside the context of what you’re getting in return, can you? As a freelancer or business person trying to sell your services, you must put your price into its proper context. If you