I don’t know about you, but for me the days of excitedly signing up for a free teleseminar on this or that subject are long gone. For quite some time it’s seemed to me that most of these are nothing but glorified pitch fests.

Rarely is there ever any meat. Most of the time they just explain what you need to know, and the perils of not knowing (or wonders of knowing), then how you can you spend a bunch of money with them to learn it.

To make sure this is indeed the case, I recently signed up for a couple more free teleseminars with big names. They were promoted as the event to learn all kinds of powerful, business-building secrets.

And you know what? Except for the lesson on how to pitch on a teleseminar without actually giving away anything useful, they were a HUGE waste of my time.

Frankly, I have better things to do than sit on a phone call and listen to someone’s clients give raving testimonials. Or hear a list of all the things I need to know. In fact, if that’s all you’ve got, I feel a bit like my intelligence is being insulted. And I’m certainly not going to spend any money with these folks as a result.

Maybe it’s naïve…
Maybe it’ll keep me from becoming a millionaire…
Maybe it comes from my background as an Environmental Educator and teacher…

But I believe if you offer something of value in a free session then people will be more likely to pay you for even more helpful info.

Sure there’s the argument about “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free??” But I’m not saying give away all your tricks and secrets. I just think if you help others it comes back to you.

One of the big reasons I’ve been charging $7 for my Small Business Success Teleseminar Series is just to make it clear that they are NOT free (http://www.success-stream.com/events.htm). Hopefully, as a result, people will trust they’re going to get something of value for their investment of time and money.

I know I’ve gotten a number of powerful, business-building tips I was able to put into action from the experts I’ve interviewed. And that’s what I expect from others. Even if the teleseminar is free.

Are you jaded by the overwhelming number of fluff-filled free teleseminars out there?

Do you still sign up for, and listen to, free teleseminars (and get anything of value out of them)?

Do you think free teleseminars are still an effective way to market a service or product…Or have they outlived their usefulness?

Let me know by leaving a comment below!

[tags] Free Teleseminar, Small business, product, service, market, Marketing Tool [/tags]

If you really want a more effective Website that grows your small business, I’ve got some
exciting news for you…

I’ve taken my always popular Website Hotseat event virtual!!

This is the event where I put your Website up on a screen big and live, and give you specific suggestions for increasing opt-ins, sales and response by up to 300%! It’s one of my favorite events because the combination of critique, focus group and mastermind is so powerful. Plus you learn a ton critiquing other people’s sites too.

Well, every time I promote my Website Hotseat event I get a
bunch of emails from far away places asking me to do the same
event virtually. That way anyone can get their Websites
critiqued without flying to Seattle.

I do my best to give the folks in my community what they want and need to succeed, so…

I’ve put all the technology in place to let you can attend the
Website Hotseat virtually—and get your Website critiqued live—on October
24th from anywhere!!

All you need is Internet access, a phone and the desire to spend the day learning how to turbo-charge your Website.

Just zip on over to http://www.websitehotseat.com and register
for a Virtual Seat.

As we get closer to the date, I’ll send you an email with the
info you need to log on, and a toll-free phone number call. So
you don’t have to worry about using call minutes or paying long
distance charges to attend.

Then I’ll put you on a big, fat speaker phone so you can watch
online and participate along with everyone else. It’s the next best thing to being there… :-)

I’ve already sold out of Spectator Seats, and due to time
constraints, I can still only critique 8 Websites total.

If you want one of them to be yours then grab your spot now
before they’re all gone at http://www.websitehotseat.com.

“See” you there,

Stacy

[tags] small business, website critique, mastermind, suggestions [/tags]

Ever struggled with how to differentiate your business from your competition and capture that elusive USP in a sentence or two? Or agonized over exactly how to narrow in on a niche target market? If so, then I have an example that should help make both of these more clear.

High-end burger joints have been around for awhile. But lately it seems they’re springing up left and right. However most are just your typical ‘50’s style diner themed place, with maybe a special sauce or onion ring recipe to differentiate them.

Then, the other day I got an email from my dad with a link to the Website of a burger place that’s very different—the Heart Attack Grill http://www.heartattackgrill.com.

With a tagline that reads “Taste worth dying for” this clearly is not your typical burger joint. The menu offers a single double, triple or quadruple “bypass” burger and “flatliner” fries cooked in pure lard.

You can also choose from three kinds of soda, none of them diet, and cigarettes for dessert. To top it all off, the cute young waitresses are dressed in lingerie nurses uniforms.

This place certainly gives you more than one reason to eat here rather than at the place down the street. It’s got USP (Unique Selling Proposition) out the yin-yang.

And who do you think is their target market? It’d probably be safe to bet its manly men who like their artery clogging food just fine thank you…And like it even more with a side of eye-candy. Think Hooters crowd.

As is the case with most restaurants that decide to unapologetically defy healthy eating recommendations (not to mention employ scantily clad women), they’ve received a ton of PR. They’ve been on TV in France and Japan as well as on Fox in the States. And thanks to emails like the one I received, they’ve now gone viral.

Keep in mind, this is just one little burger joint in Chandler, Arizona. Not some big company or franchise with lots of advertising dollars.

It’s just that their brand and concept is unique, memorable and even a little controversial. And their target market is very, very clear and specific.

Clearly this is the place to go if you’re a guy craving a juicy, greasy, calorie-laden and I’m guessing/hoping delicious meal. Being waited on by hot chicks just puts the whole experience right over the edge.

Love the concept or hate it, owner Jon Basso, is a marketing genius! And honestly, if the burgers were really good, I’d eat there (though I’d only have a single bypass burger, hold the coke and smokes).

What do you think? Let me know by leaving a comment below…

[tags] Small Business, Marketing Examples, USP, Target Market, differentiate from the competition [/tags]

The beauty of owning a small business is that you can be nimble and react to change quickly. But that means you have to take action right away. And that’s more true than ever right now with the economy in a tailspin and small business loans drying up faster than a puddle in the desert.
So what can you do to make sure your business survives, and even thrives, through all this craziness? Virtualize it!

When all or part of your business is based online, you can cut down on a ton of costs from advertising and marketing to salesperson’s salaries, rent, product creation, warehousing and shipping. You can also create new and often passive revenue streams at a fraction of the cost of doing it the “old school” way.

Wanna learn how to do this for your small business?

Then join me and 9 other experts at the Global Network Studios 2008 “Virtual-ize Your Business” telesummit.

But don’t delay. Because I’ve got 17 ‘tickets’ to give away that let you attend the first two days of this 7-day event for FREE!

So you can take a sneak peak at no charge if you’re one of the first 17 to sign up. Go here now to grab your free spot.

I’ve got to admit – one of the reasons I’m so excited about sharing this group of experts with you is I’ve been asked to join each of them as one of the Featured Guests in this upcoming event. I’m honored to be a part of this event and grateful that I can share these individuals and this “package of prosperity” with you.

And it won’t cost you anything but a phone call to be introduced to who they are and the information they possess.

Get ready to learn about the vast resources already available to help you “Virtual-ize Your Business” (Learn about Outsourcing, Automating, ‘Virtual’ Strategies and more) – and how to use these to rocket your business skyward, no matter what the economy is doing.

(In fact, the worse things appear “out there” the better they can be for YOU – but only if you know where to look and what to do about it).

This telephone event starts with a series of panel discussions on October 14 & 16, and continues November 10 thru 14 with over 10 expert presentations.

>> October 14 – “Why ‘Virtual-izing Your Business’ may be an attractive necessity in order for your small business to survive and thrive”

>> October 16 – “Business tools of the future (meaning, RIGHT NOW!)”

Following the panel discussions there are gonna be five days with more than ten experts presenting their best information on how to thrive by “Virtual-izing Your Business”.

Here’s the lineup of small business experts and topics:

- “Dare to Work Fewer Hours” with Joan Friedlander

- “Joint Ventures meet Social Marketing” with MaryPat Kavanagh

- “What’s Your System to Build a Company?” with Spencer Parikh

- “Outsourcing for Increase” with Randall Bird and Will Owens (2 sessions)

- “What You Must Know About YOU, Before Hiring Virtual Staff” with Cindy Greenway

- “Defining Your Objectives and Eliminating Distractions” with Matthew Best

- “Increase Your Audience Using Blogging and Podcasting” with Dr. Paul H. Jenkins

- “How To Turn Your Website into Your #1 Salesperson” with Stacy Karacostas

- “Graduating to Hiring an Online Business Manager” with Tina Forsyth

- “Getting Back to Doing What You Love” with BevAnn Bonds

Google even one or two of these experts, you’ll understand why I’m excited and why I think you should be a part of this event. With so many experts advice at your fingertips – I believe this can be a life changing event for those who attend.

The entire event is going to be recorded, and CDs made available to tele’summit participants after the fact. So you won’t miss a thing.

Plus, participants also get the opportunity to join the presenter and other participants in a private, online networking forum following the event. You can get answers to your questions, let others know what you’re doing in YOUR BUSINESS, and form profitable relationships that can last a lifetime.

If you’re unsure about it, why not take me up on the offer for the free 2 days? You’ve got a lot to gain and nothing to lose.

The live presentations have a limited number of phone lines available. So be sure to register early so you get in (and get to take advantage of those 17 FREE SPOTS for the first 2 days).

There’s no obligation, no strings. Just be among the first 17 to register and YOU’RE IN (be sure to tell ‘em you know me).

Grab your spot here!

[tags] Small Business, virtual business, survival, marketing, economy [/tags]