Positioning yourself as the expert in your field can eliminate competition and reap endless rewards. But the task of actually becoming recognized as an expert can be somewhat daunting. Knowing what steps to take and where to focus your efforts doesn’t come easily.

Bob Sommers, host of The Recognized Expert Marketing Show, is our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio. Before moving his family to Hawaii, Bob owned and operated the largest customer service training company in the country.

By positioning his company as the premier customer service training provider, he was able to generate more money in a day, than he earned in an entire year as a full time engineer.

Here’s a sampling of topics from the show:

• Do one thing only — and do it very well. Target your market down to a very small niche, become the expert at it and eliminate competition by doing so. It’s better to be a big fish in a small pond than it is to be a big fish in an endless ocean. For example, if your field is gardening, narrow it down and become the expert on azaleas.

• Take action steps — to position yourself as an expert by writing a book or creating an ebook; publishing useful articles online that contain tips and advice for readers; speaking publicly; making television and radio appearances and blogging. Writing a blog can increase your status as an expert in your field if you provide useful information, tips and actionable advice for readers. They will begin to view you as a “go to” source of information.

• If you are the expert — you will not have to say it because people will be saying it for you.

Bob has much more advice to offer from his personal experiences and explains why it is so important to choose a niche within your field to become seen as an expert. You can learn more by clicking the red and yellow player below and listening to Bob’s full interview.

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 How To Become A Recognized Expert [30:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The Law of Attraction states that what you think about most, you ultimately attract. It’s possible to entice customers to come to YOU, but positive thinking is only part of the process. Attraction comes from one thing - and that’s action. Trouble is, most sales professionals, business owners and entrepreneurs don’t know what actions to take.

Jimmy Vee & Travis Miller, of Gravitational Marketing, are our featured guests in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio. Jimmy and Travis discuss the power of action and give you a 5 step plan to start attracting customers NOW.

Here are the first 3 tips from the show:

• Differentiate yourself — from the rest. Think in terms of sensational. This creates an intense interest and curiosity. And remember, “Same is lame!” The definition of lame is: A pathetic lack of force or effectiveness. If you are the same as everyone around you then you lack force and effectiveness.

• Carve out a tiny niche — and become an expert on it to rise to the top. For instance, instead of being an expert on dogs, be an expert on a specific breed. Better yet, be an expert on a specific breeds grooming needs and you’ll find that you have less competition which makes becoming an expert even easier.

• Add a bit of entertainment — to your marketing and you’ll capture attention. People love being entertained and tend to make buying decisions emotionally first, and logically second. Tap into that emotion because once people start enjoying themselves they become less defensive, more receptive - and more likely to buy.

Jimmy & Travis provide the remaining two tips along with five marketing myths assumed to be true and some tips on how to discover your “uniqueness” and make it work for you.

It’s true. The Law of Attraction can work for you. If you’d like to hear all of the insightful tips that Jimmy & Travis provide to begin attracting customers now, you can do so by clicking the red and yellow player below and listening to their full interview.

UPDATE 4/30/08: We are proud to announce that this episode, featuring Jimmy & Travis, was voted as one of the Top 50 on the Law of Attraction. You can see the entire list by clicking on the Top 50 icon. Congratulations Jimmy & Travis - Way to go!

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 Attract More Sales Using The Law Of Attraction [38:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (5) | Permalink

So, you haven’t heard of Facebook yet? Or maybe you have and are just not familiar with it. Well either way, Facebook has some benefits for small business owners that you need to know about.

Our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio is Shama Hyder, Chief Marketing Expert and Founder of After The Launch. Shama is an expert marketing consultant to independent professionals and professional service firms around the world and she share’s her tips with us on how to leverage Facebook to market your business.

Topics include:

• Why is it better than MySpace or LinkedIn? — There seem to be more small business owners on Facebook. MySpace is more personal and LinkedIn is more of a formal professional site. Facebook operates as both and allows you to expand your network more so than others.

• How can you use it for business? — The basics are to start by entering a great profile. SEO ranking is high for Facebook so use that to your advantage. Then reach out to other small business owners and develop friends and follow up by then reaching out to your target audience.

But that’s only the beginning to successfully using Facebook. Shama shares very detailed steps and the proper etiquette to contact, network and respond to others on the site to begin to build your community and bring together people in your industry to create personalized groups.

There are so many more tools that Facebook offers to assist in marketing your small business. Would you like to hear them all? Click the red and yellow player below to listen to Shama’s full interview where she covers the many features that Facebook has to offer small business owners.

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 How To Use Facebook To Market Your Business [30:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (7) | Permalink

Research shows that most small business owners get the majority of their customers from within a 50-mile radius. Local markets are extremely important for most small businesses.

Yet most of us make the same 5 common mistakes when it comes to local marketing.

Our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio is Court Cunningham, CEO of Yodle, Inc, a company in the local online marketing space.

Court covers the mistakes and what to do about them:

• Building your own website is mistake number one — For converting customers you have to think of your website as an ad that turns clicks into clients. Some basic problems with home-grown websites include failing to have your business location on your home page, and failing to have your phone number listed prominently. Failure to display a map and having unclear site navigation are other common pitfalls with home-grown websites.

• Yellow Pages may be declining but still play a role — Here’s something to consider — half of online queries are coming from search engines — not online directories. But the Yellow Pages aren’t dead. Older generations and those in smaller towns reach for the Yellow Pages. Younger generations and those in cities are the biggest users of online directories and local search.

As CEO of Yodle, Court oversees all aspects of operations and strategy, including technology, product development and sales and marketing. He shares these and other insights into effective local online marketing.

To hear all 5 local marketing mistakes, click the red and yellow player below.

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 Are You Making These 5 Local Marketing Mistakes? [29:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (11) | Permalink

Can you believe it’s that time of year again? It’s time to think about how to say “thank you” to all of your business associates for all of their support throughout the year.

But how do you do that effectively? Wouldn’t it be nice to send a gift that also serves as a marketing tool and a reminder of your products and services throughout the year?

Lee Eldridge has joined us as our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio. As President of Absorbent, Ink, Lee will share tips on choosing your gifts, when to deliver your gifts, creating a buzz and how a useful item generates more impressions.

Here is a sampling of topics discussed during this show:

• Focus on — the recipient of the gift rather than your particular industry. If the recipient of your gift finds it useful, practical and thoughtful - chances are it’ll make a lasting impression. Your gift doesn’t have to be one of your products or services or an industry related product or service.

• Different gifts — for different people. Your employees may not find the gift that you gave management or your customers useful or thoughtful. Your relationship with the recipient should guide the gift selection.

• Useful gifts — such as sports bottles, coolers and barbecue sets are a popular choice with small businesses and make the biggest impact on the recipient. These items prove useful and, as a result, the recipient will think of you during those times of use.

Want to hear more about Corporate Holiday gift giving? Click the player below to listen to Lee’s full interview.

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 How To Maximize Your Corporate Christmas Gifts Impact [24:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (4) | Permalink

Attracting visitors to your web site, promoting your business, and securing new clients is a top concern for small business owners and many are always looking for innovative new ways to do so. Information is one way to market your business globally and build awareness and credibility.

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Stephanie Chandler, Founder of Business Info Guide. Stephanie discusses ways to promote your business through Internet content.

Here is a sampling from the show:

• Information marketing — is a concept that uses information, in many forms, to spread the word and market your business. This is done through providing content such as article publishing and submission, newsletters, ebooks, webinars, information submissions to bookmarking sites, etc.

• Creating ebooks — is a valuable source of information that can be provided. By answering questions that your target audience is posing to you repeatedly, you are providing sought after information that has value that others are willing to pay for. Focus on the content and make sure it has value.

• Article marketing — is a marketing technique for both online marketing and offline. Creating and publishing articles online with links back to your site is one way to provide information and promote your business. Your articles can then be submitted to various submission sites, bookmarking sites, and the like where they can remain online indefinitely.

Stephanie has lots of tips to share with you and discusses, in depth, the development and processes required to create an ebook.

To listen to Stephanie’s insights, click the player below to listen to the full interview.

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 Promoting Your Business Through Content [40:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (4) | Permalink

Blogging is a useful way to promote your products, services, and build your brand. People are talking, people are typing and conversation is everywhere. Critical information, reactions, and discussion abound. This leaves you with the daily task of figuring out what’s important and sorting through it all. Staying informed is key — and knowledge is power.

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Marc Meyer, Co-Founder of Activeweave, Inc. Marc explains how companies can tap into the blogosphere to stay informed about their competition, market and audience.

Here is a sampling from the show:

• A blog — builds trust. By offering news and expertise regarding your products, services, and your industry. Your individuality counts and being a “stuffed shirt” doesn’t draw attention. It’s character and flair that are interesting and your personality is a reflection of your brand. Do not fear exposing a bit of your “true self” within your blog and your writings. By revealing your individuality, potential customers will begin to build a rapport and trust. They are more likely to conduct business with you.

• Negative comments — on your blog are an opportunity for you to assist your customers and go the extra mile. If someone has used your product or services and commented regarding dissatisfaction or trouble they may have had, this creates an opportunity for you to contact them directly to assist. Many times, those customers will return to your site and “sing your praises.”

• Many tools — are available to you to monitor the response to your blog, products, and competitors. Google Alerts, Google Reader, and Blogrovr are just some of the tools to help you do this by alerting you to content that is related to your interests. Blogrovr will suggest posts from other blogs without you searching for them. It offers convenience by scouring the web and working behind the scenes for you. Write about, and link to, articles on larger sites related to your niche. Place the Blogrovr button on your site and when customers visit the larger sites, it will direct them to your article.

• Staying informed — is crucial to building a successful business. Taking advantage of the tools and services available to you can alleviate the time and effort involved and streamline the process for you. It’s important that you stay on top of the buzz surrounding your products and services so that you can engage current and potential customers and interact within the community in your industry.

Marc has a lot of insights to share with you along with more information regarding the tools that are available to you. To experience Marc’s insights, and tips, click the player below to listen to the full interview. And stay tuned at the end of the program for Today’s Trend: The Broader World Of Social Networking.

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 When Conversation is Everywhere – A Way to Keep Track [53:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (5) | Permalink