If you run a small company, you may find that the world of blogging for business owners is a world that you want to be a part of. Blogging is a great way to get the word out to consumers about your product or service, and it can even be useful for inspiring employee loyalty and helping you keep your workers at peak morale. If you are looking for a way to take your business to the next level, consider what starting a blog might be able to do for you.

Blogging for business owners has a lot in common with all other types of blogging, but it has its own unique pitfalls and strengths. The key to having a successful blog as a business owner is keeping your goals clear and concrete at every step of your blogging adventure. It
can be all to easy to get sidetracked, especially if you are just learning about the exciting possibilities of blogging technology, but if you want your blog to succeed you need to stay focused. Write up a plan for how often you will update, how you will promote your blog and retain readers, whether you will feature photographs or video, and other aspects of your blog, and then stick to it with the same kind of determination that you used when you built your company.

In the world of Network Marketing I always hear new representatives asking the questions of “How do I find new leads now that I have gone through my entire Warm Market?” or “I am scared of Cold Calling people.  What do I say?”

I am going to offer some ideas in this article that will hopefully help many of you that are searching for answers to those questions.  A lot of these ideas I have gathered from other successful Network Marketers that are proven leaders in their field of expertise.

Finding New Leads

Finding new leads can actually be a fun process if you let it be.  It’s kind of like a game that you set for yourself on how many new leads you can find each day.  The key to making it a successful endeavor is setting appointments with them to follow up after you get them interested.  Here are three tips you might try for locating new leads that are totally FREE.

• You know all those Business Cards you see OTHER people leave at Gas Stations, Restauraunts and just about anywhere there is a Checkout Counter?  Start by picking up ones that you find.  Most likely, the people who left those cards wanted someone to pick them up and them.  The next step is picking up the phone and calling them.  You can get a lot of information from a Business Card on what that person does and who they are.  Give it a shot.  Let’s say that you pick up a card from someone that is an agent for a Travel Agency.  Pick up the phone and call “Jane Doe” and say the following.

Hi Jane? This is John Doe, you probably don’t know who I am because we haven’t spoken before, but the reason I am calling is that I picked up one of your Business Cards from (Name of establishment).  Jane, I realize that you are probably working and can’t talk  in length right now, but let me ask you a question, do you ever keep your options open to earning some additional income if it didn’t get in the way of what you do every day? (Wait for response which is usually yes) If the answer is YES, then proceed with the following.  That is great Jane.  Do you have a pen or pencil handy that you can take down a number for me?  Call this Toll Free Number (Give her your Sizzle Line which you MUST have) and if you like what you hear, leave me your name and contact information so that I know it is you and someone from our company will get back with you on the details.  (The next part is important) Since you are probably busy at the moment, do you think you will have time to call the number after work today? (Wait for response) If YES, okay, great.  Would it be okay if someone gave you a call back at (Set the appointment time shortly after the time they say they can listen to the message) X time? Excellent!  Well thank you for your time Jane and I look forward to speaking with you soon.  If the answer was NO on being interested, say okay, well thank you for your time and have a great day.  THAT’S IT!  YOU’RE DONE!  You have just set an appointment to follow up with a person you have never met before and basically know very little about.  They are now accountable for listening to the message before you call them back at the pre-arranged time.  If they are truly interested, they will leave a message on your Sizzle Line and you have a new Lead.  If they don’t, you never have to talk to them again.  Pretty simple?

• Take the same approach as the Business Card and get on the Internet and search for “free classified ads”.  Locate one of the thousands of Free Classified Advertising websites that have a section where potential prospects have placed their entire contact information and resume` online for prospective employers.  This is a Goldmine if you use it correctly.  You have the luxury of reviewing the candidates online, seeing their entire career and experience level before you ever speak to them.  Once you locate someone that appears to be a good fit for your business.  Take down their contact information, pick up the phone and call them.  Just tell them that you saw resume` online and would like to interview them to see if they would be a good fit for your business.  Tell them that you can’t make any promises, but from what you have seen so far, they look like they would work well in your business (Edify them and make them feel important) You don’t have to tell them that you are a Network Marketing company yet.  Just follow through asking them questions that would qualify them as a good candidate for your opportunity such as what their goals and motivation are for finding a new job/career.  Once you have gotten through the “Red Tape”, schedule a time to follow up with the prospect.  Do not try to close on the deal on the first contact.  SET THE APPOINTMENT!  If you do this, you leave the prospect time to build up a list of questions and to be able to build anticipation for the next meeting.  Send them to your Web Presentation (Another MUST Have) on the full details of your business.  When you follow up with them, ask them what they liked best about what they saw/heard.  This lets you know that they actually did review it.
• The most effective method that seems to work easily is to have some Sizzle Cards printed up with your Toll Free Sizzle Line on them.  Find anyone that you like and ask them, “Do you ever keep your options open to making additional income if it didn’t get in the way of you do every day?”  If they say YESs, give them a Sizzle Card and tell them to call the number, listen to the message, and if they liked what they heard, leave their contact information and someone will get back with them with more details.  That is all you have to do.  Just to tell you how easy that was, I prospected 17 people yesterday and did that very same thing while Christmas Shopping.  You would be surprised in this economy how many people are receptive to earning more money.  They are hurting!  I did not have a single person tell me that they weren’t interested.  Whether is was the Sales Clerk at Best Buy or the Store Manager at Staples that just about tackled me to find out what this was all about before I left the store, everyone wants to find a way to make more money during this RECESSION.

I hope these tips help you out.  They have proven to be extremely effective methods for generating leads that are interested in hearing about your business.