d in a $4000 direct mail campaign. Direct mail can range in price from $1500 to tens of thousands of dollars for a professionally executed campaign. The company that I contacted to help me in this quest developed my logo and created the mail pieces that would go out to specific demographics. My call back rate on this mailer was less than 1% and the nFive years ago I started my first business. My background and training were in manufacturing, chemistry and management. The management experience was certainly helpful in launching a new business, but the other areas really didn't lend much to helping me get done everything I needed to do.

As the owner, I was responsible for hiring, firing, billing, marketing, following up on sales leads, managing & training my employees, scheduling, submitting all of the proper paperwork for payroll, bookkeeping, accounting, etc... This can be very overwhelming for a person who is launching a business for the first time with very few resources. To manage all of these tasks, I immediately outsourced the day-to-day bookkeeping tasks, hired an accountant, and outsourced the payroll administration. These were all things that I was not adequately skilled to do and knew that it would be well worth my time to pay for outsourcing.

I have never had a job in the sales field, so the next BIG hurdle for me was to find a way to generate leads and turn those leads into clients. My company is a small cleaning service that started with me and one employee. My intent was always to be the manager of the company -- not the cleaning lady! So, I had to develop skills that did not come naturally to me. I also had to develop a strategy.

My first attempt at developing leads was a total and utter flop. I engaged in a $4000 direct mail campaign. Direct mail can range in price from $1500 to tens of thousands of dollars for a professionally executed campaign. The company that I contacted to help me in this quest developed my logo and created the mail pieces that would go out to specific demographics. My call back rate on this mailer was less than 1% and the nu

ling, marketing, following up on sales leads, managing & training my employees, scheduling, submitting all of the proper paperwork for payroll, bookkeeping, accounting, etc... This can be very overwhelming for a person who is launching a business for the first time with very few resources. To manage all of these tasks, I immediately outsourced the day-to-day bookkeeping tasks, hired an accountant, and outsourced the payroll administration. These were all things that I was not adequately skilled to do and knew that it would be well worth my time to pay for outsourcing.

I have never had a job in the sales field, so the next BIG hurdle for me was to find a way to generate leads and turn those leads into clients. My company is a small cleaning service that started with me and one employee. My intent was always to be the manager of the company -- not the cleaning lady! So, I had to develop skills that did not come naturally to me. I also had to develop a strategy.

My first attempt at developing leads was a total and utter flop. I engaged in a $4000 direct mail campaign. Direct mail can range in price from $1500 to tens of thousands of dollars for a professionally executed campaign. The company that I contacted to help me in this quest developed my logo and created the mail pieces that would go out to specific demographics. My call back rate on this mailer was less than 1% and the n

-to-day bookkeeping tasks, hired an accountant, and outsourced the payroll administration. These were all things that I was not adequately skilled to do and knew that it would be well worth my time to pay for outsourcing.

I have never had a job in the sales field, so the next BIG hurdle for me was to find a way to generate leads and turn those leads into clients. My company is a small cleaning service that started with me and one employee. My intent was always to be the manager of the company -- not the cleaning lady! So, I had to develop skills that did not come naturally to me. I also had to develop a strategy.

My first attempt at developing leads was a total and utter flop. I engaged in a $4000 direct mail campaign. Direct mail can range in price from $1500 to tens of thousands of dollars for a professionally executed campaign. The company that I contacted to help me in this quest developed my logo and created the mail pieces that would go out to specific demographics. My call back rate on this mailer was less than 1% and the n

eads into clients. My company is a small cleaning service that started with me and one employee. My intent was always to be the manager of the company -- not the cleaning lady! So, I had to develop skills that did not come naturally to me. I also had to develop a strategy.

My first attempt at developing leads was a total and utter flop. I engaged in a $4000 direct mail campaign. Direct mail can range in price from $1500 to tens of thousands of dollars for a professionally executed campaign. The company that I contacted to help me in this quest developed my logo and created the mail pieces that would go out to specific demographics. My call back rate on this mailer was less than 1% and the n

d in a $4000 direct mail campaign. Direct mail can range in price from $1500 to tens of thousands of dollars for a professionally executed campaign. The company that I contacted to help me in this quest developed my logo and created the mail pieces that would go out to specific demographics. My call back rate on this mailer was less than 1% and the number of resulting clients I could count on one hand. Needless to say, I was very disappointed and a little bit desperate, because this was my entire advertising budget.

Since then I have learned a lot. First, to get your business name recognized, you will need to have a presence in the community. It may take a while to brand your product or service, but in the long run it pays off. In the beginning of my first business I did this by joining networking groups. You can check your local papers in the business section to see what is available in your area. Some groups charge annual fees or dues, others charge per the function. What worked for me was the type of networking group in which you developed relationships and those who were in those groups felt comfortable giving you referrals. Please note I did say referrals. Unlike the direct mail piece where the callers were looking for a bargain, the relationship referrals were people who wanted someone they could trust. My closing rate on referrals was about 90%. And the referrals almost always continued using our service on a long-term basis.

As I said, it took me a while to brand my business. I used the logo that was developed for me because it was very well done and memorable. I kept the colors that were used in my original direct mail campaign - black and gold. Down the road, I developed a website and about 6 months ago I hired a