For example, you may simply start by emailing all of the people for whom you have an email address. You may decide to call some others. Write down a general idea of what your message will be for each and remember to personalize it if you know something about them that relates to your business. You may want to mention the basketballs that your website sells to the sports enthusiast or explain your travel agency’s second honeymoon packages to the married people.

Follow Up Details – Describe what your follow up will be with each person. Initial contact is generally a short introduction, so follow up is needed. Again, do not feel like you are intruding. As long as you are professional and concise the people you know should be receptive to hearing from you.

If you emailed or wrote a letter during the initial contact, then your next step may be a phone call to provide more details and to answer their questions. You should also perso

That’s right, these valuable resources are none other than those people who are already around you. Your friends, family, acquaintances, neighbors, and even your co-workers are a wonderfully productive place to start your marketing campaign. I’m always amazed at how many new businesses don’t take advantage of such valuable word-of-mouth assets because they are afraid of imposing on the people in their lives. These people like you, hopefully, and most likely want to help you succeed. But you have to tell them how they can help you.

To get started, sit down and make a list of all your family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, business associates, and anybody else that you have ever crossed paths with. It is best to keep this list in your computer’s contact program or just a simple spreadsheet. On this list include their important contact information such as mailing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Also include other useful information you may know such as birthdays, family, hobbies and anything that might help you relate to them. You won’t be using all of this information now, but it will all become handy at some point. Do this list now and add to it as you think of more people.

This list and how you use it will most likely be the most important thing you will ever do to build your business. Even though you know these people, avoid the temptation to be too “loose” in how you approach them. Your approach will vary based on your relationship with each person but you must always be professional, even if it is you mother or best friend.

Please make a very careful decision about how you wish to contact each of the people on your list for the first time. It takes time to prepare, but the time is well worth it. You should consider creating an individual plan for each person. The plan will be different than a typical marketing or advertising plan because of the personal nature. You should write down notes regarding how you will approach them and what you will say. You will utilize all of the information you have on your list about them to guide you and personalize the message.

Take however long you need to prepare this plan, remember that this is most likely the most important thing you will ever do in your new business. Here are the items you should write down on each individual’s marketing plan:

Reason - What is the reason for your contact with this particular person? What do you want them to do? This will depend on the person and what you know about them. Of course, you hope they become paying customers too!

For example, if it is your best friend or other close person, you may just want to inform them of your business and what your plans are so they can share the news with everyone that they know. If the person is a formal business contact who may be an investor down the road, you will probably want to lay the groundwork by giving them more details about your business and get them excited about the future possibilities.

Initial Contact Details - Describe exactly what you will do with each person. How will you contact them? Maybe it will be email, phone, a letter or in person. What time of day will you contact them? What will you tell them? This initial contact is generally not face-to-face but it often sets the stage for such a meeting.

For example, you may simply start by emailing all of the people for whom you have an email address. You may decide to call some others. Write down a general idea of what your message will be for each and remember to personalize it if you know something about them that relates to your business. You may want to mention the basketballs that your website sells to the sports enthusiast or explain your travel agency’s second honeymoon packages to the married people.

Follow Up Details – Describe what your follow up will be with each person. Initial contact is generally a short introduction, so follow up is needed. Again, do not feel like you are intruding. As long as you are professional and concise the people you know should be receptive to hearing from you.

If you emailed or wrote a letter during the initial contact, then your next step may be a phone call to provide more details and to answer their questions. You should also person

To get started, sit down and make a list of all your family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, business associates, and anybody else that you have ever crossed paths with. It is best to keep this list in your computer’s contact program or just a simple spreadsheet. On this list include their important contact information such as mailing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Also include other useful information you may know such as birthdays, family, hobbies and anything that might help you relate to them. You won’t be using all of this information now, but it will all become handy at some point. Do this list now and add to it as you think of more people.

This list and how you use it will most likely be the most important thing you will ever do to build your business. Even though you know these people, avoid the temptation to be too “loose” in how you approach them. Your approach will vary based on your relationship with each person but you must always be professional, even if it is you mother or best friend.

Please make a very careful decision about how you wish to contact each of the people on your list for the first time. It takes time to prepare, but the time is well worth it. You should consider creating an individual plan for each person. The plan will be different than a typical marketing or advertising plan because of the personal nature. You should write down notes regarding how you will approach them and what you will say. You will utilize all of the information you have on your list about them to guide you and personalize the message.

Take however long you need to prepare this plan, remember that this is most likely the most important thing you will ever do in your new business. Here are the items you should write down on each individual’s marketing plan:

Reason - What is the reason for your contact with this particular person? What do you want them to do? This will depend on the person and what you know about them. Of course, you hope they become paying customers too!

For example, if it is your best friend or other close person, you may just want to inform them of your business and what your plans are so they can share the news with everyone that they know. If the person is a formal business contact who may be an investor down the road, you will probably want to lay the groundwork by giving them more details about your business and get them excited about the future possibilities.

Initial Contact Details - Describe exactly what you will do with each person. How will you contact them? Maybe it will be email, phone, a letter or in person. What time of day will you contact them? What will you tell them? This initial contact is generally not face-to-face but it often sets the stage for such a meeting.

For example, you may simply start by emailing all of the people for whom you have an email address. You may decide to call some others. Write down a general idea of what your message will be for each and remember to personalize it if you know something about them that relates to your business. You may want to mention the basketballs that your website sells to the sports enthusiast or explain your travel agency’s second honeymoon packages to the married people.

Follow Up Details – Describe what your follow up will be with each person. Initial contact is generally a short introduction, so follow up is needed. Again, do not feel like you are intruding. As long as you are professional and concise the people you know should be receptive to hearing from you.

If you emailed or wrote a letter during the initial contact, then your next step may be a phone call to provide more details and to answer their questions. You should also perso

Please make a very careful decision about how you wish to contact each of the people on your list for the first time. It takes time to prepare, but the time is well worth it. You should consider creating an individual plan for each person. The plan will be different than a typical marketing or advertising plan because of the personal nature. You should write down notes regarding how you will approach them and what you will say. You will utilize all of the information you have on your list about them to guide you and personalize the message.

Take however long you need to prepare this plan, remember that this is most likely the most important thing you will ever do in your new business. Here are the items you should write down on each individual’s marketing plan:

Reason - What is the reason for your contact with this particular person? What do you want them to do? This will depend on the person and what you know about them. Of course, you hope they become paying customers too!

For example, if it is your best friend or other close person, you may just want to inform them of your business and what your plans are so they can share the news with everyone that they know. If the person is a formal business contact who may be an investor down the road, you will probably want to lay the groundwork by giving them more details about your business and get them excited about the future possibilities.

Initial Contact Details - Describe exactly what you will do with each person. How will you contact them? Maybe it will be email, phone, a letter or in person. What time of day will you contact them? What will you tell them? This initial contact is generally not face-to-face but it often sets the stage for such a meeting.

For example, you may simply start by emailing all of the people for whom you have an email address. You may decide to call some others. Write down a general idea of what your message will be for each and remember to personalize it if you know something about them that relates to your business. You may want to mention the basketballs that your website sells to the sports enthusiast or explain your travel agency’s second honeymoon packages to the married people.

Follow Up Details – Describe what your follow up will be with each person. Initial contact is generally a short introduction, so follow up is needed. Again, do not feel like you are intruding. As long as you are professional and concise the people you know should be receptive to hearing from you.

If you emailed or wrote a letter during the initial contact, then your next step may be a phone call to provide more details and to answer their questions. You should also perso

For example, if it is your best friend or other close person, you may just want to inform them of your business and what your plans are so they can share the news with everyone that they know. If the person is a formal business contact who may be an investor down the road, you will probably want to lay the groundwork by giving them more details about your business and get them excited about the future possibilities.

Initial Contact Details - Describe exactly what you will do with each person. How will you contact them? Maybe it will be email, phone, a letter or in person. What time of day will you contact them? What will you tell them? This initial contact is generally not face-to-face but it often sets the stage for such a meeting.

For example, you may simply start by emailing all of the people for whom you have an email address. You may decide to call some others. Write down a general idea of what your message will be for each and remember to personalize it if you know something about them that relates to your business. You may want to mention the basketballs that your website sells to the sports enthusiast or explain your travel agency’s second honeymoon packages to the married people.

Follow Up Details – Describe what your follow up will be with each person. Initial contact is generally a short introduction, so follow up is needed. Again, do not feel like you are intruding. As long as you are professional and concise the people you know should be receptive to hearing from you.

If you emailed or wrote a letter during the initial contact, then your next step may be a phone call to provide more details and to answer their questions. You should also perso

For example, you may simply start by emailing all of the people for whom you have an email address. You may decide to call some others. Write down a general idea of what your message will be for each and remember to personalize it if you know something about them that relates to your business. You may want to mention the basketballs that your website sells to the sports enthusiast or explain your travel agency’s second honeymoon packages to the married people.

Follow Up Details – Describe what your follow up will be with each person. Initial contact is generally a short introduction, so follow up is needed. Again, do not feel like you are intruding. As long as you are professional and concise the people you know should be receptive to hearing from you.

If you emailed or wrote a letter during the initial contact, then your next step may be a phone call to provide more details and to answer their questions. You should also personalize it as much as you can to help them relate to your business plans. For example, if they have children you can tell them you are starting your own home business so you spend more with your children. But most of all, you want to let them know how excited you are about your business and why it will be special. Basically, give them the words they can tell other people about your business and then ask them to please tell others.

If you are calling to arrange a face-to-face meeting, be sure to plant a few interesting facts about your business during the phone call to get them excited and thinking about it. It helps them form questions for the meeting and makes it more lively and productive. Be sure to provide them with several business cards at this meeting and ask them to give them to anyone who might be interested in your business. Remember that you need to tell the people what it is that you want them to do for you.

Goal – This is where many business people go wrong: not only do they not write their plans down, they don’t develop goals. A goal is specific. It is something you can measure and that you will know when it is achieved. Your goal may be to deliver your initial contact message to 10 new people on your list and follow up with 5 others on each day. You will know when you reach 15 people and won’t stop until you have completed the goal.

Evaluate – Within about two weeks after the follow up contact, it is important to do yet another brief follow up to evaluate the effectiveness of your word-of-mouth marketing. Ask if they have visited your website or business and ask what they think of it. Ask for any suggestions they might have. This helps get them more involved in what you are doing.

It is also good to ask if they have told anyone else about your business and what the other person’s response was. This question serves two purposes: you may learn something from the feedback of others but more importantly you are subtlety reminding them to tell others about your new business.

During this evaluation contact, it is a nice touch if you can provide the contact with some type of item with your logo, such as a pen or magnet, if you have it. This serves as a little thank you and reminds them of your business each time they use the item. At the very least, give them another few business cards.

Evaluation can occur any time you see your contacts. It is a good idea to repeat the evaluation process every so often to give a quick update on how your business is doing and any changes you may be making in the future.

Budget – Like any marketing or advertising plan, you should write down a budget and stick to it. Keep in mind the costs of business cards, postage, phone calls and of a meal or cup of coffee. This should be one of the least expensive campaigns you do, but still one the most effective per dollar spent.

Schedule - Take a calendar and write down your schedule for this. Consult your Goals and make sure you schedule each day according to the goals you have set for yourself. You may have to spread the contacts out over several weeks, but stick to each daily goal.

Now follow the plan.

If you do nothing else in marketing and advertising, do this. I have known of some people who have built successful businesses on this type of marketing alone. Even though you’ll probably have to do additional marketing, getting the word out with your friends, family and acquaintances will certainly be one of the cornerstones of your success.