In years past it was easier to get your foot in the door of a
prospective client than it is today. Competition has increased, your
prospect has more demands on their time and a simple visit to the
Internet can offer many prospects the same choice you are offering
for less money.

So what can you do? Not only do you have to do front-end marketing
and promotions to gain new customers, you absolutely must have a good
system in place to follow-up with your current customers and keep
your name fresh in their mind.

With the advent of the Internet and specific types of technology, we
now have tools to accomplish this with ease. The fear some people
have is that use of the Internet and technology will take away the
human aspect of doing business. Although this may be true in some
cases, proper use of technology can allow you to have more time to
spend with your customers. Using technology in any business situation
should only be done when it will better serve you and your customers.

Although you might not be ready to embrace all that technology can do
for you, your customers probably are. The Computer Industry Almanac
projects that we will have 1.35 billion Internet users by 2007.

Every day more people are utilizing the power of the Internet to
research companies, determine level of credibility of a company based
on their web presence and making purchases via the Net. If you do not
have a good system in place to take advantage of this, you will soon
be left behind.

There are several reasons to become a real player in the world of the
Internet. Most importantly, in order to be considered a credible
business you have to have a presence on the Internet.

Other reasons include:

-To increase your reach and visibility
-Lower the costs of traditional marketing
-Increase Return on Investment for every marketing dollar
-Develop and maintain credibility
-Attract visitors to your site and/or physical business
location
-Increase profit margins
-Increase speed of response time

Patricia Twitchell, owner of Just Bears and Stuff, a specialty gift
shop in the quaint town of Myrtle Creek, Oregon (population 3,000)
relies heavily on the power of the Internet for her business success.
With the implementation of one simple strategy, Patricia, known to
many as The Teddy Bear Lady of Myrtle Creek, increased her Ezine
signups by 600% of what they usually were in one week.

She simply implemented the use of an autoresponder and a hover menu.
Not only have her signups increased, so have revenues.

The Ezine contains articles of interest to teddy bear enthusiasts as
well as any specials of the month she is offering that readers have
first opportunity to learn about. To see how The Teddy Bear Lady uses
technology to streamline her operations and provide better service to
her customers visit www.justbearsandstuff.com.

Imagine how much untold revenue is lost by not fully utilizing the
power of technology and the Internet. To not only survive but thrive,
you must have a proper foundation and effective systems in place for
attracting visitors, providing information, selling products and
services and following up.

Many people are under the mistaken notion that if they sell only in
their local market they don't need a strong Internet presence. It
is this type of thinking that leaves many businesses in the dust.

Additionally, without a strong Internet presence you can waste
countless marketing dollars that could be saved through the use of
technology.

If you want to continually be in the game of "getting your foot
in the door" you must develop and utilize a system that makes doing
business with you simple.

Kathleen Gage is an award winning keynote speaker and the top rated
home based business owner in the State of Utah for 2004. If you are
tired of cold calling and want to discover creative ways to get in
front of clients and prospects, sign up for Gage's FREE Sales
Booster Tip at www.101WaysToGetYourFootInTheDoor.com