Most business tax provisions of course, remain the same (IRA contribution limits for example), but a few such as personal exemptions have been adjusted for inflation and others have been extended due to legislation and are set to expire at the end of 2012.

From business tax credits, exemptions and deductions for individuals and Section 179 expensing for small businesses, here’s what you need to know about business taxes changes for 2011.

Individuals Business Taxes

From personal deductions to business tax credits and educational expenses, many of the tax changes relating to individuals remain in effect through 2012 and are the result of tax provisions that were either modified or extended by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 that became law on December 17, 2010.

Personal Exemptions
The personal and dependent exemption for business tax year 2011 is $3,700, up $50 from 2010.

Standard Deductions
In 2011 the standard deduction for married couples filing a joint return is $11,600, up $200 from 2010 and for singles and married individuals filing separately it’s $5,800, up $100. For heads of household the deduction is $8,500, also up $100 from 2010.

The additional standard deduction for blind people and senior citizens is $1,150 for married individuals, up $50, and $1,450 for singles and heads of household, also up $50.

Business Taxes Rates
Due to inflation, tax-bracket thresholds will increase for every filing status. For example, the taxable-income threshold separating the 15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket is $69,000 for a married couple filing a joint return, up from $68,000 in 2010.

Estate and Gift Taxes
The recent overhaul of estate and gift taxes means that there is an exemption of $5 million per individual for estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes, with a top rate of 35%. For married couples the exemption is $10 million.

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
AMT exemption amounts for 2011 are slightly higher than those in 2010 at $48,450 for single and head of household fliers, $74,450 for married people filing jointly and for qualifying widows or widowers, and $37,225 for married people filing separately.

Marriage Penalty Relief
For 2011, the basic standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly is $11,600, up $200 from 2010.

Pease and PEP (Personal Exemption Phaseout)
Pease (limitations on itemized deductions) and PEP (personal exemption phase-out) limitations do not apply for 2011, but these are set to expire at the end of 2012.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
The Affordable Care Act, enacted in March, established a new uniform standard, effective January 1, 2011, that applies to FSAs and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs).

Under the new standard, the cost of an over-the-counter medicine or drug cannot be reimbursed from the account unless a prescription is obtained. The change does not affect insulin, even if purchased without a prescription, or other health care expenses such as medical devices, eye glasses, contact lenses, co-pays and deductibles.

The new standard applies only to purchases made on or after Jan. 1, 2011, so claims for medicines or drugs purchased without a prescription in 2010 can still be reimbursed in 2011, if allowed by the employer’s plan.

A similar rule went into effect on Jan. 1, 2011 for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and Archer Medical Savings Accounts (Archer MSAs).

Long Term Capital Gains
In 2011, long-term gains for assets held at least one year are taxed at a flat rate of 15% for taxpayers above the 25% tax bracket. For taxpayers in lower tax brackets, the long-term capital gains rate is 0%.

Individuals – Business Taxes Credits

Adoption Credit
A refundable credit of up to $13,360 for 2011 is available for qualified adoption expenses for each eligible child.

Child and Dependent Care Business Taxes Credit
If you pay someone to take care of your dependent (defined as being under the age of 13 at the end of the tax year or incapable of self-care) in order to work or look for work, you may qualify for a credit of up to $1,050 or 35 percent of $3,000 of eligible expenses.

For two or more qualifying dependents, you can claim up to 35 percent of $6,000 (or $2,100) of eligible expenses. For higher income earners the credit percentage is reduced, but not below 20 percent, regardless of the amount of adjusted gross income.

Child Tax Credit
The $1,000 child tax credit has been extended through 2012. A portion of the credit may be refundable, which means that you can claim the amount you are owed, even if you have no tax liability for the year. The credit is phased out for those with higher incomes.

Energy Business Taxes Credits for Homeowners
Energy business taxes credits for homeowners expire at the end of 2011 and are not as generous as in previous years. In addition, a taxpayer who has claimed an amount of $500 in any previous year is not eligible for this business taxes credit.

Homeowners can claim an Energy Star window tax credit of up to $200 maximum as well as a water heater tax credit, which includes electric, natural gas, propane, or oil, up to a maximum of $300. The same maximum ($300) applies to air conditioners, but insulation, doors, and roof credits are capped at $500. The furnace tax credit (includes natural gas, propane, oil, or hot water) and is capped at $150 maximum and efficiency must be at 95%.

Earned Income Business Taxes Credit (EITC)
The maximum EITC for low and moderate income workers and working families is $5,751, up from $5,666 in 2010. The maximum income limit for the EITC has increased to $49,078, up from $48,362 in 2010. The credit varies by family size, filing status and other factors, with the maximum credit going to joint filers with three or more qualifying children.

Individuals – Education Expenses

Coverdell Education Savings Account
For two more years, you can contribute up to $2,000 a year to Coverdell savings accounts. These accounts can be used to offset the cost of elementary and secondary education, as well as post-secondary education.

American Opportunity Tax Credit (Higher Education)
The expansion of the Hope Scholarship Credit by the American Opportunity Tax Credit has been extended through 2012. For 2011, the maximum Hope Scholarship Credit that can be used to offset certain higher education expenses is $2,500, although it is phased out beginning at $160,000 adjusted gross income for joint filers and $80,000 for other filers.

Employer Provided Educational Assistance
Through 2012, you, as an employee, can exclude up to $5,250 of qualifying post-secondary and graduate education expenses that are reimbursed by your employer.

Lifetime Learning Credit
A business taxes credit of up to $2,000 is available for an unlimited number of years for certain costs of post-secondary or graduate courses or courses to acquire or improve your job skills. For 2011, the business taxes credit is fully phased out at $122,000 adjusted gross income for joint filers and $61,000 for others.

Student Loan Interest
For 2011 and 2012, the $2,500 maximum student loan interest deduction for interest paid on student loans is not limited to interest paid during the first 60 months of repayment. The deduction begins to phase out for higher-income taxpayers.

Tuition and Related Expenses Deduction
For 2010 and 2011, there is an above-the-line deduction of up to $4,000 for qualified tuition expenses. This means that qualified tuition payments can directly reduce the amount of taxable income, and you don’t have to itemize to claim this deduction. However, this option can’t be used with other education tax breaks, such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and the amount available is phased out for higher-income taxpayers.

Individuals – Retirement

Roth IRA Conversions
There is no longer an income limit for taxpayers who want to convert regular IRAs into Roth IRAs. The difference is that taxpayers who convert to Roth IRAs in tax year 2011 must pay taxes on the conversion income now instead of deferring it in later years as was the case in 2010.

Businesses

Standard Mileage Rates
The standard business taxes mileage rate increases to 51 cents per business mile driven (19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes and 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations) for the first half of 2011. From July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011 however, the rate increases to 55.5 cents per business mile. This increase is a special adjustment by the IRS and reflects higher gasoline prices.

Health Care Tax Credit for Small Businesses
Small business employers who pay at least half the premiums for single health insurance coverage for their employees may be eligible for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit as long as they employ fewer than the equivalent of 25 full-time workers and average annual wages do not exceed $50,000. The credit can be claimed in tax years 2010 through 2013 and for any two years after that. The maximum credit that can be claimed is an amount equal to 35% of premiums paid by eligible small businesses.

Section 179 Expensing
In 2011 (as well as 2010), the maximum Section 179 expense deduction for equipment purchases is $500,000 ($535,000 for qualified enterprise zone property) of the first $2 million of certain business property placed in service during the year. The bonus depreciation increases to 100% for qualified property. If the cost of all section 179 property placed in service by the taxpayer during the tax year exceeds $2 million, the $500,000 amount is reduced, but not below zero.

Those are the business taxes change for now.

Usually they claim their Business to business sales buyers are different than any other buyers.

Often though business to business sales comes down to this…

“…I sell to businesses – not consumers. And business buyers don’t fall for the same tricks you are sharing Troy.”

I will say this… Business to Business (B2B) buyers are NOT different than Business to Consumer (B2C) buyers!

A BUSINESS cannot buy anything.

Someone, somewhere, has to be involved in the Business to business sales purchasing process.

And anytime a person is involved, there are biases, prejudices, emotional triggers and hidden motives involved… even business to business sales.

As much as we like to pretend otherwise, I don’t think there are too many businesses who use robots for purchasing from strangers.

Yes, there can be minor changes you make to your campaigns to target business to business sales, but people are people and the exact same tools and techniques that work in the B2C market ALSO work in the B2B market.

I have shown this many times over the past blog posts.

Like the one client who has business to business sales: we sent out 200 letters to a COLD list… business buyers who had NEVER heard of him before. These were highly sophisticated buyers who worked for companies that ranged from $5 million a year to $500 million a year.

We mailed a 2-page black and white letter (no fancy brochures – no gloss – no color – not even a picture to be seen).

We sent it DIRECTLY to the purchasers.

We got a 18% response rate (the goal of the campaign was to initiate direct contact with the purchasing managers – either through a phone call or email… in essence, getting that first foot in the door).

The letter talked more about his family than his business!

And we got email after email THANKING US FOR WRITING A PERSONAL LETTER.

One guy said “I get DOZENS of business to business sales ‘pitch letters’ like this a week – I want to commend you on writing a very personal letter like this – I wish I saw more of this in my business”.

Hum.

Guess something like that shows you that business to business sales buyers are NOT different…. they are people and like to buy from people.

So keep that in mind next time you are thinking up excuses on why YOUR buyers are different.

Business to business sales aren’t that different.

They still eat, sleep, dream and have fears or dreams.

They are people like you and I are.

Treat them that way.

Not many B2B sellers do… so you will definitely stand out from the rest of the nonsense!

Troy

PS: I wanted to make sure you understand this – I have personally sold both B2B and B2C.

When I was working for Hewlett Packard in their Unix systems group… I sold $50,000 computer systems to business buyers. I also sold multi-million dollar servers and storage systems to business buyers. There was ALWAYS a person writing the final orders. Those people wanted to be TREATED like a human being too.

One potential client I nurtured for 2 years selling them smaller systems, ultimately knowing a big purchase order was coming… eventually.

And it did.

$3 million dollars worth of computer gear was sold in the end – the only reason he bought? “Because I stuck with him, and treated him the way he wanted to be treated. Not like some robot purchasing system. That was from him – the one who signed the purchase order and cheque.

If I treated him differently – the sale would have NEVER gone through.

By Tony D. White, http://www.blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/ an expert in business to business sales.

What is the best path to become an entrepreneur?

Here’s the business start-up strategy I created for my friend SA. It contains the steps necessary to make the transition from overworked and underpaid to an entrepreneur with early retirement.

My goal for you … just like my goal for SA … is to show you how you can replace or add to your income working just a few stress-free hours a day as an entrepreneur.

With the plan I’m recommending, you get the freedom, sense of purpose, and fun that comes from being an entrepreneur. You can create a second income stream above and beyond what you’re making now – enough to essentially retire in a year or two. And thanks to technology and current trends, it’s the easiest (and cheapest) way to become an entrepreneur.

So here it is …

If I went broke tomorrow and wanted to start making money as an entrepreneur by next week and leverage that money into a multimillion-dollar fortune over the next 10 years, I would do the following:

1. Get on my computer and do a search for businesses that are selling books, newsletters, and reports online, focusing on subjects I’m interested in and know about. Knowing what I know about searching the Internet, I figure this would take me less than 30 minutes.
2. Use one of several free applications to identify about a dozen of those businesses that were growing rapidly. Again, this would take no more than 30 minutes.
3. Review the websites of those businesses and select the one I liked the best. This would take three to four hours.
4. Using a list of top copywriters broken down by their fields of expertise, I’d make a deal with one of them to write (a) an information-packed report that was similar to something being sold by my favorite online business but in some key way better and (b) a promotion to sell that report. An hour’s phone call.
5. While my copywriter was writing the report and the promotion, I’d get online and identify the best places to attract potential customers. Using easy-to-use, free, and widely available software, this would take only 30 minutes.
6. As soon as the promotion was ready, I’d have the copywriter create a half-dozen small ads enticing potential buyers to come to my website in order to get a free one-page report (based on the information in the full report).
7. As prospects came to my website, I’d have them sign up for a free information service that would allow me to start marketing to them directly. (This would be done automatically. It would take me no time at all.)
8. And then I would send them the promotion for the full report … and sit back and wait for the money to start coming in.

As you can see already, this is a simple strategy to become an entrepreneur that requires very little in the way of start-up costs. My total invested time would be four or five days. And I’d have the business fully operational within 30 days. By the end of the second month, I’d be making money. After that, the business would pretty much grow itself.

By Michael Masterson, an expert entrepreneur

Make an offer: Simple change.

Make an offer: Another simple.

Most service people fear… giving away your time for free.

When I think about it, I still get that feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I was chatting with a woman with an interior design business about the changes she needed to make in her website. The conversation was going well — she loved all my ideas and was ready to rebuild her site.

I started getting excited, thinking I had found my next project. I was already putting together her proposal in my head. Then she uttered those dreaded words …

“I’d love to take you to lunch and pick your brain sometime.”

I didn’t know what to say or do. I felt my face turning red and I stammered out an excuse about getting back to her when I checked my calendar.

Requests for “brain-picking” are rampant in any business, and they’re never fun if you’re the one whose brain is being picked. It used to happen to me so much that I found myself becoming resentful.

Every time I spoke with someone new I heard a little voice in the back of my head saying “Ugh, I bet they’ll never hire you, they just want a bunch of help for free”.

That little voice was not very helpful for landing clients

If you’ve ever been in this situation, there is a way to turn this around. There is a way to handle these situations with grace and without frustration.

There’s even a way to make those freebie requests go away — or, even better, turn into paying clients.

It is your job, and your job alone, to set appropriate boundaries and clear up what you’re happy to give for free and what you charge for.

That might be hard to hear. But if you want to move through these situations with grace (and encounter them less often) you have to stop placing blame — and start making it a policy to stop giving away their time for free.

Sound impossible? It’s not. Here’s how:

1. Take full responsibility for giving away your time

The most important thing you can do is stop being angry at the prospect for asking.

Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. If you were given the choice between getting a new computer for free or paying for the same computer, you’d pick free every time — and you’d never think about the company who doesn’t get paid for the sale. Why would you?

I know free is my favorite price for everything.

It is your prospect’s prerogative to ask for your time for free. Let me say that again — it is their prerogative to ask.

In fact, they’d be missing a golden opportunity if they paid for something when they didn’t have to. You can’t blame the prospect for taking the smart route.

You’re also missing the subtle compliment that goes with being asked for advice.

When someone asks you for your time for free, be grateful that they view you as someone who can offer valuable advice. Gary Vaynerchuk constantly says how grateful he is to get thousands of emails a day — he doesn’t take it for granted that every one of those people thinks that he is worth taking time out of their life to write to him.

Everyone asking for your time is already “sold” on you to a degree — they must be or they wouldn’t be asking you for more! Instead of viewing them as a dead-end cheapskate, see them as someone who is so invested in you that they’ll either be a potential client or a source of referrals.

2. Clearly establish your service offerings

Sometimes people ask you to work for free because you haven’t given them anything to buy.

When I offered web design I didn’t have any packages for ongoing support. I charged clients a per-project fee, and considered the project done when the client signed off on the design.

Invariably, people would contact me after the project was officially “over” with some tiny request — things that literally took 5-10 minutes of my time. Crafting a new invoice for this small request seemed silly, yet all of these requests were starting to seriously eat up my time.

I started to feel like I had to provide free service for life for each one-time purchase, and I felt like people were taking advantage of me when they asked for these small favors.

Looking back, I can see that they weren’t taking advantage of me. The issue was mine. I should have had a clearly-defined ongoing support package to offer in response to those requests.

That would have made things clear — either you had purchased my ongoing support or you hadn’t. As it stood, everyone was in the gray zone.

If you don’t like people asking for your time for free, but also don’t have any sort of well-defined offer in place to charge them for that time, the blame falls squarely on you.

3. No give away your time for free. Rather decide what you’ll give away …

What are you willing to give out for free?

This is where content marketing is your friend, because you offer plenty of valuable free resources like your blog or newsletter.

It also may be appropriate to do brief introductory phone calls, or host one group in-person session per month for people who are interested in working with you.

Whatever it is for your business, get clear.

For the record, you do not have to offer any time for free. It is possible to get hired without any kind of free consult beforehand if you do a great job building the relationship ahead of time with your content marketing. In my business people sign $5,000 contracts with me without any kind of free introductory consult.

4. … but don’t assume that free advice is all they want

We often make the mistake of assuming that someone isn’t willing to pay just because they ask to “pick our brain.”

Again, they’re asking because we all love free. That doesn’t mean they’re unwilling to pay, it means they’re hoping they won’t have to.

They’ve expressed interest in learning more from you, which means they are a potential client and should be treated as such.

Remember that you are in business here, which means that you exchange value for money. Don’t let “free” become your default mode. It is your job to take the lead.

If you lead them down the free path that’s exactly where they’ll go. Lead them down the customer path instead.

5. Respond with confidence and no give away your time

Here’s a script for how to handle someone asking you for coffee or lunch to “pick your brain”:

I’m glad to hear you’re interested in getting deeper into this. The next step is my one-hour consultation. Would you like me to tell you how that works?

Notice that you’re asking permission and putting the prospect in the driver’s seat.

You’re also using the clear service offering that you established in step two. You’re not explaining why you’re charging, because there’s no need: your time is valuable. That’s a given. Even if you’re not used to thinking of it that way yet, get used to responding to these queries as though you are.

If they want to hear more about your consult, that’s great! You have the green light to sign a new client.

Some people will backpedal and start saying they’re tight on money. Here’s another script you can use in that scenario:

I completely understand, you have my card so just get in touch with me when you’re ready. You can also take a look at the articles on my blog if you’d like some more general advice that can tide you over until you’re ready to embark on this project.

What you don’t want to do is hedge, waver or discount. Stand firm with full respect for your business and you’ll find that the prospect will share that respect.

Hold firm and freebie requests for giving away your time will fall off

You’ll notice that the people at the very top seem to struggle with this topic less, even though they get the most requests.

Why? When you’re clear and confident in what you offer, paying for your time becomes the natural progression.

Get clear, get confident and start being honored by those “freebie” requests. That’s how you become an expert that stops giving away their time for free.

About the Author: Laura Roeder is a social media marketing expert who teaches small businesses how to create their own fame and claim their brand online. She lives in Venice Beach, California, where she video blogs, makes frequent trips to the library, and volunteers with local middle schoolers.

Most furniture stores, many department stores and some home—supply stores, electronics stores and smaller retailers give certain employees the freedom to haggle with prices. Savings of 20% or more are often possible.

To haggle lower prices…

HAGGLE SMART…

• Approach a manager or owner. Clerks often are not empowered to offer discounts, though commissioned salespeople might be.
• Don’t let the first ”no” dissuade you. If one manager or salesperson declines to haggle, come back later when the shift has changed and other salespeople are on duty.
• Select items with “shelf wear” or other minor flaws. Ask whether you can get a lower price if you take the unit with the flaw or buy the floor model.

EXAMPLES: A big dent in the box or plastic packaging…a small stain or scratch on the item in an inconspicuous spot…the product appears to have been opened and returned by another shopper.

• Play “beat this deal. ” Bring evidence of a lower price elsewhere on the same item, and ask if the store will beat it. Lf the low price is from an online merchant that would charge a 6 shipping fee, you could save money if a store simply matches it, as long as sales taxes do not eat up the savings.
• Ask for a cash discount. Credit card companies charge retailers about 2% to 4% of the purchase price. Some retailers will knock a few percent off the price if you pay with cash or a check.
• Shop during slack weekday hours. On weekends, retail employees often are too busy with other customers to haggle.
• Ask for free accessories. If the merchant won’t lower the price of an expensive item, ask if he/she will throw in an “extra,” such as a carrying case, spare batteries or a maintenance kit.

PICK THE RIGHT ITEMS...

Some products and situations are particularly promising for hagglers…

• Items that have already been marked down. There’s a good chance that the store would drop the price even further to get rid of it, especially if a newer model is available.

ALSO If a sale item is not marked “as is,” and you notice a small flaw, ask for an additional discount.

• Big-ticket items. The more a product costs, the greater the odds that the merchant will be flexible.
• Multi-item purchases. When you intend to buy several of an item, first ask, “Can you cut the price if l buy more than one?”

Written by Sue Goldstein, a haggle expert,  www.undergroundshopper.com

If your customer experiences sticker shock, it means that you have not convinced the buyer that the price of the product or service is a ”drop in the bucket” compared to the value of the product.

Even if you’ve done a good job of communicating value, the prospect may experience sticker shock if the price is extremely high or beyond their means.

Sticker shock reduces your chances of closing the sale: if the customer gasps when she learns the price, she’s probably not ready to pay it.

If as a marketer or salesperson you can head off sticker shock before it happens, your odds of closing the sale increase tremendously.

But how do you prevent sticker shock in pricing a product or service?

One way is to show the customer products in your line with higher prices before showing him the product you want him to buy.

In his book “Influence,” Robert Cialdini describes how this is done in a retail setting.

Say you want to sell $100 sweaters in your store … but are afraid your customers will faint at the price.

You put a table in the aisle near the front door and place three stacks of sweaters on it.

As the customer walks into the room, she sees the first stack. All of the sweaters in this pile cost $200.

“What a rip-off!” she thinks. “No way would I pay that.”

Then she examines the second pile, which contains $150 sweaters.

“Phew,” she thinks. “That’s a little better.”

She continues to go down the table until she comes to the third stack – your $100 sweaters.

By that time, she is so relieved that a sweater won’t cost her $200 or even $150 that the $100 you are asking seems like an incredible bargain.

Breaking the price into monthly installments is another effective way to minimize sticker shock.

For instance, the Franklin Mint was selling a collectible chess set.

The pieces were each hand-painted pewter miniatures of civil war figures, sent to you one per month.

For these hand-painted collectible figurines, the price was only $17.50.

Seems like a bargain for a collectible item, right?

But if you multiply $17.50 times the number of pieces (32), the entire chess set costs a hefty $560 (the board is yours free once you buy all 32 pieces).

If your ad had said, “Civil War Chess Set — $560,” how many do you think you’d have sold?

Not many, right?

Another way to avoid sticker shock is to present the price at the beginning – and get any price objections out of the way up front.

Most mailings for expensive products build desire and perceived value, then reveal price once the customer is sold.

An opposite approach is to state price up front and use the exclusivity of a big number to weed out non-prospects.

Example: “This service is for serious investors only. It costs $2,500 a year. If that price scares you, this is not for you.”

An element of exclusivity and snob appeal is at work here.

Also, the more you tell someone they do not qualify, the more they will insist they do and want your offer.

The classic example is Hank Burnett’s famous letter for the Admiral Bird Society’s expedition.

The second paragraph states: “It will cost you $10,000 and about 26 days of your time. Frankly, you will endure some discomfort, and may even face some danger.”

Once the reader has heard the price and decides to continue reading, the possibility of sticker shock is eliminated … because he already knows what the product costs.

Surprise is eliminated … and sticker shock is all about surprise.  That is how you price a product or service.

Written by Bob Bly, www.bly.com

Local engine search results were previously relegated to a small map, which would appear within the first page of results, but now they enjoy first page domination for local search terms.

The benefit of this to small businesses is that local engine search results can now appear above their much larger revivals who are relegated to the last few results on page one of Google.

Don’t miss out on local engine search results; they’re your next customers. Here’s 10 tips to help you capture them:

1. Claim your Google Places listing – it’s easy to do and if one doesn’t exist for your business then you can quickly and simply create one. What is it? A Google Places listing is effectively a profile attached to Google’s local engine search results. It is important because Google ranks these profiles above all others in their new first page local engine search results.

2. Add pictures to your Google Places listing. The effectiveness of your Google places listing is impacted by its completeness. Images will not only flesh out your listing, but when they appear in the search engine results, besides your Google Places listing, they are eye-catching and attractive which will increase clicks.

3. Gather citations – citations are instances on the web where your business is mentioned, Google uses the consistency of the information it finds and the authority of the referring site to boost your rank in local search engine results. The quality as well as volume of citations is an important factor in local search engine optimization.

4. Include your locality in on-page optimization – revisit your META and Title Tags to ensure your town is included wherever possible. Make sure your address appears on every page and that you have a contact page.

5. Submit your site to local directories including Yell.com, local Chamber of Commerce and business directories. Local directories will have greater relevance in local search engines as it narrows your field of operation for Google to a localised area.

6. Manage your online exposure – make sure the information distributed across the web that pertains to your business is managed carefully. Trawl local directories and existing listings, double-check that your details are correct and that they match both your Google Places contact information as well as your websites contact page.

7. Get your reviews and testimonials on the web – no doubt you will already have testimonials collected from customers, these need to go online as well as in other marketing materials. Put a process in place of asking satisfied customers to review you online if at all possible. Pen a short email with instructions of where and how you would like the review left and send this to all satisfied customers.

8. Use a local phone number instead of a 800, 877 or 0888 – this again refines your location making it easier for local search engines to place you within a specific region.

9. Target local keywords – when link building make sure you target some local variations on your keywords in the anchor text of your links.

10. Use your supply network – think about local search as being similar to networking. No doubt you will already have a network of local contacts, associates and suppliers who all allow your business to thrive. Simply transfer this network online by linking to each other.

Local search is set to dominate first page results for all local search terms. Small, local businesses should take advantage of this by implementing some or all of the tips above which will allow them to compete with much larger businesses who have until now monopolized the first page results by investing in aggressive local search engine results.

About the Author: Kriss Davies – For Google Places listing and the best local search engine results visit www.libertymarketing.co.uk.

By John Doerr John can be reached at jdoerr@raingroup.com.

Ray Kinsella: So what do you want?

Terence Mann: I want them to stop looking to me for answers, begging me to speak again, write again, be a leader. I want them to start thinking for themselves. I want my privacy.

Ray Kinsella: No, I mean, what do you WANT?[Gestures to the concession stand they're in front of]

Terence Mann: Oh. Dog and a beer.

From the movie Field of Dreams (1989)

All too often it seems I am stuck in this great scene from the movie Field of Dreams (one of my all time favorites) when I ask professional service providers what needs they fill for their clients.

Me: So what do your client need?

Service Provider: They need an organizational assessment followed by an intensive training program. A six-stage customer research evaluation survey; a communications review. They need a detailed tax evaluation. They need a will.

Me: No, I mean what do they NEED?

Service Provider: Oh, profitability and a good night’s sleep.

The tendency is to think of what prospects need in terms of what services we have to offer. Even though we know prospects do not think of our service set, we retreat to the familiar in describing what we do in our marketing messages and sales conversations.

As a result, we try to persuade a prospect to buy our services. Meanwhile the prospect’s eyes glaze over as her thoughts turn to her own worries and dreams, which usually have little if anything to do with the services listing we are babbling on about.

We should never be selling anything when we talk with prospects about our services. Instead we should seek out conversations about their needs. When we hear a set of client needs with which we can be of assistance, we can then offer to help. No hard sales pitch, just a connection of our skills and services with someone else’s set of client needs.

If prospects don’t explicitly need our services, what do they need? Most of your prospects’ needs can be broken down into organizational and personal. Both sets of needs drive prospects to seek your services.

Organizational Client Needs

What is the organization trying to accomplish or avoid? These can be categorized as:

• Strategic—The need to increase revenue and growth. The need to expand into a new market. The need to reduce expenses. (Not a strategic or marketing plan or a cost reduction analysis).
• Technical—The need to have their servers up and running at all times. The need to operate more efficiently. The need to launch a new product. (Not a new monitoring service or time / motion study or new logo).
• Financial—The need for ideas on how to become more profitable. The need to sell the business. The need to improve sales results. (Not a tax return or valuation or sales compensation study).
• Political/Environmental—The need to bring a new acquisition into the fold. The need to allow a new store to be built. The need to avoid bad publicity. (Not an employee survey or a grassroots campaign or a series of press releases).

Individual Client Needs

What is influencing the individual or individuals who will decide to engage our services? These are the needs that are often unspoken and less obviously connected to our services. While you cannot always uncover these types of needs directly, by being aware of what may be going on, you can be alert to the obstacles that can keep you from connecting your services with your prospects needs.

• Professional—To get a promotion. To prepare for a new job. To become well-known. To gain experience in new areas. To do a good job.
• Social—To impress the neighbors. To be accepted and respected by peers. To have a nice place to hang out.
• Psychological—To avoid risk. To take risk. To have someone to talk to. To please the boss. To gain recognition.

Determining Your Client Needs

How do you uncover your clients’ true needs and position your services in a way that fulfills their organizational and individual needs? I suggest the following exercise to get you thinking about how your clients view your services and how you can define them in terms of your clients needs.

1. Bring your key principals, partners, or business developers together for a brain storming session.
2. Think of all the clients you currently have. Why did they seek you out? What needs did they have that caused them to look for a service provider?
3. Think about the last sales conversations you had. How did your prospects speak about their needs?
4. Try to use the words that your clients and prospects use, not the marketing speak you use to describe your services.
5. On a flip chart, write all the needs that you have down the lefthand side.
6. On the righthand side, write the services you provide.
7. Connect the needs to the services. Which ones satisfy the most needs? Are there any needs you have listed for which you have no services? Should you have those services?
8. Develop the questions that will help you uncover these needs in future conversations.
9. Continually refine and reshape your needs list as you engage new conversations and new clients.
10. Repeat the process as needed.

So, the next time you are asked what a clients needs, you will be prepared to answer with the real reasons they seek out your services. You will make better connections, develop stronger relationships, and most likely find new clients in the process, even if all they need is “a dog and a beer.”