If you own your own company, you undoubtedly already know what the single most effective tool in your advertising arsenal is…Hint: It begins with ‘F’ and ends with ‘E.’ If you guessed the word FREE, you’d be right.  Promotion isn’t just about ‘Buy me!’ ‘Buy me!  It’s also about the client needing and wanting what it is you have to sell.

How can the client possibly know that your produce (or service) is desirable unless he has a chance to try it out? If you bake gooey, sinfully delicious chocolate brownies, send your clientele a coupon for a free brownie as a reward for visiting your store.

If you sell children’s clothing, offer a free miniature doll outfit.  If you provide language lessons, offer a free half-hour session where the parent sits in as well, in order to demonstrate your skills. If you’re a financial planner, give away a free class on saving for retirement, but lose the self-promo aspect!  If you are into cosmetics, offer a free make over. 

Consumers these days are notoriously picky about spending their hard-earned disposable incomes, and they aren’t likely to do so unless they think your product is truly excellent.  Therefore, what better way to prove it to them than a ‘try-before-you-buy’ option?  Once the client has tangible proof in front of them that your product/service really is what you say it is, you have just minimized their objections to buy. The objective here is to inspire their confidence in your business.

If you give things away, you are actually generating more quality leads for yourself. And, not only that, but the costs of doing so will be considerably less than blanketing your area with a mass mailing or going door to door with calendars/pens/pencils 

You might also consider providing a free product or service to your clients who bring you their friends and colleagues. 

Finally, given that 20% of your clientele is responsible for 80% of your sales, you may want to consider producing a free newsletter to send via e mail. Associate yourself with other firms in your general area of business. For instance, if you sell cook books, affiliate yourself with a firm that provides cooking lessons 

You might also consider providing a free product or service to your clients who bring you their friends and colleagues. And if THEY become customers, increase the reward you offer the client who provided you with that lead.  Essentially, you are establishing a sense of loyalty for the future and building your business in the best possible way: one client at a time!