What does it take to get a steady stream of
customers, clients and sales flowing
into your business?

Discover what every small business owner really needs to know about marketing—and create a powerful 2-page plan for drawing customers like bees to honey—with this practical, easy-to-understand Workbook.

Dear Stressed and Stretched Thin Entrepreneur:

Does this sound familiar?

• You've got a quality product or service that you know people could use.

• You've got your business in order and are ready to deliver.

• You are passionate about what you do.

But for some reason you can't quite keep enough clients coming in the door to reach your goals.

So what's the problem?

Having spent most of my life in small businesses I've learned a few things, and the answer to this question is one of them.

It all goes back to when I was six years old my parents started their first business—an animal hospital.

For years I spent every day after school, and most Saturdays, at the clinic. At first I just played with the animals (loved that).

But my parents quickly figured out that kids are cheap labor, and soon I was cleaning cages and bathing dogs. Then I started assisting in the exam room and working the front desk. Eventually I became assistant manager. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

When I was about eight years old, I got my first taste
of what it takes to grow a business.

You see, the doctor my folks bought their clinic from hadn't been putting much time or effort into it. So they started with almost no clients and made a whopping $20 their first week in business (mind you this was 1976, but still, that's not enough to run a business and feed a family of four).

That's how I found myself perched on the hood of my dad's old orange Vega every Sunday tucking flyers behind people's mailbox flags. I don't remember how many of those blue flyers we put out, but they did the trick. Business was not slow for long. And my dad was a terrific vet so people usually came back. But still, the business needed to grow.

As time went on I watched my dad try all kinds of marketing ideas.

In addition to the flyers there was the early morning "ask the vet" TV show. The old, dead car he had painted to look like a dog (sort of) and parked out front. And the three-foot, scrolling LED sign that cost thousands and hung on the waiting room wall.

Some of these marketing tactics were successful. Others, not so much.

Even though he tried lots of ideas over the years—and became quite well-known and successful—my dad was never able to create the business he always dreamed of.

What he really wanted was a large practice with two full-time vets on staff so he could work part-time. But even though he made good money, he could never quite generate enough business to afford having more than one other part-time vet .

After twenty-some years he finally got tired of struggling and sold the practice.

Back then, I used to wonder why he couldn't seem to take his business to the next level.

He was an amazing vet with a loyal client following. And he had a unique specialty treating birds and exotic animals (turtles and snakes and rabbits, oh my!) and doing acupuncture.

In the beginning part of the problem was location. Then he bought his own building with much better visibility. Part of it was also that he didn't always have a good manager. But that wasn't true the whole time.

So what was the issue?

After spending more than ten years in sales and marketing,
the answer now seems crystal clear.

My dad never had a plan for making his dream come true! He knew he needed more money to hire the other vet. But for the most part he just kept hoping that by having the other vet he would be able to see more clients and automatically increase revenues.

He never really sat down and said this is what I want, and then figured out how to use marketing to make it happen. Because he didn't know how. He wasn't a marketing professional, he was a veterinarian.

I'll never forget the moment more than twenty years ago when it all really hit home for me. It was at the end of one of the more frustrating days at the clinic when my dad looked at me and said.

"You know, when I went to college they taught me how to be a terrific vet. But they didn't teach me a damn thing about running or growing my own clinic!"

Since then, I've run into small business owners with this same problem time and again. And I've learned what has proven to be a golden rule.

Most entrepreneurs launch a business doing something they love and/or are good at, but that does not mean they know everything—or even the first thing—about running or growing a successful business.

This is a problem. An understandable problem. But a problem nonetheless.

Because no matter how amazing or valuable or beneficial your product or service is, you still have to let people know it exists. You have to get them interested. And you have to convince them to buy from you.

Because without customers, well, you don't really have a business.

How do you get all the customers and sales you can handle—
and then some?

With effective marketing.

As a small business you don't have time or money to waste on hit and miss marketing. And you can't afford to just start throwing "you know what" at a wall and hoping something sticks.

You need to know:

• Who is most likely and able to buy, and how to reach them, so you don't waste money marketing to the wrong people

• Why they would want to buy what you are selling so you can convince them they need what you have

• Why they should buy from you instead of your competition (if you don't know the answer the answer, they probably don't either)

• What your marketing initiatives are going to cost you, and how much money they bring in, so you can ge sure you're getting the most bang for your marketing buck

• Whether you are getting you closer to your goals or not, so you can make changes as needed and stay on course towards realizing your dreams

It's almost impossible to do all that on the fly or by luck. You need to think it through or you'll just end up like my dad-doing a lot of work but spinning your wheels.

If you truly want to take your business to the next level,
you have to have a plan...

Because if you don't know where you're going, and how you're going to get there,
there's no telling where you might end up!

You've heard the statistics, right? More than 50% of small businesses fail within the first two years!

According to a study by Jessie Hagen of U.S. Bank cited on the SCORE - Counselors to America's Small Business Web site, the main reasons businesses fail are:

• Poor Business Planning
  
• Poor Financial Planning
  
• Poor Management

And.

• Poor Marketing

Specifically, "more than 64% of the business surveyed in the marketing category failed because they did not place enough importance on promoting their business!!!"

Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs I've met don't even have a business plan, let alone a marketing plan. Most of them spend far more time planning their vacations then they ever do planning for their business success.

Unless you have a plan for growing your business, chances are one of three things will happen:

1. You'll go through stressful cycles of boom and bust, and work yourself to the bone, until eventually you burn out
   
2. Your sales will slowly trickle in, you won't make enough money, and you'll end up closing your doors.
   
3. You'll waste a ton of time and money on marketing that doesn't get results, so your revenues (and business) never really grow

Over the past five years, I've personally worked more than 100 small businesses as a copywriter and/or marketing consultant. And sadly, when I first met them most could not answer even the most basic marketing questions about their business.

Concepts like USP, target market, their positioning and competitive analysis are generally met with "deer in the headlights" stares.

Of everyone I've worked with, only two had written marketing plans. The rest could not tell me where they wanted their business to be in ten, five or even two years-let alone how they planned to get it there. This is not a recipe for success.

"Most people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan."
John L. Beckley

If you don't want your business to become another statistic, you have two choices: Hire a marketing consultant or in-house Marketing Director to take care of it for you; or learn the basic rules of marketing and how to apply them to your business.

That's where this e-workbook comes in.

If you can plan a road trip,
you can plan for your business success
with this handy workbook!

Let me explain...

One day a while back, I was working on a presentation about marketing plans. I knew I didn't want it to be just a bunch of boring theory or marketing jargon.

I was searching for a way to make the whole concept of writing a marketing plan so simple to understand that, as Geico says "even a caveman could do it". I wanted to take all the confusion and overwhelm out of it and get folks headed down the right path.

That's when I had an epiphany.

"Growing a business is just like going on a road trip...
You have to decide where you're going, the best way to get there, how to budget and more."

Right away I knew I was on to something, and I rolled out my concept in front of forty entrepreneurs a few weeks later to rave reviews.

My talk was a huge hit. I could see the light come on as these passionate business owners suddenly understood not just why they needed a marketing plan, but how to write one.

After all, the idea of a road trip is one just about everyone can wrap there mind around.

Who hasn't loaded up the car and driven for hours for a vacation, concert, job, or visit to the family? And every step in planning for a road trip correlates to one of the steps in writing your marketing plan-which makes the whole thing super-intuitive to put together. And that's exactly how I put this workbook together.

I know it sounds a little crazy, but stick with me here and I'll explain.

Imagine what might happen if you hopped in your car for a long trip
without a map or a budget-or even a destination in mind?

• You might have one heck of an adventure...

• You might end up broke and broken down in the middle of nowhere...

• Or you might not get very far at all...

Because unless you have a destination, and a plan to get there, who knows where you might end up?!

The same concept holds true for your business.

Now, think of your business as a car and your marketing plan as your roadmap.

Here's how it all fits together:

• The goal of writing your marketing plan is to figure out how to take your business from Point A (where you are right now) to Point B (where you want to be one, two, five or ten years down the road).
  

• The reason for your trip is your mission statement, or why you've undertaken this crazy entrepreneurial adventure to start with.

• Long-term goals are your destination, or Point B. Short-term goals are the hotels or towns you are planning to stop at on your route.
  

• Your route is the set of strategies you choose to help you reach Point B.

• The terrain and environment you are going to be driving through is your target market. Just like you have to adapt your car and driving style to drive in the snow, you have to adapt your marketing to suit your target market.

• The money for the trip is your marketing budget.

• Your marketing tools and strategies are the gas that makes it all go.

Simple as that.

When I saw the audiences' amazingly positive response during that first talk, I knew I had to find a way to get my message out to the masses. So this e-workbook was born.

Now you don't need to be a marketing expert
to put your business on the road to success...

Whether you have a grasp on the basics, or don't know the first thing about marketing, this book takes you by the hand. Then it walks you step-by-step through the process of making sure every aspect of your marketing is as powerful as possible.

This valuable e-book is tailor-made for the small business owner to breeze through
and quickly create a powerful action plan.

Why reinvent the wheel or make all the mistakes yourself when you can learn what you need to know from someone who's been there?

I understand exactly how difficult and confusing it can be to tackle sales and marketing. And I know how long your to-do list looks on any given day. That's why this book is designed to be fun and easy to read.

Best of all, it's like hiring me as your marketing consultant at a fraction of the price.

How does this e-workbook work?

Inside you'll find all the critical questions I regularly ask my clients to help them hone in on the keys to marketing success. And all of them are organized into simple worksheets that lead you through the process writing your own, powerful 2-page plan step-by-step.

• Every chapter starts with an explanation of one key concept, written in plain and simple English in terms of a road trip, so you can wrap your brain around it

• Each of those sections is followed by though-provoking questions, practical worksheets and handy checklists so you can easily apply the concepts to your business

• You even get a certificate good for one free marketing plan critique (a $300 value!!) so you can make sure you are on the right path once you have your new plan in hand

All you have to do is read the chapters, answer the questions, and use the simple checklists. Before you know it, you'll have your very own, incredibly powerful,
2-page Marketing Success Action Plan in hand!

Just imagine...

Soon your phone will start ringing off the hook...

Your Website will be bringing in leads or making sales...

And your business will be booming!

Then you can stop worrying about where your next customers are going to come from, or how you are going to pay the bills.

Instead, you can stay focused on building your business even more...

Or take some time off to spend with your family (really!)...

Or buy that new house you've been dreaming about!

"Putting Your Business on the Road to Success" is next best thing to paying
big bucks for your very own marketing consultant!

Have you ever wished you could afford to hire your very own marketing consultant...Someone with the experience to tell you what you are doing wrong, or how to get better results from your marketing and advertising efforts?

Would you like someone to show you how to decide where to spend your precious marketing budget?

Then this book is for you!!

Normally, I charge thousands of dollars to help clients hone in on and implement key concepts like their ideal target market, USP, competitive advantage, best-fit marketing strategies, marketing budget and more.

Now you can get virtually the same assistance from me by buying this e-book—for a heck of a lot less money. Plus, you can also take advantage of the special gift certificate for one free Marketing Success Action Plan Critique that's included in the book.

Just send in the certificate along with your new plan and I will personally look it over and give you feedback and ideas to make the best it can be. You can't beat that with a stick!

In case you haven't realized it already,
this is not your average, everyday marketing book!

Most marketing books I've run across are either filled with hundreds of tactics. Or, they are stuffed with dull marketing theory. Or some of both.

This book is different. It's meant to be your guide through the often confusing world of marketing. By the time you are done, you'll have a good handle on what it really takes to make your business grow like Jack's proverbial beanstalk.

Just to make sure there is no confusion, I want to share
exactly what THIS BOOK IS NOT:

• It is not filled with oodles of ideas: Plenty of books give you endless lists of tactics. But without the right strategy it's almost impossible to choose the best tactics for your business, or make them work for you. This book shows you how to choose the right strategies and tactics for you, and learn what you need to know to turn them into a powerful, client-pulling tractor beam.

• It is not a done-for-you plan: This is not a cookie-cutter marketing plan because there is no one plan that is right for every business. Instead, you get a step-by-step guide for creating a plan that is going to work for your business. Plus, you get the know-how to update and change it as your business grows.

• It is not a long, boring text full of theory or technical jargon: This book is written for you, the entrepreneur, in everyday language. The road-trip analogy makes even the most complex concepts crystal clear. And the handy worksheets and checklists to make it easy for you to implement every idea-even if you don't know a thing about marketing.

Sound good? What are you waiting for?

Make sure your business is headed in
the right direction

Order "Putting Your Business on the Road to Success" today, along with the bonus audio and marketing plan critique, for only $67 bucks! That's the price of a dinner for two. Isn't your future success worth a tiny investment like this?

At this price you can't go wrong. Of course, if you don't think it is more than worth every penny just let me know and I will refund your money, plus 10% for your trouble, no questions asked.

But maybe you're still wondering.

Is this book right for you?

Chances are, if you own your own small business and you are looking for ways to get more customers or increase sales, the answer is YES!

Buy this book if...

• You've tried various marketing and advertising strategies before—with little or no results
  
• You are ready to grow your business to the next level
  
• You don't have a marketing plan because:

  a) You haven't made time to write one
  b) You aren't sure what to include
  c) You have no idea where to start

OR

• You have a marketing plan but:

  a) You're not getting the results you want
  b) You haven't looked at it since it was written
  c) Your business still isn't growing as fast as you'd like

Of course, if you already feel like you have a good grasp of marketing, or your business is growing faster than you can handle, then this book might not be a good choice for you.

Then again, the most successful people know there is always something new to learn. Or something they could be doing better in their business. If you are one of these folks, then absolutely, this book is for you.

Because even if you already have a plan, you can still get tons of benefit from this book.

There's no time like the present to get started
on the road to success

What are waiting for?

If you are ready to take the stress and struggle out of growing your business, order "Putting Your Business on the Road to Success" today, along with the bonus audio and marketing plan critique, for only $67 bucks.

Take your time looking it over. If you don't think it is worth the money, just let me know. I'll personally send you back every dime-and then some.

Put your business on the road to success
the easy way

"You can have the business you always dreamed of!"

You know it. I know it. You just need to get on the right marketing path.

I'm going to be honest. This is not one of those "get rich quick while doing nothing in your underwear" systems. This is a proven way to create ongoing success and build a business that keeps growing over time.

So yes, it takes a bit of effort to make a plan, build your marketing machine, and get it cranked up. But if you own a small business, clearly you are not afraid of a little hard work—especially when it means less work and more money later.

Because once you've set everything in motion your marketing—and your business—takes on a life of its own.

Finally, you can stop wasting time trying things that won't work and do it right the first time. Then you can reap the rewards.

Just imagine the looks on other people's faces when they hear about all the new clients you have rolling in. Or they see the sexy new car you are driving.

Now imagine the looks on other entrepreneurs' faces when you tell them how much you are making, and how little you are working, since you set your business growth on cruise control.

After all the hard work and long hours you've been putting in, you owe it to yourself!

Make it happen by ordering your copy of "Putting your Business on the Road to Success" right now. Just click the button below, place your order, and within seconds you'll be able to download your own copy. It couldn't be easier or quicker. And I accept all major credit cards and PayPal.

You get all this for one low price:

• The 117 page workbook "Putting Your Business on the Road to Success"

• 3 sample marketing plans to use as your guide

• All the worksheets as MS Word Forms and in a printable version to make everything easy

• BONUS #1: "The 7 Deadliest Small Business Marketing Sins...Are You Guilty?" audio

• BONUS #2: A gift certificate good for 1 FREE MARKETING PLAN CRITIQUE (worth $300!)

All backed by my 110%, 1-Year, No Questions Asked Guarantee!

Don't leave your business' success to chance. Order your copy of "the savvy entrepreneurs down and dirty, step-by-step guide to creating a powerful, 2-page Marketing Success Action Plan today!!

Here's to your future success!

Stacy Karacostas

P. S. When the economy is headed downhill, the best thing you can do for your business is keep marketing effectively. Start today with this handy workbook.