In most locations, the Yellow Pages is a dying media. Many hotels don’t even carry it anymore. Instead, people are using the Internet and smartphones to find the information they need.  Everything that they are curious about, including products and services, can quickly be accessed online.  However, many business owners still insist on advertising in this book.

If you are going to pursue Yellow Pages advertising, there are some things you should do to help your ad stand out.  Below are the components you should include:

Interesting headline. Don’t waste this space with your company’s name.  Instead, create something that is catchy.

Compelling copy. White space doesn’t necessarily sell, despite what the Yellow Pages rep might have told you.  Create copy that speaks to the questions that are going through your prospects’ minds.

Irresistible offer. You need to create an offer that would be of interest to your prospects and it should be offered for free.  The goal is to make your prospects stop their search until they have received your free offer.  For more information, read the blog entry, The Secret to Getting the Phone to Ring.

By including these three items in your Yellow Pages, you will have a better chance of standing out from all the other pages of ads.

Find out where the smart Northern Virginia business owners are gathering, by visiting Glazer-Kennedy-Virginia.com.

In Dan Kennedy’s article, Think ‘Process’ and ‘Relationship’ Not ‘Sales Incident,’ (which is excerpted from his new book, No B.S. Wealth Attraction in the New Economy,) he refers to this type of scenario as “the start of work to be done, not an end result or outcome.”  Basically, his point is that if you celebrate the appointment, reservation or other event and misunderstand that this is just the beginning, you are missing the mark.  If you want to build wealth, you have to develop and cultivate relationships with your customers.

It doesn’t matter what type of business you might be in, there are always opportunities to increase your wealth.  Mr. Kennedy gives several examples in his article, including a restaurant owner who can go the extra step after someone makes a reservation, by sending that person a special voucher for a free bottle of wine if they bring a friend.  An oil change shop can even improve its process by selling a coupon book to a customer for pre-paid services or finding out about the other cars owned by family members.

When a customer steps foot in your store or office, you have to think about the long-term relationship. After all, your customers are your assets.

To find out where the smart Northern Virginia business owners are gathering, visit Glazer-Kennedy-Virginia.com.