Is this as "easy" as it used to be?

This is a hard question to answer.

My best answer is to say that it was never easy. Getting business to listen to you has always been hard work. But if you are providing value and a way to help them get/keep more customers you will find that the deals close easily.

Pick a day next week, any morning. Start at 9 go to noon. Call upon every business in an area and do a survey. It really doesn't matter what.

Pick something, like this:

Walk into business, greet the first person you see.

I'm Jack Daniels, and I'm with a new company called Local Internet. We are thinking about expanding into this area with our Local Internet Marketing, here is a one page overview, do you think you might be interested if we did it?

Don't ask for the owner, just talk to the first person in the store...one of three things will happen...

They tell you you need to talk to the boss (manager) and he's not in Ask when he will be OR she's in and you give her the same brief survey.

OR they say they are not interested, you ask if she/he is the boss? If not, ask are you authorized to dismiss me from any further contact?

OR, they are the boss, and either say, not interested or they ask what it is/

You simply go over a brief one page flyer that tells about your business.

Because it is a survey, they can't spend any money anyhow.

Now why do this exercise?

Several reasons; it either forces you to go out and do it, or you will find excuses not to, and prolong your bog down.

You have nothing to sell and a little face to face cold calling, gives you a feeling for what it will be like when you do have something to sell.

The survey can be custom tailored for anything you are considering doing...a survey on
web sites
SEO,
offline advertising, including postcard marketing, flyers, mail or even signage.
Community web site

whatever. By talking with enthusiasm about your project, you get to see how people react, and don't ask for the boss, treat the person who greets you as the boss.

IF you can't make yourself give up 3 hours next week to get out and learn something, about yourself and your business communities, you need other kinds of help...because you will remain in the state of perfection inertia...very difficult to overcome

And the only way to do it is with imperfect action, this is a tested and proven way, and who knows, you may find a few businesses that say,

let me know when you are going to do it.

But, if others have ideas for you, let them speak up.

GordonJ

PS. About the forum. And the golden age. Talk to mail order mavens and the good old days were the 70 and 80s. Ask the Encyclopedia and Vacuum guys, the golden days were long ago, in the 50s and 60s.

There are golden days now and ahead as business evolves, and any forum is only as good as the people who participate, and it is easy to get tired of answering the same questions over and over...I try to keep in mind life is a parade...

And there are NEW people in the Parade who don't know it is your 1000th time answering their question...so, I go 1001 if I can, if not, I just move on.

We all get to spend our time doing what we want, and if NOT participating suits you, so be it...I guarantee this forum is never going back to the golden ages...

but YOU, can take part in the next golden age, whatever it might be...I like Drones. And tin foil helmets.