Have you ever noticed that in communities without big universities, high school sports take on an even bigger importance? That's what it's like where I live. But like everywhere else in the country, our high school sports are always looking for ways to make a few extra bucks. Enter the high school baseball sponsorship program. For a nominal fee (really nominal) businesses can display a banner around the baseball field for the season. To me, this is a perfect example of a win-win situation for everyone. Businesses get to advertise to parents (who are currently purchasing adult products and services) and kids (who soon will be purchasing adult products and services).

PERSONA

Who are you? What is your small business all about? What kind of customer service do you provide? What are your business values? What are you proud of? What makes you different from the competition? These are questions potential customers and clients must answer for themselves in a short period of time. How they answer them depends not just on what you say or what kind of persona you have managed to convey to them. Your policies, atmosphere, customer service, integrity, and overall quality are all factors that you can usually control. Your business personality has to shine through, so don’t waste time wondering if they’ll like you. Simply be yourself and they will.

Question: Dan, how to deal with ultra skeptical offline or be it Internet surfers in order to reassure them and get them to happily open up their wallets?

I like that "happily open up their wallets"! Your customer should be happy to open his/her wallet. When business is done right, everybody wins and nobody loses. You're happy to make a sale and your customer is happy to be getting a good value for the money.