Houston, Texas - Kingdom Racing announced today its IndyCar race-related Ministry event lineup for 2010. The team intends to build on the footprint established over the past two years with various events, the most important to be a fan outreach program scheduled for the Indianapolis 500 race weekend, May 28 through 30. The centerpiece of the program will be twelve infield missionaries that will operate from Kingdom Racing’s display booth. The display will also feature show cars, race driver and celebrity appearances and worship music. Similar ministry events for the Texas, Kentucky, Chicago and Miami IndyCar races are also under design, but are subject to available resources. Kingdom Racing will also again compete in IndyCar and Indy Lights races in 2010 with drivers Davey Hamilton and Brandon Wagner, details of which will be available soon.

The team is partnering with national Christian Ministries and local Churches for the events conducted at each track. Through these efforts, Kingdom Racing intends to reach thousands of people in 2010 with the good news of Jesus Christ. Team founder George Del Canto said “Kingdom Racing cannot do this alone and needs support. We challenge the Christian community to partner with us to change lives through a message of hope delivered to the infields and grandstands we touch in 2010.” Contributions may be made on www.kingdomracing.net

“…for Faith without Works is dead-James 2:20,” said Del Canto.

Kingdom Racing is an IndyCar race team with a unique mission: To Deliver God’s Word through Motorsports. In May of 2008, Kingdom Racing made history as the first faith-vision team to ever compete in the 100 year history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2009, Kingdom Racing expanded by running their second Indianapolis 500, as well as fielding an Indy Lights entrant in 7 races, featuring driver Brandon Wagner. The team also held 7 ministry events as race drivers Davey Hamilton and Brandon Wagner were able to reach out to thousands of men both on and off the track. www.kingdomracing.net; www.facebook.com/kingdomracing

Davey’s racing career almost ended on June 9, 2001 following a devastating crash at the Texas Motor Speedway. After 21 operations and two years of rehabilitation, Davey returned to Indy Car racing at the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500 in May 2007 and finished 9th. Davey’s strong faith and determination to once again race in the 500 were instrumental in securing a partnership with Kingdom Racing. Together, Davey and Kingdom Racing have run consecutive Indy 500 mile races in 2008 and 2009. Davey will again return to the cockpit for Kingdom Racing in 2010.

By Andy Valadez, StealthMarketer

“The EZ Rider Story for the Next Generation”

Our marketing company is constantly looking for clients and opportunities with a unique story. Our mission is to showcase great companies that support the free enterprise system, a unique culture that encourages dialogue and creativity, and that make lives dramatically better. We want to know if the opportunity will expand our brand if we support it and if it will help our other clients. Just like the saying in the U.S. Marines, “we are only look for a few men.” In this case, we have discovered the plight of many good women who have suffered under domestic violence.

Sometimes, one does not have to look very far to find an opportunity. One of our sectors of interest is film and documentaries. Our focus in film is dedicated to championing stories of the Christian faith, Americana, history, redemptive qualities, in animation, support our military, and amazing stories of overcoming adversity.

One such story is the story of Joanne “Jodie” Flores (43). Jodie is an amazing survivor. She left home at the age of 17, pregnant with her first born refusing to abort as was common. She married a young man only to find that he was not in love with her. She re-married shortly after and traveled with her husband who ahd joined the Army.

She journeyed with her new husband to Germany and found herself in a abusive situation. She suffered the abuse for many years with her first born and later second child in a foreign country. She managed to convince her husband to allow her to pursue her education. The benefit he saw, was the dual income possibility. She chose to study the medical field and excelled in her studies to the point that she was able to break free from that relationship once she got stateside.

As a single mom, she oftend had to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. Her ex-husband often failed to send child support over the course of months and years. Her boys Edward and Joshua grew under her care. She had to be both father and mother to them.

When Edward became of age, he volunteered to serve in the Army as a tank mechanic and was quickly shipped overseas to fight in the “war on terror.” She prayed for her son’s safe return and never stopped worrying for him and the others who served in harm’s way.

Jodie finally got to a great point in her life, a time of pride and celebration. She had bought a home, had a great job in her chosen profession. She enjoyed caring for her patients, saving lives in emergency care and caring for family and friends at their death bed, many who were dealing with the ravages of cancer.

In 2003, her dream came to an end when a felon with a long record of offenses attacked her and then went for her juvenile son Joshua. She put a stop to the attack and ultimately escpaed the situation. She lived to tell the tale and her culprit almost didn’t make it. In an interesting twist of events, the felon pressed charges against her and wanted her to pay his medical bills. Meanwhile, he began to stalk her. Fortunately, she found employment in the medical that allowed her to travel the state where she resided. She could finally stop looking over her shoulder.

In 2005, Jodie discoverd the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. She trained at Harley Davidson driving school, rented a Harley Davidson motorcycle, loaded a tent, road food and a sleeping bag, and headed for the open highway. She found a new love - motorcycles and the people she met along the way.

She then moved to the great state of Texas to start her life over.

On 8.6.10 we plan to document Jodie’s ride to sturgis and plan several surprises for Jodie. We will be asking the people we meet “What does it mean to be an American?”

We want to encourage people to leave their past behind and answer the call of “The last free American!” We believe that no one wants to be the last free American.

Visit: http://www.jodiegoestosturgisthemovie.com/

See Jodie here: YouTube (message)

Visit: www.JodieGoesToSturgisTheMovie.com

Team Marketing Dynamics is a true strategic marketing firm serving clients and its joint venture teams looking to expand their interests in technology, real estate, racing, filmmaking, entertainment, integrated broadcast, publishing and fashion. Marketing Dynamics was started in 1999 by founder Andy Valadez with the goal of championing the benefits of tried and true marketing principles that apply to every business and practice. To learn more about Team Marketing Dynamics please visit www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com and www.TheMarketingVortex.com.

By Andy Valadez, StealthMarketer

In a world of dummies and liars, it pays to be bright. A bright person in my book is someone who knows that they need the right advisors/friends/counsel/family member(s) and a team around them to succeed. In a world of competing forces, the truth tellers have a better chance of winning (character in brands does matter). Truth in advertising is a great marketing principle (still a best practice).

The truth is that you could have the greatest product or service, but if the right people don’t know about it, in they way they need to know about it, it could fail against a better marketed inferior option.

“It pays to win.” - U.S. Navy Seals Motto

There is a lot of chatter in markets about what business owners are demanding from their advertising budgets and that is the problem. Most business people are looking at advertising not marketing (Bright Hint: Take time to learn more about the difference between advertising and marketing, they are not the same).

It is time for enterpreneurs to change their focus from advertising to marketing and get their truth to consumers who need to hear it, see it, taste it and live it. Many business owners and sales managers are adopting much of the web to expand their advertising to increase sales. Although this is good, it is still focused on advertising versus marketing. Sure, many of the providers use terms like “targeted”, “demographics”, “cost per acquistion”, “reporting”, “ROI”, “position”, “content”, etc. This isn’t new. Marketers have long evaluated their success based on the total comprehensive strategy and media mix to drive their well-thought positioining strategy.

The problem many companies are facing today is that there are very few marketers. Like black belts in martial arts, their are numerous practicitioners, but very few senseis or kanchos or mix martial art champions. Anyone can call themselves a marketer, but the truth is, not everyone is a marketer (they know enough to be dangerous to their client). There are many specialists in the marketplace; however, they may not be marketers per se. For example, you may have an incredible web company or cutting-edge 20-something programmer leading your on-line marketing efforts while missing new opportunities. Short-term success is not a bad thing, but it can still cost you in the long-run to a better marketed company you may never even see hit your company like a round-house kick to the temple.

Marketers on the other hand are thinking about shifts in consumer demand, political and economic changes, competitor initiatives, distribution stategy and tactics, pricing changes, promotion and sales strategy, public relations, innovation, messages to key buyers, market research and “the mix” of traditional media that should still drive your brand positioning in all spectrums. The truth is that marketing is more important than ever.

Team Marketing Dynamics is a true strategic marketing firm serving clients and its joint venture teams looking to expand their interests in technology, real estate, racing, filmmaking, entertainment, integrated broadcast, publishing and fashion. Marketing Dynamics was started in 1999 by founder Andy Valadez with the goal of championing the benefits of tried and true marketing principles that apply to every business and practice. To learn more about Team Marketing Dynamics please visit www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com and www.TheMarketingVortex.com.

Special thanks to Kevin Price host of the “Price of Business” radio show for affording many deserving not-for-profits the opportunity to talk about their organizations this year! If you are interested in giving a charitable donation, referring a possible donor, want to volunteer, or just learn more about them, then take a visit:

Living Water International
www.water.cc

“Caring House Project Foundation” with Frank McKinney, Founder
www.Frank-McKinney.com

Rolling Thunder
www.RollingThunderTX2.com

Operation Interdependence
www.OIDelivers.org

Houston Wellness Association
www.HoustonWellness.org

Toys for Tots
www.ToysForTots.org

Champions Kids Camp
www.ChampionsKidsCamp.org

Homes for Our Troops
www.HomesForOurTroops.org

Open Door Mission
www.OpenDoorHouston.org

We will be updating this roster of various charities as we schedule their interviews, now through Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year from Team Marketing Dynamics.

Submitted by R.D. Yoder of Houston Network News on FaceBook

Date: Thursday, December 10, 2009
Time: 8:00am - 8:00pm
Location: Hyatt Regency Downtown
Street: 1200 Louisiana
City/Town: Houston, TX

Phone: 2817786661
Email: Sales@HoustonNetworkingNews.com

What if there was an event where you could meet over 1,000 business professionals, over 100 participating companies, hear Houston’s elite speaking in one setting AND build new relationships that could last a lifetime?

Good news! There is such an event! It’s the 2009 Houston Business Expo (WWW.2009HOUSTONBUSINESSEXPO.COM). Held on Thursday, December 10th, from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Downtown. Houston business professionals will have the opportunity to experience an event that will impact you significantly.

This event includes:
- Trade show environment with over 100 participating companies
- Forum discussions with TOP Houston presenters discussing items that benefit YOU
- Business luncheon featuring fabulous keynote speaker
- 6th Annual HNN Christmas Party and reception
- Prominent keynote speakers (Past speakers have included Mayor Bill White, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, Deborah Duncan, Jim McIngvale, Kirbyjon Caldwell, Dr. Ivan Misner, Loral Langemeier and others)
- Over 1,000 business professionals expected to attend
- Your opportunity to network at the biggest networking event of the year!

With expanded hours designed to meet YOUR needs and a level of excitement building across the Greater Houston area, you need to be at the Hyatt Regency Downtown on December 10th!

This year’s Forum presenters and moderators:
Jamey Rootes, President, Houston Texans
Deborah Duncan, Host, Great Day Houston and T.V. Personality
Michael Garfield, High Tech Texan and Radio Show Host
Sue Burnett, Founder & President, Burnett Staffing
Crystal Washington, Crystal Washington.com
Dan Parsons, CEO/President, Houston BBB
Carla Lane, President, Lane Staffing
Manuel Gonzalez, District Director, SBA Metro Houston
Oliver Luck, President, Houston Dynamo
Susan Repka, Executive Director, Women’s Business Enterprise Allliance
Phil Morabito, CEO, Pierpont Communications
Mimi Dinh, President, Mikel Marketing
Jeffrey Boney, CEO/Founder, Texas Business Alliance
Beverly Denver, Editor & Publisher, Houston Woman Magazine
Steven Kay, Steven Kay Media, Host of “Life, Business and Money”
Christine Haas, Emmy Award Winning Journalist And KHOU Channel 11 Anchor
Steve Latham, CEO, Houston Interactive Marketing Association & Spur Interactive
Ken Marsh, CEO, Fearless Networking!
Ernie Manouse, PBS Talk Show Host
Dr. Laura Murillo, President, Houston Hispanic Chamber Of Commerce
Brent Clanton, Veteran Broadcaster, CNN 650AM
Crystal Brown-Tatum, President, Crystal Clear Communications
Henry de La Garza, CEO, de La Garza Public Relations
Kim Padgett, President, The Padgett Group
George Black, CEO, RSA Corp
Yolanda Green, Community Relations Director/ T.V. Personality, KHCW- Channel 39
Eric Standlee, Founder, InHouston
Donna Fisher, Renowned Networking Expert, Author and Speaker
Gene McCubbin, President, Poplabs, Inc.

Here’s some additional great news. Would you like to participate as a Sponsor or Exhibitor? The opportunity is available. Hurry, though, time is running out to be involved. This event is a great way for show attendees to see your company in the “limelight” of the event!

Don’t miss out on the event EVERYONE will be talking about! Peruse this site and find the ways you can participate!

**For more information on the Expo and a great schedule of forum presenters, go to WWW.2009HOUSTONBUSINESSEXPO.COM.**

By Andy Valadez, StealthMarketer

Are you paying attention to the times? They are crazy and the old has past away and the new is a scary course for many. There are more demands placed on Marketing than ever. Unfortunately, there are those in the field who claim to be Marketers, but in fact are something else.

There is a lot more to Marketing than people realize. The chatter about what constitutes Marketing is getting more unclear by the day. Marketing will never change, the way we Market will. The principles of Marketing are tried and true.

As a Stategic Marketer, I have focused my efforts deeper. I have coined a new title in the marketplace called “The Marketing Producer”.

I have spent the last three years of my efforts focused on the filmmaking business accumulating a portfolio of $300M in movie projects currently in advanced development. I happen to be a movie buff.

What I have found in this industry is that Producers really are not Marketers and Marketers in tradional industries are not Producers. Producers are cool, they do make the movie making process happen, but Marketing can help that process a lot faster and ultimately transitions into the distribution stategy which also helps.

The standard for today’s business is that the Marketer should not only be a Marketer, but he or she needs to also be a Producer. That is - someone who gets the job done.

As a Marketer, I have really focused my attentions on clients who have the potential to grow exponentially in sectors that offer a long term growth potential - sectors like GPS, solar, broadcasting, racing, entertainment, and publishing. In the past four years, my company has accumulated a portfolio of $500M in these sectors as well.

For example, we have a client who is about to get a $50M deal funded very soon in the gaming tech sector. This client had been working to get funded for many years. Through the power of networking and building brand value in the market place, my company Marketing Dynamics was seen as the conduit to this process. We got all parties together, aided preliminary discussions and got the client’s confidence and our partner’s interest in the opportunity. This process ultimately opened the door for the deal to happen. Now, we are ready to participate in the next phase launch in this billion dollar sector. You will hear more developments it in coming months.

Many of my clients depend on key relationships, funding and sage Marketing advice that can take their long-term growth plans to reality. My team and I enjoy making the connections our clients demand and implementing the effective programs to get our clients over the hump and into the profit zone.

If your Marketing function is not producing the results you are looking for, give us a call. We invite you to do a little research. Visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com and www.TheMarketingVortex.com to review the types of clients we serve. If what you see impresses you, then we advise a conference call to determine how we might help your enterprise. We don’t serve everybody, but those we do serve have some very interesting stories to tell.

“Marketing Dynamics, because the Market never stays the same.”

E-mail: info@TeamMarketingDynamics.com
Twitter: @StealthMarketer
Phone: 713.560.3348

Our client and friend, Denis Manning and driver/pilot Chris Carr break another world record with “Seven” - The World’s Fastest Motorcycle at 367.382 MPH (September 20, 2009). Congratulations Team BUB Racing!!

See the world record run at Bonneville Salt Flats video!

To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

I coined a new term several months ago, “The Chronic Entrepreneur” - someone who just loves creating business after business. We have heard of serial entrepreneurs (usually a smaller number of businesses), intrapreneurs (business people who champion business models within a company), child entrepreneurs (”What you are 6 and don’t have a business yet?”), senior entrepreneurs (”What you are 60 and don’t have a business yet?”), etc.

I know “chronic” has a bad connotation. However, if your life depended on it, would you want a person who was “fanatic” about their job of taking care of you? You bet. I want my family practitioner, heart doctor, eye doctor, or nutritionalist be incredible gifted (and that usually means they are hard at work staying at the top of their game). One of the reasons I don’t support national healthcare - who really wants the government running that?

Would you want the government running your Marketing? I hope not.

I love being around passionate people. People who are on a mission of sorts and want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. I love to see people come out of character and get excited about their companies (if you aren’t who else is going to be?). I avoid boring people - get mad, get glad, laugh, or cry. Give me energy and now we have something to work with. We are living in chronic times that demand outstanding Marketing performance.

Yes, Marketing has its cerebral moments when the details of the plan have to be worked out. I love that stuff too, but as we survey the land we notice that there is always room for improvement in one’s Marketing. Work on it daily!!

To contact Marketing Dynamics visit: www.TeamMarketingDynamics.com or call 281.463.4560.

By Scott Zimmerman, Partner in The Cyrano Group
 &
Dr. Tony Alessandra, Partner in Platinum Rule Group

What is your “follow-up reputation” in your business?  Is it ‘always and promptly’?  Or, is it ‘usually fairly timely’?  Or, could it be ‘doubtful it will get done’?  The highest performers keep their promises and exceed the expectations of their prospects and clients.  Be a bear about this one.  It isn’t a task to be dreaded; it is an opportunity to be seized.  You can set yourself apart with good follow-up skills.

What is the difference between “following up” and “following through”?

If your prospect declines or delays the decision to do business with you, you still have obligations to that person, which requires following up. If they do become your customer, you need to follow through; ensuring that every promise is completely fulfilled. Let’s take a look at the bad news first: No sale! Time for following up with this prospect.First, the prospect deserves to be sincerely thanked for her time and for giving you an opportunity to exchange information. A hand-written note is always appreciated and sets you apart from a vast majority of salespeople that take shortcuts. Next, you need to stop and objectively reflect upon the circumstances that caused the prospect to say, “No, thank you.” Depending upon the situation, you may have a high likelihood of landing the account sometime down the road. Here is a list of questions that you should ask yourself when debriefing each sales call:

• Did they decline because I proposed a solution before fully exploring their needs and collaborating solutions with them?
• Did I do my best possible job of asking questions; encouraging them to share their ideas, or did I do too much “presenting” of my ideas and possible solutions?
• Did I adjust to their pace (faster versus slower) and to their priority (task versus relationship)?
• Am I confident that I helped them make the best possible decision that is in their best interests?
• By behaving respectfully and professionally, have I left the door open for doing business later if their situation changes?
• Based on their reasoning for not buying, might the situation change in the future?
  

True sales masters become comfortable hearing “no”, as long as they have gotten to the real reason(s) for the answer. After careful, objective analysis, you are now fully prepared to follow up with this prospect. We believe that in many cases you can often turn a “no” into a “yes” if you execute customized, long-term follow-up campaigns. 

It is common for salespeople to be in the right place (a qualified prospect), but at the wrong time. Many prospects, if empowered to educate themselves over time, can—and often do—change their own minds. However, no one likes to have to do so in front of a salesperson. There are two different types of follow-ups that you can execute; each serves a specific function.The first is a standard type of follow-up.

The salesperson sends literature, case studies, testimonials and other “value proposition” information designed to further educate the prospect about the value your product/service delivers. Sometimes this does work, but no matter how cleverly disguised, it might convey a message similar to: “You didn’t say ‘yes’ during our discussion, so here’s evidence that may help you change your mind.”While this “traditional” practice of marketing is acceptable, it can be improved. Although educating prospects is never a bad idea, “attention erosion¹” is making it harder to get your messages received, read and digested.

Businesspeople today are over-taxed, stretched thin and have little time to spare reading your literature and newsletters. However, we bring good news: The second type of follow-up makes the first type much more effective…Dale Carnegie taught us that to get what you want, first help others get what they want. He said that if we live our lives helping others achieve their goals; everything we desire will come back ten-fold.

We heartily agree.“Treat others the way they want to be treated,” is our mantra. It’s The Platinum Rule^®. By blending the Carnegie philosophy with ours, then adding a mix of cutting-edge technology, we were able to create a new method of following up with everyone in a customized, effective manner that ensures marketing messages are received with open arms (and open minds!).

Goal-specific Communication is the act of sending people (prospects, customers, clients, colleagues, referral partners, etc…) information that helps each of them achieve specific goals or seize a new opportunity. If you take the time to ask interesting questions and pay careful attention to answers, you can now leverage technology to automate follow-ups that send articles, tips and ideas to each of your contacts that match their goals, challenges, interests and preferences.

Pay careful attention to this statement: If you send people helpful information—especially if it is unrelated to what you sell—you will position yourself as a helpful, thoughtful professional, and not as a pesky, pushy salesperson.For example: Let’s say that Scott is calling on a sales manager and exploring ways to possibly help the sales team develop new skills and create more effective marketing messages. While Scott’s company happens to provide solutions in these areas, he also discovers that the prospect is relatively new to his position and has not received formalized management training. Additionally, he learns that they invest large amounts of time, focus and money attending several trade shows.After the sales call, Scott executes a “blend” of follow-ups for this prospect.

Using The Cyrano Marketing System, he selects a series of articles written by experts in the areas of interviewing, hiring, managing and interpersonal communications; all containing information that the prospect would find helpful in becoming more successful in his career. These are “relationship building” messages; chosen specifically to help this prospect become a more effective manager. These messages contain no information about Scott, his company or his products; they only serve to help the prospect. 

When the prospect receives a few emails or articles mailed from Scott, he begins to perceive Scott as someone who is thoughtful, and also as someone who takes action on his ideas. As you might imagine, this type of communication begins building a bridge between Scott and each prospect. When Scott calls back, he immediately offers to introduce the prospect to one of his colleagues that happens to be an expert in trade show marketing and long-cycle lead conversion. Couple that with the helpful articles on management skills, and Scott has earned the respect of his prospect by adding value at each touch point of the relationship.

More importantly, this approach dramatically increases the odds that when Scott sends “value proposition” information (literature, case studies, etc…) that the prospect will receive each message with an open mind. By truly helping each prospect, Scott has earned “mind share” with each person. By matching messages to the goals, preferences and interests of every prospect, Scott eliminates “attention erosion”. People in Scott’s Cyrano database actually anticipate his follow-up messages!If Scott discovers that the timing is poor with a prospect, he “fills the time” by sending helpful information to him. If the prospect suggests that Scott call back in six months or so, he tells Cyrano what type of articles to send, when he wants them sent, and asks for Cyrano to remind him to call back at the appropriate time.

In other words, Scott doesn’t get frustrated when he is in the right place at the wrong time. Instead, he simply leverages this to his advantage. By filling the time gaps with showing the prospect that he cares about their success, Scott ensures that when he calls back, his phone calls are eagerly accepted and/or his voicemails get prompt return calls.As many thought leaders often remind us: If you want to get everything you want, first help others get what they want!While conducting our sales training programs, we are often asked if adapting to different styles and/or sending helpful information may be “manipulative.” Our stock answer is, “It depends”. 

If you do it right it is not.  If you handle it with a win-lose approach it certainly can be.If your intention is to help other people; help them make decisions that are in the best interest of their company and/or career (even if it means not buying your product or service), help them achieve more, help them solve problems and help them succeed, then you are in no way practicing any form of manipulation. You are living The Platinum Rule. You are leveraging the power of persuasion in a positive fashion to create win/win outcomes in your business relationships.However, if your intention is simply to make a sale, mislead another person or do anything that is even 1% less than ethical, then we can confidently state that are using adaptability, technology and persuasion in a manipulative fashion.As Malcolm Gladwell pointed out in his best-selling book Blink, almost every person has the innate ability to detect authenticity in another person in mere seconds. As importantly, they do it on a subconscious level; without even knowing they are doing so.If your intention is pure, prospects and clients will subconsciously be compelled to want to do business with you. Conversely if your intention is to make money, push people into making buying decisions and/or manipulation, then no amount of training, psychology or technology will help you build a long-lasting career in sales.Here are some important questions you should pose to your sales manager and to your marketing manager: 

• Are we effectively leveraging information gleaned from the field (sales calls)?
• Is our contact management system (or CRM) being used to full capacity?
• Are we effectively communicating with everyone in our database?
• Does every one of our prospects know about each product and/or service that we offer, and why they should be buying from us?
• Are we effectively cross-selling to each customer who makes a purchase with our company?
• Should we consider matching our benefits to behavioral styles of our prospects?
• Since it is now possible to automate customized follow-ups (even if salespeople forget), would we grow our sales if we added effective technology to our process?
• Do we have a system for developing leads, cross-selling, increasing customer retention and growing referrals?

These are very important questions for your team to consider. While it is important for you to learn how to adapt to each prospect or customer during your sales process, it is equally as important for you to market/communicate effectively to ensure that you have a steady stream of qualified prospects, your current customers feel appreciated and thought of often, and you never lose another client due to perceived indifference.

About the Authors:

Tony Alessandra & Scott Zimmerman
Co-authors of three Platinum Rule books and
Founding Partners of Platinum Rule Group LLC

A guest post from the United Kingdom, Ben Johnson of LogoInn

Creating or redesigning a logo can dramatically freshen up the look of your business and strengthen your brand message. Most business owners want their logo to communicate their business purpose effectively. But logo designing is not only a work of a designer; it’s a game of mutual understanding of both the designer and the business owner. So, we would like to discuss some of the elements you, as a business owner, should consider while designing a logo for your business.

It should be designed simple

Think of the “Swoosh” of Nike or the “M” of McDonald, aren’t these logo simple? The simpler your logo, the more powerful it will be. Thus, before your designer starts designing your logo, you should advise him to keep it simple. Simple logos get recognized  more readily and remembered for long time.

It should be according to your business

You should tell your designer that you need a logo which will portray the strategic message of your business. This however doesn’t mean that your logo specifically portrays what your company does, but simply portrays your industry. For example, if you are a realtor, obviously you like to have a logo with the image of houses or something that can better tell you are a real estate professional.

It should have easy to read font

Your logo design may not complete if it fails to have a good, appealing font. Using the right font is as important as working with the other design elements. You will want a font that is readable and depicts the purpose of your business. So a designer should choose fonts according to your business niche.

It should look good in black and white

Obviously, you will need your logo for different marketing mediums, and what if you need to fax your letterhead to any of your clients. Talk about it with your designer before the delivery of your logo. You will want to consider the benefits of having a logo which looks good in color, but may fail to grab attention in monochrome.

It should be resizable

Many amateur logo designers do not create logos with any vector based application. You will need this attribute and advise the designer of this particular need.  A vector format allows you to resize your logo to as big as to print on a billboard and as small  to fit on a pen.

These were the basic elements a business owner should know, and communicate a logo design company.  When you know these necessary aspects, it becomes easy for your logo designer to design such a logo that exactly reflects your business philosophy.

This is guest post from Ben Johnson of LogoInn, custom logo design service provider based in UK.

Mr. Johnson is offering a 15% discount on logo design to our readers.

You can contact Ben Johnson at ben.johnson@logoninn.com