Everyone loves a sure thing. It always feels safer to sign on with the old established war horse than to take a chance with the new kid on the block. For those who took that leap of faith years ago, we thank you. Some need a little more convincing, and that’s fine. For those who signed on with us after we’d been around the block a few times, we thank you.

Our relationship with our clients is one of the many things we have to be grateful for. This year we'd like to a 16 BIG WAYS we appreciate you!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving which is right around the corner, I have 5 cool business resources I’m so thankful for that I really want to share them with you. Most I use all the time, and one is new to my arsenal, but all are amazingly useful.

Here goes…

Featured Resource this week -

Start Syncing Infusionsoft with Facebook Custom Audiences in Seconds. Deliver Targeted, Money-Getting Ads, Every Time. Double or TRIPLE Your Earnings from every Infusionsoft email contact!

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

You put a lot of time, effort, and creativity into your marketing. From strategy to platform to implementation, every small business owner puts hours of time into marketing their business.

Now that it’s up and running, how do you know it’s working? On the assumption you are getting response, do you know whether or not your marketing is paying off? Yep, that’s the $64,000 question — what’s your MROI, or Marketing Return on Investment.

With the calendar’s annual lineup of holidays approaching, it's not unusual for a business owner to wonder: “should I send holiday cards this year?” While making the decision, it's natural to ponder the benefits of spending the time and money on such an activity.

Does it really make that much of a difference?

The short answer is yes. Businesses, both large and small, still send greeting cards to their customers for many reasons, but mainly because they've found that customers still appreciate the gesture. One of the newer trends is sending Thanksgiving cards, which means your greetings will arrive before the glut of Christmas and New Years cards sent by other businesses saturate customer’s mailboxes.

Wait… STOP! Before you put fingers to keyboard to write an email, design a webpage, send a postcard, or pick up your phone to make a sales call, you should know a few critical things.

You should know why you’re doing what you’re doing, and where it fits in your overall marketing plan.

Featured Resource this week -

 Whether you are a dentist, salesperson or office worker, there has never been an easier way to send a genuine thank you, reminder or follow-up card. Greeting cards can be powerful business tools to help make sure your business clients and customers know just how important they are!

Here's an added bonus: To totally integrate your SendOutCards into marketing campaigns through your Infusionsoft or other CRM, check out Fix Your Funnel too! It's the glue between your SendOutCards and Infusionsoft.

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

As of the October update of Infusionsoft, there will be a new default email builder for both broadcasts and campaigns. This new builder has been available for a while now but in a beta version. We’ve been using it since it became available, and it certainly has grown more and more capable over the months. But…

In the last few years, retail holidays like Cyber Monday and Small Biz Saturday have gone from being discount secrets to important parts of the holiday shopping scene. Competition among retailers can be pretty fierce, so it's important to take steps to be prepared for these important money-making events.

Let's look at some ways you might be able to up your game:

For more than two centuries, members of our Armed Forces have defended our country with unyielding courage. In our Nation's times of need, these brave patriots step forward to answer America's call, leaving behind everything they know and love.

--excerpt from President Barack Obama's 2014 Presidential Proclamation for Military Family Appreciation Month

Do you worry about weight gain when the holidays come around? Think about this: if you gained 5 pounds each year after indulging at holiday parties and family dinners, you could be 25 pounds heavier in five years.

Here are 5 ways to make sure those delicious meals and snacks don't lead to unwanted weight gain:

Featured Resource this week -

Automate Your Appointments Never Lose an Email!

Automatically attach your emails to Infusionsoft contact records.
The campaign and broadcast emails you send from Infusionsoft are automatically archived on your contact records. But do you then use personal emails to follow up, answer questions, and close deals? If so, then you need emailAttacher to continue archiving those emails on the contact records.

Check out others who we recommend - solid vendors and products that could benefit your business today.

Have you given any thought to how your business will be celebrating Halloween this year? Will you limit it to throwing a few black paper cutouts of bats in the store window, or go all out by having a sale on everything orange? Why not try a fun-filled event, sure to have your customers clamoring to attend and, just as importantly in this digital age, posting comments and photos on social media!

Everyone loves to make something, as evidenced by the success of Paint Nite or Plant Nite, where people go to a venue, such as a restaurant, socialize with their friends and go home at the end of the night with their own newly created painting or terrarium. Your business can take advantage of these trends by holding your own Halloween craft night!

Building a successful business is a challenge. The key to realizing your dream of a prosperous company is focusing your energy on well-defined goals that not only help you and your team understand the direction your business is heading, but help you get there in style.

“Goals? We're going to talk about goals again? I don't have time to make goals—I just need to make money!”

“Investment in travel is an investment in yourself.”   ~ Matthew Karsten

What does your calendar look like for the next few months? If it’s like that of many small business people, it’s pretty hectic, with more projects and deadlines than there are hours in the day. Maybe it’s time for a vacation.

I don’t have time for a vacation, you say. Well, maybe you do.