I recently had the opportunity to gain a new client and lose one.  Find out why and in the process, you’ll hopefully increase your business and learn from my mistakes.

There’s also a marketing update for those of you that are interested in how the new cards, postcards and marketing ideas are working so far.

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In this episode, Scott talks about a recent camera upgrade and how it affects workflow.  If you are looking to upgrade your old digital video cameras to the newer hard drive based camcorders, take a look at Oleg Flaksman’s page for a very good primer on how to get results.

There’s also a marketing update for those of you that are interested in how the new cards, postcards and marketing ideas are working so far.

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Sorry everyone, I recorded this a week ago but didn’t get it out before I took off for vacation.  It’s a response to a posting in one of the listservs (not PInow) about saving money by downsizing your office phone system.  I had a lot of questions so I figured a podcast would be an easy way to get the word out.  Use the comment section for questions, and well, comments and we’ll get everyone on board with Google Voice and OneSuite.   To be clear, I do take part in the affiliate program for OneSuite.  You can support the show by using the link to OneSuite.com or you can go directly to the site and bypass my affiliate link.  Either way is fine with me.

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Still more marketing as Scott talks about direct mailing and postcard marketing.  There’s clients to be found, mined and farmed by sending letters and postcards to potential clients.  Scott touches on what works and what’s important in this time tested advertising field.

Oh yeah, there’s a bit of a rant about how PINow has hassled me to no end and screwed over their listserv group members.

Don’t forget to go to the curbside investigator website to check out onesuite for your low cost faxing needs.

Here’s some links on postcards

http://www.postcardmarketingidea.com/

http://www.easypostcardmarketing.com/how-to-develop-an-effective-postcard-marketing-campaign

http://www.easypostcardmarketing.com/five-approaches-to-postcard-marketing

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I’ve spent that last couple of months talking about marketing for PI’s and we’ve covered a variety of topics.  The Elevator Speech is the topic of this episode of  The Curbside Investigator and I’ve found lots of resources that Private Investigators can use to craft the perfect Elevator Speech.  As I learned in the research, there’s more than one way to take advantage of  those precious few seconds you have to make an impression.  Which way is right for you?  If you’ve never thought about an Elevator Speech or would like some tips on perfecting yours, check out Episode #113 of the Curbside Investigator Podcast at  www.curbsideinvestigator.com

Here’s the resource links:
http://theclosetentrepreneur.com/elevator-pitch-101-intro-to-writing-a-30-second-elevator-pitch

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/08/how-to-craft-killer-elevator-pitch-that.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Elevator-Speech-Template-Examples—Basic-30-Second-Introduction-Scripts&id=5073330
http://www.creativity-portal.com/articles/jonathan-vehar/value-elevator-speech.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/16957655/The-Elevator-Speech
http://www.expressionsofexcellence.com/sample_elevator.html
http://www.offshoresecretaries.com/SMALL-BUSINESS/networking–beyond-the-elevator-speech.html
http://workbloom.com/resume/sample/private-investigator.aspx

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More marketing is on tap in this episode with a different take on presenting yourself and your company to potential clients.  There’s a lot of information about marketing, business and presentation to clients and potential clients.

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Marketing is a touchy subject.  There’s no doubt that everyone has there own ideas and theories and very often, those ideas are at odds with each other.  It’s part skill, part innate ability and part voodoo.  No matter where it comes from, marketing is a vital piece of the business puzzle and PI’s are not exempt.  In this episode, Scott recaps a recent discussion with Private Investigator Randy Torgerson.  It’s a compare/contrast discussion on very different marketing ideas.

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This is a response to an article printed in Pursuit Magazine.  You can check out the link to the article here and you might want to read it before listening to the podcast.  Telephone interviews are a necessity in this business, but there truly is a right time and a wrong time to utilize them.  Not all investigations can be conducted in person, nor should they be.  Scott provides some great tips in this episode to help understand how and when to use a telephone interview.

And yes, this was recorded over a month ago.  The turkey coma struct before this got posted.

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In this episode, Scott continues the discussion on marketing techniques.  This week, the focus is on presentations and seminars.  Giving a presentation or seminar to industry leaders, specifically in your area of expertise, is an excellent way to position yourself as a professional and an expert in your field.  An added benefit is the one to one face time you get with potential clients.  Once you’ve positioned yourself as an expert, offer your services to them.  They will not only be informed on your products and services, but will have had an opportunity to get to know you in a much better way than if you were to cold call.

If you’ve got ideas or comments on Scott’s technology seminar, please post them here or send them to scott{at}curbsideinvestigator.com

Also, thanks to all the people and resources out there that are providing educational content to PI’s, including The American Private Investigator Podcast, PI’s Declassified and Pursuit Magazine.

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In this episode, Scott discusses billing and rates.  It sounds rather dull but it’s an important aspect to any business.  PI’s can easily get stuck if they don’t understand their costs and how to price their services.

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