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Resisting Advertising Temptation

Therefore, you have devised a budget for your marketing and you have a good idea of what you will be doing. Now, brace yourself for an endless series of temptations designed to tear that plan apart.

As a small business owner, people selling advertising on everything imaginable will attack you. They will find you, call you, visit you and try to get you to buy ad space from them.

It might be a high school fundraiser. They just need a few more advertisers to fill out their programs at the Friday night football games. For only $100 you can get a business card-sized ad in every program.

It might be a charity golf tournament. You can pay a few hundred dollars and sponsor a hole. Your name will go into the program, along with an ad, and there will be a sign right at the tee letting everyone know that you backed this wonderful cause.

It might be some guy with a start-up advertiser tabloid. They aren't sure about circulation yet, but the price is so low it makes sense even if only a fraction of their print run is ever actually read, they say.

The local radio station might approach your retail establishment about doing an on-location broadcast. They promise plenty of mentions and some additional ad slots in exchange for your expenditure.

The old diner is going to put adds on the back and bottom of the breakfast menu. Heck, if you buy two spots they'll name a combination meal after your company.

You will be approached by everyone. Some of the plans will be so outrageous that you won't be able to believe anyone decided to go out and make the sales pitch. Others will tug on heartstrings so effectively that you may worry that you'll hate yourself if you don't participate.

You'll have to step through the minefield of temptation to keep yourself on track. How do you do it? How will you find a way to turn person after person down?

Remember your filtering question. You want to reach your goals in a cost effective manner. Ask yourself whether participation will fit your budget and whether it is likely to produce real results.

Be cheap. Don't forget just home important it is to secure the best possible deal on any transaction. If you can't resist having two eggs, two pancakes and a bowl of fruit named after your company down at Marva's Diner, make sure you do everything in your power to reduce the price tag.

Remember that things add up. You will hear from a slew of would be advertising sales agents. Although many of these deals may have a cost that seems like a mere pittance, over time these micro-expenditures will add up to a macro-sized expense-related line item.