The attention and credibility brings customers and sales dollars, pure and simple. How’s this done? You’re about to get a crash course.

Today, we are staring straight down the barrel of the opinion age. Not only does everyone have opinions, but now everyone can share them.

What is the image that you want for your company? Does it “match” that image represented in your marketing? If not, you’ve already lost. Why? The vast majority of the market only knows you by one thing … your image.

Oh, those funny people at Google. What once was a free online search service allowing billions of searchers to locate “nose hair trimmers in Cleveland” — at no cost to Nose Hair Clipper Depot — has morphed into an actual business. Are you prepared to navigate this new advertising model?

“Why didn’t you page the nearby area to let people know you were leaving early?” The Delta attendant said, “We only page in the immediate area.” “So,” I asked, through mildly clenched teeth, “You only page to locate people who are already here?” Anybody see the problem?

Do you want to know which marketing techniques are working to generate leads now? You might be surprised to find out that the Internet has not taken over the world, yet.

What was, isn’t anymore. Why do I begin this article with a completely undiagrammable sentence? Because most things in business now aren’t following diagrams either.

Selling is - and has always been - a relationship. Yet in a hot economy, when cash is flowing, improvements are incentivized, and home values warranted re-investment, selling was order taking. We got lazy. True sales skills eroded. Case in point, follow up has become nearly nonexistent.

Let this year be the year you shift your message to fit your true buyers. Attract with emotions, convert with helpful authority, and retain with friendly efficiency. Do this and you’ll have enough new business to make this your best year ever.

Mistakes are powerful lesson builders. And nowhere is this more evident than in e-mail marketing. E-mail marketing inherently brings mistakes. That’s because it’s free and everyone who can push “send” can use it. Usually, the more difficult or expensive your marketing media is, the greater the research and testing you put behind it.