If you are a small business owner, your biggest problem, simply speaking, is growing your bottom line by getting more customers. To secure new customers requires that you share or deliver your message to the market place. If you dont believe that marketing is essential to your business, then dont read any further because this article will have no value for you.

However, if you understand the importance of marketing, maybe now is the time to check out your marketing tool box and assess your marketing tools to ensure that they will deliver you sharp sales in 2006.

Your marketing tool box much like a traditional tool box and has 2 sections. The top section sits on top of the bottom section. Within the second section of your tool box or the bottom is the heavier marketing tools. Remember, each tool has a cost. NOTE: An estimated price range is included.

Top Section -- Lightweight Tools

• Business Cards -- $20 to $200 for 1,000 cards

• Brochures -- $.50 to $2.00 for 100 brochures

• Flyers -- $.25 to $1.00 each

• Letterhead -- $.05 to $.20 each

• Envelopes -- $.05 to $.10 each

• Post Cards -- $.05 to $.50 each

• Postage -- $.25 to $.39 each piece

• Giveaways -- $.10 to $10,000 for 100 to 5,000 quantities

• CDs or DVDs -- $5.00 each to $2,000 for 50

• Referrals -- Free however in many cases there is an indirect cost

NOTE: If you as the small business owner contributed to the design, development and production of any of these tools, remember to estimate your time at $100 per hour.

Bottom Section -- Heavyweight Tools

• Speaking Engagements -- Usually free, sometimes can generate income (Does not include time to write or practice the speech. Estimate $100/hour.)

• Printed Book -- $3,000 to $10,000+ for 1,000 copies (Does not include time to write the book. Estimate $100/hour.)

• Articles -- Free submission to sites such as Ezine Articles (Does not include time involved in writing. Estimate $100/hour.)

• Paid Media Advertisements -- Radio, TV, Newspapers, Trade Journals and Internet Adwords -- Cost .05 pay through click to $10,000 plus per advertisement

• Website -- $100 to $10,000 development cost with monthly hosting fees from $10 to $30

• Chamber Membership -- $200 to $1,000 per chamber

• Professional Associations -- $100 to $500 per association Networking Groups Traditional -- BNI, Leads, LeTip -- $1,000 to $2,000 per group includes breakfast or luncheon fees

• Networking Groups Non-Traditional -- Fast Pitch Networking -- $20 online or $40 on site with no annual membership fees

If you begin to add up the costs of all of the tools within your Marketing Tool Box, you can easily accumulate a value in excess of $50,000 or more on an annual basis. As a small business coach, my clients are always amazed when they start this activity by listing their marketing tools and costs. By identifying and assessing your marketing costs, you, the small business owner can determine what you need to do to work smarter and not harder.

Upon completion of this activity, I ask them this two-fold question:

If your marketing is costing you $25,000 to $50,000 on an annual basis, what is your conversion rate or how much money is it costing you to acquire each and every client?

Then, what tools are sharper or giving you a higher conversion rate and why are you keeping any tools that arent effective?