Entrepreneurs sometimes learn the hard way that the world will only beat a path to your door -- if they know about your better mousetrap. Are you sitting on your couch waiting for customers to come to you?

To get a steady stream of customers for your enterprise, you must use every marketing avenue possible, including but not limited to: search engine marketing, internet marketing, email marketing, and direct marketing. By doing so, you make sure that your hand reaches high above all the others being raised.

The reality of school today points to the fact that some students often challenge "intelligence." While in elementary school, I discovered the inherent value in appearing to know the answer to the questions asked by the teacher.

Making sure that the teacher could see that I possibly had the answer (raising my hand) easily set me apart from at least 95% of the class. Answering the question correctly, not only endeared me to the teacher, but also served notice to my classmates of my seriousness when it came to the work at hand.

As a business owner, the teacher (marketplace) usually will ask you several questions. Among them you may find:

1. Do I qualify as a recipient of your message?

2. Can you solve my problems?

3. How else can you help me?

4. What makes you different than others who make the same claims?

5. What can you promise that will reduce the risk of doing business with you?

Raising your hand (marketing) let the other students (competitors) know that you take your business seriously, as well as being serious about providing an answer to your prospect's problem, pain or predicament. It also tells everyone who sees you that "just getting by" does not satisfy you.

Your marketing plan, (how you raise your hand) although a separate entity, differs from your overall business plan. As a side note, a great majority of the new businesses that wind up failing in a few short years possess neither a business plan nor a marketing plan.

Once the groundwork is laid for your business, you must focus your energies on creating a marketing plan which in essence will let others see that your hand is raised. But remember action differs from accomplishment.

A hamster running on a treadmill creates action, but he goes no where. Answering the teacher's question incorrectly will not achieve much directly.

Indirectly, giving the wrong answer beats doing nothing at all. At least the teacher and the class will see your efforts. The teacher may in fact, take you aside and "tutor" you or in other ways help you to eventually come up with the right answers which will move you towards your goal -- getting a passing grade.

When it comes to your marketing, the "teacher" makes inquiries based on the five age-old journalistic questions when it comes to doing business: who, what, where, why, when and how?

1. Who makes up your market?

2. What business do you engage in?

3. What tools and techniques will you use to reach your buyers?

4. What dollar amount makes up your budget?

5. Where can you find your prospects?

6. Why should people buy from you?

7. When will the action steps in your plan take place?

8. How will prospects benefit from what you offer?

9. How will you advertise your product or service?

10. How will you position your business or service?

If you take the time to study and learn the answers to these questions, people see your raised hand. More importantly, you will automatically place yourself in the top 5% of your "class."