Sales don't just wander in your front door. Here's how to cultivate up a steady stream of shoppers.

Sanjay, Huntington, N.Y.
We have a retail shop of clothing and jewelry. I sit all day waiting for the customers. How can I utilize that time on my computer, and do something that will generate extra cash for my business?

By Dinah Eng, CNNMoney.com contributing writer
If you're not selling your products online, now is the time to start — and if you've already taken the e-commerce dive, you can use your down time to build sales-boosting buzz.

If you don’t already have a Web site for your store, you can ease in by selling on established sites like Amazon.com or eBay. If you have handmade items, try Etsy.com or ArtFire.com.

Whether you're selling on your own site or an outside one, a good next step is to compile an e-mail database of your customers. Realize, though, that technology alone is not going to sell your inventory.

Paul Schneider, owner of Twist

“Retail is all about relationships,” says Paul Schneider, owner of Twist, which started as an artists’ coop and now sells jewelry and art pieces through two stores in Portland and one in Seattle. “If you compile an e-mail database and use it to establish a line of communication, you’re three-quarters of the way to making a sale.”

If you have six customers a day, you could compile 36 names a week. The trick, of course, is getting people to give you their e-mail addresses.

“I try to make it fairly personal,” Schneider says. “'Would you mind if I got in touch with you when we have a special promotion for our e-mail friends only?' Make it a private, exclusive club. Don’t send more than one mass e-mail a month. To a small retail business, this is gold.”

Schneider says he uses his Web site for personalized pitches, sending customers links to pages with items that may interest them.

To attract new customers, he suggests finding the blogs and discussion groups online that deal with what you sell, and becoming a part of the discussion.

“Talk about your products, even if you don’t have your own Web site,” he says. “If you sell wedding rings, get on the bridal blogs. We’re starting to work with social networking, and have a fan page on Facebook now. There are search engine optimization consultants who can help you craft online ads.”

Richard Eiseman, Jr., owner of Eiseman Jewels in Dallas, a high-end boutique, is now in the process of inputting a mailing list compiled over 40-plus years into a database. To entice people to register online, he sent out direct mail pieces offering a free valet parking pass at the mall and a chance to win a $5,000 store gift card.

“Find ways to get exposure by doing something unique," Eiseman suggests. "Host a charity event in your store. Have the local school sell something at your store. You have to get foot traffic in based on some expectation other than buying.”

Utilize that time in between walk-ins by reaching out to customers on the phone.

“Keep a card on every person you’ve sold to,” advises Scott Marshall, a Los Angeles consultant who specializes in retail management and e-commerce. “Write down what they like, their family information, anything you can think of. Then think of how to help them with the products you carry. If you’ve got trendy teen clothing coming in, and their card says they have teenage nieces, call and tell them, but do it in a way that shows you’re interested in them, and not just the sale.”

Marshall says men, in particular, always need help with finding the right gift for women. Have their spouse or girlfriend fill out a store “wish list,” then offer to send the guys an e-mail reminder when a birthday, anniversary, or holiday is coming up — and suggest items that the women in their lives might enjoy.

“You have to decide to be in the game,” he says. “Too many people think 'I’m a small store, my customers don’t have a lot of money.' Everybody wants to find a deal without searching high and low for it. To somebody, your things are expensive, and to somebody else, the items are cheap. If you’re ready to just sit at the computer and do work for someone else, you’ve given up on your own store.”

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Pay for the marketing that works

Even bad reviews boost sales

HR by Twitter

A guide to breaking big in Apple's very crowded market.

Keeven Kuate Konga, Tempe
What steps do I take in order to make a big jump in the iPhone application industry? I have found an app designer. I know the basics, but is there any other information other than what's given on Apple's Web site?

By Kathleen Ryan O'Connor, CNNMoney.com contributor

Imagine being crowned the valedictorian of a class of 50,000. That's a bit of what's it's like to capture the #1 spot in Apple's iPhone app store — only a lot more lucrative. A hot iPhone app is the Holy Grail of mobile software development.

For all the dings Apple takes for its dealings with outside developers, the price of admission into its iPhone app program is pretty straightforward: $99 for basic access to the software development kit (SDK). Apple ditched its wildly unpopular nondisclosure requirement back in October.

Once your application is ready for launch, the approval process generally moves fast. According to Simon Pope, an Apple spokesman, 98% of iPhone apps submitted to the store are reviewed in seven days, and 96% are approved.

Then comes the hard part: Getting noticed by legions of passionate iPhone users. Competitive pressure has driven the cost of most of Apple's almost 50,000 iPhone apps to $1.99 or less, according to 148Apps.biz, an independent site about iPhone apps with a good "marketing 101" section. That means volume is king. For your app to make money, customers must find it, like it, and above all, download it.

"It takes making a great game, but that’s just one element of it," says Adam Sussman, vice president of worldwide publishing for EA Mobile, which created top app The Sims 3. The mobile version of the popular game zoomed to #1 within 18 hours of its release on June 2.

"And we did that at $9.99," Sussman says.

Jumping off a wildly popular and established brand helps enormously, but Sussman says marketing is a factor, no matter your size.

"The app store is so crowded," he says. "How do you drive discoverability? It’s not the case that you just do a game and that’s it." EA's strategy was to build excitement for The Sims 3 by releasing all its platform versions — PC, Mac, iPhone and more — on the same day across the world.

One way to get noticed on a shoestring budget is to try to have your app reviewed by some of the dozens of sites that have sprung up to chronicle All Things iPhone, like AppScout. The blog Online Marketing Rant has a handy list of relevant publications.

And while the unfortunate Baby Shaker app produced a lot of press, no expert thought silly or scandalous was the way to go. The best apps leverage unique iPhone features, like the device's accelerometer and touch screen. A rich and addictive user experience is the difference between being a one-hit wonder or creating something with staying power, Sussman says.

Also critical is knowing your audience, says Jonathan Sasse, senior vice president of marketing at Slacker Radio, a popular free online radio station that released its own iPhone app in January.

"We did our best to make sure the iPhone experience is close to the full Slacker experience, so you can go back and forth," he says. Slacker went for a rich-media feel, but developers need to be mindful to keep their mobile apps from growing too complicated.

Try not to get caught up in the frenzy to be #1, Sasse recommends. Concentrate on building a great experience.
Mark Bradshaw, director of development for Stratogon Entertainment Corp. in Plantation, Fla., knows what it's like to be in your shoes. Stratogon now concentrates heavily on the iPhone app market, and will have several apps ready to go live in the next month.

"We think it’s about making a great game that's really quick and fun," he says. "People are going to be sitting at the bus stop — it's something they get in and out of pretty quickly."

So how big a deal will it be if your apps break big?

“It’s a huge deal,” Bradshaw says, especially for those on tiny budgets.

A bestselling iPhone app can easily move 300,000 units in the first three months. At $1.99 per unit, that's almost $600,000. Apple takes a 30% cut, but when you're creating your product on a shoestring upfront investment, that's still a lot of upside. As Bradshaw puts it: grossing "half a million dollars isn't bad."

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

iPhone U: Learn how to code

The iPhone music maker: How Ocarina scored a hit

How to get your video game into retail stores

Finding buyers when sales are sluggish

Have a hot idea for an educational software product? Here's how successful entrepreneurs have cracked the market.

Ernest L. Leisner, Buffalo
I have created a word game that I would like to transform into an educational video game. I believe it can go a long way to help improve the dismal illiteracy rate in our schools. I have many aspects of a proposal in place and I’d like to find a government grant to help. I have tried searching the Internet, but there are scams all over the place.

By Kathleen Ryan O’Connor, CNNMoney.com contributor
Finding a grant to develop a business idea is nearly impossible. Scams abound, and legitimate grants from foundations and other philanthropic groups are almost exclusively for non-profit groups or educators, not private inventors. The only genuine place to search for U.S. government grants is grants.gov, but those rarely go to sole proprietors. (See "Business grants: Sorting out the scams.")

But there are still ways for a novice with a great idea to crack the educational software market. The first step is to get your product or proposal in front of people who know the market and can help you sell it.

There are two options: Create, publish and market the software yourself, focusing on either the retail or education market, or license the product to an established company.

Entrepreneur Margaret Johnson chose the do-it-yourself route for ItzaBitza, a computer game that helps kids learn to read through interactive art.

Johnson knew plenty about kids and software: She's a mother and spent nearly two decades at Microsoft. But what she didn't know was retail, which turned out to be the name of the game.

"For an entrepreneur, retail is tough. You are sitting on inventory … it takes a while to ramp up awareness," says Johnson, who left Microsoft to sell ItzaBitza through her educational games firm Sabi Inc. "Awareness is huge. That's tough for a little guy to get."

First, make a list of all the publishers in the educational game space – Johnson mentioned Microsoft (MSFT), Sesame Street and Nickelodeon, but look on the shelves at your local Best Buy or a similar store for more ideas. Then, make it a point to attend their conferences or find them at trade events. You won't need an appointment, but this is where shyness is not allowed.

"I basically stalked people," Johnson says with a laugh. She'd sometimes wait as long as two hours to talk with the right person. "I showed them the game right there." Johnson ultimately made the decision to self-publish – a riskier move, but a more profitable one if you are successful.

If you self-publish, the next step is to get your game into stores. That requires making contact with buyers. At small, local stores, you can approach owners directly, but if you want to crack a national chain, they won't usually field calls from unknown businesses. They work with major retail distributors – who also prefer to deal with larger companies with established sales histories.

Johnson had little luck approaching major distributors abut ItzaBitza, but from them she was able to get the names of several reputable distribution aggregators. Aggregators are companies that take on several smaller clients. Johnson used Channel Sources Distribution Co. of Brookfield, Conn, but there are plenty more out there.

Distributors will take care of logistics and paperwork for you, but their biggest asset is their network. "They have a sales force, and they call on Toys R Us," Johnson says.

ItzaBitza is now available on retail shelves in stores including Best Buy (BBY) and Office Max (OMX).

Despite the recession, the educational software market is poised for growth. Educators staring out at classrooms filled with kids raised on Nintendo and Xbox are more open than ever to incorporating software and video games into their curriculum.

John Rice, an educator specializing in instructional gaming who writes a blog devoted to the industry, points to games that started as purely entertainment that have been repurposed for educational use. The Civilization series, for example, has been adopted by teachers for sociology and history courses.

"Likewise, The Sims can be used as a language-acquisition tool when students play it in another language," Rice says.

That opens the door for direct sales to schools and other educators. Like the retail channel, though, that market has its own challenges and quirks.

"Education, as a market, is extremely homogenous – [schools are] structured roughly the same, with the same purpose – which is good from a business point of view," says Mark Jones, president of Echo 360, which offers technology for recording lectures. Jones describes his product as "TiVo for the classroom."

He recommends you find the early adopters or "visionaries" among educators or education institutions. Is there a school that consistently seems to be in the forefront of new technology? They might be more receptive to a pitch than a place still in love with the chalkboard.

If you can get them on board, "they will become a viral network for you," he says. Education is a very peer-driven field; administrators often rely on colleagues at other departments or schools for product recommendations.

If you're really strapped for the up-front capital to create your product, licensing could offer you the most bang for minimal bucks.

"Think about what kid brand is out there with established credibility and pitch the game as an extension of that brand," suggests Andrew Mininger, CEO of Mada Design, a New York-marketing firm that works with clients in the games, education and licensing arena.

The best and fastest way to reach representatives of major brands is through expositions like the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association's annual conference. This year, it's set for June 2-4 in Las Vegas. You'll have to pay for a ticket to the show, but it's open to anyone. Prices range from $180 for a basic floor ticket to a full package for $1,170 that will allow you to attend seminars such as "Basic Training for First-Time Licensees" and "Getting Your Brand Ready for Licensing."

Before you approach someone, do your homework. Have a pitch ready about exactly how your game can extend their brand. Do they already have educational books on the market? A software component could be a natural extension. Are they lacking an educational tie-in their competitors already offer? That's also an excellent way to get attention.

You might also want to take a look at developing the game for a particular platform like the Nintendo Wii or Sony's PlayStation Portable. "Everyone is trying to get more exclusive, like Microsoft with Xbox," Mininger says. Everyone wants to make their product the hottest one around, and "education is integrated into that experience."

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

How to get your product on retailers’ shelves

When to pay for an advertising campaign

What fair use protects – and doesn’t

Environmentally friendly practices can help your business grow – and grants and low-interest loans are available to help.

John, Lynnwood, Wash.
“I'm looking to make my auto detail shop very green. Are there any government grants that I could get to convert everything to the greenest detail shop you've ever seen?”

By Kathleen Ryan O’Connor, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

Saving energy and reducing waste can have a powerful impact on any small business — auto detailing included.

But it can be expensive and difficult to convert to an all-green operation. Recognizing this, organizations and agencies ranging from your local utility to the federal government now offer a variety of incentives that can help, in the form of grants, loans or rebates.

Your local utility is the perfect first step. A quick check on the Web site of the Snohomish County Public Utility District No. 1 shows several rebate programs to help local businesses to become more energy efficient.

One, for energy-efficient lighting projects, will rebate 70% of the cost, or 100% of the materials cost if the project is self-installed, up to $7,500.

Another great place to look is the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, which has more than 100 listings for green grants, rebates and loans for Washington state alone.

Also check Business.gov, a Web site managed as a partnership by 22 federal agencies, for “green” business incentives. But as always, beware of grants that ask for money upfront and those that simply seem too good to be true.

You will also want to contact your local government-sponsored Small Business Development Center, a great resource for information to help your small business go green. Late last year, the Small Business Administration funneled $500,000 through business development centers in Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada and New York to help fund energy efficiency projects. Your local center might have similar options available.

The Washington state SBDC can be reached via Washington State University in Spokane.

Pamela Evans, the green business coordinator for Alameda County, Calif., helps businesses in her state adopt greener practices. Her program certified its first business in 1997 and now boasts 350 local “green businesses” and a waiting list of companies waiting to be considered for certification.

Even without a formal auditing or certification process in your area, small business owners can easily cast a critical eye themselves, she says. Look at your energy use, water use and waste volume. Few business owners realize that lighting can be as much as a third of their energy use, so it pays to go as energy-efficient as possible.

And it sounds obvious, but make sure you are in compliance with all existing environmental laws, Evans says.

“Say, for example, you are washing cars,” she says. “Most local governments will have regulations to prevent runoff into a creek.”

Thomas Rennie, founder and owner of AutoBella, a green auto detailing business in Portland, recommends starting with the front office.

“We just decided, me and my wife, to start treating our business like our home,” Rennie says.

They began ordering liquid products that come in corn-based, eco-friendly containers that compost easily. They replaced old, energy inefficient lighting and took advantage of an option to buy wind-based power from their local utility. Even the pens they use got an eco-friendly makeover — they are made from cardboard and wood. Today, AutoBella workers wear shirts made from bamboo fiber, an easily renewable resource.

They've since moved on to bigger-ticket items, including a major investment in a $15,000 water reclamation system.

“It’s expensive, but I’m getting a huge amount of business off of it," Rennie says.

He and his wife also committed to using biofuel instead of kerosene, a fix that illustrates how inexpensive some green moves can be. Switching to biofuel cost just $30, Rennie says, for a parts change on their high-pressure washer.

Just one warning, if you're on a diet: "It smells like french fries all the time," Rennie says with a laugh.

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

How can I cash in on clean energy?

Harnessing solar energy in Senegal

Investing in a green work environment

Looking to sell your business? Some technology investments are worth the cost.

DC Kirstein, Softcare Computer Consulting Co., Pittsburgh
Do you have any articles that link updating your company's technology and selling your business? I believe that simply improving a company's technology can help increase its resale value. Is this true?

By Christina Crapanzano, CNNMoney.com contributor
It's easy to measure the effect remodeling or upgrading infrastructure like windows or plumbing has on the resale value of a typical home. Not so with a small business – there are very few metrics on how to quantify the value of a company. The Small Business Administration does not keep data on small business sales, according to spokesman John McDowell.

A technology investment that directly helps a business's bottom line will pay off for a seller – but only once it's already paying off for the business. The number-one thing most potential buyers will care about is a company's cash flow.

“Buyers pay for what you have already built, and they buy it so it can grow,” says Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Chicagoland Sunbelt Business Brokers.

Mike Handelsman, general manager of sales site BizBuySell, backed that assessment. “It depends on whether the technology relates directly to the ability to impact revenue or cash flow,” he said. “For example, adding a technology can allow you to tap into a new customer base, increasing revenue.” But what buyers will reward is the new revenue stream, not the underlying infrastructure behind it.

Why it is so hard to value a business? Many of a company's best assets are intangible: Its brand recognition, its staffers' skills, its supplier relationships. The motives of the buyer also come into play.

"There are a lot of moving pieces," says Dick Leslie of San Diego's SCORE, a businesses counseling organization. "Are they buying your customer base? Do they like your location?"

Even without statistical evidence of higher resale prices, small business advisors recommend keeping the technology you need for your daily operations current and investing strategically in systems and equipment that will add value. This is especially key for companies in the information technology (IT) field: "If you’re trying to sell technology, you really need to be at the forefront," Leslie says.

Ramon Ray, a small business technology advisor for AllBusiness.com, notes that technology is only one element of business growth. To get the most from your IT investments, you need good leadership, efficient business processes and savvy financial management. Well-implemented systems for managing your company's finances, employees, vendors and clients can pay off handsomely – but botched deployments of new systems are expensive and frustrating mistakes.

Fast working computers for your office and good security systems are must-haves these days. If you have those basics covered, Ray recommends looking at your customer relationship management (CRM) system as a good investment opportunity.

"Without customers, you have no money," Ray said. "Overall, systems that affect how you work with customers – order fulfillment, for example – are of particular significance."

Except in specialized fields, equipment is a commodity. Investments in software and systems will pay off more than sinking cash into the latest-and-greatest in office PCs or printers. Fortunately, software investments don't have to be expensive. Leslie recommends that companies look into "Web 2.0" applications: Web-based systems managed remotely. Salesforce.com (CRM), NetSuite (N), and Google Apps (GOOG) are examples of online business-management applications popular with small companies.

"Those things can be bought pretty inexpensively," Leslie says. "Web 2.0 applications that allow clients to interact with the company are of significant value."

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

Selling out and shutting down

Finding the best broker for your business

Selling your business and keeping the gains

How to avoid Website trademark disputes, and where to turn when you run in to one.

Phil Schmidt, President, Capital Medical, Sacramento
I created a Web site in 2004 to help me sell medical equipment for a third-party manufacturer. Two years later a competitor trademarked [sic] my domain name. Recently the competitor threatened to sue me unless I shut down my Web site. They claim they have used my domain name since the 1990s to help them sell their product. They offered to pay me a nominal amount for the URL. Do I have to stop using my URL?

By Adriana Gardella, Fortune Small Business senior editor
Your situation presents a cautionary tale. The lesson? "Check the publicly accessible USPTO online database for registered trademarks, or consult a trademark attorney before adopting and using a domain name that may infringe on another's trademark rights," says Gayle Strong, an intellectual-property lawyer with the Denver office of Greenberg Traurig. Since it is already too late for that, we urge you to do the next best thing: Talk to a lawyer. To find one, you might start with the Sacramento County Bar Association, which has a referral service. Only a professional with a full understanding of the facts of your case can help you choose the best course of action.

That said, we can offer some insight into the possible issues raised by your question. Using the right language is a start. Your competitor did not "trademark" your domain name. Rather, it registered the trademark.

"The fact that your competitor did not register its trademark until after you registered your domain name is not controlling if the competitor was using its trademark nationally before you registered your domain name," says David Kelly, a partner with Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner in Washington, D.C. He notes that merely registering a domain name will not give you the right to use it. "Your ability to use a domain name is subject to the prior trademark rights of others."

"The first user of a mark will typically be protected," explains David Burgert, chair of the IP group at Porter & Hedges in Houston. "As with most trademark issues, the key question is likelihood of confusion. In your case, it sounds like both parties make the same or similar products and use the same or similar trade name to market it. So consumer confusion between the two companies seems likely." Burgert says the question will probably become: Which one of you first used the name for the product?

This column provides general information only and is not intended to replace the services or legal advice of an attorney. Always consult a lawyer regarding any specific legal concerns, as laws vary from state to state.

Tech advice for a mobile chiropractor who wants to take his business to his clients.

Edgar Facuseh, Miami, Fla.
I have a mobile chiropractor business. Recently, I came across an electronic medical records program that does everything I need, from notetaking to billing to patient scheduling. Best of all, it’s Web-based. I have a list of all the portable equipment I need for the chiropractic part. The only equipment I’m not sure of is the technical communications equipment required: What do I need to be able to carry around my laptop and be able to get online from any location, be it a patient’s home, an office or at an athletic event? Also, what cell phone brand and service can I purchase that can work alongside my laptop?

By Shara Rutberg, Fortune Small Business contributor
Dear Edgar: First, you’ll need to decide what type of smart phone or PDA will best serve you and your chiropractic business, says Javier Barbeite, information resources manager for the South Florida office of the Small Business Association.

“The fork in the road for phones comes down to a few basic choices: a Microsoft (MSFT) Windows-based phone, a Palm-based phone or a RIM Blackberry,” he says. Windows-based phones (or, if you’re a Mac user, Apple's iPhone) have less of a learning curve, as they look similar to your desktop. Palm products, like a Treo, “are usually something a computer geek will go for, it’s far more customizable, with over 10,000 different software programs you can add,” Barbeite says. A Blackberry is really geared toward heavy e-mail users; it's for “people who need to see every e-mail as it arrives and be able to respond immediately.”

Most likely your phone will be operating separately from your laptop. “Only in very, very specialized cases do you need to really link into a laptop, we don’t see a lot of people out there doing that,” says Barbeite. To access the Internet, the most reliable and efficient method he’s seen in your area is the Verizon (VZ) broadband Internet access card.

“Think of it as a cellular phone modem, a card that slides into your laptop,” he says. You buy a card, along with a contract, the same way you do a cell phone. Customers who already have a cell phone contract with Verizon get a significant discount, so you might want to consider switching if you currently use another carrier.

Communication is key, says Dr. Jeffery Solomon from Mobile Chiropractic. While working as the chiropractor on the set of the movie Miami Vice, Solomon was inspired by the portability of the movie industry: crews are able to bring, lights, camera and meals for 300 to wherever they shoot. He has since designed four high-tech RVs customized for use as mobile chiropractic offices. His book Guide to Mobile Chiropractic, available through his Web site, outlines the specifics.

Solomon  uses his mobile communications network to send out e-mails as he arrives at corporate parks or other large clients. “I can send out a message saying ‘hey, we’re arriving, if anybody needs us,'” says Solomon. “It increases the volume and really keeps the flow going.” For client records and notes for insurance companies, “my voice dictation program has been a spectacular aide.”

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

Life at Basecamp – six months in

Staying connected to your business from overseas

Running an entire business from smartphones

Ask FSB’s tips for simplifying your payment processing.

Freddie Bates, Springfield, Ill.
Where can I find a template to help me create an invoice for payment, and can you recommend any tips on how to make processing accounts payable or invoicing for services any easier?

By Brandi Stewart, Fortune Small Business staff writer
Dear Freddie: There’s plenty of help out there; it all depends how much of the work you want to delegate, and how much you can afford to farm out. When it comes to getting help with your accounting, you get what you pay for.

If you can do it all yourself, begin by creating a format for your invoicing. Carolyn Walter, an office manager at Time Inc. (part of Time Warner, CNNMoney.com's parent company) who also self-manages her acting career, recommends starting with the invoice template in Microsoft (MSFT) Word. “It’s a basic outline that can work for very small businesses across different industries,” she says – and it's free.

Internet accounting services are inexpensive and easy to use. For example, Blinksale.com offers an invoicing service that allows users to create, send, and catalogue payment forms in a Web-based format. Depending on how many invoices you send a month, the service can cost between $0 and $49 a month.

The Internet is a great place to find inexpensive software specifically designed to help entrepreneurs. You can look for a program that not only whips up invoices, but also manages other bookkeeping tasks, such as automatic billing, budgeting, and expense tracking. FSB’s tech expert Jonathan Blum recommends both Intuit’s QuickBooks (INTU) and Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2008.

Last year, FSB reported on a company in search of a program that could track functions such as purchasing and invoicing as well as employee spending. ( See “A speedier way to file expense accounts.”) The executives at Baker Communications found what they were looking for in ExpenseWatch, which offers a product that specializes in invoice management.

For business owners who don’t have the time or staff to manage their company’s payment processing in-house, outsourcing is an alternative.

“Delegating business processes, such as aspects of finance and accounting, including invoicing or payroll, can be a smart move for entrepreneurs looking to focus their resources on their core business,” says Mindy Blodgett, a research analyst for Boston-based technology consulting firm Yankee Group. ADP (ADP)and Accenture (ACN) are examples of large outsourcers that work with small and medium size businesses.

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

Life at Basecamp – six months in

How to avoid deadbeat clients

A speedier way to file expense accounts

Remember, success is in the details when it comes to bids and RFPs.

Paul Shelton, Tavares, Fla.
I need help writing contract proposals and contracts. Any advice or recommendations for software?

By Kathleen Ryan O’Connor, Fortune Small Business contributor
Dear Paul: Everyone’s guilty of tossing aside the directions at least once. (So what if the DVD remote also works the refrigerator icemaker? Bonus!) But if there’s one rule that cannot be ignored in writing contract proposals, it is: read the directions. And when you think you have them down, read them again.

Any deviation from the specifics requested could put that proposal you labored over for weeks right into the circular file.

“It all has to be in their order, not yours,” says Roger Cohen, a government contracts consultant in Nyack, N.Y. who has been producing and writing government contract proposals since 1984. “Deviation is a sure path to failure.”

Cohen suggests printing out the directions, grabbing a three-hole punch, a binder, highlighter and pen, and going through the RFP line by line – as many times as necessary.

Paying close attention to the dry, technical stuff doesn't mean you can’t sell yourself in a proposal. You absolutely can – and should.

It helps to see the request for a proposal (or in whatever form the request comes) as a problem that needs solving – and each specification as a question that needs answering. How are you the best person to solve each issue?

“Your proposal is your only salesperson,” Cohen says. “It has to speak for you.”

And don’t worry about fancy – and expensive – software. The experts we spoke to say it isn’t necessary.

Deborah L. Kluge, a Columbia, Md.-based consultant who also specializes in helping businesses write winning proposals, says the word-processing program on your computer is all the software you really need.

She does, however, recommend getting a book on the topic. She says there are many titles to choose from, and most are quite good.

The biggest hurdle for small-business owners, she says, is getting started.

So the best thing – after reading the directions – is to organize your response in outline form, using the headings requested in the proposal and sub-headings as needed, though she says more than three subsections can get overly complicated.

Unsure of the best way to write an outline? She recommends the Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab to her clients.

If your goal is to secure government contracts, Kluge also recommends finding a federal Procurement Technical Assistance Center, or PTAC, which will offer free counseling.

A list of Florida centers can be found here.

There is also plenty of software out there to help you write contracts, but there is just as much free advice on the Web.

The popular site FindLaw has a comprehensive section on contract writing for small businesses.

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

It's all about presentation

Is it smart to go to school for entrepreneurship?

Protecting your written work

Jeff Carr, West Lafayette, Ind.
I'm trying to find a Web site development company that can design a Web application from scratch that stores and then uploads video captured from a Web cam. I have found many companies that claim to have the capability to do this, but I'm not sure how I can check their credibility. Who are the best Web application development companies out there, and how do I decide whether they are capable of what I need?

What do you recommend? Leave a comment with your answer.

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

Free software doesn't come cheap

How to make your Web site more accessible

Where can I find tech gurus?

A reader looks to gain exposure for her online real estate business.

Yvette Brown, New Start Concepts Management, Bronx, N.Y.
I started a small business that raffles houses online. How can I get exposure for the Web site?

By Christina Crapanzano, Fortune Small Business contributor
Dear Yvette: Before you attempt to direct more traffic to your Web site, you need to make sure it’s not a dead end. When FSB tried to write back to you using the contact information you provided on your page, the e-mail boomeranged back to us.

Randye Spina, the chief solutions officer at Affordable Marketing Solutions in Bridgeport, Conn., says it’s paramount to give customers access to you online. “As it stands, the site seems unfriendly – there’s no business address, your name isn’t there, and neither is your e-mail,” she says. “To the average consumer, this seems suspicious – even if you get hits, you won’t get inquiries or bids.”

According to Spina, you also need to beef up the information you provide on the site – since the concept of auctioning houses is relatively new, you should be thorough in explaining the process and the benefits.

“Some of your competitors’ sites give more background on how the concept works,” she says. Make sure your page answers the obvious questions: Why should I raffle my house? Why should I do this instead of going to a realtor?"

Once you’ve cleaned up your page, you’ll be ready to invite guests (think of it as a housewarming party). Todd Brabender, president of Spread The News Public Relations in Lawrence, Kan., says you can pursue publicity by approaching local media outlets. But before you contact them, be sure to have your selling points – the unique qualities of your business – ready.

“I always tell my clients, ‘It’s nice to have diamonds, but if you keep the diamonds in your pocket, no one knows you have diamonds,'” he says.

Spina says you should also investigate how easy it is for potential customers to find you. First, look at your organic ranking – where your site shows up in search engines when you don’t pay for services to boost your rank. Once you know where you stand, there’s a number of ways in which you can improve your placement. Spina suggests taking a look at your Web statistics and finding the keywords that are used most often to bring up your site (your Web hosting company should be able to guide you through this process). After you’ve learned these keywords, she says, use them – put the phrases all over your Web site, especially on your home page.

Another way to optimize your search-engine placement is to expand your list of meta tags, or phrases and words pertaining to your Web site’s subject matter. You can locate them by clicking “view,” then “source” on the menu bar when your site pops up. Search engines currently use tags such as “mortgage-free home” or “winning a property” to find your site. Spina also suggests adding “real estate” and “real estate bids” to the list.

“Remember, putting up a website is like opening a storefront,” she says. “It takes two steps – you have to get the customers into your store, and then give them the information the want when they get there.”

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

Catching traffic in their Web

How to stand out on the Internet

Building your first business Web site

Elisa McCoy, Redwood City, Calif.
I own an apparel screenprinting business that has a strong client base, and I am looking to develop an online store. I have tried researching e-commerce companies online and am more confused than when I started. I don't know which to choose. Any suggestions?

What do you recommend? Leave a comment with your answer.

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

Free software doesn’t come cheap: Open-source e-commerce solutions are plentiful, but don’t put your wallet away just yet.

Startup skills for a t-shirt company

Building your first business Web site

Drive traffic to your website

Catching traffic in their Web

Open-source e-commerce solutions are plentiful, but don't put your wallet away just yet.

Kenneth C. Fletcher, Oakland, Calif.
What are the best, free open-source solutions for e-commerce? My needs include robust international transactional functionality, a shopping-cart mechanism, and something that can be easily customized to handle products and Web content on a global scale, from Japan to Brazil.

By Kathleen Ryan O’Connor, Fortune Small Business contributor
Dear Kenneth: An open-source e-commerce application can be a boon for cash-strapped entrepreneurs hoping to become the next Amazon.com (AMZN).

Barrie North, a partner in JoomlaShack, a company that produces templates and customization for the open-source Joomla software, says small-business owners have a lot of great choices these days.

Well-known names include Ecommerce from Network Solutions (the popular MonsterCommerce software became part of Network Solutions in 2006), OsCommerce, Shopify, Virtuemart, Volusion, Zen Cart – and there’s still plenty more.

But don't forget that when it comes to open-source software, free doesn’t exactly mean “without cost.” Expect to pay hosting fees of at least $30 to $50 per month, or transaction processing fees, and design, consulting or other fees might be necessary for the more complicated solutions. There is also the less tangible cost of the time you’ll need to learn the software.

“If your technical level is e-mail, you are probably going to have to spend $500-$1,000 to help set your site up,” says North, who also blogs at CompassDesigns.net, and wrote Joomla: A User’s Guide. “But if you can set up your own hosting account or know FTP – file transfer protocol – you could probably do it yourself in a couple of hours” for minimal cost.

For the average small-business owner, a closed-system, hosted solution will be “the fastest way to go online,” North says – but he adds that customers are expecting more than just a basic virtual checkout aisle these days.

“You need more than just a shopping cart in 2008,” he says.

The best shopping experiences will feature “richer content,” such as forums and blogs in addition to a user-friendly checkout mechanism. He encourages small-business owners to look for an integrated content management system that will incorporate all of the above.

Michael Bloch, an Australian tech blogger who writes at “Taming the Beast,” prefers Zen Cart.

“It's based on OSCommerce, which has been around for many years,” he says. “The Zen Cart solution has a broad range of features, is very flexible and well supported. Like OSCommerce, there's an active community associated with the application, so if you have problems setting it up or in general usage, chances are there's info out there on the issue, or he can post a question to the Zen Cart forums. Zen cart also has many add-ons available, most of them free. If the reader needed custom applications made, there are many developers around who are experienced in modifying the application.”

Roy Banks, president of Authorize.net, the Internet payment processor acquired last year by Cybersource, says establishing an e-commerce presence can be especially challenging for small businesses.

“There really isn’t a quick and dirty answer,” he says.

He also notes that open source isn't a cheap fix. Integration and development isn't free, "and with a lot of open source you need to upgrade to other things,” Banks says. “You get what you pay for. That axiom will always hold true.”

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer”questions.

Related links:

5 PayPal alternatives

Where can I find tech gurus?

Turning your cell phone into a wallet

The search for a low-cost, mobile plan for international business.

Kevin Abell, Baltimore
I am starting a new business that will entail a great deal of international travel, primarily in Europe. Do you have any suggestions on the lowest-cost international mobile service that also allows me to get BlackBerry data so that I can seamlessly receive both forwarded phone service and e-mails?

Myrlande Davermann, Fortune Small Business contributor
Dear Kevin: Modern technology may have melded telephony, Internet and music all into one device, but don’t expect all-in-one service on the cheap overseas.

The two carriers best designed for business internationally are T-Mobile and AT&T (ATT), says Kent German, cell-phone expert for CNET. Both have several pricing options and coverage in most parts of Europe. T-Mobile even offers plans specifically for small businesses.

T-Mobile customers who want to use their phone internationally should contact the company's Customer Care department to add the WorldClass feature to their service at no additional charge. Roaming rates depend on which country the customer is in. Unlimited plans for Research in Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerrys are available from $39.99 per month, and include unlimited e-mail and Web browsing.

Two phones are better than one

For better savings, consider using two phones - one for data, the other for talking. Telestial offers cheap calls via a SIM card – called the Passport – that can be inserted into unlocked GSM phones. The card costs $39 and works in 110 countries around the world, primarily in Europe, where outgoing calls are $0.49 per minute, while received calls are free.

Telestial has an optional 800 number for your phone, so contacts in the States can avoid international charges (though these calls will cost you $0.35 per minute). Forwarding phone calls to the Telestial Passport SIM number can usually be set up online through your phone carrier or through their customer-service department, says Erica Johnson, a Telestial spokesperson. Incoming calls from the forwarded phone numbers cost $0.30 a minute.

For e-mail, Ken Grunski, Telestial’s president, suggests getting a BlackBerry cell-phone from T-Mobile: “By combining both services, you’ll save enormously on international calls and receive unlimited access to e-mail.”

For BlackBerry users

Mary McEvoy Carroll, principal of Sand Hill Communications, a marketing company in Menlo Park, Calif., recently had to make a business trip to Ireland. A BlackBerry user, she considered several phone plans before settling on AT&T’s international package, which for $69.99 includes voice and data services. Carroll chose the carrier partially because of the company’s informative Web site, which pointed out that she could stay connected whether on a cruise ship in Poland or Singapore.

“It just seems very geared up to the international businessperson,” she says.

Carroll had previously worked in the U.K. and had tried buying rechargeable phone cards, but found them difficult to use as she went from place to place. “It’s a nightmare when you try to reload them if you’re going from one country to the next,” she says.

While she spent more on her AT&T plan during her Ireland trip, she said it was a good value because it allowed her to remain connected to her business. “It’s pretty reliable – you can get a signal just about everywhere,” Carroll says. “You can even in a pinch use your BlackBerry as a modem for a laptop.”

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer”questions.

Related links:

For overseas travel, domestic phones are the best bet

Turning your cell phone into a wallet

So you want to expand globally …

Running an entire business from smartphones

Our experts suggest fixes to make a Web site usable by visually impaired Web surfers.

Linda Rhodes, Express Framing and Stained Glass
I operate a small framing and stained glass business and art studio in a rural area of West Virginia. I want my Web site to be accessible to the entire community. Recently, a severely visually impaired individual inquired about artwork in our gallery. We fall short when it comes to making our site and our gallery more friendly and accessible to the visually impaired. Please take a look at our site and give us some feedback.

By Diana Rosenthal, Fortune Small Business contributor
Dear Linda: Making your website accessible to the visually impaired and blind can seem intimidating for a company that sells artwork – but it only takes a few fixes to make your site visible to all customers. And there's an important fringe benefit: the same fixes should make your Web site more visible to search engines.

According to Garry Grant, CEO of Search Engine Optimization, the first step in improving your Web site lies in the coding of your photographs and images. Grant recommends using ALT HTML attributes, commonly referred to as ALT tags, which are alternate textual descriptions of the images on your site.

Most visually impaired and blind Web surfers use screen-reading programs that read only the text on the screen out loud. If your site’s navigation bar features unlabeled links or product images, a blind person won’t know they exist.

“On a page where the navigation links at the top are all pictures, it may be perfectly clear to a sighted person, but a screen reader just can’t recognize it,” says Chris Danielson, public relations specialist for the National Federation of the Blind. “You can’t even navigate the website because you don’t know what the links mean.”

Grant encourages Web developers to be as descriptive as possible, either in ALT tags or in expandable captions that accompany each image.

“Close your eyes and describe [the image] without looking at it,” Grant says. “And don’t worry about colors; the blind community associates colors with different textures.”

Our experts recommend that you avoid Flash animations and JavaScript on your site. Instead use CSS (cascading style sheets). They also advise close attention to the sequence in which the items on each page load, in order to prevent a confusing audio translation of the page.

“The more graphic-intense a site is, the more plug-ins it has,” says Uri Estrin, president of Web development firm Estrin Technologies. “It will be less functional for the visually impaired.”

Danielson and Estrin both caution against using visual-only CAPTCHAs, which are images with letters and numbers that appear jumbled and function to prevent spammers from accessing secure information, like e-mail addresses and credit-card numbers.

CAPTCHA, which stands for Completely Automated Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart, was developed in 2000 at Carnegie Mellon University. Though our experts agree that CAPTCHAs are effective, visually impaired users need an audio version that also deters spammers.

Danielson also reminds Web developers to make sure Web sites can be navigated without the use of a mouse. (Visually impaired users favor keyboard shortcuts and the Tab key.)

“Fixing accessibility issues not only expands your website to a new demographic and more potential customers, but also increases the crawlability of your site for search engines, which in turn gives you higher placements and greater visibility,” Grant says in a blog post he wrote on the topic.

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

Catching traffic in their Web

How to stand out on the Internet

Building your first business Web site

Drive traffic to your website

A small business owner wonders where his marketing strategy should go next.

Alex Diaz, Houston, Texas
I run a website design firm, www.toptechexperts.com. We offer a unique, affordable and complete website design package catered to small businesses. We want to grow and get more clients. My question: Should I invest more money in promotion and advertising, or hire some salespeople to reach out to new customers? I’m a great salesperson, but my time is limited, between designing and managing. Any advice?

By Kathleen Ryan O’Connor, Fortune Small Business Contributor
Dear Alex: Your question resonated with several folks in the website design world who have found themselves in a similar position: I’m doing great work, but what’s the best way to let the world know?

There isn’t a one-size-fits all answer

Damian Bazadona of Situation Marketing in New York City grew his web design company from one to thirty-five people in a couple of years. How? By recognizing that web design is essentially a people business, he says.

You are selling your creativity, not just a bundle of technical options. That means it will be hard to find anyone who can match your passion when pitching. He thinks your time and money would be well spent promoting and advertising, not training a salesperson likely unfamiliar with your exact vision. “I’d rather invest time in doing things to get clients to tell their friends,” Bazadona says. ”It’s all word of mouth.” He also recommends focusing on retention and getting more work from existing clients. “If you treat them great, they are going to find more money to spend with you.”

Spend time, define your market

Are you trying to convince local merchants with no existing web presence to use your firm to build a no-frills site? Then maybe hiring a salesperson or two doing cold calls might actually make sense. But if your product is more sophisticated, focusing on higher-level customer contact is likely to work better.

Dana E. Nybo, academic director of web design and interactive media at the Art Institutes International Minnesota wonders, ”What is his strength? He may be a great salesman, but if he’s a great designer and that’s where his heart lies, then hire a salesperson.”

Of course, all that business is worthless unless you have someone in the firm to follow through. Nybo says that Douglas Brull, a colleague at the institute, is going through the same type of issue. Brull, faculty for web design and interactive media department at the Institute, helped launch the web design firm Grandpa-George one year ago, but they are growing faster than anticipated, with three partners, four interns and two contractors.

He wonders if they should be going after specific clients or launching a more wholesale advertising campaign. “We are going back and forth on that,” Brull says.

For now they are trying to use scarce dollars creatively for targeted marketing and for building a community around the Grandpa-George aesthetic. He points out that money is no longer the sole currency for visibility. Viral marketing can build a brand without a fat corporate budget. The beta launch of their new site a few weeks ago was viewed in 46 countries and garnered “amazingly positive” feedback. “We’re investing in ourselves,” Brull says. “We are trying to use what we have the most of and that’s ideas and talent.”

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Related links:

Setting the budget for your Web site

How to stand out on the Internet

Building your first business Web site

Should your business be on Facebook?

Luring prospects to your website

Geri is launching a Web site for her business. How can her site stand out amongst a sea of e-commerce? Share your ideas here.

Marylou is overwhelmed by different quotes for Web site development. What should Marylou look for in a Web site developer?

Julie asked FSB about resources for setting up a payroll. What resources do you use when planning your company's payroll? Share your ideas with Julie here.

Andy asked for marketing advice for his new e-store. Have you used an outside agency to market your web site? Give Andy some advice.