We just returned from a trip to Traverse City to celebrate my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. What struck me while we were there is how even in the midst of stiff cherry selling competition everyone seems to get a piece of the action. Whether you are driving to the city on M72, at the farmer’s market, or walking downtown on a Friday evening. There are always plenty of people selling cherries – red cherries, yellow cherries, sweet cherries, sour cherries, washed cherries, unwashed cherries, you get the idea. It doesnt matter that you drove by a booth 10 minutes ago…now you feel like cherries so you stop and buy cherries at this booth instead of the last. As small businesses, we can sell to more people by meeting them at different places in their search. Why give your competition the opportunity to sell to your customer 10 minutes later, when you can do it yourself. Meet your customers down the road with a different (or the same) marketing message. Maybe they weren’t ready to buy the first time they saw or heard you, but they could easily be ready now.  You can do this with email marketing, direct mail, or a phone call.