People You Need to Know, a leader in helping people become business celebrities, is pleased to announce the expansion of their publication distribution to Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Columbia, South Carolina and Macon, Georgia.

The publication is a supplement to sparkplugpeople.com and is their most powerful medium. Readers tend to keep the publication for years and it also serves as an inspirational piece for self improvement. Testimonials from readers have proven that this publication is necessary.

Clients such as Attorney Thomas F. Jones and Attorney Donald P. Edwards have greatly benefited from the exposure the publication has provided since 1994 and 1995, respectively. Other services include an online newsletter, podcast, various publicity and marketing events as well as radio interviews and video services to help clients further build their brand and improve their bottom line.

Copies of People You Need to Know will debut in the cities listed above in January 2009. In addition, metro Atlanta’s distribution points will still include major retailers in 27 counties. The free publication spotlights business owners and professionals.

We’re gearing up for the hottest event in Atlanta!

V-103’s For Sisters Only will be held on September 13th and 14th, at the Georgia World Congress Center. This year, they’re expecting 50,000 people to attend.

We’ve already reserved our booth space and we’re looking forward to promoting some of our top business celebrity clients.

Scheduled to appear…

• Dr. Gloria Campbell D’Hue, Atlanta’s Dermatologist to the Stars
• Veda Wood, The Real Estate Selling Machine
• Leron Rogers, Atlanta’s Top Entertainment Attorney
• Vanessa AllenWhite, “Atlanta’s Vanna” (Realtor)
• Dr. Nedra Dodds, “Your Beauty Partner”
• Donald P. Edwards, “The Community Minded Attorney”
• Kevin Turner, “Your Personal Wealth Navigator”
• Dr. Danielle Wilson, Developer of Kissable Toothpaste
• Dr. Frenesa Hall, “The Doctor Who Comes to You”
• Dr. Anisa Hailey, Creator of Celebrity Smiles
• LaShawn Parker, “The Foreclosure Specialist”
• Dr. Chanda Culmer, Atlanta’s Dentist with the Delicate Touch
• Sharon Mathis, “Atlanta’s Insurance Expert” …and many more…

Over 300 exhibitors will be there to showcase their wares and sell their goods and services. In addition, this 2-day marketing extravaganza will include celebrity entertainment, cultural enrichment, seminars, food and family fun! You don’t want to miss this exciting event!

Look for the People You Need to Know giant Front Cover display and drop by to say hello. We look forward to seeing you there!

Lisa Nicole Cloud, CEO of Elite Marketing Strategies, has greatly influenced the industry of Direct Sales and Professional Networking. She received her undergraduate education in Atlanta, Georgia, at Emory University where she was a Psychology/Pre-med major. She did her graduate work at Johns Hopkins University and successfully completed their prestigious Leadership Development Program.

Over the last several years, Lisa has conducted several hundred high-energy leadership speeches and sales seminars throughout the US and abroad in which she impacted and trained thousands of representatives in areas of Direct Sales, Personal Development and Professional Networking. She has provided consulting services in the area of Marketing Strategy development and implementation and Organizational development for companies in various business sectors such as Healthcare, Sports Entertainment, Information Systems, Pharmaceuticals, and Telecommunications, just to name a few.

Don’t let her small stature fool you, Lisa is a Little Dynamo. Dynamic, Captivating, Charismatic, Passionate, and Genuine, are often terms that have been used to describe her.

Lisa’s mission in life is to help people identify their God given talents so they can do more, be more, achieve more and impact their community in a positive way. She motivates and inspires her audiences by consistently bringing real life experiences to her presentations and trainings. Lisa shows audiences the power of dreams and reveals the simple keys to turning them into realities. Her message is simple, “Your Attitude in Life, determines your Altitude in life” - period.

Listen to Lisa’s inspirational interview and discover how she became a woman of purpose, passion and vision!

Listen Now:

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In the context of people doing business, the true meaning of the word networking, is to know and be known without an agenda. There are some lines you don’t want to cross or you will not achieve the result you may have anticipated. The idea is that you build a relationship. You allow yourself to share your thoughts and feelings, although you want to keep those on the positive side. You make an effort to know the other person and what their interests are.

Your attitude should never be one that elicits a feeling that you are being patronizing. You should be genuine in your casual interest. Don’t rush or push it. Nothing is more obnoxious than someone who has no boundaries or is presumptuous. Always be polite and respectful. Be open, but don’t let it all hang out. This might be your new best friend, but right now you are a stranger.

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Lions have gotten some great PR over the years; so much so, most people believe they are the King of Jungle. The truth of the matter is, they mostly inhabit grassy plains called savannas.

But what I’d like to focus on is the fact that they live the largest part of their lives in territorial groups called prides or in our business language, a network. They are the only permanently social, or group-living cat; all other cats are solitary…which brings me to my next point.

Our People You Need to Know Grass Roots Publicity Tour has revealed to us that the one-man band marketing approach is down to its last song. We realize most people wouldn’t see the fault in this one-man band approach because of our individualistic culture. Still…this marketing technique is not as effective in today’s “less trusting” business climate.

We promote an array of businesses in our publication and our clients don’t have to be at the Business Expo because we’re representing them. We’re all there as a team. The one-man band’s one-pager or business card gets lost in the shuffle compared to a first-class publication, which has more power than a solitary business card or one-pager.

My advice would be to find an organization that’s committed to promoting your business in a variety of ways, but above all else, make sure they promote teamwork via a publication, brochure, newsletter, networking event, etc. In the end, the “orchestra” has a better chance of succeeding than the one-man band.

No one is going to know your business exists unless YOU tell them about it, render the type of service and quality to get others talking about it or pay someone else to get the word out for you. And the quickest way to do that is to invest - yes, invest - in advertising. But where should you advertise and how much of it should you do? How much should you spend? How often should you advertise? What form should it take?

Lots of questions. Let’s look at some of the answers. And please note: Every advertising plan is unique, so these answers are just possibilities - suggestions - and should not be construed as YOUR plan. You will need to investigate the possibilities for your product and your target market and come up with your own plan before you begin.

Where you advertise depends on your type of business and the area you want to cover. You might choose local magazines and newspapers, or publications that are distributed free at local supermarkets and other retail and private outlets. You might also consider radio spots or press releases to augment print ads.

However, if your business or idea could be of interest to people nationwide, you might consider purchasing ads in vehicles that reach a wider market; sending press releases to newspapers and other publications throughout the US; or developing an Internet website or blog to reach clients who are hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away.

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