specific appointments and particular time slots. This will make you appear busy and will make your caller feel that they need to get some of your limited time. 7. Highlight your unique selling proposition and let them know that they wont find that benefit anywhere, and that they need to come down and see it. 8. Be nice and pleasant over the phone. Its better if a female answers the phone, because females are more trusting and pleasant than men. People like working with people they like.     Measuring Closure Rate   The third measurement to be concerned with is how many visitors you convert to spa and pool owners. Understanding this statistic will require you to keep strict records on how many people come to visit your store each day, each week, and each month. These numbers should be segmented by the source. Here is an example of what the form might look like:     Date Name Address Phone Email Source Status Phone 11/20/2001 John Feinstein 1432 Hock Way 232-889-4556 Jfein@Juno.com News Ad Close Yes 11/20/2001 Mary and Tom Hamner 34 Post Oak 232-009-4538 MTHammer@ev1.net News Ad Close No 11/20/2001 July Berkenstock 3390 Uinta Way #24 232-443-8854 July@JSC.com Referral Pending No 11/20/2001 Joe and Cindy Belcher 909 Johnathan Smelcher Dr. 232-996-6835 Joe@aol.com Drive By - Yes 11/20/2001 Mindy and Sam Steed 887 Restinia Blvd. 232-996-9356 Mindysam@aol.com News Ad - Yes       The "phone" column means that they called before they came. Keep it simple or make the form more elaborate, but be sure that it tracks information about where they heard about you, how many you closed, and if they called before they came. From this information you can determine the measurements we have talked about which will help to determine how well you are spending your marketing dollars. Tracking response rates by asking people about where they heard about you is a somewhat slippery slope. In general, people arent sure where they heard about you. This is especially true when you do a lot of radio and T.V. advertising. However, I would still maintain a log because its an effective way to capture referrers and other forms of advertising.       How to Make Yellow Pages Ads Work for Your Small Business!   Yellow Pages ads can bring you a pot of gold if theyre done correctly. The book is often the first place that buyers go before they decide from whom to buy. Eighty-four percent of the people who go to the Yellow Pages contact a business listed there and 49% of them actually go on to purchase something from that business. That is why Yellow Pages are so important!   People go to the Yellow Pages with intent to buy. You dont have to create demand for your product; its already there. All you have to do is convince the buyer that you should