Well, if ever there was an open-ended question this may be it. And there is so much missing information - all sorts of possibilities are running through my mind.

For example, who is paying? If it's students and their families then they're probably very price sensitive. If it's a funded agency they're also price sensitve - and you have two clients to satisfy.

If you can take the risk instead of leaving it with the client, you may be experience a higher take up. So it may be more successful if you could charge on another basis. Of course that means you have to sell something other than units of time. One thing that is sure is that you will want to reduce your risk. The last thing you want is to charge say $100 and then spend four hours providing the service.

That's where the details of the service and who's paying are important. For example, if you provide a weekly meeting, do they have "homework" to do? That way you may develop the exercises once, and charge each time for it - thus breaking the link between time and cost. Alternatively, you may deal with each student individually - therefore making such an exercise more difficult.

There are many aspects to pricing - whole books have been written about it. Ulimately though, to charge more you need to be perceived as providing more value. And this comes back to what your service really offers.

Another aspect that intrigues me is the national aspect. If you're going to provide this service nationally, it seems to me there are three possibilities. You coud do this with technology. You could do it with travel. Or you could do it with employees / contractors / franchisees. Each of these has it's own challenges that need to be factored in and affect pricing - as well as the service provided. Given I don't even know who the "we" is who created this programme, we can't really get into detail.

But having been through some of the issues concerned, I still feel as though I haven't scratched your itch - mainly because I don't really have any understanding of what and how you are providing.

One thing I could suggest is you may want to talk with your accountant. Of course most accountants are still in the school of hourly charges - so how much value they can provide may be limited. If you know of a marketing advisor who understands pricing (another big question) you may be able to get their advice.

Ulitmately it all depends on how you define the value of your service and how the customers perceive that. I've probably raised more questions than answers, but I hope you can glean some ideas from this.

You are not alone! Many business owners find they are good with product or service development but not the marketing side of things. It can be a good idea to split off this function and bring in someone else to handle it - but bringing in a business partner can also be risky. Like marriage, a business partnership can hit some roadbumps, and getting out can be emotionally draining, time-consuming and expensive. Think through the options and get legal advice before undertaking such a big step.

There are alternatives, though. Perhaps there is a distributor who carries a line of complementary products who is already seeing relevant buyers? Could they sell your product too? Will they take it non-exclusively or can you limit exclusivity so you can still sell directly to other areas/outlets?

Can you bring in a part- or even full-time contractor or employee to do this? Or if you can outsource it to another business which does marketing for clients you can side-step the issues of employment contracts and relationships. There are businesses offering a range of marketing services. There is a distinction between marketing and sales - be clear on which you want (or maybe both).

It may not be necessary for your marketer to be somewhere where you can meet up. These days you can connect quite easily with others on-line, though it could be nice to get to know them face-to-face and depending on what they are doing for you, it can be desirable.

All in all, don't give away too much (e.g. exclusivity, or part of your business) without setting agreed performance targets and giving yourself an "out" if these are not reached. And do incentivise and reward sales which are at the top end or over and above target. Get legal advice if you are committing to anything long-term (including bringing in a business partner).

Good luck with your marketing!

It can take time to get good traffic to any web site, especially if the domain is new, as Google won't index brand new sites for a while - but that doesn't mean you shouldn't make a start. When you do get into Google's index, you'll have a head start - and besides, much traffic can come from elsewhere.

The first thing to cover off in getting traffic to your site is good design (see the search engine optimisation articles and discussion on this site). We'll assume you already have this.

Then it's a case of doing lots of small things regularly, rather than one big thing. Getting other sites to link to you is very valuable, especially if they are relevant and have a good Google ranking. Leaving a question, such as the one you have here, and including your URL, is a great starting point. Perhaps you already knew that and it's why you did it. Commenting on articles, posting in forums, contributing articles, creating blogs and profiles, etc., all of which include links to your site, are very useful too - not only on Bizbuzz but other relevant sites. Also approach others in your industry and see if they will agree to reciprocal links - not competitors, so much as suppliers or related service providers, or outlets through which you market your products.

Don't forget basic things either, like including your web address on your business cards, letterhead, email signature and any promotional material.

Google ads can be reasonably priced too, though it does depend on your industry and whether you can find relevant keywords for which there is not too much demand.

With regard to your offline marketing, your money will be best spent if you can target your prospects rather than take a shot-gun approach. Is there a magazine which they are likely to read? This is likely to prove better than a newspaper with broad, but not very specific, appeal. You might even find a web site or email newsletter which is small, but targetted, which can get good bang for your buck. Unfortunately it's a case of trial and error - test with a small budget, track results to work out what gets the best returns, and spend your money where you know you get results.

If you are really strapped for cash, go through some of the marketing articles on this site. You may be able to team up with another business to market to each other's databases (include their fliers to yours and vice versa), and word of mouth marketing can be excellent if you know how to leverage your networks to get referrals without being the person everyone avoids at events! You might like to talk to your local chapter of BNI (www.bni.co.nz).

One way people offering services such as yourself reach a number of prospects at the same time is to offer seminars or workshops on a relevant topic. This needs to be high value for attendees, giving them an insight into what can be achieved through, in your case, a good assessment of their insurance needs and finding suitable cover. Pitch the seminar to the kind of audience you want, for instance, assessing and mitigating business risks if you are targeting business owners. Prompt attendees to bring a friend, and ask them to refer friends to your next one.

Another way would be a letter-box drop with a quick and effective checklist which a home owner might go through, with a call to action at the end.

These are just a couple of suggestions but hopefully they will get you thinking along the right track.

Hi there. Usually the best way to market a service business such as yours would not just be one way. Word of mouth is usually cost-effective and referrals can bring in the best quality business leads - so get out there and network!

That alone is usually not enough for a startup, so add to it strategies which target your market rather than adopting a shotgun approach. Fliers dropped to local businesses, dropping and and talking to business owners in a specific area, and even getting some accountants on-side (who after all know which clients need your help and you will be making their job easier and cheaper for the client) could all be good.

Don't get disheartened. It takes time to build a client base but they can become your own best advocates. Let them know you appreciate referrals and make it easy for them to pass on your details.

Wishing you well with your business!