I've written before about the importance and great opportunities to run promotions to boost sales. And while I'm sure you get the idea behind a promotion, I'm sure most of us never get the most out of them. Why? We don't focus enough energy on offering something that hits the hot buttons and excitement of our customers.

It's not about the promotion. It's about the excitement we create within the customer.

Here's a perfect example - a radio station using rising gas prices to promote their station:

Businesses are cashing in on consumer frustrations with high fuel prices.

Their promotions vary, but they all have one feature in common: money for gas. "This has got to be one of the biggest promotions we've ever done, just in the sense of crowd excitement," said Mark Kaye, who co-hosts the "Hot Morning Mess with Mark and kris" on Washington radio station WIHT-FM (99.5)... "Most of the promotions we do we get basically from what's going on in the world,"

The bottom-line is we all need to get more creative. Look for items of interest in the news you can latch into to excite prospects and gain media coverage. Whatever your business, there are countless ways to promote and boost sales.