The local Sandhills Chapter of SCORE (Counselors to America's Small Business) continues its free "Business Basics" series Tuesday with its very popular marketing seminar.

The seminar will be held in room 102 of Van Dusen Hall on the Sandhills Community College campus. Registration begins at 5:30, and the class starts at 6 p.m. Participants can register by calling (9100 695-3938.

SCORE and the Small Business Center of Sandhills Community College jointly sponsor this series of six consecutive seminars that are valuable for every entrepreneur.

"This seminar, straight from the trenches of real American business experience, brings you marketing savvy that you can apply to your business starting immediately," a SCORE spokesman said. "Best of all, many of the tips cost very little or even nothing to implement, yet they have been proven to be very effective. Marketing is an attitude, and it involves the management of many disciplines."

The seminar will define and describe the various forms of marketing for profit, how to evaluate relevant demographics and other consumer buying habits, low-cost research and other low-cost marketing techniques, how to think creatively to get more value out of your marketing dollars, how to develop a successful marketing plan, and much more.

"Sales is clearly the lifeblood of any business, and we at SCORE want to show you a better way to increase your sales through our creative marketing techniques," the spokesman said.

SCORE is a nationwide nonprofit association of experienced business people who provide free, confidential business counseling to small business owners. The Sandhills Chapter is active in counseling, mentoring and presenting free business seminars.

Anyone who would like to speak to SCORE counselors must first register as a client at www.edmis-score.org/0364, and a counselor will contact you.

In addition to counseling by appointment, the Sandhills chapter of SCORE has drop-in service for those who have registered from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Fridays at the Moore County Chamber of Commerce building on U.S. 15-501 in Southern Pines and on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon at the SCORE office in the Workforce Development Center on the campus of Robeson Community College in Lumberton. The phone number in Southern Pines is (910) 692-3936, and in Lumberton, (910) 272-3690.

More information on SCORE's counseling activity and a complete description of each seminar can be found at the Sandhills SCORE website, www.sandhills-score.org.