What's a yard sale if not a miniature business? Yet most of us don't fully cash in on this business venture because we don't think like entrepreneurs. How do you move merchandise off your front yard or out of your garage and into the hands of customers? Follow these easy tips from America's top sales-marketing pros:

1. TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE.  Market to the right shoppers. Shari Hindman, creative director for an ad agency in Richmond, had a yard sale to sell art supplies. Knowing that her neighbors weren't the paint-and-brush types, she advertised near an art college and sold out!

2. SHORT-AND-SWEET SIGNS.  Think about potential customers trying to examine a tiny yard sale sign stuck on a lamppost. Bill Phelps, an ad exec, applies the same strategy to yard sale signs as to billboards he purchases for clients. Use bold printing and no more than 8 words.

3. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.  The first thing you look at in a store is the display racks set up front. You might be headed for the back, but you'll check out everything on the way. To better your chance of selling everything at your yard sale, place good front & center. Good for customers and easy for drive-bys to see.

5. MAKE A BARGAIN BIN.  When store have large quantities of merchandise they want to sell quickly, they group the items together under one low price. Look to Filene's Bargain Basement in Boston for inspiration!