Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The Big Marketing Magic Pill.
Too many people are looking for some Marketing Magic Pill that will send their business through the roof.
I got an email from Marlon Sanders today that addressed this point clearly. Here's what he said:
**************
"Think about it. If you spend 4 years
in college and yet 80% of the people can NOT get a job in the
field they get their degree in and 95% of the graduates make
under $100,000 a year, do you REALLY think buying 1 course you
study in 3 weeks will do for you what a college degree won't?
Please.
This is a process. It requires effort and learning.
Not magic. I really worry about people who think that buying one
inexpensive product (compared to a college education) can do
what college can't! I just don't get that. Seriously."
**************
Great advice. It is a process.
Take the time learn how to market your business and you will be rewarded well.
I got an email from Marlon Sanders today that addressed this point clearly. Here's what he said:
**************
"Think about it. If you spend 4 years
in college and yet 80% of the people can NOT get a job in the
field they get their degree in and 95% of the graduates make
under $100,000 a year, do you REALLY think buying 1 course you
study in 3 weeks will do for you what a college degree won't?
Please.
This is a process. It requires effort and learning.
Not magic. I really worry about people who think that buying one
inexpensive product (compared to a college education) can do
what college can't! I just don't get that. Seriously."
**************
Great advice. It is a process.
Take the time learn how to market your business and you will be rewarded well.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Out To Lunch: The Marketing Mindset
The other day I went to the local house of pizza to pick up a sub for lunch. I noticed that they have this fancy new cash register. When I got home and took my sub out of the bag there was this printed sticker on the wrapper. It had the date, time, price, the type of sub and a bunch of white space.
Now I looked at this and was thinking want a great place to do some marketing. Promote something… education your customers on your hours of operation… offer a coupon… do something, anything. But that's just how I think. They don't think that way. They think about make subs and pizza.
They are focused on "doing the thing" instead of "marketing the thing" as Dan Kennedy would say.
As a small business owner the biggest shift you can make in your thinking is from thinking that you are in the business of "doing the thing" to embracing the fact that you are really in the business of "marketing the thing".
It's the difference between being a small business owner who doesn't really own a business but instead really only owns a job… usually with a low ROI for the actual time invested.
It all comes down to developing a Marketing Mindset.
Now I looked at this and was thinking want a great place to do some marketing. Promote something… education your customers on your hours of operation… offer a coupon… do something, anything. But that's just how I think. They don't think that way. They think about make subs and pizza.
They are focused on "doing the thing" instead of "marketing the thing" as Dan Kennedy would say.
As a small business owner the biggest shift you can make in your thinking is from thinking that you are in the business of "doing the thing" to embracing the fact that you are really in the business of "marketing the thing".
It's the difference between being a small business owner who doesn't really own a business but instead really only owns a job… usually with a low ROI for the actual time invested.
It all comes down to developing a Marketing Mindset.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Who's More Important?
I was reading another one of Dan Kennedy's books in the No B.S. Series and he told a story that illustrates how important copywriting is to your business.
Having skill as a copywriter is like owning your own car. If you don't have a car then you're begging friends for a ride or you have to pay someone to take you where you want to go.
So Dan Kennedy was called into the President's office of a fortune 500 company. He was doing consulting and advertising copywriting for them.
The President closed the door and told Dan that he had done some calculations and figured out that the company was paying Dan more money per hour than they were paying the President.
Here's what Dan told him:
"There is a very good reason for that. You see, you know how to do everything in this company better than I do by a big margin except for one thing, and it is essential and vital that one thing gets done the best way it can, because nothing you know how to do matters if it doesn't. That one thing is getting customers. That's the one thing I know how to do that you don't, and that's why I get paid more."
The President of that company is at the mercy of Dan Kennedy. Dan is the most important person to that company. When you're that valuable to the company you can truly call your own shots.
So who's getting customers for your business and how good a job are they doing?
Having skill as a copywriter is like owning your own car. If you don't have a car then you're begging friends for a ride or you have to pay someone to take you where you want to go.
So Dan Kennedy was called into the President's office of a fortune 500 company. He was doing consulting and advertising copywriting for them.
The President closed the door and told Dan that he had done some calculations and figured out that the company was paying Dan more money per hour than they were paying the President.
Here's what Dan told him:
"There is a very good reason for that. You see, you know how to do everything in this company better than I do by a big margin except for one thing, and it is essential and vital that one thing gets done the best way it can, because nothing you know how to do matters if it doesn't. That one thing is getting customers. That's the one thing I know how to do that you don't, and that's why I get paid more."
The President of that company is at the mercy of Dan Kennedy. Dan is the most important person to that company. When you're that valuable to the company you can truly call your own shots.
So who's getting customers for your business and how good a job are they doing?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
A Billionaire's Sore Throat…
I was watching one of those Beyond the Glory sports shows and they were talking about sex and sports.
A lot of it was about how sex helps sell sports. A lot of shots of cheerleaders and beautiful female athletes. And everyone was just parroting the same thing… sex sells.
Then Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, comes on.
Here's what he said:
"I don’t sell basketball… I sell sore throats."
What?
So everyone else is talking about how sex sells and then the Billionaire says he sells sore throats.
Well that got my attention.
He went on to explain that he sells an experience. That he wants people to leave there with a sore throat because of the excitement.
He said he couldn't control weather the team wins or loses. But he can control the experience of the event so even if the team loses the people had a great time and would want to come back.
So what are you selling?
Are you selling the basketball team… or the soar throat?
Take it from the Billionaire. He didn't get that extra comma in his net worth without knowing a thing or two about marketing and promotion.
A lot of it was about how sex helps sell sports. A lot of shots of cheerleaders and beautiful female athletes. And everyone was just parroting the same thing… sex sells.
Then Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, comes on.
Here's what he said:
"I don’t sell basketball… I sell sore throats."
What?
So everyone else is talking about how sex sells and then the Billionaire says he sells sore throats.
Well that got my attention.
He went on to explain that he sells an experience. That he wants people to leave there with a sore throat because of the excitement.
He said he couldn't control weather the team wins or loses. But he can control the experience of the event so even if the team loses the people had a great time and would want to come back.
So what are you selling?
Are you selling the basketball team… or the soar throat?
Take it from the Billionaire. He didn't get that extra comma in his net worth without knowing a thing or two about marketing and promotion.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
The Edison Success Plan
The Edison Success Plan
Are you familiar with the Thomas Edison Success Plan?
I think that Tony Robins probably does the best job of explaining it.
He puts it into 4 simple steps:
¨ STEP 1: Know What You Want
¨ STEP 2: Take Action; Take Massive Action
¨ STEP 3: Notice What's Working and Not Working
¨ STEP 4: Change Your Approach and Try Again
It's that simple. Now you may want to argue that it's not that easy, but easy or not… it is that simple.
Everyone seems to get stuck on a different step. Step 1 is probably the biggest obstacle for most people. Most people have never really thought about what they want.
Since you're reading this and seeking information on how to grow your home based business I will assume that you've got Step 1 covered.
So let's talk about Step 2 - Take Action.
Here's what Action is not. It's not ordering books and audio courses.
That's learning and education.
Now while that stuff is essential to your business success, it does not count as Action. Sorry.
Here's what does count as Action:
- Building your list…
- Communication with your list…
- Marketing to your list…
Learning about those things does not count as Massive Action. Unfortunately it took me a couple of years to figure that one out.
So save yourself 2-3 years and take my word on this one.
Do The Thing… And You Will Have The Power!
Take some Action today.
If you need to learn something first before you can take action then learn it. But don't take 3 years to figure it all out before you do something.
"You don't have to get it right, you just have to get it going."
- Joe Schroeder
Learn something and then Take Action on it. Here's what will happen:
YOU'LL SCREW UP!
That's the Thomas Edison Success Formula.
Do something; Do anything; so what if you screw up; it's the best way to learn; Study something for 3 years and then try it and you'll still screw it up, so why not just start now.
The people that succeed in this world are the ones that are not afraid to fail.
Failure is not an option… it's a stepping stone to success.
So if you want to join Me, Edison and all the others that weren't afraid to get mud on their faces then step up to the plate and start swinging for the fence.
I appricate you being here and wanting more from life…
Selling vs. Marketing
Selling vs. Marketing: The Home Based Business Mess!
Have you taken the time to look at the Big Picture?
Too many home based business owners spend so much time getting lost in all the details that they never seem to figure out how to actually grow their business. Do you want to build a home based business empire? Then stay focused on the big picture, especially while working on all of the little details of your business.
What is the Big Picture?
The Big Picture is your Marketing Plan. Selling is just one piece of the bigger picture. Selling could be actually talking to a prospect or it could be a sales letter making that communication for you. Either way it is just one of the tools that you use in your marketing arsenal.
Selling should not be your primary focus.
"What? Are you crazy, Jeff? I'm in business to make money. How am I supposed to do that without selling?"
I didn't say not to use selling. I just said you should use selling to help you execute your marketing plan. Most home based business owners think marketing and selling are the same thing. That kind of thinking will limit your ability to grow your business.
Let's take a step back here and first define just what marketing is…
MARKETING is getting the right MESSAGE about your product or service to the right TARGET NICHE (or audience) through the right MEDIA.
From this definition you can begin to build your Big Picture Marketing Plan. Follow this simple definition of marketing and you will find success. Forget what marketing really means and you will struggle.
Warning: Don't get lost in the details as you drill down into this definition of marketing. The biggest place I see home based business owners having trouble with this is when they start to drill down on the media piece. The Internet is a perfect example.
A lot of home based business owners think they are in Internet Marketing Business. Not true. The Internet is just a media to be used to reach your customers. Is it the right media? That depends on your business. But when you get lost in the details of the Internet, and it's easy to do, you lose sight of why you're in business in the first place… to serve your customers.
There are so many technical details involved with "doing business on the Internet" (ie, using the Internet as a media to reach you prospects or customers) that most home business owners forget what happened with the dot com bust.
Don't remember why the dot com went bust? It's because they spent way too much money on technology for technology sake. They didn't ask the question "does this technology help us deliver our message to our target audience via the right media?" They didn't even ask "does this technology help us serve our customers better?"
They got lost in the details of technology. They spent money on stuff because they thought it was cool. They put the media before the Marketing Plan.
Don't let this happen in your business.
So who wins? Marketing wins every time. Selling helps you with the message but selling is just one piece of the puzzle. Once you've figured out what your Big Picture Marketing Plan is then take action on all the details that will help you achieve your goal.
Never lose site of how you are going to build your home business empire…
By getting the right MESSAGE to the right TARGETED NICHE via the right MEDIA.
Have you taken the time to look at the Big Picture?
Too many home based business owners spend so much time getting lost in all the details that they never seem to figure out how to actually grow their business. Do you want to build a home based business empire? Then stay focused on the big picture, especially while working on all of the little details of your business.
What is the Big Picture?
The Big Picture is your Marketing Plan. Selling is just one piece of the bigger picture. Selling could be actually talking to a prospect or it could be a sales letter making that communication for you. Either way it is just one of the tools that you use in your marketing arsenal.
Selling should not be your primary focus.
"What? Are you crazy, Jeff? I'm in business to make money. How am I supposed to do that without selling?"
I didn't say not to use selling. I just said you should use selling to help you execute your marketing plan. Most home based business owners think marketing and selling are the same thing. That kind of thinking will limit your ability to grow your business.
Let's take a step back here and first define just what marketing is…
MARKETING is getting the right MESSAGE about your product or service to the right TARGET NICHE (or audience) through the right MEDIA.
From this definition you can begin to build your Big Picture Marketing Plan. Follow this simple definition of marketing and you will find success. Forget what marketing really means and you will struggle.
Warning: Don't get lost in the details as you drill down into this definition of marketing. The biggest place I see home based business owners having trouble with this is when they start to drill down on the media piece. The Internet is a perfect example.
A lot of home based business owners think they are in Internet Marketing Business. Not true. The Internet is just a media to be used to reach your customers. Is it the right media? That depends on your business. But when you get lost in the details of the Internet, and it's easy to do, you lose sight of why you're in business in the first place… to serve your customers.
There are so many technical details involved with "doing business on the Internet" (ie, using the Internet as a media to reach you prospects or customers) that most home business owners forget what happened with the dot com bust.
Don't remember why the dot com went bust? It's because they spent way too much money on technology for technology sake. They didn't ask the question "does this technology help us deliver our message to our target audience via the right media?" They didn't even ask "does this technology help us serve our customers better?"
They got lost in the details of technology. They spent money on stuff because they thought it was cool. They put the media before the Marketing Plan.
Don't let this happen in your business.
So who wins? Marketing wins every time. Selling helps you with the message but selling is just one piece of the puzzle. Once you've figured out what your Big Picture Marketing Plan is then take action on all the details that will help you achieve your goal.
Never lose site of how you are going to build your home business empire…
By getting the right MESSAGE to the right TARGETED NICHE via the right MEDIA.
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