Posted by:
David Dittman
August 25, 2007
Issue #213
Welcome back to another installment of Working IT Out! Let me start by saying, I use to be a big fan of Microsoft.
I have had a love hate relationship with them for years but, I’ve always been careful about presenting the best face for Microsoft when I discus it in public.
I have long been of the mindset that everyone uses Microsoft so they have to be the best.
Well, last Monday ended my delusions once and for all.
In this issue:
- How Microsoft has reversed five years of programming progress in one fell swoop.
- How you can be ready and overcome the issues that Microsoft presented for you.
- And much, MUCH more.
The Debacle That Is Outlook 2007
Anyone who is sending out mass e-mails lately has probably run into the issues that Outlook 2007 has so generously supplied us with.
Now, I try my best to keep in the loop but for some reason I completely missed the articles about Outlook 2007 and the problems it has caused.
For me it all started on a bright and sunny Monday morning, 6 days ago to be exact.
I was sitting at my computer feeling pretty good about myself and all the work our team was accomplishing.
Graham had just finished up an e-mail blast that we were going to send to our subscribers …
Now this was no ordinary e-mail blast.
No, no, this e-mail was spectacular!
We had taken the time to create a true piece of technological wonder. We had background images that had notepad backgrounds that not only displayed a great notepad background but, also had a background color that was similar to the notepad so that people didn’t have to download images to get a similar experience.
We also had four testimonial boxes that were neatly spaced throughout the copy that all had nicely formatted divisions so that they stood out.
Then Gates laughed a diabolical laugh as Outlook 2007 received my gorgeous e-mail and promptly destroyed all the formatting.
Graham said to me, “That’s odd because in my Outlook 2003 as well as my web-based browsers from Gmail and Hotmail all display perfectly.”
I sneered a little and replied, “Now Graham why would a new version of Outlook not work correctly? Clearly, you have made an error on your coding because as we know, Microsoft does not make errors …”
So then we poured over the code finding little potential problems, each time saying “Well, this must be the problem, although it really shouldn’t be a problem.”
Finally, after we had pristine code that Steve Jobs himself would be proud of, we said “Clayton, we don’t know what the problem is” to which he promptly responded “I don’t care how just fix it”.
With my reputation on the line, I decided to finally concede defeat and consult the foremost authority on all things, the Internet.
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Posted by:
Julie McManus
August 24, 2007
Issue #212
Dear Business Builder,
Welcome back to In the ‘Net Trenches. In last week’s issue, I wrote about how we struggle with change and how change is not only difficult in life but also in marketing. Getting stuck in a marketing rut is a sure way to severely limit the growth of your business and can even be a business killer.
One of the marketing ruts I pointed out involves completely ignoring your backend. Now I don’t know about you, but I would love to ignore my backend … but that’s the backend I can see in my full length mirror. But when it comes to marketing your business, focusing all of your efforts on bringing in new customers and never reselling those customers means you’re leaving tremendous potential on the table.
Here is a recent example from my life that demonstrates the lost potential … and I’m sure, if you pay attention to your personal commerce you’ll find many more businesses making this terrible gaff.
The Backyard Pool
About a year ago, we installed a pool in our home. As I’m sure you’re well aware, pools are bloody expensive. The other thing about going through a pool installation is you have extensive contact with the salesman that sold you the pool and the project manager that works with you throughout the installation. So over the course of the 90 – 120 days (and that is on the fast side) it takes to go through this process you develop a relationship with these people … and hopefully it’s a good one.
The salesman for the pool company we chose was fantastic. He was the type of salesman that would drive most marginally interested people crazy. Prior to our signing the contract, he did what all great salesmen do – he called, and called, and called some more. And every time he called and I told him we weren’t quite ready or we hadn’t quite made a decision, he secured another date in the future where he had my permission to call again.
Of all the pool companies we dealt with, he was the only one that followed up consistently until he got the sale. His persistence not only got him the business (and the commission), his tenacity was downright impressive.
A side lesson to all the sales people out there – persistence is key and it’s a sure path to success. All the successful sales people I know are persistent and follow up to a fault … even if they’ve been told no a hundred times. Their goal is to be kept at the top of their prospect’s mind so when the need strikes … they’ll be the first one to get the call. They know timing and a good relationship is everything. As it is in sales, so it is in marketing.
Construction Begins
After we signed the contract, the process began. We had to determine the shape of the pool and how it would sit on our property. We had to choose the type of deck we wanted and the color. Should it be screened or not screened? What color finish, what color coping, what color tile … the decisions seemed endless. But the project manager was there every step of the way. After we made our decisions, we had to approve the plans and of course cut the checks.
And, all told this was a relatively easy and smooth process. I had heard so many nightmares from other people that had awful experiences with pool companies. Living in a hot state like Florida, you can throw a rock and it will land in a swimming pool … so literally everyone you know has a pool horror story they’re just dying to share.
So as we started the installation, I was expecting the worst. But other than one minor issue with the size of the entry steps into the pool and a few minor delays, the installation was quick and painless. In about eight weeks from start of installation to finish we had a brand new swimming pool.
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Posted by:
Gary Bencivenga
August 23, 2007
Issue #211
Perhaps the most effective
selling strategy ever discovered
Dear Marketing Top Gun:
When I was a young, inept copywriter, I felt acutely ashamed of my lack of skill. I craved respect in my craft yet reeked of mediocrity. I was determined to better myself by learning from the best.
That’s easier to do in New York City than just about anywhere else on earth because so many outstanding people in every field work in New York.
Reaching beyond my grasp, I applied for a job with the legendary copywriter and direct marketing agency boss Tom Collins. My interview with the great man took place in his office, after hours.
I can still see him now, so friendly and courteous to a copy cub so beneath his level. Leafing through my portfolio, he politely searched for something encouraging to say about my mundane samples. Finding nothing to compliment in my headlines, he plowed into body copy.
As he read, I glanced around his office and stared out his window, feeling that my future as a copywriter loomed as dark as the New York night. I had been rejected for other jobs with other masters, and the pattern was about to repeat.
Sure enough, he told me in a very considerate way that I wasn’t ready to make it in his agency. “Maybe sometime in the future,” he said, as he closed my portfolio and handed it back.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
August 22, 2007
Issue #210
– REVEALED!
In this issue:
- The case for teleseminars …
- How teleseminars can simultaneously impact your most important business metrics …
- What makes a great call?
- And more!
Dear Business Builder,
Last week I wrapped up my 9 week Bootstrap Money Makers teleseminar training series, and I’m reflecting on the lessons learned …
Since you may be considering putting on your own teleseminar or webinar – or may be involved in helping your clients to do so – I thought you might benefit from getting a behind the scenes look.
No matter what you sell, the creative use of these little babies can do wonders for building your business … padding your bank account … and bringing you closer to your customers. To put some context around the discussion, let me begin by telling you the business model behind Bootstrap Money Makers …
Bootstrap Money Makers was a series of 9 calls, featuring rags to riches entrepreneurs facing a challenge. And the challenge was this: What would you do now if your assets were stripped … your lists and products destroyed … and your notoriety erased? And all you had were your wits, living expenses for one month, and $1,000 in seed capital to get back on your feet? What would you do? You can see the sales page, and grab a copy of the call recordings and transcripts here.
The calls were free to attend, but to receive the recordings and transcripts of the calls required a small investment of $77 to $127, depending on which option you selected.
And at the end of each call, there was an offer to purchase additional training materials.
The case for teleseminars
Here were my goals when I was planning the event:
- I wanted to give more value to the people on my list, thereby increasing their responsiveness to future offers …
- I wanted to increase the frequency and dollar value of back end sales made to my list …
- I wanted to grow my list …
- I wanted additional products to sell to my list, and to use to fund external lead generation activities …
- I wanted to get to know my list better …
Phew! That’s a pretty rich menu to chow down on all at once. See anything succulent? You do?
Good, then this is going to be time well spent, because looking back on this series it delivered in spades on every one of those goals.
Let’s take a quick look at how the series delivered on each one …
How teleseminars
can simultaneously impact
some of your most important
business metrics …
Increasing Value Delivered – Coming up with a steady stream of attractions for your list to devour, while at the same time maximizing revenue is a challenge. I was already delivering a weekly advertorial style newsletter, and a weekly promotion. I needed to up the ante, and here was a way to get other people to create a steady stream of relevant, interesting content for me – for FREE!
Not only that, since it was a theme-based series, once a couple of them were out of the way, they just weren’t that much work – just a few extra hours each week. The series was appreciated, and did indeed increase the responsiveness of the list.
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Posted by:
Troy White
August 21, 2007
Issue #209
In this issue:
-
How to create $45 million dollars in a single year by listening to what your clients really want
-
The secrets of the most brilliant marketing campaign to kids I have ever seen
-
3 questions you can ask of your clients that will guarantee you a breakthrough idea
-
12 marketing lessons that are guaranteed to improve your revenues right now
-
And much more!
Fellow business builder,
What can we learn from the newest teddy bear craze?
More than I ever would have guessed!
If you have pre-teens, you undoubtedly have heard of these crazy bears called Webkinz. I have twin 6-year old daughters, and was fortunate to be saved from Webkinz up until a month ago.
All hell has broken loose now!
Remember the Beanie Baby sensation? It made people millions, and still is a major seller for collectors.
Webkinz is Beanie Babies on marketing steroids.
First, Ganz (the Canadian plush toy manufacturer) goes out and asks some very serious questions of their target market, young kids.
They start by asking “what do kids love, and love to do?”
(which, by the way, we should all be asking of our ideal clients)
And they come up with a few things …
- Kids love to dress up their dolls
- Kids love to build things, stack things, and create with their imaginations
- Kids love to play pretend parent
- Kids love to collect and show off things to others
- Kids love fun games – especially ones that reward them in some way
- Kids love to use their imaginations – be it by drawing, acting or playing, or being in a virtual world
Then they ask where today’s generation of kids like to spend their time. And it is obvious that the Internet is the new medium of choice. They can go on their and chat with their friends, play games together, and have fun doing silly things. The kids like being in control of their entertainment, and the Internet gives them the control they want.
The next thing they do is absolutely brilliant (wish I thought of it!) … they combine real teddy bears with Internet worlds.
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