Posted by:
Troy White
May 13, 2008
Issue #416
Fellow Business Builder,
Tips from the road …
million dollar ideas from the twins
My daughters are turning eight in a few months and starting grade 3 right around the same time … YIKES!
Time flies.
You may have seen some of the articles I wrote about the girls (Katrina and Hailey).
They are identical twins – born almost eight years ago at a whopping three pounds each! We are blessed, and they are perfectly healthy little fireballs … always ready to get into some trouble whenever they can find it.
Anyhow, I learn a ton about life and business just by watching the two of them play.
I have written articles about my "learnings," and those articles have been published in a few different languages now.
Even a book was spawned out of my stories about them!
Some recent time off got me thinking about how much I miss writing about them, so here you go:
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10 MORE Small Business Success Tips from the Twins
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Posted by:
Troy White
May 6, 2008
Issue #411
In this issue:
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Saddling up controversy and making it pay and pay and pay …
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Big money formula for getting them to buy more, refer more, and have more fun …
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Leveraging rumors to build your business …
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And Much More!
Fellow Business Builder,
Last Wednesday night was a great night.
Not only was it our 9th wedding anniversary, it was also the grand re-opening of Cowboys bar in Calgary … which we were glad to be at.
Cowboys is owned by Paul Vickers, one of the speakers at my Wild West Marketing and Wealth event in June. Cowboys is also where Kari and I first really started ‘dating’ - is our regular haunt during Calgary Stampede week - and is a world renowned establishment that many celebrities have frequented over the years. It is also the place where Paul Vickers first met up with his wife.
The reason I bring up Cowboys is to make sure you understand their incredible model for success, media attention, BIG money ($100 million in 10 years – from one bar) and some serious raving fans.
Again, if you refer to last week’s article, you will see how important it is to take ideas from one industry and MAKE THEM FIT your own.
Major breakthroughs happen here
Some of the things I have seen Paul do with Cowboys:
Become a master of the media. Paul is a serious businessman that knows what the media wants (controversy), and then he makes sure he delivers it to them.
When Prince Harry was temporarily posted near Calgary for training with the British Army, he and a few others decided to visit the infamous Cowboys one night and took an immediate shine to Cymbalisty, one of Cowboys’ bodacious bar staff. Harry is Cowboys’ third prince. (The others were Prince Albert of Monaco and the artist formerly known as Prince.)
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Posted by:
Troy White
April 29, 2008
Issue #406
In this issue:
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The proven model for marketing breakthroughs …
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8 unusual ideas for a specialty chocolate business that can and should be applied to your business …
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7 Loyalty building breakthroughs to transform a niche retail store …
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And Much More!
Fellow Business Builder,
As I mentioned last week, one of the big areas for breakthrough marketing ideas comes from completely unrelated industries.
So, if you are a realtor - - find ideas from the restaurant business.
Or if you are a restaurant owner, look to the information marketing business for ideas.
Now, at first glance, the businesses above seem to have absolutely NOTHING to do with one another … but that’s the beauty of it.
If you have to think about it, put it on paper, and actually stretch to find ways to make them fit – then you are most likely doing something 99.99% of the population (i.e. your competitors) would NEVER even think of doing.
Which is where breakthroughs happen.
Let’s have a look at two different industries who filled out the survey.
Now, before you read the industries chosen and start thinking “That’s not what I do … this doesn’t apply to me …,” remember to think far outside of the box here – it DOES APPLY TO YOU.
Make it fit – real breakthroughs do not come from within your industry – they come from far removed businesses from your own.
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Posted by:
Troy White
April 22, 2008
Issue #401
In this issue:
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9 timeless guidelines for designing a survey that gets you results …
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2 potentially disruptive changes that will undoubtedly result from your survey. How to be prepared for this, and what to do about it to maximize your cash flow …
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Entrepreneurial madness! The top 3 issues people are faced with – and some thoughts on how to move past those issues as quickly and painlessly as possible …
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And Much More!
Fellow Business Builder,
In honor of “National Get To Know Your Customer Day” (Saturday, April 19th), I went out to my e-mail list with a survey. There were 20 questions - and I gave them multiple choice type questions mixed in with open ended fill-in-the-blank type questions.
First, if you haven’t done a survey to your customers lately – do it! The information you gain will be invaluable to your future business.
I used surveymonkey.com with a professional account and was set up in no time with my first survey ready to roll (Click here to see and/or take my survey).
Here are some of the guidelines I used, and I would recommend you do, too:
- Give them a gift for helping you out. Their time is worth something. Show them you appreciate them, and hand them over something you would usually charge for.
- Keep the graphics clean, simple, and easy on the eyes.
- Make sure the questions are easy to understand and cannot cause confusion (Example: “Rank the following 1 – 5” is ambiguous. Does it mean 1 is the best, or the worst? Does it mean you are comparing one against another and are ranking them in order of preference? Think it through and make sure your questions lead them down the path you want them to take – not down one that will leave you confused and without usable data.)
- Mix in multiple choice with open ended question and answer format. (Gives you a breakdown of percentages, plus the chance to dig deeper into what is really on their mind, what things they want most from you, etc.)
- Use an introductory e-mail to explain to them what you are doing and why you are doing it. The introductory email should always tell them about the bonuses they get with their submission
- Ask at least one question that gets them to rank you compared to other alternatives in the market. This may be the most enlightening question you ask! And it will also fire you up to perform even better than you have in the past. Anyone in their own business loves competition, and this will fire up that spark again and get you moving more passionately towards your grand vision.
- Ask one type of question that helps them point out what they DO like about you. What makes you different? What makes your information or products better than the others? Why do they stay on your list as a client, and what do they want more of from you?
- Toughen up! I made mine anonymous (recommended for some surveys – others, ones you want tracked back to each client’s preferences, not anonymous). Why did I choose this format? If there are complaints, they will come out in a format like this. And you must learn how to take BOTH the good and the bad. If you are not hearing the bad, that is typically not a good thing. There is always someone who is going to have some kind of complaint. (In my survey, some complained the survey was too long, and others complained it was too short. Again, you can’t make everyone 100% happy!)
- USE the data you collect! You need to have a two part plan going into this. First, know what you want the data for. Do you want more products to sell? If so, a survey will help you find out what type of product your customers want from you – and will be very descriptive with the name of the product, the content of it, and the price point you should sell it for. The second part of the plan is to set in stone how quickly you will take action on the data you collect. If the deadline on your survey is the 25th of the month, by the 26th you should have the analysis done – and an implementation plan already prepared and ready to move on. Then move on it. The worst thing you can do is go to all this effort, get your list involved like this, get them to pour out their deepest darkest secrets, tell you what exactly they want from you, then completely ignore what they tell you. That’ll be the last time you get any help (or orders) from your customers!
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Posted by:
Troy White
April 15, 2008
Issue #396
In this issue:
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10 off-the-wall ideas to improve your customer service and keep them coming back to buy more …
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The simple comparison that may help you double or triple your web sales …
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Getting them involved, having fun, and buying again and again …
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And Much More!
Fellow Business Builder,
Have you ever wondered if there might just be a better way to leverage your website?
I’m not talking about the long copy sales letter sites, but a company site that is designed to showcase your company and your multiple products and services.
Many of these types of sites are an absolute mess – and are experiencing a tough time to make consistent sales and customer loyalty. Others with hundreds of products to sell run multi-million dollar empires online.
What’s the difference?
Their web strategy. Some people look at the website as a one-hit-wonder … others see it as an entry place for an exciting adventure.
Both work, but one is more sustainable over time.
I contend that many business owners should be looking at these types of websites as if they were a high-end retail store that caters to a more discerning clientele.
Imagine if you were to look at most websites, maybe your own, as if they were an actual retail store, and you were paying tens of thousands of dollars a month for rent.
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