Posted by:
Troy White
August 8, 2008
Issue #477
Fellow Business-Builder,
Last Sunday night, while we slept, someone cut through the screen on a kitchen window, crawled through, rifled through a few things, opened one of the vehicles out in front of the house and went through the glove box and console, then stole the keys to the other vehicle (the dreaded minivan) and took off.
I woke up (fast) at 7:45 am when one of my 7-year-old daughters came in the room asking why all the doors in the house were "wide open." I ran out and sure enough the front screen door and main door were pried open.
The back doors the same.
** Something was most definitely wrong.
Then I noticed the kitchen window screen was cut, and the ledge below the window had been cleaned clear of all the photos that used to sit there.
Someone has been in the house - maybe was still there - and we had yet to figure out what was stolen. I see my laptop still sitting there. An iPod and a cell phone both lay on the kitchen counter. Cash still sitting on my tabletop in the bedroom.
Luckily everyone is safe and sound.
In a case like this, anything could have happened.
The person may have gotten startled and done something drastic.
One of the kids could have gone to the bathroom and ran into the thief.
Anything could have happened.
** Fortunately, nothing did.
A missing purse and minivan - who cares?
We are all fine - which is what really matters.
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Posted by:
Troy White
August 1, 2008
Issue #472
Fellow Business-Builder,
My driving passion is water and boats. I was born in the prairies and on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. We have a few lakes within a two-hour drive.
And yet, I am one of the statistics.
Calgary, land-locked as it is, is #3 in North America and #1 in Canada for boat sales per capita. So there are a LOT of us that have a passion to be on the water.
I took the plunge and bought my first boat in 2007. Rather than spending a fortune, I decided to buy used and learn my docking, towing and driving lessons on a boat that doesn’t care if I put a ding or two into it.
As soon as I bought it – my passion intensified and grew.
Rather than my typical one week vacation, I took three weeks – ALL on the water.
This year, another three weeks is planned.
To me, water is my way of rejuvenating the soul and experiencing true relaxation and freedom.
It is my true passion.
And it is driving me towards my dream faster than ever.
I want more water – more often – and I am busting my butt in business to experience it.
WHAT’S YOUR PASSION?
You must find it if you don’t know it.
It will empower you to attain your dreams faster.
It will keep you going in the bad times.
It will keep you motivated in the sluggish times.
It will keep your dreams alive and keep you on track to achieve your goals.
Without a driving passion, you become one of “the 95% group.” People without goals, dreams or ambitions. People who will retire dead broke. People who will constantly go through life whining about their circumstances and “bad luck.”
You’ve heard the stats about what goal setting does – so have you set yours?
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Posted by:
Troy White
July 4, 2008
Issue #452
Fellow Business-Builder,
Again, thank you for all the fabulous comments around the last two weeks’ lead generation articles.
Some of you had questions I wanted to help address. The way I see it, if I can help you double or triple the amount of leads you are getting, then convert them to sales, my articles have done their job.
First, lead generation ads done simple.
I am not a graphic design person (if you can’t tell :o) - - but I do appreciate an ad that is laid out properly. It helps draw in eyeballs and get them to at least start reading the headline. If the design is poor and the ad doesn’t stand out, your job just got harder.
Kari does my graphic and ad design, but I have picked up a thing or two about simple ad layouts for the average small business. The following references are from Word 2003 - they changed everything in the 2007 version, and I have not taken the time to figure out the differences.
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Posted by:
Troy White
June 27, 2008
Issue #447
In this issue:
- The easiest way to win over your prospects and convince them to buy from you for the first time …
- Small Business Mastery readers speak out …
- Templates and samples to use for creating your own sales system …
- And Much More!
Fellow Business Builder,
Thank you for your excellent response to my article “How to Write Lead Generation Display Ads”. Some of your comments hit a note with me and I first wanted to address these before moving on to the actual templates for creating your display ads.
Steve had said “I never even thought of doing non-traditional small display ads. I feel like a fool.”
My thoughts to you Steve are – don’t feel like a fool – feel like an awakening! Most people look at display ads in a certain way, and it can be difficult to see new ways of looking at them. Which is the problem. After seeing hundreds of display ads in a day or week, all following the same useless format, it’s no wonder we have a tough time seeing the alternatives. This approach works really well for small businesses. It is simple to implement. And it gets you solid results. Try it out and please let us know how it goes.
Olan said “Great article Troy. One question: Where is the Ad for the house painter that you wrote? I don't see it in this article.”
Hi Olan. As Mr. Burns (from the Simpsons) would say – eeeeexxxxxcellent! My house painter advertisement was so deceptive you didn’t even notice it was an ad! The point to running this type of ad in the Yellow Pages is to make it look like an article or warning notice. In the middle of all those same-old-same-old type of ads – yours will be the one and only that looks like something useful to those in need.
Carolyn said “I just finished writing a space ad for a company using this approach. I suggested they offer five free special reports, thinking that at least one of the five would hit a hot button and get the phones ringing. You can tell me if you think that was too much.”
Hi Carolyn. My personal thoughts are for you to space out all the reports and send them individually. Rather than receive all five at once (which chances are they won’t read them all) – send them 7-10 days apart. The overwhelm factor may kick in with too many at once, so this gives you multiple opportunities for follow up. But, this is something you need to test. With 100 of the leads – test sending each separately. With the next 100 send two at a time. The next 100 – all at once. See which version works best. (You must track everything you do to ensure the winner.)
Great questions and comments – thank you!
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Posted by:
Troy White
June 20, 2008
Issue #442
In this issue:
- The Small Business ATM Machine - or the curse of the advertising sales rep?
- Silliness 101 and why most small businesses are fed up with their marketing and Yellow Pages efforts
- The 3 proven rules for writing a money churning display ad for any business
- And Much More!
Fellow business builder,
Over the past 5 years, I have noticed a very scary thing with small business owners. They tend to believe the people who are selling them advertising space! Considering that most advertising sales reps know very little about direct response (or even how to spell it), and that they are paid on the space they sell - not the results their clients get … there couldn’t be a worse place to get advertising advice.
Yet, a decent Yellow Pages ad or small display ad can bring in a constant stream of paying clients.
Today I want to discuss how effective display ads can be used for the average house painter, massage therapist, Laundromat, restaurant, printing company, etc.
These are not the type of ads that Clayton would be writing - these are much easier for the typical small business owner to write, and run themselves.
Small display ads …
You see them everywhere!
They are plastered all over the local newspapers.
They are in the phone book.
They are on the Internet.
They are used as brochures.
They are used in e-mail promotions.
They are used on eBay listings.
They are used on web pages.
They are used as handouts.
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