Posted by: Troy White
April 22, 2008
Issue #401

Question Them and Grow Rich

In this issue:

• 9 timeless guidelines for designing a survey that gets you results …

• 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 …

• 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 …

• 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!

Now, it has been way too long
since I have done a survey to my list –
and the answers I got back surprised me.

While a certain percentage of my list comes from a very reliable offline source every month, another large percentage comes from various online sources. Those really surprised me as to who they are, what kind of businesses they run, how large the business is, and what their revenues are.

So the question I need to ask myself is, “Will I start an entirely new product line, will I sell other peoples’ products, or will I migrate a certain percentage of my list off my list, and focus in on the target customer I want on my list?”

Unless you are consistently in touch with your database, or you know the exact demographics of each person coming into your funnel, you will find some surprises in the information you collect.

Yes, we should all be targeting our marketing to publications and sources we know are hot spots for our perfect clients.  But no, that does not mean that every single person coming from there will fit your ideal profile.

You either adjust your lead generation systems to get more of the perfect client profile, or you adjust your products to match the type of clients you ARE attracting.

Without the survey, you will not know what opportunities there are hidden within your database!

Go back to your database with a shortened summary of the survey results. Share with them some of the data you learned … they will be glad to know they are not alone and that there are others out there who think, buy, and act just like they do.

Now, with some of the things I found out on my survey, so far, there are some common problems people are running into.

Implementation and focus. 

This one is BIG.  It appears there are quite a few people out there (on my database) that are having a tough time getting enough done in a day. 

Things are distracting them – and they just aren’t finding enough time in a day to implement everything (or anything) they want.  They have the tools at hand (on their bookshelves, on their iPods, and on their computers) but just aren’t making the time to implement them. 

If this sounds like you, the best thing you can do is  … tackle ONE THING at a time.  If you want to learn to implement pay per click advertising to get more quality traffic to your site, get an ad started – right now.  It will take you less than 30 minutes to at least get one started.  Set your daily cap low to start so you don’t spend a fortune on untargeted traffic.  Get the ad up and running and fine tune the ad, the landing page, the conversions. 

Commit to 45 minutes a day on just this. Mark it in your calendar as time booked … and then do it. 

Focus and implementation are very common problems – but the answer lies within YOU.  If you dedicate the time to implement, you will see the results you want. If you let the volumes of information on your bookshelf overwhelm you, you will never get around to doing the things that really matter – implementation.

Overaggressive ambitions. 

Yes, we all need to think big and set grandiose dreams to aim for, but we need to set realistic stepping points to get us on the right path.  We entrepreneurs are an unusual bunch! We set out to change the world … we are pigheaded in our determination … and we are willing to do whatever it takes to get there. 

But we have to be realistic as well. 

Going from a $250,000 a year freelance business to a $250 million dollar corporation in 12 months or less is NOT reasonable.  Not to say it isn’t possible – but highly unlikely. Going from $250,000 to $750,000 in a year is much more feasible – and with the right tools and people in place, easily doable.

Make sure you are setting realistic goals, and make sure you are putting implementation plans in place before you are halfway through the year and realizing you haven’t even started working on your goals for the year.  I am not going to get into what makes for realistic goals – we have all heard the K-I-S-S formula, and it applies to your goals too.  Are you setting them?

ADD Affliction.

Yes, this does relate to focus, but I see it as something different to focus on as well.  You have to learn to stick with things and master them one at a time – rather than trying to become a better copywriter, referral marketer, product developer, public speaker, publicity expert, and book author – ALL AT THE SAME TIME. 

Take one skill and get good at it – see it through to the end when you have seen the incredible changes you get in your response.  Only after you have mastered one skill, should you take on the mastery of another. 

I don’t know of too many people who mastered two or three skills at the same time – they did it systematically … slowly … methodically. 

When you can drill that into your mind and way of life, you will be well on your way to making things happen.  Seeing things through to completion is a key skill for entrepreneurs like you and I (and is one we constantly need to remind ourselves of – I know I do).

These are just a few of the things
that come out of your surveys.

I am still compiling results and look forward to sharing more of them with you.  But remember, YOUR database is the one that really matters.  Go out to them and ask them for their opinions – and be prepared to take immediate action on the ideas they give you.

THIS is one of the greatest keys to success in a small business!  You can never go wrong listening to your customers, and then adjusting your business to match what they want.  Or, you can always adjust who you are targeting to get more of your ideal customers, and less of those who are better suited dealing with others.

The choice is yours – but until you know who they are on your database, and what they want from you – you will never be able to put together the perfect business.

When you know who they are, what they want, and you have the perfect solution for them – you then have the makings of a highly successful business venture!

Until then, question them and grow rich.

To your success,

Troy White
Editor, Small Business Mastery
Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

Looking for resources related to this article? Try some of these.

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Looking for past issues of The Total Package? Click here for our archives.

A Final Note:

If you have specific subjects you would like addressed, or have any comments on what you have seen here, please submit a comment below and I will see how I can help.

"Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”

–Napoleon Hill

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3 Comments »

1. Comment by Michael Z. — April 22, 2008 @ 12:54 pm

   Right on Troy. 

   This is a great way to keep a pulse on the market. Not to forget a goldmine for future products, add-ons, variations, etc.

   Regards,
   Michael Z.

2. Comment by Glen Kohlenberg — April 22, 2008 @ 2:02 pm

   Troy I will be glad to see your results because I was one of the chosen few.

3. Comment by Ken Varga — April 22, 2008 @ 2:59 pm

   Troy,  When I created my 35 companies, one of the tools I used was to survey my customers, and by doing this, I found what they wanted and how they wanted it.  Surveys work.  It’s a shame everyone who is in business doesn’t do it.