Take Everything You Learned This Year and Question It ALL
In this issue:
-
6 key questions that break all the rules – and can make you a bundle in 2008 …
-
The danger in getting too comfortable with the so-called unbreakable rules of marketing …
-
Million dollar marketing secrets from a Cook Book Sensation …
- Questioning your sanity for believing everything that you read, hear, and see on stage … the REAL secret to success …
- And Much More!
Fellow business builder,
Is it time you truly question everything that you know about marketing your business?
This past week, I hosted the Wild West Wealth Christmas Bash. There was a day-long seminar first, focusing on marketing and growing a business fast, and then, afterwards, a Christmas party for my friends, clients and prospects.
Even a few questionable people showed up!
Seriously, some people there seemed more enamored with the free food and drinks than they did with the million dollar contacts they could have made!
That rant is for another week.
But, the biggest lessons I learned
were supplied from the speakers I had there.
First was Mary Halpen of Best of Bridge Publishing. Many people questioned why I would bring in a cook book author to teach entrepreneurs about marketing.
Well, 3,000,000 (yes, million) cookbooks later, Mary has a thing or two to share with others. And that she DID.
She shared with us her secret of selling their first 10,000 copies – before the product was made – without any advertising or marketing – and having the client pay, up front, for the product to be developed.
Hint: they partnered with BIG volume buyers who wanted to “private label” their cookbook and have both company’s logos on the cookbook. The question to you is: who could you partner with that may be willing to buy your product or service in bulk – and then resell that to their customers?
She shared with us her system for keeping media contacts happy and hungry for the next write-up they can do on you. Imagine … having media personalities clamoring over each other to be the next to give you a full page write-up! Happens to Best of Bridge every week.
Hint: All it took for them to do this was a tightly focused campaign to make sure all the media knew the human interest side of their business (5 ladies who used to play bridge together struck it out on their own with a new cookbook design and concept). They also tied into a charity – which the media always loves. When was the last time YOU put your human interest story down on paper? What makes you unique in a cluttered marketplace? What charity are you tied into, could you be tied into?
And she shared with us the critical importance of having a signature piece that helps everyone recognize you.
In their case, it was a certain type and color of cooking apron – millions from around the world know exactly who they are if they saw them in a crowded airport wearing their aprons. What could you be doing that makes your company, your personality, or your promise more visual? For me, the entire Wild West theme and cartoon cowboy hat concept has taken off – what could yours be?
So, yes, there were a ton of great lessons to be learned from a best selling cook book entrepreneur.
Which is my exact point to today’s newsletter …
We all get comfortable (and complacent) adding to our marketing “tool kit”.
For some of us, we read electronic newsletters like this one every day of the week.
For others, we prefer live seminars throughout the year to keep ourselves on top of our game.
Others, much prefer learning at home with DVDs, CDs and home study guides at our side.
Me … I prefer ALL OF THEM.
But, I picked up something BIG
from one of our other speakers, Doug White.
You probably haven’t heard much about Doug before … he preferred it that way. He was silently doing huge things behind the scenes up here in Canada … and kept his findings and tests (7,000 tests to date) quiet.
He wouldn’t even tell his own employees how to do what he did. The results were too phenomenal to “risk” having them stolen – so he kept them to himself.
Brandon Roe, another one of our speakers, convinced Doug to start sharing a few tidbits of information that had generated him $2.5 BILLION dollars in revenues for his clients over the years.
Now, I cannot openly share really any of Doug’s talk or systems with you here today, but I want to open you up to a new way of thinking that was ignited in me last Wednesday.
With all this knowledge being absorbed by business entrepreneurs like us, do you ever question how much of it has changed over the years?
Or maybe asked yourself if it really does apply to your business, as it is being taught?
Maybe what has become industry “rule” needs to be questioned more – poked and prodded a bit to see how flexible those “rules” really are.
Doug opened me up to a brand new world that I did not know existed.
Both with some online breakthroughs he has pioneered, as well as some amazing offline techniques NO ONE is talking about, other than him.
It was funny though …
… A few of the people in the room looked at me blankly after Doug spoke – they just didn’t get it.
How could something so simple, and so counter-intuitive, be so powerful for money creation?
Well, Doug tested these concepts, and they broke all kinds of sales records – and broke the “rules.”
Birks Jewelers had their first Million Dollar Saturday and melted down 3 of their brand new cash registers using Doug’s techniques …
Esso (Imperial Oil) saw a 46% growth rate in 145 gas stations using these techniques (while head office thought they were fudging the numbers or something – it had never been done before – 1% sales spikes were good to them, before working with Doug).
I won’t go on about the results – they are systematic – they are repeatable – they are undeniable in their effectiveness – and they are Doug’s private Secret. I am in a full day seminar with Doug today, as you read this, soaking up every second of his knowledge.
But, I want to ask you to do
the following over the holidays …
List out on a piece of paper the following:
- What it is that you sell vs. what people are buying.
(The differences are usually dramatic! Get out there and survey your prospects and clients to find out what they really want to buy – then adjust your offer to match what they are waiting with credit card in hand to buy.)
- How it is that you sell to them now vs. the methods you WISH you could use to sell to them.
(Are you doing e-mail only right now? Why? Because it’s cheap? Well, being cheap can cost you way more sales than you save yourself. Besides, e-mail alone reaches a small number of potential buyers. Expanding your efforts into offline media will bring you a higher quality lead, a higher quality buyer, and a much more diverse marketing plan for your promotions. If you really wish you could be doing 5 X more direct mail – how can you find others to help you finance your promotions? Could you joint venture with others? Could you endorse printing companies to your own database in exchange for free printing? Could you partner with small mailing houses and offer them a free insert in your monthly print newsletter, in exchange for free marketing?)
- How it is that you reach them now vs. how you’ve been told would never work to reach them.
(If you are sending direct mail, are you sticking firm to the “rule” that live stamps is the only way to go? Are you sticking with the “rule” that first class is the only way that works? Have you ever tested alternative means, ones that break the rules? You just never know what you will find when you try and bend a rule. Doug showed us numerous examples of pieces that broke almost every rule possible, and also broke every sales number along the way.)
- What is the most expensive way to market to them vs. what is the least expensive way to market to them.
(Similar to #2 above - - but a continuing look at what you are willing to do to break free from the marketing clutter that surrounds your ideal prospect. Most expensive is in person, one-to-one type of contact or packages. So instead of going out via e-mail or postcards – the least expensive – have you tried narrowing your focus of who you want as buyers, then tried high cost, smaller run promotions? Doug shared one example of this that targeted a very small group of 250 people – and the campaign cost $35,000 - - - BUT - - - it returned $1.8 million!)
- How you stay in front of them right now vs. how you could be staying in front of them now (despite what everyone is telling you won’t work).
(Are you sending out a monthly e-mail newsletter because you don’t want to offend them? Have you tried weekly, or, heaven-forbid, daily e-mails? Many that do daily see huge increases in response because they are constantly top of mind. Or, if you send flat calendars at the end of the year – have you ever tried dimensional calendars that stay right there on their desktop?)
- What your competitors are using for marketing vs. what other people in completely unrelated industries are using.
(I have written about this before … especially focused in on Internet-only marketing. To me, it makes no sense at all. Why limit who you are targeting, and who you buyers are? Not everyone loves the Internet – nor do they love e-mail. My single offline ad that I run in a Canada-wide newspaper generates me highly targeted leads – and they convert to buyers MUCH better than online leads … anywhere from 6 – 18 TIMES better conversions. If everyone in your market is using e-mail only – it is now time to branch out and pay the extra for online media.)
Think through these things seriously.
As I said, I cannot give you Doug’s formula for success - - but if you question all of the above 6 questions, thinking them through in depth - - and look far outside your industry for ideas on how you could be marketing your business, there are some multi-million dollar ideas waiting for you.
These are PERFECT for any and every small business owner and entrepreneur – whether you sell business to business, or business to consumer.
I will see if I can get Doug to do an interview with me to post here – but for now – the answers you give in those questions can make you a fortune!
Please let me know your thoughts, and if you have any further topics on this you would like to see discussed.
To your success,
Troy White
Editor, Small Business Mastery
Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE
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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 days, solid, packed with information and great speakers! It was great. Well worth it." Troy, you did fantastic. By far the best seminar I’ve been to. Thank you." – Denise Williams HOME STUDY NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER  |
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3 Comments »
Join the Discussion!
Let us know what you think. Or ask us anything. Or offer your own sage advice.
The only rule: RESPECT THIS HOUSE! Postings that contain abusive language and/or personal attacks will be cheerfully VAPORIZED. One cross word and – POOF! – your well-thought-out post will be gone in a puff of smoke.
– Clayton
Comment by Dave — December 11, 2007 @ 11:41 am
How about doing a Free Tele-Seminar with Doug White? thanks, Dave
Comment by Anjum Azad — December 11, 2007 @ 11:50 am
WOW!!! that was swell, though, the santa forgot the six shooter. ha.ha.ha.ha.ha.
BEST REGARDS AND WARM WISHES FOR THIS JOYOUS SEASON….
Comment by Raja Hireker — December 11, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
Hi Troy,
If people reading this particular edition of your marketing ezine were to throw away everything else cluttering their inbox, and never read another marketing \’HOW TO\’ piece for 30 days, they\’d get a world class marketing education… FOR FREE!
And, that\’s whether you tell them about Doug\’s formula for success, or not.
Getting to work on a few simple processes can make all the difference in the world.
The last 6 questions you went over in the publication are what most marketing consultants DON\’T ask their clients, whilst still charging them hefty fees for spewing out a ton of drivel!
A big bunch of powerful, practical, profitable stuff there Troy.
Raja Hireker