Monday, December 31, 2012

What's the Best Way to Get New Clients?


That's a trick question. There is no ONE best way.

But there is a very easy way to get new clients: Remove the risk of buying from you.

How? With a money-back guarantee.

And guess what? You already have a money-back guarantee -- you just don't know it.

The longer your guarantee and the fewer conditions you put on your guarantee, the more new clients it will bring you.

Watch this to learn how to use a money-back guarantee as a marketing tool.

Best part: A guarantee costs you $0 to implement, will bring you much more money in sales than it will ever cost you in refunds (if you're any good at what you do), and you can create one today.

Meanwhile ... if you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, my free Client Cloning Kit can help you. Grab your copy here, while they last

Saturday, December 29, 2012

What's the Easiest Way to Market my Business?

Your business card may be the most-overlooked marketing tool in your business.

Watch this to learn how to make the most of it.

Then, Google "creative business cards" or do a similar search to get ides you can use.

The answers are out there to help you turn your business card into a "silent sales rep" that builds your business while you do other things.

Meanwhile ... if you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, my free Client Cloning Kit can help you. Grab your copy here, while they last.

Friday, December 21, 2012

3 Ways to Boost Sales This Week, Without Advertising

I just consulted with the owner of a tutoring school with 3 branches. He really needs to grow his sales.

Before prescribing any marketing "medicine," I asked a few questions to diagnose his condition.

Turns out that his average student stays for 9 months, paying $250/month, for $2,250 in lifetime value.

Before joining, prospective students pay $200 to take an assessment test. And 33-50% of those prospects sign up at his 3 branches (he couldn't be specific about the exact conversion percentage).

After a few more questions and answers, I gave him these 3 easy ways to boost his sales ...

1) Find out the exact conversion percentage at each school. That way, you know who's marketing well and who needs help, so you can prioritize your efforts.

2) Find out exactly what the manager says and does at the school with the highest conversion percentage. Then, roll out their "script" to the other 2 schools.

When you know what works and you do more of it, you are guaranteed to increase sales. So following steps 1 and 2 are a slam-dunk certainty.

(Wait. What about you? What works best to turn prospects into clients for your business? Are you doing as much of it as possible? Why not??)

Here's my last suggestion to the school owner ...

3) Waive the $200 fee on initial assessments, for anyone referred by an existing student.

I told him NOT to worry about the $200 he'll lose by not charging these prospects for tests. Because they walk into his lobby with $0 acquisition costs.

He can still charge the general public $200 for testing, but when people are referred and get the assessment for free, they feel part of an exclusive club ... AND they feel obligated to reciprocate in some way for receiving a $200 gift ... which will likely boost conversions above the current 33-50%.

And I told him to focus on the figure $2,250, which is the lifetime value of every new student who signs up during the "Free Assessment" referral campaign. That's a very motivating number.

(Wait. What about you? What's your lifetime client value, or LCV? Don't know it? Then how can you know how much you can afford to "buy" new clients for with your marketing?)

I hope you find these 3 ideas helpful. None of them will cost you a nickel in advertising. None requires any investment in new technology. And all can be done this week.

Meanwhile ... if you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, my free Client Cloning Kit can help you. Grab your copy here, while they last.

Monday, December 17, 2012

How do I Know my Marketing is a Success?

When measuring your marketing, numbers don't lie.

But which numbers matter?

Watch to learn the difference between response rates and return on investment, to name two.

Tip: First, figure out how much a client is worth to you over their buying lifetime. When you know your lifetime client value (LCV).

Meanwhile ... if you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, a free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your copy here.  

Thursday, December 13, 2012

What Does Success Look Like For You?

Every artist works from a vision, whether real (in the form of a picture or model) or imaginary (a vision in their head).

Example: Albert Einstein.

You may not think of him as an artist, but Einstein thought in visual images first and developed the math to support his ideas later.

In fact, he developed his theory of special relativity to support the image he had of himself riding a beam of light across the universe.

Da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Michelangelo (for whom Einstein had a lifelong fascination) -- all had clear pictures in mind (or on the wall) of what they were trying to build.

Pictures first, achievement later. That's how greatness is often created.

In the book, Discover Your Genius, Michael Gelb writes:

In a landmark survey of the working methods of great scientists and mathematicians, Dr. Jacques Hadmard found that their thinking process was characterized not by language or standard mathematical symbols, but rather by visual imagery.

Visual imagery. Pictures.

Now, quick -- think of your business. What do you see in your mind's eye? Do you have a clear picture of what it will look like when it's perfect? If not, how will you know you've succeeded?

Better yet, what picture of your business success do you see on the wall?

Yes, you read that right. Is there a picture of your business model literally hanging on your wall where you can see and be inspired by it as you work to create your masterpiece?

Here's a picture of my business model, which hangs right above the keyboard I'm typing this on. (Mose of the details are redacted -- sorry. They're too valuable to share right now.)

Anytime I get fatigued or mentally lost during the day, I simply look at the picture of my business model and I think, "Oh, yeah. That's what I'm doing!" And back to work I go.

Anyway, do you see my point?

Until you can see in your minds eye where your clients are or see your business model on paper you will not be clear, you will not be motivated, not be fully successful.

Here's a peek into my private world ...

This picture, showing the growth of Zappos, is one I've made copies of and posted on every mirror on the lower level of my house.

And I carry it around in my pocket. Not for luck either, although I have far exceeded my revenue goals for the last 3 months since I started doing this religiously.

I used to carry a similar picture around a few years ago and it helped me get a new home ... and $2.1 million in extra revenue for one of my businesses.

What the heck happened? Why did I ever stop carrying around that "pocket vision" of success?

It's because I didn't have a system set up to support me each day and stay on track.

So I set out to invent that support system. And after nearly 8 years and $100,000 of my own money, I succeeded.

Nowadays, success for me has become almost automatic. When I set goals, I achieve them almost every time. The cool part is that the system I created for my business takes just 14 minutes a day to execute.

If you're in the Twin Cities and it's not too late, you can learn more here

Monday, December 3, 2012

From Mental Fog to Creative Clarity

Yesterday, it was foggy all day here in the Twin Cities.

Below is a shot I took about a block from my house ...

Now, here's the thing: It's never foggy all day in the Twin Cities. Especially in December.

So this made for a very unusual day, especially when driving. I had to tune out distractions and focus on the road, or risk a crash.

But this had an unexpected benefit. By really observing where I was driving, I had to be fully present and mindful -- it was an accidental zen thing. No stray thoughts, worrying about the future, or replaying past events. Just driving.

What was the benefit?

Research cited in the book, The Laws of Subtraction shows that familiarity can stifle creativity.

By intensely focusing on the new, unusual driving conditions, my mind was jolted out of its normal thought patterns. Not surprisingly, it handed me several solutions later on to problems I had been trying to solve for days.

This happens to you all the time when you travel. Think about it: When you drive or fly to new places (or back home, if you live across the country), you pay more attention to your surroundings, which lets your mind break free of old thought patterns.

So, here's what I learned from the fog: You can wait for weird weather or a vacation to jolt you out of your mental ruts ...

... or you can take action and pay closer attention to your surroundings the next time you walk or drive across town. Doing so can boost your creativity and problem-solving powers, faster and cheaper than a trip across the country.

Meanwhile ... if you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, a free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your copy here