Inside Marketing

5 Habits of Highly Productive People You Can Copy Tomorrow

2012-01-30T20:12:00.004-06:00

Do you like lists?

I do. So do most people.

Maybe that's part of why I love the "Tracked" column in WSJ Magazine.

Every issue, they follow a top achiever around for a day and tote up all they got done -- 73 phone calls, 14 meetings, 30 laps swum, etc.

I thought it would be fun to analyze a handful of "Tracked" profiles for you, in search of common traits -- each of which you can copy in your business.

Want to know what I found?

First, here's the list of super productive people:

Hollywood mega-producer Brian Grazer
Silicon Alley icon Kevin Ryan
CEO and publisher Martha Stewart
Restauranteur and "food crusader" Alice Waters
Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter

Now, here are 5 things they do to get huge amounts of profitable work done each day ...

Early to rise. Martha Stewart wakes up at 4:59, Alice Waters about 6:45. All 5 top achievers get up somewhere in between, further proof that Ben Franklin was right
Exercise before breakfast. Walk, swim, cardio/strength training -- every one of these highly productive people makes time to invest in their health
Follow a script. Nobody gets on their daily schedule without an appointment
Delegate. The highest-paid activity on earth is thinking. That's why people at the top surround themselves with support teams to implement their ideas, giving them more time to find more ideas
Over-communicate. Waters sent 193 emails, Brian Grazer made 73 phone calls, John Lasseter held more than 4 hours of meetings. However it's done, these top achievers have a lot to say each day -- and they say it in a way that matches their communications style

If you can find more shared habits among these 5 super achievers, let me know in the comments section below.

Meanwhile, I'm laying out the kettlebells for tomorrow morning's workout :-)

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Dinner and a Limo with Harvey Mackay

2012-01-25T15:28:00.002-06:00

I had dinner with Harvey Mackay at his home last night, along with a group of folks helping promote his new book, The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World.

He shared dozens of anecdotes about business and life, many of which you'll find in his books.

(Writing was in Harvey's blood even before sales -- his father was a correspondent for the Associated Press in St. Paul for 35 years.)

My favorite story was about the chance meeting in a limo that helped make Harvey a best-selling author ...

In 1988, after publication of Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, Harvey found himself in the same New York ad agency as Larry King. Each was there to shoot publicity photos.

Harvey wanted to ask Larry King to book him as a guest on his TV show, but missed his chance. Quickly, the shoot was over and Larry headed out the door to his limo.

Harvey, dejected, walked out to hail a cab. Suddenly, the window rolled down on Larry King's limo -- "Where ya headed?"

"The Carlyle Hotel," replied Harvey.

"Hop in!"

Taking his seat, Harvey remembered a lesson his father had drilled into him as a kid: "When you shake someone's hand for the first time, ask yourself: 'How can I help this person?'"

While engaged in small talk, Harvey's mind raced: "How can I help Larry King?"

Nearing the hotel and running out of time, Harvey had an idea. "Larry, do you want to sell more books?"

"That's why I write 'em!" he said.

"Well, I've made quite a study of the publishing industry in the last year and I may be able to help you," said Harvey.

Just then, the limo pulled up at The Carlyle, but Larry told his chauffeur to turn off the engine and wait. "Go ahead!" he said.

About 15 minutes and 7 ideas later, Harvey had given Larry plenty of help. And Harvey had an invitation to appear on Larry's TV show.

Harvey's first appearance on "Larry King Live" sold 50,000 copies of Swim With The Sharks, and led to a spot on Oprah ... that sold another 50,000. The rest is publishing history.

So, next time you're talking to someone who can help you, resist the urge to brag about yourself or kiss up to them. Instead, ask yourself: "How can I help this person?" Then let the answers guide your conversation -- you may be very happy where it ends.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Your Public To-Do List

2012-01-21T14:05:00.003-06:00

Email is your public to-do list that anybody can get on.

I don't know who came up with that idea (it wasn't me) but I’m happy to share it with you.

Anyone who knows your email address has a button they can push to give you something to do. You’re like a secretary on Mad Men who has to drop what you're doing anytime you get buzzed on the intercom.

Or think of email as a doorbell that anyone can ring. Imagine how little work you’d get done if the neighbor kids rang your doorbell every five minutes ... all day, every day.

Time is the only thing you have every day in which to do your work. When you let email steal your time, you’re leaving the vault doors open and inviting 100,000,000 strangers into the bank. You’re not just letting people steal from you -- you're an accessory to the crime.

If email is your public to-do list, that makes it Public Enemy #1 in your work (and life).

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

What's On Your Not To-Do List?

2012-01-17T17:49:00.003-06:00

We're 17 days into 2012 -- how are those New Year's Resolutions coming?

Before you yell at me, hold on. I'm just the messenger.

And if you're not happy with the progress you're making on your To-Do List for 2012, here's help ...

... in the form of a Not-to-Do List from Peter Drucker and The Drucker Institute:

If you’re like most people, you’re working on a list of resolutions: Eat healthy. Go to the gym more. Read the classics. But Peter Drucker would have likely asked you for a different kind of list: What are you going to stop doing?

As we’ve noted before, Drucker believed that “planned abandonment” is among the most important things that any organization can engage in. After all, shedding yesterday’s products, programs and policies is the only way to make room for the innovations of tomorrow.

But Drucker was also adamant that this same discipline should extend beyond the organization to the individual. That’s the only way one can ensure that he or she maintains proper focus and protects what for many of us is the most precious resource of all: our time.

“The job is . . . not to set priorities,” Drucker wrote in The Effective Executive, his 1967 classic. “That is easy. Everybody can do it. The reason why so few executives concentrate is the difficulty of setting ‘posteriorities’—that is, deciding what tasks not to tackle—and of sticking to the decision.”

In a 2004 interview with Forbes, Drucker asserted that leaders, in particular, need to make the setting of posteriorities—well, a priority. “The most dangerous traps for a leader are those near-successes where everybody says that if you just give it another big push it will go over the top,” Drucker said. “One tries it once. One tries it twice. One tries it a third time. But by then it should be obvious this will be very hard to do. So, I always advise my friend Rick Warren (the pastor at Saddleback Church), ‘Don’t tell me what you’re doing, Rick. Tell me what you stopped doing.’”

So, what are you going to stop doing this year, to free up more time for high-value activities like 80/20 Marketing?

I would never ask you a question I wouldn't answer myself, so here are 3 things I'm stopping in 2012:

reading past the front page of the newspaper at lunch (saving bad news for after dinner :-)
showering during the work day (hygiene is all well and good, but I'm moving my workouts before breakfast, to reduce transition time)
taking any work home past business hours (leaving all books, magazines, etc. in my office)

Chime in on the comments section if you'd like to share what's on your Not To-Do List this year.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

How To Break Bad News: What The Post Office Knows That You Don't

2012-01-10T15:50:00.002-06:00

You can learn a lot about how to break bad news to clients (or anyone) from the U.S. Postal Service.

Their news release announcing higher postage rates is a masterpiece of positioning ...

Look at the headline -- prices aren't going up, they're "adjusting."
A "penny increase" sounds minimal, doesn't it?
The increase is softened by bracketing it with the fact that it's the "first since May 2009."
The first paragraph provides more softening context: "... it will cost just a penny more to mail letters to any location in the United States, the first price change ... in more than two and a half years."

Sheesh. When you phrase it like that, I almost hate to complain about another jump in the price of stamps.

Bottom line: this news release -- obviously written by a pro -- illustrates the importance of context and language when communicating bad news to clients (or anyone).

It also shows how important it is for your marketing communications to be written by a pro ....

... because, while Bob the mailman or Dolores the postal clerk are pros at what they do and can tell you all about the new prices, they are NOT pros at choosing exactly the right words for this marketing message.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

What Can Only You Do? What Should You Do Right Now?

2012-01-09T08:08:00.000-06:00

Twitter asks, "What are you doing?"

Success asks, "What should you be doing?"

Harvard Business Review agrees with the latter:

"The higher up you get in an organization, the more you need to focus on what the company needs from you, not on what you want to do."

Stop. Look at what you're doing now. Then look at your calendar for the rest of today. How much of what you're doing is what you want to do vs. what your company needs you to do?

Especially if you're an entrepreneur or business leader, you need to do what you need to do, not what you want to do.

To the extent that those two ideas converge -- you love doing what you need to do -- you win. To the extent that they diverge ... you lose.

"While management experts advise doing what you are best at, great leaders do those things that only they can do"

What can only you do? (And may I suggest that it ought to include 80/20 Marketing?)

"Figure out what functions only you can perform. These may be tasks that are unique to your role, such as meeting with a key client or calling a top official. Or they may be strengths that the organization lacks, such as solid marketing skills. Gauge how you can be most useful and focus your time and effort there. Then delegate the rest."

To figure out what functions only you should perform, here's advice from Tom Hopkins, who uses this as one of his guiding principles: "I must do the most productive thing possible at every given moment."

So, here's the question you need to answer, all day every day: What is the most productive thing that only you can do right now?

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Free Marketing Dashboard: More Profits Made Simple

2012-01-05T17:38:00.007-06:00

Want to improve your marketing in 2012 -- and beyond?

Fact: You can't improve what you don't measure.

Problem: You, like all mammals, probably hate tracking the data that goes into marketing. So you don't measure your marketing. Which makes it difficult to improve.

Solution: Why not try my Marketing Dashboard?

It's an Excel spreadsheet I created for my own use, but I'm happy to share it with you. It's an easy way to improve your marketing, by making it easy to measure it ...

... so you can do more of what makes you money, and less of what doesn't. You know, 80/20 Marketing.

Also: it's free. Gratis. Zero dinero.

First, take a look at a screen cap, below ...

The Marketing Dashboard

Here's what those columns mean ...

The first column = days and dates. Duh.

Connects Offered/Given = the number of networking connections I offered to or actually made for clients and prospects each day. There's no easier way to start a sales conversation with a prospect than to offer them a networking connection.

Pro. Emails = emails sent to prospects, either in reply to inquiries from them (reactive) or to follow up and provide more reasons to like and buy from me (proactive).

Pro. Convos. = conversations by phone or in person with prospects.

Client Convos. = conversations by phone or in person with clients.

Quotes Sent = price quotes sent by email to prospects, after we have had a sales conversation by phone or in person.

YES Rec'd = prospects who said yes, they want to buy.

Pymt Rec'd = checks or credit card orders received that day.

TOTAL at the bottom = results vs. quotas for the week

(10 of 10 = good ... 3 of 5 = bad).

I filled out the first week of January for you on the example, and left the next week blank for you to insert your own quotas. And, of course, feel free to modify any or all parts to suit your needs.

Want to download your own copy? Click here.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

80/20 Marketing: The Masters Interview

2012-01-04T10:13:00.006-06:00

Jim Ericson is someone you need to know.

A quiet legend in the Twin Cities and beyond, Jim was the founder and program director of The Masters Forum. For 23 years he presented workshops featuring speakers like Jim Collins, Peter Drucker, Steven Covey, and many others. Jim’s blog is here and I’m honored to be interviewed by him below …

Jim Ericson: Hi! My name is Jim Ericson and in the last few months, I met Kevin Donlin who, if I were still doing the Masters Forum, would certainly be one of the speakers I would invite to speak.

I would like to talk to Kevin today because he has done something new with an old concept. There is nothing really new in the world; there are just things that are old and important that we need to pay attention to. This one is called Pareto’s Law but Kevin calls it the 80/20 Rule. He applies it to marketing and I think he does it brilliantly.

Let’s start, Kevin.

Kevin Donlin: Jim thanks for that nice introduction.

Jim: What is the 80/20 Rule?

Kevin: The 80/20 Rule, well, I think most of us in business have heard of the 80/20 Rule, it is also called the Pareto Principle. Few of us have really done much with it but it holds such incredible promise that I have been, frankly, obsessed by it for about seven years now.

If we do a simple definition of the 80/20 Rule, it would be this: about 20% of input accounts for 80% of output. State it the other way around, about 80% of results can be traced to about 20% of causes.

Jim: So a lot of time gets wasted?

Kevin: Yeah.

Jim: 80% of the time that produces 20% of the results could probably be better spent.

Kevin: Yeah, by definition it could be. We are surrounded by things that waste our time and effort and energy. In 1906, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto observed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.

He didn’t name the principle after himself, however. It was first popularized by Joseph Juran, the quality expert. He wrote a book called The Quality Control Handbook in 1951. Juran used the Pareto Principle to identify the vital few causes of most defects in manufacturing.

Then in the 1960s, software developers began calling it the 80/20 Rule to describe how 80% of engineering deals with 20% of user requirements. 80% of crashes are caused by 20% of bugs, etc.

So it has been around for a long time and as you said earlier, we are actually wasting a lot of time and effort without knowing it. The 80/20 Rule kind of pervades life economics, manufacturing, it is all over the place.

Jim: I can recall recently reading an article about Steve Jobs and why he was so innovative. One of the things he said was, “Say ‘No’ to a thousand things.”

Kevin: Precisely.

Jim: There are a lot of things that can grab your attention and waste your time. Another data point is Rick Warren, who founded Saddleback Church, had Peter Drucker as a mentor and he said in an article that every time he saw Drucker, Drucker’s first question was, “What have you stopped doing?”

I have heard Jim Collins say the same thing, I have heard Jim Collins say to, “Start a to-don’t list.”

Kevin: It is not a matter of if we like it or don’t like it, it’s like gravity, you can choose to disagree with gravity but you won’t get far in life. This is just one of those natural laws out there.

You can confirm it by looking around your life -- 20% of the carpet in your house gets 80% of the foot traffic, for example ... 20% of your friends and family account for about 80% of your phone minutes.

And if you go shopping at Target, about 20% of the items in your shopping cart will add up to about 80% of the bill; it doesn’t matter if you are male or female. The list goes on and on.

Jim: How about 20% of your kids cause 80% of your problems?

Kevin: Oh yeah. Or family members in general, 80% of the fights are with 20% of your family members.

Let me redefine this a bit, it does not always add up to 100 and it is not always 80/20, that is just a general rule of thumb. It could be 5% of your family members cause 98% of your headaches. It could be 72-17. The numbers are always unbalanced, that is the key and they are almost always in a ratio of about 80 to 20.

Here is what is interesting -- I have been doing marketing since 1996. Because business and marketing are part of life in our world, business and marketing are predictably unbalanced as well.

If you look around your business, 20% of your clients will deliver 80% of your profits. 20% of your products or services will do the same thing and about 20% of your marketing methods will produce 80% of your profits.

We may have been introduced to this in one way or another, but what is going to be new to most, if not all, people is that these 80/20 relationships are hidden from view. They are not immediately obvious, by definition.

After all, if it were clear to you today that 80% of your profits were coming from 20% of your clients and you knew exactly who those clients were and exactly what you were doing that made them so profitable, you would be doing more of it right now. You would hang up on the other 80% of your clients and start calling and surrounding with love the 20% of the clients that were making the lion share of your profits. These things are hidden and you have to look for them.

Jim: What pops into my head, I was just thinking about some of the music groups and the bands that get out and do their tours. I am old enough to remember the Eagles and the Grateful Dead and I am thinking to myself, “You know, it was probably about 20% of their songs that generated about 80% of the audience that showed up.”

Kevin: Sure. Or 20% of their fans are buying 80% of their downloads. It is all over the place.

Jim: Yeah.

Kevin: But you have to know what you are looking for. When I am consulting with an entrepreneur or a sales and marketing professional, I help them find these 20% areas. They say the same things over and over, when we identify them they say, “That’s surprising” or “I did not realize that!”

Jim: Right.

Kevin: The goal of 80/20 Marketing is to generate the most profit from the least amount of time, effort and money. You achieve this by doing more of what is highly profitable and the time you now waste doing what isn’t.

When you make this mental shift, you are making what amounts to the world’s best and safest investment.

Here’s why: If the vital 20% of your marketing efforts produces 80% of the results, that is a four times output, let’s say 4X. Now if the trivial 80% of your marketing produces 20% of your results, which is a one fourth output or 1/4X.

As a result, when you do the math, your vital 20% is 16 times more powerful than your trivial 80%.

You simply do more of what is highly profitable in the time you now waste doing what isn’t. It is like trading dimes for dollars, day in and day out.

Jim: What interesting though is that people get into such habits, our brains are lazy and kind of grooved. Most of us in our lives, most of us in our businesses, keep doing the same things over and over gain until they slowly die on the vine. Was it the character in The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway’s book, when somebody asked him, “How did you go bankrupt?” He said, “Slowly, then all of a sudden.”

Kevin: Exactly.

Jim: That is kind of what happens, isn’t it? Isn’t it harder to figure out what is the 20% and what is the 80%? You have got to figure that out before you can stop doing the stuff that wastes your time, energy, and money.

Kevin: Exactly. An initial reaction that I get from some people is, “Well, wait a minute, if I am going to be focusing more on what I am already doing, am I going to cut myself off from new ideas and am I going to restrict myself?” The answer is, no.

Remember, what Steve Jobs said? Saying no to a thousand things is a prerequisite for innovation.

Jim: He also said, “Innovation is simply connecting things.” To connect things you have to look outside at the world for very different points of view. If you can free up some time to do that, you add to your potential to be innovative and not subtract from it.

Kevin: Let me give you an idea and there is not time to go into all of this, but let’s talk about a couple of signs to help people recognize the 20% of their marketing that is really highly profitable.

One criterion is this: it's 20% or less of how you are marketing now.

That sounds obvious and idiotic, perhaps, but it could be 10%, it could be 15, it could be 25. If a marketing method works so well that it might account for 80% or more of your current revenues and profits, why wouldn’t I be doing more of it?

Well, there may be several reasons but one of the most common is you simply take it for granted. Success with this marketing has become expected and you have not been excited or determined enough to push it as far as it can go for some reason or another. It is probably a small amount of what you are doing to market your business and yet it is highly effective and you just have not pushed it as far as it can go.

Here is another criterion: a 20% type of marketing produces an unexpected success.

This helps emphasize, again, that you want to look for surprise victories in your marketing. You would have probably passed them by otherwise and you would not be able to fully exploit them if you were not looking for unexpected successes.

Here is what Yogi Berra has to say on the subject: “You can observe a lot just by watching.” But who really takes time to watch and observe?

And here is an example of how this works -- there is a very large and successful tax preparation firm, they get a lot of referrals based on how they treat their clients and these referrals make them a lot of money.

First they were getting these referrals accidentally; it was not until the owner started observing the employees who were generating the most referrals that he saw something unexpected. The top employees were walking into the lobby, greeting clients by name, shaking their hands and walking them, very respectfully, back to the office.

It turns out that being treated with respect -- even though it cost nothing to do and it wasn’t anything the boss considered essential -- it was a very big deal to these clients, because they were low-income people. They were used to being treated like dirt by other businesses.

The company president never considered this as a marketing tactic, but after seeing the same pattern again and again -- because he was looking for it -- he turned this unexpected success into part of his company’s training program and he is doing very well these days.

The bottom line is, what you think is important and what your market thinks is important are often completely different things. You want to pay attention to any unexpected successes in your marketing and never dismiss them as lucky breaks or accidents, not when you can systematize and capitalize on them.

Jim: I think one important thing to add there is that John le Carre said, “It is very dangerous to view the world from behind a desk.” For that CEO to actually get out from behind his desk, talk to people, and figure it out, is a very important part of that equation.

Kevin: Exactly. You have got to be sleuthing around and looking for unexpected successes. There is no shortcut in Excel or QuickBooks that I know that looks for unexpected successes. It takes a little brain work, but it is definitely worth it.

Jim: Cool. So, what from here? How are you going to implement this? Are you in the process of bringing this to the market place? Are you starting to work with some people on helping them with this? It sounds like there’s a pot of gold sitting at the end of a rainbow here for some people if they would just start to pay attention and you probably have got the key.

Kevin: I am not offering a magic elixir and I am not promising the world to people. It was about six or seven years ago that I really got into this, when I added it up it was a $2.1 million windfall from one of my businesses simply by following these ideas and going very deep. That counts for something I suppose. Going very deep in and doing more of what worked and less of what didn’t.

Again, it is simple in theory but not easy. It wasn’t easy because I had to do a lot of thinking and looking for things but I have managed to put together a list of signs to look for.

I did a pilot session about a month ago with very good results with some people who run their own business. I am excited about this because when you are engaged in 80/20 Marketing, it's like sculpting for fun and money.

Michelangelo said, and I'm paraphrasing, "in every block of marble I see a perfect statue. My job is to simply chip away the walls that imprison my vision."

With 80/20 Marketing, you do the same thing, only what's revealed are profits.

In your business, no matter what you do, you are surrounded by 4/5 of what is not your vision, not your ideal result. Simply chip away at those ugly parts of your marketing and you can reveal some seriously beautiful profits hidden inside.

Jim: A lot of people try to make things so complicated.

Kevin: Right.

Jim: And so mechanical that they miss the really, simple and effective things that they might be doing. I like country music and I am reminded of what Harlan Howard once said, he said, “Country music is three chords and the truth.”

Kevin: You can do a lot with three chords and the truth. It is a simple formula but there are an infinite number of applications.

Jim: Yup.

Kevin: That's how 80/20 Marketing works. I want to wind down here and give people two website addresses where they can get more information ....

If you want to join my next 80/20 Marketing "UnCoaching" program, you can learn more at www.8020Unlimited.com. It's geared toward entrepreneurs and sales/marketing professionals who want to chip away 4/5 of the crap that's surrounding their business.

And if you want to sample the tactics that work best in 80/20 Marketing, I will point you to www.ClientCloningKit.com. That's where you can download a set of six tools, all based on these ideas. It's free to download and there are also a limited number of kits that can be mailed out for free in the continental US.

Jim: Fabulous! Thanks, Kevin.

Win, Profit, Repeat

2012-01-02T11:20:00.000-06:00

Think of a day when you made a lot of money in your business.

What did you do?

Did you:

Give a seminar in a hotel that produced 23 high-profit sales?
Call to follow up on an emailed project quote and make the sale over the phone?
Meet 3 referred prospects for coffee in one afternoon and sell two of them?

Now that you've identified at least one big-money day in your past, try something radical: Do it again.

If your last big payday was a seminar, for example, schedule your next seminar today -- even if you're not ready. Deadlines have a wonderful way of forcing you to take action ... especially if you're paying to rent the room for your seminar.

If your last big sale came after making a follow-up phone call, pick up the phone and make a follow-up call today. Better: make 5 calls.

If your last big payday came when you sold 2 of 3 prospects over coffee, why not invite both of those new clients meet each other -- and ask them to bring a friend? And re-invite that prospect you didn't sell before?

You get the idea. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel, at least for today.

Identify your last big success, then do it again:

do what you did,
wear what you wore,
go where you were, and
say what you said.

Cloning your best efforts is one way to clone your best clients.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

80/20 Marketing: The $10-Million Case Study

2011-12-23T09:07:00.007-06:00

80/20 Marketing is based on the 80/20 Rule, aka the Pareto Principle: in life -- and in your marketing -- only a few things matter. Most things don't.

About 20% of what you do to promote your business produces 80% of your profits, give or take. Most things you do to promote your business are a waste of time and money.

Don't believe me?

Look at your calendar for last week. How many hours of effort produced real profits?

I'll wait ...

Okay. You're probably peeved right now, but relax. There's a $10-million silver lining to all this.

Because, if 80% of what you're doing to promote your business is a waste of time and money, that means you have plenty of time and money to redeploy into the high-value, 20% activities that are already producing the bulk of your profits.

In other words, you can boost your profits fairly rapidly -- and predictably -- by doing more of what really makes you money in the time you now waste doing what doesn't.

Want to see a $10-million example of this?

Look at Plenty of Fish, the renegade Canadian dating web site first profiled by Inc. magazine in 2009.

The sub-headline to the story tells you all you need to know about his 80/20 success:

"Markus Frind works one hour a day and brings in $10 million a year. How does he do it? He keeps things simple."

The entire story is well worth your read, but here are the highlights and takeaway lessons you can use:

Five years ago, [Frind] started Plenty of Fish with no money, no plan, and scant knowledge of how to build a Web business. Today, according to the research firm Hitwise, his creation is the largest dating website in the U.S. and quite possibly the world.

Until 2007, Frind had a staff of exactly zero. Today, he employs just three customer service workers, who check for spam and delete nude images from the Plenty of Fish website while Frind handles everything else.

Bottom line: by doing only the vital few things that make him money, Markus Frind can ignore the trivial many things that don’t.

And make no mistake -- those trivial 80% matters are clamoring non-stop for his attention (and yours):

Frind is aware of his site's flaws but isn't eager to fix them. "There's no point in making trivial adjustments," he says. Frind's approach -- and the reason he spends so little time actually working -- is to do no harm.

Frind's 80/20 Marketing success puts him at the top of the food chain, where he can look down and laugh at Groupon, Yahoo, and other complex, labor-intensive businesses that don’t throw off a fraction of the profit per employee that his elegant little operation does.

His success formula is simple. Do what makes you money. Drop or delegate the rest.

So, what makes money for Frind and Plenty of Fish?

Here are 3 of the biggest keys to his 80/20 Marketing success ...

1) Get noticed

"Frind knew little about search-engine optimization or online advertising, but he was a quick study. From March to November 2003, his site expanded from 40 members to 10,000."

The more people who found Plenty of Fish in Google, the more he profited from the ads running on his site. More users attracted more advertisers, in a virtuous circle that caused his profits to skyrocket.

Question: What are you doing today to REALLY get your business noticed?

2) Deliver an outstanding user experience

In a 2006 interview with Web Publishing, Frind says:

"I suppose that the biggest issue has always been performance, In order handle 14-15 million pageviews a day on 4 servers you have to constantly tweak the database, as execution paths etc change as the database grows and load increases."

How do you know you're delivering an experience people want? Test.

"There is no magic bullet, but you should always test new designs or new text etc to get the result that you want. You will never have the worst design and never the best, but through testing you can always improve."

Get that? The more dates his site found for users, the more users found his site -- through word of mouth and media coverage.

That means you need to test your web pages, phone scripts, emails -- everything you do or say to prospects and clients.

Question: What are you testing today?

3) Keep things simple

According to the Inc. interview:

Amazingly, Frind has set up his company so that doing everything else amounts to doing almost nothing at all. "I usually accomplish everything in the first hour," he says, before pausing for a moment to think this over. "Actually, in the first 10 or 15 minutes."

Frind has kept his staff small by design--he has only three employees, who handle customer service--and he personally works only about an hour a day.

In another 2006 interview with the Affiliate Blog, Frind said: "As humans one of our biggest weaknesses is becoming obsessed with what is not important. We spend 90% of our time on that little 5% -- and that is why so many of us fail."

Lean is lovely. You can build a business that satisfies clients and pays you back handsomely. But only if you're willing to say No to at least 80% of the possible demands on your time and money, especially in marketing.

Question: What can you stop doing today, to simplify your business?

You can do this. Perhaps not to the extent Markus Frind has, but you can boost your profits today by ruthlessly cutting out the trivial demands on your time and marketing dollars, and replacing them with what really works.

Of course, you can't know what works until you examine your QuickBooks reports, client database, or other data.

That's an advantage Frind had. He's a software programmer first and a marketer second. By obsessively focusing on his numbers -- web visitors per day, the sources of those visits, the performance of his database, etc. -- he instinctively did more of what made him money.

Good news: You don't have to be a techno whiz or get 1 million visits to your web site to make 80/20 Marketing work.

Let's say you're an insurance agent, for example ...

Find out which clients make you the most profit (the 20%) and which don't (the 80%).

Double up on whatever you did to find the vital 20% of your clients. Advertise where you advertised, network where you networked, say what you said, etc.

Meanwhile, ignore or delegate the 80% of clients who demand the bulk of your time and energy, yet deliver only a fraction of your overall profits. Whatever you did to get these clients, stop doing that.

By doing this, you free up time, money, and energy to devote to cloning the vital few 20% of clients who really matter. You do this by delivering an outstanding experience (to delight them and stimulate referrals) and by keeping things simple (to further delight clients and to preserve your own time and energy).

I did all of this on a smaller scale than Frind in 2005, when I created a $2.1-million revenue stream for my own one-man business. And I show people how to copy that 80/20 Marketing story here.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Everything I Know About Creativity

2011-12-22T15:35:00.006-06:00

Have you seen this book?

It's called, Everything Obama Knows About The Economy ...

... and it's 150 pages of blank text.

Get it?

Apparently, a lot of people got it.

Because, at the time of this writing, Everything Obama Knows About The Economy is getting a pantload of media attention -- and it's sold out on Amazon.

Now. Admit it. Love Obama or loathe him, don't you wish you had thought of this idea first?

Well, the "author," Jimmy Moncrief, didn't.

It turns out that this clever idea of selling a blank book is simply a new take on an old idea, dating back at least to 1995 ...

... when Everything Men Know About Women was published.

It, too, is an empty book.

And these two books illustrate everything I know about creativity, which is this: There are no really new ideas. Only new combinations of old ideas.

The blank book itself is, after all, just a "written" version of that kindergarten prank, the empty gift box.

So, when it comes to creating new ideas for your business, don't rack your brain too hard. Instead, look around for new combinations of old ideas.

Here are 3 examples that I've written about elsewhere:

1. Drive-thru windows at a restaurant
Introduced by In ‘n’ Out Burger, in 1948.

Where did the idea originate? The City Center Bank, Kansas City, MO, opened the first drive-thru window in 1928. By borrowing an old idea from banking, In ‘n’ Out Burger produced a breakthrough in fast food.

2. Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant
Founded by Nolan Bushnell in 1977.

Where did the idea of combining video games and food originate? Before opening a restaurant, Nolan Bushnell founded another company in 1972 -- Atari. So he didn't have far to look for inspiration.

3. Lady Jane’s Haircuts for Men
Founded in 2004, Lady Jane’s employs attractive female stylists to cut hair, surrounded by sports memorabilia on the walls and ESPN on plasma screen TVs.

I can’t prove it, but I'll bet you a haircut that Lady Jane’s is a new combination of two older ideas: Great Clips and Hooters.

What do you think?

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

What Do 75% More Profits Look Like?

2011-12-21T13:44:00.006-06:00

Here's a calendar representing a typical 5-day work week ...

There are nickels on 4 days: Monday through Thursday. That represents how 4/5 (or 80%) of your marketing efforts produces about 20% of your profits (based on the 80/20 Marketing principles I wrote about here).

There are 8 dimes on one day: Friday. That represents how 1/5 (or 20%) of your marketing efforts produce a full 80% of your profits.

So, how do you get 75% more profits, from the same time worked each week?

I'm glad you asked. You do this ...

Replace just one day of low-value 80% marketing efforts with one day of high-value 20% efforts.

When you do, you can go from 100% to 175% of profits -- a 75% gain. Do the math. We've replaced 5% of efforts (and profits) with an 80% portion, in only 1/5 of the workweek.

Exactly how you do this is the focus of my new 80/20 Marketing UnCoaching program ...

... but in a nutshell, you stop managing your time and start investing it.

Specifically, you can enjoy a 75% jump in profits -- or better -- by doing 4 things:

Find the vital 20% of your marketing efforts
Find the trivial 80%
Engage in 80/20 Substitution (trade low- for high-value efforts)
Analyze and improve

If it's not sold out or expired, you can learn more about 80/20 Marketing here.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

How to Grow a Business Faster, Smarter

2011-12-19T14:12:00.001-06:00

Wondering how to grow a business?

Strange, but true: Most things in business (and life!) don't matter.

Based on the 80/20 Rule and my own experience, only a few of your clients, marketing methods, products or services really mean anything.

Example: Only about 20% of your marketing methods (networking at trade shows? client referrals?) really work -- they produce about 80% of your profits.

The other 80% (networking at the Chamber of Commerce? social media?) don't work so well. They produce about 20% of your profits.

If the Vital 20% of your marketing efforts produces 80% of results, that's a 4x output.

And if the Trivial 80% of your marketing produces 20% of your results, that's a 1/4 output.

As a result, your Vital 20% is 16x more powerful than your Trivial 80%.

That means there's an easy route to dramatically higher profits staring you in the face: Spend more time, money, and effort on the 20% of your marketing that produces 80% of your profits.

And don't say, "I don't have time for more marketing" ... because you DO have time.

Remember? About 16 of every 20 hours you spend on marketing this week -- 80% -- are largely a waste of time.

All you need to do is determine your Vital 20% and your Trivial 80%, then move time and money from the 80% to your 20%.

And don't say, "Sounds good in theory. What about in practice?" ... because I used 80/20 Marketing to produce a $2.1-million breakthrough in my own business. More on that story here.

Fact: If you have any clients and revenue at all, you must be doing something right. Do more of it tomorrow in the time you're wasting on other things today, and you win.

As the year draws to close, it's the perfect time to analyze your your QuickBooks files and client database, to find out EXACTLY what's making you money.

Stop wondering how to grow a business. The numbers don't lie and the answers are there, if you look for them.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Sampling is Sweet, Smart to Build Your Business

2011-12-06T09:38:00.001-06:00

Do you offer samples in your business?

If not, why not?

There's no easier way to get people to try what you're selling than to give a small part of it away.

If you're any good at what you do, you can always turn a percentage of "sample prospects" into sales.

Whereas, you can't turn any percentage of 0 prospects into any sales :-)

At left is a case in point: the Ho Ho Mint Moca ...

While writing at my favorite Caribou Coffee shop, a clerk brought me a tiny sample of this yummy moca, which I would not have ordered otherwise.

A good sample, like this one, is irresistible.

Examples of free samples you can offer:

a teleseminar or series of blog posts to "sample" your coaching program
mow one front or back yard free to "sample" your lawn service
offer the first chapter free to "sample" your ebook

You get the idea.

Sampling is how King Gillette built a shaving empire -- give away the razors, sell the blades.

Sampling is how Angry Birds built a base of millions of prospects who later shelled out more than $350 million, $.99 at a time, for the paid version.

Sampling is one way Debbi Fields built her Mrs. Fields Cookies business.

Sampling is worth sampling as a way to build your business.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

80/20 Marketing: Fun with Numbers

2011-12-01T17:54:00.006-06:00

Are you familiar with the 80/20 Rule, also known as the Law of the Vital Few, and the Pareto Principle?

It holds that roughly 80% of results come from 20% of causes. In almost every area of life (and business), a small input produces a very large output.

The ratio is rarely 80/20 exactly -- it may be 92/8 … 78/22 … 85/15 -- but it is always disproportionate.

According to Wikipedia:

Business-management consultant Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population; he developed the principle by observing that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.

It's a spooky natural law that always works, but doesn't make any logical sense.

Examples:

about 20% of your clothes get worn 80% of the time
about 20% of your carpet gets 80% of the foot traffic
and about 20% of bugs cause 80% of software crashes (at Microsoft, anyway)

On and on it goes -- a large majority of results comes from a small minority of causes, in a ratio of about 80/20. In any business, including yours, about:

80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers
80% of your complaints come from 20% of your customers
80% of your profits come from 20% of your marketing activities

That last figure is important.

Because, if 20% of your marketing produces 80% of your profits, then 80% of your promotional efforts produce only 20% of your profits. In other words, 4/5 of your efforts are largely a waste of time.

Yikes.

Therefore, there's an easy route to dramatically higher profits: Spend more time, money, and effort on your most effective marketing methods -- the 20% of your marketing that's producing 80% of profits.

Imagine if you could double up on your vital few 20% marketing efforts. You would get 160% of your current revenue. But ...where do you find the extra time, money, and effort to do this?

In a word, replace.

Simply replace some of the time, money, and effort you're spending on low-value 80% marketing with high-value 20% marketing.

Example: Let's say you spend 10 hours a week marketing your business, and 40 hours a week in operations. (Yes, that's 50 hours a week -- most entrepreneurs I know work at least that much.)

And let's say that, after careful analysis, you find that only 2 of 10 hours spent marketing -- 20% -- are highly profitable. Turns out, those 2 high-value hours are spent attending a single weekly networking meeting, where you get 80% of your business.

The remaining 8 hours a week you devote to marketing are on low-value (for you) activities like Twitter, writing articles for ezines, and answering email.

So, try this: "Steal" 2 of those low-value 8 hours and replace them with high-value networking.

How?

find one more valuable networking group ...
spend an extra 2 hours being useful to the people in your current networking group ...
start your own networking group

Whatever you decide, any time, money, or effort you can redeploy from low- to high-value activities is like an investment that's almost guaranteed to deliver higher profits from the same hours worked each week.

Try it for yourself and see.
Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Rapid-Response Marketing Example

2011-11-16T15:20:00.003-06:00

You may remember that I wrote about my Rapid-Response Marketing Kit -- the 2 stamped thank-you notes I carry with me everywhere, so I can thank prospects and clients at a moment's notice.

Mailing thank-you notes has been a secret weapon of mine for years. They work like a force multiplier, making any sales pitch by phone or email at least twice as effective, in my experience.

Turns out, I'm not alone.

A super-successful client of mine, Gaye Lindfors, carries around her own version of a Rapid-Response Marketing Kit. She sent me this photo below ...

Gaye says: "I keep it on the front seat of my car. If I’m early to a meeting, waiting for an appointment, or want to write a quick note after a meeting while the energy is fresh, I pull out a note card and make a connection with someone, rather than checking my emails."

Why do I put so much stock in mailing thank-you notes? And how can they work like secret weapons?

As marketing author Harry Beckwith writes: "Handwritten thank-you notes feel like gifts because you took the time to find the paper and envelope, write the note, affix the stamp, and gift-wrap your note in its package."

A handwritten thank-you note is a heartfelt gift. And gifts are good. They separate you from the hordes of impersonal competitors who are chasing the same prospects as you.

Whatever you mail to prospects (to get them as clients) and clients (to keep them as clients), mailing a "thank you" is better than emailing ... nor sending nothing.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Tom Peters Wants You to Stop Lying to Yourself

2011-11-08T16:14:00.003-06:00

Tom Peters said: "The calendar never lies. You can claim something is your priority, but if your calendar doesn't reflect it, you're lying to yourself."

Here's my corollary: QuickBooks never lies. You can claim something is making you money, but if your QuickBooks reports don't reflect it, you're lying to yourself.

Implication? Stop lying to yourself. Find out what's really making you money.

Here's how: Look at QuickBooks or your customer database. Ask yourself two questions:

1) What's working really well?

What 1-3 marketing methods are producing the bulk of your new clients?
What 1-3 clients (or client types) are producing the bulk of your profits?
What 1-3 products or services are producing the bulk of your profits?

2) What's working unexpectedly well?

What 1-3 marketing methods are delivering more sales, more easily or profitably than expected?
What 1-3 clients (or client types) are easier and more profitable to serve than expected?
What 1-3 products or services are easier and more profitable to sell/produce/deliver than expected?

Size doesn't matter here -- you're looking for potential breakthroughs:

And this question is potentially more valuable than question 1) -- it helped me uncover a $54/month revenue stream that exploded into $54,000 a month.

If you're like most business owners, you won't take the time to answer these two questions.

Look around. Most business owners are struggling. What does that tell you?

More importantly, why not take a hard look at your numbers to see what they tell you?

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

The Rapid-Response Marketing Kit

2011-11-02T16:02:00.002-05:00

After you meet with a prospect who wants a price quote from you, how do you respond?

Do you send a project summary (never a "quote," "proposal" or other commodity language!) within 24 hours?

If so, you probably send that information by email, right?

Well, here's a way to quickly and easily close more sales: Mail a thank-you note RIGHT AWAY, even before sending any marketing literature by email.

Thank-you notes in the mail have been my secret weapon for years. They work like a force multiplier, making any sales pitch by phone or email doubly effective (in my experience).

But ... mailing a thank-you note to prospects is easier said than done. You're busy. You may forget. And who has time to look for a stamp?

That's why I always carry not one but two thank-you notes in my satchel, ready to address and mail at a moment's notice. The photo above was taken "in the field" at Caribou Coffee, where I met a prospect.

I call this my Rapid-Response Marketing Kit.

My accountant calls it money in the bank.

You can call it whatever you want -- but do give it a try.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

How's That Strategy Working For You?

2011-10-31T17:45:00.000-05:00

Question: How concise and memorable is your business strategy?

What? You don't have a strategy? Then you have a hobby, not a business. But I digress ...

Why is it important for your strategy to be concise and memorable? Because long-winded strategies are short on motivation. And you can't executive a strategy you can't remember.

When judging your strategy, here's a test: Can it fit on your business card?

Before you scoff, take a look at this strategy, on the back of Alan Mulally's business card (autographed copy below). He's CEO of Ford Motor Co. -- maybe you've heard of them?

And maybe you've heard of Mulally's results: Since taking over as CEO in 2006, he turned an annual loss of $17 billion into $2.7 billion profit by 2009 and $8.3 billion profit in 2010.

So you might want to pay attention to his strategy.

Here it is ...

ONE TEAM
People working together as a lean, global enterprise for automotive leadership, as measured by:

Customer, Employee, Dealer, Investor, Supplier, Union/Council, and Community Satisfaction

ONE PLAN

Aggressively restructure to operate profitably at the current demand and changing model mix
Accelerate development of new products our customers want and value
Finance our plan and improve our balance sheet
Work together effectively as one team

ONE GOAL
An exciting viable Ford delivering profitable growth for all.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Are You Consumptive or Productive?

2011-10-28T17:22:00.005-05:00

Look at your calender.

How much time do you spend consuming vs. producing? The ratio determines -- without fail -- how happy and successful you are.

Consuming activities are passive. They include:

reading email,
watching TV,
surfing to non-productive web sites, and
answering unexpected phone calls.

Producing activities are proactive. They include:

developing marketing promotions,
calling your top 3 clients,
creating new products,
adding new keywords to your Google AdWords account, and
negotiating joint-venture deals.

After consuming, you feel ... empty, guilty, small.

After producing, you feel ... full, happy, big.

Weird, isn't it?

But wait. There's more ....

Here are definitions of two related words: productive and consumptive, courtesy of reference.com:

productive
1. having the power of producing; generative; creative: a productive effort.
2. producing readily or abundantly; fertile: a productive vineyard.

consumptive
1. tending to consume; destructive; wasteful.
2. pertaining to consumption by use.
3. Pathology.
a. pertaining to or of the nature of consumption.
b. disposed to or affected with consumption.

Consumption, for those of you too young to remember, used to include these meanings:
a. tuberculosis of the lungs.
b. progressive wasting of the body.

So, how much of your day today was consumptive vs. productive?

You and I have probably never met, but I'll bet it was about 80/20, consumption/production.

Flip that ratio, and change your life.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Secrets to Success: 6 Minutes with David Frey

2011-10-25T14:37:00.000-05:00

What do I do when I'm out of time or ideas for a blog post?

Interview a very smart person, shut up, and let them talk.

Lucky you -- the smart person I found is my old friend, David Frey.

After picking him up at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport yesterday (he's in town for a speech), I whipped out the FlipVideo and asked him:

"What's the secret to your success?"

David's answers are worth 6 minutes of your time, I think you'll agree ...

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Is This Card More Valuable Than a Honus Wagner?

2011-10-24T16:27:00.012-05:00

Is this card worth more money than a rare, old Honus Wagner baseball card?

You be the judge ...

I'd wager that the aluminum business card above, a gift I received from Harvey Mackay, is worth more than a $2.35-million Honus Wagner baseball card.

It's simple math, really ...

Harvey told me he handed out his innovative card in the late '60s and early '70s. That means:

if Harvey's card started conversations that helped him open just 2 new accounts per year from 1968 to 1972 (10 new accounts total) ...
and each account stayed with Mackay Envelope for 5 years ...
and each account bought an average of $50,000 a year from Harvey ...
the total lifetime value of those 10 accounts would be $2.5 million.

Sort of makes you look at your business card a bit differently, doesn't it?

More importantly, it makes you want to invest a little more time and money in designing a business card that stands out from the crowd.

Because, if you play your card right, it could turn out to be more valuable than ...

... a $2.35-million Honus Wagner card.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Thank-You Marketing Fumble

2011-10-20T18:14:00.003-05:00

File this under: Great idea, so-so execution.

Below is the thank-you note I got in the mail from Uline after placing my first order with them.

Let me say that their service was 100% professional, FAST, friendly, and fair-priced. I will remain a client of them for a long time.

Having said that, the thank-you note falls short of reinforcing the friendly, professional image I had of them in one important way.

Now, look at the note. What did they do wrong?

Answer: This was sent by a machine.

"WE APPRECIATE YOU AS A CUSTOMER." (Really? Why not address me by name, then?)

There's no evidence that a human ever touched this, except for the Rolodex card, which has my customer number handwritten.

And that's an opportunity lost for Uline. Because, if a human wrote my customer number by hand, they could have taken another 5 seconds and signed their name or added a personal message.

Don't tell me that's not possible for a big company. Here's an example of a handwritten thank-you note from GoToMeeting.

Am I quibbling here?

Perhaps. Maybe I should be thrilled to get a thank-you note in the mail from any vendor, since it only happens about twice a year. (Do you smell an opportunity?)

But for Uline (or you!) to mail an impersonal thank-you note is like taking the football down to the goal line ... and fumbling. It's disappointing.

(Again, do you smell an opportunity?)

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Kaizen Marketing and Your Online Advertising

2011-10-18T07:25:00.004-05:00

Kaizen Marketing is the continuous improvement of your most valuable activity -- creating and keeping customers.

The first step in the process is discovery.

Because you can't improve what you don't measure -- and you can't measure what you don't know -- you must know where your money is coming from.

And here's a corollary: To improve your online marketing, you must first know where your traffic is coming from.

With Google Analytics, that's pretty easy. Just check your stats.

When you do, you'll find data like that in the following graphic:

See the search term in blue? Two people visited my site after typing market my business into Google.

Looking through my pay-per-click (PPC) ads, I noticed that I wasn't bidding on that keyword combination in on MSN AdCenter. So I added the words market my business to my paid search ads.

A few days later, I found the following results from my ads on MSN AdCenter:

See that? Six people clicked on my ad after typing market my business into a search on Yahoo and/or Bing. And two of those visitors to my site became conversions at a cost of $1.32 -- they downloaded and are now building their businesses using my Free Report.

What should you do now? Three things:

1) Discover where natural search traffic to your web site is coming from by looking at your Google Analytics or web server logs to find the keywords people use to find your site.

2) Bid on those keywords in your paid-search accounts in Google AdWords or MSN AdCenter.

3) Rinse. Repeat. Profit.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Beyond Networking: Being Useful

2011-10-15T08:19:00.000-05:00

Hate networking?

So do I.

I dread networking events, which is why I attend so few.

Will I waste my time again? Will I have to fake a smile for 3 hours? Will I get cornered by some guy with bad breath who wants to recruit me into his MLM scheme?

Notice how often "I" appears above. I, I, I -- pretty self-conscious, isn't it?

That's because networking makes us self-conscious. It's like being back in 9th grade with a zit on your nose, on picture day. Maybe that's why we dislike networking so much.

Is it any wonder, then, that you and I don't network as often or as well as the experts tell us to?

That's why you might want to try something different to build your business.

Instead of networking with other people ... try being useful to other people.

I first learned of this idea in 2009, as a client in Dan Sullivan's Strategic Coach program.

According to Sullivan, if you can bring confidence and clarity to people in your network, by researching their needs and then offering something useful -- product news, information about their customers, access to your contacts, expertise, etc. -- people will make time to talk to you.

Because they will see you as an oasis in today's desert of awful economic news.

As a result, people will take your calls, read your emails, meet you for coffee ... and be more likely to do business with you -- or send business to you.

The difference between networking and being useful is like night and day. Or work and play.

Networking is a bothersome chore -- you wish you were someplace else while doing it. Work.

Being useful is fun and easy -- you forget yourself while doing it. Play.

Try being useful to other people for just one week and see where it leads you.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

2 Questions that Build Your Business Without Fail

2011-10-11T17:13:00.000-05:00

What's the easiest way to build your business?

Do more of what works and less of what doesn't.

How do you know the difference?

Ask the only people who matter -- your clients.

Specifically, anytime anybody buys anything from you, ask them these two questions:

1) Where did you find out about us?

The answers will tell you which of your business-building efforts are actually ... building your business. Is it referrals? Your Google Adwords? A business card you handed them 6 months ago?

Whatever attracted this client is working. So, spend more time and money DOING it.

2) Why did you decide to do business with us?

The answers will tell you what you (or someone else) said or did to cause your client to open their wallet. Was it your money-back guarantee? The many testimonials on your web site? Your membership in the Better Business Bureau? Over the years, clients have given me each of those answers.

Whatever sold this client is working. So, spend more time and money SAYING it.

Building your business can't get much simpler than this: Do more of what works and less of what doesn't.

Best part: You never have to guess. Your clients will tell you exactly what to do and say. But only if you ask.

You will get better and more profitable every time you ask these two questions -- and act on the answers:

Where did you find out about us?
Why did you decide to do business with us?

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Harvey Mackay Reviews "21 Quick Ways to Get More Clients"

2011-10-10T10:57:00.000-05:00

I've been sitting on this letter from Harvey Mackay for 2 months, trying to figure out how to blog about his nice comments about my new book, "21 Quick Ways to Get More Clients."

Still can't think of anything witty, so I'll just share the letter with you ...

Harvey's always been one of my heroes, so this means a lot. Thanks, Harvey!

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

The Formula for Success? Add, Add, Add

2011-10-08T09:49:00.002-05:00

In an interview with The Information Marketing Association, author, coach, and entrepreneur Lee Milteer offers a simple way to build your business.

After creating her "Millionaire Mindset" program, Milteer did something important: She didn't stop.

Instead, she kept creating and improving her program, through the simple power of ... addition. Milteer explains:

"The program has changed dramatically since the first version. In fact, one of the questions I ask myself every single month is 'What can I do to add to the program to give my clients more benefits?' Some months I do not come up with anything new, but there are other months when I have a brainstorm and think, 'Oh I can do this for them, or I can interview this person, or I can add a transcript, or I can add calls, or I can add more reports or I can add, I can add, I can add.'"

By asking yourself that same question every week -- What can I add? -- you can create tremendous value for your clients and your business.

Just like compound interest, which has been called "the 8th Wonder of the World," adding value to your products and services every month is NOT sexy.

It is NOT high-tech.

It will NOT help you get rich quick.

But it can help you get rich sure.

So: What can YOU add this week?

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

How to Find Time to Work On Your Business

2011-10-04T16:34:00.003-05:00

As I've written before, there are (at least) 3 small ways to boost your business in only 15 minutes a day:

1) Pick up the phone and call your #1 client. Ask how they're doing and what they're working on. Then ask if you can be of service somehow. They will tell you how to help or say, "No, thanks." Either way, they will be blown away by your generosity.

2) Mail a copy of a helpful article (magazine or newspaper) to your top 3 clients. Include a handwritten message with each that says, "Saw this and thought of you." Sign it.

3) Call to interview your last happy client. Ask how are they using your product or service, exactly? What has changed for the better, exactly? How much more time or money do they have as a result, exactly? Then ask if you can transcribe their comments to use in a "mini case study" on your web site or newsletter.

But, incredible as it may seem, some people just can't find time to work on their business instead of in it.

So, here's a proven way to recover at least 15 minutes of "lost" time in your daily schedule: Cut back on email.

And here's my story to illustrate ...

Back in 2004, I tracked how I spent each day, logging my time in 15-min. increments, as an attorney does.

What I found was shocking: I spent 6 hours per week reading and responding to email.

Not so much, you say?

Six hours add up -- to 24 hours per month ... 288 hours in a 50-week year ... 36 FULL WORKING DAYS per year.

Unacceptable.

So I resolved to check email once an hour instead of every 15 minutes (or anytime I got bored).

Yes, withdrawal was painful (there's no methadone equivalent for this). But my productivity soared.

So I took it a step further: I limited checking email to only 4 times a day. Then I cut back again. And again.

Now, I check email only twice a day, most days: at about 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.

As a result, I spend only about 3 hours a week on email.

That's a 50% productivity gain -- an extra 18 working days recovered every year.

How do I handle urgent problems by email? There are none. Anyone with a "hair on fire" emergency that I must solve also knows my cell phone number and calls it.

How do I handle regular problems by email? They wait until 10:00 AM or 4:00 PM.

Yes, it really is that simple. Do this:

1) Block off time on your calendar to read and respond to email. I suggest 3-4 blocks of 20-30 minutes at first, so you can wean yourself and stay sane. You will still save at least 15 minutes per day in "transition time" shuttling back and forth from email to other activities.

2) Delay checking email until late morning, if possible. This closes the door to letting other people hijack your morning, which is the rudder for the rest of the day (according to my mentor, Brian Tracy).

Do these two things each day and you will save enough time to make small, profitable improvements in your business.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Can Your Headline Do This?

2011-10-03T15:58:00.001-05:00

Here's the best headline I've seen for a book since How to Win Friends and Influence People ...

It stopped me in my tracks at Barnes & Nobel last Friday night. I had to open the book and look for the answer.

Who was that killer president?

First, a word about headlines and their importance. That word is ALL.

As in, headlines are ALL-IMPORTANT to the success of any web page, postcard, sales letter, print ad, or email you write.

The goal of your headline? To stop your prospect in his/her tracks and force them to read the rest of your promotion.

In the case of, Which President Killed A Man? mission accomplished. It's a terrific headline that compels interaction.

You'll know you've got a good headline when readers say or think the following:

"Tell me more!"
"How do you do that?"
"Oh, what do you mean?"

So ... which president killed a man?

The president who shot a man in a duel, after being accused in print of bigamy and reneging on a bet was ... Andrew Jackson.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Force Your Business to Improve - Kaizen with Teeth

2011-09-30T18:29:00.000-05:00

How can you turn small steps into big profits?

Let your clients tell you where you're screwing up.

Here's what I mean ...

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, offers this story worth emulating:

Consider, for example, Granite Rock Company, a small construction-materials outfit that won the Baldrige award in 1992. The company espouses continuous improvement in customer satisfaction.

They tell their customers, "If there’s anything about an order you don’t like, simply don’t pay us for it. Deduct that amount from the invoice and send us a check for the balance."

They call it shortpay; I call it a thorn in the laurel or a mechanism with teeth. While many successful organizations rest on their laurels, Granite Rock does the opposite. They devised a system that makes it difficult if not impossible to become complacent about continuously improving customer satisfaction.

A mechanism with teeth -- what a great visual.

By telling customers NOT TO PAY for anything they don't like, Granite Rock finds out FAST where it's under-performing, so they can fix the problem FAST.

Personally, I'm jealous. Although I work without a safety net, too, by offering an unconditional money-back guarantee on my copywriting, Granite Rock's "shortpay" invoice concept is way sexier.

If you send out invoices (I don't, or I would borrow this idea yesterday), why not test this out on a small scale, and see what kind of results you get?

If you're any good at what you do, a shortpay invoice will pleasantly blow away your clients ... not to mention the referrals you'll get. Because an outstanding product or service is often the best form of marketing.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

The Last 30 Seconds

2011-09-29T17:36:00.000-05:00

At a seminar in Minneapolis last year, Seth Godin said: "People judge their entire colonoscopy experience based on what they remember from the last 30 seconds."

If you can envision a colonoscopy, I think you will agree with Seth.

Now, envision your business.

No matter what you do, it's exactly like a colonoscopy.

Let me explain ...

A few years ago, I took my car in for an oil change. The service guys did a great job -- it was fast, friendly, and the price was right.

Below is a picture that represents my experience up to that point ...

They finished and brought my car around. I got in and found a big, fresh stain on the passenger seat.

I motioned the technician over asked him: "Hey, can you tell me what this is about?"

He looked at the stain and said, "Oh, yeah," like he'd just remembered. "You shouldn't put a can of STP in your glove box in the summer. It can overheat and burst open. I guess that's what happened."

I said, "Well, did it levitate out of the glove box and hover over the seat before exploding?"

He had no answer, of course. One of his guys must have been going through my glove box -- why, I don't know -- and spilled the STP can on the seat.

No apology, no attempt to fix it. They thought I would drive away and not notice.

So, based on the last 30 seconds of my experience, here is my lasting mental picture of that company ...

How many people do you think I told about this? EVERYONE.

I made it my hobby for the next 6 weeks to tell any English speaker within 3 feet: "You don't want to go to Hick & Brothers Auto Shop because they'll screw you over!"

Now, think: What are the last 30 seconds of your clients' experience with you?

It it:

a phone call?
an email?
a letter or box in the mail?
your technician wiping his feet and closing the door on the way out?

Whatever those last 30 seconds are, they pretty much define:

what your clients think about you
what your clients say about you

Worth obsessing about, no?

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

The Leap Not Taken

2011-09-27T18:14:00.001-05:00

Henry Ford said a lot of smart things.

One of them was this: "You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."

Now. Take a look at your recent accomplishments.

Are the BIG things you're going to do actually getting done?

If not, you might get more accomplished by thinking small.

Example: One referral given today beats 10 that you're going to give later this week.

Or: One prospect you call today beats 25 prospects who might call you, after your web site gets overhauled next week/month/year.

Or: One thank-you note you write and mail to a client today beats that book you're going to write next month/year/decade.

Many small steps taken will build your business -- and your revenue -- faster than one giant leap not taken.

This is all Kaizen Marketing by another name, by the way.

Small steps taken will build your reputation -- and revenue -- faster than a giant leap not taken.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Temper Tantrum or Learning Opportunity?

2011-09-26T17:55:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning my wife called from the school where she teaches, asking me to bring her cell phone, which she had forgotten. It was essential for the lesson she was teaching.

Not being a dummy, I said, "Sure, honey."

Before getting in the car, I had two options:

Option #1: I could have viewed this 25-minute roundtrip drive as a huge inconvenience, wrecking my plans to liesurely read the newspaper over coffee. I probably would have arrived at her school in a foul mood and put my wife in a foul mood, making for a rotten rest of the morning for both of us.

Option #2: I could have viewed the unplanned errand as an opportunity to listen to an old Brian Tracy audio, "Executive Time Management," that I found the other day in the back of my closet. With 25 minutes of drive time, I could listen to half the audio and absorb a few lessons.

I chose Option #2.

And I'm glad.

Not only did I avoid wrecking my morning and my wife's with a temper tantrum, I learned something extremely valuable from Brian's audio -- something I might have never discovered otherwise.

Specifically, Brian's explanation of a PERT chart (see below) gave me a crucial insight that will help me finish a project that's been languishing for 3 weeks.

PERT Chart example

It's no exaggeration to say I may have reclaimed 2-4 weeks of effort and more than $20,000 in revenue, all based on one insight from an audio I would have otherwise not listened to had I not had to make an unplanned drive to school to bring my wife her cell phone.

What made the difference between temper tantrum (Option #1) and learning opportunity (Option #2)?

Attitude.

Instead of seeing the chore that dropped into my lap as an interruption, I saw it as a chance to learn something. And it made my morning infinitely more productive than reading the newspaper.

(Also, it led to this blog post, which is nice.)

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

A Cure for the Common Business Card?

2011-09-22T17:48:00.000-05:00

In a world of flat paper business cards, this stands out like a ... big pill bottle full of M&Ms.

Because that's what it is.

It's the un-business card that doubles as a clever keepsake from Sue Guggenberger at The eBill Group. Her company does billing, bookkeeping, and cash flow management for physicians in the Twin Cities and beyond.

No, you can't put this in your wallet or file it with the other 373 business cards in your drawer, but that's the point. This is impossible to ignore or stack anything on. It has to sit on top of your desk or on a shelf by itself.

It literally stands out.

Keep Sue in mind if you're a busy doctor who wants to streamline your practice.

And keep her un-business card in mind if you want an alternative to the typical, dull-as-dishwater business card.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Want More Referrals? Try Giving One. You May Forget to Stop

2011-09-20T18:31:00.000-05:00

If you own or manage a business and want more referrals, it pays to do two things:

Do your job very well
Give referrals

I can't help you with 1.

But I can help you give more referrals to your vendors, non-competitors, friends, community leaders, and of course, clients.

That way, you'll get more referrals in return.

I know what you're thinking: Giving referrals is hard.

It's a hassle. It takes too much time. You have to give 5 or 6 referrals before you get any back. Etc.

But here's a way to give more referrals -- and earn more in return -- simply by giving one referral.

It's based on a passage from the excellent book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life, by Robert Maurer. On pages 96-97, Maurer writes:

Many years ago, I heard a very famous pain expert give a lecture to a large audience. Although pain cannot always by managed with medications and other medical interventions, mental techniques like meditation can significantly reduce the suffering of those who hurt. This pain expert encouraged each of his listeners to go home and meditate for one minute a day. Quite surprised, I went up to him after the talk and asked him why he thought one minute of meditation would possibly do anyone any good. In a patient tone of voice, he asked me how long meditation techniques had been around.

"Two or three thousand years," I said.

"That's right," he told me. "So there's a very good chance that the people in this audience have heard of it before now. Those who like the idea have already found a teacher or a book and are doing it. For the rest of the people in this audience, meditation is the worst idea they ever heard of. I'd rather they go home and meditate for one minute than not meditate for thirty minutes. They might like it. They may forget to stop."

Wise advice, don't you think?

If you've ever struggled to do 20 pushups, try two sets of 10, or 4 sets of 5. Half the battle in finishing is starting. That's why slicing up an unsavory task can work -- any big project is easier, one small step at a time.

Now, here's the deal with referrals: You've already heard that giving them is a great way to get them.

If you like the idea, you're probably doing it already.

If not, why don't you give out just one referral today? It's better than not giving out 30 referrals. You might like it. You may forget to stop.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Marketing Success by the Numbers

2011-09-19T18:51:00.003-05:00

A big misconception about successful marketing (in general) and copywriting (in particular) is that it's all about creativity.

Not so.

Marketing -- defined as finding, getting, and keeping customers -- is really a numbers game.

Know your numbers and you can play the game to win. Don't, and you won't.

Here are two examples of numbers to know:

1) What is your lifetime customer value (LCV)? In other words, how much does an average customer spend with you over their entire buying lifetime?

When you know this number, you know how much you can afford to invest in customer acquisition (i.e., how much you can "buy" customers for and still profit).

2) What are your conversion rates? In other words, what percentage of people turn into customers after seeing your ad, visiting your web site, or hearing your networking pitch?

When you know this number, you know what's working, so you can do more of it. You can also fix or stop doing what's not working.

The point to all this? When you know your numbers, you can make intelligent decisions about how to spend your limited time and money.

When you don't know your numbers, you are flying blind. And you will crash, eventually.

Here's another example, which will resonate with you if you market a professional service ...

Three weeks ago, I sent 2 project quotes to prospective clients. One week later, I received 2 checks from those quotes (100% closing rate).

Two weeks ago, I sent one project quote to one prospective client. Last week, I received one check from that quote (100% closing rate).

By the numbers, there are two lessons here:

1) My 100% conversion rate either means I'm a good salesman or my prices are too low. So I'm raising rates on my copywriting services ASAP to see if profits go up, even if my conversion rate takes a hit.

2) You can bet I'm sending out more than two project quotes this week! The numbers are very clear: More project quotes = more paychecks for me. How's that for motivation?

Sidebar: I never call my quotes "quotes," or "bids," or "estimates," and neither should you. Why get lumped in with everyone else? If you do, you're competing on price -- a loser's game.

Instead, when a prospect asks for a price quote, send them an "Outline of Services," a "Project Description," or some other term of your own creation. This helps put your business in a category of one, where there's no competition.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

One Small Step Toward Bigger Profits

2011-09-15T17:49:00.002-05:00

Here's more about Kaizen Marketing, the continuous improvement of your most valuable activity -- creating and keeping customers.

To recap: The first, simple step in the Kaizen Marketing process is discovery.

Because you can't improve what you don't measure -- and you can't measure what you don't know -- you must know, clearly, where your money is coming from.

Here's a case study from James Dunworth on ProBlogger that illustrates this perfectly ...

By systematically discovering where his income came from, Dunworth got a 56% jump in revenue from a $15 investment and about an hour of work.

How did he do it?

1) He linked Google Analytics to his Google AdSense account. This showed him exactly which clicks on his web site were producing AdSense revenue. In his words, "The results were astounding."

2) He discovered that, of the 800 pages on his web site, 70% of the revenue was generated from just 3 pages (a perfect illustration of the 80/20 Rule).

3) He hired a freelancer to create an ad and displayed it prominently his web site, presumably on one of those 3 high-value web pages. Cost for the ad? Just $15!?

4) Within the month, his AdSense revenue rose from $533 to $832 (that's a 56% increase).

Here's a graphic to show how his revenue jumped:

The moral of the story?

Big profits often lurk in small areas. But you'll never know unless you look. Carefully. Painstakingly. Look.

Now. Know this: You do NOT need to hook up Google Analytics to your web site to enjoy a 56% jump in revenue.

You don't even need a web site.

All you need do is open QuickBooks or call your bookkeeper. Get a report for the top 5 sources of revenue for your business. And study it carefully for surprising insights you can exploit, as Dunworth did.

I promise you this: No matter what you think your top 5 revenue streams are, you won't be 100% accurate. And you may find results that are "astounding," as Dunworth did.

As I wrote previously, this search for unexploited revenue streams led me on a Kaizen Marketing odyssey that ultimately put $2.1 million in the bank.

But you can't improve or exploit what you don't know. So start looking at where your revenues are coming from. That's the first small step toward bigger profits.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Zig, Zagat, and the $125-Million Payday

2011-09-13T19:39:00.006-05:00

"You can have everything you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want" - Zig Ziglar

While the unofficial Google motto may be "Don't be evil," Zig's words are their real recipe for success.

To whit, Google has been spanking Yahoo for years simply because Google helps more people get what they want.

And you can, too. Read on to learn how ...

First, Exhibit A: Carol Bartz, the latest CEO firing at Yahoo.

According to The Wall Street Journal:

It's a simple rule of any market. The more information that is created, the more the value is reduced. And despite attempts to woo spending with bigger, bolder and more targeted ads, services that help consumers navigate that content, namely search, remain the big money makers online.

"People tell me that content is king, but that is not true at all," says Rishad Tobaccowala, chief strategy and innovation officer at Vivaki, the digital-media unit of Publicis Groupe SA. "Most people make money pointing to content, not creating, curating or collecting content."

Summary: Yahoo did not help enough people get what they wanted. So Yahoo did not get what they wanted. And Bartz got booted.

Now, Exhibit B: Zagat, the restaurant review service that sprang from humble beginnings 30 years ago. Google bought it for a reported $125 million.

According to The New York Times:

People are “wondering where they should go, where they should spend their time, so to be able to offer accurate information is important, and that’s why we’ve been getting focused on reviews,” said Google VP Marissa Mayer.

Summary: Zagat helped many people get what they wanted. So Zagat got what they wanted. Specifically, the founders, Nina and Tim Zagat, got a $125-million payday (more or less) and can now have everything they want in life.

Now, you may not get bought by Google. But you can still have everything you want ... if you help enough people get what they want.

Start with the most important people in your business life: Your clients.

What do they want? And how are you helping them get it?

By the way, this is a much broader question than, "What can I sell my clients?"

The real question is: "What can I help my clients get?"

Answer it enough times for enough clients, and they will help you get everything you want in life. Just as Zig said -- and Zagat proved.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Want to Improve Your Business? Do This First

2011-09-12T17:39:00.000-05:00

"The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer." - Peter Drucker

Exactly right, of course.

Even with $500 million in funding ... nifty new technology ... without customers, your business dies. Just ask Solyndra.

If customers are the lifeblood of your business, then marketing -- creating and keeping customers -- is the heart of your business.

Business is marketing. Marketing is your business.

So, anything you can do to improve your marketing is a good thing.

That's why I'm writing a lot these days about Kaizen Marketing, the continuous improvement of your most valuable activity -- creating and keeping customers.

Here's the first, simple step in the Kaizen Marketing process: Discovery.

Specifically, you can't improve what you don't measure. And you can't measure what you don't know. That means you must dig into your records and discover where the money is coming from.

Do this: Open QuickBooks or call your accounting person. Get a report for the top 5 sources of revenue for your business over:

this quarter
last quarter
this year
last year and
2-5 years prior

I promise you this: No matter what you think your top 5 revenue streams are, you won't be 100% accurate.

Because Quicken, like your calendar, never lies.

But your instincts and hunches about what makes your business money are almost always fuzzy.

So make this a first step in the Kaizen Marketing process, which I will explain in the coming weeks.

Discover what your top 5 sources of revenue are. That's half the battle in improving them -- and growing your business inevitably, one small step at a time.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

The $2.1-Million 80/20 Marketing Accident

2011-09-08T18:41:00.008-05:00

Here's a story I've never told anyone before ...

Six years ago, I accidentally created a business that put $2,159,342.40 in my bank account.

How did I do it?

By focusing the vast majority of my marketing efforts on the vital few activities that made the most profits.

After I made this 80/20 shift in thinking (which I explain below), revenue surged, like this ...

Specifically, revenue jumped from $1,109 in May 2005 to $7,808 in July ...

... to $51,856 in September 2005 and kept climbing to $110,945 one year later, in September 2006.

More than $2,159,342 flooded into my business in 5 years, before all was said and done.

Here are 5 years of revenue totals from this project:

$244,504.16 (2005)
$640,471.97 (2006)
$618,848.09 (2007)
$465,132.78 (2008)
$166,109.56 (2009)

Where did this money come from?

I promoted programs for companies that paid a couple bucks for every lead I sent to their web site using Google AdWords.

I can't be more specific than that, but I can tell you the bulk of that $2.1 million came from a single Google AdWords ad that I honed, improved, polished, perfected, and rolled out to multiple markets in North America.

Google will come to my house and stick my dog's head down the toilet if I tell you any more ...

... but I can tell you about the process that helped me make a $2.1-million killing.

I combined the 80/20 Rule with Marketing 101 to create a new concept (new for me, anyway) that you can use, too.

I call it 80/20 Marketing.

Because you should already understand Marketing 101, let's define the 80/20 Rule.

You may also know it as the Pareto Principle, named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1906 that 80% of the property in Italy was owned by 20% of the people.

Stated differently, 20% of causes account for about 80% results, and 80% of causes produce about 20% of results. The world is unbalanced and unequal -- predictably so.

The 80/20 Rule is a spooky natural law that doesn’t make any logical sense:

20% of clouds produce 80% of rain ...
20% of U.S. states produce 80% of home foreclosures, and ...
you wear 20% of your shirts 80% of the time (especially if you're a guy!)

Note: The ratio is rarely 80/20 exactly -- it may be 72/17 ... 88/11 ... 75/6 ... etc. But the numbers are always unbalanced.

In any business, including yours, about:

80% of sales come from 20% of products or services
80% of complaints come from 20% of customers
80% of profits come from 20% of marketing activities

This last area is important -- marketing.

Because marketing is one of the vital few things you do that really matters in business -- it's a 20% Activity that produces outsized results.

One day, in May 2005, I thought: "What if I were to apply the 80/20 Rule to marketing, and do only those things that really made me money, dropping, delegating, or streamlining the rest? What would happen?"

More than $2.1 million happened, that's what.

Let me share one of the success secrets I found after months of trial and error ....

In a word, it's replacement.

You see, after I uncovered certain elements of my marketing that were producing small, but disproportionately large profits, I replaced 80% activities (the majority of marketing that was largely a waste of time) with 20% activities (those few things that produced disproportionately big results).

In the months that followed, I turned my business upside down and devoted EVERY WAKING HOUR to writing, testing, and improving the Google AdWords ads that produced unexpectedly high revenue. (Important: You do NOT need to use Google Adwords or even know what they are to profit from this idea -- you simply need to find just one small, repeatable success to exploit fully.)

Some days I worked 12 hours and had nothing to show. Other days, a 15-minute effort added $25 a day in revenue. Smart, focused work produced small, continuous, profitable improvements.

Now. You may think: "Where do I find time for another marketing system?" or "I'm not the boss -- I can't change our business model to do this."

Both excuses are invalid. Because you have plenty of time -- you're just misusing 80% of it. And 80/20 Marketing works for any business model, by refining and ramping up whatever success you're having now.

Here are just two of the many ways I found time to devote to engage in 80/20 Marketing:

closed down an entire business (it was time-intensive and no longer fun).
stopped checking email more than once a day (a game-changer that freed up 2-3 hours daily).

Results were fast in coming ...

I increased annual revenue from this project by 10 TIMES, from $24,587 in 2004, to $244,504 in 2005. Then I TRIPLED IT, to $640,471 in 2006. The rest is history.

I now teach a 4-week course on 80/20 Marketing that is changing lives for entrepreneurs.

Whether or not an extra $2.1 million in high-net revenue excites you, the principles of 80/20 Marketing should.

Simply put, most of what you do to market your business doesn't matter. Only a few things do. Do more of them, and your life can improve dramatically, rapidly, and predictably.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

The Brilliant Benefits of Tea

2011-09-07T18:22:00.000-05:00

Look at those labels.

That's as good a job of selling as you'll see in any supermarket, with a lesson you can apply to any business.

The lesson? Features tell, benefits sell.

Which means, to sell more of anything, put benefits first and features second.

Unfortunately, about 95% of people in business get this backwards.

But not the Republic of Tea.They've done a brilliant job of boiling the features of each tea down into benefits:

get some zzz's
get maternal
get wellness
get happy
get relaxed
get smart

These headlines fairly leap off the shelves, compared to the dull, standard labels on other teas.

So ... how do you turn features into benefits? Bad news: You have to think. Hard.

Here are the ingredients to get happy tea that the copywriter on this project had to digest:

Organic Rooibos, Lemon Balm, Lemon Myrtle (Bachousia citriodora), St. John's Wort, Rhodiola Extract. Other Ingredients: Natural Peach Flavor

An ordinary tea maker simply labels their product as "St. John's Wort." You've seen dozens of those. And one tea-maker's "St. John's Wort" is completely interchangeable with another's, because there is NO benefit to that name -- it's just a feature.

But Republic of Tea created their own category of one by labeling their "St. John's Wort" with its main benefit: mood enhancement. In a word, HAPPY.

Thus, get happy tea.

Simple. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

Now. Look at your business. What features are you trying (without luck) to sell to clients? Take a cue from Republic of Tea and start selling benefits instead.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Make Clients Stick to You

2011-09-06T17:57:00.004-05:00

You know that I preach writing and mailing thank-you letters to anyone who matters in your business life: clients, prospects, vendors, and referral partners, to name a few.

In his excellent book, You, Inc., Harry Beckwith writes: "Handwritten thank-you notes feel like gifts because you took the time to find the paper and envelope, write the note, affix the stamp, and gift-wrap your note in its package."

Well, here's a terrific twist on thank-you notes as "gifts," borrowed from one of my marketing heroes, Joe Polish.

It's called a "stick letter."

First, recall one of the reasons you mail thank-you notes to clients: To make them feel good about doing business with you. Because, if ignored, a client can quickly come down with a case of buyer's remorse.

Especially in today's economy, your clients may question their purchase and think:

Did I pay too much?
Should I have shopped around more?
Do I really need that?
Is that product/service really worth the money?
Did I make a mistake?
Etc. -- all of it bad

So here's a Big Question: How do you eliminate or minimize buyer's remorse and possible refunds?

The answer, according to Joe Polish (and my own experience) is to send a "stick letter."

A stick letter is simply a letter to make the sale "stick." In other words, ensure that the buyer of your product or service is happy enough to keep and use it.

Best part: For a tiny investment of time and money, you can not only reduce refunds, you can delight your clients, and stimulate referrals. That's a triple play.

What does a stick letter look like?

I'm glad you asked. Here's an example of what I mail to my copywriting clients ...

Here's what that stick letter says:

As you can see, I've attached a $1 bill to this letter.

It's my way of getting your FULL attention as I say, "Thank you!" once more for your business ...

... and it represents the first of many dollars you can expect to receive from the web pages, emails, and other materials I write for you.

Here's to a long and prosperous relationship!

Kevin Donlin

By the way, the dollar bill is called a "grabber" in direct-mail parlance. It's an attention grabber that forces the recipient to read the letter and find out why you sent them money.

Mailing a stick letter to clients within 3-5 business days of their purchase -- even the same day -- is one of the best ways I know to reduce or eliminate refunds, ensure happy clients, and build your business. Win-win-win.

There's really only one way to do this wrong: Mail a fake letter. Fake as in you don't mean what you say. Clients can smell fakery like a dead skunk, so don't write a single word in any stick letter that you don't mean 100%.

And, if attaching a dollar bill offends your sensibilities, attach something else ... like a gift certificate good for an "emergency consultation" or some surprise extra service.

Meanwhile, the potential upside of sending a stick letter -- in terms of client delight, follow-on sales, and referrals -- is HUGE.

Sure, you've probably never heard of anyone in your industry doing anything like this. And that's exactly why you should try it.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

4 Ways to Grow Your Business. How Many Are You Missing?

2011-09-05T10:18:00.001-05:00

Here are four ways to grow your business (if you know more, let me know):

Get More Clients
Get Clients to Spend More
Get Clients to Buy More Often
Get Clients to Refer Others

How do you do it? Here's a short list (if you know more, let me know):

1) Get More Clients

advertise more (roll a successful promotion out to another medium)
advertise better (test continually)
get publicity (use a service like www.PRLeads.com)
make more-appealing offers (study copywriting)
use more testimonials from clients (duh!)
close more sales (use a script, for example)
use a unique selling proposition, U.S.P. (Why should I buy from you?)
use a money-back guarantee (to remove risk)

2) Get Clients to Spend More

offer a cross-sell ("Would you like fries with that?")
offer an upsell ("Would you like to supersize that?")
offer a third option (a "good," "better," and "best" value)
raise your prices (just 2% can make a big impact on profits)
bundle products/services (package 2-3 items at an overall savings)

3) Get Clients to Buy More Often

hold a client appreciation sale (people love to buy and to belong to a group; this does both)
send a newsletter (with 90% helpful info and 10% special promotions)
do a joint-venture promotion and share revenue (who said clients had to buy your stuff?)
create continuity (a monthly coaching service or "preferred" status for a monthly fee)

4) Get Clients to Refer Others

say "Thank you" after every sale (to get clients talking about you)
follow up after the sale to ensure satisfaction (and get clients talking about you)
educate clients to help them get better results, by seminar/webinar/teleseminar (and get clients talking about you)
give extra care and attention to your top referrers (to encourage more of what's already working)

How many of these are you failing to use? Pick an idea from the list above. Do it this week.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Are You Selfish?

2011-09-02T18:53:00.001-05:00

Every time I analyze a bad week in business, the root cause is nearly always selfish behavior -- my own.

Sometimes I catch myself peeking at the Tigers' scores on MLB.com or checking Facebook at work, for example. Or I may not give as much as I could to clients (in terms of time and attention) or prospects (in terms of being helpful).

By contrast, looking back on a good week, I invariably find I was generous with my time and effort, to clients and prospects alike. They reciprocated by buying more of my services and referring me to others.

Now. Look back at the week just past.

Was it bad or good for you?

Were you selfish or generous?

Good news: If you aren't happy with how you did, you now know what to do.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

2 LinkedIn Hacks: Silly and Useful

2011-09-01T20:59:00.001-05:00

I've been called a "Forrest Gump" in online marketing.

And I won't argue -- I keep finding myself in the right place at the right time.

In addition to:

selling what may have been the first ebook on Usenet (1994),
working as webmaster for FedEx.com when the site had 6 web pages (1995-1996),
writing some of the first PPC ads at a penny per click on GoTo.com (1998),

... I was invited to join LinkedIn on November 10, 2003 (member ID #40,961 of 100,000,000+).

Over the years I've learned a few things about marketing yourself and your business using LinkedIn -- some of it useful, some not.

Want to learn something productive, or pointless (but fun)?

How about both?

Okay, here you go ...

Pointless, Fun LinkedIn Trick
If you ever want to know what your member ID number is, you'll find it in the URL of your profile.

Here's mine: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=40961

The number after id shows I was the 40,961th person to join.

You can find that number in anybody's LinkedIn profile -- just look after id= in the URL in your web browser, like this example:

See that? Steve Jobs is number 125,679,346 on LinkedIn.

Now for the ...

Productive LinkedIn Tip
You can use LinkedIn to store notes about any of your first-level connections. You then have access to this information anywhere you have access to a computer. It's a great way to store call notes for later reference, for example.

And you don't have to pay a dime (as of this writing) -- it's available on all free user accounts.

But you've probably never used this feature. Here's how ...

First, here's a screenshot of my friend Allison's LinkedIn profile page.

When you scroll down a bit, you find this Notes box on the right side of her profile (or anybody else who's a first-level connection) ...

I got an email from Allison yesterday that I wanted to save part of to her LinkedIn profile, so I could refer to it on any computer with Internet access.

So I copied the text from my email and pasted it into the Notes box, like this:

Now I can always remember whom to introduce her to in my network, because those notes are on her always available to me on her LinkedIn profile.

This is a great way to record important data about clients or referral partners (hobbies, sports teams, favorite restaurants, etc.) so you can refer to it when you're on the phone or responding to emails.

I hope you find at least one of these LinkedIn "hacks" useful as you build your business.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Car Wash Marketing: Do Good, Feel Good, Clean Up

2011-08-30T17:34:00.000-05:00

Firestone Auto Care, on 66th Street in Edina, Minn., does something smart.

Almost every summer weekend, they let high school kids use their parking lot to raise money by washing cars. This is smart because it:

attracts attention (kids on street corners holding signs, screaming "CAR WASH!!" and pointing at your store are like skywriting on the ground);
helps raise money for worthy causes; and
builds goodwill in the community ... not to mention future customers among the students and their parents.

Whatever costs the Firestone owner incurs by letting kids run hoses in a corner of his parking lot are repaid many times over.

Now, two questions:

1) What is your "parking lot" -- an asset in your business that you don't use all the time?

2) How could you lend or donate that asset to a charity, non-profit, or other organization in ways that help you both?

Physical assets you can lend:

your parking lot (for a rummage sale or car wash),
a storage room (for a class or meeting),
your showroom (for a wine tasting or party),
your equipment (if it won't lead to a lawsuit), etc.

Intellectual assets you can donate:

your time as a volunteer for a high-profile local charity (where you may meet a new client);
your products or books to a non-profit association or library (where it can produce leads);
your expertise to lead a seminar or event to raise funds for the charity (I got on KARE-11 News and WCCO Radio on the same day, by leading a fundraising seminar for the Salvation Army).

What assets in your business can you lend or donate to help your community -- and build your business?

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Create a Big, Costly Problem

2011-08-29T09:30:00.000-05:00

See that 40-foot tall tree to the right of the wood pile?

My wife hates it and wants me to cut it down.

She's been telling me so for 9 years. Since that problematic tree was about 4-feet tall.

I always thought it was a little thing. And it was. Plus, the tree is in a hidden corner of our yard.

So I ignored the problem ... until it grew too big to ignore.

Eight years later, that tree will now cost about $250 to get rid of, if I cut it down myself and rent a chipper.

If I neglect it another 9 years? It will cost about $1,000 for someone else to cut down and chip.

What's the point of all this?

There are little, "4-foot" problems in your business right now, which -- if ignored -- can grow into costly "40-foot" problems, faster than you think.

Look around. Pick one 4-foot problem in your business you have ignored for too long. Is it:

a non-performing employee or partner?
the growing amount of time you spend on Facebook?
daily tasks that keep you busy, but not productive?
a difficult client who eats up your time?
a cluttered office that saps your energy?

Whatever it is, chop that problem down today, while it's still a little thing ... before it grows into a big, expensive headache.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

3 Small Ways to Boost Your Business in 15 Minutes

2011-08-26T07:39:00.000-05:00

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." - Mark Twain

If you're not happy with your marketing, the task of meeting your revenue goals may seem complex.

It may even overwhelm you to the point that you take little or no action. "What's the use?" you may think.

But Twain, who earned a fortune from his work, was exactly right: The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

What small, manageable marketing task could you get started on, right now? Now, as in NOW, before your next bathroom break?

Here's a list of 3 small marketing tasks to get you started ...

1) Pick up the phone and call your #1 client.
Ask how they're doing and what they're working on. Then ask if you can be of service somehow.

2) Mail a copy of a helpful article (magazine or newspaper) to your top 3 clients.
Include a handwritten message with each that says, "Saw this and thought of you." Sign it.

3) Call to interview your last happy client.
Ask how things have changed since whatever you did for them: How are they using your product or service, exactly? What has changed for the better, exactly? How much more time or money do they have as a result, exactly?

Ask if you can transcribe their comments to use -- with their name, city, and state -- in a "mini case study" on your web site or in your email newsletter.

Note: Doing any or all of the above tasks won't earn you a million bucks -- today.

But each will surprise and delight your clients. Each will give you a surge of endorphins. And completing any of these tasks will put you in motion toward your goals. (Are you moving now? In any direction?)

As Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, wrote in Built To Last:

With mottoes like Make A Little, Sell A Little and Take Small Steps, 3M understood that big things often evolve from little things. But since you can't tell ahead of time which little things will turn into big things, you have to try lots of little things, keep the ones that work, and discard the ones that don't...

Small tasks and little things can put you on the path to big results.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Marketing Leverage: 3 Small Areas of Big Opportunity

2011-08-24T08:12:00.001-05:00

Peter Drucker wrote: "Concentrate on those very few areas where a relatively minor increase in efficiency will produce a major increase in economic effectiveness."

In other words, look for small areas of big opportunity to exploit in your business. Not only can you earn more money; you can do it by working smarter, not harder.

Here are 3 small areas of BIG opportunity in most businesses. How many can you exploit?

1) Transaction Size -- Before chasing after market share (by selling to strangers), be sure to get wallet share (by selling to your current clients).

Two easy ways to do increase the size of your transactions are ...

Cross-Sell: "Would you like fries with that?"
In your business, what are your burgers and what are your fries? Example: If you’re an accountant doing bookkeeping, can you do taxes too? How about document storage? Document shredding? If you provide dog training, can you sell dog walking? Poop scooping? Of course you can.
Upsell: "Would you like to Super Size that?"
Do you sell a Deluxe Model? An Executive Version? An Expanded Edition? Why not? Some people aren't happy unless they spend the most and get the best. If that weren't true, there would be no first-class seats on airplanes.

2) Lost Clients -- You know the drill: It costs 5-10 times more to sell to a new client than to an existing one. But what are you doing about it?

Here's an idea: Reactivate your "lost clients" -- sell again to those people who have not bought from you in too long. When you do this, you enjoy windfall profits because your cost of acquisition is $0. An easy way to do this is to use a client reactivation letter.

3) Scripting -- Selling is like cooking: When you find a winning combination of ingredients, write them down!

Think of the last time a prospect said, "Yes" and became a client. What did you say that caused it? Was it an email you sent, a way of asking for the sale, one bullet point in your presentation?

Find that winning combination of words and use them again the next time you're in front of a prospect. And again. And again. That's a recipe for success. (FYI, the best sales script book ever written is here.)

Think: If you get just one more sale per week by exploiting one of these 3 areas in your business, that's 50 extra orders a year. Use all 3 ideas and you could get 150 extra orders this year. What would that be worth to you?

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

3 Smart Referral Tips by Postcard (and Dogs)

2011-08-23T17:14:00.001-05:00

This postcard from Invisible Fence is simple, clever, and probably effective -- I've been getting it for months.

Here's the front:

... and the back:

Invisible Fence is doing 3 smart things here that you can emulate in your business:

1) Ask for referrals. They may come on their own, but hope is not a marketing strategy.

2) Use direct mail. You can -- and should -- ask for referrals by phone and email, but a printed postcard with a stamp carries more weight. Literally. Letters work well, too.

3) Reward referrals. Invisible Fence offers free batteries for a year if the person you refer signs up. Not bad. But I would also offer a cash reward and/or gift certificates -- you can never tell which reward will motivate which person, so give them a choice.

Bonus) Use pets in your marketing. Next to babies, everybody loves photos of pets. Intriguing photos = more readership = better results from your marketing. Don't have a pet? Borrow one. They're the ultimate in cheap labor.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Marketing Force Multipliers

2011-08-22T05:00:00.000-05:00

In 480 B.C., 300 Spartans faced off against more than 150,000 Persians in a narrow mountain pass called Thermopylae.

Despite impossible odds, the 300 Spartans held off a force 50 times their number for two full days (before dying to the last man).

How did 300 Spartans equal 150,000 Persians?

With a force multiplier, defined as anything added to a fighting force which increases the effectiveness of that fighting force.
Look at the picture.

That narrow stretch of land the Spartans defended, between the side of Mount Eta and the Gulf of Malis, was a choke point. It forced the 150,000 Persians to squeeze in and battle the Spartans on even terms.

Thermopylae itself was just one force multiplier for the Spartans. They had others: superior training, equipment, and motivation (they were defending their homes).

Had they not been betrayed by a local Greek, who led a small force of Persians around to attack them from the rear, the Spartans would have held out even longer.

Now. How can this help your business?

Ask yourself: What one thing, added to your marketing, greatly increases your effectiveness?

The answer is your force multiplier.

And you want to do more of it.

The force multiplier in my copywriting business is a simple phone call. It greatly increases the effectiveness of my marketing efforts, by 50% or more.

If I meet with a prospect on a Monday, for example, I will call them on Tuesday or Wednesday to follow up. Or if I mail something to a prospect and I know it arrived on a Wednesday, I'll call them on a Thursday or a Friday.

No matter what business you're in, you're doing at least one thing that greatly increases how you get more business. Define your force multiplier. Then find ways to do more of it.

Your marketing force multiplier could help you fend off competitors 50 times your size, like the Spartans did at Thermopylae. At the very least, it can grow your business.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

$18,000 Worth of Marketing Advice - Dan Kennedy Consulting Takeaway #1

2011-08-19T07:52:00.002-05:00

If you don't know about Dan Kennedy, you should.

Mike Capuzzi does. He's created Copy Doodles, a product I use and recommend.

Anyway, Mike recently paid Dan $18,000 for one day of consulting, to pick his brain on ways to grow his business.

On his blog, Mike writes that this was the #1 takeaway he got from that $18,000 day with Dan:

"Your growth will have less to do with your talent, your skill, your expertise or your deliverables than it will your ability and willingness to create and exploit your own status."

What does this mean?

People don't buy what you do. People buy you.

So, the greater your status -- the more people who know and like you -- the greater your income.

Think about it: Who has a bigger income, Dr. Oz or your doctor, Dr. Obscure? The former. Why? Because Dr. Oz has created and exploited a bigger status with his books and TV appearances.

How can you "create and exploit your own status," according to Kennedy?

Here's a simple, proven way to start: Make a big splash in a small puddle.

Because it's faster and easier to gain "celebrity" status in a smaller market than a bigger one. You can later build on local celebrity status to build a statewide or national following, but you have to start somewhere.

This is why smart real estate agents work hard to create visibility in a small geographic area by mailing postcards and flyers. (The idea is good, it's just that most of those mailings are not.)

Really intrepid real estate agents will even knock on every door in their "farm" territory, to build their status -- and their incomes.

So here's the $18,000 question: What can you do to create and exploit a profitable status within your market? The bigger your status, the bigger your income.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Work Entirely from Referrals

2011-08-17T06:57:00.008-05:00

How would you like to get all the business you can handle, from referrals only?

I know a woman like that. She's served more than 800 clients and doesn't spend a penny on advertising. Her business is entirely referral-driven.

Her name is Allison Kraus. She's referable because she's remarkable. You can be, too.

First, two definitions ...

1) To be referable means people tell others about you.

2) To be remarkable means you are worth talking (remarking) about.

See the relationship? Before people will talk about you and refer others, you must be worth talking about. You must be remarkable.

Now, back to Allison and her company, Minnesota Health Coverage. She's a sort of health insurance broker, helping people in Minnesota select the best, most cost-effective plan from the maze of choices.

Full disclosure: I'm a client. And she saved me about $225 a month on insurance -- enough to fully fund my IRA -- so you can also call me a happy client.

Anyway, Allison shops around for the best health insurance plan at the best price. And she doesn't charge you, the client, anything -- her fee is paid by the insurance company. Even when you figure in her modest commission, you still save loads of time and money with Allison. In my case, I save about $2,700 a year.

That's worth telling people about. That's remarkable. And that's why Allison is so referable.

Now. You may not have a value proposition (yet) as compelling as Allison's. So you may not get as many referrals as you would like.

If so, you have two choices:

1) Find and articulate the value of what you do in a way that's compelling.

Example: Among the things I write for clients are autoresponder emails -- a series of 5 or more emails sent by a service like Aweber to people who request information about your company.

I wrote a series of 6 autoresponder emails for one client that produced $3,771 in found money -- orders that never would have happened otherwise. Over the two-year shelf life of this system, my emails should produce more than $14,000, for an ROI of more than 20-1.

By themselves, autoresponder emails are not compelling. But by articulating their value ($3,771 in found money ... $14,000 in two years ... 20-1 ROI) they become so.

2) Deliver remarkable service to clients. This is a shorter idea, but no less powerful than 1).

Examples abound of wildly successful companies who sell commodities but deliver remarkable service -- Zappos, The Ritz Carlton, Nordstrom, etc.

There's nothing stopping you from serving clients faster and better than the competition. Never think of client service as a chore. Remarkable client service is nothing less than the foundation of a business that runs on referrals.

So, here's the formula: To be referable, be remarkable.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Outrageous Advertising and the Pink Business Card

2011-08-15T07:38:00.001-05:00

I write regularly about how funnel vision helps you create marketing innovations, by borrowing ideas from other industries to create breakthroughs in your own.

Here's another example. Take a look at this clever business card, from Jeff Dettmer at OutrageousMarketingProducts.com ...

Instead of "name, rank, and serial number," Jeff borrowed the idea for his business card from a "while you were out" note ... and produced an incredibly creative result. You gotta love this thing.

In fact, I love it so much, that I borrowed Jeff's idea!

Here's the front of my new business card ...

... and, because I hate to waste space when selling on paper, here's the back:

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Funnel Vision: Marketing Innovation Made Simple

2011-08-12T07:54:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wondered where new ideas come from?

It may seem odd, but I believe there are really no new ideas -- only new combinations of old ideas.

The more creatively you assemble new combinations of old ideas, the bigger the breakthroughs you can produce. And this process of searching for material to create new combinations is called Funnel Vision.

Funnel vision is how one man turned cockle burrs, those annoying prickly things that stick to your pants when you walk in the woods, into velcro, a business innovation worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Here are 3 examples of Funnel Vision in business. What marketing lessons can you draw from them?

1. Drive-thru window at a restaurant

First used by In 'n' Out Burger, in 1948.

Where did the idea originate? The City Center Bank, Kansas City, MO, opened the first drive-thru window in 1928.

By borrowing an idea from banking, In 'n' Out Burger produced a breakthrough in fast food.

2. Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant

Founded by Nolan Bushnell in 1977.

Where did the idea of combining games and food originate? Turns out, Nolan Bushnell founded another company in 1972 -- Atari. So he didn't have far to look for inspiration.

3. Lady Jane's Haircuts for Men

Founded in 2004, Lady Jane's employs attractive female stylists to cut hair, surrounded by sports memorabilia on the walls and ESPN on plasma screen TVs.

I can't prove it -- and this may land me in hot water -- but Lady Jane's is an obvious combination of Great Clips and Hooters.

So here's the point of all this: Stop looking for creative new ideas. Start looking for creative combinations of old ideas. That's Funnel Vision.

It may not be as sexy as pure creative brainstorming, but it can be profitable. And Funnel Vision can produce an endless stream of innovations for you, as it has for many others.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Before Market Share, Get Wallet Share

2011-08-10T07:30:00.004-05:00

Before chasing after new customers, be sure to stick out both hands and get more of the money that's already flowing into your business.

In other words, before market share, get wallet share.

Think about how long it takes to sell to a new client versus an existing client.

Example: Let's say your #1 marketing tactic is networking. To get one new client from a networking event, you have to:

shower and find clean clothes
get in the car and fight traffic
talk to 1-20 strangers to make a connection with one prospect
get the prospect's business card
call the prospect the next day to schedule another meeting
convince the prospect that you can solve their problems
get the check

By contrast, here's what you have to do to sell something to an existing client:

pick up the phone and call

Do I exaggerate? A bit.

But my point is still valid: It's easier to increase wallet share (by selling to people who know you) than to increase market share (by selling to strangers).

Here are 3 simple ways to increase your wallet share ...

1) Cross-sell
McDonald's has done this for years -- "Would you like fries with that?"

If you’re an accountant doing bookkeeping, ask clients if they need help with their taxes. If you provide dog training, ask clients if they need dog walking or poop scooping.

2) Upsell
McDonald's used to do this, too, before bad PR shut them down -- "Would you like to Super Size that?"

In your business, you can simply offer more of whatever you do. Call it an upgrade, deluxe option, executive version, whatever.

3) Special promotions
McDonald's (and other smart businesses) offer "customer-appreciation" events and sales. You should, too.

Your client-appreciation sale or closed-door event can be seasonal, tied to something in the news, or whatever. What’s nice about these promotions is that you can advertise cheaply (by writing your clients) AND they have an air of exclusivity (everyone wants to be in a secret club).

Bottom line: Wallet share is almost always easier, faster, and more profitable to maximize than market share. You have nothing to lose and more revenue to gain by trying.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Free Your Marketing

2011-08-08T09:40:00.000-05:00

While driving on I-94 east of St. Paul last week, I saw a billboard with this headline:

"Lecture-Free Dentistry"

Apparently, there's a market for people who hate being told how to care for their teeth.

Who knew?

But here's what this means for you -- ask yourself, what do your clients hate? Is it:

shipping costs?
long waits?
surprise changes?
unexpected delays?
worry?
lost items?

Now, ask yourself, which of those things would people pay money to be free of? You then have the makings of a new marketing campaign. Examples:

wait-free haircuts
voicemail-free banking
hassle-free computer setup
worry-free taxes

You don't have to save the world to succeed in business. You can simply free people from something they hate. The irony is, by doing the latter, you may achieve the former.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Email Marketing Success Story

2011-07-29T07:10:00.005-05:00

Claude is a client of mine who owns a successful tutoring service in Eden Prairie, MN.

He's building his business using a series of 5 emails I created for him to send out to prospects.

Here's a sample of Claude's results:

I signed up one customer last week for 25 hours after sending the first two emails in the series. It is a good thing that I followed up with a phone call as the emails had gone into the customer’s junk email. He was embarrassed but grateful that I took the time to call. He was a an easy acquisition. The emails did play a part in the process.

Another lady has promised to give me an answer about transferring her two daughters from a competitor. She called back two days after the first email. She is looking at 100 hours. If she signs up that is a home run.

The email templates definitely played a role in acquiring these two customers. It is so much easier to respond on a timely basis using the templates. Being a slow typist it would take me an hour to draft an equivalent email. And of course I do not have the outstanding writing skills that you do.

There are two Big Lessons here:

1) You must follow up systematically with prospects by email.

For Claude, I wrote a series of emails that he sends out, in order, to every prospect. It's the same sales message every time. He doesn't have to wing it or wonder what to write. It's done for him.

As you can see above, these emails are paying him back -- big time -- in sales he otherwise might have lost.

When it comes to send your follow-up emails, there are two ways to do it ...

Manually, as Claude does. This can work with your average sale is pretty high and it's worth the 20-30 minutes a day it takes to systematically send out emails to all prospects in your funnel.
Automatically, using an autoresponder service like Aweber (which I use and recommend). This is more technically involved, but it's the same principle: Once a prospect gives you permission to contact them, they should get a series of automatic emails to educate and convert them into clients.

Now, here's a second Big Lesson from Claude's success story ...

2) Use the phone.

Because the best email in the world won't help you if it ends up in your prospect's spam folder.

So, if you charge more than, say, $20 for what you do, and you have the prospect's phone number, call them at least once during your follow-up process.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

The Heart of Your Marketing is This

2011-07-27T12:32:00.001-05:00

The headline on this banner stopped me cold: "Discover how our clients turn $17 into $100,000"

It was hanging above a booth at a marketing conference. I was compelled to walk over, talk to the guy at the booth, and find out more.

The heart of any marketing effort is the headline.

And the goal of any headline is simple: To stop your prospects cold, so you can warm them up with the rest of your presentation.

In this case, mission accomplished.

Important: There are 4 kinds of headlines, each of which has the same mission -- to grab your prospects by the lapels and force them to pay attention ...

1) Print Headline
That's the example above. The first, big, attention-getting words on any banner (offline or online) or print advertisement (in publications or on Web pages that resemble print publications). If it doesn't attract your prospects' attention, they pass you by.

2) Email Headline
The subject line in your email. If it doesn't immediately intrigue prospects, they won't read your email.

3) Sales Letter
The first words in any printed sales letter you mail with a stamp. If your opening salutation (Dear Kevin) and first sentence don't grab readers, they won't read your sales letter.

4) Phone/Radio
The first words out of your mouth when speaking to a prospect by phone or via a radio ad. If you don't engage prospects with your first 1-2 sentences, they tune you out.

Do you see the consequences here?

If your headlines don't attract attention -- whether online or offline -- your prospects ignore you, and your efforts are wasted. Failure is costly.

Solution: Put as much time and effort into creating your headline as you do creating the rest of your ad.

You read that right -- if you spend 3 hours writing the ad itself, devote another 3 hours to researching and writing headlines.

Because, if your headlines don't work, your ads can't work.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Strangle Clients for Fun and Money

2011-07-25T07:40:00.001-05:00

According to Investopedia, a strangle is "an options strategy where the investor holds a position in both a call and put with different strike prices but with the same maturity and underlying asset."

In other words, a strangle position lets you make money whether the price goes up or down, like buying and selling the same stock.

It's a contradictory idea that savvy investors use to make money.

Now.

What contradictory ideas could you explore to make money in your business?

For example: How could you buy and sell your clients?

Well, you could "buy" clients by offering cash bounties to anyone who sends you a new client. I've done it for nearly 15 years.

And you could "sell" clients by doing joint ventures. Find a business you trust, one that offers something useful that you don't provide. Then, endorse that business to your clients in exchange for a share of revenue. I've done this for years, too.

Don't get me wrong. It is NOT okay (or legal) to "sell" your clients' personal data or "sell them out" by endorsing a piece of crap just to make a buck.

However, there's no limit to your success when you "buy" and "sell" clients effectively. It lets you enjoy both sides of the equation, just like a "strangle" in stock options.

What other contradictory ideas could you explore? What can you:

give away and charge for?
build and take down?
repair and replace?

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

3M Marketing -- Better than the 4 Ps?

2011-07-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

I've never been a big fan of the 4 Ps of the marketing mix: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Why?

I'm naturally suspicious of any marketing theory that's taught in colleges and followed by big, dumb corporations.

Instead, I follow a simpler marketing formula, tailor-made for small businesses and solopreneurs.

I call the formula The 3 Ms: Market, Message, and Mechanism.

Here they are, in order of importance ...

Market = To whom are you selling?

Your best market is the people who know you, trust you, and want your business to success -- your clients, past and present.

As copywriting legend Gary Halbert once said, if you're selling hamburgers, you don't want the best beef or the lowest prices ... you want a starving crowd. That's your ideal market.

Message = What do you say or write?

The most important parts of any marketing message are:

the headline (of the ad) or first sentence (of the email or sales letter)
the offer (what you give people in exchange for their money)

Here's how to budget your time when creating a message: If I spend 6 hours on a 3-page email promotion, about 2 hours are research, 2 hours are devising an offer and headline, and 2 hours are actual copywriting.

Mechanism = How will you deliver this marketing message to your market?

Here are example delivery mechanisms: email, direct mail, seminars, phone calls, webinars, print ads, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

When you map out on paper these 3 Ms -- Market, Message, and Mechanism -- then assign deadlines and budgets, you'll have a clear plan for selling more of your product or service. Try it.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Google AdWords Expert Tip: Which Ad is Best?

2011-07-19T11:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a Google AdWords writing question I answered from a small business owner, which could apply to your business.

Read it and reap ...

Question: Please let me know which potential Google AdWords ad is better for my business (www.xyz.com). If you feel one of these 3 won't get a high click-thru, we are open to your suggestion. Thanks!

Option 1
Retail Marketing Experts
Short on staff & too much on your
plate? Let us manage your marketing
www.xyz.com

Option 2
Want to sell to Retail?
Learn step-by-step procedures to
get your product ideas into retail
www.xyz.com

Option 3
Retail Marketing Experts
Create awareness for your products
Free quote and proposal!
www.xyz.com

Answer: After writing more than $314,054 in Google AdWords ads over the years, I can tell you the answer is: It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter what I think, or anyone thinks.

The best Google AdWords ad is the one that brings you the most net profits. That winning ad will deliver your most-profitable combination of:

clicks on your ad
visits to your web site
sales

Problem: You can NEVER know this in advance.

Solution: The market will tell you the right answer, with 100% accuracy. All you have to do is test.

First, track all the actions connected with your AdWords ad (using Google Analytics), then start testing different combinations of headlines, body copy, and domains (in that order).

Let me put some ideas where my mouth is. Here are examples of AdWords elements for you to test ...

HEADLINES
-----------------------------------
How to Sell to Retailers
How to Sell via Retail
How to Sell by Retail
You Can Sell by Retail
Retail Secrets Revealed

BODY COPY
----------------------
Got a Product to Sell by Retail?
Tap Our 20+ Yrs of Experience Now

Stop the Frustration! If You Have
a Product to Retail, We Can Help

DOMAINS
----------------------
www.XyZ.com
XyZ.com

Now, here's an example AdWords ad I predict will do better than any of your original 3 choices:

Retail Secrets Revealed
Got a Product to Sell by Retail?
Tap Our 20+ Yrs of Experience Now
XyZ.com

... but remember: You can't put predictions in the bank. Only dollars. And you get those dollars by TESTING exhaustively until you get the results you seek.

I hope this helps!

FYI, as my schedule permits, I do write Google AdWords for clients in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and across North America.

Buying one hour of my time for $195 will give you at least 20 different Google AdWords ads to test -- that's enough to produce a slew of new sales for you.

And if you don't love the results, you pay nothing.

To learn more about this Google AdWords writing service, contact me today.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to a Unique Selling Proposition

2011-07-18T07:16:00.001-05:00

Just like your first kiss, you never forget your first unique selling proposition (USP).

Mine was in June 1988, in England.

The nice lady at the youth hostel in London told me it would be easy to hitch a ride north on the M1. "Just walk out to the motorway entrance with a sign that says, 'STUDENT.' Drivers pick them up first."

Obediently, I wrote STUDENT in black magic marker on a piece of cardboard, took a cab to the M1 entrance, and ... found a line of about 10 other hitchhikers waiting for rides -- all holding signs that said "STUDENT."

"How long have you been here?" I asked the guy in front of me.

"About 20 minutes," he said. "I wager it'll take an hour for everyone ahead of us to get picked up."

"Oh, $%^@," I thought.

Then, inspiration struck.

I took out my magic marker, wrote "AMERICAN" on my sign, and held it up high.

I kid you not -- within 2 minutes, a car drove past the 10 STUDENTS and stopped right in front of me, the only AMERICAN STUDENT.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"Birmingham," I replied.

"Hop in!"

If dirty looks were knives, I would have been stabbed 50+ times by the other hitchhikers as I threw my rucksack in the boot of the car.

The lesson?

You can market like everyone else in your industry and wait for clients to pick you from a lineup of sameness ... or you can find a way to stand out. A strong USP does that for you.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

In a Category of One, Price Means Nothing

2011-07-15T06:57:00.003-05:00

Here's an ad for a golf vacation that's worth your attention ...

The headline is intriguing: "What Do You Get The Man Who Has Everything?"

The body copy? Well, it reads like a Creative Writing essay ("crumbling waves"? "briny inhales"?) ....

But the offer is hard to mess up -- a two-day stay and four rounds of golf at legendary Pebble Beach.

For Father's Day, if your dad or husband loves golf -- and money is no object -- this offer can't be beat.

Notice the price? There isn't one.

That's because ... this offer can't be beat. It's in a category of one, so price means nothing.

Here are some other "categories of one," where price means nothing:

a gallon of gas (if you've run out on the way to a job interview)
a ticket to Game 7 of the World Series (if you're a Cubs fan and the Cubs are playing)
a bottle of water (if you're stranded in the Gobi Desert)

What do all these "priceless" offers have in common? Timing.

Golf at Pebble Beach is always a nice gift for the man who loves golf, but irresistibly so if you give it on Father's Day. The great gift becomes priceless.

Timing can vault your product or service into its own category of one, where price means nothing -- and money is no object.

Now. How will you use this idea?

There's more where this came from in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Create a USP by Explaining What You Do

2011-07-13T06:11:00.006-05:00

If you sell a service, here's a shortlist of how you can set yourself apart from the competition:

Who - Who is your target client? Who are you? Whom do you donate 5% of profits to?
What - What do you do? What don't you do?
When - When are your office hours? When will you meet clients?
Where - Where is your office? Where will you meet clients?
Why - Why do you do what you do? Why did you open your business?
How - How fast/slow/expensively/cheaply/high-tech/low-tech do you do what you do?

None of these is trivial. Each has the makings of a unique selling proposition, or USP.

Your USP is the answer to the question in your prospect's mind: "Why should I give my money to you and not some other business?"

To illustrate, let's pick where from the list above.

You might not think twice about where you work. But at the Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott law firm in Chicago, their office includes a basketball court, which delights clients -- and sets their firm apart.

According an interview with managing partner, Sidney N. (Skip) Herman, in Forbes magazine:

We call the basketball court the Forum, like the one in ancient Rome where people would come to exchange ideas. We have 10-foot whiteboards, movable tables and chairs and network connectors built into the floor. We can sweep it all away at any minute to pick up a game of basketball.

Clients travel here all the way from New York and Los Angeles. They eye that basketball all day and finally someone rolls the ball that's been sitting in the corner. They smile. They take a shot. Pretty soon we're scrambling to protect the laptops and overhead projectors! Next time they come, they come without the tie.

Do clients travel from either coast to visit your office?

I'm not saying that a basketball court is a marketing panacea. But ... if your USP is strong enough (and your services good enough), you can attract clients like kids to a playground.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Creative Ignorance -- a Good Thing?

2011-07-12T06:25:00.000-05:00

You can't say a lot of good about ignorance.

Except when you're trying to solve a problem.

Example: Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone -- because he didn't know any better.

Alexander Graham Bell

Here's the story ...

In 1863, a German inventor, Hermann von Helmholtz, wrote a paper: "On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music."

Bell, reading a bad translation of the German, thought Von Helmholtz had invented a way to send vowel sounds over an electric wire.

But Von Helmholtz had only developed a theory, not a device.

So Bell pressed on -- blissfully ignorant -- with his own painstaking experiments to transmit human speech by wire.

He later said, according to Wikipedia, "I thought that Helmhotz had done it ... and that my failure was due only to my ignorance of electricity. It was a valuable blunder ... If I had been able to read German in those days, I might never have commenced my experiments!"

Now. What's considered "hard" or even "impossible" in your business?

How would you do solve that problem if you didn't know any better?

Write down the first 3-5 ideas that come to mind. And prepare to be surprised at the insights you get.

Note well: "creative ignorance" may not help you invent anything as earth-shattering as the telephone.

But, if you break an "impossible" problem into smaller parts, and attack each one as if you knew you couldn't fail ... you might just set your marketplace on its ear.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Double Your Income - Brian Tracy's Advice

2011-07-11T10:25:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite teachers of sales, marketing, and personal development ideas is Brian Tracy.

He helped me double my income -- twice -- in less than 6 months back in 2005. I've been a huge fan ever since (can you blame me?)

If you own or manage a service business and want to double your income, here's what Brian suggests on page 53 of his excellent book, Goals -

Double the amount of time that you spend face to face with qualified prospects. The most direct way to increase your sales has always been the same: Spend more time with better prospects. If you don't upgrade your skills or change anything else about what you are doing, but you double the number of minutes that you spend face to face with prospects each day, yuo will probably double your sales income.

I have found this to be absolutely true every time I've tried it.

Of course, the question on every entrepreneur's mind, including yours, is this: "I'm already super busy. How do I find time to double the number of minutes I spend with prospects?"

Here's my #1 "time rescue" tip that works every time it's tried: Stop checking email so often.

Without knowing anything about you, I would bet dinner for 2 at Red Lobster that you check email about every hour or so. Stop it.

Instead, check email only twice a day: once at mid-morning, about 10:00 or 11:00 AM, and again in the late afternoon, about 4:00 PM.

By not checking email 5-10 times a day, you'll save at least an hour, and probably two or three.

When you spend less time on useless activity, you free up more time for productivity. And among the most-productive things you can do is spend more time with qualified prospects.

Best part: Making yourself more productive -- and profitable -- this way is 100% under your control.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

You? A Business Genius?

2011-07-07T06:00:00.002-05:00

I took time over the long Fourth of July weekend to re-read parts of Will and Ariel Durant's majestic "The Renaissance," especially the section on Leonardo da Vinci.

Like many folks, I admire genius.

And I wonder: What makes one man or woman surpass the rest of us in music, art, sports, or ... business?

Here's a partial description of Leonardo's temperament that may hold a clue. According to the Durants:

In order to draw well he studied all things in nature with curiosity, patience, and care; science and art, so remarkably united in his mind, had there one origin -- detailed observation.

But indeed he was interested in everything.

The bold emphases, on "detailed observation" and "interested in everything," are mine.

Now. Two questions about you and your business:

1) What do you carefully observe each day?

2) What are you intensely interested in?

The answers will, I think, tell much about how likely you are to succeed in your business.

If you carefully observing most of what you do, with intense interest, you likely have enough internal drive to power through the obstacles that derail your competitors.

If, however, you find yourself daydreaming or wishing you were elsewhere each day, you should outsource those tasks that keep you from your passion.

Or ... is the secret to "genius" no secret at all?

Speaking for those of us who failed math and can't draw, I prefer this quote from Leonardo's rival, Michelangelo: "If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all."

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Thank-You Marketing Postcard

2011-07-05T14:31:00.000-05:00

I write and speak all the time about what I call "Thank-You Marketing."

It's a simple concept: By writing and mailing thank-you notes to prospects, clients, and vendors, you make them happy to hear from you next time. Which makes them more receptive to your marketing messages ...

... just like holding hands makes the object of your desire more receptive to a kiss.

Occasionally, I get flak from people who snark, "Mail a thank-you note? You're kidding right? That's no secret."

I never said it was a secret. But ... are you doing it?

The reply I usually get is, "I don't have time to write and mail thank-you notes."

That's no excuse at all, of course. The same people who can't find 2 minutes to personally thank a valued client or referral partner by mail, can always find 20 minutes to check Facebook, 60 minutes for leisurely lunches, and 2-4 hours for TV every night.

But I digress.

And I am all about saving time whenever possible.

So ... if you can't spare 2 minutes to write a thank-you card, surely you can find 60 seconds to write a postcard.

Here's an example: a "thank you" postcard that came in the mail today, from a spa that my wife sent me to last week ...

On the front, after thanking me for my business, they offer me a $10 credit for referring my friends. Good idea.

But they get points off for the weasel words ("Restrictions may apply") and for limiting(!) my referrals ("One per customer"). Still, this is better than nothing.

On the back, there's a nice message from Alex, my masseuse ...

Total time to write a 19-word message, address this, and affix a stamp: 60 seconds or less.

The potential ROI: Very great.

Whether you use standard thank-you notes or custom-printed postcards, the only way to know if "Thank-You Marketing" can work in your business is not to say, "I know that," but to actually try it.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

3 Kaizen Marketing Questions

2011-07-01T11:40:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day of Q3 2011.

Feeling reflective?

Here are 3 kaizen questions to help build your business in the coming quarter -- and beyond ...

1) What's working? (Do more of that.)

2) What's not? (Do less or none of that.)

3) What's next? (Plan to do more of what's working and less of what's not.)

If you're interested, I've written here and here about Kaizen Marketing.

And you'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Is "I-My-Mine-itis" Killing Your Business?

2011-06-30T15:33:00.000-05:00

I just spoke with a director of sales and marketing at a very successful high-tech firm.

He wanted me to review 5 emails that his sales force has been sending to prospects.

I asked him, "Which of these emails is producing the best results for you?"

"None," he replied.

A quick glance at his marketing emails revealed several problems, each of which I can solve.

Chief among them was a problem that undermines about 75-80% of the sales letters and marketing materials that non-copywriters create.

Unless you're an experienced copywriter, it's probably wrecking your marketing materials, too -- and perhaps killing your business.

I call it, "I-My-Mine-itis."

The symptoms are a preponderance of I, my, mine, we, our, and ours in your marketing materials.

What's the cure? YOU.

Read any good sales letter and one of the most common words is always YOU.

That's because any good copywriter understands human nature, and how natural it is to be selfish. We simply care about ourselves -- first and foremost.

And, because your prospects are human, they care more about themselves and their problems than about you and yours.

With that in mind, you can instantly improve any sales letter, email promotion, or web page by making one, simple change: Turn all mentions of I, my, mine, we, our, and ours into YOU, as much as possible.

Example: Don't write, "Since our founding in 1997, we have diligently worked to deliver a complete service solution to our telecom customers, whether they be individuals or commercial entities."

Blech.

Write this: "You will benefit from our 14 years of experience solving every telecom problem you can imagine -- and some you can't."

It took me 17 seconds to fix that. And I can do better. But do you see the difference?

If you're going to write your own sales and marketing materials, proceed with caution. Use you, you, you, whenever possible.

Because "I-My-Mine-itis" can be fatal to your marketing.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Stop Managing Your Time. Start Managing This

2011-06-28T07:27:00.000-05:00

"Time isn't money. Time is everything." - Dr. Bernie Siegel

I used to love that quote.

And I still do.

But I don't agree 100% with it anymore ...

Yes, time is precious and limited to only 24 hours a day.

And, yes, how you use your time determines your results in business and in life.

Yet ... while we all get an equal amount of hours in a day, not all hours are created equal.

Some of us are morning people and perform at our peak before noon. Others are afternoon or evening people, and have more energy later in the day.

Which means that not every hour has equal value.

So, why not take advantage of your natural tendencies and schedule important tasks for when you have the most energy? This is like riding a horse in the direction it wants to go.

If you don't know when your hours of peak performance are, find out. Carry a voice recorder (your smart phone has one) or small notebook and record those times of day when you feel energized, as well as times when you feel sluggish.

Then, schedule your most-important activities during your peak-performance times.

You will find that when you manage your energy effectively, the hours take care of themselves -- you will get more done and build your business faster as a result.

Stop managing your time. Start managing your energy.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Business Referrals: How to Dig a Well

2011-06-27T17:57:00.002-05:00

If you're an entrepreneur, you know how important referrals are.

Among the thousands of small business owners I've met over the years, referrals are usually their #1 source of new business, bringing in anywhere from 50% to 100% of revenue.

Dozens of excellent books have been written on referrals, and I've read most of them.

But I want to share a new idea (for me) on referrals and networking that I learned last week in a seminar led by Jim Bear

Here's the idea: Stop going after glasses of water (single referrals) and start digging wells (referral partnerships).

Let me explain ...

According to Bear, average networkers ask for referrals. Master networkers ask for referral partners.

What's the difference? It's huge ...

Let's say an average networker asks for one referral to a new client every week; about 4-5 every month. With a closing ratio of 50%, in a year they get 26 new clients.

That's good.

Now let's say a master networker asks for introductions to a specific referral partner every week; about 4-5 every month. With a closing ratio of 50%, they get 26 new partnerships in a year. However, each referral partner sends 4 new clients every year to the master networker, which works out to 104 new clients.

That's better.

What does a referral partnership look like?

Think of an orthodontist. How does s/he typically get new patients? Through referrals from a dentist, who sees kids before they need braces.

Dr. Cindy the dentist typically tells a parent, "Your child needs braces. I recommend you see Dr. Bob the orthodontist down the hall. I send all my patients to him." The parent thanks Dr. Cindy for the referral, and will almost certainly give their business to Dr. Bob.

Hint: You want to be in Dr. Bob's position -- with referral partners sending you qualified prospects.

Action Step: Start asking for introductions to people who see your clients before you do. All you need are a half dozen solid referral partnerships to fill your calendar with qualified prospects.

Of course, you must find a way to reciprocate, or the referral partnership falls apart.

If you can't send business back directly to your referral partner, find somebody else who can. That way, everybody wins.

Example: Dr. Bob the orthodontist can't send new patients to Dr. Cindy the dentist. But he can set up partnerships with real estate agents (whose clients need help finding a dentist), the pediatrician (who sees babies before they have teeth), and others.

All it takes is a little imagination and effort. The rewards -- in the form of never-ending revenues from referral partners -- are worth it.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Take Online Conversations Off-line (with Cookies!)

2011-06-23T10:01:00.002-05:00

Want to a build better business?

Take your online conversations off-line.

By that I mean do something tangible: meet for coffee (if local) or mail something (if distant).

Yes, Twitter, Facebook, and emails are nice, but those are relationship starters. Online "touches" have little value as relationship builders. Example: Would you tweet "Happy Birthday!" to your mom ... and leave it at that?

If you want to build a solid business relationship -- whether it's with a prospective client, vendor, or strategic partner -- do something tangible.

Here's how one person did it with me ...

I'm smart enough (I think) to know when I'm being bribed with a gift or a one-size-fits-all card.

But this is not one of those.

Because Dee took the time to include a nice note with her box of cookies. And her comments show that she did read my free Guaranteed Marketing report and the bi-weekly "Inside Marketing" newsletter that goes with it.

It may have taken her all of 10 minutes to read my materials, but that's 10 minutes more than most people spend.

Sending cookies doesn't hurt, either, but it's not necessary. And a gift may offend some people ... or get dunked in a bucket of water first, out of paranoia.

Bottom line: Be like Dee. Go all out to go off-line with your online conversations.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Cops and Marketers

2011-06-21T07:30:00.008-05:00

I got pulled over by the cops on Friday night, near my home in suburban Minneapolis.

A few minutes later, I was let go with a warning and no ticket -- despite driving with a headlight out and no proof of insurance in the car.

This pushes my lifetime record in traffic stops to 3-0 (knock on wood).

Am I some sort of fast-thinking, smooth-talking expert at talking my way out of traffic tickets?

Hardly.

As told to me by several cops (and confirmed by my own experience), there are 3-5 things you must do when you're pulled over, if you hope to get out of a traffic ticket:

1) roll down your windows
2) open the glove box
3) put your hands on the steering wheel
4) any passengers put their hands on the dashboard or in plain view
5) if it's dark, turn on the dome light

Do these 3-5 things, then watch the cop's expression in your mirrors. S/he will visibly relax or even smile as they approach your car (I've seen them do both).

The reason?

More cops are killed during traffic stops than any other police function. In a police officer's mind, a traffic stop is more deadly than a bank robbery, a domestic dispute, or even a bar brawl. Cops are trained to approach every vehicle with extreme caution. And they stress like hell over this.

So, as soon as a cop looks into your car (through the open window) and sees there's no gun in the glove box or your hands, their fear is largely removed.

Remove fear and stress from the cop's mind and you stand a better chance of being let go with just a warning, all things being equal.

Heck, it's happened to me three times now.

Which leads to the marketing lesson: If you set the stage correctly -- to remove fear and stress from your prospect's mind -- it's easier to talk your way into a sale, like talking your way out of a ticket.

How to do it? Try the following:

1) Come recommended.
There's a reason referrals are the easiest sales to make -- your prospect trusts you. Also, you're more confident. That's a winning combination.

2) Make a friend before you make a sale.
This is great advice I got from copywriting legend, Gary Bencivenga. Do what it takes to build rapport with the prospect. As Dale Carnegie would advise: smile, be genuinely interested, and talk in terms of your prospect's desires. Still stumped? Just be useful.

3) Offer a guarantee.
By offering a money-back guarantee, you remove fear and look more professional. Another winning combination. Yes, you will give refunds. But if your sales double, will you really care?

Best part: Setting the stage properly -- whether it's for a conversation with a police officer or a prospect -- is 100% within your control.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Funnel Vision Marketing: Free Toy Inside!

2011-06-20T07:11:00.030-05:00

The other dog foods at Cub Foods were categorized by:

price (cheap to expensive),
size (small to large), and
ingredients (organic to super double organic).

Hard to sort through those dozens of choices.

But this was the only dog food with a Free Toy Inside. It was in a category of one.

Very easy to sort through one choice.

This is a fine example of Funnel Vision, a concept I learned from Jay Abraham.

Funnel Vision (the opposite of tunnel vision) simply means looking outside your industry for new ideas.

Like a dog food maker looking to breakfast cereals for the "new" idea of including a free toy ... while the competition beat each other up over ingredients or price.

Because, really, there are no new ideas -- only new combinations of old ideas.

So, where will your next marketing breakthrough come from? To find it faster, look outside your industry and use Funnel Vision.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

The 6-Word Marketing Strategy

2011-06-18T06:00:00.002-05:00

Here it is ...

"Be more useful to more people."

Do you agree or disagree with this marketing strategy?

If you agree, then the tactics should reveal themselves.

If you disagree, please share your strategy -- I'd love to see it!

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

The Client Reactivation Letter: Your Key to an Untapped Market

2011-06-16T09:13:00.003-05:00

How's business?

Are you looking for new clients?

Question: Why spend 90% of your time beating the bushes, trying to convince total strangers to give you their money, when there's a rich, untapped market out there already?

This new market:

knows you,
trusts you,
has the money to pay you, and
wants you to succeed

This "new" market is ... your past clients.

Think about it. If you're any good at what you do and your personality isn't abusive, you should have no trouble re-marketing to past clients.

And what's the easiest way to re-market to past clients? A client reactivation letter.

If you write and mail a good letter (email is second best) to say, "I've missed you," "I want you back," and "Here's something special for you," it's fairly predictable that you will get a cash-flow surge in your business.

It's relatively easy to make a sale to past clients, because they've already trusted you enough to give you their money at least once.

And there's zero cost of acquisition, because you know where to find them.

As a copywriter, I write client reactivation letters for my own clients.

Here's an example below ...

Here's how my client, Kathleen Brogan, from All-Mechanical Services, described the results she got with the Client Reactivation Letter above: "I am so grateful you came into our lives. You wrote our '20-year anniversary' sales letter of appreciation -- this resulted in 50+ service calls. Nothing could be finer!!!"

How would you like 50+ phone calls from pre-sold, qualified prospects -- your past clients?

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

The Strange Case of the $18,000 Seat -- How to Augment Sales of Your Service

2011-06-14T07:48:00.000-05:00

In Principles of Marketing, Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong offer ideas on marketing a product that also apply to marketing a service.

Specifically, their Augmented Product concept explains how one seat on an airplane can cost $18,000 -- with applications you can use to increase sales of your service.

Background: Kotler and Armstrong suggest that a product be viewed on three levels:

Level 1: Core Product. What intangible benefit(s) does your product offer? Example: Customers who buy a car are really buying transportation and convenience.

Level 2 Actual Product. This is the physical item. With the car, it is the vehicle that you buy and drive home.

Level 3: Augmented Product. What extra, intangible benefits can you offer to add value? Examples include outstanding service, worry-free guarantees, speedy delivery, bonus goods, etc.

With these three levels in mind, take a look at the service you sell.

How can you create an Augmented Version at a higher price, by adding extras with a high perceived value?

For ideas, take a look at this article, describing the First Class service on Emirates Airlines.

Here's one passenger's description of what you get with a first-class ticket from New York to Dubai ...

Checking In: "When you buy a first-class ticket Emirates sends a town car, and I get picked up around 8 p.m. for the 11 p.m. flight from JFK. The Emirates porters take your bags right from the car, wait for you to check in, and then they walk you to security, where there’s never a line. There’s a special lounge from which first and business passengers can board the plane directly, so there are very few people -- it’s empty."

Pre-Flight: "The Emirates lounge at JFK is ridiculous -- it’s big, clean, everyone’s friendly. My first flight, I took pictures of the bathroom to send to my family. And there’s great food. I wait until I get there to eat dinner. In Dubai there’s a separate first-class lounge that’s even nicer."

Not a Seat -- a Suite: "I boarded, got to my suite, and the bed, which goes completely flat, is big! The suite has noise-canceling headphones and a minibar with water and Diet Coke. I changed into the pajamas they give you and closed myself off -- it’s like being in your own bedroom."

The Amenities: "I always take the amenity kit because I like the little jackknife brush comb, and the pajamas -- brown sweatpants and a sweatshirt -- are great workout clothes."

What do those extras add up to?

A $16,000 difference.

Emirates’ round-trip fares from JFK to Dubai are around $2,000 for economy ... and $18,000 for first class.

How can you augment your service? Start thinking -- and adding -- today.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Sales Scripts: A Proven Shortcut for People Who Hate to Sell

2011-06-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

Want to turn more prospects into clients for your business?

Start selling better. And a simple way to do so is to script your sales conversations.

By scripting, I mean using proven responses to tough objections, like: "I can't afford it," or "I want to think about it."

At this point, you may be rolling your eyes ...

"I don't want to read from a script and sound like a telemarketer," you think. Or, "I have to be flexible with every caller," or "My business is different."

Any objections to sales scripts are nonsense. Because you're already using them -- right now.

Anytime a prospect asks you, "How much does it cost?" or "What's your guarantee?" and you reply with an answer you've used before, that's a sales script.

Why keep winging it by failing to plan your answers? There's no valid reason not to use a proven sales script, whether it's on the phone with a prospect or in person.

The good news is, if you’ve ever made a sale and can write down what you said, you have the basis for a million-dollar book of scripts. It all starts when you "can and clone" that first collection of winning words.

And if you're worried about sounding stiff, like a bad telemarketer, here's a simple solution: practice your scripts, just like an actor.

Here's an example from my own experience ...

I was speaking to a prospect for my resume service years ago who sounded ready to buy ... until he said: "I want to think about it."

I had heard that before. You, too?

But, because I had heard that one -- and answered it -- before, I looked down at my script and replied: "Two heads are better than one. Why don't we think about it right now?"

It turned out that he was concerned about price. I told him about my payment plans and money-back guarantee. He was sold, right there on the phone, and gave me his credit card number.

Now. I guarantee you he would have never called me back after "thinking about it." He would have been poorly served by choosing one of my inferior competitors or trying to fix his problem alone. And I would have been out one sale.

Sales scripts can pay you back. Big time.

Here's a note I got yesterday from a client I worked with to develop a sales script:

"Thanks to your outstanding sales coaching I snagged a reluctant Angie's List member. When I mentioned we do not charge diagnostic fees and just get to work, she was amazed. She then had ammo to ask competitors and found out our originally higher price was a real bargain ... even when compared to service providers within a mile of her house!"

To create your own sales scripts, start writing down anything you've ever said to a prospect that closed a sale.

Then, keep adding to your scripts as you develop new answers to tough questions. Practice your answers before making a sales call or whenever you have free time.

Remember: You're already using scripts when talking to prospects by phone or in person, or when you're networking and giving an elevator pitch. So you might as well use a proven script.

Write down and practice the words that sell, and you'll have a script for success in your business.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

The 3 Most Important Email Marketing Tips I've Learned in 17 Years

2011-06-08T10:30:00.010-05:00

Today, I want to share with you the 3 most-important things I've learned about writing effective email promotions since I began marketing by email back in 1994 ...

1) The SUBJECT is most important

If the subject of your email is not immediately intriguing, your email won't get opened and your efforts are wasted.

Tip: I usually start an email subject with RE: so it appears to be a reply to something the recipient sent.

Your email is never the only one in somebody's in-box; there are usually dozens more competing for attention. Only a few subjects begin with RE: so if yours is among them, your email stands out.

And I never capitalize every word -- friends don't write email subjects like this: "See You At The Twins Game Sunday!"

Finally, work hard to pique curiosity. The following subjects all had open rates above 25% for me:

RE: Thank you!
RE: Friday's unemployment news explained
RE: job search help

2) The FROM line is nearly as important

By "from" I mean ... who is the email from?

If your "from" looks personal and non-commercial, your email has a better chance of being opened than a "from" from a business.

Prove it for yourself -- which of the following emails would you be more likely to open?

FROM: Kevin
FROM: MLM Success International

Do what it takes to configure your email so it appears to be from a real person and not a faceless corporation.

3) Reference something in the NEWS

Ideally, the content in your email should either offer news readers can use ("Here's what the latest jobless figures mean for you") or reference a breaking news story ("Were you affected by those tornadoes on Sunday?").

The more timely your news reference, the higher your readership and the better your response will be.

Tip: Certain news stories occur with regularity, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly job reports. Write your email promotion to tie into an event you know is coming up, then send it that same day.

Another Tip: Anyone clicking through to visit your sales page ought to get value from simply viewing that web page, whether they buy or not. So, try to educate or share your expertise while you sell.

The best-performing emails I've created in the last 17 years -- in terms of open rates, click-throughs, and sales -- had all three of the above: an intriguing SUBJECT, personal-looking FROM, and a NEWS angle.

Mini Case Study: An email promotion with the SUBJECT "RE: LinkedIn" that was FROM "Kevin" got a 30% open rate among 7,472 recipients, with a 47% click-through rate to the sales page.

Of those 1048 unique clicks, 4.7% purchased a $49 product.

The NEWS angle? How people are using LinkedIn to find jobs now, despite the current unemployment rate.

I hope you find these 3 tips useful in your email marketing!

Of course, writing winning emails is something I do nearly every day. If you'd like me to create a money-making promotion for you, please look at my catalog of services.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Next Time, Try Human. (Or: Attack of the Killer Buzzwords)

2011-06-07T12:01:00.008-05:00

There's a well-known company that I'm thinking about hiring for a project.

I visited their web site.

These are the first words I saw:

Many of the most successful performance marketing programs utilize a variety of extension strategies and cross-platform initiatives to reach long- and short-range targets.

Do you have any idea what they do, make, or sell?

Neither did I, after the first, second ... or third reading (and I have 1.75 college degrees. Sheesh).

Luckily, I am determined to talk to somebody at this company, at least to find out if there's a human being on the inside.

Now. Your web site may not be this badly marred by buzzwords ... but you never know.

In fact, you yourself really can't know for certainty if you're speaking the language of your prospects. Because you are not your prospects.

So, try this: Find 5 people. Not friends or family -- find 5 new acquaintances.

Offer each person a $5 Starbucks gift card if they sit down in front of their computer, visit your web site, and answer these 3 questions:

1) What does this company do?
2) At first glance, do they look trustworthy? Why or why not?
3) Please try to order something, right up to submitting payment. What, if any, problems or questions did you have?
*) Bonus question: Visit this webs site on your mobile phone browser. What's your first impression?

I'm sure you could add to the list. Whatever questions you ask, your goal is simple: Find out if your web site is written in the language your prospects speak and understand.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Increase Revenues with Rescued Time

2011-06-06T07:45:00.003-05:00

Here's a simple way to grow your business that costs $0 and never fails to work.

It's this: Find out where your money is coming from, and do more of that.

I told you it was simple. Yet, it's also incredibly powerful.

And here's how it works ...

First, answer this question: What 3 things do you do that cause clients to buy from you?

Here are my top 3 sources of copywriting revenue:

referrals (38%)
networking (29%)
online promotions (blog, YouTube, articles, etc. 27%)

Next, track your time for a week, from the minute you wake up until you quit work at night. How do you spend every minute of every working day? This is your Work Diary.

You can keep your Work Diary in an Excel spreadsheet, a text file in your computer, or a little notebook in your back pocket.

Then, at the end of the week, analyze your Work Diary.

How many hours per week did you spend on each of your top 3 revenue-producing activities? How many hours on non-revenue producing activities, like running errands, checking email for the 5th time, checking ESPN.com, etc.?

The numbers don't lie. I PROMISE you this exercise will deliver surprises and insights galore.

Example: In my case, even though referrals bring in 40% of my revenues, I found I had spent only 55 minutes last week talking to my clients and business partners to stimulate referrals. Not good.

Next, plan the week ahead and schedule twice as much time for your top 3 revenue-producing activities as you spent on them the previous week.

Where can you find the time? Take a look at your Work Diary again and "rescue" time from non-revenue producing activities, like answering email, cleaning your desk, etc.

This idea is so simple it's easy to dismiss as ... too simple.

But dismiss it at your peril. Because I've used it to double revenues for three businesses, including one 6-month span when I quadrupled revenues for one business.

When you see on paper that, "Wow! I spent 16 hours last week responding to email!?" it's very easy to then think, "Hey, I can rescue 5 hours this week for more networking by spending less time on email each day."

A few daily tweaks can add up to bigger weekly paychecks for you, when you do more of what pays and less of what doesn't.

Try it.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Heroic Service: The Ultimate Differentiator

2011-06-01T07:01:00.002-05:00

In business, you must differentiate or die.

To succeed, your product or service must stand out in a crowded marketplace. Otherwise, you go unnoticed and starve.

How do some of the most successful companies differentiate?

Think of Zappos. They sell a commodity -- shoes. So it's not their product that's special. And their prices aren't low -- you'd pay less at Wal-Mart.

What differentiates Zappos? The same thing that differentiates Nordstrom, The Ritz Carlton, L.L. Bean, and many other successful companies -- service.

Specifically, heroic service that prompts repeat and referral sales.

Few people talk about the shoes from Zappos or the ties at Nordstrom. But everyone talks about the service.

Small business example: my printer -- Jim Beckman, at Full Throttle Print & Imaging in Chanhassen, MN -- got a panicky call for an order of business cards at 7:00 on a Friday night ... and he delivered it to the client's home the next morning, Saturday.

That's heroic service. And it gets people talking.

Client and others -- like me -- have told that story again and again, like the stories of the FedEx employee who chartered a plane to deliver a wedding dress, or the Nordstrom employee who refunded a set of snow tires (which Nordstrom doesn't sell).

If you must differentiate or die, and you don't have the best products/services or the lowest prices, that leaves service at the one area where you can gain a competitive edge.

You can start today, too, by delivering service that delights and surprises clients.

Service may be the fastest and most profitable way for you to differentiate. It sure beats the alternative.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

3 Ways to Get New Ideas for Your Blog (#blogging)

2011-05-31T07:30:00.000-05:00

You've been told that you ought to blog. It's good for your brain and your business.

Maybe you've decided that you want to blog. But you just can't find the time.

Problem solved.

Here are 3 ways to create new blog posts, faster and more easily, starting today ...

1) Check your email
What questions do your clients and prospects ask over and over? Compile your best answers into a blog post. Best part: You've already written a bunch of them, probably. All you need do is search your out-box.

2) Read Amazon
Look at the top 3-5 books in your industry on Amazon.com. What are people saying in the reviews they write about those books? Jot down your opinions about book reviews on Amazon and you can quickly create a bog post.

3) Comment on blogs
Guess what? This blog post started out as a comment I made on somebody else's blog. When you re-purpose your blog comments this way, you will never lack for blog postings of your own.

More business-building ideas like these are in my free Special Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Know Your Numbers - 3 Vital Questions About Your Business

2011-05-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

You can stump most business owners by asking them the following 3 questions:

What is your total lifetime client value (LCV)?
What are your top 3 sources of business?
Which 5 clients send you the most referrals?

If you don't know off the top of your head, you should be able to find the answers within 15 minutes in QuickBooks and/or your client database. Otherwise, you don't really have a business -- you have a hobby.

Example: if you don't know how much a client is worth to you over their buying lifetime (LCV), how can you know how much to spend when "buying" new clients with your marketing? You can't know. So you will fly blind ... and probably crash, eventually.

When you know your numbers, you can do more of what works and less of what doesn't.

That's a sure recipe for success.

Know your numbers.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Charge More and Dominate Your Market

2011-05-27T10:00:00.004-05:00

You can't be all things to all clients.

To excel, your business should focus on delivering one of 3 values: price, product or service.

That's according to Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema in their classic book, "The Discipline of Market Leaders." Let's look at each of their options for dominating your market ...

1) Offer the best price (also known as total cost)

Think Wal*Mart and their low prices. Then stop thinking. Because you don't want to go here.

If your biggest edge is your low price, someone can -- and will -- come along to offer your clients a lower one. And they will cease to be your clients. Don't compete on price.

2) Offer the best products/services
Think Nike, 3M, and Apple. They lead the way with breakthrough products. You could compete here, but it could take years and cost millions of dollars to get known as the most innovative in your market.

3) Offer the best service (also known as solution)
Think Nordstrom, Zappos, and Ritz-Carlton. They lead the way in letting you have it your way. You can compete here, starting today. And you'll probably outshine your competition before dinner tomorrow if you simply do a few things that cost nothing but a few minutes of time (no MBA needed).

Here are 5 simple ways to get closer to your clients and offer better service:

return an email with a phone call
write and mail 2 thank-you notes today
enclose a personal note of thanks with each shipment
send a helpful article or blog posting to 5 clients today
call your top 5 clients, thank them for their business, and ask what they need help with this week

Bonus: When you serve more you can charge more without having to innovate more -- Nordstrom, Zappos, and Ritz-Carlton are NOT low price leaders, nor do they innovate in anything much beyond service.

You could -- and should -- read all 224 pages of "The Discipline of Market Leaders," but here's a shortcut summary: serve your clients better than they expected or hoped, and you can start dominating your market. Today.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Get More New Clients by Email -- 420% Better Results

2011-05-26T10:15:00.006-05:00

This post could also be titled, "Anatomy of a Home Run," because that's how my client Earl described it when I spoke to him this morning.

Here's the story of how you can get more clients with your next email promotion, by doing just a few things differently ...

Background: Earl runs a travel agency in suburban Minneapolis. I won't use his full name here because I don't want all his competitors knocking off this success story. But you can still profit from it.

Earl's been in business for 16 years and, prior to sending out the email promotion I wrote for him, told me he was "lucky to get 3 to 5 responses" from his emails, sent to future brides to promote his travel agency as a resource for honeymoon travel and destination weddings.

He hired me to write an email promotion to a list of 2,291 brides, which he had emailed twice already ... with 0 response. So I wasn't exactly starting out with the odds in my favor.

(SIDEBAR: In my experience writing copy since 1998 -- backed up by the teachings of Gary Halbert, Clayton Makepeace, and my other mentors -- the most important elements of any marketing promotion are, in order:

the list
the headline of your ad/email/sales letter
the offer you're making -- what you're giving them in exchange for their money
your sales copy

Before I write one word of sales copy, I want to get the best "list" of prospects. The better, hotter, and more qualified the list, the better your promotion will do. END SIDEBAR)

Below is a partial screen capture of the email I wrote for Earl ...

Before I tell you about the 420% improvement, you should know the most important elements and how I came up with them ...

Three of the most important elements of this winning email are:

The subject line. Notice the "FW:" to start the subject. This makes the email appear as if it was forwarded to the recipient by a friend. How many commercial emails are forwarded to you? Approximately none. And how many commercial emails you do you open if you they are commercial emails? Approximately none. So I stacked the odds in my favor right away with this friendly looking subject line ...
The salutation. I didn't have the ability to do a mail merge and address each recipient by name, so I did the next best thing. Starting off with "Hi," is a non-threatening opening that disarms the reader. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. This time, it worked ...
It speaks in the reader's language. As a 45-year-old man, I am the exact opposite of a young bride-to-be. I have no idea how those women think or talk. Fortunately, the answers are out there, revealed by RESEARCH. To get the tone of this email just right, I read about a half dozen bridal blogs and speed-read 3 books on weddings. I confess that I should have done about twice that amount of research -- and usually do -- but in this case, I knew I could greatly improve on the results of Earl's original emails.

There are MORE elements than these 3, obviously, including:

the offer I created (with a deadline and free premiums for responding)
the day and time the email was sent
news elements inserted into the email, to make it timely (important!!)
and the P.S. that I included at the end

So ... how did this do?

Here's what Earl said: "As of 3pm today, had 3 phone calls and 23 email requests for assistance from 2,291 emails sent for a 1.1% response rate. Far better response than we have ever had before. In recent years, lucky to get 3 to 5 responses. Great work!"

When you do the math, going from 5 responses to 26 is a 420% improvement on this email marketing promotion. Not bad.

Update: Earl ended up with 30 total responses to this email, for a 500% improvement. And one new client purchased a honeymoon to Tahiti. Imagine, selling a trip to Tahiti from an email. Not bad!

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Create Your Own Category of One

2011-05-24T08:07:00.002-05:00

"Experiences are as distinct from services as services are from goods." - Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage.

Companies that deliver experiences have relatively little competition and relatively big profits.

Think: Disney, Apple Store, Victoria's Secret, Zappos, Virgin Airways.

Look at your business. Every part, from accounts payable to the web site.

Now, divide the parts into three groups: goods, services, experiences.

How many are in each?

How many parts can you move from the lower groups -- goods and services -- to the top -- experiences?

Examples:

Is your voice mail greeting "name, rank, and serial number" -- a dry service -- or something worth hearing on its own -- an experience?
Are your invoices as dull as an IRS tax form, or do they THANK clients in a fun way and offer an incentive for referrals?
Does your business card look like a glorified tombstone, or like one of these?

You get the idea.

When you deliver experiences to clients, you create your own category of one, where there is no competition.

"You do not merely want to be the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do" - Jerry Garcia

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Right Thinking, Right Results, Right Now

2011-05-23T20:41:00.001-05:00

Back in the 1990s, one of my more-obscure marketing heroes, Chris Newton of The Results Corporation in Australia, published "The Do-It-Yourself Advertising Newsletter."

Here's part of an article Newton wrote in August 1986, with a lesson you can use today in your small business ...

Not so long back, I received a call from a small business person. He was a photographer. He was crying at the state of the economy, the lack of clients, the fact that those who DO come (particularly from a recent prize promotion) always want the cheapest portrait job, or just come to get their freebie, and so on ...

Two weeks later, I received another phone call, from another photographer ... I asked him how business was.

"Fantastic!" was his reply. He had a steady stream of good customers, and was looking to expand. I then pressed him about the [same] promotion ... was it a failure? Did people come in for their freebie, and then disappear?

"No way!" as his answer. He went on to tell me hwo he sits people down, LISTENS to their needs, shows them what might be, and confidently "helps them buy" magnificently framed portraits, of course, at higher prices.

Whereas the first photographer had a defeatest ATTITUDE, the second believed he'd win. And he did. His average sale was moer than double that of the first guy, selling the same "product." It's worth thinking about, isn't it?

Now. When a prospect visits your business -- in person or online -- what's your attitude?

Is it, "Oh, brother, I have to try to SELL this guy" ...

Or, "Oh, good, I get to HELP this guy buy."

Idea to ponder: You will almost always struggle to find the right motivation and "closing" phrases if you feel you HAVE TO SELL ...

... but it's far easier to produce a win-win outcome for all concerned when you GET TO HELP.

And it all starts in your head, not in the economy or the prospect's wallet.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

The Strange Case of the Amazon Focus Group

2011-05-17T15:11:00.002-05:00

You may know Amazon as "Earth's Biggest Bookstore." And it is.

But it's more than that. It's also earth's biggest focus group, with about 100,000,000 members.

Let me explain ...

What does Amazon sell? Books.

And those books all have reviews, written by people who bought and read the books.

This is a de facto focus group of people who have given their opinions after spending money to learn about a topic. Contrast this with most focus groups, made up of people who wanted to make $50 to spend a Saturday afternoon in a room.

Do you see how much more valid and valuable opinions from Amazon book reviews can be?

Now. How can you use this for your business?

No matter what you sell -- electrical services, real estate, insurance -- there's a book about it. All you need do is visit Amazon, find books about your industry that your prospects are reading, and read the reviews of those books.

You can use book reviews many ways, but here are two ...

1) Learn your what prospects want

A review on Amazon may say, "This book helped me get my waistline down 29 inches, and I found a wife 30 days later."

If you're a personal trainer or run a health club, you've just learned something important. You may think you're selling weight loss, but what at least some of your prospects want is to be attractive to the opposite sex. Now you can include sex appeal in your marketing.

2) Learn what your prospects don't want

Negative reviews are helpful, too. Someone may write, "This book was full of outdated advice -- I need to create a Facebook fan page for my business and it included nothing about that."

If you're a social media marketing expert, you've just learned that your prospects don't want old information. Now you can emphasize your up-to-the-minute expertise in your marketing.

There are more ways to benefit, but you get the idea.

Amazon book reviews are your market talking to you.

Are you listening?

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

How to Double Your Sales and Profits by Hitting "Singles"

2011-05-17T06:00:00.003-05:00

Can you really double your profits without doubling your sales?

Yes. And it's very simple.

All you need do is increase 4 key metrics by 33% and you instantly double your profits.

What would a raise in pay like that mean for you? Especially if you do it without spending one penny more on advertising than you do now?

Here's what to do ...

Instead of "swinging for the fences" -- spending $1,000 on a "sure fire" press release, trying to get on Oprah, etc. ...

... just swing for singles, by going for an easily "doable" 33% boost in each of 4 areas.

Specifically, you can increase:

1. the response rate to your marketing ...
2. the number of referrals you get ...
3. the size of your customer orders ...
4. the number of times each customer orders ...

How much more profit will compounding those 4 increases of 33% give you?

Take a look at the chart below ...

After using this "33% Solution" for just 12 months, you can generate 33% more customers ...

The size of your customer orders will increase 33% ...

Your customers will buy 33% more often from you, and ...

Your total profits will more than DOUBLE -- increasing by about 106% -- through the magic of this compound effect ...

... all without spending one penny more on advertising than you do now.

The best part? You can make these little improvements rather easily, if you put your mind to it.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

What's The Easiest Place to Find Clients?

2011-05-13T20:55:00.003-05:00

Are you ignoring the easiest place on earth to find clients?

You are if you're ignoring your current clients.

Because that's where the high-profit repeat and referral sales are.

This blog posting from Entrepreneur gets it mostly right ...

This week I received a great marketing lesson in the form of a hand-written thank you card from my insurance agent. The card was thoughtful and sincere enough, but the timing could have been a lot better. The card was sent to beg me to come back in response to my decision to switch to another insurance provider.

At that point in our business relationship, the agent seemed willing to do almost anything to earn back my business. If only the agent had been willing to offer the same level of service in order to insure my continued patronage during my previous two years as a customer.

It can be easy for business owners to ignore their existing customers. After all, you've already won them, right? Not necessarily. Even current customers can become prospects again because the minute they complete a purchase, you'll want to lasso another.

Of course, keeping up a constant stream of marketing communications can be daunting. But if the enticement of boosting sales isn't enough, it should be some comfort to know that getting shoppers to come back is almost always an easier -- and cheaper -- proposition.

My only quibble with the rest of the story is that the suggestions for keeping in touch with current clients were either vague ("Send up-sell and cross-sell promotions to recent customers, and track the interactions so you can follow up with anyone who shows interest") ... or too technical ("Install ad retargeting on your website").

There's a simpler, faster, proven way to make clients smile, buy, and refer more: the humble thank-you note.

It couldn't be easier than this: write, sign, and mail a thank-you note to every client after every sale or referral.

What's that? You don't have time to mail a thank-you note?

Make time ... just as you do to pay the mortgage, cut the lawn, or brush your teeth.

Thanking your clients properly is a necessity, like mortgage payments, lawn maintenance, or dental hygiene.

The best part? It's ridiculously easy to impress clients by thanking them by mail. Here's proof: Name the last 3 businesses that mailed you a thank-you note.

Okay, how about two?

One?

I thought so.

Mail a thank-you note to the next client who spends more than $1 with you. They'll return the favor with repeat and referral sales. And you'll thank me later.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

The Client Cloning Formula

2011-05-04T15:14:00.004-05:00

Let me pull back the curtain and share with you a business-building concept that, up until now, I have only given to paying clients.

I call it The Client Cloning FormulaTM, and it's the basis for my whole company, Client Cloning Systems.

It's a mathematical answer to this vexing question: How do you get more clients like your best clients?

The formula is this: EE x S + R + R = Cloned Clients

Now, let me explain the four parts to The Client Cloning Formula ...

1) EE x S

This stands for "Expectations Exceeded, multiplied by Speed."

What does it mean?

It's not enough to meet your clients' expectations for performance or, heaven forbid, fail to meet them. Today, with worldwide competition only a few clicks away on Google, and with client reviews about your business popping up every day on Yelp, Twitter, Angie's List, and other sites, you must exceed expectations if you hope to stay in business for more than 6 months.

Not only that, but you have to exceed expectations as fast as possible. Speed thrills -- and it pays you back, in the form of delighted clients who tell their friends.

That's why speed is, in military terms, a force multiplier -- it increases the level of happiness you deliver for clients several times over.

2) EE x S + R

This first letter R stands for "Re-sales."

What does it mean?

It's not enough to sell to clients one time. Anyone can do that -- just offer a 99% off coupon and voila! You've made a sale. But that's no way to build a business.

All things equal, you will rarely make a ton of net profit on the first sale, once you figure in acquisition costs -- the time and money you spent to get the prospect in the door and turn them into a client.

The real money is in the second, third, and subsequent sales. So plan accordingly.

Note: if you can upsell the client on their first purchase ("Would you like fries with that?") so much the better.

3) EE x S + R + R

This second letter R stands for "Referrals."

Yes, it's nice to exceed expectations fast for clients, and resell them, but you're still under-performing if your clients aren't serving as a volunteer sales force -- and referring more new clients to you.

That's why it's critical to systematically ask for and reward referrals.

You can never, ever, ever, ever expect referrals to come in naturally, on their own. That's like expecting your kids to cut the grass on their own. Ha! Good luck with that.

Instead, you should regularly ask for referrals, then reward this behavior with gifts, cash, discounts, or something else that's appropriate and tangible -- just like getting your kids to cut the grass.

4) EE x S + R + R = Cloned Clients

Cloned Clients are those clients who buy again and refer others. They are the most profitable kind, the kind you want more of and would clone, if you could.

So there you have it, The Client Cloning FormulaTM -- a simple equation to help you grow your business faster and more profitably, with minimal effort: EE x S + R + R = Cloned Clients

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

Dan Kennedy - Extreme Productivity Secrets - SuperConference 2011 #gkicsc11

2011-04-30T17:15:00.002-05:00

Here are more great ideas from Dan Kennedy at the 2011 SuperConference in Chicago, building on his ideas on how to turn adversity into opportunity and how to transform your business with Kennedy-style marketing and thinking ...

Dan Kennedy on Extreme Productivity

Huge growth is in business is extremely rare. To produce extreme results requires extreme behavior. Like expecting to lose weight by sprinkling a magic powder on your food, don’t expect to make the leap to great productivity and revenue with ease. Killing time is a very apt expression.

1) Ambition

Why are people unproductive? Three reasons:

· 10% is from bad methodology

· 20% is from insufficient pressure

· 70% is from insufficient motivation

Yet, we discuss poor productivity as a time management problem; it is not. Low productivity is mostly an ambition problem – you don’t have enough strong reasons to do what’s necessary.

If your life depended on your behavior, you would behave better. Pretend your child would lose a finger if you didn’t perform at peak efficiency -- you will get stuff done. Goal: Find the right motivation for you.

Case study in ambition: for years, Harvey Firestone never saw a man without money without turning over in his mind how he could transfer some of that money into his corporate stock.

Approach extreme productivity with the same ambition: Be on the hunt every day for ways to do be more productive.

2) Awareness

Where does the time go? You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Measure time daily in Excel or something else, then analyze at the end of the week. This can deliver an instant breakthrough.

· Think: Know thyself. Ask, “How can I extract the highest and best value from myself right now?” Be very aware of what goal you’re trying to achieve, what activity you’re engaged in, and how you’re doing it – are these all congruent? Be aware of what you’re permitting to happen to your time. (Also think of the Tom Hopkins quote: I must do the most productive thing right now.)

· Think: What are the enemies and obstacles of your ambition? Kill them. You must be willing to defend your time aggressively; be intolerant of anything that screws up your productivity, including your own (in)actions.

3) Specific Decisions

Be aware of and exercise control over these elements of daily activities:

· Who: People who work under or with you should be there to maximize your productivity; there is no neutral position

· What, When, Where, How

4) Action -- Key Requirements:

· Immediate: The start matters most. It’s better to get started in the wrong direction than to never start; you can fix the direction more easily than inaction. The best time to plant an oak tree was 25 years ago; the next best time is right now. There is enormous power in starting.

· Visible: it puts you on the spot and conveys decisions to others when your action is visible to others.

· Simultaneous, not sequential: You’ve been conditioned that everything ought to be Step 1, Step 2, etc. Perpetual, controlled chaos is how most high-achieving, high earners live. You never reach the perfect time for things to happen in order, so start doing the right things right away. Most people never complete all the steps anyway. When Schwarzenegger came to America he invested in real estate as soon as he came to America, even though he was essentially homeless; if he had waited, he would not be wealthy now.

· Massive: Put a lot of stuff in motion, with urgency.

· Urgent: The quickest way to create a product is to sell it with a shipping date before it’s made. Also, think of how fast a football team can move the ball during the 2:00 drill; why not play the 2:00 drill every time?

· Congruent: Dress, talk, act like what you want to achieve

· Synergistic: How can you make the same piece of work, relationship, etc. do more than one thing? How many benefits can you get from each action?

5) Common Drains on Productivity:
Doing the wrong work entirely, not based on the facts of where the money actually comes from; doing trivial, worthless work. Example: You may think you need a better ad, but if your refund rate is 22%, you need to focus on fixing the product.

Lost minutes adding up to lost weeks. Example: 10 minutes a day stopping at Starbucks x 300 working days a year = 3,000 minutes … 50 hours … more than one full working week LOST every year.

Confusing the business with the deliverables. The business you run is “the marketing of ____.” Leverage comes when you focus on driving people through the door – the marketing -- not on what happens when people get in the door, i.e., the deliverables.

Failure Environments. Don’t put yourself in a place where you have to battle against bad influence to get good things done. Example: if you’re on a diet and can’t resist eating donuts, don’t go where donuts are. Your time-draining temptation may be the iPhone, email, whatever. Put yourself in a a success environment – a place that’s conducive to what you want to accomplish.

Poor, undisciplined work habits. Don’t get on the phone or go to a meeting unprepared. Woody Allen was only partially right about just showing up. Example: 14 financial planners have met with Dan trying to manage his money, but only one has shown up prepared. In all but two instances, they scheduled appointments in noisy restaurants/public places they did not control; only one person had Googled to learn about him.

· Starting from scratch and a blank slate is bad. The less historical knowledge you have, the harder and slower your present work is. Use past work as starting points for future work.

· Disrupted rhythm is bad. Starting and stopping kills productivity. Example: Dan has never seen a horse race stop in the middle; start, go, finish.

6) Highly Productive Actions to Take:

· If you’re going to work, make every minute as productive as possible. Kill a sky full of birds with one stone. Example: When hired to give a speech, what will you do before, during, after the speech? Can you invite guests to attend, see you, and be suitably impressed to book you later, for example?

· Use tight time allotments, to impose discipline on others and yourself. Leave no time for yourself or others to waste.

· Script everything – plan every minute and every hour of every day, as if you were shooting a big-budget movie and every minute cost big bucks. Because it does.

More ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.

Dan Kennedy - How Adversity Leads to Opportunity #gkicsc11

2011-04-29T19:20:00.002-05:00

Here are more great ideas from Dan Kennedy's talk today, building on his ideas from yesterday at the 2011 SuperConference in Chicago ...

How Adversity Can Lead to Opportunity

1) By forcing you to do something you otherwise would not do

Example: A guy running chain of tanning booths saw that his video rental shops were dying and decided to put tanning booths in.
Example: Joan Rivers started her jewelry business on QVC because she couldn’t get a job and needed to make money; it was a Plan B invented out of adversity.
Example: Disney’s original deal with ABC was driven when they were out of money just before opening of Disney World and signed 5-year deal; it ended up being a great deal because ABC advertised Disney every Sunday night.

"Plan B ending up better than Plan A" is common in business, so Plan B is not to be feared. In fact, you should always ask what your Plan B will be -- it’s a good creative question.

2) It can build a new foundation

Example: the book, “What a Way to Make a Living: the Lyman Wood Story” about a guy who started a mail order religion out of necessity. He had been successful in mail order, selling lucky rabbit’s feet via print ads; they made big claims for the rabbit’s feet re: getting good luck, and the U.S. Postal Inspectors showed up to investigate the claims. Because there was no regulation for religion (then or now) they took out the rabbit’s feet, kept the incantations and sold them as religious tracts, which skirted the law successfully. This was a creative, profitable solution.
Another story: Tupperware was dying with ugly products and facing adversity. It drove them to go somewhere that was at least a decade behind the U.S. culturally –South America and Asia -- where they prospered with that they had and used the money to come back here and create better products; to this day, they do 70% of revenue overseas. Without this thinking, Tupperware would be out of business now.

3) It can create a million-dollar story
The stories of your pain are incredibly valuable, because the one thing all people have in common is adversity. So if you want to connect with people, a story of adversity has widespread, valuable appeal – in the millions.

The first Chicken Soup book was rejected by 33 publishers and 17 agents. The adversity that Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield overcame through all the rejection and the perseverance has helped them win credibility with authors and other people they sold other products to.
Example: the founders of Amway used to tell about their 15+ failed businesses as a way to bond with audiences and build credibility.
Almost every time something horrible happens, you can use the story later to profit. Think: “This is going to a great story.”

4) You can capitalize on others’ misfortunes, tragedies, and failures
When other people screw up, there is opportunity for you.

Example: Sellers of gold thrive in a recession.
Example: Joe Costman realized would hunt for under-marketed products and find new channels of distribution. His biggest success was The Ant Farm, which had been sold via school supply catalogs as a teaching aid. He sold it via print ads directly to kids all over America and made millions. Moral: Look at your own business this way, for untapped channels of distribution.

More ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.

Dan Kennedy Opening Remarks SuperConference 2011 #gkicsc11

2011-04-28T21:29:00.003-05:00

That's Dan Kennedy and me at Day 1 of the 2011 SuperConference in Chicago.

(If you're wondering, that camera setting for this photo was Make Kevin's Face Look Like a Skull.)

Dan is one of the two biggest influences in my business life, along with Jay Abraham.

It may help to think of Jay as "Mr. B-52" and Dan as "Mr. Boots on the Ground" -- their approaches complement each other perfectly.

Anyway, I'm in town for Dan's annual SuperConference, where direct-marketing practitioners come to sharpen their skills.

I'll be sharing my notes and photos over the coming days, starting with today's opening remarks by Dan about how to market the Glazer-Kennedy way.

Dan's ideas were brilliant. Read them and reap ...

Here are the key transformations that happen to Kennedy students who pay attention and take action.

They:

Move from being doer of the thing to marketer of the thing. The doing of the thing is the least valuable part of any business and the easiest to replace, in most cases. Example: Houdini was a master marketer of magic and profited wildly; others, like Howard Thurston, were better doers of magic and profited far less.

Move from being marketer to the direct marketer of the thing, using mail-order based marketing strategies and tactics. Results are measured objectively, empirically, and ruthlessly. David Ogilvy said that only the mail-order advertisers knew what they were doing; this is still correct.

Become a direct marketer of anything, using direct-marketing skills to move into any industry. Example: Ecommerce marketer of anti-aging products, Ed O’Keefe, started as a marketing advisor to dentists (never having been a dentist).

Move from being their own boss to being an entrepreneur. They move from owning a business that never changes to developing it by adding pieces, later diversifying into serial businesses.

Move from merchant or peddler to rancher. The merchant/peddler goes after customers to make sales; when they wake up, they think: "Who can I go find or get in the door today?" Flip this. Ranchers make sales to get customers; the sale is not the objective, it is the path to equity that comes by creating a herd of long-term customers.

Move from spender to investor. Most business owners try to spend as little as possible to get as many customers as needed to meet income goals, because they are focused on the front-end sale; they think of all marketing as an expense. When you realize you are buying customers with long-term value, you become an investor. Advantages to this are:

You are in the income-at-will position. Think of your expenses or income needs as an invoice. You can send them to your herd, in the form of a new product or promotion.
Your herd of customers is your only real equity.
You are in the “toll” position because others will pay for access to your herd.
You have your own currency because you can “print your own money” by monetizing the media you control (newsletters, emails, web site, etc.) via joint ventures, etc.

Move from generalist to specialist. This moves you up the money pyramid. Example: a specialist doctor makes more than a general practitioner.

Move from casual "skimmer" to serious student. Most people go through life skimming, not seriously. The majority of Americans do not read a single book in a year. Donald Trump once asked Dan 3 questions backstage at an event; two were about how the money at the event was being made; the third was: "What 3 books are you reading now?" Only serious students read that many books at once, so Trump wanted to find out if he was talking to one. How serious are you?

More ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.

How to Serve, Wow, and Thrive in Business

2011-04-26T13:19:00.001-05:00

It's not enough to offer superior quality, fast delivery, and a great price. Those are but three parts of the success formula.

The fourth is service.

Your service must "wow" clients if you want the repeat and referral sales that lead to lasting success in business.

How to do it? Take a page from Disney.

Specifically, you can wow your clients by exceeding their expectations on the little things.

And it starts with your answers to obvious questions you hear every day.

Here's an insight from Jeff Kober, president of Performance Journeys and CEO of World Class Benchmarking

Think about it. You're a Disney theme park cast member picking up trash and a guest comes along and asks, "What time is the 3:00 parade?"

What does it mean? More important, what is your reply?

For one thing, consider that the parade begins on one end of the park in Frontierland, and then moves to Liberty Square, up in front of the castle, and on down Main Street. It actually takes the better part of an hour for the parade to completely go through. The question on its own has merit.

But the appropriate answer lies in understanding the guest. This is a chance to provide a one-on-one experience for the guest. What we really want to do is to think why the guest is asking the question in that manner. Then we want to respond appropriately.

Perhaps the guest wants to go on more rides and wants to make the parade as late as possible. Maybe the guest is looking for a place to sit down, or a place in the shade during the parade. Perhaps the guest is looking for a place where it isn't so crowded that their kids might be able to see.

You have to take time and inquire. You might ask: "Well, where are you planning to be at that time?"

They might reply, "Well we were going to head over to Goofy's Barnstormer." Your response might be, "Well perhaps you might want to take the train before 3:00 p.m. and stake out a place near Town's Square. There will probably still be some good places to see the parade without having to wait too long."

That's so much better than simply stating "3:00 o'clock."

But of course, this article isn't just about Disney. It's about your business as well. So ask yourself: What is your 3:00 parade question? What is the obvious kind of question your customers ask, and what does it mean?

So ... what's the most obvious question you hear each week?

Example obvious question: "What services do you provide?"

Example obvious answer: "We're a lawn service company -- we cut your grass once a week."

But ... what if you tried to understand the person first, like the Disney employee above, before you replied?

Perhaps the questioner had a bad experience with a lawn service and now wants a better one ... or they've never used a lawn service before ... or they need someone to cut the grass for their mother, who was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Each of your prospects has different reasons for asking, "What services do you provide?" and one answer won't appeal to them all.

So, like the Disney employee, take the time to learn. Start by replying: "What did you need help with, exactly?"

Let your prospects tell you what they need. Their obvious questions will narrow down into specific desires, which you can fill with specific answers -- answers that none of your competitors probably took the trouble to provide.

That's one way to really serve your clients, "wow" them, and ensure the kind of repeat and referral business that Disney enjoys.

(Thanks to Dr. Casey Moore for first sharing this topic with me.)

More ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.

Atomic Marketing - Big Questions Create Big Breakthroughs

2011-04-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

More ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.