10x Bigger or 2x Bigger?

Chances are, if I have a great idea, it's somebody else's :-)

Among my mentors, idols, and teachers in business are Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy, Brian Tracy, and Dan Sullivan.

That last name might not be familiar to you, but Dan's a legend when it comes to coaching entrepreneurs. He may have been the very first to do so, some 30 years ago.

For two years, I got on a plane every 90 days and flew to Toronto to be coached by one of Dan's Strategic Coaches. Frequently, Dan would drop in and share some of his latest thinking with us.

What does this have to do with you?

Well, with July winding down, you may be making strategic plans for August, the rest of Q3, and the years beyond.

(If you're not, you should be!)

With that in mind, I thought, what better way to make strategic plans than with the guidance of The Strategic Coach, Dan Sullivan?

So, here's a great little video to introduce you to Dan's thinking.

It's called, Why Growing 10x Is Easier Than Growing 2x.



Please note: I make NO money from this recommendation. Dan doesn't even know I'm doing this. But I know you'll find it helpful. You'll probably want to watch it several times. So I'm happy to share it with you.

Now.

After watching the short 3-minute video above, you want to exchange ideas to build your business by 10x -- and IF your revenue currently exceeds $200,000 per year -- let's talk.

Background: I've helped explode sales by writing direct-mail sales letters for

• a 21-store retail chain ... 
• a carpet cleaner ... 
• an insurance agent ... 
• a travel agent ... 
• a commercial cleaning company ... 
• a real estate investor ... 
• and too many others to list here

You can learn more about what I do -- and see if you qualify for a FREE copy of my book, 21 Quick Ways to Get More Clients, here.

The Best Sale is the One Not Made

The Chinese military sage Lao Tzu never said anything about selling. But if he did, he might have said this: "The best sale is the one not made."

In other words, the easiest, most-profitable sales happen when your current clients buy from you again OR they send you a hot, pre-qualified referral.

In either case, little or no selling is required on your part. So, anything you can do to encourage repurchases and referrals is an extremely valuable activity.

Here are 3 ways to do it:

1. Surprise gifts
What do you deliver, in person or by email/snail mail, to pleasantly surprise your best clients?

Nothing? Uh-oh. Fix that. Start by mailing a simple, hand written (or at least hand-signed) thank-you note.


2. Welcome package
What can you do to make sure new clients get the most from their relationship with you?

Here's a hint: Think of all the questions new clients usually ask. Now answer them in writing. Then send that "how to" guide to clients along with their first purchase. Clients will appreciate your thoughtfulness and get better results -- two ways to ensure a repurchase or referral.


3. Something extra
Beyond any surprise gift or welcome package, what can you do for clients that will delight them?

I like to send my best clients books or book summaries every few months. Such gifts are unexpected -- and appreciated.

Don't have the time or money to mail your clients gifts? You can at least email them links to helpful articles, with the message: "Saw this, thought of you."

Bottom line: The best sale is the one not made. Anything you can do to "sell without selling" -- by fostering repurchases and referrals -- is among the very best uses of your time.

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

Addition by Subtraction: Are You Choking Your Profits?

Many of the biggest breakthroughs in businesses have come from subtraction.

Examples: 

• Subtract bank tellers from a bank and you get ATM machines
  
• Subtract travel from out-of-town meetings and you get GoToMeeting.com
  
• Subtract stamps from mail and you get email

You get the idea. By removing a limiting factor, you can unleash greater productivity and growth.

That's the good news.

The bad news? In your business, YOU are a limiting factor -- right now.

Here's why: Any process that requires your time or your physical presence is a limiting factor. Because in any workweek, there are only so many suits you can sew, pictures you can paint, cakes you can bake.

If you are "doing the thing" in your business, you are a choke point.

So answer this key question: How could you subtract yourself from your business and scale up to serve more people, more profitably? 

Example: If you provide a service, the logical "subtraction" is to turn what you do into a product. Top consultants, like Seth Godin and Tom Peters, do this all the time -- they write books.

Stated differently: What could you write, film, record, or otherwise put in a box that would remove your from your business processes and let you scale up?

The answer to that question is your shortcut to growth.

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

Remarkable Marketing via Remarkable Delivery

There are lots of ways to be remarkable -- to cause your clients to remark about you to others, and feed your business via word of mouth advertising.

One way is to follow this advice from Walt Disney: “What ever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it they will want to come back and see you do it again and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.”

But apart from doing what you do remarkably well, you can deliver it remarkably well.

Case in point: this box from Fab.

It contained a birthday gift from my wife. The gift itself (a waterproof shower notepad) is remarkable. But I was in a good mood even before using it, thanks to this box, with the surprising messages and mini-catalog included.

So, it's a fine thing to do what you do remarkably well. I aim for that daily. I'm sure you do, too.

But if you're not remarkable yet, or you're looking for an extra advantage, try delivering what you do remarkably well.

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

How Do I Close More Business?

Here's a question from entrepreneurs and business owners that I hear all the time: How do I close more business?

Wait, stop.

I hate the verb "close" in a selling context. It makes it seem like your job is over once the prospect gives you their credit card number or hands you a check.

Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. As any sales pro will tell you, the real work begins only after the prospect says, "Yes." You're not closing a sale, you're opening a relationship (if you have any brains).

So, let's rephrase the question: How do I earn more sales and open more relationships?

That's better. And here are 3 steps to help you do it ...


1) Use the right words

I'm a big fan of sales scripts. By scripts, I mean proven responses to objections, like: "It costs too much," or "I want to think it over."

Every multi-million dollar actor uses a script. So do multi-billion dollar credit card companies, banks, and other smart businesses whose employees have to sell by phone.

What do they know that you don't? Why keep winging it when it comes to your livelihood?

There's no good reason NOT to use a sales script, whether it's on the phone 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 life-changing sales script. It all starts when you "can and clone" that first collection of winning words.

And I'll even give you the words to use as a basis for your first sales script. Ready? Just ask, "How were you hoping I could help you?"

Whatever comes out of your prospect's mouth in answer to that question will tell you what they want. Your job becomes very simple at that point: Tell them how you will deliver.

This is a great place to start any sales conversation -- and earn more sales.


2) Deliver overwhelming value

This is a stumbling block for loads of people. But it's easier than it seems. You simply have to find out the dollar value of the problem(s) you solve. Then, keep adding it up until the prospect feels compelled to buy.

Here's an example. Let's say you sell software that boosts efficiency. On average, you save 15 minutes every working hour for the people who use your software.

Those people earn $40,000 per year, or $20 an hour. If your software saves them 150 minutes a week, that adds up to 7,500 minutes (125 hours) saved a year, or $2,500 in annual savings ... $5,000 in two years.

You can then tell prospects, "If, for an investment of $495 today, you save $5,000 in two years, you've just earned a return on investment of 910%. You're really buying money at a discount here. And I don't think even Warren Buffett can top those numbers."

That changes the conversation, doesn't it?


3) Guarantee your results

When you make it risk-free to buy from you, more people will buy.

Guarantees have been used by mail-order companies for decades. Companies like L.L. Bean and J. Peterman are hugely successful today, but they were once small businesses. Their profits grew from a trickle into a mighty torrent because customers knew they could buy without the fear of being stuck with an item they didn’t like. Strong guarantees and quality products are an unbeatable combination.

Yet, guarantees frighten many business owners. If you’re like most, it might only take five or six big refunds or major revisions in a year to spell financial trouble. What if your clients called their friends and all started asking for refunds at once? What if word got out around that your business was an easy target for crooked people who could rip you off?

The way I see it, you already have a guarantee -- you just don’t know it.

It's like this: If a client called to complain, what would you do? Offer to redo or replace the work, probably. Because it’s better to satisfy one angry client now than to combat a lot of bad word-of-mouth later.

Especially when you consider that, thanks to social media, your clients all have audiences. And bad news travels fast. So, really, you need to satisfy your clients. And a guarantee makes it all possible.

So there you go. Three ways to earn more sales -- and open more relationships.

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

71% of Your Customers Expect More Value. Now What?

As a business owner or entrepreneur today, you face some tough challenges.

According to “Small Businesses: Then & Now” by Constant Contact, 59% of small businesses surveyed say that it's harder to run a small business today than it was five years ago.

Customer acquisition and retention are big problems -- of the small businesses surveyed, 75% cited "finding new customers" and 58% said "retaining customers" were primary concerns.

According to Direct Marketing News, 63% of small businesses think their customers have higher expectations than 5 years ago. And among those small business owners, 71% think their customers expect more value.

So. If 71% of your customers or clients expect more value, here's an idea: GIVE IT TO THEM.

You can add value without cutting prices by offering your clients any of these:

• extra information to help buyers use the product/service
• faster delivery
• more customization
• easy payments
• little surprises (like a thank-you note)
• rapid response to questions.

Bottom line: Yes, business is tough. You can whine about it, or do something about it.

If you play the low-price game and lose to Wal-Mart and Amazon, without first making every effort to deliver more value to your customers or clients, you deserve to lose. Sorry.

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

Positively More Profits

Here’s how to apply Harvard research and $8,000 worth of advice in a way that’s free, fun, and very profitable ...

Shawn Achor, Harvard Professor of Positive Psychology and Author of The Happiness Advantage, writes that, every time our brain records a success, we move the goalposts ... which is a recipe for frustration. according to Achor:

“Get good grades? Then you need to get into a better school so you can get a better job. Hit your sales target? They raise your sales target. Maybe once we retire rich, we can be happy. Thus, happiness remains elusive.

“Our brains work the opposite way. A positive brain has a unique advantage over a negative or stressed one. Intelligence improves, sales rise 37 percent and productivity increases 31 percent. In fact, a happy brain improves every business and educational outcome, and many of our health outcomes like longevity and fatigue.

“But embedded within this research is this revelation: You can train your brain to raise your level of happiness. Even one quick, daily positive exercise for as little as three weeks can make an impact on your happiness.”

Achor suggests that every day, you take two minutes to “log and describe in detail the most meaningful experience of the past 24 hours. Research shows this doubles the impact of the experience on your brain and increases your happiness.”

Get that? You can double the impact a positive experience has on your brain and get happier. No drugs or technology needed.

I’ve verified that a happy brain is a profitable brain -- and I paid $8,000 to do it.

When I was a client in Dan Sullivan’s Strategic Coach program, participants like me gladly paid an $8,000 annual membership to fly to Toronto 4 times a year, sit in a room, and plan the next quarter of growth for our companies.

And the first exercise we did at every meeting was what Dan called a Positive Focus. It worked like this: We wrote down 5 things that were going well in our business. Then we shared those “wins” with the other entrepreneurs at our table. By putting our brains in a positive mood, this set the stage for a productive day full of profitable insights. Every time.

No matter what's going on in the world, you can control your attitude and make it nearly 100% positive, if you follow this advice.

That little trick, frankly, is worth the $8,000 fee, plus airfare, hotel, and other costs, that I paid to learn it from Dan Sullivan.

Why? Think about it.

What was the last really good idea you had for your business -- the last new thing you did that produced a new client, created a new product, or led to a new referral? Over the lifetime of your business, will that good idea turn out to be worth $8,000 or more? Chances are, the answer is yes. (If not, start thinking bigger!)

Here's the thing: You almost certainly were NOT depressed or down about life when you got your last valuable idea. You were probably relaxed -- even happy. You may have been driving, enjoying a walk, or taking a shower.

In any case, the bottom line is this: A happy, positive mind is a profitable mind. An unhappy, negative mind is not.

To jumpstart your mind and grow your business, spend just two minutes at the start of each day writing down 5 positive experiences from the last 24 hours. The results will positively shock you.  

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