Dan Kennedy Opening Remarks SuperConference 2011 #gkicsc11

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:

1. 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.
2. Your herd of customers is your only real equity.
3. You are in the “toll” position because others will pay for access to your herd.
4. 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.