My expert interview today is with author, speaker, and productivity coach, Jason Womack.
Jason is author of one of my favorite books, Your Best Just Got Better. It’s on my short shelf of 20 or so books that I refer to over and over again.
Welcome, Jason!
Jason Womack: Hey, Kevin. Thanks for inviting me here and the smile I’m wearing after that introduction is huge.
Kevin: The subtitle of your book is Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More. Do you want to touch on any of those subjects? Which of those three ideas are resonating most with your readers?
Jason: People who read the book consistently tell me, “Jason, I can implement a couple of things and immediately two things are happening. Number one, I have an outlook on life that’s 36 to 60 months bigger. The second thing is in my everyday, I’m getting 15 to 30 extra minutes to do things that I want to do.”
Kevin: Both of which are outcomes that I’ve seen in my life, too. I’m much clearer on my goals for 3-5 years out, and I definitely have more time each day to do what I really want to do.
I especially love your idea in the book about how to look at blocs of 15 minutes as precious things. When you divide the 1,400 minutes in a day by 15, you get 96. So 15 minutes equals about 1% of your life each day. Understanding this has made me more cognizant of how I spend my time, which has made me more productive. It's just a very enlightening way to look at the clock.
Jason: Thank you.
Kevin: What else can we talk about in terms of productivity?
Jason: The way that I hear that in my head is there are things that I have to do and there are things that I have, to do. I want to make sure that I get to that second group. What is it that I have ... to do? Why was I put on the planet? I wasn’t put on the planet to manage my email inbox. That’s not why I’m here.
Yet, the more effectively that I manage my email inbox, the more effectively I manage that meeting that I’ve been invited to, the more effectively that I manage that commute, whether I’m driving or flying, all of a sudden then, there’s this opening that I can step into.
Kevin: Speaking of why we were put on the planet, talk about how your ideas relate to the people in our lives.
Jason: Think of that short list of the 5 people you spend the most time with, the people who will influence you the most this week. They’re going to influence what YouTube video you watch, what restaurant you eat in … they may even influence what book you read or magazine you subscribe to.
Here’s a test I need everybody to run this week. When you leave a conversation with someone -- whether it’s digital, face-to-face, or hand written -- when you walk away from that conversation, ask yourself this question: How do I feel about me right now?
What’s fascinating is it is either/or. It is plus or it is minus. I do not walk away from someone at a neutral level. I either am stoked on life and excited … or I’m not. And the more times I walk away from the same person where I don’t feel great, I want to look at that. Thirty-six to 60 months from now, is that a relationship I still want to be in?
Kevin: That’s fantastic advice. You don’t need any technology or outside input. The answers are inside you -- how do you feel? That’s going to be very accurate feedback.
What are some other areas of leverage if people want to work smarter, think bigger, make more?
Jason: Beyond what we just talked about, another concept from the book is an activity called, I Am At My Best When. When I begin working with a client or facilitate a workshop, early in that conversation, I ask everyone to pull out a piece of paper. On the top of the piece of paper, you write, “I am at my best when.”
Then you write down 5, 7, maybe 9 indicators -- the critical few. What are the 5, 7, 9 things that if they happen, the chances of me having a better day increase?
For example, I know if I eat a balanced breakfast, the chances of me having a better day go up. If I write a thank-you card to someone during the day, it goes up. Or, if I reach out to a mentor for help during the day, the chances of me having a better day are higher.
By contrast, everyone that I’ve ever talked to can bring to mind the kinds of things that if go wrong, they’ll have a bad day. If you commute, you’ve probably climbed in your car and thought, “I hope there’s no traffic today. I hope there’s not an accident on the freeway today. I hope my boss is not in a bad mood today.”
What’s fascinating is that you actually start looking for accidents, traffic, and a boss in a bad mood. I’m not suggesting by any means that because I think I’m going to have a good day that it’s guaranteed, but the likelihood goes up.
Kevin: I love that idea. Your exercise forces you to find things you can do to have a better day, like sleep a bit more or eat the right breakfast. And those factors are entirely under your control, unlike traffic on the freeway or a crabby boss.
Jason: If you pop over to WomackCompany.com you can download the first 42 pages of the book free, and it includes the I Am At My Best When activity in chapter one.
Kevin: Thanks, Jason. This is great stuff!
Meanwhile, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Personal Branding That Works 24/7
My expert interview today is with Michael Roby.
With 40 years of experience in sales and marketing, he's forgotten more than I've learned about how to grow your business. Michael has been a sales and marketing coach, and a speaker, serving professional service firms such as broker dealers, banks, credit unions, and insurance companies.
And you're going to love his advice in my transcript of our interview: personal branding that works.
Michael Roby, welcome!
Michael: Kevin, it is a privilege.
Kevin: Let’s talk about personal branding that works. This is an intriguing idea. Branding seems to be done to death by a lot of experts.
Tell us first of all, please define personal branding. Then, let’s talk about how it can really work, and maybe include some success stories.
Michael: Kevin, branding is poorly defined in a lot of cases. We’ll hear branding as logos or slogans, or we hear about the infamous elevator pitch. Here’s the challenge with that. Most people that I talk to -- and I’ve talked to a lot of financial advisors -- can’t even tell me what they do.
If people ask you what you do, what they really want to know is, “What’s in it for me?”
“I” is the single most dangerous word in sales and marketing because it’s not about you, it’s about them. They don’t want to hear you say, “I do this,” or, “I do that.” They don’t want to hear your title.
When I hear things like, “I’m a financial advisor,” my response is, “Really? I’ve never met one of those.” There are only 500 in my building. Or I’ll hear things like, “I’m a wealth manager.” Really? How much wealth have you managed people into in the last ten years?” I’m just asking.
People don’t care about titles. They don’t care about what you do.
People have always been coached that you should have an elevator speech. An elevator speech is about 30 seconds long. But here’s the challenge. Research shows that people make up their mind to listen to you in the first seven seconds. If you lose them, you are done. In fact, if you do lose them, in captive audience studies, they have found that people take an average of two minutes and 20 seconds to reengage with you.
What do we want to do in that first 7 seconds? Here’s the answer. We call this a 24/7 personal brand because you can use it anytime, anywhere. You can use it in copy. You can use it in personal conversation or marketing pieces.
The 24/7 personal brand is this: 24 words, in 7 seconds. Here’s what to do ...
First, identify your constituents. Second, give them the benefit of doing business with you. Third, give them a couple quick answers to make them ask a question.
Kevin: That’s a lot to do in 7 seconds!
Michael: It is. For financial advisors, who are the constituents? Most people, if you talk to them about the fact that you’re in the investment business, they’ll smile and they’ll be nice, but they’re not thinking investments. What do they do think when they hear the word “investments”? They think risk.
And if they think risk, they may be smiling, they may be nodding a little, but they are tuning you out. What you want to do is identify yourself as doing business with conservative investors. The conservative investor piece may be the way you lead.
The 24/7 personal brand may go something like this: “Conservative investors choose to do business with me and my firm because we can help people reduce the risk associated with saving, investing, and managing money.”
Kevin: Intriguing.
Michael: Let’s unpack that ...
Conservative investors. When you’re talking about your target demographic, you want to go the lowest common denominator. Sure, you’re going to talk to people that like to speculate, but most people just want to save and invest for a comfortable retirement and send their children and grandchildren to college, create a legacy for future generations, transfer business.
Next, choose to do business with us. Notice I didn’t say, “I work with” – or, “My clients are,” because it’s not about me. It’s got to be about them.
Next, we can help people reduce the risk. There’s a pain point. And it’s related to the final part: associated with saving, investing, and managing money.
For most financial advisors, that’s the bulk of what they do. It’s saving, investing, and managing money. If you package that together -- conservative investors choose to do business with my firm because we can help them reduce the risk associated with saving, investing, and managing money -- most people on hearing that will ask something like this, “How do you do that?”
Kevin: Exactly. I know you have a winner there, Michael, because the first thing I thought of was, “Tell me more.”
Michael: When people start asking you questions, the game is over. The deal is done. Then you can dig a little deeper into the benefits and follow up with features. Say something like, “Because Mr. and Mrs. Client, we don’t advise based on prediction. I can’t tell you what time the sun comes up but we use principles."
“We use principles that always work for helping people achieve their long-term financial objectives.” Then you can talk about those things. See, we have them asking questions now. Then after making that secondary statement, I can say, “How do you feel about risk as it relates to your money?” or, “What keeps you awake at night when you think about your finances?”
Now we’re engaged in a conversation. I’m not pitching; I’m advising. I’m not selling; I’m interviewing. I’m having a conversation with my new best friend.
Kevin: Terrific. Just quickly, before we go, you mentioned earlier, there are advisors gross one to two million dollars using this formula?
Michael: Absolutely, because it’s simple. It’s simple and it’s a chain reaction type of marketing. You identify the constituent, hit the pain point, give them a couple of examples, and the conversation builds from there.
It’s conversational, it’s repeatable. It’s something that their clients will tell other people, “Hey Kevin, you should talk to my financial advisor.” “Why?” “She’s helped me reduce risk in my portfolio.” “How does she do that?” “Well, you need to talk to her.”
Kevin: Michael, that’s outstanding. Thank you! Before we go, how can people learn more about the 24/7 formula?
Michael: Send us an email at info -at -michaelroby.com. We’ll be happy to help people any way we can.
It’s interesting because while I work with a lot of really, really large firms. But I’ve been given some fabulous mentoring over the years, so I’m happy to share my ideas with people who need to do a better job at delivering products and services.
Kevin: Thanks, Michael. You’ve been great.
Meanwhile, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
With 40 years of experience in sales and marketing, he's forgotten more than I've learned about how to grow your business. Michael has been a sales and marketing coach, and a speaker, serving professional service firms such as broker dealers, banks, credit unions, and insurance companies.
And you're going to love his advice in my transcript of our interview: personal branding that works.
Michael Roby, welcome!
Michael: Kevin, it is a privilege.
Kevin: Let’s talk about personal branding that works. This is an intriguing idea. Branding seems to be done to death by a lot of experts.
Tell us first of all, please define personal branding. Then, let’s talk about how it can really work, and maybe include some success stories.
Michael: Kevin, branding is poorly defined in a lot of cases. We’ll hear branding as logos or slogans, or we hear about the infamous elevator pitch. Here’s the challenge with that. Most people that I talk to -- and I’ve talked to a lot of financial advisors -- can’t even tell me what they do.
If people ask you what you do, what they really want to know is, “What’s in it for me?”
“I” is the single most dangerous word in sales and marketing because it’s not about you, it’s about them. They don’t want to hear you say, “I do this,” or, “I do that.” They don’t want to hear your title.
When I hear things like, “I’m a financial advisor,” my response is, “Really? I’ve never met one of those.” There are only 500 in my building. Or I’ll hear things like, “I’m a wealth manager.” Really? How much wealth have you managed people into in the last ten years?” I’m just asking.
People don’t care about titles. They don’t care about what you do.
People have always been coached that you should have an elevator speech. An elevator speech is about 30 seconds long. But here’s the challenge. Research shows that people make up their mind to listen to you in the first seven seconds. If you lose them, you are done. In fact, if you do lose them, in captive audience studies, they have found that people take an average of two minutes and 20 seconds to reengage with you.
What do we want to do in that first 7 seconds? Here’s the answer. We call this a 24/7 personal brand because you can use it anytime, anywhere. You can use it in copy. You can use it in personal conversation or marketing pieces.
The 24/7 personal brand is this: 24 words, in 7 seconds. Here’s what to do ...
First, identify your constituents. Second, give them the benefit of doing business with you. Third, give them a couple quick answers to make them ask a question.
Kevin: That’s a lot to do in 7 seconds!
Michael: It is. For financial advisors, who are the constituents? Most people, if you talk to them about the fact that you’re in the investment business, they’ll smile and they’ll be nice, but they’re not thinking investments. What do they do think when they hear the word “investments”? They think risk.
And if they think risk, they may be smiling, they may be nodding a little, but they are tuning you out. What you want to do is identify yourself as doing business with conservative investors. The conservative investor piece may be the way you lead.
The 24/7 personal brand may go something like this: “Conservative investors choose to do business with me and my firm because we can help people reduce the risk associated with saving, investing, and managing money.”
Kevin: Intriguing.
Michael: Let’s unpack that ...
Conservative investors. When you’re talking about your target demographic, you want to go the lowest common denominator. Sure, you’re going to talk to people that like to speculate, but most people just want to save and invest for a comfortable retirement and send their children and grandchildren to college, create a legacy for future generations, transfer business.
Next, choose to do business with us. Notice I didn’t say, “I work with” – or, “My clients are,” because it’s not about me. It’s got to be about them.
Next, we can help people reduce the risk. There’s a pain point. And it’s related to the final part: associated with saving, investing, and managing money.
For most financial advisors, that’s the bulk of what they do. It’s saving, investing, and managing money. If you package that together -- conservative investors choose to do business with my firm because we can help them reduce the risk associated with saving, investing, and managing money -- most people on hearing that will ask something like this, “How do you do that?”
Kevin: Exactly. I know you have a winner there, Michael, because the first thing I thought of was, “Tell me more.”
Michael: When people start asking you questions, the game is over. The deal is done. Then you can dig a little deeper into the benefits and follow up with features. Say something like, “Because Mr. and Mrs. Client, we don’t advise based on prediction. I can’t tell you what time the sun comes up but we use principles."
“We use principles that always work for helping people achieve their long-term financial objectives.” Then you can talk about those things. See, we have them asking questions now. Then after making that secondary statement, I can say, “How do you feel about risk as it relates to your money?” or, “What keeps you awake at night when you think about your finances?”
Now we’re engaged in a conversation. I’m not pitching; I’m advising. I’m not selling; I’m interviewing. I’m having a conversation with my new best friend.
Kevin: Terrific. Just quickly, before we go, you mentioned earlier, there are advisors gross one to two million dollars using this formula?
Michael: Absolutely, because it’s simple. It’s simple and it’s a chain reaction type of marketing. You identify the constituent, hit the pain point, give them a couple of examples, and the conversation builds from there.
It’s conversational, it’s repeatable. It’s something that their clients will tell other people, “Hey Kevin, you should talk to my financial advisor.” “Why?” “She’s helped me reduce risk in my portfolio.” “How does she do that?” “Well, you need to talk to her.”
Kevin: Michael, that’s outstanding. Thank you! Before we go, how can people learn more about the 24/7 formula?
Michael: Send us an email at info -at -michaelroby.com. We’ll be happy to help people any way we can.
It’s interesting because while I work with a lot of really, really large firms. But I’ve been given some fabulous mentoring over the years, so I’m happy to share my ideas with people who need to do a better job at delivering products and services.
Kevin: Thanks, Michael. You’ve been great.
Meanwhile, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
Monday, April 22, 2013
How to Appreciate in Value with a First-Class Stamp
My new favorite book is Go-Givers Sell More.
The premise is simple and powerful: "Shifting your focus from getting to giving is not only a nice way to live life and conduct business, but a very profitable way as well."
It's a gem of a book that will help you take the idea of "givers gain" straight to the bank ... while making you a better friend, family member, and person along the way.
Among the ways you can give more to sell more is through appreciation.
According to Go-Givers Sell More -- and my experience since 1994:
Here's a recent example -- the handwritten note and gift card I mailed a client on Friday for a copywriting purchase he made that same day.
How many of my client's other vendors do something like this? Roughly ... zero.
How much goodwill will this simple gesture deliver to my client? Roughly ... a lot.
Important: Don't think of this as a gimmick or a bribe. Mailing handwritten notes to clients ought to be considered a part of every project you do. Because, ultimately, everything you do has the same goal in mind: To make clients happy.
What easier way to make clients happy than to thank them by mail at the start of every project? (Not to mention thanking them for every referral they send you.)
The last words on this subject are from the pages of Go-Givers Sell More:
Meanwhile, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
The premise is simple and powerful: "Shifting your focus from getting to giving is not only a nice way to live life and conduct business, but a very profitable way as well."
It's a gem of a book that will help you take the idea of "givers gain" straight to the bank ... while making you a better friend, family member, and person along the way.
Among the ways you can give more to sell more is through appreciation.
According to Go-Givers Sell More -- and my experience since 1994:
One of the most powerful ways you can create value for people is to simply appreciate them. Notice the things they do that make a difference, no matter how small, and point them out. Say thank you, and mean it. Write thank-you notes -- not just emails, but actual handwritten notes. (Who does that anymore?)I do, as it turns out. And you should, too.
Here's a recent example -- the handwritten note and gift card I mailed a client on Friday for a copywriting purchase he made that same day.
How many of my client's other vendors do something like this? Roughly ... zero.
How much goodwill will this simple gesture deliver to my client? Roughly ... a lot.
Important: Don't think of this as a gimmick or a bribe. Mailing handwritten notes to clients ought to be considered a part of every project you do. Because, ultimately, everything you do has the same goal in mind: To make clients happy.
What easier way to make clients happy than to thank them by mail at the start of every project? (Not to mention thanking them for every referral they send you.)
The last words on this subject are from the pages of Go-Givers Sell More:
The word appreciate, which means “to esteem or value highly,” comes from the Latin appretiare, which means “to set a price to.” (Appraise derives from the same root.) Over the centuries it came to mean both “an expression of one’s estimate of something, usually favorable” and “to rise in value.”
Interesting: when you appreciate people, you appreciate. And when you don’t, you depreciate.
You want to increase your own worth? Appreciate.
Meanwhile, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
Friday, April 19, 2013
How to Make Selling Unnecessary (Food for Thought)
In that light, anything you do to solve your clients' problems and make them happy is marketing. Because doing so makes it more likely that your clients will either buy from you again or refer others to you. In either case -- a repeat sale or referral -- selling is largely unnecessary.
Case in point: My insurance agent, Marty Bothwell.
Last week, he solved a problem with a device I had installed on my car. He took the time and effort to call me, apologize for the problem, and get the vendor to fix it.
Good work, Marty. I'm happy about that.
But then he invested more time and expense in sending me a handwritten note of thanks for my patience ... with two $10 restaurant gift cards enclosed.
Fantastic work, Marty. I'm delighted about that.
As a result I'm telling everyone I know -- starting here, on my blog, and continuing on to every conversation I have in the coming weeks whenever insurance pops up.
Marty is going to get repeat business and referrals from me. And no selling is necessary for him. Because he's such a smart marketer.
Food for thought, eh? (Literally -- I'm off to Green Mill for lunch, on Marty :-)
Meanwhile, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The Strange Case of the $2.1-Million Stopwatch (and Your Marketing)
This may be the strangest blog post you read all week. Or the most-profitable.
Or both.
Here's why ...
I write frequently about the 80/20 Rule (aka the Pareto Principle), which holds that about 80% of results come from 20% of activities.
In other words, most things don't matter -- only a few things do. The world is predictably unbalanced.
You'll find examples of the 80/20 Rule everywhere:
- about 20% of your carpet gets about 80% of foot traffic
- 20% of people pay 80% of income taxes
- 20% of pea pods in your garden contain 80% of peas
In business -- and especially marketing -- most people spend 80% or more of their time doing unproductive tasks. Maybe 10-20% of what people do directly relates to making money.
But why am I wearing a stopwatch? And is it really worth $2.1 million?
Let me explain ....
First, let's talk about how Darren Hardy, publisher of Success magazine, used the 80/20 Rule and a stopwatch to outsell an office of 44 veteran real-estate agents, in only 90 days -- when he was just 20 years old.
He writes:
As a real estate agent, there are hundreds of unproductive activities you can do to rationalize that you're ‘working': putting lock boxes on doors, shuffling escrow paperwork, doing open houses, taking "floor time," putting signs out, driving around "looky-loo" buyers, etc. In reality, there are only three things ("show time" events) you do that make money:
1) pitching a listing,
2) negotiating a contract, and
3) prospecting to get more of 1 and 2.
Everything else that's a productivity "time suck" can and should be delegated.
Get that? Only a vital few activities in real estate sales make money, according to Hardy. Three, to be exact.
And if you take a close look at your business, I'm 99% sure you'll find only a handful of activities that really make you money.
But knowledge is not enough. You need action. Here's the action Hardy took ...
I became so obsessive about monitoring my productive time that I would wear a stopwatch around my neck (yes, in meetings, at the store -- great conversation starter!). I stopped and started it all day long -- "OFF" when going to the bathroom, "BS-ing" in the hallway, waiting for the person to pick up while the phone rings, driving from appointment to appointment; "ON" only when actually engaged in one of my three (see above) high-value "show time" events.
The first day I clocked my productivity, after an exhausting 12-hour day, I was floored when it only read 11 minutes, 56 seconds. At first I thought it was broken. But no, after 12 hours of "work" I had managed less than 12 minutes of revenue-generating productive labor. WOW, did I learn a valuable lesson! From that moment on, I wore my stopwatch religiously every day to improve my actual productive time.
It is SHOCKING to realize how little time salespeople actually spend selling each day. Sometimes I would work like mad all day and only clock 14 minutes. FOURTEEN MINUTES?! My goal became at least 2 hours a day, every day, day after day. As a result of that focus on real sales productivity, I became the No. 1 agent in the office during my first year in the business. I was No. 1 in the city at age 21, and then the entire county of 3,000 real estate agents by age 22 (in a real estate market as crappy as it is today—so no excuses).
Pretty simple, huh? By measuring his time with a stopwatch, Hardy was able to do more of what made money and less of what didn't. As a result, he quickly rose to rank #1 for sales among 3,000 people!
So, here are three questions for you:
- What are your vital few activities that really make you money?
- How much time are you spending on them?
- Are you brave enough to take Hardy's (and my) 80/20 Challenge?
Now. What will you do with this information?
You can say to yourself, "Yeah, I know that" and move on ...
... or you can do something about it and give this idea a try.
If you decide to accept this challenge and time yourself, do NOT wing it and just look at a clock. Trust me: As someone who's been practicing this for nearly 10 years, I can tell you that you need to see tangible evidence for your subconscious mind to buy into this new idea. That's why you need to actually wear (or carry) a stopwatch.
Why not try this 80/20 Challenge for yourself, and wear (or carry) a stopwatch tomorrow?
When you learn EXACTLY how much time you're spending on the 20% of tasks that make you money, you can start turning your business upside down to focus more on those vital few activities. And your profits will soar. There's really no other outcome possible.
Oh, wait. What about that $2.1 million?
That's the amount of money I raked for one of my businesses by applying these same ideas. I simply did more of what made me money and less of what didn't. You can learn more about 80/20 Marketing here.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Few Things Really Matter in Your Marketing -- What Are They?
If you know the 80/20 Rule, you know that a handful of causes lead to most results.
In other words, only a few things matter. Most things don't.
The 80/20 Rule, like gravity or electricity, is a weird natural law that nobody truly understands:
My corollary on that, which I call 80/20 Marketing, holds that only a few things matter in your marketing. Most things don't.
In any business, about:
Because, if 20% of what you do to promote your business produces 80% of your profits, then 80% of your marketing is largely a waste of time -- and money.
So, how do you find out what's important -- so you can do more -- and what's not important -- so you can do less?
Try this ...
Start by examining your latest P&L statement in Quicken or whatever. Calculate the profits produced by each of your products or services, clients (or client types), and marketing methods.
Now add up the profits produced by each until you find areas totaling 80% or more of all profits. (You may only get to 60%-79%, but that’s okay.)
Next, look at the profit sources to see what proportion of each accounts for the 80% of total profits. You are looking for 20% Areas -- disproportionately small causes.
Product/Service example: If 2 of 9 products produced 80% of profits, 2/9 = 22.2%. That ratio is 80/22.2 – 80% of profits come from 22.2% of products. So, those 2 products are 20% Areas. Your task: Sell more of them.
Client example: If 5 of 30 clients produced 80% of profits, 5/30 = 16.6%. That ratio is 80/16.6 – 80% of profits come from 16.6% of clients. So, these 5 clients are a 20% Area. Your task: Treat them like kings/queens -- sell more to them, and never let them go.
Marketing example: If one of 5 marketing methods produced 80% of profits, 1/5 = 20%. That ratio is 80/20 -- 80% of profits come from 20% of marketing methods. So, that marketing method is a 20% Area. Your task: Do more of it.
Finding 20% Areas in your marketing is fun, profitable, and always surprising.
Because most business owners rarely -- if ever -- invest time to uncover the vital few profit levers that lie hidden in their financial data.
Now that you know what to look for, simply start doing less of the 80% crap and more of the vital 20% that really builds your business.
To the extent that you practice this 80/20 Substitution, and replace low-value marketing activities with high-value ones, you will work less, earn more, and have more time left for yourself and your family.
Can I get an "Amen" on that?
Note: If you want to go deep on this idea, my 80/20 Marketing course can help.
Otherwise, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
In other words, only a few things matter. Most things don't.
The 80/20 Rule, like gravity or electricity, is a weird natural law that nobody truly understands:
- about 20% of clouds produce about 80% of rain
- 20% of U.S. states produce 80% of home foreclosures, and
- you wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time (especially if you're a man)
My corollary on that, which I call 80/20 Marketing, holds that only a few things matter in your marketing. Most things don't.
In any business, about:
- 80% of sales come from 20% of products or services
- 80% of complaints come from 20% of clients
- 80% of profits come from 20% of your marketing activities
Because, if 20% of what you do to promote your business produces 80% of your profits, then 80% of your marketing is largely a waste of time -- and money.
So, how do you find out what's important -- so you can do more -- and what's not important -- so you can do less?
Try this ...
Start by examining your latest P&L statement in Quicken or whatever. Calculate the profits produced by each of your products or services, clients (or client types), and marketing methods.
Now add up the profits produced by each until you find areas totaling 80% or more of all profits. (You may only get to 60%-79%, but that’s okay.)
Next, look at the profit sources to see what proportion of each accounts for the 80% of total profits. You are looking for 20% Areas -- disproportionately small causes.
Product/Service example: If 2 of 9 products produced 80% of profits, 2/9 = 22.2%. That ratio is 80/22.2 – 80% of profits come from 22.2% of products. So, those 2 products are 20% Areas. Your task: Sell more of them.
Client example: If 5 of 30 clients produced 80% of profits, 5/30 = 16.6%. That ratio is 80/16.6 – 80% of profits come from 16.6% of clients. So, these 5 clients are a 20% Area. Your task: Treat them like kings/queens -- sell more to them, and never let them go.
Marketing example: If one of 5 marketing methods produced 80% of profits, 1/5 = 20%. That ratio is 80/20 -- 80% of profits come from 20% of marketing methods. So, that marketing method is a 20% Area. Your task: Do more of it.
Finding 20% Areas in your marketing is fun, profitable, and always surprising.
Because most business owners rarely -- if ever -- invest time to uncover the vital few profit levers that lie hidden in their financial data.
Now that you know what to look for, simply start doing less of the 80% crap and more of the vital 20% that really builds your business.
To the extent that you practice this 80/20 Substitution, and replace low-value marketing activities with high-value ones, you will work less, earn more, and have more time left for yourself and your family.
Can I get an "Amen" on that?
Note: If you want to go deep on this idea, my 80/20 Marketing course can help.
Otherwise, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
Monday, April 15, 2013
How to Triple Your Audience for Free -- a Simple Co-Promotion Secret You Can Use Today
I recently spoke with Paul Cummings, VP of Sales and Marketing at Impression Management Professionals in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
He told me how he was able to get 600 people on a recent webinar and produce more than 50 qualified leads for his business -- at no cost.
You can do the same. Here’s how …
Kevin Donlin: Paul, thanks for joining me. Please describe Impression Management Professionals for anyone how doesn’t know you.
Paul Cummings: We help leaders and sales people use outcome thinking to transform the way they think, listen and speak, so their brains work offensively rather than defensively. It works great for high-pressure situations, like a presentation, a negotiation, conflict or even in the sales process.
Kevin: Okay, let’s get right to it. You were able to triple the size of your typical webinar audience with a very creative joint venture. And it’s something people can use to get more prospects for a teleseminar, live event, or even to subscribe to their newsletter. What did you do?
Paul: We’re part of an association of training companies that get together once a year. One of the ideas that came up was that we collaborate together and do a webinar series to benefit all of our clients. We know that we don’t necessarily compete with each other, but we may have tools and ideas that would help each other’s clients.
So we all said, okay, we’ve got 6 people here and we all agreed to send out marketing information to our client list, included in our Twitter, Facebook, social media, and our websites. Then everybody would agree to do that and promote each other for 6 months.
For example, the first month, it was our webinar, and everybody marketed us to their customer lists. Now this month it’s somebody else’s turn, and we’re marketing them.
As a result, we were able to triple the number of people that we reach on a typical webinar.
Kevin: Triple! That’s a nice word. What was the before number and what was the after?
Paul: We typically get about 200 people to attend our webinars and for this last one it was actually over 600 people.
Kevin: Very cool. And what were your costs for this promotion?
Paul: Other than time to promote it, there was no cost. And we did something important for this webinar to make it successful for us. We used surveys before and after.
Before the person could register, they had to fill out a pre-webinar questionnaire with very specific questions. For example, we asked:
Then at the end of the webinar, we had a survey pop up through Survey Monkey, and that’s relatively inexpensive or free. We asked specific questions like these:
Kevin: All right, let me stop you and recap. That’s really, really valuable stuff that you shared.
First of all, you used surveys two different ways. Before the webinar, to help shape the content – people answered questions when they registered, and you used their answers to plan the webinar itself.
Then, after the webinar, you used surveys for people to qualify themselves by telling you what they were interested in. So you got to qualify people and segment them by interest, which let you follow up effectively.
That’s very, very smart stuff there, Paul. Anyone can use this idea. Bven if you’re not using GoToWebinar, there are a couple of webinar solutions. So I don’t want people to feel intimidated and think, “Oh, I don’t have the correct technology.” There are multiple webinar solutions, or you can do a teleseminar, just get a conference call if you want to start this out, so there are a lot of ways to use these ideas and it’s a really valuable idea.
Let me ask one final question. How did you go about negotiating with these other 5 co-promotion partners?
Paul: Well, first of all, basically we’ve been going to the association with these guys for years, so they became friends and so it just naturally happened. So it was just a discussion and we said, “Hey, let’s not attack each other’s clients, but let’s see if we can add some value and take it from there.”
Kevin: I see. That’s very clever. Paul Cummings, thank you very much. These are great ideas that anybody can use, whether it’s a webinar, teleseminar, or a live event that you want to promote.
Bottom line: Find one or more non-competitors who are already talking to the people you would like to have as clients, and agree to promote each other to your clients. There’s no cost and you’ll probably get a favorable response, such as you got by tripling your webinar audience and getting 50 qualified leads you are now able to market your services to.
Meanwhile, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
He told me how he was able to get 600 people on a recent webinar and produce more than 50 qualified leads for his business -- at no cost.
You can do the same. Here’s how …
Kevin Donlin: Paul, thanks for joining me. Please describe Impression Management Professionals for anyone how doesn’t know you.
Paul Cummings: We help leaders and sales people use outcome thinking to transform the way they think, listen and speak, so their brains work offensively rather than defensively. It works great for high-pressure situations, like a presentation, a negotiation, conflict or even in the sales process.
Kevin: Okay, let’s get right to it. You were able to triple the size of your typical webinar audience with a very creative joint venture. And it’s something people can use to get more prospects for a teleseminar, live event, or even to subscribe to their newsletter. What did you do?
Paul: We’re part of an association of training companies that get together once a year. One of the ideas that came up was that we collaborate together and do a webinar series to benefit all of our clients. We know that we don’t necessarily compete with each other, but we may have tools and ideas that would help each other’s clients.
So we all said, okay, we’ve got 6 people here and we all agreed to send out marketing information to our client list, included in our Twitter, Facebook, social media, and our websites. Then everybody would agree to do that and promote each other for 6 months.
For example, the first month, it was our webinar, and everybody marketed us to their customer lists. Now this month it’s somebody else’s turn, and we’re marketing them.
As a result, we were able to triple the number of people that we reach on a typical webinar.
Kevin: Triple! That’s a nice word. What was the before number and what was the after?
Paul: We typically get about 200 people to attend our webinars and for this last one it was actually over 600 people.
Kevin: Very cool. And what were your costs for this promotion?
Paul: Other than time to promote it, there was no cost. And we did something important for this webinar to make it successful for us. We used surveys before and after.
Before the person could register, they had to fill out a pre-webinar questionnaire with very specific questions. For example, we asked:
- What do you want us to talk about?
- What’s your job title?
- Are you interested in any of our upcoming programs?
Then at the end of the webinar, we had a survey pop up through Survey Monkey, and that’s relatively inexpensive or free. We asked specific questions like these:
- Would you be interested in a special report?
- Would you be interested in this particular public seminar?
- Would you be interested in executive coaching?
- Would you be interested in something for your team?
Kevin: All right, let me stop you and recap. That’s really, really valuable stuff that you shared.
First of all, you used surveys two different ways. Before the webinar, to help shape the content – people answered questions when they registered, and you used their answers to plan the webinar itself.
Then, after the webinar, you used surveys for people to qualify themselves by telling you what they were interested in. So you got to qualify people and segment them by interest, which let you follow up effectively.
That’s very, very smart stuff there, Paul. Anyone can use this idea. Bven if you’re not using GoToWebinar, there are a couple of webinar solutions. So I don’t want people to feel intimidated and think, “Oh, I don’t have the correct technology.” There are multiple webinar solutions, or you can do a teleseminar, just get a conference call if you want to start this out, so there are a lot of ways to use these ideas and it’s a really valuable idea.
Let me ask one final question. How did you go about negotiating with these other 5 co-promotion partners?
Paul: Well, first of all, basically we’ve been going to the association with these guys for years, so they became friends and so it just naturally happened. So it was just a discussion and we said, “Hey, let’s not attack each other’s clients, but let’s see if we can add some value and take it from there.”
Kevin: I see. That’s very clever. Paul Cummings, thank you very much. These are great ideas that anybody can use, whether it’s a webinar, teleseminar, or a live event that you want to promote.
Bottom line: Find one or more non-competitors who are already talking to the people you would like to have as clients, and agree to promote each other to your clients. There’s no cost and you’ll probably get a favorable response, such as you got by tripling your webinar audience and getting 50 qualified leads you are now able to market your services to.
Meanwhile, if you want to more clients like your best clients, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your free copy now, while they last.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
What's Wrong With Your Marketing? Maybe It's You
Don't take offense. You're probably a good, competent person.
But when it comes to building your business, you may be the #1 problem.
Why? Because you may be doing it backwards.
Don't worry. You have company ....
You see, when it comes to solving problems -- like how to get more clients -- most people instinctively focus on ... the problem.
But this is backwards.
Because as soon as you identify one problem -- I need a Facebook page! -- you find another -- I need web site traffic! -- and another -- I need a referral program! -- and on, and on, until you don't know where to start.
So you end up doing nothing, or a lot of little things that don't add up to much.
There's a better way, borrowed from a type of psychology known as solution focused therapy.
Solution focused therapy "focuses on what clients want to achieve through therapy rather than on the problem(s) that made them seek help. The approach does not focus on the past, but instead, focuses on the present and future," according to Wikipedia.
One idea in particular from solution focused therapy can really help you. It's the Miracle Question.
Answer this Miracle Question: Tomorrow when you wake up, you realize that in overnight, a miracle has happened! Your marketing problems are solved. But because you are sleeping, you don't know what solved them. So, when you wake up tomorrow morning, what small change will you notice that makes you say to yourself, "Wow, something must have happened -- I've got all the clients and revenues I need!"
If your first answer is, "I don't know," try again. And again. And again, until you can describe just one change in your business that serves as a sign that your marketing problems are solved.
Here's why this is important: You can't believe in your success until you know what it looks like. And, no matter how lousy your marketing is now, you've probably done at least thing once that was successful -- you got one client, you made one sale. Build on that.
You can't build a business on problems -- that's like building a house on sand. Stop focusing on problems.
It's in your successes that you find strength to build on. Think more about past successes and future solutions than about current problems. It may seem awkward or inaccurate, but it's can lead you to better results faster.
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 Kit here, while they last.
But when it comes to building your business, you may be the #1 problem.
Why? Because you may be doing it backwards.
Don't worry. You have company ....
You see, when it comes to solving problems -- like how to get more clients -- most people instinctively focus on ... the problem.
But this is backwards.
Because as soon as you identify one problem -- I need a Facebook page! -- you find another -- I need web site traffic! -- and another -- I need a referral program! -- and on, and on, until you don't know where to start.
So you end up doing nothing, or a lot of little things that don't add up to much.
There's a better way, borrowed from a type of psychology known as solution focused therapy.
Solution focused therapy "focuses on what clients want to achieve through therapy rather than on the problem(s) that made them seek help. The approach does not focus on the past, but instead, focuses on the present and future," according to Wikipedia.
One idea in particular from solution focused therapy can really help you. It's the Miracle Question.
Answer this Miracle Question: Tomorrow when you wake up, you realize that in overnight, a miracle has happened! Your marketing problems are solved. But because you are sleeping, you don't know what solved them. So, when you wake up tomorrow morning, what small change will you notice that makes you say to yourself, "Wow, something must have happened -- I've got all the clients and revenues I need!"
If your first answer is, "I don't know," try again. And again. And again, until you can describe just one change in your business that serves as a sign that your marketing problems are solved.
Here's why this is important: You can't believe in your success until you know what it looks like. And, no matter how lousy your marketing is now, you've probably done at least thing once that was successful -- you got one client, you made one sale. Build on that.
You can't build a business on problems -- that's like building a house on sand. Stop focusing on problems.
It's in your successes that you find strength to build on. Think more about past successes and future solutions than about current problems. It may seem awkward or inaccurate, but it's can lead you to better results faster.
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 Kit here, while they last.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
You and Walt Disney, in Business Together?
Known as "The Most Magical Place On Earth," Disney World is the most-visited theme park on earth, with more than 17 million visitors every year.
When you do the math, and multiply the hundreds of dollars I spent there in one day by 17 million or so, you can see that Disney World may also be the most profitable place on earth.
Walt Disney found a way to make dreams come true for millions of people. I saw proof of that in the smiles of hundreds of children and their parents, myself included, during our day there, which lasted from 8:00 in the morning until nearly midnight. Like many others, I’m sure, it was a repeat visit for me -- my second as a parent, and fifth visit overall. And I’ll be back again.
For this ability to make dreams come true, the world has gladly paid many, many millions of dollars to the Disney Corporation and its shareholders. And it will continue to do so, in good economic times and bad, for many, many years to come.
Now, here’s the exciting part: You can take advantage of this same idea and increase your own profitability, by realizing that you, too, are in the business of making dreams come true.
Think about it. No matter what you do or sell, no matter who your customers are, you are giving people more in value than they are giving you in money.
You are giving people at least one of the following: more money, more time, or more happiness. That’s pretty much it. All goods and services deliver at least one of the above, ultimately.
When you take these facts to their logical conclusion, you realize that you are in the business of making dreams come true.
Example: If you save your customers money, that means they have more left over to spend on their mortgages or rent, which gives them more money to spend on their vacations, dinners with family, retirement -- whatever. Which, ultimately, is making their dreams come true.
It’s the same with time. If you save your customers more of it, that means they can spend more time on their dreams. And if you sell happiness, in the form of vacations, clothes, beauty products, etc., you’re also making dreams come true in some way.
In the end, when you realize that you’re in the business of making dreams come true -- just like Walt Disney and his theme parks-- it ought to motivate you to achieve even more in your business today, this week, this month, this year, and beyond.
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 Kit here, while they last.
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