The Marketing (and Productivity) Secret from Golf

"Golfers on green" by Sands Beach Lanzarote

 There's an unwritten rule of etiquette in golf: When you reach the green, repair your ball mark -- and one more.

That way, the green stays pristine for your group and the players who follow you. It's a great tradition, because it's quick, easy, and it works.

This idea of "and one more" has implications for your business, too.

Examples:

• send a follow-up email to a prospect -- and one more
• write and mail a thank-you note -- and one more
• call to be helpful to a client -- and one more

So, think of your tasks in marketing (or anything) as ball marks on a golf green. Fix one -- and one more. Because you can't finish anything you don't start. And once you start, it's easy to ride the momentum ... and do one more.

Now. 

If you want more new clients like your best clients, grab your Free Client Cloning Kit.

Make Your Business Remarkable with Direct Mail

Email is called many things -- spam, a hassle, a chain that ties you to work 24/7. But remarkable is not one of those things.

Yet people remark all the time about sincere, personal letters that they get in the mail -- probably because they're so rare these days.

That's one reason that direct mail, done right, can make your business remarkable. For the price of a stamp.

And here's the hidden lesson in that video: Harvey Mackay, Brian Tracy, and Dr. Myers are all busy, successful people. Yet they aren't too busy for the marketing communications that matter, which includes writing (or dictating) letters to people who matter.

Anyone can take 10 seconds to send you an email. Big deal. But not everyone will take 3-5 minutes to mail you a letter. That's remarkable.

If you think you're "too busy" for direct mail, think again. Harvey Mackay, Brian Tracy, and the successful Dr. Myers aren't too busy.  They found or made the time to send personal letters that connect and get remarked about. That's remarkable.

Bottom line: You don't need to be a genius to show up in the mailbox when the rest of your competitors are showing up in an email inbox. You just have to show up. But if you're like most business owners or entrepreneurs, you think you're "too busy" for direct mail.

Now. If your business is doing at least $100,000 in revenue, my Free Client Cloning Kit can give you a slight edge -- and then some. It's NOT another download. This is a real business-building kit you can hold in your hands. Grab yours now, while you can.

The Big Power of a Little Thanks

If marketing is the best investment on earth (and I believe it is), a little handwritten thank-you note like this one could be, ounce-for-ounce, the most cost-effective asset you can add to your portfolio.

(A big thanks to Tom Majewski for attending my last seminar and for this!)

Here are 3 reasons why there is big power in a little thank-you note:

#1: It's real. A handwritten thank-you note creates a lasting impact that's not possible with email. Research by The UK's Royal Mail and Bangor University found that physical materials, like a letter you can hold, "triggered greater emotional processing."

The study, Using Neuroscience to Understand the Role of Direct Mail, found that "tangible materials actually leave a deeper footprint in the brain."

Wow. Leaving footprints in somebody's brain. Try doing that with a text or email.


#2: It's genuine. We love dogs for the same reason we loathe used-car salesmen: The former are 100% genuine and the latter are ... not.

A message that's 100% genuine, like a thank-you note, will cause people to lower their guard and let it into their hearts. Which is what you want for any marketing message.


#3: It builds relationship equity. That's a mouthful, but the idea is simple: We keep score. We remember who did us right and who did us wrong. We make mental deposits and withdrawals from the Relationship Bank in our heads.

With every thank-you note you write,  you make a deposit of relationship equity. And through the magic of compound interest, those deposits will grow exponentially over time.


Now, look. I know a thank-you note won't close a $10,000 sale or get you a meeting with Richard Branson. It's a little thing. But it will pave the way for bigger things later. Examples:

• One thank-you note launched a television career for Rosie O'Donnell.
• Thank-you notes built HEX, a high-tech company, into a thriving brand.
• One thank-you note delivered $10,800 for one of my blog readers, Mark Guerattaz.

Now. If your business is doing at least $100,000 in revenue, my Free Client Cloning Kit can give you a slight edge -- and then some. It's NOT another download. This is a real business-building kit you can hold in your hands. Grab yours now, while you can.

Free Consultations and Ezines Are Dead. Good Riddance!

Bad news: If you hope to attract prospects by offering a free consultation or a free email newsletter like every other business, your business will look like ... every other business.

In the eyes of your prospects, you will be seen as a commodity. And how do people shop for commodities? By price. Which sucks for you.

Good news: You don't have to attract prospects with the same freebies as everybody else. One way to stand out is to simply rename your materials.

Better news: When you do this, you can quickly become a Category of One in your market -- and bypass the commodity trap.

How?

Create a unique name for whatever you give away as a "free consultation" and/or "free email newsletter."

Instead of offering a "free consultation," you can offer a:

• Free Strategy Session
• Hidden Profit X-ray
• Complimentary Sales Blueprint

And instead of offering a "free email newsletter," you can offer a:

• Client Cloning Kit (my own unique name)
• Monthly Profit Builder
• Sales Explosion Bulletin

Note: Email itself can make you a commodity. You'll stand out much faster in any market if you send your materials by U.S. Mail. Don't doubt me on this one -- ask yourself: Do you want more email in your life, or less? And what about your prospects, do they want more email or less? Case closed.

Just as a small change to the rudder can change the course of a ship by thousands of miles, these two small changes to your marketing can change the course of your business by thousands -- or millions -- of dollars.

Now. If your business is doing at least $100,000 in revenue, my Free Client Cloning Kit can give you a slight edge -- and then some. It's NOT another download. This is a real business-building kit you can hold in your hands. Grab yours now, while you can.

Time Arbitrage: 75% More Profits, Without Working Overtime

Did you know?

You can earn 75% more profits this week, without working overtime, simply by changing how you manage your time.

That's because most things don't matter in your life, your business, and your marketing.

Based on the 80/20 Rule and my own 21 years of experience, only a few of your marketing efforts -- about 20% of what you do to grow your business -- really make you money. It could be referrals, trade shows, magazine ads, your blog, etc. But a high percentage of your profits -- as much as 80% or more -- come from a vital few marketing efforts.

The other 80% of your marketing (Facebook, the Chamber of Commerce, email blasts, etc.) don't work so well. They produce only about 20% of your profits.

Now. If the vital 20% of your marketing 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 high-value 20% and your low-value 80%, then move time and money from your Trivial 80% to your Vital 20%.

This is easier shown than explained. So take a look at this picture of a calendar showing a 5-day work week ...

See those 4 nickels on Monday through Thursday? They represent how 4/5 (or 80%) of your time produces about 1/5 (or 20%) of your profits.

See those 8 dimes on one day, Friday? They represent how 1/5 (or 20%) of your time produces about 80% of your profits.

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

Do this: Replace one day of low-value 80% marketing efforts (blogging, networking, etc.) with just one day of high-value 20% efforts (calling past clients, public speaking, etc.). Take a look ...

This is how you go from 100% to 175% of profits -- a 75% gain -- without working overtime: Do more of what makes you money in the time you now waste doing what doesn’t.

Like all great truths, this one is simple. We've replaced a 20% chunk of efforts (and profits) with an 80% chunk, in the same amount of time.

We haven't made more time. We've made time count more. I call this Time Arbitrage. And it's lever #1 of 5 levers that can multiply your marketing.

Now. If your business is doing at least $100,000 in revenue, my Free Client Cloning Kit can give you a slight edge -- and then some. It's NOT another download. This is a real business-building kit you can hold in your hands. Grab yours now, while you can.