Don't Be a Dick

Brian Tracy once told a small coaching group I was in words to this effect: "The higher up you go in any good company, the nicer the people are, generally speaking."

I've found that to be true.

Talking today to a very successful CEO who is both a client and a business partner, I was struck by an offhand comment he made, describing his management style: "Don't be a dick."

And I realized that, "Don't be a dick" is a personal version of the Google corporate code, "Don't be evil."

Which makes you think ...

... especially when you see how much success Google has had at not being evil -- and not always succeeding.

So, try it.

Don't be a dick.

If you're currently not a dick, I'm sure you'll agree -- it's a way of life that pays.

If you are a dick, however, try going "dick free" for the next 7 days and see where it takes you.

And if you found these ideas helpful, claim your Free Client Cloning Kit at www.clientcloningsystems.com

Announcing The Unadvertising Agency That Guarantees Results

Do you own or manage a service business, doing at least $500,000 in revenue?

If so, here's news ...

I’d like to help design a money-making plan for your business, identify your ideal clients, and show you how to compel them to ask you for help. This way you can bank more profits every month, without having to worry about where your next client will come from.

I offer this service because I’m a direct-response copywriter specializing in helping my clients boost their sales and profits …

… and there’s a good possibility that you already have a list of undeserved clients who are very responsive to the marketing plan that I’ll be giving you for free. It can make you TWICE as profitable.

If you find the plan that I create for you is valuable, you may wish to become a client of mine. If that’s the case, my rates start at $3995 per month, with no contracts or commitments.

How much new revenue can I deliver for you?

Rapid gains of $50,000 or more are possible. Keep reading to see how …

First, please understand I am not offering you a sales pitch in disguise. I promise not to pressure you or trick you in any way. In fact, if you feel I’ve wasted even one second of your time when we talk, just let me know and I will immediately write you a check for $250.

But before we go further, you need to know that I can’t help everyone …

There are 5 requirements to working with me. You must be able to say "Yes" to all of them:

1) Do you need help? If I think your business is doing all it can to maximize profits from your inactive clients, I'll tell you so. I'm not a know-it-all and you may be doing very well already.

2) Are you willing to let me create "unadvertising" that I know will sell? Except for legal or factual approval, I retain creative freedom. You, your spouse, or your Uncle Al can't mess with what I come up with.

3) Is your business doing at least $500,000 in revenue now? Any business below $500,000 doesn't have the volume to make this work.

4) Do you have a list of satisfied clients or customers I can speak with, to generate testimonials about you?

5) Are you honest, ethical, and do your references check out? I WILL call them. In other words, are you a "salt of the earth" Midwestern type who will honor an agreement to pay me when the money is due?

Now. You may be wondering, "Hey, what have you done for your clients?" Fair question.

I wish I could say that I hit a home run every time, but of course, I can't. But overall, my clients do very well. Here are a few examples ...

• For a Real Estate Investor, I created a sales letter that he mailed to prospects already in his database. The phone started to ring and sales started to happen automatically. Previously, his best year was $200,000. In less than half a year mailing my letters, he's at $660,000.
  
  
• For a Technical Sales Professional, I advised him on a simple follow-up process. Within 24 hours, he made a few calls to existing clients One call netted a sale for $193,000.
  
• For a Computer Support Service, I created a letter to a 2-year-old list of past clients. The letter did so poorly that I never got another chance. I took the loss on all creative fees and my client paid nothing, in keeping with my guarantee.
  
• For a Strategic Consulting Firm, I created a two-page letter to mail to their past clients. It resulted in a windfall of $77,098 in new revenues, with more to come by year's end.
  
• For an Insurance Agent, I created a new print ad for him to run in the newspaper. By making just a few changes in wording, I increased his profits by 671%.

What should you do now?

If you’re interested and if you qualify, you can apply for a free Profit Discovery Session with me at this link

You’ll see a form there with a few questions about your business and what you’re hoping to accomplish. Once you submit that information, I’ll do some market research for you and set up a time to go over it together by phone.

Sound fair? 

If so -- and if you think your business could use a cash windfall of at least $50,000 -- please apply for your no-cost Profit Discovery Session with me at this link.

Sincerely,

Kevin Donlin
Copywriter + Marketing Strategist

P.S. -- A partial list of media that have interviewed me on marketing includes Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur magazine, New York Times, KARE-11 TV (NBC), WXYZ TV (ABC), KMSP TV (Fox), and WCCO Radio (CBS).

P.P.S. -- As a courtesy, I give past clients first right of refusal on anyone who may compete with them. So it may already be too late for you, if someone else has contacted me from your geographic area. Please schedule your free Profit Discovery Session with me at this link … before schedule fills up. After that, this offer will be withdrawn.

 

The Client Cloning Blueprint

 

What's this?  

The Client Cloning Blueprint.

It shows you how to get more clients like your best clients. Without advertising.

You'll be hearing a LOT more from me on this in the coming weeks ...

... but for now, if you want to put an end to "feast or famine" syndrome in your business, my free Client Cloning Kit can help. It's not some cheapo download -- this is a real business-building kit you can hold in your hands. Grab your free copy now, while they last.

Want It? Give It. The Giver's Gain Strategy

Here's a simple idea that can grow you, personally and professionally, faster than almost anything else I know.

It's this: Give what you want to get.

When you give of yourself to your marketplace, you put things in motion that I don't fully understand, but which never fail to make you and your business bigger.

When you are giving, you are growing. When you were giving, you are sharpening your skills and raising your profile.

When you are giving, you are gaining the attention and goodwill of your prospects and referral partners.

What to give? Whatever you want to get.

• Want referrals? Give referrals.
  
• Want leads? Give leads.
  
• Want people to buy your cookies? Give samples.
  
• Want attention paid to your blog? Give attention, by posting comments on other blogs.
  
• Want people to buy your business acumen? Give it away, on a blog, in articles, in free reports, in public seminars.

That last idea gets a LOT of resistance from marketing "experts" but that's understandable. It seems counter-intuitive. Until you realize something. Two things, actually:

1) Nobody does anything with free advice, no matter how good. That's why the libraries are full of people watching YouTube or playing video games instead of reading the books that can solve their problems. So don't worry. Nobody's going to get rich with your brilliant idea.

2) Everybody is impressed by good advice that's free. They think, "If that's the free stuff, his paid stuff must be awesome." So they buy. Because you gave your good stuff away and rose to expert status in their minds (and wallets).

It's not that easy, of course, but you get the idea.

Give what you want to get. At the very least, it will prime your confidence pump by putting you out in the marketplace among prospective clients, instead of home alone in front of a computer screen.

My business doubled last year and it's up another 80% this year largely as a result of this one idea.

Try it.

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.

3 Ways to Get a Bunch More Sales

Here's part one in a 3-part series of postings to help you grow your business faster.

You may know that my next live event, on June 14 in Maple Grove, is aimed at helping entrepreneurs and small business owners work less and earn more.

As part of the registration process, every attendee is asked the same question:

"What's the most challenging or stressful thing going on in your business right now?"

And 80% of the answers are similar. Take at look below and see if you can't spot a trend ...

• Would like to make marketing efforts more effective
• Securing new clients 
• Getting prospects to listen to something that could change their life for the better.
• Lack of clients and not knowing how to go after new ones.
• Long, slow sales cycle. Not being able to have a conversation with the decision maker. They want to email. 
• Budget cuts for our customers (making our prices harder to afford)
• Getting enough people to come in to try our product, then getting them to come back.
• Complex sale & long sales cycle combined with keeping enough work in the pipeline results in "roller-coaster" workload. How can we smooth it out?
• Thinking of new ways to advertise. Also I'm adding a few new services to my business. Trying to get new ideas for that too.

Their words may be different, but their problems are the same: "I need more people to buy."

Good news: Solving that one problem -- by getting a bunch of people to buy from you -- will solve just about every other problem you face in business.

So, how do you get a bunch more sales? Here are 3 ways:

1. Attract more prospects, 
2. Convert more of them to clients, and 
3. Sell more to them

Today, I'll help you with that first part: How to attract more prospects. 

Now, if you want to attract more prospects, 3 of the easiest and most effective methods are:

1) Find referral partners
Not referrals -- referral partners. There's a BIG difference.

You already know that referrals are the easiest people to sell to. The only problem? They tend to happen in small numbers, one at a time, days or weeks apart. Think of referrals as glasses of water.

Referral partners, by contrast, are like wells that deliver streams of referrals to you on a regular basis. Example: If you're a blacksmith and you have a referral partnership with a horse farm, you could get all the referrals you need to stay busy for months. Anyone who sees your clients before you do is a potential referral partner.

In my business as a direct-response copywriter, a single referral partnership has brought me nearly $31,000 in revenue in the past 9 months, by delivering a steady stream of referrals almost weekly. At my June 14 event, I"ll share this story with you -- and my friend Jim Bear will show you exactly how to set up your own referral partnerships. 


2) Give first
You've heard it said that, "Givers gain." It's true. We tend to buy from people we know, like, and trust. And one of the fastest ways to get known, liked, and trusted by people -- and turn them from strangers into buyers -- is to give.

Give what, you ask? Try giving value.

You can give value to prospects by giving your expertise, knowledge, and time to prospects.

On top of that, you can give value through appreciation. Notice the things that people do that make a difference, no matter how small, and point them out. Then, say thank you, and mean it, by way of thank-you notes. Not emails, but handwritten notes, mailed with a stamp.

Example: my copywriting practice is now self-referring and booked for weeks in advance. This is largely a result of my mailing thank-you notes nearly every day for the past three years.

Of course, I’m pretty good at what I do, but given the choice to do business with a vendor who doesn’t show appreciation and one who does, who will get the business? In many cases, it’s me. That can be you, too.

I call this concept "Thank-You Marketing" and I’ll share the whole thing with you on June 14.


3) Use more testimonials
I'm a sneaky person. And I've secretly been visiting the websites of people who signed up for my seminar. Know what I found? A huge lack of testimonials on most of those web sites.

How do you get great testimonials, without hiring somebody like me to interview your clients?

Do these three things: listen, write, ask.

Specifically ...

1. Listen for signs that your clients love what you do.

Any time a client compliments you in any way, your ears should perk up like a dog hearing the UPS truck. This is your cue to ...

2. Write down what your client said, word for word, as best you can -- right away. Then ...

3. Ask if you could use their comments in your marketing materials. Say this:

"Mike, thanks for saying that. I really appreciate it. Would you be willing to let me use your comments, with your name and city, on my web site and other marketing materials? It would mean a lot to me. And it would tell others what to expect when doing business with me."

Nine out of 10 times, your client will agree to let you use their testimonial. Just email their comments to them, along with this note, which often prompts them to add more to their testimonial:

"Mike, thanks again for agreeing to let me use your kind words about my business. Below is what I think I heard you say on the phone today. Would you please add to or subtract from it until it says exactly what you want it to say, then send it back to me? Thank you!"

Stay tuned for part two of this 3-part series tomorrow, when I’ll show you how to convert more prospects into paying clients.

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. 

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.

You and Walt Disney, in Business Together?

I just returned from taking my family to Disney World, in Orlando.

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.

What's the Best Way to Get New Clients?

That's a trick question. There is no ONE best way.

But there is a very easy way to get new clients: Remove the risk of buying from you.

How? With a money-back guarantee.

And guess what? You already have a money-back guarantee -- you just don't know it.

The longer your guarantee and the fewer conditions you put on your guarantee, the more new clients it will bring you.

Watch this to learn how to use a money-back guarantee as a marketing tool.

Best part: A guarantee costs you $0 to implement, will bring you much more money in sales than it will ever cost you in refunds (if you're any good at what you do), and you can create one today.

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

What Are You Really Selling?

This ad from Nordic Track isn't really selling a piece of exercise equipment. That's a commodity. You can get one at Target for about $99.

No. What Nordic Track is selling is ... health.

And how much is that worth? A lot. That's why Nordic Track can charge $999.00 and more for their exercise equipment -- because people want health.

This ad from Gardners Mattress & More isn't really selling mattresses. Those are commodities. You can get one at BeddingExperts.com for about $99.

No. What Gardners is selling is ... a good night's sleep.

And how much is that worth? A lot. That's why Gardners Mattress & More charges up to $18,499 for their mattress sets -- -- because people want a good night's sleep.


Now. What are you really selling? What do your clients want? How much are you charging?

Tip: You can charge more for what you're really selling than you can for what you think you're selling. But you have to know the difference. And you have to sell what people want ...

Meanwhile, if you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, grab your free Client Cloning Kit here.  

How Do I Implement New Marketing Ideas?

That's a question I hear regularly at seminars I lead or attend. And it's essential to answer. Because ideas without implementation are nothing but wasted time.

To implement any new marketing idea, ask yourself: "How can I use this to get just one more client, one more sale from a current client, or one more referral?"

By aiming to succeed just once, you force yourself to analyze, plan, and implement that idea.

If you can't profit from a new idea once, either it isn't for you, or you've done it wrong. And until you can make an idea work one time, it won't work 10 or 1,000 times, so you might as well find out early.

But ... if you can make a new idea work just once to grow your business, get happy. Because you may be on the threshold of a major breakthrough.

Here's an example from my own business, to illustrate ...

Back in 2003, I attended a 3-day marketing seminar led by my hero/mentor, Jay Abraham. One of the speakers was Dr. Donald Moine, who talked about sales scripts. I was so impressed with the idea that I bought a book of sales scripts and took them back to my business.

For the unfamiliar, a sales script is your sales presentation, written out ahead of time; use it on the phone or memorize it before meeting a prospect in person. Your sales script should include the most-convincing lines you've ever said, including answers to typical objections, with room for you to customize your answers.

Even Lawrence Olivier used a script. You couldn't tell, because he practiced and internalized the words until they flowed naturally.

The truth is, we all use scripts, even you -- right now. Because we all have responses that we fall back on when talking to prospects. According to Dr. Donald Moine, if you're going to use a script, you might as well create and use a good one.

That was one idea I took from the Jay Abraham seminar to build my business. And I set the bar low. I aimed to use scripts to get just one new client. Which I did, about 2 weeks later ....

A prospect called after reading one of my ads. He sounded excited about going forward. But when I asked for the sale, he replied, "I want to think about it." Ever heard that one before?

Prior to using a sales script, I would have said, "Okay, I'll call you in a day or two to follow up." But those phone calls never got answered and those prospects all went their own way without buying.

This time, consulting my new script book, I replied: "Sometimes two heads are better than one. Why don't we think about it together right now? Tell me what questions you still have."

He then said that he wasn't sure he could afford my services.

Again consulting my script book, I said: "If you could afford it, would you work with me?"

He said yes.

I replied: "Great. We can split the project into 2 installments, 30 days apart, to make it easier on your budget."

"Sounds good," he said. He gave me his credit card info right there on phone. He went on to become a very happy client, who profited a great deal from my work. And I've used sales scripts ever since.

But none of that would have happened had I not tried to get just one new client using that new idea I heard in a seminar.

Fact: Every huge breakthrough in business starts out as a small success -- one more client, one more sale, or one more referral.

To take your success to the next level, ask yourself: "How can I make this new idea a habit (so I easily repeat it) or a system (so it gets done automatically)?"

Your ability to systematically grow your small successes largely determines your fate in business. What are you doing to make this happen?

Resource: If you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, the free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your copy here. 

Are You Playing by the Wrong Rules?

Ever feel like you have to work harder and harder to stand out in a crowded marketplace?

Maybe you're playing by the wrong rules.

Other people (your competitors among them?) may tell you that:

• you need more certifications or degrees (or both)
• you need to publish a book
• you need more prospects in your pipeline
• you need a blog
• you need to be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and/or LinkedIn

May I suggest a shortcut?

First, watch this short video ...



Get that?

You can certainly play by other peoples' rules. But that could be deadly to your business.

Because, no matter how good you are with a sword, there's always going to be a better, faster swordsman who can cut you down.

Instead, why not play by your own rules? It worked for Indiana Jones in that crowded marketplace.

It's worked for me in my businesses. And it's worked for most super-successful people I know.

Want an example? 

When I first started out in business in 1996, I was a resume writer. A quick look through the Yellow Pages told me two things:

1. There was a lot of competition (Yay. That meant there was a market for my services) and ... 
2. There was a lot of competition (Boo. Most were very experienced and ran big, expensive ads).

Had I played by other peoples' rules, I would have had little chance of succes. How can a startup compete against "22 years' experience" (I had 0 years) or "We accept all credit cards" (I didn't) or "Published author" (I wasn't).

So I changed the rules. How? Simple: I offered an unconditional money-back guarantee. Nobody else did.

By changing the rules, I changed the game. And I won.

Sure, I refunded a few clients ... less than 2%. But my sales took off the day the new Yellow Pages came out with my ad. And they never slowed down. (Math tip: keeping 98% of $100,000 with a money-back guarantee is better than keeping 100% of $20,000 without one.)

In fact, within 18 months of starting, I had to hire two former competitors part-time to handle the overflow business that was coming in.

So. What can you do to change the rules in your favor?

Here are some ideas ...

1) If your competitors' voice-mail greetings are boring (and they probably are), why not try a voicemail greeting that's (GASP) fun or lighthearted? The #1 sin in marketing is being boring, as my mentor Dan Kennedy likes to say.

2) If your competitors' websites all say basically the same thing (and they probably do), why not look outside your industry for inspiration? That's how I found the idea for a money-back guarantee -- not from parroting other resume writers, but borrowed from a prior client, FedEx.

3) If your competitors rely nearly 100% on email or phone calls to contact prospects (and they probably do), why not use direct mail, in-person seminars, teleseminars, etc. to get your message out? Even if your message is similar, a different medium can drive it home better.

I could (and will) write more on this, but you get the idea.

If you're not winning the marketing game, take a look at the rules. Are they slowing you down? If so, try writing your own rules and playing your own game. You may find it's easier to win.

Resource: If you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, the free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your copy here. 

Business Thank You Letters: Money in the Bank?

I get a lot of questions about mailing thank-you letters to clients, because I speak and write about the topic a lot.

In a nutshell, sending thank you letters makes you profitable two ways: by making you remarkable and by making other people feel appreciated. Win-win.

Here are some of the most common questions about sending business thank you letters to clients, with answers ...

Q. Is it okay to send thank-you letters to clients by email, or do I have to mail them?

A. That depends. Is it okay to send birthday cards to your parents or an anniversary card to your spouse by email only? I thought not. Well, the same goes for your clients -- mail them a thank-you note or it means little/nothing.


Q. On what occasions should I send thank-you letters to clients?

A. On what occasions do you want to make clients feel good? Almost any reason will do, but here are 3: thank clients for every purchase, referral, or testimonial they give you.


Q. What format should I follow when sending thank-you letters to clients?

A. The only real way to get a thank-you letter wrong is to not send one. But if you thank them specifically for what they did and tell them how much you appreciate them, you'll be fine.


Q. What about sending thank you notes with pre-printed messages that I just have to sign? Are they okay?

A. Pre-printed thank you letters are about as okay as pre-printed holiday cards -- not okay. The message they convey is: "You're important to me, but not very." One handwritten thank-you note of 30 words is worth more than one pre-printed thank-you note of 300 words, in my view.


Q. I don't have time to send thank-you letters to clients. Do I really have to do this?

A. You make time for all sorts of things that fritter away your time, energy, and money every day. You can make time -- about 20 minutes are all that are needed -- to write and mail 3-5 thank-you notes every day.

Here's a final reason to mail thank you notes to clients, from sales legend Tom Hopkins:

Because I understood that building relationships is what selling is all about, I began early in my career to send thank you notes to people. I set a goal to send ten thank you notes every day. That goal meant that I had to meet and get the names of at least ten people every day. I sent thank you notes to people I met briefly, people I showed properties to, people I talked with on the telephone, and people I actually helped to own new homes.

I became a thank you note fool. And guess what happened? By the end of my third year in sales, my business was 100% referrals! The people I had expressed gratitude to were happy to send me new clients as a reward for making them feel appreciated and important.

Resource: If you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, the free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your copy here.

How to Frack and Extract New Profits

Fracking is in the news a lot these days.

It's a technique to extract oil and natural gas from formerly inaccessible places. And it promises to deliver untold billions of dollars to those who use it.

Good news: The same thinking behind fracking can extract new profits from your business.

All you need do is drill deeper using different techniques than before. And it's not NEARLY as hard or expensive as real fracking.

This is fracking. It takes years and costs millions of dollars.

Example: If clients don't buy as often as you'd like, why not simply ask them to buy on a schedule that you choose?

The easiest way is to hold a client appreciation sale. Create a special offer only for current clients. Write and mail them a letter inviting them to take advantage. It's that simple.

Here's what one of my clients said about the letter I wrote for her client appreciation sale, held at Thanksgiving:

"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!!!"
-- Kathleen Brogan, All Mechanical Services, Richfield, Minnesota

This is a sales letter. It takes days and costs relatively little.

 
Now that your brain is warmed up, here are 4 more ways to "frack and extract" hidden profits from your business ...


1) Get more clients.
Examples: advertise more (roll a successful promotion out to another medium) ... advertise better (test continually) ... use more testimonials from clients in your ads ... create a unique selling proposition (Why should I buy from you?) ... use a money-back guarantee (to remove risk).


2) Get clients to spend more.
Examples: offer a cross-sell ("Would you like fries with that?") ... offer an upsell ("Would you like to supersize that?") ... 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.
Examples: mail 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.
Examples: 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) ... give extra care and attention to your top referrers (to encourage more of what's already working)

New ideas like these can extract profits from your business that you never thought possible -- or even knew existed.

Why not pick just one and try it today?

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the results your hard work deserves. To learn how to boost your revenues and profits faster, please click here. 

Your Weakest Connection?

As I first learned in the book Linchpin, Ed Sutt made small changes to an everyday item and, in the process, invented a revolutionary device that will save countless lives.

You see, Ed Sutt invented a better nail.

And yes, this has PLENTY to do with building your business.

Here's the story, from Popular Science:

In 1995 a Clemson University graduate student named Ed Sutt took off for a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Caribbean. But beaches and rum drinks weren’t on the agenda for this civil engineer. Hurricane Marilyn had just torn through St. Thomas, and Sutt was part of a team examining how and why 80 percent of the island’s homes and businesses had collapsed in the storm’s 95mph winds.

   “The destruction was so complete in places that it was almost surreal,” Sutt recalls. “There were troops in the streets and military helicopters hovering overhead.” As Sutt moved through the wreckage of roofless and toppled-over houses, he was struck by the sense that much of the destruction could have been avoided. “In house after house,” he says, “I noticed that it wasn’t the wood that had failed -- it was the nails that held the wood together.”

Get that?

A house is as strong as its weakest nail, just as a chain is as strong as its weakest link. Weak connections lead to catastrophic failures.

Now.

Think about your business. Does it ever feel like you're facing hurricane-force winds?

If so, you may fear that your business is failing.

But ... perhaps, it's not your business that's failing. Perhaps it's what's holding your business together that's failing. And that would be relationships.

Relationships hold a business together, just as nails hold a house together.

The more personal relationships you have -- with clients, vendors, partners, bloggers, followers, church/temple/mosque members, et al -- the stronger and more resistant to headwinds your business will be.

Think: Where are your relationships weakest? In your:

• networking?
• strategic partnerships?
• follow-up with prospects?
• client service?

Your weakest relationships could lead to a catastrophic failure in your business.

You might want to nail them down.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the results your hard work deserves. To learn how to boost your revenues and profits faster, please click here.

How to be Remarkable: Phone Call from Seth Godin

Books have been written by better writers than I about how to deliver a remarkable experience that your clients tell others about.

One of those writers is Seth Godin.

In his book, Purple Cow, and in his blog, Seth's message is pretty simple: To be remarkable, do something worth making a remark about.

Want an example?

Listen to a remarkable voice mail I received on Friday, April 18, 2008 ...

If your speakers aren't turned up, here's a transcript:

"Kevin, it's Seth Godin. Thanks for your super-nice note. Just wanted to let you know I got it. Have a great weekend." 

That was Seth, calling to thank me for a letter I mailed him, in which I thanked him for a remarkable presentation he made at an event I attended.


Here's what I wrote to him:

Dear Seth,

I want to thank you for your presentation last Wed. at Jay Abraham's Reunion Reunion.

Your ideas were both inspirational and practical -- an ultra-rare combination.

I especially liked what you said about curiosity -- how it is essential to success and how a fundamentalist looks at the world to see how it fits what they believe, while a curious person looks and changes what they believe, as needed.

I am now paying a little more attention to how I look at the world.

Thanks again and kind regards,


Kevin Donlin

P.S. -- I'm sending you this "paper email" to make absolutely, positively sure of getting through your spam filter :-)

Turns out, my writing and mailing an out-of-the-ordinary note was remarkable enough to Seth that he called to say, "Thank you" in return.

Now, I'm remarking about Seth's remarkable action here on my blog.

See how this works?

Best part: You can start your own remarkable virtuous circle by doing something for a client today that's worth making a remark about.

Why not start by writing or saying, "Thank 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.

Which Clients Should You Clone?

This blog is called "Inside Marketing" because it's faster, easier, and more profitable to grow a business from the inside. Examples:

• Referrals from current clients will buy from you faster, easier, and more profitably than total strangers.
  
• Up-selling ("Want to supersize that?") and cross-selling ("Want fries with that?") to people already buying are faster, easier, and more profitable than selling to cold prospects.

But, with power comes responsibility. Inside marketing works so well that you must pick your targets carefully.

Specifically, to build a business that's fun and profitable, you should clone only clients who are fun and profitable. Your criteria for "cloneable clients" might include the following:

• Clients who spend a lot with you over two or more years
• Loyal fans who refer lots of other new clients
• Recent buyers who are likely to respond to seasonal or new product offers
• Clients with a profitable buying pattern, such as those who have purchased 3 times in the last 3 months

However you decide which clients to clone, the important thing is to decide.

Once you form a clear picture of your ideal clients, fun things happen. Building your business becomes faster, easier, and more profitable.

But don't take my word for it ...

This week, ask 3 successful entrepreneurs to describe their ideal client in detail. You will likely get a lot of detail.

Then, ask 3 unsuccessful entrepreneurs to describe their ideal client in detail. You will likely get a lot of blank stares.

Meanwhile, know this: You can't get more clients like your best clients until you know who your best clients are.  

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 Create a Permanent Business Asset

Here's a marketing lesson you'll want to devour, from a Wall Street Journal story about a popular San Fransisco deli ...

 

The owners of Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen started their business with a dream: to bring traditional Jewish foods such as hand-sliced pastrami and house-smoked trout, to San Francisco.

But the economics of opening a location—costs can range between $300,000 and $500,000 for a 1,500-square-foot space with a liquor license in San Francisco—pushed the young restaurateurs to launch with a more temporary approach: the pop-up.

Pop-up restaurants [are] temporary eateries that set up shop for a few days, weeks or months in spaces such as hotel lobbies or other restaurants that close for the night.

Start up costs: About $2,000 to $2,500 a week, which covered rental space in a commissary kitchen, ingredients, and liability insurance, and was equivalent to what the partners, who worked without pay, earned during each service.

The Wise Sons pop-up soon began gathering crowds and garnering attention in the local press. In late February, just over a year since starting the pop-up, which still operates once a week, the partners opened a fixed location in the city's Mission District.

The obvious lesson? If your idea is good and you work hard, you can turn humble origins into grand success.

But there's another, more-important lesson buried in the story ...

Pop-ups also appeal to established restaurateurs such as Bill Chait, managing partner of Sprout LA, which operates six Los Angeles restaurants.

Pop-ups are an ideal way to reach a younger audience, he said. For Mr. Chait, who was already paying for the location and some of the staff salaries, input costs were minimal, and he made a margin of about 20% on each event, he said.

"The circle of people we have in this universe, it's our target market. It's social-media driven and younger," Mr. Chait said. A mailing list of more than 4,000 names accrued through the pop-ups "are big diners at our restaurants" now, Mr. Chait said.

Get that?

Chait used his temporary restaurants to build a permanent asset -- a mailing list of more than 4,000 customers. And they're coming back to dine at his permanent restaurants.

Chait is the only restaurateur in the article to mention a mailing list. My guess is Chait will be the only one in business 5 years hence -- because he's the only one building a permanent foundation.

A mailing list and/or customer database is the most valuable asset you can own. It's a rock upon which you can build a business that lasts.

You may have 1,000 followers on Twitter, but Twitter owns them -- not you.

You may have 1,000 friends on Facebook, but Facebook owns them -- not you.

If you don't have a customer database or mailing list, any success you have now is temporary. In the long run, you will get owned -- by the competition.

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 Create a Remarkable Experience

Want more revenues, more profits, and less competition?

Then you want to create an experience for your clients.

Sales and growth advisor Karen Jackson writes:

"... people (whether in the form of a consumer or a business) buy from those companies that make their experience delightful. It’s obvious that there’s no lack of coffee shops, but few coffee shops create a delightful experience.

"Enter Starbucks with all the ingredients to delight: well-trained & friendly staff, wi-fi, music, comfy chairs, a beautiful display case with fresh food, consistent quality. Customers came, they stayed, they returned, they told their friends."

Now. You may be skeptical ...

Your clients are too smart to be swayed by "experiences." Or not smart enough. Or too busy. Or too price conscious.

But are your clients people? Then experiences matter.

And is your product or service more complex than a popscicle? Then you can create a profitable, remarkable experience around it.

No joke. Popsicles are the ultimate commodity. Any 5-year-old can make and sell them. All you need are frozen juice and some sticks.

Yet ... you can make a popsicle that's remarkable -- an experience. One that inspires brand loyalty and word-of-mouth advertising.

How?

Add jokes. Like these ...

Cost to the manufacturer? Probably less than $0.01 in printing per stick. (And I don't think they pay any royalties for those jokes.)

But what's the effect of those little jokes? Big. They add an extra smile to a tasty treat. The jokes create an experience that's remarkable.

Here's proof: Last Thursday afternoon, my teenage daughter remarked, "We had popsicles after lacrosse practice, but they weren't so great. I wish we had those ones with jokes on the sticks."

That's the definition of remarkable -- people remarking about you. It's what you want your customers to do.

And you don't need a nine-figure marketing budget like Starbucks or a factory stamping out jokes on sticks  to create an experience that makes your business remarkable.

Just add a smile to your clients' day today.

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

Want to improve your marketing in 2016 -- 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 a Google Document that 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.

Also: it's FREE. Gratis. No cost.

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

The Marketing Dashboard

Here's what those columns mean ...

• 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 free copy? No opt-in or anything -- just click here.

One more thing: If you own a business, there's a box of 11 Marketing Multipliers waiting to be shipped to you. You can try it Free. Click here now.

Win, Profit, Repeat

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.