Archive for June, 2009

In the 7+ years in my business, I have met some incredible people and learned some powerful things.

The one big thing I noticed?

…many of the top gurus out there keep one thing fairly quiet from their contacts.

5 years ago I was on a call with my mentor, Ted Nicholas (the $6 billion dollar man),
and he mentioned something in an off-the-cuff manner.

Then he said “I don’t normally like to talk about this subject”.

What surprised me was this one thing he mentioned that was a significant contributor
to his success, was something he didn’t discuss!

Interesting…

So I dug deep and interviewed 53 of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and
brought out my first print book, Entrepreneurial Spirits.  Now sold out, it opened up all
kinds of doors to me, and the person I want to introduce you to on this free call is a
master at making BIG things happen quickly in your life using the
same technique Ted mentioned..

Marilyn Jenett is a name you may not know… but I highly suggest you at least read this
letter, and then decide if you are up for the challenge and want to join us on the
free call next week.

Meet Marilyn here… http://www.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/prosper
Hope you join us on Monday.

Troy
http://www.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/prosper

Continued from the last post…

While these may not be popular or “sexy”, they are important and will fast track your success.

Rarely is success as glamorous as pitched in the hype filled emails. It doesn’t happen with the click of a button and overnight riches. It is a precess you must go through on your own pace… sometimes you can speed things up if you listen to others who have been down the same path before.

A few more tidbits that will keep you on the right path…

5) All your marketing and advertising MUST contain some form of direct response measurement device. If you have no way of measuring the effectiveness of your marketing and advertising – then you are wasting your money.  Use ext. 123 for people phoning in for information to track. Use ext. 123 to campaign A that runs in newspaper B, ext. 234 for Campaign B that runs in magazine C.  Use dept numbers, extensions, studio numbers, program references, and different product names – find a way to track everything – then measure one against another.

6) Do not fall for the ad sales flap. Almost all of the advertising reps out there will hate this but its true. Most of them have no clue on what makes advertising effective – ask them – you’ll see.  They will say things like exposure, repeatability, memorable – etc.  That is what they were taught in their training classes – taught by others who have no clue about effective marketing. All they are concerned with is getting you to buy an ad – and the bigger the ad the better.

They will say your ad needs to run 7 times to get a sale.

Bull.

They will see that running your ad for 12 months will double your brand recognition.

Partially bull – it may increase your recognition but will do nothing to help sales. Your advertising must pay for itself (break even can be a good thing initially) on the FIRST time the ad is run.  If it doesn’t – test a new one.

If it makes money the first time, it will the second, and the third time. If it loses money the first time, it’ll lose money the second time and the third time as well.  Your advertising must make money the first time – and the only way to tell is through the tracking you do.

7) Make it as irresistible as possible for your customers to try you out. Offer risk-free propositions, trial periods, long guarantee times, extra bonuses – whatever it takes. Make it so they are better off in the end for at least giving you a try – if it doesn’t deliver, they walk away with all their money in hand and an extra bonus for their time invested in giving you a try.

Always remember – your marketing is the ultimate financial leverage in your business. If you place an ad that costs you $XXX.  No matter if it generates you 1 lead, 100 leads or even 1,000 leads – your investment is the same.  Testing different headlines, body copy, subheads, offers, bonuses and guarantees can significantly increase your bottom line returns – and the difference can be staggering.

Side note: A famous marketer Jay Abraham tells the story of a financial publication company that was running a full page ad that was generating $50,000 per month in sales.  A 3-word change in the headline turned it into $250,000 per month in sales!  3 words changed and 5,000% increase in sales.  So testing can pay enormous dividends.

4 Brutal Keys To Success In Your Business

I say brutal because some of theses keys may rub you the wrong way – but when you step back and take a non-ego-driven look – they are all very true.  Follow them and prosper – ignore them and perish.

Sorry to be harsh – but it’s true.

1) You have no idea what your customers want. You cannot guess this, read it in a magazine, nor base it on what your competitors are offering (unless they are wildly successful with it).  It is impossible to guess what will or will not work out in the real world.  You must test various approaches, offer anonymous surveys and questionnaires. Focus groups are a useful tool for  probing  reactions to advertisements, programs and exploring concepts but they are very subjective and not statistically valid.

2) People do not change. Despite the craziness of our “proudly-busy” world – the basic human appeals and desires remain the same today as they did 1,000 years ago.  Business has changed – new products and services are coming out at an astonishing rate – but people still buy based on fear, greed, love, sex, riches, health, happiness, beauty.  A fantastic book on this subject is The Psychology of Influence by Robert Cialdini.

3) People will not appreciate you or your products – unless you tell them why they should. They will buy based on what they want – and you can totally change the foundation on what it is that they want.  Let’s say you are a widget distributor in a highly competitive business.

Your main differentiation is that you seek out 150 manufacturers every year, you screen out their hiring procedures, their quality standards must be at a 99.95% acceptance level, their warranty is the best in the business, the service is above all others. The product lasts 3.7 times as long as the next largest competitors.

Your customers have no clue about this – unless you TELL them.

They will truly appreciate you, your offerings, and your honesty if you lay this out for them in a compelling story on your web page, in direct mail, on the back page of your brochures or catalog.  Tell them what you have done for them to make their purchase the best choice – and they will buy.

4) In your advertising and marketing you must tell a complete story. This is along the lines of point 3 but very worthy of a further description.  Once you get a prospective customer’s attention in your marketing or sales effort, you must tell them a compelling story about your main benefits.

Tell them about the process you go through, how you have helped 4,577 people lead fuller lives, how you traveled the world to find your newest offering, and how you spent $517 on long distance fees finding the perfect partner company that looks after the 10 year warranty program.  There is so much to tell – that they would have no idea of - unless you tell them.

Never worry about being too long in your copy or brochures.  Everyone fights this – “too long” or “too wordy” or “no one will read all of that text” – but the FACT is – they are all wrong (This fact is based on 100 solid years of documented proof!).

You can only be too boring in your marketing – never too complete or long.  If you fought tooth and nail to get an appointment with a critically important client – would you walk in and do a song and dance show complete with juggling balls – then end at the 30-second mark abruptly?

Of course not.

You would do everything in your power to explain all the intricacies of your offering, the benefits, the proof, and the bonuses – no matter how long it took to close the sale.

More of these truisms to come!

“The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting
goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become
endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no
matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to achieving your dreams.”

Og Mandino
1923-1996, Author

I need your help (a challenge for you)…

Hope you had a great week.  Summer is finally here (more like bacK) in Calgary.

(it was 80 degrees last Monday and snowed on Thursday… about as ridiculous as it gets!)

I need your help today.

Over at Clayton Makepeaces bblog, I have written the Small Business Mastery article for today, and I have a challenge you and I can work on together.

As you might know, Ronald McDonald House is my charity of choice for some very personal reasons.

I volunteer for them, and need some ideas from you. Ideas only is all I am asking… can you help?

Have a look at http://www.smallbusinessmastery.com and let me know your thoughts.

Thanks, Troy

PS: The Sales Letter Success Webinars are rocking and rolling… the next one starts in a month.

This is the perfect opportunity to start working on your marketing and promotions for the summer and fall.

Have a look at http://www.saleslettersuccess.com - hope you can join us.

I just heard about technorati and am impressed.  They give you the ability to post your blog on their site, and get significant links back… which is ALWAYS helpful with Google.

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