A friend of mine, who is in the printing business, recently put a magnetic sign on the side of his car, “5000 business cards for $119”. When I asked him if he’s getting any calls from that, he said that he’s got several in the 3 days since it’s up. He also had all the salespeople put the signs on the side of their cars.
Now isn’t that a brilliant idea. I’m sure you’ve seen similar signs, but they typically say general things, like “we do printing” or “computer repair” or “plumbing” (I had a post about this one recently.
My friend created a direct response offer. It’s not just “we sell business cards”, it’s very specific, “5000 cards for $119”. Anyone who is in business, or is self-employed and needs business cards from time to time will obviously be interested in that and will respond.
I would, wouldn’t you?
I’ve said that before, that I live, in a supposedly “declining” area of United States. That’s Michigan. According to the news and what people say, this is one of the states that got hit the hardest economically.
Yet for $70, that’s the cost for 2 signs (one on each side of the car), my friend is getting new orders, his salespeople are getting new orders, without any effort whatsoever.
You can whine and complain how bad things are, or you can go and make things happen.
But they first happen in the mind before actually materializing.
Anyone can do what my friend did to promote their business. You just need to get a little creative and the ideas will start flowing.
Every time I talk to him, he “complains” to me how busy he is with all the orders that he gets. Every day his business is growing, and his business is strictly Business to Business.
And then I go to the post office, to drop off some orders, and I hear people complaining about how tough it is out there, and that benefits are being cut, hours are being cut, departments are being downsized, and on and on and on.
You see, that’s what these people see, and that’s what they get. I see the opposite, so I get the opposite.
Just today I was on the phone with someone who suggested a joint venture to me, using their services, and once we finalized who knows how much money that could bring me, and will keep bringing because of this arrangement.
My friend sees it differently, and he’s getting bombarded with orders. He now has to go hire someone to just take care of his orders and getting back to his customers. Some days he doesn’t even have time to return calls from people who want to buy.
What a problem to have.
By the way he cracked into a very competitive market, where others have been for years, 2 or 3 times longer than he has, and he’s only been at it just a few years, but he passed up most of them in the amount of business he gets.
I think it has to do with how he thinks and what he expects.
I can go on and on, but here’s the bottom line.
1. Think possibilities.
2. Look for problems to solve in the marketplace. The more problems you can solve the more money you can make.
3. And lastly, get creative. Once you find your niche, identify the problems they have, and start providing solutions, look for ways to get better, do more, and provide even more value.
Create a competitive advantage. Be different and show people you deliver and over deliver and people will be drawn to you like to a magnet.
Isn’t it great to be an entrepreneur?
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