Today I’d like to share with you something that I see missing in so many marketing campaigns.

If you’ve been trying to break into the internet marketing world, you probably get daily emails about new product launches.

It seems as though every day there’s a new “magic” pill that comes out that will flood your bank account with money without you having to lift a finger.

And a lot of these marketers have carefully crafted their sales messages to make them so compelling that it’s hard to resist.

But there’s one thing that I see missing in most, not all, but most of these campaigns.

I guess, I was lucky that I’ve spent over 10 years in direct selling before going online, because in that world you had to have it.

It’s also one of the reasons why I was able to develop a large client base in my old business, that still calls me today to do more business with me even though I haven’t done a damn thing to promote my other business in almost 3 years.

Would you like to know what it is?

It’s Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a very profound idea about marketing your business.

This one could make all the difference in your response and how people perceive you.

Before I share it with you, I assume you do want to grow your business and your bottom line, right?

Let me illustrate it for you out of my own file cabinet of experiences in sales.

In my previous life, I had to call a lot of prospects and set up appointments to go see them.

Now who likes getting a phone call at their home from a sales person. And then having that sales person come to their house and sit there trying to sell them something (even if it’s good for them and they need it).

So I had to always make it look like NOT a sales situation. Of course when I start talking to them about coming over and meeting with them to discuss their financial situation, they knew that it was going to be a sales call, BUT I always made it look like a very casual experience.

On the phone I would tell them that I’d like to pop by and share some ideas with them. Same ideas that I shared with their friends who thought that you would benefit tremendously by taking a look at it.

When I came over, I always dressed business casual, never a suite. That’s a big no, no. Someone in a suite with a briefcase, has SALESMAN written all over him.

I would talk to them about them and their kids. I’d ask them some questions about their goals and dreams, to make them very comfortable with me, and only then I would go into some of the details of what I do.

I would do everything in my power to make it look like I’m not there to sell them anything.

Let’s go back to your marketing.

Look at your marketing material, however you market. Whether it’s a sales letter, a website, or an ad in the paper.

Does it have SALESPERSON written all over it? Does it smell like someone trying to sell you something?

The minute they sense sales, they’re gone forever never to return again. And you’ve just wasted an opportunity to tell your story.

So look over your pieces, and see how can you make it stand out, and yet be inviting and non-threatening.

Don’t worry about making huge claims and big promises. Everyone does that. Be different and unique.

Make it look valuable.

Sorry it’s a been a while since I had a post, but what a month it was.

I’d like to ask you a very important question. But first let me tell you what’s been happening.

We spent the entire month of June in Florida. Took my daughter to Disney, then we spent a week in Palm Beach. And then 2 weeks in North Miami. And as soon as we got back, we moved into our new home.

Whew!

But it’s exciting. After all how many people can go away for a month and not miss a beat as far as their business is concerned.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about a letter that changed my life. One of the things that I very vividly imagined is moving into large new home. Having high cathedral ceilings, open floor plan, a large back yard.

The house we just moved in resembles everything that I’ve thought of and imagined. I wanted an office with a wooden door and window panels, and it’s exactly how it looks. The kitchen with granite counter tops and nice big island, stainless steel appliances, with big eating area overlooking a 2 level deck is very close to how I imagined it.

What’s even more exciting is that this past week, as we’re moving in, I get several invitations for joint ventures in product developments and copywriting/consulting services.

The scary part is that while in Florida, I was brainstorming how I’m going to do this when I get back. But the people actually contacted me.

Now here’s my question for you.

Have you Read the rest of this entry »

I’d like to pick up where I left off yesterday and get a little more specific about staying focused.

We talked about the power of your subconscious mind staying focused on the things you need to do by programming it with a specific objective you’re trying to reach.

Napoleon Hill called it your Major Definite Purpose, in “Think and Grow Rich”.

In the 2nd part of this post, I’d like to share with you what helps me stay even more focused.

There’s Pareto Principle of 80/20, that states that in life we get 80% of the results from 20% of the efforts.  It can be applied in other areas, like 80% of your sales come from 20% of the sales people.  Or 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers, and so forth.

As it relates to our topic, I’d like to point out, that we get 80% of productivity from the 20% of the activities that we do.

So to help stay focused on the specific things that you need to do, it’s good to also prioritize your activities.  I make a list of things that need to get done, and then circle the ones that I personally need to do and that are the most important.

In my case, it would be marketing and promotion.  The other things still need to get done, but they’re not as important, and also some could be delegated or outsourced for someone else to do.

It also helps to keep a list of things in front of you.  For example.  If you’re marketing with writing articles online as part of your strategy, then it’s good to keep a list of all these directories on top, in one place, so you don’t have to search for them, as it could get extremely time consuming.  Or if you’re doing social networking, and you have a bunch of sites you need to go to, you can do the same.

Copywriters also keep a swipe file of letters and ads near the top of their pile, so they can refer to it easily.

The point is, that whatever your most important activities are, get a little organized and keep everything in one place.

I know that it may not seem like a big deal, but trust me, it’s a HUGE time saver and it also helps you stay focused on the project you’re doing, instead of focusing your energy on constantly looking for all the things you need.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas on what you do to stay focused.

I’m in the process of getting a new house now, and I was looking for window price online.

I did a Google search, and a bunch of typical sites came up.

But there was one that jumped at me.

Every other one said a bunch of stuff about windows, sizes, etc….  But there was one Google Adwords ad, that simply said – “Looking for New Windows?”

Now is that simple or what.  But guess what, made me click, because it was EXACTLY what I wanted.  I was looking for new windows.

Great ads, they pick up on the conversation the prospect has in their head.  This was the most perfect match to what I was looking for.

Most businesses would say, we have the cheapest, the best windows, we’ve been selling windows since 1955, the largest selection, and on, and on, and on …. Who cares?

Nobody cares about all this stuff.  The only thing a person cares about is what’s in it for him.

So when your prospects are looking for something, what are they looking for, and are you picking up on the conversation they’re having in their head?

A big mistake most marketers and entrepreneurs make in their advertising is talking too much about the product or service they offer and NOT what it will do for their prospect.

Now I’m sure you’ve heard this a million times if you studied any sales or marketing courses or books, and that is, sell the benefits not features.

BUT that’s not the only thing I’m referring to.

I want you to recall one of the most fundamental rules in selling and marketing, and that is that people buy emotionally and NOT logically.

They make their decisions on emotion, and then justify it with logic.

Ok, so when you sell the benefits you are appealing to their emotions. Doing that you will probably be ahead of 90% of businesses out there.

But in this post I’d like to go a little deeper, and give you an advanced copywriting technique.

Are you ready?

Here it goes, Read the rest of this entry »

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, Read the rest of this entry »

As I’m in the process of buying a new house and having to deal with a whole slew of people, it amazes me how few people actually do what they’re supposed to do.

Today’s post is about excellence.  Whether you’re in selling or marketing or both, you have to deal with people.  Even if you sell through a website it’s people that buy from you, not machines.

I’ve been fortunate to have spent over a decade in personal one on one direct sales, which taught me some very important lessons about this concept of excellence.

If you want to attract more people to do business with you, here’s an idea: Read the rest of this entry »

On my way home today I saw a plumber’s van, with big bright letters Bill’s Plumbing, and logo with a phone number.  The logo said – “Tonight you can sleep without hearing a drop”  It’s written in big, bright letters.  It’s cute, but you gotta think, does it really get someone to call?

I give credit to anyone that does anything to market their business.  But one big mistake that most businesses make, and when I say most, I mean 99.9999%, is that they come up with either some cute or loud logos that mean absolutely nothing.

Let’s break this down.

The only purpose of any kind Read the rest of this entry »

Last week Ebay announced something that shocked a lot of people.  They’re discounting the sales of any digital download products.  Now at first that was a shock to most people, and still is.

There are sellers that all they have is digital download items, that means that their business is gone overnight.  I myself, have quiet a few products that are completely digital and are only available by download.

At first, my initial reaction was just like everyone else’s.  I was shocked, disappointed and somewhat upset at the whole situation.

But then I quickly asked myself, what good can come out of this?

And after pondering for sometime here’s what I came up with. Read the rest of this entry »