Join our free email newsletter and get business building advice right to your inbox! Learn the secrets of success with our daily free email newsletter and improve your business faster.
Testimonials add credibility and proof to your promotional copy — which is why no marketing campaign should ever go out without a slew of ‘em.
But often your customers, although ebullient about your product or service, aren’t able to express their enthusiasm very well in writing. So what do you do?
LW, a friend and colleague, is a master of good hiring. His first hire — an entry-level marketing assistant — bloomed into a world-class marketing pro who is already running his company for him. The two of them hired another superb employee who helped them double their sales in one year. Now, the staff consists of four people, and they are doing as much business as it would normally take eight people to do.
It takes time and effort to hire good people, but it’s well worth it. Here are the four most important things I’ve learned:
(more…)
In most businesses, the 80/20 rule applies to just about everything — including the question “Which customers contribute most to our bottom line?”
There is a good chance that about 20 percent of your customers are responsible for more than 80 percent of your profits. (more…)
MaryEllen and I were sitting in my office the other day, discussing our upcoming joint speech at ETR’s Info-Marketing Bootcamp.
We talked about how smart it is for a business to host conferences. As we say in our book Changing the Channel, it can teach you a great deal about your customers that you can’t get from surveys or marketing statistics. It is a must, in fact, for any business that “wants to know its customers on a face-to-face basis.” (more…)
I’ve been starting businesses for 30 years. And after taking a look at those that failed right away, those that lingered and then failed, those that puttered along, and those that soared, I have come to the conclusion that to be successful, you need a “ready-fire-aim” approach. (more…)
If you want to increase profits, trim low-profit-margin items from your product line.
They are probably eating up limited and valuable resources that could be better used elsewhere. (more…)
I’m so old, I’ll betcha my tie has gone in and out of style at least five times.
Not that I pay much attention to such things, mind you.
My professional life revolves around marketing trends. And there again, my advanced age means I’ve seen many promotional styles over the years. (more…)
What I am about to tell you is the most important thing you will ever hear about starting a business. (I have probably started more businesses than anyone I’ve ever met, so please forgive me for sounding like a know-it-all.)
Ready? (more…)
Contrary to what the Obama administration would like you to believe, the Great Recession is alive and growing.
Businesses are going bankrupt right and left. And those that aren’t tanking are seeing their profits diminish. This trend will probably continue. So if you are struggling to make profits and are hoping the economy is going to come roaring back, forget it. (more…)
Consumers aren’t looking for brand-new products. They are looking for clever new adaptations of products they already know and love.
What does this mean to you as an entrepreneur? (more…)
I sent a memo to a client last week, telling him about a clever advertising campaign that one of his competitors is using. I had inside info that the competitor is making a lot of money with it.
My client’s response was to tell me what is wrong with what his competitor is doing. And then to explain why his program is “much better.” (more…)
Important Sales Insight: People often feel guilty about saying “no.”
After you’ve spent time trying to persuade them to buy something, they feel bad about just saying “no.” They may say “no,” but there is lingering guilt for having wasted your time. (more…)
If you are lucky enough to be in the company of a successful businessman, don’t waste his precious time — and yours — chitchatting about baseball.
This is a rare opportunity that should be treasured. So take advantage of it. Ask good questions, such as: (more…)
Twenty-five years ago, when Jay Abraham and I were relatively young men in this business, we shared the tips and techniques we discovered. He’d give me his best new idea. And I’d give him one of mine in return.
One of the ideas he shared with me was already an old one at the time, but it was not something I had been using and so it was new to me. (more…)
When Mary Kay Ash retired from her job in 1963, she took her life savings, $5,000, and opened her own business. Boy did it pay off! Mary Kay Cosmetics is now a billion-dollar company.
Or take Hugh Hefner. He financed Playboy with $8,000 in loans from 45 family members, friends, and other investors. Today, he’s a mega-millionaire. (His famous mansion, alone, has been appraised at $45 million.) (more…)
I just got back from a meeting my largest client held for its top brass.
Although my role is to provide ideas, I take as many notes as the next guy. One good idea from anyone can mean millions in profits.
I’ll be sharing some great business-building ideas with you in the coming weeks. Today, I want to begin with the one on top of my list: the importance of innovating.
As I pointed out in Ready, Fire, Aim, no matter what size your business is, there are only two ways to keep it growing.
(1) Increase revenues with sustaining innovations — by continually improving the products you are currently producing.
(2) Use disruptive innovations to create a new market, expand an existing one, or move into a different price category.
Sustaining innovations are perhaps the easiest to produce, because their need is apparent. (A microprocessor that enables computers to operate faster, for example, or a laptop battery that lasts longer.) Plus, the technology comes from existing research.
Apple does a fine job of sustaining innovations. That is one reason its customers are so cult-like in their loyalty.
When you set out to create a sales message that connects with your prospects’ dominant emotions, you have no choice. You have to begin with the prospect.
You begin by considering his most intense feelings about …
… And then, you devise ways to deal with each of these emotions in ways that get them working FOR you.
When you get it right, the attention-getting power of and response to your promotions skyrockets.
Check out this promotion. It’s a magalog titled “Retirement Wealth Builder” for Phillips Publishing’s Retirement Letter. Retirement Letter was one of Phillips’s flagship publications in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was edited at the time by my old friend Pete Dickinson. Pete’s photo appears on the cover of the magalog, with a caption reading “No more Mr. Nice Guy” Pete Dickinson: The Nation’s #1 Retirement Authority Hits Back. Here’s the headline:
(more…)
I love to get up early and go to the gym.
The outcome of my entire day is determined by that very first hour. When it goes well (and it almost always does), I have more energy all day long. I’m more productive. And, frankly, I am a lot more pleasant to be around.
All due to my simple morning workout.
Monday through Friday, I’m waiting for the gym doors to open at 4:55 a.m. And I am not alone. I wait outside with my fellow “regulars.” We exchange pleasantries and chat about major news items. But when the doors open at 5:00 a.m., we can be mid-sentence and the conversation stops. We all focus on our fitness goals.
At least that’s how it goes 99 out of 100 times. But once in a while, “stuff happens.”
A few weeks ago, I was up with Delaine (my 4-year-old) at 1:00 a.m. because her tummy hurt. I knew my morning workout was in jeopardy. As I crawled into bed at 1:30, I nudged my husband and said, “I can’t believe I have to get up in three hours.”
Don’t do it,” he said. “Get some sleep.”
I responded with “My day will be shot if I don’t get my workout in!”
In need of sleep himself, he suggested that I set the alarm for 6:30. That would get me to the gym before 7:00 and in the office by 9:00. That, I could live with.
(more…)
Today, I’d like to give you a simple, three-part formula that, when followed, will make any ordinary employee into a superstar.
If you are working for somebody else now, you can use it to become your company’s most valuable employee. And within six months, here’s what you can expect:
If you are a business owner, you can give this article to your employees and expect to see at least one of them quickly begin to work at a much higher level.
Imagine how great it will be when you don’t have to be the only person who:
How does that sound?
Okay. Let me tell you about Uncle Al.
(more…)
Picture this …
You’re invited to a lobster bake at the yacht club by a friend who has four marinas in the area.
A half-hour into the party, you meet a guy who imports boating supplies and sells them to retailers. During your conversation, you find out he’s looking to expand. You ask your new acquaintance if he would be open to paying a small commission for any new business you might generate for him. He eagerly accepts your offer, and you reach an agreement. Over beer and lobsters, mind you!
Then you introduce your marina-owning friend to the boating supplies importer.
They hit it off immediately. Before long, they are discussing prices. In other words, negotiating. Within a few minutes, they have a deal. Your friend will buy some of the importer’s products wholesale and sell them at all four of his marinas.
The best part? You (more…)
One indispensable quality affects every relationship in your life.
It holds together all your associations. It determines whether you realize your dreams, both personal and professional.
And it virtually defines you to others. Without it, true success is impossible.
Stephen M.R. Covey is even more emphatic. He writes:
“There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the world — one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.
“On the other hand, (more…)
I have learned many valuable lessons from my 15-year partnership with Agora’s legendary CEO, marketing genius Bill Bonner. None is more important than the Big Idea.
In my father’s time, this concept was best understood by David Ogilvy, one of the most successful commercial advertising men who ever lived.
In our time, that position is held by Bill. He’s widely recognized as the man who brought the big idea into consumer direct marketing and sold more than a billion dollars’ worth of publications by doing so. I know. I saw him do it.
I want to share Bill’s secret with you today.
I won’t be able to show you everything about it and exactly how to execute it. But I will tell you why and how his concept of the big idea is unique, powerful, and profitable.
It may be the best direct-marketing technique of them all.
When I started consulting with Agora in the early 1990s, I came equipped with half a dozen theories about direct marketing that I had used to start a bunch of successful businesses (including one that hit $135 million).
We applied some of these to the Agora product line, and did very well. But when I worked directly with Bill, I discovered an entirely new way to create blockbuster promotions. (more…)
The wealthiest families in the world utilize a powerful legal tool to protect their assets. More important, it can be used by people who are in the process of building wealth. People like you.
The tool is called transference. In particular, “risk transference.” Risk transference:
1. Identifies the risk of incurring a loss.
2. Measures the risk.
3. Assigns part of the risk (typically the riskiest part) to a third party.
When you buy a car, you insure it against loss due to an accident. In this case, you are transferring the risk to the insurance company.
When you incorporate a business, you transfer your liability to a separate entity. If, for example, you’re a plumber, this means your personal assets would not be at risk if, say, you dropped a heavy pipe on someone and they filed a lawsuit or lien against you.
As a homeowner, you could transfer the risk of losing your home by placing it into a living trust. This gives you an additional level of protection – above and beyond your homeowner’s insurance.
For example, if a neighbor were critically injured by a rock thrown by your lawnmower, they could sue you. And your personal assets could be at risk. But if your property were in a living trust, it would no longer be considered your asset. That puts it out of reach.
Multi-national corporations utilize risk transference all the time.
(more…)
My friend George needed a good-sized space for his business – with a reception area, conference room, and a couple of offices. He didn’t want to shell out the money to buy or rent that much space. But he found a novel solution that got him what he needed… almost free of charge.
Here’s how he did it:
After searching around, he determined that it’d cost him about $2,000 a month to rent enough space for his business. Instead, he leased a larger space for $3,000. It had three extra little offices and a large reception area.
He rented out the small offices for $700 each, for a total of $2,100 a month. Then he sectioned off four workstation cubicles in the reception area, leaving room for a receptionist’s desk. He had no trouble renting out the four workstations for $300 each. That’s another $1,200.
His gross monthly income from these rentals is $3,300. Even allowing for a few vacancies during the year, he’s pretty much breaking even on his own rent.
In other words, George has a $2,000-a-month office practically for free.
Using the same general idea, you can keep your overhead down so you can start a business with very little capital.
[Ed. Note: Want even more strategies for starting and growing a business on a shoestring? Paul Lawrence is a successful entrepreneur and publisher who has started over a dozen profitable enterprises. To get more practical small-business tips, check out Paul's "Street Smart" program by clicking right here.
Office space is a secondary business concern, something to think about once you have a proven way to bring in sales and revenue. To learn how to get to that point as quickly as possible, check out Michael Masterson's book Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat.]
Setting up an e-newsletter or blog starts with a subject you love, a simple website, and some useful content. But unless you want your newsletter to be nothing but a hobby, you’ll want to find ways to generate income from it.
You can create your own information products – e-books, special reports, teleseminars, and more – and sell them to your e-newsletter subscribers. This is the easiest and most cost-effective type of product to sell, because you can deliver it digitally.
You can also sell practically anything else that might appeal to your subscribers. If you are a yoga expert, you can sell yoga equipment. If you’re a gourmet chef, you can sell homemade biscotti. If you’re a prize-winning gardener, you can sell seeds from your blue-ribbon tomatoes.
If you don’t want to produce or ship these products yourself, there are two ways to make money online without having to tie yourself up with inventory. You can find a supplier who offers drop-shipping. (You take the order and payment, and they send the product directly to the customer.) Or you can become an affiliate to a company in your niche that sells products your subscribers would be interested in.
So look at your newsletter and niche. What products would appeal to that market? Brainstorm some ideas, test them, and then roll out with the winners. That’s the quickest way to e-newsletter profits.
[Ed. Note: David Cross - Senior Internet Consultant to Agora Inc. - and a handful of other Internet marketing experts have just revealed a powerful "blueprint" that's responsible for generating $275 million a year in Internet revenues. Right now, you can not only get your hands on this blueprint to creating lasting wealth... you can get expert, step-by-step instruction in how to make it work for YOU. Learn more here. WARNING - this offer ends forever tonight at 5:00 pm Eastern. So make sure you snap up your copy of this incredible wealth blueprint - and possibly get your hands on a $2,000 bonus - right now.]
Alibaba.com is the largest and most successful import/export marketplace for entrepreneurs in the world. It boasts more than 24 million members in 200 countries. And it facilitates more than $5 billion in import/export transactions each year – everything from sleeping bags to cement mixers.
This makes importing a viable way for you to generate extra income on the side or as a full-time venture.
Through the Alibaba website, you can meet qualified suppliers (manufacturers and other sellers) and reach agreements on pricing, delivery, insurance, and even storage (if necessary). Then you can re-sell their products online.
And you don’t even need a website. All you have to do is list your products in the online marketplace – on high-traffic sites like eBay, Amazon, MSN Shopping, and Yahoo! Stores. You can customize your listings to make them really stand out. What’s more, you can feature your products on the front pages of these sites for a small fee.
One of the best ways to start making money with Alibaba is to focus on importing products that have the greatest demand. And the fastest way to find out which products are in demand is by reviewing Alibaba.com.
With some products, there are minimum order requirements, so you may need to purchase them in bulk. Even so, you can start out fairly small and grow from there.
[Ed. Note: To find out more about this business opportunity, check out the best guide in the world for launching, running, and managing a profitable import/export business: Marc Charles's China Wholesale Secrets.
Learn more by clicking here.]
An e-mail newsletter is one of the best ways to make almost any business at least twice as valuable, to generate substantial cash flow, and to double or triple profits. It’s also the perfect way to turn an interest or hobby into a moneymaking venture.
And starting one is much easier than you might think. You really need only three things (and the ability to be a good writer is not one of them):
1. Something to Write About
The Internet is full of thousands of people who are interested in the same things you are. So when you’re looking for a topic for (more…)
Picture this: You spend hours writing an article that you KNOW will motivate people to tears/laughter/action. You send it to your e-mail list – a group of people who have specifically asked to hear from you – and no one opens the e-mail. The article ends up unread, deep in your subscribers’ inboxes. Your words aren’t digested, your ideas aren’t discussed, and your suggestions aren’t tested.
Frustrating, no?
It’s even more frustrating if you’re an Internet marketer and your revenue relies on people opening your e-mails, reading your articles or sales letters, and taking the actions you recommend.
In most (if not all) cases, you’ll never have a 100 percent open rate – where every last one of your subscribers opens your e-mail. In fact, according to e-mail marketing company Campaign Monitor, “If you are getting an open rate between 20 percent and 40 percent, you are probably somewhere around average.”
The thing is, the more people who open your e-mails, the more chances you have to make sales.
Let’s say 5 percent of your subscribers open your e-mails (more…)
Susan was tired of being a professional speaker. She’d often spend 200 days a year on the road, away from her family. And she knew it was time to build a business that wouldn’t be completely dependent on her.
But how? She needed a killer support system to help her figure out what she could do and then help her do it.
A killer support system has three components: a mentor, a coach, and a community.
Your mentor helps you strategize, distill your business to its essence, and focus only on the activities that are crucial to move the business forward. Your coach holds you accountable for sticking to your goals and commitments, while helping you get rid of any internal roadblocks/blind spots to success. Your community – a fun group of like-minded entrepreneurs – celebrates your achievements, picks you up when you’re down, and shares tips and techniques.
After putting together her killer support system, Susan has expanded her business to include products sales, webinars, and phone-based consulting. This allows her to serve her customer base… without constantly traveling. Meanwhile, she is watching her revenues soar and her enthusiasm skyrocket.
Every successful entrepreneur has a mentor, coach, and community – a killer support system. Do you?
[Ed. Note: Business Accelerator Christine Comaford is CEO of Mighty Ventures, a startup and CEO mentoring company. She has helped more than 150 entrepreneurs become millionaires with her proven strategies and killer connections. Get her free business-boosting tools at www.MightyVentures.com and join her Facebook group at www.BusinessRenegades.com.
Having a killer support system is just one way to ensure that you own your business - and it doesn't own you. Get even more tips about starting and growing a business the right way with Michael Masterson's New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller: Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat.]
My ever-present, effervescent managing editor Suzanne came up with another good suggestion last week. “You know Richard Russell,” she said. (Richard Russell writes the Dow Theory Letters.) “I just came across an essay of his about the ideal business. It was very popular with his readers. His criteria mesh well with your advice, but I bet you’d have something to add – especially when it comes to starting a business in a down economy.”
I read Russell’s essay and found that, as Suzanne suggested, he and I share many of the same beliefs. Which is another way of saying I liked it.
Russell said that he once asked a friend, a prominent New York corporate lawyer, to name the single best business he’d ever come across. Without hesitation, he cited a client with a business that made a chemical used in making synthetic rubber. The chemical was absolutely essential to the process. He had, in effect, a small monopoly that made him a millionaire many times over.
That hardly sounds like the perfect business to me, but I understand the value of having a de facto monopoly.
To me, the perfect business would have to meet a number of criteria. First and foremost, (more…)