Big Mistakes We Make
Lunch arrived at 12:15pm.
There was 5 of us sitting around Table 82 at the Cascades restaurant in Opryland, finishing up the first half of a recent 1-day Mastermind meeting that Bedros Keuilian and I were running for savvy entrepreneurs.
The servers proceeded to deliver all of the food in reverse order.
Bedros’ fish tacos went across the table, and my two salads (yes, I ordered two salads – a Cobb salad and a dessert salad) also ended up being delivered across the table.
It was an epic fail.
No mistakes were made in this meal at South Street restaurant in Nashville.
Something so simple as a meal order shouldn’t get so easily messed up. But it did, and simple things often get messed up in our businesses as well.
You see, the biggest mistake that our coaching clients tend to make is complicating everything in their business. Instead of starting simple, they wanted to do the hardest things first.
Essentially, they were making the simple process of getting the first sale into the business equivalent of a Tough Mudder race.
No need to jump ahead that far, let’s just start with a walk around the block, instead.
One example of common errors made by beginner businesses is the rush to sell a membership site program before they create a simple entry level offer.
Going straight to a membership sale almost always leads to failure.
And that failure often leads to people quitting and calling Internet Marketing a “scam”.
But they don’t understand that it was their mistake. It was their fault. It was their error. (Probably because they didn’t have a mentor or coach to prevent them from making that mistake in the first place.)
Other common mistakes made when starting an online business include:
1) Using too many technical terms in their sales copy or products. Remember that we want to write at a 7th grade level, not at a college-level.
2) As a follow-up to that mistake, we often give our end users too much credit. For example, over the past year I’ve been thinking about how to re-do my Turbulence Training copy to focus on harder, more advanced workouts.
But if you go into any commercial gym, you’ll find that the truth is the majority of people are STILL training by using cardio machines at a slow pace.
There’s still plenty of opportunity for me to stick to the simple message. And YES, there will always be a percentage of people that ARE ready for the most advanced info you can deliver, but for most people you need to…
Keep it simple, silly.
3) We make the sales process too difficult.
It really shouldn’t be complex. You want to simply get the attention of the prospect, communicate that you understand their problem, and show them that your solution will fix the problem better than anything else out there.
Start with that simple system. The old “Problem-Agitate-Solution” set-up.
4) We invest too much energy into creating crazy complex free reports, such as “901 tips for XYZ”.
People don’t want 901 tips. They want one great tip. They’re too busy for 10 tips, 7 tips, or even 3 tips. They want ONE tip. Start there.
5) We misdirect our passion.
During our 1-day Mastermind, one young gentleman was trying to build a business around product A, but you could tell it didn’t get him excited.
However, when he mentioned an alternative product B, he lit up like a fiery Baptist preacher and you couldn’t stop him talking about the product or his mission. (Also turned out he WAS an ordained minister.)
When we corrected his course and showed him the potential for his passionate project, he was extremely grateful and relieved.
Listen, the great thing about the Internet is that you can LOVE what you do and make money at it. Make sure you are directing your passion towards the right projects, or better yet, choosing the right projects that are powered by your passion.
6) And finally, the last common mistake is that we think technology
and gimmicks are going to save us or produce magical results.
But you know that isn’t true.
The foundation to success is the properly articulated BIG IDEA. We all must start there.
Then choose the right technology and communication avenue that allows you to leverage your passion.
That’s the right answer.
No more errors,
Craig Ballantyne
PS – The Miami 1-Day Mastermind is SOLD-OUT.
So we’re going to do one in San Francisco on Thursday, January 17th.
If you think you’re a good fit for the 1-Day Info Mastermind with Bedros and I, then all you have to do is reach out to his assistant Frankie at Frankie@Keuilian.com and you’ll set up on a 15 minute call with Bedros for you and him to discus the mastermind and make sure it’s a good fit for you.