Dan S. Kennedy's Blog, page 22

Most small business owners operate in the dark when it comes to price.

They guess at and ballpark what they should be charging. When it comes to research, that usually means taking a look at what the competition is asking and try to slightly undercut them. Cost analysis? That’s usually a panic move that results in reduced prices, which leads to smaller profit margins and jeopardizing the future.

It’s time to shed some light on the mysterious and elusive topic of pricing. Here are a few things you should know:

Yes, it’s true – people buy at different levels. That’s just one reason why General Motors sells Cadillacs, Buicks and Chevrolets.

You can find a Wal-Mart customer in every category. But you can also find a Nordstrom’s customer in every category, also.

You can choose to spend the night at a Motel 6, or check in at a Four Seasons.

Looking to buy a men’s suit? You can get one off the rack at Sears. Or you can get fitted for one at Neiman-Marcus.

The lesson to be learned here is that as a small business owner, you can pick which clientele you want to work with. You can decide to cater to a “price is king” crowd. But that can be dangerous because there’s always going to be someone who can undercut you.

Or you can choose to work with customers, clients or patients who rank price low when it comes to doing business.

Competing on price can be hazardous to the future of your business. If you aren’t the cheapest, it makes no sense to be “one of the cheapest”. Because those who shop price only are all going to go to the cheapest. Which leaves you out in the cold.

If you are in a commodity business, you must reinvent yourself. Find something besides price to be competitive. Maybe your service is second to none. Or your delivery or follow-up time can’t be matched by the competition. Find something besides price that you can use to leverage your business.

Not long ago a client asked me to create an ad. The client is a consultant in the restaurant industry. And the ad was for one of his students. The student owns a gourmet pizza take-out and delivery shop. It’s located in a small city where they compete with over 100 other pizzerias. And they are the highest priced of them all. They offer no special deals or two-for-ones. They doubled their sales and their profits last year. Here’s the key word that differentiates them from all the other pizzerias in town: gourmet.

Don’t worry about so called “industry norms”. Most business owners take a look at what their competitors are charging. They make note of the high price, the low price, and end up setting their prices somewhere in the middle. As unscientific as it may sound, this is the way most businesses establish their prices.

Most selling occurs in a vacuum. If your selling process doesn’t, you need to change your marketing approach so that it does occur in a vacuum before an actual sale happens.

There is “price”, and then there’s “presentation of price”. This means structuring what you sell, how you package it, how you market it and to what audience, how you deliver it differently than the competition. These small, subtle differences allow you to set a higher price, because a direct comparison to lower prices can’t be made. Why? You’ve built in value-added benefits and features to your product and service – something the competition doesn’t offer.

Avoid running your business on fear. Most business owners needlessly underprice their products or services. They then try to overcompensate by raising prices – often too little, too late. They also make the mistake of ignoring opportunities to sell premium priced versions mostly out of fear.

The price your customers, clients or patients pay is a result of the target market selected, perceived value, the value proposition presented, salesmanship, credibility, celebrity status, brand and buying experience. These are just a few of the factors that play into the buying decision.

The buying decision has very little to do with objectively measured intrinsic value. If that were the case, diamonds would not cost any more than glass or coal. You can control and manipulate all the non-intrinsic factors. So you should approach price courageously and creatively.

A great way to build up your pricing courage is to do a little research and find out what else your clientele spends money on – and how much they spend. Also take a look at what the really affluent spend on a variety of goods and services. Items like an $800 putter for golfers or a home entertainment system that costs many thousands of dollars are common among those who can afford it.

Powerful Price Positioning is this weekend’s web deal. It reveals seven tested and proven strategies you can use to charge more than ever without experiencing any kind of price resistance. It’s loaded with plenty of tips and valuable nuggets you can use to bump up your prices and start earning the kind of money you deserve. Order yours by midnight Monday and you’ll also receive a special bonus.

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Three Proven Methods to Attracting a Steady

Stream of Desirable Customers

It’s been over 40 years since I replaced old-fashioned prospecting grunt work for a 100% measurable way to attract a predictable, reliable stream of ideal clients.

Success at getting qualified clients, customers, or patients has a lot more to do with understanding the real secrets of direct-response marketing – and a lot less to do with chasing after prospects.

Whether you are just getting started or if you’ve been building your business for thirty years, believe me, there’s nothing better than only talking to prospects who have already “raised their hand” – people who are already pre-disposed to specifically TALK TO YOU!

To experience this kind of client attraction, the most important thing you can do for your business right now is to develop a reliable and predictable client, customer or patient “lead generation system.”

A successful lead generation system should have the following components, several of which many (if not MOST) are overlooked by most business people:

#1 A “Slam Dunk” Customer. If you’re trying to target the entire world, you’d better be prepared to go head-to-head with big, dumb companies with billions of dollars to waste in the effort. Going after every possible person who could ever use your service is just plain foolish. Instead, step back and think about those who are your favorite clients. Where do they come from? How do they act? What do they read? How much do they earn? What are their hobbies? What is it about you that grabs their attention and makes them want to do business with you? Get a solid grasp on WHO this person is, WHERE to find them and WHAT it is they truly desire that only you can provide – and for the PRICE you want them to be able to pay. This is a crucial first step to creating a profitable lead generation system.

#2 An Outstanding Lead Generation Magnet. You need to give them a clear reason to contact you and get that reason in front of your “slam dunkers.” It should be something targeted to narrow down your perfect clients from the unwashed masses. This “thing” is an incentive for response we call a lead generation magnet. Many times these are informational in nature, such as reports, guides, books, CDs, webinars or even other kinds of gifts. Obviously, the more desirable the magnet and its offer, the better the response you’ll get.

You generally want something that is directly linked to your business. Here’s an example. An investment company is offering a free road atlas in exchange for a call in appointment. They would do much better offering a free report detailing “The 5 Secrets the IRS Hopes You Never Discover that Can Save the Typical Family $5,000 a Year in Taxes.” Why? It’s a freebie that relates to the services they sell, plus it has appeal and interest to most people. Who wouldn’t want to save a few thousand dollars on taxes.

#3 Answering The “Why Should I?” Question. The question you need to answer is “Why should I do business with you rather than any other option including doing nothing?”

The answer is what is commonly known as a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and your lead magnet should make dead solid certain that the factors that make you different are clearly spelled out. This provides fuel to the call-to-action (something else you need in your magnet, do NOT forget that critical piece). Your call-to-action (contact me, call me, email me, go to this website, stop by the store) tells them what you want them to do. It compels them to act without hesitation, knowing that the benefit they seek can only be found with your products or services.

Don’t rely on hope, networking or prospecting grunt work to get customers through your door or to your website. Create a lead generation system that includes these key components and you have a much better chance of getting them to raise their hands and ask for YOU.

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Over the years many of my clients have asked me about long copy.

They wonder if it makes sense, will it increase readership and will it boost their response rates. They’re thinking about testing a long copy format across various media channels (direct mail, website, an email campaign) to market their products or services – but they have reservations.

They understand and appreciate the importance of brevity, of being able to grab attention immediately and getting right to the point. They realize that the average person out there has a very limited attention span and will literally only give you a few seconds of their time before tuning you out and moving on.

Before making a commitment to long copy, consider the following criteria:

Identify your target audience. Seniors or well-educated prospects want all the facts and are more receptive to long copy. If initially interested, they will make time to take a long, hard look at what you have to say. Products or services that would normally require long copy include in-home healthcare service, a four-year college education, a motorized wheelchair or a hearing aid.

Long form copy usually makes sense when you are trying to educate your target market. If it’s a new market, prospects are probably unfamiliar with what you offer, how it works and most importantly why they need it. So go ahead and walk them through the sales process. If interested, they will read what you have to say several times.

If you’re selling something exotic or complex that requires lots of description, try a long copy approach. Don’t just gloss over the features and benefits. Spell it all out. Examples of exotic or complex include a once-in-a-lifetime vacation like an African safari, a luxury automobile, solar heating panels or a limited edition coin collection.

If you have a big or unusual offer, long copy will increase your chances for a strong response rate. This might include a private pre-sale of collector stamps, an initial offering of vacation homes with no down payment or an ironclad money-back guarantee that the competition can’t beat.

Why test a long copy approach?

• Generally speaking length is not as important as content. If you have a big story to tell, tell it in a dramatic, compelling manner.

• It’s a new market – prospects are unfamiliar with your product/service and want to know how it works and more importantly why they need it.

• Long-form copy makes sense when you are trying to educate your target market.

• When it comes to business decisions, business people need all the facts.

• Under normal circumstances, it’s better to give more information versus less. If prospects have questions that are unanswered, they are more likely to hold off making a purchase. Long copy normally answers many of their questions and overcomes doubts or hesitation on the part of the prospect.

There are many examples of long-form copy pulling an impressive response rate, including:

• A popular credit card company relied on a direct mail package with a three-page letter that remained the control for many years and became a recognized standard within the credit card industry.

• A travel and resort company successfully markets an exotic getaway adventure on the Amazon River with a four-page letter. Space for the trip is limited and many respondents are turned away on a regular basis.

• A well-known home correspondence school normally includes a four-page letter and copy heavy brochure in their fulfillment kit. The strategy behind their success is to give a prospect as many good reasons as possible to sign up for a home study course.

• The U.S. Mint regularly issues a limited number of rare coins and uses a long form letter in its direct mail along with a copy heavy print ad. Collectors can’t get enough facts or information concerning the latest series, and quantities of the product (usually a one-time limited run) traditionally sell out within a few weeks of introduction.

• One of the largest worldwide marketers of collectibles normally relies on long form copy to sell plates, music boxes, figurines and other collectible products. Their mailings give a detailed background about the history of the particular product, its creation, facts about the artist, and more – probably more than most of us would ever want to know. This approach transformed a cottage industry into a multi-million dollar operation.

When it comes to direct response techniques that work, there continues to be a time and a place for long copy. Be sure to take into account your target audience, your product or service and your offer when trying to decide if long copy makes sense. And above all else, be sure to test it. Anyone can make predictions. Test results should always dictate where you’re at and more importantly, where you should be going with your copy content.

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“The wise copywriter anticipates unspoken objections and answers them before they can be voiced.” – Jerry Buchanan

If there is an almost universally made error that I see in sales it is this: leaving questions and objections CERTAIN to be in the mind of the prospect unanswered – as if the boogie man can’t hurt us as long as we don’t look under the bed.

Here is a big difference between selling in person and selling in print; when selling in person, the prospect participates by asking question and putting stalls and objections onto the table.  This gives the skilled, confident sales person both the luxury of not having to answer every possible question and objection AND the opportunity to customize the presentation for each individual.  In effect, the prospect assists in the sales process.  Of course, fearful, wimpy or inexperience salespeople pray that the prospect will be quiet as a churchmouse.  But real pros welcome the prospect’s active involvement.

Obviously when selling in print (actual print, online, via automated message or video sales letter) the prospect still talks back, but we cannot hear them to respond to them.  They are left to talk to themselves.  This is why we must leave NO question unanswered, no objection ignored, no stone unturned!

Selling in print requires courage AND the understanding of the prospects to bring up every obstacle to moving forward and take care of it. 

By the way, this is an area where some copywriters and consultants (and sales trainers) differ with me.  I can tell you though, that testing, empirical evidence and experience has absolutely convinced me that the “everything on the table approach” works best the overwhelming majority of the time.

Here are the 18 Chief Reason Prospects Do NOT Respond or Buy

They do not understand the proposition – Confused consumers do nothing.  People are easily confused.  The hazard for the marketer, copywriter and sales person is their own familiarity with their products, services, offers, terminology, so they presume knowledge and understanding in their customers that just isn’t there.
The do not believe the proposition – This is actually, relatively rare.  Actually, most people are far too gullible and far too quick to accept a proposition that satisfies their need or desire thus the millions of dollars spent on diet pills sold with outrageous, even idiotic claims.  Or the number of people who blithely poured money into Enron stock but who couldn’t explain Enron’s business on a bet.  But if the proposition does strain credibility, massive effort should be invested in making the incredible credible, the unbelievable believable.
They do not trust the marketer/sales person –   Again, not often the problem. ‘Credibility’ is of decreasing importance.  People gamble at invisible casinos online and deposit money in invisible banks.  Still, you should always address the issue anyway with whatever reassurance exists that the person or entity behind the proposition is real, established, will be around tomorrow, and has expertise in the field.
Do not believe they can do it – Here is one of the biggest factors, often neglected by the marketer.  A person may believe a proposition and believe others can do it but lack belief in his own ability to do it.  He may, for example, believe you can get rock-hard abs by rocking back and forth on a doohickey for 20 minutes three times a week but doubt he will have the discipline to do the rocking.  A business owner may buy the proposition that sending a monthly newsletter out to his customers will increase business but “know” he lacks the time, organized thought, or discipline to get it prepared and into the mail.  In most cases people privately acknowledge that they lack discipline, self-motivation, persistence, willpower – whether you’re selling to CEO or broom pusher.  You NEED to address this.
Do not believe the value represented.  Typically in presenting price, you will be striving to establish (a perception of) high vale, then discounting from that established value to your actual selling price, with a variety of rationalizations and explanations for the discount(s).  This works because everybody loves bargins, nobody likes paying retail – except in rare cases where their ego is fed by bragging about over-paying.  However it cannot work if the value isn’t accepted and believed.   This requires care, comparison, stories about the difficulty of making the thing or rarity of it’s own ingredients, and use of many other value-building devices taught throughout my works.
Unwilling to pay the price –  Regardless of value, the prospect may simply be unwilling to pay the price.  You can, in fact, price yourself out of a market (although it is much more common to err in the opposite direction).  If this problem affects you, it is usually repairable not just through copy or sales method, but via more adept selection and targeting of the appropriate customer.  For example, I have a Gold+ VIP member who is a top DUI attorney, and is now charging significantly higher fees than his peers in his city.  The marketing answer to this has less to do with ad copy or personal salesmanship than with targeting and attracting individuals for whom DUI is of gigantic economic impact.  The factory worker who loses his license has one set of problems which translates to a certain willingness to pay “x”; but the long haul truck driver may be willing to pay “x+”, and the entrepreneur “x++”. 
Unable to pay the price – This is why we sell on installment terms.  And even rich buy that way.  If you are selling anything even slightly “pricey” for your market, you will always boost sales by offering financing options. 
Cannot justify purchase to others – to boss, to co-workers, to spouse etc…  In some cases, a person must justify it, in other cases he only feels a compulsion to do so – but just about every customer has the FEAR that he will be confronted, called on to defend his buying decision, and criticized or made fun of it he is unable to justify it.  Better give him the ammo. 
Competition – Can have a real effect in two scenarios – one, where there is an established vendor relationship or source; two, where the thing being sold is perceived as a commodity and/or is easily comparison shopped.  The second scenario can be short-circuited by packaging products and services together to thwart apples-apples comparisons and/or by highlighting provider expertise, an exceptional guarantee or some other non-commoditized element.  The best approach is to design your entire marketing process to lead to selling in a competitive vacuum.  When you must deal with visible competition, your challenge is to “match and surpass” everything they offer OR carve out and focus on things they can’t or won’t do. 
Bad timing – The only difference between salad and garbage is timing.  If we could control timing, marketing would be ridiculously easy.  Sometimes, an irresistible offer, easy payment terms and other factors can overcome bad timing: a company may buy a new piece of capital equipment 6 months sooner or even before it had even occurred to them, if the right offer and incentives are put forward; a person might buy a new couch “early” for the same reasons.  In some cases, bad timing is really a reflection of reaching the wrong segment of a list – for example, many in the newsletter business have much better results mailing another publication’s recent expires than its newest subscribers.  Often, though, the only answer is continuously, constantly, repetitively, frequently being in front of the same (well-selected) prospects day in, day out, week in, week out until you are there at the right time.  this is a basic premise of my entire MAGNETIC MARKETING SYSTEM – (a) you must somehow compile your own list of target prospects (a “farm”), and (b) you must “work your farm”, and know that harvest season follows three investment seasons. 
Inadequate urgency – Keep the picture of a somnambulant sloth in mind.  Moving people to action isn’t easy.  (Look at what I go through to move you.)  Procrastination is the overwhelmingly favored human behavior.  Is your offer so strong and reason(s) to act instantly so compelling that – as had to happen in “the old days” – your prospect would immediately fill out an order form, write a check, put a stamp on the envelope, bundle up, go out in a blizzard, and drive 10 miles on dangerously slippery roads to get it in the mail before midnight to beat the postmark deadline (like people do on April 15th with their taxes)????  If so, you might get him to click order now with their computer. 
Fear of loss or dissatisfaction – Everybody owns things they bought that failed to live up to promises and expectation, that never got returned, and money was wasted on.  they are around the house or business as a constant reminder.  No one likes peeing away money or feeling ripped off.  Strong assurances are required.  And in some cases, open acknowledgement of previous disappointments are appropriate in copy.  For example, over the year, I have bought and experimented with over 50 different kinds of advertised, hyped gloves to keep hands warm outside in bitter cold (for me, while driving in harness races.)  None are worth squat.  The catalog copy that got me to buy the last pair I bought included the following:”You have undoubtedly bought, tried and been disappointed by other gloves claiming to keep your fingers toasty warm even in sub-zero temperatures.  Promises made but promises NOT kept.  But these gloves are different…” 
Ego in way – If a person has to admit, even privately, to himself, that he is in any way “inadequate”, that he needs advice, help etc…especially from a peer, look-out – especially men.  After all, real men do not read instruction or ask for directions.  As Titanium Member Ron LeGrand says, “We have testosterone.”  In peer marketing within niche industries or professions, where I do a lot of work, this is especially significant.  But it comes into play at all levels – say, selling a DVD course on gardening to people who pride themselves in having “green thumbs.”  You have to get past their egos to make a sale. 
Not emotionally involved or motivated.  Often, marketers get caught up trying to sell people what they should want, need or ought to have (vs. what they really want), and it’s always a losing battle.  If the prospect is not emotionally involved in the subject before you arrive, you are operating in a very frigid selling climate.  This is why the richest marketers start with the “starving crowd” and work backwards with product and offer development.  It’s also why Lead Generation is so powerful, and why response rates sending the same offer to people who requested it from a lead generation ad are so much higher than if sending the very same offer to the very same people “cold.”  Many marketers never fully grasp this. 
A resistible offer.  Most advertising makes no offer at all.  Most of the advertising that does makes very ordinary “plain vanilla” offers.  Watch Ron Popeil sell his food dehydrator on TV; he could not sell it purely presenting it, its price, and a discount.  He must create a series of discounts, pile on bonuses, have a ticking click deadline, etc. 
Difficulty of purchasing – Here we must juggle doing business to fit our preferences with making it easy for customers to buy, and offering them as many options for doing so as possible.  I think the cell phone business is among the most competitive, yet the other day, after 25 minutes in a cell phone store, I was unable to buy because the process was so complicated, choices too confusing, salespeople inept.  Many businesses have a strong, thriving Sales PREVENTION Department. 
Weak Close By Seller – Whether in copy, in print, face-to-face or from the platform, timidity in closing the sale is a huge downfall for the majority.  I increasingly see, counsel, struggle to fix sissified, scaredy-cat “closers”.  Zig’s quote – “Timid salesman have skinny kids” – applies.  (Suggested reading and reference: Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig; The CLOSERS.) 
Seller’s bad Reputation – Quite often, as a consultant, I have been assured by clients that their customers love them and/or that they have a powerful brand identity in their market, only to find out that the exact opposite is reality.  Disappointing response is OFTEN caused by the seller’s poor reputation or relationship with his customers, and disappointing response should be an alarm bell to objectively investigate.

 

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Life Events That Flush Out Whales Into the Open Waters

No matter what business you may be in, there are ways to identify potential whales through behavior patterns. Once you are able to figure out what these benchmarks or patterns may be, you can rely on direct, targeted marketing to reach them.

There are time-sensitive stimulants that trigger a regular-size fish to grow into a whale. This person may not have been a whale just 30 days ago. And a few months from now they may shrink and go back to being a normal-size fish. The trick is to reach them when they develop a whale-sized, ravenous appetite for spending.

Here are some life event markers that frequently touch off the emergence of a whale:

Marriage A wedding, be it a big-time ceremony or a small elopement, will normally spark a great deal of spending in a relatively short period of time. This is especially true when it happens to be a second or third marriage; that is when someone older is marrying someone younger.

Divorce Conversely, this event will also prompt a sudden surge of spending. This is a classic example of someone who wasn’t a whale a few months earlier, and probably won’t be a whale six months from now.

Those who are recently divorced account for a surge in certain industries including health club memberships, weight loss, cosmetic dentistry, liposuction, hair restoration. This reflects the attitude of someone willing to spend money on self-improvement. Their price sensitivity is altered because of the divorce and their newly-acquired single status. There’s a heightened sense of looking good as a newly divorced person that wasn’t there when they were still married.

Buying a Home Here’s an obvious one. New homeowners have been targeted by marketers for a long time. A new residence prompts the need for new furnishings, decorations and appliances to go along with it.

Age/Birthday A trigger seems to go off in certain people when they reach a particular age. They become more inclined to spending on different things, and at a different and often higher level than they were spending before.

Sale of a Business Owners in this category probably spent the better part of their lives slowly but steadily building up the business. When it comes time to sell it, they find themselves flush in cash, more money than they’ve ever had before. That’s because previously the money was usually tied up in the business. Sometimes this sudden influx of cash changes their behavior. Rather than watching every dollar, they feel it’s time to live a little. This is a whale, the kind that is targeted by Las Vegas.

Retirement/New Hobby or Interest For a period of time, some in this category may rise to whale spending status. They now have time on their hands and a comfortable income. So they may show an increasing interest in recreational hobbies or pursuits like purchasing an RV, golf, boating, traveling, even going back to school to learn something new.

Diagnosis with a Disease A person who most likely is going to take a proactive response to getting well or treating the illness can suddenly become a whale. They seek treatment, medication, remedies to cure or minimize the effects of the disease.

Additionally, there are certain demographic categories where a disproportionate number of whales can be found at any given time.

Boomers and Seniors There’s been a big turnaround when compared to past generations. Years ago seniors tended to spend less. They needed less, in many cases lived modestly and had a little money put away. So they didn’t really splurge. Instead they kept a tight grip on their money and hoped to have something left to give the kids and grandkids. Not anymore. Many 60-70 year olds are behaving and spending like they’re 50. For instance, in the skin care industry there’s been a marked shift for high-end, expensive products being purchased by this age group.

Late-Life Divorced and Late-Life Second Families The number of people in these two categories has grown considerably in recent years. Late-life divorced people are buying houses and lots of stuff that goes along with a new home. Those with second families approach it with an “I’m going to get it right the second time around” attitude.

The Affluent, Competitive Hobbies and Recreation Things like $800 putters and $1,000 fishing rods are out there, and people are buying them. There are people into racing autos, owning and racing horses or restoring and displaying antique autos that spend big amounts on a regular basis. These are hobbies that sometimes border on an obsession and there are people out there spending lots of money to participate and keep up with others who share the same interest.

International Travelers and the Anti-Aging Youth Market No one goes quietly into the night anymore. They’d rather go out spending money on exotic trips or on anti-aging formulas, hormone replacement, Cenegenics, etc. There are lots of whales in these categories and they do a lot of heavy spending on new luggage and a whole new wardrobe for their next trip or purchasing anti-aging treatments.

So when it comes to whale sightings, it makes sense to know some of their behavioral tendencies as well as some of the places they can be found. Think about what particular type of business you may be in. Consider who might be a whale and what criteria do you want to establish before you head out on the hunt.

ACT NOW – order How To Find Your Ideal Customer, identified as someone who is worth from 5 on up to 50 times more than your average customer. Be sure to sign up now – this special offer ends at midnight Monday, April 20, 2015.

Earlier today I wrote an email about a video that shows you one very specific technique to plug a hole in your money bucket.  If you missed the email you can get the video by clicking here.

Now though I wanted to give you a little something extra to think about for the weekend.

While what I’m about to share isn’t an uplifting topic, it’s a very lucrative one so I’d urge you to take this very seriously.

That said, right now you are probably losing money, and lots of it.

You have people calling your store, office, restaurant etc…that you’ll never hear from again, but your competitors will.

You have people going to your website or websites…that you’ll never hear from again, but your competitors will.

You have people who’re physically walking into your store, office or restaurant that you’ll never here from again…well, you get the idea.

The fact is that there are five huge opportunities that, if not acted upon are costing you lots of money.

The good news is you can act upon these areas and see huge increases in your revenue and profits and they don’t require vast, elaborate systems.  Below I’ll go through the three areas and briefly show you how to plug these holes in your money bucket.

[If you like these three and want 10 MORE strategies that’ll show you how to add 25% – 300% to your bottom line almost overnight then you can click here and get my Roadmap To Success System for free from GKIC.  (They’ll give you immediate access to the report for FREE, and unless you’re a cheapskate, for a very fair $4.95 they’ll actually ship the entire system to you, along with three other free gifts.]

Three Holes In The Money Bucket 

Call – No Action: As much as 85% of the time this is exactly what happens when someone calls into an office, store or restaurant.  The issue with this hole is that it’s often disguised as good customer service.For example if someone calls and asks for hours, directions etc…most of the time the person gives the information, deems their job finished and well done and goes about their day.  This was a lead capture opportunity that was missed and money just slipped through a hole in your bucket.

IMPORTANT: You PAY for and have invested in every in-bound call.  Every in-bound call is either a success or a failure, a gain or a loss.  Every in-bound call FAILURE removes money from your business and ultimately your pocket, making it more difficult to invest in new customer, client or patient acquisition!

The plug for this hole is simple and while there’s no “one size fits all” exact answer…I’ll give you the exact remedy and with 10-15 minutes of creativity and thinking you can plug this whole and start keeping money you’re now letting slip through your fingers.

The remedy is an in-bound call script.  Remember professionals don’t “wing it” and REAL business owners certainly don’t let their part-time, 17 year old high school student employees “wing it” either.

There are three ways to do this but for brevity’s sake I’ll give you the best one it looks something like this:



“I’m happy to answer you question. May I have your name?  Before we take care of your question can I get your address and send you our FREE/Complimentary (insert some gift, coupon, information kit here.)  May I please have you address?”

While weaker in many cases, you could instead ask for a cell phone number to text an offer to, or an email address to send an offer to.

Hole #1 Plugged!  No create a follow-up campaign for those people.
Web Site Visit – No Action: You’ve no doubt heard the saying that website “HITS” are “How Idiots Track Success.”  See you don’t get paid in hits or even traffic…you get paid in actions.  Even if you make 100% of your money from advertisements on your site, you don’t make money unless people actually click on something.What percentage of people come to your website and leave without you ever getting a single piece of information from them?  Most sites it’s as high as 99% or more!  Can you imagine if you had a store and for for every 100 people who came in only 1 ever made a purchase?

Every web site visitor cost you money somehow and FAILURE to capture their information is money spilling out of a hole in the bucket.

To remedy this check out this video by Jeff Johnson.
NO Sale – This is the most obvious hole and the one people feel the pain of most often.  You need to understand there are a variety of reasons that people fail to accept the service or product you want to sell to them and most of them do NOT mean that they are a bad prospect.

Dean Jackson (who is speaking at the upcoming GKIC SuperConference) found that in the real estate market, almost 50% of his sales came more than 6 months after he first met his prospect.  What changed his business and will change yours too is a systematic follow-up sequence.

While the follow-up program differs for each business, the basic strategy is a) follow-up aggresively and intensely in the short term and b) if needed patiently and persistently in the long term.

There are many other holes but addressing these three right now will stop much of the flow of money out of your bucket and into that of your competition.

Again…if you like these three and want 10 MORE strategies that’ll show you how to add 25% – 300% to your bottom line almost overnight then you can click here and get my Roadmap To Success System for free from GKIC.

 

There are a number of things successful people do differently than the “mediocre majority”. If you learn to develop these good habits, you’ll get much more done during the day. Consequently, you’ll have more freedom and time to do the things you really like to do.

Here are seven positive traits I commonly see among the most productive consultants, coaches and entrepreneurs:

1. Start your day early. Those who get up early tend to be more proactive and naturally have a more productive mindset. These “early birds” also seem to be better at prioritizing their day. Some concentrate on first handling the simple chores and getting them out of the way first. Others jump all over what’s most important. Many of the most successful and famous people in business and history, like Ben Franklin, Donald Trump, Ernest Hemingway, Vince Lombardi and Andrew Carnegie made it a habit to get up and get going early.

2. Focus your mental energy, don’t multi-task. To maximize your brain power and fully focus your efforts, do one thing at a time. I know this may go against the gain when it comes to many time management gurus who preach the importance of multi-tasking and being able to juggle a number of things at one time.

When you think about it, you are most productive getting one thing done at a time – correctly and accurately. In fact, when you multi-task you get a lot less done. Work on one assignment for a pre-determined set of time before moving on to the next challenge.

3. Be fearless when it comes to the great unknown. Productive, successful people find ways to keep moving and push ahead even when they are nervous or apprehensive about the final outcome. They do not make excuses when something doesn’t go right or adjustments are necessary. They find an alternative and forge ahead. They have the drive to push onward and the confidence to know that even if things don’t go as planned, there’s something to be learned from everything they experience.

4. Business really does mean business. Even if you may work for yourself, be sure to set business hours and stick to them. Flexibility is nice and it comes in handy if you have to pick up the kids at school or want to go watch your child’s soccer game. But you should always set boundaries and communicate them to your family members, friends and clients. And they need to understand and respect your business hours. This is important because you will have fewer distractions during the day and you’ll be more productive during your specified work times.

5. Set aside time to “work” on your business. Try to leave a block or two open in your day. It will give you some time to explore new opportunities. Use those time blocks to catch up on industry trends or reports. You can also use it for self-education purposes. It’s a good time to take in the “big picture” and size up your company, your competition and prioritize strategic moves for the future.

If you don’t leave these blocks of time open, your schedule can easily become overbooked. This will eliminate any time for forward planning, which will ultimately slow you down when it comes to developing and growing your business.

6. Delegate responsibility. Concentrate on the things you do best. Have staff members or outside resources do the things you don’t like to do, as well as the things that are not essential for you to do. Too many people who work for themselves try to do everything. This can be counter-productive and stunt the growth of your business.

As your company grows, sooner or later you will come upon a breakthrough or revelation of sorts. You will realize that there’s a lot of stuff your staff or assistants should be doing that you do not need to do. Once you learn to delegate and pass on the responsibility to someone else, it frees you up to work on the things that really matter.

7. Make a concerted effort to streamline your time. Take a look at your operations and figure out what is sucking up too much of your time. Then put a plan in place to eliminate these time wasters. For example, try not to constantly be checking your email unless you’re expecting an urgent message. Set aside a specific time during the day to read and reply. This eliminates a distraction and helps you focus on what you’re currently doing.

Part of securing more time while making more money has to do with working smarter, not harder, and approaching things a little bit differently. If you try to work these seven habits into your daily business routine you will be more productive. This will in turn free you up to do more in less time. And you will then be creating the independence you were looking for when you first opened up your own business.

If you want to significantly hike your income look into my Advanced Consulting & Coaching Bootcamp. These recordings unveil the secret strategies necessary to charge high fees with no resistance from clients. Order this weekend only and you’ll also receive two free bonuses: Stealth Selling and Premium Positioning and How to Design a Bullet-Proof Lead Generation Magnet that will Magnetically Attract Your Ideal Coaching and Consulting Client. These presentations by info-marketing superstar Frank Kern have a total value of $994. But they are yours FREE when you take advantage of this weekend’s web deal.

ACT NOW – order Advanced Consulting & Coaching Bootcamp and get ready to earn obscene amounts of money. Be sure to sign up now – this special offer ends at midnight Monday, April 13, 2015.

The No B.S. Rules…as published in Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. Direct Marketing.

“I’ll lay the foundation first (a radical idea, itself!)  Please copy these and post them somewhere you’ll see them often until you get them memorized.  Do so will keep you on track, save you a lot of money, and dramatically improve your marketing.

From now on, EVERY ad you run, every flyer you distribute, every postcard or letter you mail, every website or landing page you put up, every/anything you do MUST adhere to these rules.

To be fair, they are very simplistic and dogmatic, and there are reasons to violate them in certain situations.  But for now, sticking to them as a rigid diet will work.  You can experiment later, after you’ve first cleansed your business toxins.

RULE #1 There will always be an offer or offer(s)

A key distinguishing characteristic of direct marketing and direct response advertising  from ALL other marketing and advertising is the presentation of a very specific offer or offers.  Ideally, yours is a Godfather’s Offer; an offer that the appropriate prospect can’t refuse.  (More on this to come)

If you begin paying attention to advertising you’ll see that most of it merely shows up and talks about a product, company or service, but does not directly offer something specific to be had by immediately and directly responding.

A lot of ads and commercials, business cards, flyers and brochures now include websites, Facebook sites you can go and “like”, but present no Godfather Offer as a compelling reason to go there.  All this is undisciplined.

It is sending money out to play a backyard game with no rules; worse, no scorekeeping, no clear means of judging victory or defeat.  A chaotic mess.

Only direct marketing imposes discipline by always making an offer or offers, so response to those offers can be tracked and measured.

RULE #2 There Will Be Reason to Respond Right Now

Hesitation and procrastination are among the most common of all human behaviors.  You’ve no doubt, more-than-once, turned down pages in a catalog of something you intended to buy, only to never buy it.  Tried on a shirt, or pants that would be perfect…only to leave the store without them.  You’ve seen a commercial or heard a radio ad and maybe even jotted down a website or wrote down an 800# only to never visit or call.

We must be sharply, painfully aware of all the potential response lost to such hesitation.  The hidden cost and failure in ALL advertising and marketing is the almost-persuaded.  They were tempted to respond.  They nearly responded.  They got right to the edge of response, but then set it aside to take care of later or to mull it over.

When your ideal prospect gets to that edge, we must reach across and pull them past it.  There must be good reason for them NOT to stop short or delay or ponder.  There must be urgency!

RULE #3 You Will Give Clear Instructions

Most people do a reasonably good job of following directions.  For the most part, they stop on red and go on green, stand in the lines they’re told to stand in, fill out the forms they’re given to fill out, applaud when the Applause sign comes on.  Most people are well-conditioned from infancy, in every environment, to do as they are told.

Most marketers’ failures and disappointments result from giving confusing directions or no directions at all.  Confused or uncertain consumers do nothing.  And people rarely buy anything of consequence without being asked.

In-store signage, restaurant menus, icons on websites – everywhere you closely examine physical/selling environments and media – you will find plenty of assumptions about knowledge people have (and may NOT have) and plenty of opportunity for confusion.

When you put together any marketing tool, ad, flier, sales letter, website, phone script, etc…or any physical selling environment, it should be carefully examined for presumption of knowledge on the consumer’s part, for lack of clarity about what is expected of them, or for wimpiness about asking clearly and directly for the desired action.

Stop sending out anything without clear instructions.”

LIMITED TIME: If you want to get a FREE copy of Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. Direct Marketing book simply click here now.  For a a very fair $4.95 to help with shipping you’ll not only get the book but you’ll get his CD The #1 Secret of Small Business Success. 

We’ve had 400 copies of Dan’s Book and CD shipped to our distribution center to give away for free.  While that may seem like a lot, tens of thousands of people read this blog each week so these free copies won’t last.  Click here now then fill out your information on the following pages in order to have your copy of the book and CD mailed directly to you.

When it comes to the sales process, there’s a standard set of objections that every sales person is going to hear, no matter what is being sold.

The secret to success is to be prepared for these objections. The best way to be ready for them is to script them out in advance, handle them and memorize them. Top sales professionals do this all the time.

An objection doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a level of conflict. An objection isn’t the same as saying “no”. The potential buyer is actually seeking more information, feeling a little uneasy about making the commitment, and looking for a compelling reason to go ahead and buy.

As a sales person, it’s important to keep on moving forward with the sales presentation. So when that common objection comes up, you know exactly how to handle it. And that’s where scripting in advance comes in. You know what to say and how to say it as you get ready to close.

When you order Sales Mastery Unleashed, the following is a sampling of the type of material you can expect. No matter what industry you may be in, here are the most common objections you are going to run into time and again:

“It Costs Too Much”

If you’ve done a thorough job of selling value-to-price, this objection is usually concealing another, deeper reason for resistance. The buyer is either covering up something that is hard to put into words, or they just don’t really know how to verbally express themselves.

Many times it means “I can’t afford it”, which is different than telling you something is priced too high. They may feel guilty about spending that kind of money on the product or service, feeling as if they really aren’t good enough or worthy of the end product.

If you are hearing this objection too often, you’re talking to the wrong prospects. Your marketing is attracting the wrong kind of prospect.

“No Need”

America is the richest country in the world. Millions of Americans really don’t need anything. They drive a nice car. Have a closet full of clothes, all kinds of entertainment devices and toys for idle time. They live in fairly spacious homes with many modern conveniences, at least compared to the way the rest of the world lives. In fact, the higher the affluence level, the less likely they are to really need anything.

What does “no need” really mean? It means you haven’t sold them well enough. Face it, most people buy enormous quantities and a diversity of things that they don’t need, probably to feel better about themselves and their situation. The truth is people buy what they want, not necessarily what they need.

“I Need to Talk With …”

This objection comes up, particularly when a good sum of money is required, for instance, a down payment on a home, furnishings for several rooms, a new car or maybe a financial investment of some sort.

This one tends to be the result of lazy selling, or rushing to close a prospect that doesn’t have the ability to buy. There’s one way around this objection. The person who needs to be present (assuming it’s usually a spouse or significant other), needs to be there. End of story. It needs to be a mandatory part of a preliminary findings presentation. Otherwise, there’s no need to have the sales presentation.

Sometimes a sales person who is desperate, or possibly overconfident is going to say “just get me in front of someone, anyone, and I’ll close the deal”.

But that’s not the point. That just won’t work for anyone. It’s going to be ugly and uncomfortable, and possibly confrontational and certainly frustrating. In cases like this it’s important to qualify leads up front. Know in advance if some significant other also has to be in agreement before the presentation takes place and then make sure they’re in attendance, or the sale is going to fall apart right in front of you.

“This Won’t Work for Me”

Here’s another example of an objection that should be handled up-front during the preliminary presentation, when a sales person is qualifying the lead.

As far as countering this objection, testimonials are usually a strong weapon. If you’re taking your time and working your way through the script in advance, you’ll have plenty of ammunition in the way of customer/patient testimonials should this one come up.

Remember that the potential buyer is most heavily influenced by someone who looks like them, talks like them, walks like them, comes from the same neighborhood, same social-economic background, same religious beliefs and morals, etc. This is known as social proof or commonality. If you’re doing your homework you better be able to anticipate this kind of resistance and produce social proof or commonality as needed to match your prospect.

Hidden Objections

This is when a prospect believes in what you’re saying as a sales person. They believe the testimonials. But they don’t believe in themselves or trust in themselves.

It’s a hidden objection because most prospects are not willing to come right out and say this.

It all boils down to the “ghosts of disappointments past”. It’s the diet or exercise regimen they quit on. It’s the self-help book that they failed to follow through on. Or the online training course they didn’t get around to completing.

This objection may be the most valid of them all. It’s people realizing their limitations and recalling less-than-successful outcomes in the past. The best way to answer this kind of hesitation is to let your prospect off the hook. Tell them it’s not their fault and it’s in the past in a way that’s appropriate and encourage them to move on and remain positive and focused.

“I Have to Think About It”

This is similar to “it won’t work for me”. There is hesitation because of past failures. The blame goes on something that didn’t work out too well in the past, and it’s clouding the decision-making process, casting a dark shadow and stirring up uncomfortable memories.

You need to counter this with an answer that tells the prospect why this time is different. The prospect needs to rationalize this and come to an agreement with you.

It goes back to the prospect not having trust in their judgement. They are replaying a movie in their minds and the ending is bad. You need to help them move through that. You may want to try and get a conditional sale out of it. It’s one way to get them to move forward. Basically you’re telling them “let’s move ahead with this and then if you think about it and it isn’t for you …” As a sales person, you’re trying to make them move away from bad past experience and forge ahead with their life.

For more helpful insights regarding the sales process, be sure to order Sales Mastery Unleashed this weekend. Take action now and you’ll also receive the FREE bonus extra Pony Express Direct Mail – The Hottest New Marketing & Sales Media. Available for the first time, this weekend only, it’s a recording of a presentation made during a past SuperConferenceSM. It was well received at the time, and now it can be yours FREE OF CHARGE.

Act NOW – sign up for Sales Mastery Unleashed by midnight April 6th – and receive Pony Express Direct Mail – The Hottest New Marketing & Sales Media at no extra cost!

Over the past 30 years I’ve shared thousands of strategies to successfully get more customers, clients, and patients. But there are 10 tactics that are tried and true that I would suggest to any business owner, in any industry.

As a small business owner who is wearing so many hats, you might think that you’ll be working 80 or 90 or 100 hours every week just to implement, let alone perfect, these tactics. But that’s just not true. If you take the steps I’ve outlined below you’ll actually become more successful with more autonomy, independence, and security than ever.

BIG BREAKTHROUGH #1: Go from Business Owner to Entrepreneur

You’ve heard me explain the difference in the two…but just in case you missed it, I’m going to explain it again because this point is SO critical to your overall success.

Business Owner = A jeweler who owns a jewelry store

Entrepreneur = A person who owns a jewelry store to build a list of customers and also has web offers, runs jewelry parties, organizes tours to diamond mines for rich clientele to pick their own diamond, has other luxury product stores and affiliate relationships with them

Two different opportunities to go from business owner to entrepreneur include Vertical and Horizontal expansion.

1. Vertical Expansion example…someone who buys (or re-creates) their vendors or the businesses they sell to. Go up and down the supply chain and buy those businesses.

2. Horizontal Expansion example…realizing the real asset is the value with the customer you can buy or start related businesses that your list is already buying from. A restaurant owner who starts a catering business, an event planning service, a D.J. service, a professional photo shop, a wine store, limo service etc…

Start with what the _____________________ wants, NOT what you want.

The number one question you need to ask yourself is… “Who will give me the money?” So I ask you…who will give you the money? Write down three types of customers/clients/patients who’ll “give you the money.” Describe exactly who they are, what the look like, kids, family, wants, desires etc… To check yourself ask, “Why will they give me the money?”

BIG BREAKTHROUGH #2: GKIC Style Marketing

GKIC Style Marketing is typically referred to as…

Click here to receive IMMEDIATE access to the other 9 Big Breakthroughs, and request your small business marketing strategies toolkit (value $648) be rushed to your doorstep. All we ask is for a very fair $4.95 to help with shipping and we’ll send it to you anywhere in the world.

Click here to get your small business marketing strategies toolkit now.

Still not sure? Here is my full presentation of the 10 Big Breakthroughs…

 

To get the 10 Big Breakthroughs Action Guide and DVD sent to your door, along with four other gifts, simply click here.