Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Tiny tweaks. Huge wins

By |

small business, marketing tips, business development,

One of the quickest ways to improve your results, is to spot and fix the tiny things that can make a big difference to your business.

Here are some ideas to quickly get you started.

Sham spam

In 2024, I almost lost two, high-quality enquiries from people who became new clients. It was down to what I call sham spam.

Here’s what it is and how to avoid it.

Yes, I know you check your spam email folder. I’m specifically referring to the anti-spam folder on your website, designed to filter spammy messages from reaching you. Genuine business contact form enquiries are sometimes wrongly filtered as spam and you never see them. I learned this one the hard way! It doesn’t happen often, but often enough to justify checking occasionally.

Why not check your spam folder after you’ve finished reading this? It takes very little time.

Customer connections

Regularly make time to connect with at least one of your clients. This incudes former clients. Not to sell them something. Simply to ask how they’re doing and catch up with them. Business relationships become stronger, when they’re based on more than just selling.

Ongoing communication with your clients also helps you to better understand their challenges, their needs and their wants. This understanding makes it easier and less risky, for you to successfully create new services or products.

Pathway planning

If you don’t know where you’re going, every path will take you there. That’s unproductive. It scatters your focus. It leads to dead ends. It’s also why I recommend you plan your days, your weeks and your months in advance.

After all, how can you know if things are going according to plan, if you don’t have a plan?

Flakey forms

This idea takes no time and might stop you from losing important sales enquiries. Go to your website and make sure your contact forms and subscriber forms are working. Often, a form will look perfect when it’s not functioning correctly. So, test your forms by filling-in the required information and make sure everything is okay. It only takes a few minutes, but it could help you avoid missing-out on valuable leads or new subscribers. This is especially the case, whenever you update the software on your website or have any work done on it. 

I hope you found these ideas useful. If you did, remember to share them with your friends.

Working in. Working on

By |

work your plan, an image of an arrow pointing right, white on a blue background

I shared an idea recently with some entrepreneurs, which I think you may find useful. It’s a powerful, yet very simple difference in how the most successful business owners run their day.

I’ve also included a tip, which you can use to accelerate the growth of your business.

Let’s go!

It starts with an observation

When I speak with business owners who are frustrated with their progress, I find they spend a lot of time reacting. Specifically, reacting to the demands of their customers and colleagues. As such, they spend too little time developing their own business.

This scenario is most commonly expressed in that often-repeated business advice; You need to spend more time working on your business and less time working in your business.

Of course, every business owner needs to respond to the needs of their business. What I’ve discovered is that the most successful business owners respond differently from their average counterparts.

It looks like this.

The most successful business owners remain focussed on their plans. This means they do what’s required for their clients, colleagues etc., BUT they then refocus like a laser on their own plans. They plan their work, and work their plan. As a result, each day brings progress. Some days more than others. The key thing is they move their business forward every single day.

The average business owner also has a plan. However, they find their plans are often derailed by the demands of others. This means that although they start their day correctly, their plans go out the window. They work hard, but make little if any progress on their plans. Before they know it, a day of too little progress becomes a week of too little progress, a week becomes a month… repeat.

What’s the answer, Jim?

The short answer is that we need to plan our work and work our plan. It’s the second part that’s tricky. As I mentioned a moment ago, most business owners have a plan of some description.

The challenge is sticking with the plan, when the day-to-day needs of their business come along.

A valuable reminder

Here’s what worked for me, to ensure my focus always returned to my plan for the day. I set a reminder on my phone, which went off every 3-hours during the work day. When the alarm went off, a message would appear saying work your plan.

Did you notice how the previous paragraph is in the past tense?

That’s because after a couple of weeks, I didn’t need the alarm. I learned to automatically refocus on my plan for the day, as soon as I’d completed an off-plan activity. It’s hard to overstate what a huge, measurable improvement this can make for you and your business.

Give it a try.

How to own your competitors. It’s easier than you think

By |

A cute dog holding a sign that says "marketing tips"

When you own a high-profit chunk of your marketplace, everything improves. You’ll have no meaningful competitors. Growing your business will become easy. You’ll attract the ideal type of client or customer every time. And you will never again have to compete based on price.

I’m going to show you how to make this happen. I’m nice like that.

Let’s imagine someone is the owner of a small marketing agency. Ironically, that’s one of the most common industries with this problem. Now let’s assume they know that there are lots of ideal prospective clients in need of a new agency. But their agency isn’t getting a big enough share of these wonderful, prospective clients.

By the way, let’s assume this agency also has a well-designed website, nice branding, some kick ass testimonials and experienced team members. As well as all the services you’d expect.

Given there are lots of outstanding prospects out there in need, why doesn’t this well-equipped provider get a really big slice of their market?

Yes, there are lots of wonderful prospective clients out there with a very real need. But unless those prospects want to hire YOU to fulfil their need, they’ll go elsewhere. And because the vast majority of businesses in every niche look similar, they each end up with a small slice.

You see, prospective clients expect a well designed website, nice branding, kick ass testimonials and experienced team members. They expect to see a familiar list of services. As such, nothing there creates ‘want’. Nothing. Even the most beautifully crafted branding is no match for a predictably dull range of services/products and promises.

The answer?

The providers who win the best clients or customers, refuse to be just another superb, well branded example of a professional provider in their industry.

Instead, the winners get intentional. They choose an edge, based on the exact profile of client they want. Then they absolutely OWN it. Their edge gives them their unique voice and allows them to develop a very specific strategy, with which to attract and utterly delight their ideal profile of client.

This gets them noticed by prospective clients who want a provider with that edge. Prospects are powerfully drawn by the connection they sense, when they encounter a 100% relevant provider. It cuts through the noise and almost instantly commands their attention. 

So choose your edge. Then make it the cornerstone of all your marketing.

It’s how the prospect’s want is hatched.

It’s how you capture their eager attention.

And it’s what motivates ideal prospects to get in touch, who really, really want to hire you. Allowing you to own a huge, highly-profitable slice of your marketplace.

Four questions that helped a subscriber boost sales by 68%

By |

building business contacts, better contacts

When I ask a business owner who their ideal customer or client is, they almost always reply with demographics; average age, location, income level, etc. 

Whilst demographics are certainly useful, they’re just a piece of the picture.

Demographics will tell you who to target with your marketing.

However, to get that demographic to buy from you, you need to know what matters to them. That’s their motivation. That’s what drives their decisions. That’s what drives their actions. That’s what determines whether they buy from you… or don’t.

Demographics alone can be problematic. There are wealthy people who spend the lowest possible price for a reliable product. They’d happily buy a £5 pen, but wouldn’t dream of buying a £500 pen. There are also those on low incomes who would take a loan out, just to own that £500 pen. Income level is only part of the picture.

I was inspired to share this with you, after learning that one of my newsletter readers increased her revenues by close to 70% last year, partly by focusing on 4 of the questions I shared in one of my newsletters. By honing in on the right things, she was able to improve her marketing, so that it spoke directly to what matters to her marketplace.

These are the 4 prospective customer questions that worked for her.

  • What improvement are prospects looking for, from my services or products?
  • What do they primarily place their security in?
  • Which do they value the most, quality they can rely on or low-prices.
  • What do they give most of their attention to commercially?

By talking with current and former customers, we can get a good idea of what matters most to our typical buyer. Often we don’t even need to ask! For example, if our customers tend to wear designer names, quality and style are more important to them than the lowest-priced/reliable alternatives. 

Through observation and conversation, we can get a clear picture of what our prospects are attracted to. That’s an essential part of attraction marketing; marketing that attracts sales and enquiries from our ideal customer. 

I hope you found that useful.

Ignore the uninterested

By |

an animated image of someone looking uninterested.

This is a foundational truth of marketing: You can make a fortune if you market to the right kind of people. However, you will waste time and money, if you market to the wrong kind of people.

So, who should you be marketing to? And why?

Ignore the uninterested

No matter how great your service is, people who are delighted with their current provider are highly unlikely to switch to you. That’s because they’re not looking for a new provider. They’re simply not interested in dumping a service, which they trust and are extremely happy with.

We call the people who are not in the market for your services, the uninterested. Whilst it is possible to sell to those with no interest, it’s an extremely low leverage activity.

It’s also totally unnecessary.

Focus on the unhappy

It makes a great deal more sense to focus on those who are eagerly looking for a new provider. We call these people the unhappy. They are actively in the market for what you’re offering. They’re ready to make a purchasing decision. They are the exact type of motivated buyers your business needs. I wrote this post about how to get your prospects’ urgent attention and immediate action, which you might find helpful.

Certainly, build an awareness of how great your service is. Make it easy for people to find you, when their relationship with their current provider sours. That goes without saying.

However, if you want to instantly connect with people who will give you their full attention AND who are ready to hire you or buy from you now, create a marketing strategy that focuses on attracting the unhappy.

You’ll be very glad you did.

Does your business pass the coffee shop test?

By |

marketing tip, coffee shop marketing, feelings over logic

Almost all small business marketing relies too much on logic. If your business is one of them, that logic is already hurting your sales results. Let’s fix that right now!

Here’s an example of how to get it right, which you already know extremely well. I’m talking about coffee shops. Consider the following.

  • People don’t visit coffee shops for the coffee.
  • They already have their favourite coffee at home.
  • They pay between 300% and 750% more for coffee at the coffee shop, because of how the experience makes them feel.

Logically, they’d save a ton of money by drinking their coffee at home, sitting in their own super-comfortable chair.

But people, including your prospective clients or customers, don’t make purchasing decisions based on logic. We largely make them based on feelings. I explain how emotions drive decisions, here.

If your marketing message is based around facts, numbers, graphs, percentages… that’s way too logical. And it’s losing you sales. Your service or product may be less expensive, more premium, faster, or better designed. All those things are valid reasons why you should gain a huge chunk of your marketplace.

However, unless you’re also, clearly explaining how your service or product will make them feel you’re leaving money on the table!

Think of it like this: logic tells. Feeling sells.

In his book “How Customers Think“, Harvard Business School professor, Gerald Zaltman, confirms that emotions/feelings contribute far more to decision making than conscious, rational thought.

The switch from logic-based marketing to feelings-based marketing can be a massive win for you and your business. Here’s a suggestion: give it a try. Then, measure your results and see for yourself.

Photo by Jon Tyson

It’s back to normal for you and your business

By |

business as normal, get back to normal

I’ve heard numerous business owners ask the same question recently. They want to know when things will go back to normal.

They’re asking the wrong question. Things can’t go back to normal.

  1. Time only moves forward. There’s no going back.
  2. Even if we invented a time machine, normal means something different to every person who asks the question.

But that’s okay. You can get things back to normal for you and your business. You won’t need a time machine. You only need to know what normal means for you and your business.

Back to normal

So, what does your version of normal look like? You’ll typically find it was the way things felt for you at a certain point in the past. Usually this is a sense of stability or security. Plus, a feeling that things were more predictable and consistent, less volatile.

Whatever normal means to you, write it down.

things return to normal, marketing, biz dev

Once you have your very own, unique picture of what normal means for you and your business, you can start to build it. Your picture becomes the equivalent of an architect’s drawing. You use your picture to guide you, as you put the pieces into place, so your sense of stability, security and predictability are back to normal.

How?

While your competitors are waiting for the impossible, you get to work. You start by thinking what structures you will need to have around you, to create your feeling of normality. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

Stability and security: These are radically improved when you have the required finances in place. So, decide what’s your figure… how much would it take for you to have the same feeling of stability and security, as you had when things were normal? For extra security, add a zero! Next, get the best advice you can regarding building your wealth. Then, make a plan. How many additional sales do you need to make, or how many new clients do you need. Even better (because it’s faster and easier), what new products or services could you develop for your existing customers or clients.

Predictability: Even when things were normal for you, you couldn’t predict everything. No one can. However, you can predict your future even better than before, by making it happen. This means planning for it and following your plan. So, what would you love to happen over the next 30-days, 6-months, or the next year, 5-years or decade? Write it down. Make a plan.

This isn’t difficult. Seriously. You’re smarter, better looking and your jokes are funnier than people who’ve already done this.

There’s a fast and extremely valuable additional benefit from working on getting things back to normal. Very shortly after you begin making your plans, you’ll start to feel less stressed and more positive. You’ll have a greater feeling of control, because you’ll actually be in control. That feeling of positivity and being in control is invaluable. It provides you with increased optimism, greater enthusiasm and more energy.

Exactly what you need in order to succeed. (Hey, that rhymes)

Main image by Visual Tag Mx

Marketing 101: Vigorous, written marketing

By |

vigorous written marketing, marketing copywriting, content marketing

Most of the marketing copy I see is at least 75% too long. Overlong copy lacks impact. It also lacks clarity and fails to motivate prospective customers or clients.

I want to help you avoid this expensive mistake, which is why I wrote this for you.

Vigorous, written marketing

And it starts with one of the best-known quotes on the subject.

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that he make every word tell“.

Professor William Strunk Jr. – The Elements of Style.

The vigorous writing referred to here, is writing that is strong and full of energy. That’s the kind of writing that moves people to take action; to contact you, buy from you or hire you. It’s the kind of writing that gets the results you need.

How can you and your business benefit from the power of vigorous, written marketing?

The answer comes from understanding why the problem exists.

Google usually gets the blame

That’s because Google’s search algorithm rewards overlong, written content. It prefers 2500 words to 250. So, for over 20 years, online marketing writers have been rewarded for high word counts. That’s certainly not what’s needed for vigorous, written marketing.

But Google isn’t responsible for the wider problem.

Email marketing and off-line media is just as ruined by overlong content. Neither of those formats have ever required the writer to dance the Google dance.

The problem exists because most written marketing is created by people who lack sufficient training. It’s either written by business owners who ‘dabble’ or by below-par copywriters.

The solution?

The business owner wishing to switch to vigorous, written marketing has two options.

  1. Learn how to do it effectively.
  2. Pay someone who already knows.

How to decide?

  • The cost (in time) of learning is considerable. It takes years of practice. However, you’ll start seeing improvements relatively quickly.
  • The cost of hiring an expert is lower. And it’s a lot faster.

The price you pay for starving your business of vigorous, written marketing is far higher than either of those options. So pick one of them and run with it.

Photo by Cherrydeck on Unsplash

The horrible truth about marketing

By |

out market competitors, unfair advantage, marrketing tip

There’s a balance required if you want to rise above the competition. Yes, you should strive to be the best provider you can be. But that’s only one side of the scales. You also need to be the best marketed.

Think about it. There’s a world of difference between being the best… and the best selling.

  • The best selling album is never the best recorded album. It’s the best marketed album.
  • The best selling movie at the box office is never the best produced movie. It’s the best marketed movie.
  • And the best selling sportswear brand is never the best quality sportswear brand. It’s the best marketed sportswear brand.

You already know your best selling competitor is not the best quality competitor. It’s just their marketing that’s better. Note: this doesn’t mean their marketing is outstanding. It only means that they do more of the right things than their competitors. So, they get noticed more than you and/or they’re better at converting that attention into paying clients or customers.

Give your business the advantage

If you’re sick of watching competitors doing better than you, you need to decide to outperform their marketing, the way you already outperform their service. Because an average service that has great marketing, will always beat a great service that has average marketing.

The great news: If you decide to fight back, you’ll have better marketing and a better service. That’s an unbeatable combination. I’m telling you, your competitors won’t know what’s hit them.

I have no clients. Seriously. Not even one!

By |

marketing tip, earn attention, earn trust, earn clients, earn customers

It’a true. I don’t have any clients.

I also don’t have any customers, newsletter subscribers or readers. Oh, and I don’t have anyone connected to me on social media either.

I don’t have them. They’re not mine. Instead, I borrow them.

Brace yourself…

The same is true for YOU

Once we’ve earned the attention and trust of a new client, a new customer, a new subscriber or a new social media contact, it’s just the beginning. We must then work to keep on re-earning over and over again. The moment we begin to think otherwise, we risk becoming complacent. 

Then we find out the hard way: complacency causes casualties.

For decades, sales trainers talked about the importance of closing the sale. Some still focus on it today, though only in high-pressure sales environments. Closing the sale was all about using psychological tricks to motivate someone to make a purchase.

Once this was achieved, the deal was closed.

Today, we know better.

Today, we know better. The most successful business owners don’t focus on closing the sale. Instead, they focus on opening the relationship. This is the mindset that says when a sale has been made, a new client acquired or a new subscriber gained, it’s only the start. It’s the mindset that compels us to continuously seek better ways to delight them. It’s the mindset that inspires us to raise the bar on what we deliver. 

Let your competitors become complacent. Let your competitors assume that the people doing business with them, are their clients or customers.

But not you, my friend.

Instead, remain focused on opening relationships, being useful and constantly delivering better value.

Finish strong

By |

Finish strong. That’s solid advice for most things. But when writing persuasive marketing copy, the advice becomes explosive.

Most written marketing makes a powerful point, or a number of powerful points, but then fizzles out. The prospect is inspired to read past the powerful points. But when they reach the, fizzling-out copy, the impact on them is weakened. They go from hot to cold.

The key is to finish strong.

As Poynter’s  Roy Peter Clark said: “Shakespeare did not write ‘The Queen is dead, my lord’. He wrote ‘The Queen, my lord, is dead'”.

marketing, finish strong

By placing the emphatic word at the end of the sentence, the power of the overall message is greatly increased. It ends with a bang. That’s exactly the impact your marketing needs, in order to motivate your prospect, and compel them to take the next step; buy from you, call you, visit your store, make an enquiry, subscribe, etc.

Not just sentences

Finishing strong applies not only to your sentences. It equally applies to finishing the overall written marketing piece strong. This means making the last sentence in each paragraph as emphatic as possible, and the last paragraph itself, as emphatic as possible.

Think of it like this: You’re aiming for your words to build a crescendo of motivation, which inspires your prospect to take the next step.

What next?

Take a look at your written marketing and see if it finishes strong. Check the sentences, the paragraphs and the overall piece. If it doesn’t create a growing wave of desire, fix it. Otherwise you’ll continue to miss out on new sales or new clients. And none of us can afford that.

Read this and improve your advertising results, fast

By |

improve your advertising results, better ads, white mug on red background

A lot of small business owners spend a ton of money on advertising. Often with pretty poor results. So, I put this post together, to help you avoid the most common advertising mistakes.

Here they are in no particular order.

  • You’re using brand advertising (ads that contain no obvious call to action), when you should be using direct response advertising (ads that contain a direct call to action). Almost all small businesses should use direct response.
  • You’re advertising on a platform your prospects don’t use / don’t pay attention to.
  • Your advertising is online, when it should be in print media. Or the other way around.
  • You’re buying advertising on platforms that people don’t trust, rather than advertising on highly trusted websites, podcasts, etc.
  • You’re advertising at the wrong time in your prospective client’s (or customer’s) buying cycle.
  • You’re advertising to get maximum click-throughs, rather than targeted click-throughs from actual prospects.
  • Your advertisements are not written by a proven copywriter.
  • Your advertisements are bought based on what they cost, rather than their potential effectiveness.
  • Your advertisements are in places where lots of your competitors are advertising.

There are lots more common reasons why advertising doesn’t work.

For example, your advertising message is irrelevant to your target prospect, or it’s lacking in targeted motivation, or it points to a poorly converting landing page, or it points to a landing page that loads too slowly, or the special whatever you’re offering isn’t as special as you think, or it explains too much, or it sounds too similar to an advertisement they’ve already clicked on, or it sounds too good to be true, or your target prospects are privacy conscious and your landing page requires cookies, or you are not bidding for your advertisements correctly, or your advertisement is reaching just a fraction of the number of people you think it is… seriously, I could go on and on, but you get the drift.

In most cases, small and medium-sized business advertising makes lots of these mistakes simultaneously. These simultaneous mistakes are more damaging than the individual damage each one causes.

That’s because they compound together. Think of compound interest, but working in reverse!

Do you even need paid advertisements?

For many small and medium-sized businesses, their biggest advertising mistake is that they’re buying them in the first place! I don’t buy advertisements. My clients have no need to buy them either. It’s an increasingly expensive, complex game. And you don’t need to play. It’s just one form of marketing. Nothing more.

I hope you found this useful, my friend.

Photo by Stas Knop on Pexels.com

Marketing 101: Get your prospects to buy now

By |

marketing, take action, buy now

What keeps your prospective clients or customers awake at night?

There are 2 broad answers to that question.

  1. The things they’re worried about. Their fears, apprehensions, worries or concerns.
  2. The things they’re excited about. Their goals, dreams and the opportunities ahead of them.

Here’s why those answers are critically important to your business.

Urgent attention and immediate action

Anything that keeps your prospects awake at night, is an extremely high priority to them.

Why?

Firstly, it’s where their urgent attention is. Secondly, they’re looking to take action immediately. 

In order to help them, and for you to benefit from helping them, your task is extremely simple. Just 2 things are required from you.

  1. You need to determine exactly what they’re worried about or excited about. How? By talking to your marketplace, by listening to them on social networks. It’s easy.
  2. You need to clearly demonstrate how your services or products will help them in that key area. How? By providing a powerful message that talks directly to them and their pain or joy.

The vast majority of small business marketing doesn’t do this. This means the door is wide open for you. What an opportunity to thrive. I couldn’t be more excited for you.

Note: This approach works in every economy… BUT it works 10X better when times are uncertain.

This is one of the easiest and fastest ways to dramatically increase your sales or client acquisition numbers. It starts to work for you, the moment your prospects see your new, optimal marketing message.

Discover their need.

Talk to their need.

Provide for their need.

Everybody wins.

The persuasion gap

By |

marketing tip, the persuasion gap, sales

Today, I’d like to show you a great way to make far more prospects hire you or buy from you.

Here’s what we know.

  • Testimonials from former customers or clients have limited persuasive effect on a prospect. Everyone uses them. And they’re always positive.
  • Samples of previous work we’ve done have limited persuasive effect on a prospect. Everyone uses them. And they’re always best-case examples.
  • Even being recommended to the prospect by someone they trust has limited persuasive effect. Everyone’s been let down by something recommended by a friend.

What’s left is what I call the persuasion gap: It’s the gap between how persuaded the prospect is, and how persuaded the prospect needs to be, before they will hire you or buy from you. 

So, how do you fill the persuasion gap?

We start by understanding a basic fact. When someone buys a product or service, they’re buying the future.

The future?

Yep!

It’s all about the future.

Think about it from the prospect’s perspective. Our product or service hasn’t been successfully delivered yet. It hasn’t worked as expected yet. It hasn’t provided the prospect with outstanding value yet. This is all future stuff. That’s what causes the persuasion gap. They simply don’t know if they’ll be delighted with buying from us in 12-weeks, 12-months or 12-years time.

To fill the persuasion gap, we need to convince them ahead of time. We need to convince them now, so they have a complete picture in their mind of a wonderful, future outcome. And to convince them, we need to confidently explain why we believe in the value of our product or service.

The more confidently we explain it, the better.

Why?

By confidently sharing the story of our product or service with prospects, and building their confidence in us, we help them fill their persuasion gap. That’s when they happily buy from us or hire us.

Photo by Cytonn Photography

Why email marketing doesn’t work in 2025

By |

why doesn't email marketing work, email marketing doesn't work, newsletter, email campaign 2025

A reader shared an interesting observation with me. She told me she had “found out the hard way that email marketing doesn’t work in 2025″.

She asked me for my thoughts on why email is so ineffective. I said I’d share them here, as I’m sure some of you will find it useful.

Email marketing works

Email marketing works. In fact, email marketing works extremely well. Better than ever.

Just ask any business owner who’s using it correctly. Whether it’s used for newsletters or promotions, the return on investment is off the charts.

Email marketing also works more predictably than just about any other form of marketing. And the tiny financial investment required for email marketing makes it the most cost effective form of marketing out there.

Email marketing doesn’t work when…

What doesn’t work is ineffective email marketing. Just ask anyone who’s doing it incorrectly.

Here’s the thing: ineffective email marketing can’t work.

why doesn't email marketing work, email marketing doesn't work, newsletter, email campaign

Here are just a few, very common examples of how small business owners get email marketing wrong.

  • A poorly written email won’t work. It will fail to motivate the reader to take action; to call you, email you, visit your website, make a purchase from you, whatever.
  • A professionally written email, sent to the wrong people, won’t work. It will fail to reach those with a want or need for your services.
  • A well written email, sent to the right people, with a dull subject line, won’t work. That’s because no one will open it. The subject line has to be compelling or no matter what your message is, it will literally be ignored.
  • A well written email, sent to the right people, with a compelling subject line, offering a generic product or service, won’t work. No one wants to switch to a service that’s no better then their current service.
  • A well written email, sent to the right people, with a compelling subject line, but sent on the wrong day of the week, won’t work. At least, it won’t be anything like as effective as it would be, if you research the best time of day and best day of the week, to send it.
  • Oh, and if you send your emails frequently, or not frequently enough… that’s right, your email marketing won’t work.

You get the idea.

In short, before you reject any form of marketing as ineffective, make sure you’re using it correctly.

So, instead of telling yourself that email marketing doesn’t work, ask yourself why YOUR email marketing doesn’t work. Otherwise, you’ll needlessly miss out on one of the most powerful forms of marketing on the planet!

Image: Shutterstock.

Be first

By |

do it first, proactive

Here’s a powerful, proven thought experiment I often use, to help people rapidly increase the growth of their businesses. I believe you’ll find it useful, so here it is.

I’d like you to muse on the following.

  1. Think of a business, which offers a unique blend of services, unlike others in their industry.
  2. Think of a business, which dedicates time every week to improving its effectiveness in one key area.
  3. Think of a business, which is dedicated to customer retention, so it seldom loses a client or customer.
  4. Think of a business, which actively builds a valuable network of decision makers.
  5. Think of a business, which uses highly effective marketing strategies, so it attracts the best customers.

Now, take a few moments to consider the following. What will happen when that type of business moves into your area, targeting your customers and targeting your future customers.

Here’s how to protect your business, AND make a ton of extra sales along the way.

Let’s go!

Be the threat

Before something like that happens to you, it’s essential for YOU to do it first. Become that threat, to your existing competitors. Take action on every one of those 5 steps above and watch your business grow faster and stronger than ever before.

The hardest part is not applying those 5 steps. There’s lots of ways to put all 5 of them into play. By far, the hardest part is getting started as soon as possible and working on it until your business is protected.

If you’re not quite motivated enough to take action yet, this may help. It’s what we see happen every time a well-prepared competitor targets an area.

  • The competitor arrives with a well-planned strategy in place and is making waves.
  • The competitor also has total control of the time line. This gives them a massive advantage.
  • The unprepared businesses are shocked to find themselves in the middle of a commercial attack.
  • The unprepared businesses are left scrambling for ideas as they try to figure out what to do. All the while, the competitor is gaining more and more market share.

In short, don’t wait. Be the threat. Plan for massive success right now. Choose to become that proactive, uniquely valuable, constantly improving threat to your competitors.

Plus, once you get started, you’ll quickly find yourself with more confidence, energy and greater peace of mind. It’s a natural consequence of proactively planning for success.

Photo by Ant Rozetsky

Why your subscribers aren’t hiring you (and how to fix it).

By |

monetize subscribers, subscribers into customers, marketing

Hannah has almost 2000 newsletter subscribers. Her open rates are always over 80%.

And yet in 5 years, she’s attracted just 4 paying clients directly from her newsletter readership.

She asked me what she was doing wrong. I suggested, with her permission, that as this is a really common problem, I’d share my answer with you.

Marketing data can mislead you

We’re now able to test and measure our digital marketing with great precision. And it’s causing hard working small business owners to make very expensive marketing mistakes.

For example. Service providers like Hannah, often look at the data for their newsletter’s open rates, clicks or shares, then write certain styles of headline or content, based on what’s popular.

That seems to make sense.

Until we look at the massive difference, between what’s popular with readers… and what generates bankable income for our business.

The key point here is that readers are mostly just that. They’re readers. They read our free stuff. And that’s it. This is especially the case when you provide free business information. The vast majority of people who subscribe have no intention of spending a dime with us. They’re looking for free information. Period.

Oh yeah. It really messes with your marketing data

That’s because the free stuff crowd are also the people most likely to open newsletters and click links.

They especially love sensational headlines. They’re attracted to them because they dabble rather than hire expert help, so their businesses are constantly struggling. Over-hyped headlines give them hope that they’re one ‘killer free idea’ away from solving their latest problem.

It’s not a coincidence that none of the 4 readers who hired Hannah directly from her newsletter, had high open rates or click rates. They almost hired her in spite of being on her list. This is because our ‘prospective client readers’ behave very, very differently from the ‘free stuff readers’.

The same approach that gets opens and clicks from freebie readers, leaves our prospective clients rolling their eyes.

Allow me to explain.

Yes, our prospective clients are certainly looking for great, useful information. And that’s a fact.

The BIG difference, is that they are also looking to provide their businesses with the resources and expertise it needs. This means when they consume our newsletters, podcasts, YouTube videos, whatever, they do so with a prospective need for our services and are building a picture of us.

And unlike the freebie crowd, they’re looking for clues.

For example.

  • They’re looking to see how reliable we are over a period of time. They want to know if we regularly show up with ideas or go missing unexpectedly for long periods.
  • They’re also looking for clues as to whether we’d work well together or not.
  • They want to see if our communication style is consistently clear and easy to understand.
  • And they want to see the depth and breadth of our knowledge over a period of time.

Plus a ton of other things they pick up on, which guides their decision to hire us.

In a nutshell: Don’t chase the subscriber data that has little, if any, real-world commercial value. Focus instead on creating for your prospects.

How to turn your customers, clients and prospects into fans

By |

Without doubt, customer experience is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. Here’s a look at why, plus some examples to help your business create an outstandingly valuable experience for your customers.

customer experience, marketing, word of mouth

Let’s go!

Isn’t it just another name for customer service?

Customer experience is a term often used incorrectly. Some use it interchangeably with customer service, but they’re very different things.

  • Customer service is about the quality of service you provide to your customers.
  • Customer experience is about the feelings your customers experience when they do business with you.

When deployed correctly, your customer experience becomes a powerful marketing asset. It’s an experience your customers will value enormously. An experience they’ll talk about and share with their friends and contacts. And an experience that will make them fiercely loyal customers.

That’s why I strongly recommend you embrace it and optimize it. To get your creative juices flowing, here are a couple of very different types of business, who provide an equally wonderful experience for their customers.

Customer experience in diverse businesses

1. A vinyl record store: When you visit a store that sells vinyl records, you notice something. Customers don’t simply walk in, ask for what they want and leave. No. It’s an experience. Customers connect with the staff and other customers, who are also fellow vinyl lovers. They talk about new releases, decks and cabling, etc. They listen to music.

It’s where they buy music and related hardware. But it’s so much more than that. It’s an enjoyable experience.

NB: Very similar examples can be found in the most talked about cycling stores, book stores and indie coffee shops, etc.

2. My dentist: Yes, it applies to every type of business, including dentists. I enjoy visiting them for my check-up. I look forward to it because it’s an excellent experience. The staff are friendly, welcoming and clearly love working there. The premises are creatively designed to be relaxing, but also to make it easy for patients to chat. The ambience is outstanding. Utterly unlike any other dental practice I’ve ever used.

I’ve lived in my area for well over 20-years and I’ve never seen that dentist advertise. Their patients do that for them, willingly, for free.

If visiting a dentist can be that great a customer experience, yours certainly can.

Your customer experience

I’ve seen amazing examples in every industry and profession. I’m certain it will work in your line of business, too.

What next?

Here’s a useful way to get started. List all the providers that you enjoy the experience of doing business with. Then look for what makes it so good. Write it down. Unpack it.

Now work on how to apply the very best from those experiences, in order to create an amazing customer experience of your own.

Photo by Count Chris 

Risk reduction 101

By |

want something done, ask busy person, sayings

In business, reducing your exposure to risk makes sense.

Eliminating your exposure to risk make no sense whatsoever.

Why?

It’s impossible to eliminate risk from any business. Even if things are going great, and we decide to just carry on with whatever we’re doing, we risk becoming obsolete. We risk becoming irrelevant. We risk losing clients or customers to agile competitors.

In seeking to eliminate risk, we automatically eliminate every great, genuine opportunity. Think about it, every genuine opportunity comes with an element of risk. 

In short, reduce your exposure to risk, for sure. But don’t try to eliminate it.

10 Huge business wins you can start on today

By |

an AI generated image with the word 'opportunity' written on it.

Here they are in no particular order.

  1. There’s a type of thinking that can only be done by writing. So, the next time you’re working on an idea, solving a problem or developing a new service, etc., write it down in detail. You’ll get a better answer and you’ll find it faster.
  2. Don’t chase the latest success hacks. Instead, focus on proven strategies that work in every economy.
  3. Treat your time with the respect you deserve. Throughout the day, ask yourself is this the best use of my time right now? If it isn’t, stop and do something better.
  4. Get around the right people. Spend as much time as you can with those who will motivate you, inspire you and encourage you. This is probably the easiest tip on this list and certainly one of the most powerful.
  5. Do the extra 5%. Commit to do everything required for the success you want, rather than the 95% of things that most people do. That extra 5% brings with it a disproportionately massive improvement.
  6. Clearly define the vision and mission you have for your business. With clarity and direction, you’ll get ahead faster and fly higher.
  7. Regularly look for opportunities to do something, which your future-self will thank you for.
  8. One of the best investments anyone can make in their business is this: Strive to always exceed expectations. Raise your own bar. Then raise it again. And again.
  9. Provide your business with the resources it needs. When we starve anything of essential resources, it stops growing. Our business is the same.
  10. Eagerly look for a difficult problem to solve. The more difficult a problem is, the more the market will pay you to solve it.

If you found this useful, remember to share it with a friend.

How to thrive in uncertain times

By |

photo of man leaning on wooden table

We live in uncertain times. This means you’ll need a strategy to help you thrive over the unpredictable months ahead.

Yes, there is a lot of uncertainty right now… but it’s nothing new. Last month marked 30-years since I started my business. And I’ve helped countless businesses to prosper during all of the periods of uncertainty since then.

Today, I’m going to give you 3 proven areas to focus on, so you can adjust and improve your strategy for success in 2025.

In no particular order.

1. Risk management and risk opportunity

Uncertainty inspires savvy business owners to focus on risk in two ways.

Firstly, they do like everyone else. They make an assessment of potential risks to their business, then strengthen their resilience to those perceived risks. This includes things like ensuring they have adequate insurances in place, and protecting their finances by eliminating unnecessary expenditure and focusing on direct-value purchases.

But secondly, they realize their prospective clients or customers are also facing uncertainty, and also focused on risk and eliminating unnecessary expenditure. So, they adapt the way they currently market their products or services. They understand that their prospects now need a different marketing message, based on their new, different priorities.

2. First-mover advantage

Uncertain times always, always create new needs and new wants in the marketplace. Successful business owners look for opportunities to be the first to provide them. 

During the pandemic, I helped small business owners in multiple industries and professions, to benefit from first-mover advantage. They had a wide open marketplace who were urgently looking for exactly what my clients provided. After a couple of months, competing providers figured out what was happening and offered their own version of the product or service. But by then, my clients had enjoyed months-worth of elevated sales and tons of referrals that kept on coming.

Talk to your clients and prospects and pay close attention to what’s worrying them. This is especially the case if you notice a drop in the value, or number, of sales you’re making. And keep an extra keen eye on your competitors.

NB: You don’t need to create something that’s all-new. Originality is the existence of new ideas, not the absence of old ones.

3. It’s the perfect time to lead

In times of uncertainty, your marketplace is strongly attracted to leaders. Right now, they are waiting for a leader in your industry to come forward and provide the direction, the clarity and the confidence they eagerly want. 

How do you become that leader? Here’s some advice on leadership I recently gave to a gathering of creative professionals.

Leadership is like kindness: Kind people don’t tell us they’re kind. They demonstrate kindness. And we call them kind. Leaders don’t tell us they’re leaders. They demonstrate leadership. And we call them leaders.

People in your marketplace are faced with lots of big, hard decisions. You already have the knowledge they need. If you choose to provide it, along with the direction, clarity and confidence they need, you’ll be demonstrating leadership. You’ll become the leader they’re looking for. 

That’s a huge win for you and your business. Don’t wait to be asked to lead. Just lead. Rest assured, people will notice you. They’re already seeking you. You simply need to be where their attention is. I use a newsletter, a blog and I give talks. Choose the mix or platform that works best for you. 

I hope you’ve found these ideas useful. You don’t need to do everything. Though you can if you want to. I suggest you look for the idea that attracts you the most, and start there. The key is to get started and improve your strategy, so you thrive in the uncertainty of 2025.

Photo by Andrew Neel

Standing out: You’re the only safe choice for your prospects

By |

attraction marketing, earn attention

It’s really important that your prospective clients or customers specifically hire you or buy from you.

Allow me to explain.

It’s a fact that if your prospects go to one of your competitors, you have absolutely no way of knowing what kind of terrible experience they could receive. Anything could happen to them.

But on the other hand, you know for absolute certain what will happen when a prospect comes to you.

  • You know that you will look after them.
  • You know they will receive outstanding value.
  • You know that you will care, really care, about them and the service they receive.
  • You know that you will go the extra mile for them.

In short, if they choose you, you know they will be delighted.

A powerful business mindset

I have clients today, who first hired me over 20 years ago. This marketing mindset is what attracted them, and my total commitment to their success is what keeps them coming back. It’s the mindset behind everything I do. It’s 100% them-focused.

I recommend you do the same.

You see, I truly believe you have a professional AND moral obligation to ensure that your prospects hire YOU or buy from YOU. Because it’s the only way you can guarantee for certain that they won’t make a MASSIVE mistake.

You care passionately about your clients or customers. You go to great lengths to ensure their happiness. So, let the marketplace know. Show them that their total satisfaction is what matters to you. That it’s what drives you. That it’s what motivates you to continuously improve.

Now make that message, from that mindset, the cornerstone of all your marketing. It’s already the cornerstone of everything you do. That message is exactly what prospects want to hear… and you know that what you’re telling them is the truth.

Marketing 101: The sales multiplier tactic

By |

sales multiplied, marketing tips, inbound marketing

At the beginning of my marketing career, I was introduced to a very effective marketing idea. I call it the sales multiplier tactic. It’s spectacularly powerful and there are several ways YOU can benefit from it.

Here’s how it works.

The core idea is extremely simple. If you want a business that grows quickly, design your business so that when someone uses your services, they get more value from it if their contacts also use your services.

  • This was how LinkedIn grew. Early users asked their contacts and clients to join, so they could connect. TikTok did the same.
  • It’s also how every hit TV show becomes a hit. The first viewers tell their friends about it, so they can chat about the show with them or share in-jokes, which only fellow viewers would understand, etc.

However…

What if you already have a business and it doesn’t have the sales multiplier tactic built in? After all, the vast majority of business owners are in this position.

One option is to retrofit the sales multiplier tactic to your business. Retrofitting takes a little time and creativity, but it’s relatively easy.

However, there’s an easy and extremely popular alternative that any business can use.

Making the sales multiplier tactic work for your business

A highly popular alternative option, is to add it to your marketing, rather than your service.

One example is my newsletter. It works like this.

  • Someone within a company or network subscribes to my newsletter.
  • Then, they read one, which will help overcome a problem their company or network has. So, they forward it to a few other people.
  • Why? Because it’s easier for them to get their colleagues on board with an idea I mentioned, if they’re able to read it for themselves.
  • Some of those colleagues will subscribe and do the same.
  • This is how I’ve attracted many of my largest clients, as details on how to hire me are at the bottom of each newsletter.

That example only works because it’s an ad-free newsletter with useful information, not a series of special offers and sales pitches. For the sales multiplier tactic to work for you, your marketing needs to contain something helpful, interesting or informative. This holds true if you’re using it on a podcast, a YouTube channel, your social media account or anywhere else. 

Whichever route you choose, if you get it right the impact it can have on your sales results is amazing.

Needed

By |

needs not wants, professional service provider

Today, I’m going to show you how to grow your business, build your reputation, keep your customers or clients happy and generate extremely valuable referrals.

Better still, all it takes is one adjustment to the way most small businesses operate.

When I share this idea with business owners, I use the following example. Think about some of the most powerful commercial logos. Apple, Chanel, McDonald’s, Adidas, IBM, Google and Target, etc. All of these designs look simplistic. A child could reproduce any of them in a few seconds.

Now, imagine for a moment what happens when a business owner hires a great designer to create their logo. The designer then gets back to the client with exactly what the client needs… a powerful, extremely effective, yet brilliantly-simple design. Like one of the world-class examples I just mentioned.

Because the client is not a design professional, they want MORE for their money. So, they demand changes.

  • More detail.
  • More lines.
  • More complexity.

If the designer gives the client what the client wants, the client ends up with a confusing piece of junk.

If the designer gives the client what the client needs, the client ends up with an effective, professionally designed logo.

How to get this right

The best service providers use education, to help the client understand what the client needs.

When the service provider does this correctly.

  • The client ends up with what they want and what they need.
  • The service provider ends up with a delighted client, who has a great piece of work. That’s the kind of client who provides valuable referrals.
  • The marketplace gets to see your very best work, which helps you build an excellent reputation.

Your clients deserve your very best work. And so do you, my friend.

Marketing 101: Creativity works better than money

By |

creative marketing

Ever wondered why I never write about how or where to spend your marketing money?

Well, today I spill the beans. And it can save you, and make you, a fortune.

There are a lot of ways you can spend money on marketing. Advertising and promotion is available via thousands of providers. It’s so easy.

  • You pay them your money.
  • They say they’ll get your message in front of X number of prospective clients or customers.
  • Hopefully, a percentage of these will contact you.
  • And a percentage of that percentage, could spend money with you.

So far so good, right?

It would be, if your competitors didn’t have the exact same options.

But they do.

Buying attention is overrated

Obviously, your competitors advertise to the same marketplace as you… otherwise they wouldn’t be your competitors.

So your ads are always competing against their ads.

Whoever spends most money, gets the most attention. This is equally true when you advertise on different platforms, as digital advertising reaches the same target groups regardless of where they are.

This makes buying attention with ads extremely precarious! Your ad reach will always depend on the marketing money your competitors choose to spend. It’s out of your control. It’s also impossible to plan the future growth of your business with confidence.

Why?

A well-funded competitor can, quickly and easily, wipe your visibility out before you even know what’s happening.

Thankfully there’s an effective alternative.

Marketing creativity over marketing money

I choose to focus 100% on a very different marketing model. It’s a model that is impossible for your competitors to copy, as they can’t see what you’re doing, unlike paid ads / promotion.

BUT they won’t know why.

That’s because the marketing model I use is entirely based around creativity, not money.

It’s about attracting attention, not buying attention.

It’s about giving your prospective clients something to talk about.

And it’s exceptionally effective. In fact, The Wall Street Journal came to me for an example of how I achieve massive marketing success for my small business clients, using creative marketing strategies, and NOT A PENNY spent on advertising or promotion.

In short, I don’t write about how to buy attention because it’s a risky, expensive, unpredictable and exceptionally limited way to grow your business.

So, now you know.

When people say you’re too expensive, do this!

By |

Jim Connolly marketing

When you ask why they didn’t buy from you, prospective customers or clients often say that your prices are too high.

And it could be true.

However, it usually isn’t.

Here’s what you need to know.

Your prices are seldom the problem

Let’s start with some far more likely reasons for their decision.

  • Your marketing could be suffering from Toxic Complexity. This is dangerous and extremely common.
  • You might be marketing to the wrong people.
  • You could be contacting them at the lowest point of their cash flow cycle.
  • You could be asking people to make a decision before they have all the information they need.
  • Your marketing could be failing to clearly demonstrate enough value, making your price seem higher than they expected.
  • Your marketing promises could be too similar to those offered by your lower priced competitors.
  • Your payment terms may not be flexible enough for them.
  • Your branding could be positioning you as a lower priced provider than you actually are.
  • You could be responding to enquiries too slowly.

And there are lots of other reasons. None of which have much to do with your prices or fees, and more to do with your marketing and how you sell your products or services.

It’s a trap

Lowering your prices can be tempting. It’s a quick and extremely easy way to make your products or services seem better value. But it’s a trap. A trap you need to avoid. A trap that can put your business in a dangerous race to the bottom. You do not want to be in a race to the bottom!

A far better alternative is to find out what’s actually causing people to think you’re too expensive. And to then focus on improving your marketing in those key areas.

If you’re not sure where to start looking for answers, the brief list above is a useful place to begin. Try to look at each item on that list from the perspective of a potential client. Remember, most prospects will have done at least some research. So check your competitors to see how your; services, marketing, payment terms, promises, guarantees, branding and response times, etc., stack up against theirs.

And make lowering your prices the very last thing you consider.

Take their attention to the bank

By |

convert more prospects

So, you want to get your products or services noticed? Of course you do. You work hard, your business is excellent and more people need to know about what you do.

However, before you start working on how to get noticed, you’ll need to put some foundations in place. Otherwise, you’ll blow a ton of money, waste your time and miss out on some potentially great opportunities.

With this in mind, be sure to check the following.

  • Do you have an accurate way to measure the number of prospective customers or clients who notice you?
  • Have you determined the number of people you need to notice you, in order for your business to flourish?
  • Are you able to accurately track whether you are getting noticed by the right people, or just a poorly targeted mix?
  • When people notice you for the first time, do your *touchpoints build an image of trust? *Touchpoints are the places where a new prospective encounters you, such as your website, Linkedin, your newsletter, your office, your store, your advertising, etc.
  • Will new prospective customers find your marketing message compelling enough, to motivate them to place an order, to contact you, to come back for more, etc? [This tip will help you]
  • And have you made it extremely easy and intuitive, for them to recommend you to their friends and contacts?
  • Do you have a robust strategy to get their permission to stay in touch with them?
  • Are your systems, both online and offline, regularly tested, to ensure they’re working, or are you losing prospective customers or important data, without even knowing it?

The key is to make sure you don’t simply get noticed, but that you get noticed by the right people. And that when these prospective customers notice you, you’re optimized to turn their attention into money in the bank.

Get this balance right and you’ll convert more people into customers in 2025 than ever before.

Reject the masses. Here’s why

By |

marketing specific, targeted message, marketing tips

Here’s a very straightforward, proven way to build a successful service-based business. I’m going to suggest you reject the mob.

All right. That’s the intro finished. Let’s go!

Depending on the service you provide and your location, there are thousands, maybe tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of prospective clients.

Except, they’re not really your prospective clients at all.

No.

Whilst you may be able to provide a degree of service to some of them, for the vast majority you won’t be exactly what they’re looking for. You can’t possibly be. None of us can.

After all.

  • Some will want a more local provider.
  • Some will demand the lowest priced provider.
  • Some will insist on the absolute premium, and happily pay the maximum to ensure it.
  • Some will need a provider that speaks a certain language.
  • Some will be looking for a provider from one of their networking groups.
  • Some will want a provider with a rare, highly specialist knowledge.
  • Some will require a provider who charges annually in arrears.
  • Some will only hire a provider with offices in multiple locations.
  • Some will want unlimited phone access at no extra charge.

Given you can’t possibly serve the majority of your marketplace, I have a strong recommendation for you. I recommend you adopt a much more focused strategy.

Here’s why. Along with how it works.

Shun the masses

The temptation is to try and have as wide an appeal as possible, so you get a shot at as many prospective clients as possible. That’s a very common approach. It seems to make sense, but it’s completely wrongheaded. A bad mindset to work from. And a very expensive mistake.

Why?

Because by trying to be somewhat relevant to everyone, you fail to be directly relevant to anyone – including your actual prospects.

Your actual (genuine) prospects need to see your marketing and immediately identify that you’re talking to them. By weakening that message, you lose them.

They’ll assume you’re not what they’re looking for, when you’re exactly what they’re looking for and exactly what they need.

So my plea to you is simple.

Reject the mob. They’re not interested. They’ll waste your time. They’ll want ‘this’ when you offer ‘that’. And you’ll go nuts trying to make them happy, let alone keep them happy.

Embrace your actual prospects instead

Focus on being directly relevant to the prospective clients you can absolutely delight with your services. These are the people who will hire you, pay you the correct rate, recommend you to their friends and stay with you for years and years. These are the clients you can confidently build an amazingly successful business with.

These are the clients you need. And they need you. They really need you!

Now, go and let them know! Focus all your marketing, so that it’s strikingly obvious you’re exactly what they’ve been looking for.

There’s no need to market your business in 2025

By |

stop marketing in 2025, better than marketing

If you dislike marketing or simply find it a frustrating waste of time and money, this is written especially for you.

Just how frustrating is marketing?

The vast majority of small business owners I’ve spoken with over the years, work hard. They put a lot of hours in, too. Yet they feel compelled to tell me that when it comes to marketing their products or services, they’re lazy.

And it’s just not true.

So, why do they think they’re being lazy about their marketing?

They regard marketing as being dull (which it is) pushy (which it is) and irritating (which it is). So, they quite understandably try to avoid it. That’s NOT being lazy.

It’s completely natural to want to avoid things that are dull and irritating. We avoid crap and marketing is a constant source of dull, irritating crap.

Let’s remember.

  • Marketing is responsible for the junk mail and spam that clogs up our inbox.
  • Marketing is behind those unsolicited telemarketing calls that interrupt us when we’re at home with our family.
  • Marketing is the reason strangers pester us in the street with flyers.
  • Marketing is responsible for the sales spam that floods social media.
  • Marketing is also responsible for pushy connection requests on LinkedIn.
  • Marketing is the cause of all those repetitive commercials that ruin every piece of media we consume.

So, how do you grow your business without marketing?

Drop marketing. Replace it with something better

If you dislike marketing and are not happy with the way your business is growing, it’s time to replace it with something better.

Something that will instinctively feel right.

Something you won’t want to avoid.

Something that’s a natural extension of the work you do.

Allow me to explain, along with a few examples.

Better than marketing

Imagine you’re walking in the park on a scorching hot day. You didn’t bring enough water and now you’re feeling really, really thirsty. It’s getting warmer. You notice your throat is now dry. Thankfully, you finally spot a sign for ice-cold drinks with an arrow pointing to a small hut. You walk over, buy a bottle of water and eagerly gulp it down. You then buy another bottle for you to enjoy on your journey home. You thank the vendor and head back.

That sign with the arrow, saying ‘ice-cold drinks’ didn’t feel like marketing.

It didn’t pester you, it didn’t bore you, it wasn’t dull and it certainly was not an unwanted interruption. It was exactly what you were looking for. And the vendor just sold a couple of bottles of water to a very happy customer.

Everyone’s happy.

Also better than marketing

I recall walking into the study to ask my wife, (Sharon) if she wanted a coffee. I quickly noticed that she was listening to an interview with a musician, whose work she loves. He was talking about his new album and the inspiration behind some of the tracks. Like thousands of other listeners, Sharon was buying the album as he spoke.

That radio interview sure didn’t feel like marketing.

Sharon had been looking forward to the interview all morning. She was listening intently and enthusiastically as the musician spoke. He wasn’t being dull and she was delighted after enjoying his interview and ordering the new album. The musician was happy having had a great interview and probably selling tons of albums. The radio show had just provided a great 30 minutes of entertainment.

Everyone’s happy.

And this is better than marketing, too

People like myself, who share our knowledge in a newsletter, on social networks, a podcast or whatever… we don’t need to market what we do. People hire us, knowing in advance what to expect. We simply make it easy to contact us and we keep being useful. It’s a joy to share useful ideas. Our audience gets some useful advice. Everyone’s happy.

And what about those amazing business owners who bake joy into the very process of doing business with them? They attract customers like moths to a flame and retain their customers for far longer. These are the happiest business owners and their customers are happy too.

Growing a business doesn’t have to be dull and uninspiring. It’s a choice. A really bad choice, but a choice nonetheless.

With this in mind, there’s an obvious way forward.

Follow your heart and follow your head

Follow your heart: If you dislike the prescriptive marketing crap that’s based around pestering, interrupting and irritating people, please stop. You won’t be very good at it and it will make you miserable.

Follow your head: If you want to thrive, you’ll need to replace bullshit marketing with something better.

The examples I’ve shared are all things that have been intentionally baked into the business. It’s the natural consequence of their day-to-day workflow. And by default, unlike traditional marketing, these are non-prescriptive. I know from the work I do on this with clients every day, that your specific mix must be developed around you, the kind of business you want and your unique personality.

That’s how to grow your business in a way that feels natural and authentic. And it’s how you create a business that thrives for you on every possible level.

We’ll find a way

By |

we'll find a way, leadership,

There’s something exceptionally powerful in the following 4 word statement, ‘We’ll find a way’.

It’s quite literally transformative. Just consider the impact it has in each of the following scenarios. Then we’ll look at opportunities for you to apply it directly into your business.

  • We’ll find a way: It’s a springboard to growth and development.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a mindset to make your meetings ultra productive.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a sign of your commitment.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s the starting point of every great discovery.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a mindset for removing barriers.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a message that demonstrates your willingness.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s the answer to feelings of hopelessness.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a preface to collaborations and partnerships.

There are many, many other examples of the powerful impact this phrase can have.

We’ll find a way in your business

With this in mind, here’s something I’d like you to consider.

I wonder how it might improve your business, when you look for opportunities to include ‘we’ll find a way’ thinking; in your conversations, client meetings, sales presentations, social media copy, newsletters, planning sessions, staff training, internal and external emails and project meetings.

As you have probably already noticed, we’ll find a way thinking is one of the most powerful, yet least talked about attributes of the world’s most influential leaders.

So, consider it another tool in your arsenal. Another option. A way to remove blocks that were holding you back. And a mindset that will be invaluable to your business as we enter 2025.

A big powerful idea

By |

big ideas,

Yes, as 2024 comes to an end, things are changing fast. That’s why today, I’m going to share an idea with you that can help you move forward with confidence. It’s something I’ve used for decades and it has never failed. 

It’s all about the importance of focusing on a big, powerful idea.

Here’s why it will work for you, along with a proven way for you to develop your very own big, powerful idea.

  • Big ideas crush apprehension and replace it with eager anticipation and excitement.
  • Big ideas fill you with motivation. They also provide the energy that’s required to achieve them.
  • Big ideas force you to grow. Every big idea requires you to learn new things, connect with new people and expand your horizons.
  • Big ideas attract the attention of others. People lean forward when they hear a big idea. They want to know more.
  • Big ideas draw people to you who want to be involved. You never have to worry about getting the help you need, if your idea is compelling enough.
  • Big ideas spread. You don’t need to push big ideas. They go from person to person. They have legs. They’re the source of that ‘buzz’ that every thriving business has.

Think big. Plan big. And enjoy the energy, clarity, direction and rewards that come from working toward your big, powerful idea.

The question is, where’s your big idea going to come from? 

Here’s your answer. 

Finding YOUR big, powerful idea

Given that this newsletter is being read by people on every continent, in every industry and with vastly different levels of experience, here’s a ‘silver bullet’ tactic. I’ve used this for decades and shared it with millions of people through my work. It’s a 4 step process I call The 6 Idea Trick. 

Important: Past experience shows that the correct way to use that tactic, is to make time for it. It’s amazingly effective. It will work, but it’s not magic. It requires time and effort. 

The marketing information you need

By |

information and data, difference between, marketing

A company pays a salesperson $125,000 a year.

That salesperson has generated an average of $250,000 a year, for 3 years, in high-profit sales.

He did great.

No he didn’t!

He was terrible.

In fact, he was worse than a waste of money.

And here’s why.

They were losing their company a fortune!

You see, that salesperson left the company and was replaced by a new salesperson.

The new salesperson was also paid $125,000 a year.

And using the same source of leads, over the following 3 years they generated an average of $750,000 a year in high-profit sales.

In the space of 3 years, the first salesperson under-performed by $1,500,000.

Data and information

Too many business owners, and sales/marketing directors, who should know better, make decisions based on data, when what they need is information.

Information is what you get, when someone applies knowledge, experience and context to data.

  • Data will show you that your salesperson is generating a 100% profit.
  • Information does that. However, your information-based decision-making causes you to research the average conversion rate for your industry. It immediately identifies a major problem that’s losing you a fortune. The salesperson is way, way below average and needs training or replacing.

This same data error is made by most small and medium-sized business owners, when they advertise.

  • They run the ads and data shows an ‘X’ percent profit is being achieved. They then look at ways to further increase that profit figure, with better written ads, better timed ads, better designed ads or placing ads on different platforms. This is an extremely limiting approach.
  • The business owner using an information-based approach, would start by looking at the ad data. THEN, they’d expand their potential by examining the profitability of investing in email marketing, joint ventures and endorsed relationships, etc.

Just ONE, successful Endorsed Relationship campaign can generate more high-profit income for you in a week than you usually earn in a year. I’ve seen far higher returns than that.

In short, data is extremely useful. But you can’t make informed decisions without information. Data is just a single component. And using it by itself, can ruin an otherwise great business.

Boost your sales in seconds

By |

buying decision, seconds to decide, prospecting, marketing tips

Many important decisions your prospective customer or client make, are well on their way to being made within seconds.

Think about it.

  • Open an email and in seconds, you’ll decide if it’s important or an instant delete.
  • Read the title of an article or newsletter and in seconds, you’ll decide to read it or scroll past it.
  • Read the marketing messages of any company and in seconds, you’ll have a good idea if their product or service is suitable for you.
  • Enter any store and in seconds, you’ll get a feel for whether the place is likely to be expensive, inexpensive, thriving, quiet, independent, national chain, aimed at a certain age-range and so on.
  • Talk with a service provider and in seconds, you’ll start deciding if they’re professional or not.
  • Return a faulty product to a store, and in seconds you’ll know how helpful or accommodating they’re likely to be.

In the same way that you and I start to form our opinions within seconds, so do our prospects. That’s why we need to create a strong first impression.

Here’s a useful way to get started

Take some time to consider what you want your prospects to feel about your business, in order for them to buy from you or hire you. Universally, you will need prospects to feel they can trust you. Other feelings will vary depending on things like your industry, the type of prospects you seek to serve and the way you’ve positioned your business. For some of you that will be exciting, creative, cutting edge and dynamic. For others that will be safe, consistent, secure and established.

Then think of all the places where your prospects are likely to encounter you or your business. The places where initial opinions are formed in seconds. For example; on your website, at your premises, on your social media accounts, at a networking group, through an advertisement, on a webinar, at a conference or event, etc.

Make a list. Write it down.

At this point you know how you want your prospects to feel, and the places where they’re likely to encounter you.

It’s now time to check out how consistent your business/brand is with those feelings, in those places. Anything that’s inconsistent needs to be removed, or replaced with a consistent alternative. As you go through this process in each of the relevant places, you’ll make it easier and easier for prospects to choose your business. 

And remember, your prospects will form their initial impressions of you and your business, regardless. So, take control.

Help them to feel that you’re exactly what they’re looking for. The best fit. And the obvious choice.

The easy switch: Attract clients like a magnet

By |

switching providers, make switching easy, marketing tips

Today, I’m going to share an extremely powerful marketing tip with you. It’s something that the vast majority of your competitors either won’t be doing correctly or won’t be doing at all. Get it right and you’ll give yourself a massive competitive advantage. 

It starts with this fundamental truth.

People, including your prospective clients, universally HATE the hassle associated with switching providers.

Think about it.

I’m willing to guess that you and I probably have at least one current provider, who isn’t ideal. Their charges may have increased, with no meaningful increase in the value we get from them. Maybe they’re slow to respond when we contact them for support. Perhaps they’re not as interested in dealing with our problems, as they used to be. And we’re pretty darn sure that there are better providers out there.

So, why do we stay with an under performing provider?

We stay, for the same reason your prospective clients have stayed with their current provider.

It’s simply this.

Switching providers is risky and a time suck

People are hardwired to intentionally avoid risk. And because switching to a new provider feels risky, we tend to avoid it.

Yes, YOU know there’s no risk whatsoever in switching to you from their current provider. You know that you’ll look after them better than they could dream of, because you’re capable, reliable, trustworthy and honest. But THEY don’t know that!

People are also busy and switching providers is often time-consuming and frustrating.

So, what’s the answer?

Make switching stress free and easy

The proven solution to this problem is something I call The Easy Switch. It’s a strategy where you make it as easy as possible for prospects to switch to you. It requires a two pronged approach.

1. Showcase your trust assets.
Make it as easy as possible for prospective clients to see for themselves, why they should trust you. You do this using your trust assets; things that help establish you as a safe, low-risk option for them.

Your trust assets might include providing them with a list of your success and achievements. You can also highlight the promises and guarantees you offer, along with testimonials you have from extremely happy clients. And if you’ve been in your current line of business for a long time, don’t keep it a secret. Include that, too. 

2. Make switching to you as simple as possible.
This is the most important part. Even after trust has been established, the perceived challenges involved and the time required in order to switch providers is enough to put people off.

Some providers use a version of the lock in effect / vendor lock in, where they deliberately make moving from them as hard as they can, for their clients. This is a huge problem in some industries, but less of a problem in others.

Regardless, you need to make the switch to you as frictionless, uncomplicated and stress-free as possible.

The best providers have a client transition process in place, where someone from their team manages the whole process for new clients. They stay in close contact with the new client to answer questions, overcome issues with the former provider and offer all the help they can. I do this with my new clients and I very strongly advise you to do the same. 

Show them how easy it is to switch to you

Once you’ve addressed those two parts of the switching process, it’s really important to let your prospective clients know. It needs to feature very prominently in your marketing, especially if you’re in an industry that’s known for making it hard to switch. It needs to be a key point in your conversations with prospective clients.

Equipped with visible trust assets and an equally visible strategy to make switching to you an absolute breeze, you become a much more attractive choice for prospective clients.

You will become the natural choice. The stress-free choice. And for many, you will become the only choice.

Closing the sale?

By |

close the sale, closing tactics, business

When I started out in sales and marketing, it was all about closing the sale.

In fact, good salespeople were often referred to as good closers.

Decades later, I still see sales recruiters asking for candidates who have a proven record of closing.

Here’s why you need to be extremely careful, before using any of the countless closing techniques and tricks.

Closing for business?

The challenge with the closing mindset, is that it positions the prospective customer as little more than an obstacle. A barrier between you and the sale. A hurdle to be overcome. It’s little wonder so many closing techniques are based on aggressive, psychological tactics.

Here are a couple of the worst, widely used examples today.

  • The silence close. This is where a series of long, uncomfortable silences are used at key points in the sales process. The person selling uses this discomfort to exert the maximum mental pressure on the prospective client. It’s borrowed from interrogation techniques!
  • Assuming the sale. This is where the person selling literally ignores the prospect’s lack of interest and acts as if the prospect has agreed to make the purchase. They just start asking for the delivery address and a suitable date. When/if the prospect objects, the salesperson responds with a series of why? questions, further pressuring the prospect.

In a nutshell, the focus is on outmanoeuvring your opponent. It’s them against you. A confrontation.

Here’s a very different approach, along with why I strongly recommend you use it.

Opening

I built my reputation in sales by adopting the total opposite approach. Instead of focusing on closing, I focused on opening. And I made a fortune.

Opening?

Yes. Opening relationships and opening opportunities. I found the idea of closing to be self-defeating. I discovered that you can achieve a great deal more, by opening relationships with people. This means taking time to listen to them. And then learning about their challenges and what they want or need. If our marketing is targeted correctly, we’re automatically only speaking with people who are our ideal profile of client.

When handled correctly, and preceded with effective marketing, this means there’s no need to close anything or close on anyone.

The whole process becomes a natural, flowing conversation, where we seek to help people overcome a challenge, with the products or services we provide.

It’s an effective, rewarding and professional way to achieve amazing sales results, and build masses of high-value relationships that last.

Too passive?

No way! This approach may sound passive, but consider the people YOU like. The people you trust. The vendors you’re already purchasing from. Are they pushy? Are they confrontational? No! That’s because we avoid people like that. Conversely, we’re attracted to those who respect us and are open and honest with us.

We trust people who are open and honest.

We buy from people who are open and honest.

We value people who are open and honest.

We recommend people who are open and honest.

In short, the more open we are, the more opportunities we’re open to, the more sales we make and then, the more referrals we receive.