Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

How focused are your marketing messages?

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That’s an important question for you to consider.

Why?

Because the more focused your marketing messages are, the more effective they will be and the more business they will generate for you.

Here’s what we know:

  • A focused marketing message speaks directly to the reader (viewer or listener), in a language they understand. It connects with them at a far deeper level than a poorly targeted message.
  • A focused marketing message makes the reader feel as if you knew exactly what they needed. This makes you relevant to them, which is extremely powerful.
  • A focused marketing message captures the reader’s attention. This is of huge value to you today, when people’s attention has never been so scattered.
  • A focused marketing messages has the power to motivate people to take action… to buy from you, call you, email you or visit you.
  • A focused marketing message has the power to inspire and compel the reader in a way that vague messages can’t.

Review your written marketing. Look for opportunities to make it more focused, so that it’s only relevant to your ideal profile of client. Be less inclusive. Talk directly to them.

Business is all about people and people really notice, when you’re speaking directly to them, in their language, about what matters to them!

Two very different voices. Which do YOU listen to?

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Who do you listen to?

I ask you this, because everything that you pay attention to has an influence on you, to a lesser or greater degree.  This is why it’s so important to be selective about the people we connect with.  In business, these “voices” can be the difference between massive success and total commercial failure.

This brief post is about the influence that pessimists and optimists have on us.

Pessimistic voices

Business owners, who listen to enough pessimistic voices, find it hard to remain positive.  That’s because the influence of pessimists, makes it all too easy for us during the winters of our business lives, to think that summer will never arrive.  All of us get disheartened from time to time and when this happens, the last thing we need is someone bringing us down further.  And then, when times are great, the pessimist will tell us that it won’t last – than doom and gloom are around the corner.

Pessimists seldom achieve anything positive, because opportunities have a habit of avoiding them.  It’s not that the opportunities don’t exist for them, but the pessimist mindset is blind to the potential for gain. Little wonder that for pessimists, the future is something that should be faced with apprehension.

We simply can not allow the toxic impact of pessimists to influence our lives, if we want to be happy, healthy or wealthy.

Optimistic voices

Business owners, who listen to enough optimistic voices, find themselves expecting the best.  Now, as we tend to get from life what we expect, it makes sense to expect the best right?

Optimism is like a virus.  It’s infectious.  I tell you, spend 20 minutes speaking with an informed optimist and it’s as refreshing as a good night’s sleep!  Spend that same amount of time listening to a pessimist complaining, and you will feel tense and stressed.

Optimism isn’t about going through life or business without a plan, blindly expecting the best; it’s about believing that whatever happens, there’s a way to turn it around, to make things better.

Optimism breeds confidence; both internally and externally.  It encourages people to see our dreams and believe in them.  An optimist with the right plan can achieve pretty-much anything.  Give that same plan to a pessimist and they won’t even read it.  They will just say; “what’s the point?”

The bottom line: By deliberately listening to the right influences, we can make our business (and our lives) a lot easier, less stressful and more rewarding!

Set your own gold standard!

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Have you ever wondered how things would change, if every company you dealt with, treated you as if you were the husband or wife, parent or child, of it’s owner?

Most companies genuinely try hard to make the customer experience as good as possible, but many set their gold standard for service, too low.  This is because they allow the typical customer experience within their industry or profession to determine what counts as either good or average.

However, by treating all customers and prospective customers as if they were the bosses nearest and dearest, a company will find itself cranking the customer service up to a new level!

Word of mouth

As I have said many, many times before, if you want to get people talking about you and spreading all that valuable word of mouth publicity about you, you need to be remarkable (or remark-able).  One of the finest ways to get people talking about you, is via industry leading attention to customer service excellence.

I was prompted to write this post, after speaking with the chairman of one of the UK’s biggest retail companies yesterday afternoon.  He told me about the way his wife had been treated, when she and a friend were visiting one of his high street stores.  Apparently, they had to wait an age to get served and when they were served, the service was pretty average.

When they were paying for their purchase, the store manager recognised the chairman’s wife and went over to introduce himself to her.  He asked what she thought of the service, so she explained it had been worse than she expected.  At this point, the store manager said;
“I’m sorry.  The shop assistant clearly had no idea who you were!”

The chairman’s wife (a former marketing director of the company) replied;
“surely the default position should be that EVERYONE who enters the store, is given the best quality of service possible?”

The marketing power of great customer service

I believe there’s an opportunity right now, to blaze a trail in your niche, by working hard to massively exceed the expectations of your marketplace.  I believe that by reviewing every step of your business, which is visible in any way to your clients or prospective clients, and looking for ways to dramatically improve the service you render in that area, that you can massively increase the amount of referred business you attract.

You can also improve your attrition rate (how long someone remains a client or customer), improve morale within your company and gain a bulletproof reputation for excellence.

What do you think?

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

What do you think about this email?

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I wrote recently about copycat marketing.  That’s where someone copies the marketing of someone else, hoping that it will work.

After writing that post, I received a lot of email and comments, from people who had personal experience of copycat marketing going wrong.

Here’s one email, which I would like to share with you and hear your thoughts on.

“Here’s what happened to me, Jim.  Please share it with your readers to avoid them making the same mistake.

I found a local guy last year; with a well ranked, well read blog.  He blogs and teaches people how to make money and generate business from social media.  So, in view of his huge readership and massive following, I decided to copy what he did and apply it to my web design business.  Sure enough, his ideas were interesting, but after wasting months doing what he said, I had still not generated a single, tangible asset. Nothing. Zip.

So last month he emailed me, to ask a favor.  We’d met at a tweet up and we got on real well hes a great guy.  Anyhow, he emailed to ask me if I could loan him a monitor as his was screwed and HE COULDN’T AFFORD TO REPLACE OR REPAIR IT!  I did have a spare, which I dropped off for him.  Over a coffee, this likeable guy confessed that he was unable to monetize what he did and that he didn’t even have a marketing or business plan in place.

Here’s the thing Jim.  This guy has thousands of RSS subscribers and followers and a kick-ass blog plus a whole bunch of very well known buddies.  I was copy cat marketing someone who looked like he was doing great, but wasn’t making a dime. Its set my marketing back like 6 months. Ive been a jerk for sure but want others to avoid making the same dumbass mistake as me so that my experience wasn’t a total waste of time. Check people out. Followers or reader numbers don’t always equal $$”

10 ways to get massively more sales leads!

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more sales leads, get more sales, marketing

Sales leads or enquiries are an essential part of the marketing process.  After all, a steady flow of good quality sales leads, when acted upon correctly, can lead to a regular stream of lucrative business and allow business owners to plan ahead with confidence.

This brief post contains 10 powerful lead generation ideas, which you can add to your marketing arsenal. Why bother with so many lead generation options?more sales leads, get more sales Many small business owners make the mistake of relying too heavily on just 1 or 2 sources of leads. The problem with that approach, is that if one of those lead sources slows down or stops delivering, you are in BIG trouble!  It’s far better to develop a wide spread of inbound, sales lead opportunities.

So, let’s get started!

Sales Leads via Word of mouth

If you want to get the marketplace talking about you to their friends, give them something to talk about!

The golden rule of generating leads via word of mouth, is that you need to be remarkable if you want people to remark on you!

Sales Leads via Email marketing

This is easily one of the most powerful forms of lead generation I have ever used.  For very little cost, a professionally copy written email marketing campaign can generate a steady supply of high quality, targeted sales leads for your business.  Don’t do like most small business owners and use amateur marketing copy, but it doesn’t work.

Sales leads via Twitter

I have personally generated well over £100,000 for my business, directly via leads I attracted via Twitter.  Sadly, I have met just a tiny number of people, who use Twitter correctly as a form of lead / business generation.

Here’s a tip: Be selective and don’t just follow every person and every trend you see!

Sales Leads via Tele Marketing

Whilst I do not recommend you try this yourself, you might want to consider using a professional telemarketing company as a source of lead generation.  This works better in some industries and countries than others, so look before you leap.

Tip:  One thing telemarketing companies have in common is that they’re very good at selling what they do to their target market [you]. They’re not always so effective when it comes to generating leads for their clients.  So, before you consider hiring a telemarketing company, check out their references.  Talk to their clients if possible.

Sales Leads via Networking

I choose to do all my networking online these days.  Whether you choose online or offline networking, the key is to network with the right kind of people.

Form associations with people who either have a need for your services or access to people, with a need for your services.  Let them know what you do and the kind of people you work with, so they know who to recommend you to. This will greatly increase the volume and quality of leads you get.

Tip:  Not all contacts are created equal.  Yes, as human beings we are all of equal value.  However, when it comes to business, some people are far more influential than others.  Seek out the influential.

Sales Leads via Mail shots

Mail shots, (sometimes called direct marketing) has become an increasingly powerful way to generate leads.  With more and more marketing moving online, a hand signed letter from a fellow businessperson these days REALLY catches the reader’s attention.

Sales Leads via your Website or blog

Your site should be a lead generating machine for your business.  Jim’s Marketing Blog attracts over 100 emails a day, many of which come from prospective clients or customers.  Your website should be doing the same.

Tip:  Make it easy for people to contact you.  Publish your phone number and email address.  If you use a contact form, just ask for their name, email address and message.  You don’t need anything else to begin with and every extra piece of info you ask for, massively lowers your conversion rates!

Sales Leads via Joint Ventures and Endorsed Relationships

To find out about Joint Ventures and Endorsed Relationships click the appropriate link!

Sales Leads via Newsletters

Newsletters are a great way to generate leads.  I have found that a well written newsletter, which resonates with your audience, is a very effective way to position yourself as the person with the answers, to their problems.  Then, when they decide to get professional help with their problem, you are already the natural choice.

Focus on providing useful information, not sales pitches.  Too many newsletters are glorified ads, with little genuinely valuable information, which is the exact opposite of what you should be doing.  The most successful newsletters are focused on the needs of the reader.  Be useful and let them know you’re there to help them if they have a problem.

Sales Leads via Advertising

The right message, placed in the correct advertising vehicle, can produce fast, measurable results.  The reason so many small business owners claim advertising doesn’t work, is that they use amateur copy and put it in the wrong place.  Advertising works!  It works extremely well.  However, an uninspiring message sent to the wrong people, at the wrong time, doesn’t work (how could it?)  If you are thinking of advertising and you have tried before and found it didn’t work, either get a professional in… or leave it!  You can waste a lot of money with ineffective advertising.

Obviously, there are far, far more proven ways to generate leads, than can be covered in a blog post.  However, I hope those above have got you thinking about investing in some new lead generating activities.

The most powerful form of marketing on the planet?

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endorsed relationships, what's an endorsed relationship,

Endorsed Relationships, have been referred to as the most powerful form of marketing in the world.  I totally agree.  This brief post, will show you what endorsed relationships are and how you can use them to market your business.

Endorsed relationships: What are they?

An endorsed relationship, in marketing terms, is simply a relationship you form with another person / company / brand, where they endorse (or recommend) you and your services to their clients, customers and contacts.  This can come via literally any form of marketing.

The most powerful form of endorsed relationship comes when someone, who already has the trust of a network of people, personally recommends you and your services to them.  Unlike a testimonial, which is usually placed on YOUR website or in YOUR marketing, an endorsed relationship sees the endorser recommending you to THEIR clients and friends – People they have a strong, existing relationship with.

This is where the real magic is and why this is such a powerful and effective form of marketing!

I have personally used endorsed relationships for over 20 years, to generate millions of pounds and dollars worth of new business, for my clients.  I have OFTEN seen them generate over 50% positive response rates and occasionally, over 80/90%!

Endorsed relationships in action

Here is a quick example:

Bob runs a IT repair business.  He encourages his accountant to endorse him, when the accountant next does a mail shot to his 1,000 locally-based clients.  So, when the accountant sends his next mailing, he includes a powerful endorsement of Bob’s IT services and recommends his clients call Bob, if they have an IT problem.

Because the accountant is a trusted advisor to these 1,000 businesses, the endorsement of Bob’s services is extremely powerful.  With a correctly written letter, Bob could generate more new business from this one, simple exercise, than from 2 years worth of networking or thousands spent on advertising!

Endorsed relationships: Some simple guidelines for marketing success

  • Endorsed relationships, like Joint Ventures, have to be mutually beneficial for them to work.  If you want someone to recommend you and your business to their highly valued clients or customers, there needs to be a good reason for them to do so. People will not “just do it” because it’s going to make you rich!
    • For instance, I once knew a Bank Manager, who recommended me to all his banks clients, because if they worked with me, their businesses grew and so did their need for more and more of the bank’s services.  By recommending me in this way, his clients benefited, he benefited and so did I.
  • The relationship between the person endorsing you and their contacts is pivotal to the success of the exercise.  Getting a highly respected professional to recommend you to a group of people, who value and trust that person’s judgment is marketing gold dust.  Last year, one of my clients generated the equivalent of 25% of her annual turnover in just 12 hours, after a successful endorsed relationship exercise, with a highly respected professional!
  • If the person endorsing you is regularly recommending people to their contacts, their recommendation will be of far less value, than one from someone who is more discerning.  For example, there are well-known self-help / personal development gurus, who will recommend ANYTHING for a fee.  As such, their recommendation means very little.  So, align yourself with people, whose word is trusted and respected.
  • If you are using written marketing for an endorsed relationship, the wording is extremely important.  Because of the potential value to you of the end result, I would STRONGLY recommend you get a copy writer to compose it.  It could be one of the best marketing investments you will ever make.

Think first!

In order for your endorsed relationship to work, you will need to plan it out in advance.  You will need to hand pick the right people, find a motivating way to reward them.  Just as importantly, if you want it to work, you will need to have a process in place, to deal with what is often a massive number of enquiries or leads in a very short period of time.

Although it sounds simple, I strongly recommend you do your homework before diving in.  The vast majority of endorsed relationships conducted by non marketing professionals fail, because of poor planning. I have no doubt that some of the people reading this, will already have experienced what happens, when you pick the wrong partner or they use the wrong message when endorsing you.

So, plan ahead, take your time and do it right!

Tip: If you found this useful, you can get my latest ideas delivered direct to your inbox, for free, right here.

What’s your biggest marketing challenge?

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This blog contains thousands of free marketing ideas and marketing answers, to help you achieve your best sales results ever.  With new marketing material being added all the time, I hope to provide you with an increasingly valuable marketing resource.  However, in order for me to make this blog as valuable as possible to you, I need to know which marketing challenges or problems are most important to you.

For example; lead generation, email marketing, social media marketing, mail shots (direct mail), networking, retail marketing, referrals, joint ventures, etc.

So, I would really appreciate it, if you would take a moment to let me know what areas of marketing you would like me to focus on, by leaving a comment below.

Your feedback will directly influence what I write about and help me to focus on the areas of marketing, which are most relevant to you and your business.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Marketing time for your business?

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This quick marketing tip is all about how to improve your marketing results in the medium and long term.  In fact, it will give you one of the marketing foundations behind the most successful businesses in the world.

Marketing & small businesses: Never enough time!

I often hear the owners of small businesses, saying that they don’t have the time to market their services as an ongoing activity.  They tell me that it’s only when they lose a major account, that they have the time available, to dedicate to marketing.

The primary problem with this approach to marketing is that it simply does not work.  It causes a business to reach a plateau or spin its wheels.  This happens because periods of growth mainly come, AFTER there has been a loss of business / revenue / profits.  The loss of business having prompted the marketing.

When I hear the time argument, I explain that when marketing is conducted on an ongoing basis, it actually takes very little time each month.  Unlike panic-based marketing, when there’s been a big, sudden drop in business, working to a marketing strategy takes surprisingly little time.

In contrast, successful businesses of all sizes, work on their marketing all the time. It’s just a normal, ongoing business activity.  The difference between the two approaches to marketing is that one type of business uses tactical marketing, whilst the other uses strategic marketing.

I wrote a post about this, which explains the difference between tactical and strategic marketing and also explains compound marketing / leverage.  Be sure to check it out!

Tailor your marketing strategy to your resources

When I work with my clients, I always start off by ensuring that their marketing strategy is tailored, to match their resources.  It has to be manageable and easy to do.  It also needs to not get in the way of their core business.

Your marketing strategy needs to be similarly developed around your unique situation.  When it is, marketing becomes manageable and easy to implement into your working week.  This is the secret to developing a predictable, confidence inspiring flow of sales / new business.

Marketing and Business: It’s all about the people!

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Successful marketing is all about people.

It’s not about; brands, venues, websites, companies or social media tools – Marketing is all about people.  You see, without people, none of those things matter.

I met with a friend of mine this morning, who owns a large and very successful nightclub.  We had our meeting this time, in the nightclub itself, rather than his office, and the sensation was amazing.  I have only previously been there, when it’s been packed with hundreds of people, having a great time and enjoying the music.  This morning, you could have heard a pin drop, as we sat, drinking coffee and talking about his marketing.

You see, it’s not the building, fixtures or fittings that makes his nightclub a success; it’s the people who work there and party there. Without people, the place means nothing. The value is in the people.

I’m sure you have seen what happens, when a great restaurant or bar changes ownership, and suddenly the atmosphere plummets. The building and the surroundings look just the same, but it’s a totally different experience.  That’s because it’s the people that make the difference!

Online networking: It’s the people not the tools

In online networking, I see people who are more concerned about how to get their friend / follower / fan numbers up, than they are about actually being human with the people they have already connected with.  For them, it’s all about the tools, not the people.  Their focus is on growing numbers, rather than building relationships with people.

These guys often have very professional looking Twitter profiles and great looking websites / blogs – but very little feeling of community.  That’s because they focus on the tools, not the people.  They may have 500, 5,000 or maybe 100,000 ‘names’ in their online network but they probably know just a fraction of them!

In short: People can enrich our lives or they can keep us poor. It just depends on how we treat and serve them.

It’s time to get passionate

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As a marketing coach, I love working with people, who are passionate about their businesses.  Passion is infectious.  Passion is inspiring and motivating.  Passion is power.  You see, no matter how great your plans are, without the passion to see them through, they will simply remain plans.  How sad would that be?  What a waste – To have the ideas and make the plans, but to lack the passion to see them plans come to life.

Here’s what my mentor, Jim Rohn, used to say;
“We each have a decision to make.  We can either pay the price for discipline or the price for regret.  Discipline weighs ounces, but regret weighs tons!”

Business, goals and passion

When we are passionate about our plans, it’s easy for us to discipline ourselves to do what’s required, in order to achieve the results we want.  The challenge is that most businesspeople develop plans that fail to motivate them.  Their plans lack the power required, to give them the inspiration to leave their comfort zones.  Their business plans don’t jump off the paper and motivate them to take action – so they remain plans.

The same is true of goal setting.  People waste a fortune attending seminars and buying products to help them set and achieve goals; when the problem is usually that they simply need to set goals that inspire them and ignite their passion.  The best goal-setting methodologies are worthless to us, if we use them to set goals that lack passion.  It’s the passion, that motivates us to take action and make things happen.

Here’s what I have discovered: Your business plans and goals should be based around what YOU want to achieve.  It’s hard to be passionate by proxy!  Many people set the kind of business goals they think they SHOULD set, rather than the goals that truly get their passions going.

So, why not take a look at some of the plans you have made, which you have still not acted on.  Ask yourself, honestly, if you are truly passionate about them.  If not, there’s a good chance they are the wrong plans for you.  If this is the case, replace them with something that really inspires you.  You will be amazed at the results!

 

Why copycat marketing can hurt your business!

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Following on from yesterdays marketing tip, a number of readers have asked me the same question:

“Why do so many people do the same type of marketing, if it doesn’t work?”

Here’s the answer.  Amateur marketers will copy what they see others doing, wrongly assuming that it must be working.  This then gets more and more people repeating the same ineffective marketing, which encourages even more people to do the same, etc.  In other words, they copy what they see the crowd doing.

Marketing copycats and the wisdom of the crowd

I remember speaking with the owner of a hotel, who advertised for a year, paid in advance, in a local newspaper.  I asked him why he did this, as it was perhaps the worst possible place for him to advertise.  He told me that the local newspaper called him to say his largest competitor was advertising there and that the paper wanted to “give him the chance” to advertise there as well. So he did.

Of course, his advertisement didn’t generate a single piece of business.  Apparently, the biggest hotel in the area got their advertisement for free from the newspaper.  The ad sales guy at the paper then used that hotel’s ad, as a way to pressure other hotels in the area to buy advertising. Eventually they got 8  hotels to advertise, when none of them should have even considered it!  That’s the danger of copycat marketing.

Is your marketing on course?

Here’s a useful question to ask yourself:

Who (or what) encouraged you to use the various types of marketing that you use today?

You see, if you are not getting the marketing results you want, it’s entirely possible it’s because you are doing the wrong marketing activities, for what you want to achieve .  Just like that guy, who rows his boat in the wrong direction, no matter how hard he rows, he will never get where he wants to be; because he will still be heading nowhere.  In fact, the harder he rows in the wrong direction, the further away he will be from his destination. This is why so many hard-working business owners earn so little.

The bottom line here is this: If your marketing direction is wrong, you need to change course NOW!

Marketing your services or servicing your market?

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Which are you better at: Marketing your services or servicing your market?

Superb service – Average marketing

I have lost count of how many outstanding businesses I have seen go broke, simply because they failed to market their services correctly.  They enjoy superb customer retention, because their services are so good that people just don’t want to leave.

However, because they win too few new customers, their revenues and profits stagnate and if they do lose a big account or have a large, unscheduled financial commitment pop up, they can suddenly be running at a loss.  If that loss goes on too long, they are in deep trouble.  If only they adopted better marketing, they could achieve great things.

Superb marketing – Average service

Then there’s the other side of the coin.  There are companies that offer a pretty average service, yet their marketing is very powerful.  They find it easy to win new customers.  They have a great marketing message and they reach stacks of targeted people with that message really effectively.

Of course, because their service is pretty average, they tend to lose quite a few customers too.  Their customer-base is like a bucket with a leak; it never fills because they are leaking too many customers.  If only they offered a great service, they could achieve great things.

The magic mix

Without doubt, the most successful businesses are those with an outstanding product or service and great marketing too.  These are the companies that enjoy long-term commercial success, because they not only win stacks of new customers, their quality of service is so amazing that they seldom lose customers.  They can plan ahead with confidence, knowing that they have truly developed the winning formula.

Is there a lesson here?

I think so.  If you know you offer a great service and you are not achieving the business growth you feel you deserve, take a look at your current marketing strategies.  If you enjoy high levels of customer retention and yet are still failing to gain the revenue and profits you want, you need to attract more bankable results; through a more powerful marketing strategy.

If you have little trouble attracting new customers, but find it a challenge to retain their business, it’s usually a sign that you need to focus on the service side of the business.  Marketing is important, but ultimately, it is not a magic bullet.  For a business to succeed in the longer term, there has to be an excellent service behind the marketing.

In my experience, small businesses tend to focus too much on either their marketing or their service.  If you notice too great an emphasis in one of these areas, bring the weaker element up to the high standards you have set in that stronger area.  Match your marketing to your amazing service or match your service, to that super-effective marketing you use.

Time wasters: How to spot them and avoid them!

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If you run a business, you will already know how precious your time is.  This is why it’s so important to ensure that you avoid time wasters, and that’s what this post is all about.

Time wasters

One of the biggest time sucks in business, are those seeking free advice from you, with no intention of repaying you in any way.  Often, these time wasters will disguise themselves as prospective clients or customers, in an effort to get the benefit of as much free information from you as possible. These are the time wasters I am going to focus on in this post!

Unless you have nothing better to do (and I know you have), you need to identify and remove these people from your business as soon as possible.  You see, that “free” advice is only free for them! That so-called free advice costs you, in lost productivity and the inevitable slump you feel, after realising you have been suckered!

How to spot the time wasters

If there is someone right now, who you suspect is just trying to get as much free advice from you as they can, with no intention of repaying you for all that great information, I have a simple tip for you.

Try this: Ask them for some measurable time scales!

For example, ask them when they will have the funding in place.  Ask them when they plan to get started with you.  If they give you vague answers like “soon” or some other general answer, ask them for clarification.  If they are serious, they will value and respect your need for clarity.  It shows them that you are keen, interested and professional.  However, if they were not genuinely interested in working with you, they will immediately realise that their game has been tumbled.  They will then go and find another victim to drill for free information and you will have lost nothing.

Of course ultimately, the way you decide to allocate your time is down to you.  If you want to spend more of your time speaking with people, who have a genuine interest in your services, you may find that simple idea useful.  It has worked for my marketing business for more than a decade and saved me more time than any time management strategy I know.

Make it happen!

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Most people spend their lives wishing, instead of doing. The problem with that approach is that it doesn’t work!

Dreaming is great, but if we seriously want to see our wishes become a reality, we need to get off our rear ends and take action.

  • Don’t wish it was easier – Make yourself stronger.
  • Don’t wish it was less expensive – Make yourself wealthy.
  • Don’t wish there was less competition – Make your service beyond compare.

The next time you find yourself wishing for something, write it down, in detail, and then start putting a plan together to make it REAL.

How to set your marketing goals so they motivate you!

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Marketing goals within small businesses are typically just a list of numbers.  If you want to set yourself some motivating, inspiring marketing goals, ask yourself this question:

If my business were perfect in every way, what would it look like right now?

Marketing goals

Your answer to that powerful, yet simple question, should be the foundation of your marketing.

It will tell you the type of clients or customers you should be marketing to.  It will tell you how many additional, high quality sales you need to make.  It will tell you what your business needs to generate in revenue and profits, to give you the quality of life you really want.

Through effective sales and marketing, you can develop your business deliberately and by design.  However, before you start using powerful sales and marketing tools, make sure you are using them to develop the profile of business that motivates and inspires you.

Marketing and business success

In my experience, I find that the core difference between a successful business and an unsuccessful business is this:

  • Successful businesspeople are on top of their businesses.
  • Unsuccessful businesspeople find that their business is on top of THEM.

If you are working with clients that don’t appreciate you or pay you enough, the only person that can change that is you. If you find yourself working too many hours and being away from your family too much, again, the only person who can change that is you.  If your current marketing is attracting the wrong kind of clients or customers, stop it immediately and replace your marketing with something, designed to create the kind of business your hard work and dedication deserves.

You will be amazed how useful that simple question at the beginning of this post is, for helping you get on top of your business and stay there.  Give it a go and relight your fire!

Easy access to the marketing answers you need!

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I had one of those moments earlier, where something suddenly clicks into place.  I figured out that Jims Marketing Blog is not actually a blog.

Yes, it’s built using blog software, but it’s not a true blog.  A blog (short for web log) was originally supposed to be an online journal.  That’s why everything’s presented in date order; with the latest ‘news’ at the top.  This format works brilliantly for news blogs or those offering time-sensitive information.

However, this blog (like most other business blogs) doesn’t typically offer time sensitive information.  For example, yesterday’s post about managing your reputation, could have been written next month or 2 years ago.  If you need to know how to write a great marketing letter, who cares if it was posted in February or April?

The typical posts I offer here, are far more like marketing articles or short marketing guides, than chronological, blog updates.  And herein lies the challenge for content providers using blogs to publish their content.

Like most blogs, if someone shows up here today for the first time, they will see this post and below it, excerpts of another dozen or so posts in date order.  The thing is, there are hundreds of marketing articles here, covering thousands of ideas.

Yes, people can use the “search” box on the right to look for specific marketing information, but most people don’t!  They start reading the current post and then follow links within the post or maybe one of the related posts at the bottom of the post.  This really isn’t an ideal format and it means a lot of people miss the key marketing answers they need.

I’ve seen other bloggers try workarounds, like having a “the best of” section – but the READER decides what’s the best post – Based on what THEY are looking for help on, not the blogger!  These “best of” sections simply make popular posts more popular.  Great for increasing the blogger’s page views, but lousy for the reader!

A possible solution?

I’m working on a way around this, which will be based on developing a small number of dedicated sections, each themed on a core area of marketing.  This will be similar to the way categories work on a blog, but hopefully easier for people to find and navigate around.  Those who like the current format will notice no real difference, but those who want to be able to find targeted information more quickly will.

2 Simple ways to improve your thinking

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When you are looking for new ideas or you need to solve a problem, do you think on paper?  This post will show you 2 very simple, easy to use tools, which can help you become massively more creative and a superstar problem solver.

I was working at my desk the other day, when a friend pointed out that he thought it was odd, that I was writing notes out using pen and paper, with all that hi-tech equipment around me.  I explained to him that I find it far more effective to create, using pen and paper, than using a computer.  It’s as if the ideas flow more easily for me, using a more natural interface.

Here are the 2 main tools I use for thinking on paper.

1. Spider diagrams

The first tool I use for thinking on paper, is a simple spider diagram, like the one below, from The University of Sheffield.  I use this as a way to generate ideas.  I start off with a key word in the middle of the page.  This key word or short phrase is something that’s linked to a project I am working on.  Once the key word is written down, I spider off it, with new ideas.

As you can see below, some of these ideas lead to others, which I keep in order using a line to link them.  This shows me instantly, how my thought process is working.  Because these ideas are all on paper in front of me, I don’t need to remember them and can use my mind 100% to create.  I have tried using software programs that offer the same functionality, but find it far less effective than this simple approach.

2. Hand written lists

Another way I think on paper, is to use hand written lists, as a way to solve problems.

I start off by writing the problem down at the top of the page, as if it were a question.  So, instead of writing down:

“Bob needs to quit smoking and I would like to help him.”

I would write this down:

“How can I help Bob quit smoking in a way that he will find enjoyable?”

By the way, the better the question you start off with, the better your answers will be – so spend as much time as necessary getting the question right!

Next, I simply write down as many possible answers as I can.  I just let my mind flow and feel free to write down anything – without restriction.  I always shoot for at least 15 answers, because I find that pushes me to keep producing answers and ideas.  It’s amazing how many answers I have been able to find using this method; especially when faced with really tricky issues and challenges.

I know that there are many structured tools, to help us become more creative and better problem solvers.  However, the purpose of this brief post, was simply to share 2 extremely productive, simple techniques that anyone can master in 5 minutes.  I would really like to know what tools you use to help you come up with ideas and answers.  Please share them with your fellow readers and myself.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Your feedback please!

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I have had an idea, which I would like your feedback on.

I get quite a bit of email from people, asking me the same marketing and business development questions. Some of these questions are brilliant.

So, rather than reply to each one by email, as I do now, and share that answer with just one person, I am thinking of posting the answers to the blog; for everyone to read. (Minus the details of the people that emailed me, of course.)

This would only apply to the general marketing questions I get, and thus likely to be of interest to the majority of my readers.

Would you find that useful? Please let me know; either with a comment here, via Twitter or email.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Image: JayfreshUK

REVEALED – The fast track to wealth!

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It’s a fact: We live in an age where people are seeking instant gratification.  More than this, many people want results immediately – without having to do anything.

Ever wondered why there are so many of those spammy looking sites, selling ebooks / programs that promise to make you RICH in 30 days?

Those sites exist because there are a significant number of people who REALLY want to believe it’s possible.  They see the promise of instant wealth and think;
“It’s only a $29 ebook – why not?”

They then download the ebook and realise they’ve just wasted $29 and are no closer to that silver bullet for success they dream about.  It was a scam, like all the others.

By the way, I’ll give my secret to getting on the fast track to riches in a moment – And for free!

Get rich slow

I know lots of successful businesspeople, many of whom are self-made millionaires.  Guess how many got rich quick?

None!  By the way, that’s NOT a coincidence.

The simple truth is that lasting success comes as the result of an ongoing commitment to intelligent activity.

My last speaking gig (almost 5 years ago) earned me over £12,000 for around 4 hours work.  On my drive home, I had a sudden realisation.

I realised that I had just been paid £3000 an hour!

Then it hit me!

I was wrong.  What REALLY happened, was that I had been paid £12,000 for giving people the benefit of years worth of my experiences.  I had been paid so handsomely, because of my reputation as a marketer – built on the back of years worth of bloody hard work.

I had not earned that £12,000 on the day – But on all those days before the event; as I burnt the midnight oil, perfecting the effective marketing strategies and ideas that I had become known for.

My secret to getting wealthy as quickly as possible?

The fastest way to achieve the best possible results, is not to waste a second of your time thinking about short-cuts to instant wealth.

Giving oxygen to your marketing

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One of the secrets of great communication, is to pick the correct delivery method, to get the maximum, targeted exposure for your message.  We refer to this as “giving oxygen” to your marketing.

Marketing oxygen

Some of you will have noticed that when I made my BIG announcement here yesterday, I closed the comments section for that post.  The reason for this, was to take the conversation about the announcement away from this blog and onto different communication platforms, so a totally new group of people would be able to see it.

As a result, instead of people talking about my “new” blog here, in the comments section, they were having that debate on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc.

The next time you make an announcement and you want it to reach the largest possible, targeted audience, I suggest you consider doing something similar.  Why?  Because yesterday’s post created a 30% increase in readers to this blog and almost 400% more unique visitors to my new blog.

What do you think?  Have you used a similar approach before? Do you find yourself struggling to get your marketing messages in front of new, prospective clients / customers?  Whatever your experiences or questions, take a moment to share them with your fellow readers and myself, with a comment.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!