Jim Connolly Marketing

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

How to avoid the worst mistake in business!

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marketing idea, marketing opportunity

Image: Shutterstock.

One of the greatest barriers to business success, are our undiscovered mistakes. I’m referring to those errors we make, without even knowing it.

Undiscovered mistakes are especially dangerous. That’s because we don’t know we’re making them, so we’re likely to inadvertently repeat them. Again and again.

How do we stop these mistakes from happening to us?

My mentor’s advice to me

Here’s something one of my mentors shared with me over 25 years ago. It’s simple and quite brilliant.

  • He told me to undertake a review, every time something of any importance goes wrong. Today we’d call this ‘unpacking the problem’.
  • He advised me to do this in as much detail as possible, and as soon after the mistake has been spotted as possible, and that it was essential to do it in writing.
  • By unpacking the problem soon after noticing it, we can still remember it clearly. So we’re less likely to miss anything. Usually, it’s a small or minor-looking detail that’s causing the mistake.
    • IMPORTANT: Often, the minor detail is something we’re missing or doing incorrectly in multiple activities or strategies. Identifying it in ONE mistake, can dramatically improve our business results, when we eliminate it from all future activities and strategies.
  • By writing it down (especially on paper), rather than thinking it over exclusively in our head, we put space between us… and the problem.
  • He explained that the space between us and the problem, is where answers are born. This last step sounds almost poetic. However, it’s exactly what I’ve found happens. By looking at the problem on paper, and thinking it through in my mind, that space in-between is like fertile soil from which answers sprout up.

I have no idea as to exactly how this strategy works. I only know it does, and with surprising frequency. That’s to say, it’s worked for me again and again over the past 25 years. And I’ve literally lost count of how many others I have shared the idea with, who have seen equally good, or better, results from it.

Give it a try the next time something meaningful goes wrong. You have nothing to lose from the additional clarity the strategy will bring. And you could find it saves you a fortune… or helps you make a fortune.

Either way, it’s certainly worth trying.

Why not me?

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marketing tip, get picked, get chosen

Someone, somewhere is asking that question today. And there could be a number of reasons why they didn’t get chosen.

  • Their proposal was very professional. But someone else’s proposal gave 3 recent, checkable examples of exceptionally high quality work.
  • Their presentation was really good. But the CEO’s best friend personally recommended another provider.
  • Their meeting with the prospective client went well. But their marketing caused the prospect to assume the fee would be lower, so the prospect hired someone cheaper.

It’s natural for our initial reaction, when we miss out on something, to be externally focused. We tend to look for reasons why another person wasn’t smart enough to see how good we are and hire us or buy from us. That’s certainly how I used to think.

But not any more.

Get picked or chosen

Experience has taught me, that it’s a great deal more profitable to look for ways to improve. To focus on how we can do better the next time.

Get feedback whenever possible. Though the quality of the feedback is often inaccurate. That’s especially the case in situations such as the first 2 of my examples.

Above all, seek out ways to increase your odds of success the next time. Replay the situation where someone else was picked. Unpack it.

Look for all possible opportunities to improve. For example.

  • Could your opening be stronger?
  • Do you check for clarity (often enough) before moving on?
  • Does your proposal, presentation, sales pitch or introduction have maximum impact?
  • And is it memorable?
  • Are there enough trust building assets; reasons for a prospect to trust you?
  • Are you leveraging your contacts?
  • Do your testimonials inspire confidence and desire?
  • Could you improve with expert training?
  • Is your content, proposal, follow-up, etc., professionally written or DIY?

Those are a few of the most obvious places to start looking for ways to improve.

And keep on improving, until you manage to get hired, get the account or get the contract, 10 out of 10 times.

How to create a new, highly profitable service!

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Here’s a tried and tested way to create a new and highly profitable service that will be all-but irresistible to your marketplace.

It’s based on an easy to follow, 3 step formula!

highly profitable service, develop new service, create new service

1. Identify their major problem

Identify the biggest challenge facing your clients and prospective clients. If you think you’ve identified it, BUT it isn’t a big enough problem to keep them awake at night, you haven’t found it yet. So keep looking!

That may sound dramatic, however, there’s a direct link between the size of the problem you solve and the success of your new, high profit service.

2. Create the solution

Create a solution that will overcome the challenge.

Yes, you’ll need to get creative here. If the solution was patently obvious, it wouldn’t have an entire marketplace suffering with it.

Thankfully, big problems don’t always require a big or complex answer. However, the solution to such pressing problems can require some extra creativity.

With that in mind, here are a couple of tips to help you find the answer you need.

  • Look outside your industry for the solution. Problems in one industry (or region / country) have already been solved in others. The most famous example of importing a solution from a totally different industry, is from The Ford Motor Company. They developed the automotive production line, based on how Chicago’s meat-packing plants worked.
  • Ask others for their ideas. By encouraging people you trust to provide their input, you multiply your chances of cracking the problem. It’s possible one of them will figure it out. It’s also possible that one of them could propose a solution that doesn’t work… but which sets you on a new direction that leads to the answer.

And finally.

3. Market your highly profitable new service

Create a marketing strategy that will inform and convince your marketplace, that you have the answer they need.

When marketing your solution to existing clients, you should find a massive level of interest.

Once you’ve provided an extremely valuable service to enough existing clients, the word usually spreads and spreads.

This then leads to a consistent flow of high quality client enquiries. Initially from your local area, then spreading into new locations; opening up an ever-expanding market.

Obviously, if you don’t have any existing and / or former clients, you have a trickier task at hand. Existing clients already know you and trust you. It’s very easy to share an idea with them.

When you’re contacting strangers it’s a very different proposition. There’s no one-size-fits-all marketing approach. The way forward for you will depend on multiple factors. Note: If you’re in this position and want some alternative strategies and ideas, I strongly recommend you read this: 10 Reasons your business isn’t growing and how to fix it.

The most valued service providers are those who solve the biggest, most serious problems, and then market their solution effectively. By using that 3 step formula correctly, you can become amazingly valuable to the market you serve.

People will tell their friends about you.

Your reputation will sky-rocket.

And you’ll attract the very best clients, whilst enjoying the rewards that come from your new, highly profitable service.

How to get your products, your services and your business noticed

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How to get noticed, be seen, stand out

Image: Rupert Britton

Take a moment and imagine that you’re in a huge stadium. There are 70,000 people there. And every single one of you is dressed in bright yellow clothing.

Then someone walks in who’s dressed from head to foot in bright red. Immediately, everyone notices them. They stand out because they’re not like all the others. They’re clearly different.

Here’s why this matters to your business: If you want to get noticed, you need to be willing to stand out. To be visibly, measurably and meaningfully different from your competitors.

That’s how you attract attention.

However, the typical small business unintentionally does the total opposite!

They offer the same kind of services as their competitors, to the same kind of people, for the same kind of fees. They have the same kind of website, the same kind of newsletter and the same kind of branding. And all because they use the same kind of general, generic marketing as their competitors.

It doesn’t work, because it can’t work

Why is that?

Simple: Every time you use a general or generic marketing tactic or marketing idea, by default you’re doing what the masses are doing. You become what Zig Ziglar used to call “a wandering generality”.

And in doing so, you actually make your business less visible.

Less visible?

How can marketing make you less visible?

Easy!

Instead of helping you attract the attention of your marketplace, generic marketing tactics and ideas act as camouflage. You become just like one of the 70,000 people in that stadium, dressed in yellow – – wondering why you’re not getting noticed or attracting attention.

You need a more effective approach to marketing than that. You need marketing that takes your business from the background and thrusts it into the foreground.

With this in mind, take a look at your marketing and consider how many things you’re currently doing, which are similar to your competitors. Then seek out creative alternatives. Alternatives that will get you noticed by your ideal profile of client or customer.

How to avoid fee sensitive clients and customers. Yes, it works in your industry too

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Marketing pester, don't bother

Photo: Shutterstock.

You don’t need to sell your services or products based on price. You don’t need to waste your time on fee-sensitive clients or customers, either.

In today’s post, I explain why and provide an example of exactly what I mean.

Sort by price

One of the most common features on shopping sites, is the “sort by price” filter. It lets us see products in the category we’ve searched for, listed in price order.

The reason sort by price exists, is that the marketplace demands it. When presented with 5 or 50 options for a commodity product, the lowest price wins. This is known as the race to the bottom. Bottled water is bottled water. It makes no sense to pay more for it than you need to.

Right?

Wrong!

But what about Bob?

Bob is passionate about helping people worldwide have access to clean drinking water. He then finds a water brand, which donates money from every bottle sold, to build wells in areas where there’s no clean water.

So, Bob’s happy (very happy) to pay more for his bottled water from this well-building brand. Plus, because people like Bob know lots of other people like Bob, he tells his friends. They do the same.

Water gets sold.

Wells get built.

And people get to make a meaningful difference to the lives of those who need it.

What’s the lesson here?

If you want potential clients or customers to stop caring about your prices or fees, give them something more important to care about. This means differentiating your products or services from the competition. The moment you do, you’re no longer offering a commodity. And customers are no longer buying based on price.

The good news? If you’re thinking this approach couldn’t work for you or your industry, remind yourself that it works for a commodity as common and utterly indistinguishable as water.

How to be a successful, serial entrepreneur

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Wherever you are right now, whatever your past, you can be a successful entrepreneur or serial entrepreneur.

First, let’s get the serial entrepreneur myth out of the way

Look around any business network and it won’t be long before you find people, calling themselves serial entrepreneurs.

They’re everywhere. Or so it appears. However, as is often the case, all is not what it seems. In fact, 99.9% of the people I see calling themselves serial entrepreneurs… are not.

They aren’t even entrepreneurs.

They are serial starters!

Allow me to explain.

Serial entrepreneurs or serial starters?

Serial entrepreneurs: These rare people build a series of successful businesses and fully realise the potential of each business, before they move on. A well known example is serial entrepreneur Ev Williams. Ev founded Blogger and sold it to Google for millions, then he co-founded Twitter and then, the hugely successful Medium.

Serial starters: These are the people we see everywhere, who start a series of enterprises, yet never successfully finish developing any of them. They lack the commitment shown by entrepreneurs. So when the going gets tough, they get demotivated and quit. The vast majority of self-proclaimed serial entrepreneurs fit in this enormous group.

This begs the question.

Why are serial starters so common?

It’s extremely easy to start a new venture. It’s exciting. It brings motivation with it. It gets them up early in the mornings and keeps them up late at night. Everything is new. A blank slate. A new beginning. Endless possibilities.

Then, after a while, the real work begins. Not the new enterprise, shiny work. The real nitty-gritty work:

  • The sales calls.
  • The rejections.
  • The unreturned mail.
  • The broken promises from those who said they would help.
  • The cash flow problems.
  • The hard knocks.

As the shine wears off, the momentum drops for the serial starters. So, they look for the next big thing, rather than finishing what they started. The cycle repeats unless they summon the grit to make it to the finish line.

More about grit than money

You don’t need to start of rich, to be an entrepreneur or serial entrepreneur. You do need grit though.

Yes, some entrepreneurs, such as Gary Vaynerchuk, inherit a multi-million dollar business from their parents, and can use that wealth to get all the additional investment they need and branch into other enterprises. However, most of us start off with little more than an idea, grit and commitment.

Ev Williams, who I mentioned earlier, is a textbook example of starting without money. Like most entrepreneurs, he had to do it the hard way. No wealthy parents. No million dollar assets. No easy way to access the financial investment he needed.

Ev was so broke when he started Blogger that he was living on a friend’s couch! He’s now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Read Ev’s inspirational story and watch the video, here.

History shows us that when it comes to business, money is less important than grit. Remember, Steve Jobs came from a blue collar family! The key is to decide what you want and then commit to doing what’s required, to make it happen.

It’s that simple. And that hard.