Jim's Marketing Blog

If you want to grow a successful business, you need to know exactly where you are and where you want to be.  When that’s in place you need a plan to get you from A to B, based on your resources.

The way I achieve this with my clients is via a fact-finder, which I go through with them on our first session.  I think you may find this useful.  So, if you and I were working together today for the very first time, here’s part of what we would be doing right now:

• I would go through a series of questions with you, in order for me to get a clear picture of exactly where your business is today.  This becomes the starting point of our journey.
• Next, I’d work with you to discover where you would like your business to be – What I call your ultimate business goal.  If you are unclear or fuzzy regarding the specifics, I would work with you, so that you had the clarity you need.  This becomes our destination and allows us to have all your marketing directed on a clear objective.  (Many clients later say that after going through this with me, they achieved total clarity for the first time with their business.)
• Then, I would begin working with you for a whole year, to guide you from where you are, to where you want to be, based on your resources.  All my work is based on attraction marketing, so your marketing would be designed to attract leads, clients or customers.  You would have zero need to chase new business.

Get clear regarding where you are today

This is more than knowing what your turnover and profits are.  It means looking at things like the type of clients you work for and the kind of fees you work for and determining if these are right for you.  If not, we need to change them.  For example, one of my current clients has increased her fees 3 times in the past year, achieving a massive increase in revenues and profits, whilst also attracting higher quality clients too.  This must be handled correctly, but if it is, the rewards can be amazing.

Get clear regarding where you want to be

Many small business owners know that they want things to be better or that they want to earn more, but that’s not enough.  You need to know what your ultimate goal for your business is.  Do you want to sell it for as much money as possible?  Do you want to pass it on to a family member?  Do you want to develop it into a residual income stream for when you retire, (a business that requires just a few hours a week for a full time income), etc?

A lot of small business owners suffer from what I call mind fog; a term I use to describe the kind of fuzzy thinking that leads to businesspeople working hard, but without making real progress.  This is like someone sailing their yacht, trying to find an island, but with no idea where that island is.  They wouldn’t know how to set their sail, to make the best use of the wind or even if they were going in the right direction.  Clarity is essential to your success, which is why I help provide crystal clear focus for my clients.  However you achieve it, you need that clarity too.

Develop a plan

Once you know where you are and where you want to be, you need a plan that will show you how to make it happen.  Your hard work needs to be directed effectively, so that you make the most progress, as swiftly as possible.  This is a common area where small business owners and entrepreneurs in general get it wrong.  Rather than developing a plan that’s been developed for their unique situation, resources and goals, they copy what they see others doing.  That’s extremely ineffective.

You know a great deal about your service or products and how they benefit people.  However, you probably know a lot less about how to develop your business, step-by-step, so that you are growing at the right pace, attracting the best clients and working for the most rewarding fees.  When I work with a client, we develop a plan based on their unique situation, goals and resources.  This is what you need.  If you have tried emulating what you have seen others doing and found it has not worked for you, you will already know how frustrating and unrewarding it is.  You need (and deserve) a better strategy than that!

Get moving

You also need to get moving.  The best plan in the world will not work, unless you use it correctly.  It helps enormously in business, when you have someone you can turn to, for the inspiration, motivation and encouragement you need; especially if they have already achieved what you are seeking to achieve.  With my clients, I am on hand as their coach or mentor, to provide them with the motivation they need, in order to put their plans into action.  They benefit from my experience, having achieved financial independence before I was 30, after being flat broke aged 21.

A part of your journey

Thousands of people read my work every day and allow me, even if in just a small way, to become a part of their journey.

Others work with me on the development of their business, where I coach or mentor them on how to make the progress they deserve; using the most effective marketing ideas, insights and strategies I know.  They have me on hand, whenever required, to guide and support them or simply to share ideas with.  If you are a small business owner and you would like to find out how I can help you and your business, simply get in touch.  I will happily answer any questions you have.  I look forward to hearing from you!

How do you deal with the tough decisions in your business?

Many business owners try to avoid them.

Here’s the challenge with that approach: It will place a very low ceiling on your potential.

When I was starting out in marketing in 1987, my manager gave me some great advice.  She told me that the hardest decisions are often the ones that lead to the best results and that most people struggled throughout their lives, because they allowed fear to stop them making these tough decisions.  I can confirm that without exception, every major progressive leap I have made in my business, was preceded by a tough decision.

Fear as your business compass

Time and again, I have heard leaders say that they use fear as a compass.  They know that if they believe a decision is correct, yet the thought of actioning that decision is frightening, there’s an extremely good chance that the decision will lead to major progress.

Here’s what I have found:

• The easy decisions are made by the masses.  They don’t require us to stretch or leave our comfort zones.  They also lead to little real growth.
• The tough decisions are made by the few.  They require us to leave our comfort zones.  They precede all meaningful growth.

I recall a quote from Zig Zigglar, where he said: “If you will be hard on yourself, life will be easy on you. But if you insist upon being easy on yourself, life is going to be very hard on you.”

How I overcome fear

If fear has been holding you back from taking action, you may find this useful.  It’s how I deal with the tough but necessary decisions in my own business (and life.)

When I know deep down I need to do something, I consider the likely results of allowing the fear to win.  Then, I consider the likely results of crushing the fear and doing what I believe needs to be done.  By looking at the consequences, it’s easier to make the right decision, even if it’s not the easiest one.

What are your tips for overcoming fear?

I took the picture above earlier this week, when I stopped off at a local coffee shop for a think.

People often tell me it’s weird that I dedicate time each day just for creative thinking. I find it even weirder that most people wait until they have a problem, before they start looking for ideas and answers.

Problems turned into gold dust

How many times have you heard someone tell you that as a result of a problem they had, they came up with an idea or a new product, which was a huge success?  Well, just imagine the progress that can be made when you get into that same mindset, for a period of time every week and NOT just when there’s a problem.

Usually, business owners will wait for a problem to motivate them to get creative.  As a marketing guy, I see it all the time, when a business owner starts frantically marketing their services, because they lose a major client and are trying to replace all that lost income.

32 Questions to get you started!

The best way to get the answers you need is to ask yourself the right questions.  To help  you with this, here are 32 great questions you can ask yourself, which I use on a regular basis to generate more valuable ideas than I can even use.

What are you waiting for?

If you are tired of making too little progress with your business, consider this:

• If the engine in your car stops working, the solution is not to push your car everywhere. You need to fix your car’s engine.
• If your business is not generating the inquiries you need, the solution is not to push more ineffective marketing on people. You need to fix your marketing engine.

Most small businesses I see, are doing the wrong things, very poorly.  Some are doing the wrong things quite well and some are superstars, when it comes to getting it wrong on a grand scale.

For example, they fail to get the results they want from networking, blogging, email marketing etc, so they do more and more of it; often copying others who are in just as big a mess as they are.

Your choice

You need to break free from that position.  You need to know what the right marketing is for your business and then, how to use it correctly.

Thankfully, it’s always your choice.  You can get the help you need and stop wasting your time and money whenever you wish.

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

I love entrepreneurs.

I write this blog for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are rare people and they have my admiration and my respect.

Rare people?

Yes!  In my experience, very few small business owners have the entrepreneurial mindset!

Entrepreneurs and sheepwalkers

Over the past 16 years, I have worked with thousands of small business owners and have noticed 2 very distinct groups:

1. The biggest group are small business owners, who focus on what they fear.  As a result, their decisions are based on how to avoid loss.  They are the people Seth Godin calls sheepwalkers. Sheepwalkers are risk averse and security fixated.  They have the mindset of an employee rather than an entrepreneur.
2. A minority of small business owners are entrepreneurs.  Entrepreneurs focus on what they want to achieve from their business, so their decisions are based on progress rather than fear and loss.

Sheepwalking business owners

Sheepwalkers LOVE rules, instructions and those for dummies books.  Why?  Because if they follow the book and the rules, they feel safe and have someone to blame when it goes wrong.  They tend to do nothing that does not come with a guarantee or little perceived risk.  That’s a fatal mindset for a business owner, as hardly anything in business is guaranteed.  Sheepwalkers want things to improve but because they focus on fear, they refuse to get the help they need in case it doesn’t work.  The fear stops them doing the right thing and funnels them into doing the wrong thing.

You see them in the comments sections of blogs, asking the blogger for specific, detailed advice; never figuring out that it’s that exact approach to getting expert help that’s left them slowly going broke!  They are addicted to freebie advice, because if something is free, they see less risk and risk scares the shit out of them.  Sheepwalkers never work with people like me, because they have already decided they can’t afford us, and they are right: Because whatever the fee, it will always, always be too much for them.

So, armed with freebies from websites, and maybe, MAYBE the odd $30 webinar or book, they try to develop their business in the worst economy in living memory!  It’s unreal.  Like the farmer who neglects her crops, they don’t stand a chance; which is reflected in the shockingly bad small business survival statistics.

I refuse to work with sheepwalkers or even spend time with them.  They create nothing and spread negativity everywhere.

Entrepreneur business owners

A minority of small business owners are entrepreneurs.  I love being around these rare people. They are the complete opposite of sheepwalkers.  Their mindset is all about progress and results.  They understand the meaning of investment.  When they fall over, they get back up.  The sheepwalker falls over, THEN uses the experience as proof they should never have tried.   The people who work with me are entrepreneurs.  They give their business the resources it needs, like a farmer tending her crops correctly, so she can enjoy a bountiful harvest.

Entrepreneurs: I salute you!

For the entrepreneurs reading this:

• You are the kind of person I LOVE to be around.
• You inspire me when you comment here, email me or give me a call.
• You motivate me to write this blog.
• You make things happen.
• You create opportunity where there was nothing.
• You feel the same fear as the sheepwalkers, but you have the courage to keep on and PUSH through the fear.
• You take responsibility.
• You leave people better than you found them.
• You are truly a rare individual.

You are also the person this blog is intended for and the person most likely to benefit from it.  You have my respect and my admiration for what you are trying to achieve; because I know you will be working hard right now, trying to make something happen.  That’s what people like you do!

That’s also why I am always here for you and excited to be part of your journey.

Bob thinks your marketing sucks.

He also thinks you charge too much and he’s not 100% sure why anyone would need your service, let alone him.

It’s OK though.  Bob’s not your target audience.  He’s not in the market for your services.  Your marketing is not intended for him or people like him.

So, why are so many business owners focused on what Bob thinks?

Effective marketing has to be highly focused.  It needs to deliver extremely relevant messages to the right kind of people.  Sadly, the majority of small business owners do the exact opposite with their marketing.  They try to be all things to all people and seek approval from everyone, even Bob!

Here’s the problem with that approach:  It doesn’t work!

Marketing that tries to be kind-of relevant to everyone, ceases to be directly relevant to anyone. For your marketing to work, you need to accept that not everyone is a potential client.

Identify who your ideal profile of client is and focus 100% of your marketing on them and their needs.

It works.

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

I believe that you have a choice.  You can make a living or you can make a fortune.  It all depends on what type of work you decide to do!

I’ve found that there are 2 kinds of work.

Normal work

The first type of work, is normal work:  This is what the vast majority of people do.  It’s where you work hard doing a job or running a business.  You try hard to keep your clients happy and you always seek to over deliver.

If you get this right, you can make a good living from it.

Work that matters

The second type of work, is work that matters:  This is what a tiny minority of people do.  It’s where you work hard doing work, which makes a real difference.  You know you’re doing work that matters, when you would happily do it for free.  You enjoy it.  Your clients love it.  You believe it matters.  You are passionate about it.

If you get it right, you can make a fortune.

For example:

• The web designer who works with people largely because he needs the money, even though the projects fail to inspire him, and his client is a pain to work with, is doing work.  However, the web designer who works with clients she had picks, on projects that excite her and allow her to demonstrate her abilities, is doing work that matters.
• The marketing consultant who pesters people at networking events for leads and will work on anything for anyone, is doing work.  The marketing person who hand picks their clients from the constant stream of people who want to work with them, working on exciting projects for great people, is doing work that matters.

The people at the top of every profession, are selective regarding who they work with and what they work on.  They have figured out that when you work with great people, on projects you are passionate about, you produce your best, most valuable work.  The most valuable work attracts the highest fees.

The people who provide average services to average clients, are usually just happy to be making money.  Their decisions on who to work with are often based on financial necessity, rather than whether a project sounds inspiring or not.  As a result, their work seldom inspires them, so they end up in a loop of working on uninspiring projects with average clients.  Uninspiring work attracts the lowest fees.

The solution?

Do what my clients do:  We decide what type of work truly inspires them, then we develop a strategy where they attract inquiries from people, who value that kind of inspirational work.  I recommend you do the same.  It changes everything.

It makes no sense for you to struggle to make a living working hard, when you can make a fortune doing work that matters.  It’s your choice.

To develop a massively valuable client list, you just need a small number of people who love what you do.

To show you what I mean, I would like to ask you a question:

“Who are the 5 people, who are so passionate about your product or service, that they pay for it AND recommend it to their friends?”

Why care about just 5 people?

Here’s the thing: Once you provide a client experience, which goes way beyond their expectations, you will get your first 5 passionate advocates. Those 5 people, will maybe get you another 2 people each, meaning you will soon have 10 people. Those 10 people will do the same and get you 20 more people, who will get you 40, then 80, then 160, 320, 640 and pretty soon, you will be in the thousands.

Can’t name 5 people?

If you can’t name 5 people and you have been in business a while, you probably need to seriously review your product or service. Marketing is important, really important, but marketing an average service REALLY WELL will still produce mediocre results.

Most business owners fail, because they spend too much time trying to win clients and too little time developing something that’s actually worth buying.

Attract those first 5 passionate advocates and the same thing that drove them to tell everyone about your services, will eventually encourage hundreds then maybe hundreds of thousands of others to do the same for you.

However, you first need to focus on being outstanding enough, to attract those initial 5 people.

At some point, our business will surely arrive.

The question is; “where?”

• Some business owners have a destination in mind.  They are on top of their businesses.
• Many small business owners have no clear picture of where they are going.  Their business is on top of them.

On top of your business?

If your typical week includes working on the development of your business, there’s a good chance you are making measurable progress in reasonable time.

Sadly, many business owners tell me that they work so hard trying to keep their clients happy, that they don’t have time to work on building their own business.  They don’t run their business, their business runs them.  They live in a constant state of reaction. It’s stressful and ineffective.

There are all kinds of business management books and software products, which claim to help you take control of your business, but those who need them the most are usually the people who are least likely to use them!  They prefer to work hard.  They confuse movement with progress.  They think that so long as they are working hard and putting those long hours in, they will be fine.  It’s the same mindset, which causes people to drive faster when they are lost.

Many people spend more time planning their 2 weeks in the sun each year, than they spend planning their business development for the other 50 weeks.  They then enjoy fun packed holidays / vacations where they get loads of exciting things done, yet struggle to make any real progress with their business for the remaining 351 days!

No matter how busy you are responding to the needs of your business, make time to review where you are now AND where you are going.

Is it just me or do you find it curious…

1. When a company will work hard to make a disgruntled customer happy, yet fail to ensure their customers are extremely well looked after all the time?
2. When people think the price of their TV set is what it cost them to buy it; rather than what it’s costing them to waste their evenings watching it?  (No one ever looks back on their life from their death bed, wishing they had wasted even more time watching TV.)
3. That some people think they can become a leader, by acting like a sheep?
4. When someone’s social media profile proclaims that they are a specialist  – In 10 different topics?
5. That 2 people can read the same great book: 1 of them uses the information to improve their life, the other finds the same information “interesting” and does nothing with it?
6. That people will waste years looking for shortcuts to success, when they could have got there twice over, if they had focused on simply doing the right things, correctly?
7. When you see a marketing consultant at a networking group, hoping someone will throw them a sales lead, because the marketing consultant’s own marketing is not generating the inquiries they need?

Until relatively recently, if you wanted to achieve something on a grand scale, you would often need the permission of someone with influence.

You used to hear people saying that they had a great idea for a radio show, a book or a business, but that no one would give them a break.

Today, everything has changed.  You no longer need someone to give you a break or permission.  You can get out there, start doing amazing work and make your own breaks.

They can’t stop you any more!

• You can publish your own books, you don’t need permission from a publisher.
• You can start your own Internet radio show.  You don’t need permission from a radio station.
• You can reach thousands of people every day with magazine style articles via a blog.  You don’t need permission from the editor of a magazine.
• You can record, market and distribute your own training products. You don’t need permission from a training publisher.  I do this with my extremely popular Motivation Master Class.
• The list goes on and on!

Now that so many barriers have been removed, there are 2 questions we can focus on:

1. What am I going to do with this amazing opportunity?
2. Who or what am I going to blame now, for my decision to sit on my hands and do nothing?

We can either invest our creativity in answering the first of those questions, or waste our creativity by answering the second.  The choice is ours.