We’re going to take a break this post from our talk about offers. We’ll pick it up again on Thursday.
If you get my twice weekly tips, and have my “Guide to using 3D Mail in Your Marketing Campaigns,” there’s a good chance we met you at a Glazer-Kennedy’s Insider’s Circle (GKIC) event. Well it’s that time of year again, and I really want to meet you!
At the 2009 GKIC SuperConference, we’ll have our display of all our clutter busting, ROI increasing 3D Mail items. But more importantly, you’ll get some amazing deal and prices that you won’t see anywhere else, any time of year.
I don’t want to give away my pricing right here, it may well cause a ‘stampede’ of phone calls of people asking for these amazing deals that cannot attend the SuperConference. But just to give you an idea, we’ll have incredible savings on the bank bag, the trash can, message-in-a-bottles and goo goo eyes.
How can we do this? We found a new manufacturer in China for many of our items, and lets face it, we can simply get better deals there, especially now with the Chinese economy. We brought in a bunch of these items just for this event, and we’re passing these introductory prices on to you!
If you’re going to be at the SuperConference, stop on by and say “HI!” We’d love to meet you if we haven’t already. Then, check out the amazing deals we have on our best clutter busting 3D Mail items.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Irresistible Offer, Part II
Earlier this week I introduced the idea of an irresistible offer to you. To review where we’ve been, check out my blog post from Tuesday. We’re going to pick upwhere we left off here.
When crafting an offer, the very first thing you mustconsider is your target audience. An offer that doesn’t resonate with your audience will not be successful,no matter how good you think it may be.
But how do you make it resonate? Your offer mustmatch your target audience’s interests, needs andmotivations. For the ultimate success in matchingthese three areas, you must find a starving crowd and segment your list(s) using geographics, gemographics and pyschographics (buying habits).
Geographic targeting is probably the easiest to defineand recognize so we’ll start there. Geographics is the physical area which you can serve, or the effectiverage your business has. How far will your clients cometo you, and how far will you travel to them. A window washer may have an effective range of a 15mile radius around his office. A real estate agent itmaybe 25 miles.
These are certainly not limited to your local community. Most people would consider a dentist to be a “locals” only business. However, I personally know of a handfulof dentists who have clients fly in from all over the country to specifically visit their offices. It all dependson WHO you’re marketing towards, and the specificmessage you put forth.
I also know a retail store owner who sells parts and accessories for race car drivers. He’s able to travelto a different track on race weekends, wherever thebiggest race of that weekend is held, and open hismobile shop. Because he’s willing to travel to exactlyto where his customers are located, he has extendedhis effective range.
Next week we’ll discuss the ways you can segment yourlist and create an Irresistible Offer using demographicsand psychographics.
http://www.3dmailresults.com/
When crafting an offer, the very first thing you mustconsider is your target audience. An offer that doesn’t resonate with your audience will not be successful,no matter how good you think it may be.
But how do you make it resonate? Your offer mustmatch your target audience’s interests, needs andmotivations. For the ultimate success in matchingthese three areas, you must find a starving crowd and segment your list(s) using geographics, gemographics and pyschographics (buying habits).
Geographic targeting is probably the easiest to defineand recognize so we’ll start there. Geographics is the physical area which you can serve, or the effectiverage your business has. How far will your clients cometo you, and how far will you travel to them. A window washer may have an effective range of a 15mile radius around his office. A real estate agent itmaybe 25 miles.
These are certainly not limited to your local community. Most people would consider a dentist to be a “locals” only business. However, I personally know of a handfulof dentists who have clients fly in from all over the country to specifically visit their offices. It all dependson WHO you’re marketing towards, and the specificmessage you put forth.
I also know a retail store owner who sells parts and accessories for race car drivers. He’s able to travelto a different track on race weekends, wherever thebiggest race of that weekend is held, and open hismobile shop. Because he’s willing to travel to exactlyto where his customers are located, he has extendedhis effective range.
Next week we’ll discuss the ways you can segment yourlist and create an Irresistible Offer using demographicsand psychographics.
http://www.3dmailresults.com/
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
How to Create an Irresistible Offer, Part I
Over the next several weeks we're going to talk about creating an irresistible offer. This is a vitally important element of your marketing campaign.
I often get letters to critique and the most commonly missed or lackluster element is the offer. So sit back and hold on tight as we wind down the adventurous ride that is the irresistible offer!
So what is an irresistible offer? It’ what you dangle in front of your target market that gets them salivating for your product/service. It triggers emotion and focuses on an end results.
The ultimate reaction you want from your clients or prospects from your offer is, "I'd be a fool if I said No to this!" Every piece of marketing you do must have an offer. And it can't be a ho-hum, run-of-the-mill offer. It must be something so great, so ideally matched to your target audience that there is no way someone could possibly justify ignoring it.
An irresistible offer can be used for lead generation in both B2C and B2B to get your prospects to 'raise their hand' and identify themselves as potential clients. The can also be used for a one-step sell of your product/service.
Finally, don't ignore the importance of making offers to your existing clients as well. You see this error all the time. Here’s an example I’m sure you can relate with.
Look at the lengths cable and satellite companies will go to get a new client. You see or hear the ads and you think, “Hey! What about me, I’m the guy paying for you to run those ads!” Don’t let your current clients feel ‘betrayed’ by such offers. Keep them in mind.
You should be using an irresistible offer in all three scenarios, lead generation, one-step sales and to your existing clients.
Stay tuned for later this week as we'll discuss the importance of matching your irresistible offer to yourperfect target audience. I'll see you then!
www.3DMailResults.com
I often get letters to critique and the most commonly missed or lackluster element is the offer. So sit back and hold on tight as we wind down the adventurous ride that is the irresistible offer!
So what is an irresistible offer? It’ what you dangle in front of your target market that gets them salivating for your product/service. It triggers emotion and focuses on an end results.
The ultimate reaction you want from your clients or prospects from your offer is, "I'd be a fool if I said No to this!" Every piece of marketing you do must have an offer. And it can't be a ho-hum, run-of-the-mill offer. It must be something so great, so ideally matched to your target audience that there is no way someone could possibly justify ignoring it.
An irresistible offer can be used for lead generation in both B2C and B2B to get your prospects to 'raise their hand' and identify themselves as potential clients. The can also be used for a one-step sell of your product/service.
Finally, don't ignore the importance of making offers to your existing clients as well. You see this error all the time. Here’s an example I’m sure you can relate with.
Look at the lengths cable and satellite companies will go to get a new client. You see or hear the ads and you think, “Hey! What about me, I’m the guy paying for you to run those ads!” Don’t let your current clients feel ‘betrayed’ by such offers. Keep them in mind.
You should be using an irresistible offer in all three scenarios, lead generation, one-step sales and to your existing clients.
Stay tuned for later this week as we'll discuss the importance of matching your irresistible offer to yourperfect target audience. I'll see you then!
www.3DMailResults.com
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Marketing Lesson Learned from Kona
Just like your clients, Kona is a creature of habit. (As a refresher, Kona is my 10 month old Golden Retriever.) Every morning she hears the alarm go off she knows it time for her morning walk. And just like most mornings, we take the same route around the neighborhood. And for the most part, Kona is just fine with that.
Does this sound like your clients or patients? Are they stuck in the same routine with you? Do they place the same order every time? Do they get the same treatment every time? Are you boring your clients with the same routine?
If Kona could talk, I know she would ask, “What’s new?” Isn’t that what everybody asks when you see them? I’ve never once ran into an old friend or acquaintance and had them ask, “so, what’s old?” That just doesn’t happen.
However, every once in a while we go on a walk in the afternoon, or in the evening, or take a different route. And what happens? Kona gets excited! Her tail starts to wag, her nose goes into overdrive as she smells all the new smells (she is a retriever afterall). The change energizes her and gives her a boost.
So here’s this months lesson. You need to be constantly telling your clients “What’s New!” If you’re not constantly and consistantly telling them, “What’s New,” or “What’s Different,” or “What’s Next,” they’ll go find someone who will, and its more than likely your competitor.
Friday, January 2, 2009
No BS Time Management
Eliminate the time between the idea and the act and your dreams will become realities.
- Dr. Edward L. Kramer
Entreprenuership is the conversion of your knowledge, talents, guts, and time into money. Time is valuable, although the value differs from person to person. When most people place value on their time, they do so based on an eight-hour work day, which is not all that correct. It’s hard to get eight productive hours out of each day.
One study involving Fortune 500 CEO’s revealed that they achieved 28 productive minutes a day.
If you are your own boss, you decide how much you are going to get paid because you write your own paycheck. Most of the time that salary is determined by whatever is left over at the end of the month. This is a mistake because:
To plan against business failure and going broke, you need to decide how much money you’re going to take out each year to cover your salary, perks, contributions, retirement plans, etc. Eighty percent of entrepreneurs can’t come up with this number.
To do this, you need to have a base earnings target, otherwise you can’t calculate what your time is worth and will not be able to make good decisions about how you invest that time. As a result, you have no control over your business or life.
Calculate Your Base Earnings Target
Coming up with a number will dramatically affect the decisions you make, habits you cultivate, and people you associate with. Here’s how?
Base Earnings Target _______________
Divide work hours in a year
(244 days x 8 = 1,952 in a year) _______________
= Base hourly number $_______________
x Productivity-versus
Non-Productivity Multiple x_______________
= What Your Time
Must Be Worth Per Hour $_______________
It’s important that you surround yourself with people who understand and respect the value of your time. If you don’t eliminate the people who don’t respect the value of your time from your business life, then you ad your business will pay the price. You also need to delegate tasks to other people that tend to take away from your valuable time.
- Dr. Edward L. Kramer
Entreprenuership is the conversion of your knowledge, talents, guts, and time into money. Time is valuable, although the value differs from person to person. When most people place value on their time, they do so based on an eight-hour work day, which is not all that correct. It’s hard to get eight productive hours out of each day.
One study involving Fortune 500 CEO’s revealed that they achieved 28 productive minutes a day.
If you are your own boss, you decide how much you are going to get paid because you write your own paycheck. Most of the time that salary is determined by whatever is left over at the end of the month. This is a mistake because:
- It indicates zero planning
- You pay yourself last; a common reason why most entrepreneurs end up going broke.
To plan against business failure and going broke, you need to decide how much money you’re going to take out each year to cover your salary, perks, contributions, retirement plans, etc. Eighty percent of entrepreneurs can’t come up with this number.
To do this, you need to have a base earnings target, otherwise you can’t calculate what your time is worth and will not be able to make good decisions about how you invest that time. As a result, you have no control over your business or life.
Calculate Your Base Earnings Target
Coming up with a number will dramatically affect the decisions you make, habits you cultivate, and people you associate with. Here’s how?
- Divide the number of workday hours
- Multiply it to allow for unproductive versus productive hours
Base Earnings Target _______________
Divide work hours in a year
(244 days x 8 = 1,952 in a year) _______________
= Base hourly number $_______________
x Productivity-versus
Non-Productivity Multiple x_______________
= What Your Time
Must Be Worth Per Hour $_______________
It’s important that you surround yourself with people who understand and respect the value of your time. If you don’t eliminate the people who don’t respect the value of your time from your business life, then you ad your business will pay the price. You also need to delegate tasks to other people that tend to take away from your valuable time.
Monday, December 29, 2008
3 True Life Stories
Here are the 3 quick true stories I told you about last week. They may give you a bit of insight.
Story #1: Years ago, I was working a booth at a business show, showing off my books and tapes. About 500 people came through that booth over two days. About 400 took catalogs furtively and scurried off hastily, lest I grab them and sell them something. About 99 made small purchases. One guy handed over his credit card and said, “Ship me one of everything you’ve got.” I didn’t know him from Adam’s housecat.
But a few weeks later, I was watching a national TV program, and there he was being interviewed. Seems he was one of the most successful chiropractors in America, retiring from having built 3 $1 million a year practices, one right after the other, and now was head of a consulting firm with 600 clients each paying about $3,000 a month for his advice. That’s $1.8 million a month for those of you short on fingers and toes.
Story #2: Many years ago, a kid (too young to drive) walked a few miles from his house to a riding stable and pestered the owner for a job, and got hired to clean saddles and scrub buckets and mostly do the real grubby stuff nobody else wanted to do after school for $20 a week. The kids used the $20 to buy a used set of Earl Nightingale self-improvement tapes. The kid was Dan Kennedy.
Story #3: A guy at a garage sale found a set of my tapes (at the time) and bought them for $5.00. The fellow selling them told the buyer he guessed they were all right, but they hadn’t done anything for him. In fact, he’d just shut down his business, was selling off all his stuff, and moving to another city to take a job at a relative’s company.
He said, “The free enterprise system just didn’t work for little guys anymore.” He said, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer and that’s all there is to it. The guy that bought my tapes for $5.00 listened to them, used them, worked with them, and started his own business. When he wrote to me two years later to tell me of making over $200,000 that year in his business, he said, “Funny thing. I was concerned about it at the time, but now I understand – you see, the business I started is exactly the same kind of business that guy I bought your tapes from got out of.”
Now let me finish this long-winded, gas-baggy diatribe with one psychic prediction: some people reading this will say to themselves, “Does Travis think I fell off a turnip truck yesterday? Heck, I can see through this as clear as day. This is just a clever ploy to separate me from my coins the next time he gets around me or mails me some literature. I’m not going to fall for it, no sir. I’m keeping my coins.” Some other folks will get it. It’s all kind of fun to watch.
Story #1: Years ago, I was working a booth at a business show, showing off my books and tapes. About 500 people came through that booth over two days. About 400 took catalogs furtively and scurried off hastily, lest I grab them and sell them something. About 99 made small purchases. One guy handed over his credit card and said, “Ship me one of everything you’ve got.” I didn’t know him from Adam’s housecat.
But a few weeks later, I was watching a national TV program, and there he was being interviewed. Seems he was one of the most successful chiropractors in America, retiring from having built 3 $1 million a year practices, one right after the other, and now was head of a consulting firm with 600 clients each paying about $3,000 a month for his advice. That’s $1.8 million a month for those of you short on fingers and toes.
Story #2: Many years ago, a kid (too young to drive) walked a few miles from his house to a riding stable and pestered the owner for a job, and got hired to clean saddles and scrub buckets and mostly do the real grubby stuff nobody else wanted to do after school for $20 a week. The kids used the $20 to buy a used set of Earl Nightingale self-improvement tapes. The kid was Dan Kennedy.
Story #3: A guy at a garage sale found a set of my tapes (at the time) and bought them for $5.00. The fellow selling them told the buyer he guessed they were all right, but they hadn’t done anything for him. In fact, he’d just shut down his business, was selling off all his stuff, and moving to another city to take a job at a relative’s company.
He said, “The free enterprise system just didn’t work for little guys anymore.” He said, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer and that’s all there is to it. The guy that bought my tapes for $5.00 listened to them, used them, worked with them, and started his own business. When he wrote to me two years later to tell me of making over $200,000 that year in his business, he said, “Funny thing. I was concerned about it at the time, but now I understand – you see, the business I started is exactly the same kind of business that guy I bought your tapes from got out of.”
Now let me finish this long-winded, gas-baggy diatribe with one psychic prediction: some people reading this will say to themselves, “Does Travis think I fell off a turnip truck yesterday? Heck, I can see through this as clear as day. This is just a clever ploy to separate me from my coins the next time he gets around me or mails me some literature. I’m not going to fall for it, no sir. I’m keeping my coins.” Some other folks will get it. It’s all kind of fun to watch.
Friday, December 26, 2008
"Rich people have big libraries, poor people have big TVs."
I recently purchased a brand new, very nice book case for my home office. That’s because the other walls of bookshelves are all full of books, but I want to buy more ‘because I’m always looking’ for the next good idea.
A great speaker I've head several times, Jim Rohn, says he’s never visited a wealthy person’s home that didn’t have a big library, and that ought to tell you something. He didn’t say it, but I sure have visited a lot of poor people’s homes where you couldn’t find a book at all. Of course, it’s easy to invest in education now; I’ve got the money to justify it. But you see, I behaved this way when I was younger and had much less money coming in. That’s why I didn’t stay that way. To once more quote Jim, he says, “Miss a meal if you must, but don’t miss a book.”
So when I’m out speaking, and I start giving a little commercial about my educational materials, these days I kind of smile and chuckle to myself about how very predictable folks are. Many think, “Uh-oh, he’s about to try and sell me something and take my money, so I’ll close my ears or duck out the back and save my coins.
Others think, “Oh, by, he’s about to offer me something I can get to multiply my coins. Bring it on, man, bring it on.”
Then I think, “Terrific – that wonderful self-selecting process, the cutting of the herd. The dumb ones who are just trying to hang on and keep the few coins they’ve got, will go away. The smart ones, who are committed to multiplying their pennies and who I’ll enjoy having a relationship with, they’ll become my customers. Couldn’t work out better if I’d designed human behavior myself.
I'll finish off this 'soap box' moment in a couple days with 3 stories that really illustrate how this works out in the real world.
www.3DMailResults.com
A great speaker I've head several times, Jim Rohn, says he’s never visited a wealthy person’s home that didn’t have a big library, and that ought to tell you something. He didn’t say it, but I sure have visited a lot of poor people’s homes where you couldn’t find a book at all. Of course, it’s easy to invest in education now; I’ve got the money to justify it. But you see, I behaved this way when I was younger and had much less money coming in. That’s why I didn’t stay that way. To once more quote Jim, he says, “Miss a meal if you must, but don’t miss a book.”
So when I’m out speaking, and I start giving a little commercial about my educational materials, these days I kind of smile and chuckle to myself about how very predictable folks are. Many think, “Uh-oh, he’s about to try and sell me something and take my money, so I’ll close my ears or duck out the back and save my coins.
Others think, “Oh, by, he’s about to offer me something I can get to multiply my coins. Bring it on, man, bring it on.”
Then I think, “Terrific – that wonderful self-selecting process, the cutting of the herd. The dumb ones who are just trying to hang on and keep the few coins they’ve got, will go away. The smart ones, who are committed to multiplying their pennies and who I’ll enjoy having a relationship with, they’ll become my customers. Couldn’t work out better if I’d designed human behavior myself.
I'll finish off this 'soap box' moment in a couple days with 3 stories that really illustrate how this works out in the real world.
www.3DMailResults.com
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