Business

Two Fatal Flaws: Fix These or Fail

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Real quick,

Let me mention 2 dispositions that will KILL your ability to succeed in any area of your life, from relationships to football (go Bears!) to business.

1. Lack of motion. If you’re not willing to get off your butt and do something, you will fail. Period. We humans are so stuck in our comfort zones. Gary Halbert told Joe Polish that he’s convinced that people will work harder to stay in their comfort zones more than they will to save their own lives. Although I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say that (although I’m a huge fan of  this kind of exaggeration), you get the idea.

There’s nothing to fear but fear itself. We certainly let that baseless fear hold us back, don’t we? Time to shake that off your shoulder pads. You have to take action. Gary Halbert also told Joe Polish that the difference between losers and winners is motion.

2. Unwillingness to learn. There’s plenty to learn in every part of life. Get the foundational knowledge you need to get where you want to go. Find a map, if you will. As you move forward, you have to be willing to learn even more.

Always be teachable. Learn from your experiences, both victories and failures. Learn from the experience of others.

If you won’t take action of if you refuse to be a continual learner, don’t count on achieving your loftiest goals, My money is on the other guy.

 

Improve Your Marketing by Playing Board Games

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Maybe I’m crazy, but it seems like you can find marketing lessons everywhere. I’m not talking about learning from the hundreds of sales messages that harass our eyes and ears daily.

You can gain marketing insight in what seems like most unlikely places…

Last night, my lovely wife and I had a great time playing Scrabble. After having the crap beaten out of me for most of the game, I had an epiphany.  Scrabble can help you be a better marketer!

I won’t take up all your time going trough all the details, but observe some of the benefits that you get from playing this classic game:

  • You’re constantly being exposed to new words. And advanced vocabulary (one that you actually put to use) is a key to the game. It will also help you with writing copy and content for your sales letters, website, articles, etc.
  • Scrabble is all about finding connections. Your brain can do a lot of exercise during competitive matches. Marketing is all about connections, too. Gotta find a way to bring your customers and your product or service together.
  • You’ll improve your ability to analyze details. A critical eye can do wonders for your advertising efforts.

The key lesson that I took away from my epiphany is that what’s on the board is more important than the letters on your rack. If you spend all your time looking at your own letters, you’ll get trounced (a word I am now quite familiar with). No matter what you have in your possession, if you can’t get it on the board, it’s worthless. Contrariwise, even if your assortment of letters is really sorry, you might still be able to create a huge word based on what’s already been played.

This is crucial with marketing as well. It is essential to understand your market. Understanding your audience is the most important part of marketing. Probably the most important aspect of running a successful business.

Short version: don’t spend all your time and effort looking at you. Look at your target, find out what they want, and figure out how to use that intimate knowledge to elevate your marketing to a higher plane.

Oh, and I’m selling my Scrabble Marketing Training Manual for $49. Give me a ring if you’re interested.

(Yes, that’s a joke!)

4 Laws of Leap-Frogging

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About this time last year, I finally read Robert Ringer’s magnum opus, Winning Through Intimidation.  It had been recommended by so many people that I respected, so I had to pick it up.

Tonight, I’d like to lay out a couple of quick thoughts on one of the most important lessons we take from the book: the leapfrog principle. Ringer describes it this way:

“The quickest way to the top is not by fighting your way through the pack; the quickest way is to leapfrog over the pack and simply take it upon yourself to proclaim that you’re above it.”

Let’s look at this theory, particularly in reference to people in the freelance writing or design field. Many people now considered “gurus” in their industries started out this way. Rather than “paying dues,” they simply elevated themselves to the next level.

Four major thoughts come to mind:

1)This should go without saying, but if you are leap-frogging, do not let anyone know about it.  Appearing like an amateur defeats the point.

2) You absolutely must do the preparation necessary to go to the level you’re leap-frogging to.  You have to actually be prepared to be above the pack.

3) Assume the posture of someone at that new level. This introduces another of Ringer’s ideas, the posture theory.  This theory states

“It’s not what you say or do that counts, but what your posture is when you say or do it.” 

Act like you’ve been in your position for years. Again, having the appearance of an amateur defeats the purpose. Get an attitude, as John Clausen says.

4) Don’t overdo it. Don’t simply say, “I’m the best widget maker in the universe.” Statements like that destroy credibility, and reek of immaturity. The best don’t have to go around telling everyone. They do carry themselves with the confidence of a world-class pro. You’ll have to strike a balance.

You could take this line of thinking much further, but that’s not my current intention. There are plenty of good lessons in Winning Through Intimidation. Do yourself a favor and read the book. You can thank me later.

Business Growth Lessons from the Delivery Room

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I hope my wife doesn’t read this article. She will not be happy. Let me explain…

My 4th child was born yesterday afternoon. He’s as handsome as can be, by the way.

I’m just getting home from a hospital stay that lasted nearly 30 hours. It’s a long story; I’ll spare you the details. Everything worked out well. Mama and baby boy are both in fantastic condition.

Here’s the problem. If my wife finds out I spent even one second thinking about work rather than being focused on what was going on in that hospital room, I’ll probably be needing a doctor myself.

After I got home (because I seriously was not thinking about marketing until after I left the hospital), I thought about 6 dynamics that had big impacts on me throughout the experience. If you apply them to your business, I promise you’ll be impacted, too.

Let’s get into it:

1) Use of technical language/jargon

Have you ever been to visit the doctor, and experienced the confusion that comes from trying to understand what in the world they are talking about? If they aren’t careful, they start using acronyms you can’t decipher and terminology you’ve never heard of. This is especially bad when they answer your  questions in that manner. Most of us patients get lost in all those big words.

This occurs in just about every field. Professionals can often use technical terms and industry-specific language that is completely unintelligible to regular folks. Confused people do not make the best customers.

Communicate in ways that the people who want to hand you their money can understand. It may take conscious effort to form the habit, but you will not regret it. And your clients/customers/patients will thank you.

2) One overriding purpose

At least in the case of my son’s delivery, we were at the hospital for only one reason: to bring him safely into the outside world. Everything that the doctors and nurses did worked toward achieving this goal. Nothing else mattered.

In business, the same principle is true. You have to determine what your purpose is. What is it that you have to offer? Get that one thing right and focus your energy on killing it in that area, and you will be surprised at the results.

P.T. Barnum said, “A constant hammering on one nail will generally drive it home at last, so that it can be clinched. When a man’s undivided attention is centered on one object, his mind will constantly be suggesting improvements of value, which would escape him if his brain was occupied by a dozen different subjects at once.”

Let me clear one thing up: this doesn’t mean only offer one product or service. It means get down to the singular purpose of your business’ existence, and build your efforts on that foundation. You should probably be able to find your business’ purpose in your business plan, if you have one.

3) Exclusivity

This is an extension of the 2nd point. It’s pretty simple. Once you determine exactly what your business’ purpose is, you will have to begin cutting things off. Exclude anything that takes away from your strides to reach your specific, clearly-defined goals.

4) Doing great work really matters

This can’t be overstated. I’ll just make the point about my hospital visit. All 4 of my children have been born at this particular medical facility (sure, I’ll name names: I’m talking about the University of Chicago Hospital). As a matter of fact, my wife and all of her siblings were born there, too. My wife would never dream of giving birth anywhere else.

That’s what happens when a business exceeds expectations. Fierce loyalty, even across generations, and enthusiastic referrals.

5) Specialized knowledge makes a HUGE difference

How many kinds of doctors are there? More than I can count. And every one of the people who came to check my wife and baby had a specialty in some area. I take that to mean that each of these individuals is an expert in his or her field. Obstetricians, anesthesiologists, you name it. Their knowledge in their realms gives them credibility, which gives me confidence. I will listen to them, trust them, and do what they advise me to do. Specialized knowledge and expertise make a major difference in how you deal with your customers/patients. It also impacts the way you bill for your services. Never forget that.

6) Test/measure everything

Heart rates, blood pressure, ad nauseum. Hospitals go to great lengths to measure every possible metric. They also know what every measurement means.

For your business, think about it this way: find out what is working and what’s not working. In the same way you pay attention to the performance of your employees, make sure that your business practices are producing the results you desire. Constantly measure and test to ensure you’re getting the best of the best in every endeavor.

Putting these concepts to into action will bring new life to your business. No one will argue that the medical industry is good at extracting money from American citizens. If you’re interested in exchanging a valuable product or service to people, you would do well by applying the lessons hospitals teach.