The Ultimate Sales & Marketing Mind Map Maximize Profits & Eliminate Waste In Your Advertising
1. Online Traffic Generation
1.1. Pay Per Click (PPC)
1.1.1. Google AdWords
1.1.2. Yahoo
1.1.3. Bing
1.1.4. Facebook Ads
1.2. Forum Posting
1.2.1. Good way to establish credibility
1.2.2. Big-Boards.com
1.2.2.1. Search for forums by topics
1.2.3. Put a link to your site in your signature
1.3. Blog Commenting
1.3.1. Commenting on blogs and including an anchor text link back to your site
1.3.1.1. Do NOT spam, add value with your posts
1.3.2. BlogCarnival
1.3.3. Technorati
1.3.4. WordPress
1.3.5. Create Your Own Blog
1.3.5.1. WordPress
1.4. Article Marketing
1.4.1. Write articles on topics in your market
1.4.2. Submit to article directories
1.4.2.1. EzineArticles.com
1.4.2.2. Buzzle.com
1.4.2.3. ArticlesBase.com
1.4.2.4. GoArticles.com
1.4.2.5. iSnare.com
1.4.2.6. SearchWarp.com
1.4.2.7. ArticleCity.com
1.5. Social Networks
1.5.1. Facebook
1.5.2. MySpace
1.5.3. LinkedIn
1.5.4. Twitter
1.6. Directory Listings
1.6.1. Google Local
1.6.2. Yahoo Local
1.6.3. Bing Local
1.6.4. InfoUSA
1.6.5. OpenList
1.6.6. Best of The Web Local
1.6.7. City Search
1.6.8. Kudzu
1.6.9. YellowPages
1.6.10. SuperPages
1.6.11. DMOZ
1.6.12. Yelp
1.6.13. Craigslist
1.7. Social Bookmarking
1.7.1. Google Bookmarks
1.7.2. Yahoo Bookmarks
1.7.3. Digg
1.7.4. Delicious
1.7.5. StumbleUpon
1.7.6. reddit
1.7.7. Searchles
1.8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
1.8.1. Tools
1.8.1.1. Keyword Research Tools
1.8.1.1.1. Google Adwords Tool
1.8.1.1.2. Google Suggest Tool
1.8.1.1.3. Keyword Discovery
1.8.1.1.4. Wordtracker
1.8.1.2. Search Engine Optimization
1.8.1.2.1. Tools.SEOBook.com
1.8.1.2.2. Firefox Extensions
1.8.2. On Page Optimization
1.8.2.1. Keywords
1.8.2.1.1. Page Title
1.8.2.1.2. Meta Description
1.8.2.1.3. Meta Keywords
1.8.2.1.4. Domain Name
1.8.2.1.5. H1, H2, H3, etc.
1.8.2.1.6. Throughout Copy
1.8.2.1.7. Bold and Italic text
1.8.2.1.8. Image alt text
1.8.2.1.9. Internal links anchor text
1.8.3. Off Page Optimization
1.8.3.1. Incoming Links
1.8.3.1.1. From high PR sites
1.8.3.1.2. .edu and .gov are best
1.8.3.2. Anchor text optimization
1.9. Solo Ads
1.9.1. Your ad gets emailed to a list of subscribers
1.9.2. You usually just pay a flat fee for the ad
1.10. Banner Ads
1.10.1. Cost per click (CPC)
1.10.2. Cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM)
1.11. Traffic Exchanges
1.11.1. EasyHits4U
1.11.2. Traffic-Splash
1.12. Video Marketing
1.12.1. YouTube
1.12.2. Google Video
1.12.3. TubeMogul
1.12.3.1. Use this to automatically submit your videos to a dozen or so video sites
1.12.4. Video Tips
1.12.4.1. Watermark your videos with your URL
1.12.4.2. Have your URL at the bottom (or wherever) during the entire video
1.12.4.3. Have a clear, call to action at the end of EVERY video
1.12.4.4. Lighting can make or break your video
1.12.4.5. Poor audio can make or break your video as well
1.13. Squidoo
1.14. Teleseminars
1.14.1. GoToMeeting.com
1.14.2. InstantTeleseminar.com
1.15. Webinars
1.15.1. GoToWebinar
1.16. Joint Ventures
1.16.1. They promote your product to their list in exchange for a percentage of sales
1.16.1.1. Should give at least 50%
1.16.1.2. The more you give the more interested others will be in promoting your products
1.16.2. Fastest way to build your list
1.16.3. Make it as easy as possible for JV partners
1.16.3.1. The last thing they want to do is more work
1.16.4. Work on building the relationship with JV partners
1.16.4.1. Make their job as easy as possible
1.16.4.2. Help them in any way that you can
1.16.4.3. Be friendly
1.16.4.4. PAY THEM ON TIME
1.16.4.5. The higher the percentage the better
1.17. Free Reports
1.17.1. Give away CONTENT FILLED reports as a way to get noticed and build your list
1.17.2. Have a link to your site in the footer of every page
1.17.3. Link (and short blurb) to your site in the beginning of the report
1.17.4. Link and a clear, call to action at the end of the report
2. Testing and Tracking
2.1. ALWAYS be testing and tracking everything
2.1.1. This means all components, even little ones
2.2. What gets tested and tracked gets improved
2.3. Always looks for faster, cheaper, and easier ways to do something
2.3.1. When you deposit the checks the bank won't give you more money if you earned it the longer, harder, and most expensive way
2.4. Always remember that "small changes equals big profits"
3. Testimonials
3.1. Social Proof - What others say about you is far more important than if you said the same thing
3.2. If you don't already have testimonials, get them now
3.2.1. Types of Testimonials
3.2.1.1. Audio
3.2.1.2. Video
3.2.1.3. Written Letter
3.3. Get permission from your customers to use their testimonials in your marketing
3.4. If your business has your customers waiting (doctors, dentists, etc.), have a binder in the waiting room that is full of your testimonials
4. Stick Strategies
4.1. Items That Are Packaged
4.1.1. Include small yellow label on outside inviting them to call a toll free # to hear a free recorded message. Message just reinforces the benefits of the products, reassures them they made the right purchase, etc.
4.2. Follow up with buyer soon after they have purchased
4.2.1. Follow up via e-mail to see if they have any questions or need help
4.2.2. Follow up with a letter to see if they have any questions, need help and to reinforce the benefits
4.2.3. Follow up with a personal phone call to see if they have any questions, need help and to reinforce the benefits
4.2.4. Use this as another opportunity to sell them something else (up sell)
4.2.4.1. Make an irresistible offer with a deadline
4.2.5. Use as an opportunity to ask for referrals
4.3. Newsletter
4.3.1. Keeps you "front of mind" for when customers need the type of product or service you sell in the future
4.3.2. Offers a chance to give value and build a relationship with your customers
4.3.3. Another opportunity to sell your products or services
4.3.4. Monthly newsletters are best
4.3.4.1. Quarterly or longer don't work as well
4.3.5. Best to send an offline newsletter, as in an actually newsletter you mail
4.3.5.1. Email can work but they aren't as effective.
4.3.5.2. Although, feel free to test email vs offline to see which is better
4.3.6. Can also do a paid newsletter
4.3.6.1. You must provide value with this option though for obvious reasons
4.3.6.2. Great way to get recurring monthly revenue
5. Referrals
5.1. Ask for them at point of sale
5.1.1. Ask for them at other times as well
5.1.1.1. When following up with customers
5.1.1.2. Anytime a customer says how great of a job you are doing
5.2. Give incentives to encourage people to give you referrals
5.3. Just getting a small percentage of your clients/customers to give you a referral will dramatically increase your profits
5.3.1. Another reason why you NEED to know the lifetime value of each client/customer
6. Guarantee
6.1. What is your guarantee
6.2. Your guarantee may make a good USP
6.3. If you are selling something you cannot strongly and fairly guarantee, you ought to find something better to sell
7. Advertising
7.1. Test small first
7.1.1. Always test and track
7.1.2. If it makes you money, keep running the ad!
7.2. Headline
7.2.1. Make it attention getting
7.2.2. Benefit filled
7.3. Free Recorded Message
7.3.1. Works well with printed ads
7.4. Use Testimonials
7.5. Irresistible Offer
7.6. Clear Call To Action
7.7. Deadline
7.8. Scarcity
7.9. Contact Information
7.10. Web Address
7.10.1. Better for those who prefer a website to a recorded phone message
7.11. Capture Prospects Contact Information
7.11.1. Your ad should offer a way to capture the name and e-mail of potential buyers
7.11.1.1. Offer a free report
7.11.1.2. Free gift
7.11.1.3. Anything you can think of to offer in exchange for their name and e-mail
7.11.2. Less Info Required = More leads
7.11.3. More Info Required = Less leads but higher quality
7.12. Return On Investment (ROI) is the most important number
7.12.1. If you bring in more money than it cost to run the ad, KEEP running the ad!
7.12.2. Even if you break even, you should keep running the ad
7.12.2.1. Gives you more customers to sell to on the back end
8. Free Recorded Message
8.1. Use as a tool to give out more information
8.1.1. This is a good way for people to listen to testimonials
8.1.2. It's also a chance to answer FAQs
8.2. Get More Information
8.3. Create special offers with a call to action (CTA)
9. Joint Ventures
9.1. Identity, approach and team up with other non competing, yet complementary, businesses and sell THEIR products or services to your list as special offers
9.1.1. Your customers feel grateful to you
9.2. Identity, approach and team up with other non competing, yet complementary, businesses and sell YOUR products or services to their list as special offers
9.2.1. You increase your customer list this way
9.3. Tracking is important
9.3.1. A coupon code or a unique URL for tracking purposes to show how much business was referred through the joint venture mailing can be set up
10. Lead Generation
10.1. Always test and track
10.2. Always work on increasing conversion
10.3. What is something you can do today to get business that you didn't do yesterday?
10.4. Ways To Generate Leads
10.4.1. Direct Mail
10.4.1.1. Postcards
10.4.1.2. Sales Letter
10.4.1.3. Lumpy Mail
10.4.1.4. Free Standing Insert (FSI)
10.4.2. Telemarketing
10.4.2.1. Not recommended (bad positioning), but can work
10.4.3. Website
10.4.3.1. Give away free reports in exchange for contact info
10.4.4. YouTube Videos
10.4.4.1. Driving traffic back to your website
10.4.5. Cold Calling
10.4.5.1. Not recommended, very bad positioning, but can work
10.4.6. Print Ads
10.4.6.1. Magazines
10.4.6.2. Newspapers
10.4.7. Press Release
10.4.8. Write A Book
10.4.8.1. GREAT for positioning and becoming an authority figure
10.4.8.2. A book is mainly a positioning tool, don't expect to become wealthy from the sales of the book
10.4.9. Television
10.4.10. Radio
10.4.11. Val Pak
10.4.11.1. High open rate
10.4.11.2. Mostly looked at by females
10.4.11.2.1. Take this into consideration when crafting your message
10.4.12. Teleseminars
10.4.13. Webinars
10.4.14. Speaking
10.4.15. Workshops
10.5. Does a live person answer the phone
10.5.1. If not, why not?
10.5.2. Live person will increase conversion
10.6. Deal Flow
10.6.1. Always work on lead generation, even when you don't need to
10.6.1.1. Better to have too much than too little
10.6.2. Dig the well before you thirst
11. Raise Prices
11.1. Instant way to increase profits
11.1.1. Margins stay the same, so any extra increase in price is pure profit
11.2. Increase Perceived Value
11.2.1. If people don't want to pay, it's because you're not delivering enough value for the money you're charging
11.2.2. Value = Quality + Service + Price
11.3. Only a about 10%-15% of people really buy based on lowest price
11.3.1. People only buy on price when there is nothing else to compare
11.4. A common misconception is that raising prices will make people buy less, this just isn't true
11.4.1. People will find the money for whatever it is they want to buy REGARDLESS of price.
11.5. There is a market at ANY price point
11.6. Some people ONLY buy the most expensive products
11.6.1. Expensive = Quality
11.7. Offer Basic and Deluxe versions
11.7.1. At least 20% of people will ALWAYS select the higher priced version
11.7.2. Also moves the prospect from yes/no to "which do I want" thinking
11.8. There is NO downside to raising prices
11.9. People will pay more money for a specialized product rather than a non specialized product
11.10. People comply more when they are paying more
11.10.1. More skin in the game
11.11. Gives you greater flexibility in your marketing
11.11.1. Margins are now higher so you can afford to spend more on acquiring new customers
11.11.2. Most business owners want to spend LESS on acquiring new customers
11.11.2.1. But the fact is, the person who can afford to spend the MOST on acquiring new clients/customers will ALWAYS win
11.11.2.2. Because acquiring a new client/customer is the MOST expensive client/customer there is.
12. 80/20 Principle
12.1. Sell more to the top 20% of your customers
12.2. Sell more to the top 5% of your customers
12.3. Fire the bottom 10-20% of your customers
12.4. Stock and sell more of the top 20% of products
12.5. Look after and reward the top 20% of sales staff
12.6. Every time you add an 80/20 layer you increase your profit margins 10-50%
12.7. Do MORE of what's working
12.8. STOP what isn't working
12.9. Always ask yourself "is what I'm doing moving me closer toward my goal?" "Is what I'm doing right now the most important thing for creating value?"
12.9.1. Answer = NO
12.9.1.1. Stop doing it!
12.9.2. Answer = YES
12.9.2.1. Keep doing it
12.10. Testing and Tracking
12.10.1. Always look for faster, easier, and cheaper ways to do things
13. Time Management
13.1. “There is no shortage of time, only a confusion of priorities.“
13.2. Start your day with intention instead of reacting to things around you
13.2.1. Other peoples emergencies are not your problem
13.3. Do NOT check your e-mail as your first task
13.3.1. Train employees in this habit too
13.3.2. Have specific times to read and answer emails. Stick to these times, and also let clients know you do this
13.4. Create and USE systems for everything
13.4.1. Train staff to use them properly and effectively
13.4.2. Review these systems periodically
13.5. Create weekly and daily To Do lists of important, value creating things, and get them done!
13.6. Have a FAQ section on your website
13.7. Always use deadlines
13.8. Start being more critical about what's an emergency and what's not an emergency; what is a crisis and what is not a crisis; what is important and what is not important
13.9. Spend more time working ON your business instead of working IN your business
13.9.1. Set aside time every day/week to work on the things that are the most important in helping your business
13.10. Intent vs Reacting
13.10.1. Start your day with a purpose
13.10.2. Most people are always reacting to things
13.10.2.1. Their days are influenced by what's happening around them
13.11. 80/20 Principle
13.11.1. Analyze work patterns
13.11.2. Analyze profits and losses
13.11.3. Analyze client spend
13.11.4. Apply it to EVERYTHING
14. Lifetime Value Of Customer (LTV)
14.1. Tells you how much you can spend to get a new customer/client
14.2. One of the MOST IMPORTANT numbers in your business!
14.3. Know this number, and understand how you got it
15. Proper Positioning
15.1. Proper positioning is crucial if you want others to play by your rules and if you want to command higher prices
15.2. Write A Book
15.2.1. Becoming an author is one of the best ways to properly position yourself
15.2.2. You can hire a ghostwriter to write it for you
15.3. Doing what everyone else is doing will NOT position you properly
16. Niche
16.1. Consider specializing in one area of your industry, in one product, or one service
16.1.1. A brain surgeon does nothing but brain surgery. You wouldn't find him treating a broken bone, the flu, a pulled muscle, etc.
16.2. People pay more money for a specialized product or service
16.3. Your target market must be small enough so that the resources you can and will use can have a big impact. There's no point to spitting into the Atlantic Ocean
16.3.1. The "big fish, small pond" approach is best for anybody operating with limited resources and/or budget
17. Follow Up
17.1. You can only follow up with customers/clients if you've captured their contact information
17.2. Follow up after purchases, contact from clients (good or bad), a year later, etc
17.3. Great time to OFFER customers/clients something else to buy
17.4. Great time to ask for referrals
18. Message, Market, Media
18.1. You must send the right message, to the right market, using the right media
18.2. Market is the most important of the 3
18.2.1. Mediocre marketing aimed at a very well selected target market will get better results than great marketing aimed at the wrong market
18.3. Create a very detailed profile of your typical customer
18.3.1. "Everyone" is NOT your market
18.3.2. When you identify your market you can speak directly to them
18.4. A lot of money is wasted on not getting these 3 things correct
18.4.1. Lamborghini would be wasting money if they spent time and money trying to sell their cars to people with an income of $35,000 per year
19. Know Your Market
19.1. What are your customer's choices?
19.2. What are they already being offered?
19.3. What problems are they facing?
19.4. What benefits are they being told they'll get?
19.5. How are they being sold?
19.6. Is there a gap in the market?
20. Buying Motivators
20.1. People buy to either avoid pain or gain pleasure
20.1.1. For most people, avoiding pain is a greater motivator than gaining pleasure
20.1.2. People buy when the pain of the problem is greater than the cost of the solution.
20.2. People buy based on emotion then justify it with logic
20.2.1. Sell to their emotions but give them reasons to justify their purchase later on
20.3. People buy what they WANT
20.3.1. Ironically, selling something they need is often times difficult
20.3.2. This is why you see satellite dishes and flat screen TV's in trailer parks
20.3.3. Sell things people REALLY want, not what YOU think they SHOULD want
20.4. People buy the results they get from your product or service, not the actual product or service itself
20.4.1. You don't buy gas because you like gas. You buy it because you want to drive somewhere
20.4.2. Don't focus on what your product or service is, focus on what it DOES
20.4.3. Women buy creams and lotions so they can look 10 years younger, they don't buy them because they want the cream and lotion. They want the results the creams and lotions will give them
20.5. People buy to transfer responsibility
20.5.1. This way if something goes wrong they can blame someone or something else
20.6. People Buy Because Of Their Feelings
20.6.1. To feel superior
20.6.2. To feel frugal
20.6.3. To have a story to tell
20.6.4. To feel successful
20.6.5. To feel important
20.7. Sell the cure, not a preventative
20.7.1. People don't buy preventatives
20.7.2. They buy things when they are already experiencing the pain
21. The Vault
21.1. Hi
21.2. Show some love and leave a testimonial on the WSO thread for this product
21.2.1. Least you could do since this was free for you ;-)
21.3. Warrior Forum WSO Thread - Click icon -->>
21.4. If that link becomes dead for whatever reason, link to Vagabond 007's profile -->
21.5. Link to Vagabond 007's blog
21.5.1. NoBsMarketingAdvice.com
21.6. Take action and add value to the world
22. Educate
22.1. to gain authority
22.1.1. New node
23. Up Sell
23.1. ALWAYS USE AN UP SELL
23.2. The easiest and fastest way to increase your profits TODAY
23.3. Use at point of purchase, when the customer is in buying mode
23.4. Examples
23.4.1. "By the way, Mrs. Jones, we have a special today for people who order the _______. If you wanted to, you could get ______ for just $29.95 today...it's usually $49.95. Should I ring you up for that?"
23.4.2. "Would you like to add a 2 liter of Pepsi for just a dollar?"
23.4.3. "Because you bought _____, you can save 20% off ______ right now."
23.4.4. Actual Case - I was looking at a $90 pair of shoes and right after I said "I'll take them" the saleswomen offered me a 2nd pair for 20% off. I purchased them as well.
23.4.4.1. $90 purchase immediately went to $140
23.4.4.2. That's an extra $50 for simply telling me about the up sell
23.4.4.3. I was also offered another up sell, cost would have been $25, but I declined
23.4.4.3.1. But there is a percentage of people who will take that up sell as well
23.4.4.3.2. If I took that, the initial $90 purchase would have went up to $165
23.4.5. If your business has salesman or technicians out in the field, make sure they are using an up sell
23.4.5.1. If the customer declines the up sell, make the salesman/technician have the customer sign that they were asked
23.4.5.2. This will make sure the salesman/technician asks every customer
23.5. Money is being left on the table if up sells are not being used. Period.
24. Cross Sell
24.1. Offer at point of purchase
24.2. Offer after purchase (in follow up e-mails, phone calls, in person)
24.3. Do they know about everything you sell
25. Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
25.1. Why should customers buy from you instead of your competitors or not buy at all?
25.2. Why are you different?
25.2.1. Low price is NOT good enough
25.2.2. Great quality is NOT good enough
25.2.3. Great service is NOT good enough
25.2.4. ANY company can say these things
26. Customer List
26.1. Capture the contact information of customers
26.1.1. At the very least, name and e-mail
26.1.2. Birthdays and hobbies are good details too
26.2. Give compelling reason for them to give their contact information
26.2.1. "Join our newsletter" is NOT compelling
26.3. Ideas To Capture Contact Information
26.3.1. "Free _______ if you join our list"
26.3.2. "Half price off XX"
26.3.3. XX% discount on any product/service
26.3.4. REMEMBER - Give a great incentive in exchange for their contact information
26.3.5. Free reports filled with great content that is relevant to your market
26.4. MOST important part of any business, the customer list!
26.5. Sell to the top 20% of customers more often
26.6. Consider firing bottom 10-20% of customers
26.7. Can sell to them without having to pay big money to run an ad
26.7.1. Contact at least 12 times a year. Minimum
26.7.1.1. Monthly Newsletter
26.7.2. Build relationships with them
26.8. Carry out regular research: ask them what they want, ask them what needs improvement, ask them anything - reward people for answers
26.8.1. Phone calls
26.8.2. Emails
26.8.3. Questionnaires
27. Website
27.1. Important contact information on every page
27.1.1. Don't make visitors search for contact info
27.2. Important information above the fold
27.2.1. Above The Fold = The part of the page people see without having to scroll down
27.3. Opt In Box
27.3.1. Drop down - Pop In
27.3.1.1. Box appears on screen seconds after the visitor lands on your site
27.3.2. Right side
27.3.2.1. Box appears on the right side of the page at all times
27.4. Headline
27.5. Irresistible Offer
27.6. Clear call to action
27.7. Unique Selling Proposition (USP) clearly stated
27.8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
27.8.1. The purpose of search engine optimization is to make a website as search engine friendly as possible.
27.8.2. Keywords in title tag
27.8.3. Keywords in URL
27.8.4. Meta Description
27.8.4.1. Brief summary of the site
27.8.5. H1 tags
27.9. Up Sell
27.9.1. Placement
27.9.1.1. Between sales page and checkout page
27.9.1.2. After checkout
27.9.1.2.1. One click up sell
27.9.2. On "Thank You" page and/or in thank you e-mail
27.9.3. One Time Offer
27.9.3.1. Let the buyer know this offer will never be available again
27.9.3.2. Don't be surprised if at least 30% of people also buy the OTO
27.9.4. Test to find where the best placement is for your up sell
27.10. Include As Many Of These Components As You Can
27.10.1. Scarcity
27.10.2. Testimonials
27.10.2.1. Audio
27.10.2.2. Video
27.10.2.2.1. Best kind
27.10.2.3. Text
27.10.3. Videos
27.10.3.1. Submit to video sharing sites as well
27.10.4. Blog
27.10.5. Business listed in online directories
27.10.6. Proper Logo's - PayPal, Google, BBB, Credit Cards, etc.
27.10.7. Visible, great guarantee
27.10.8. Exit pop up box
27.10.8.1. One last effort to grab their contact info
27.11. Tracking
27.11.1. Install Google Analytics (it's free) to track website traffic
27.12. Mobile Ready
27.12.1. Consider making your website mobile phone friendly
27.12.2. The amount of people using their phones to search online is increasing every single day
27.13. Online Directories
27.13.1. Submit your clients website to online directories
27.13.1.1. Google
27.13.1.2. Bing
27.13.1.3. Yahoo
27.13.1.4. MSN
27.13.1.5. Yelp
27.13.2. Consider using this service - https://www.ubl.org
27.14. Checkout
27.14.1. Test putting checkout at bottom of the page instead of making visitors click "buy" or "add to cart"
27.15. Traffic
27.15.1. See "Online Traffic Generation"
27.15.2. Offline Traffic To Website
27.15.2.1. URL on printed materials
27.15.2.1.1. Brochures
27.15.2.1.2. Receipts
27.15.2.1.3. Ads
27.15.2.1.4. Direct Mail
27.15.2.1.5. Press Releases
27.15.2.1.6. Events
28. Clear Call To Action
28.1. Put a CTA on and in everything, and include it in conversations
28.2. Never expect the customer to know what you want them to do
28.2.1. Test your instructions on a wide range of people (age, skills, interests)
28.2.2. You must clearly tell them what they are to do next
28.3. Talk about what happens if they DON'T buy
29. Customer "Touches"
29.1. Communicate with your customer list at least 12 times a year. Minimum!
29.1.1. No reason you can't make contact at least once per month
29.2. Ideas To Contact List
29.2.1. Holiday Promotions
29.2.1.1. Christmas
29.2.1.2. Thanksgiving
29.2.1.3. St. Patrick's Day
29.2.1.4. New Year's Day
29.2.1.5. Easter
29.2.1.6. Mothers' Day
29.2.1.7. Fathers' Day
29.2.1.8. Labor Day
29.2.1.9. Memorial Day
29.2.1.10. 4th of July
29.2.1.11. Halloween
29.2.2. Birthdays
29.2.3. Anniversaries
29.2.4. New product or service
29.2.5. Overstock items
29.3. Send out a monthly newsletter
29.4. Keep in regular contact via e-mail
29.4.1. Very cheap solution
29.4.2. Open rates may be low, so consider an offline newsletter instead.
29.4.2.1. Test to see which gives the greatest ROI
29.5. Opinion Polls & Surveys
29.6. Offer them something to buy
29.6.1. Do not just pitch them non stop, but do give them an irresistible offer from time to time
30. Selling To Past Customers
30.1. New customers are 5 times more expensive to sell to than a past customer
30.2. Don't chase new customers when old customers are being neglected
30.3. Craft a 30, 60 or 90-day “New Customer Experience” designed to quickly generate a secondary sale while strengthening the new relationship.
30.4. Be willing to spend AT LEAST as much to KEEP a customer as you're willing to pay to get a new customer.
30.5. This is where "hidden money" is found in your business
30.6. Communicate with them at least 12 times a year. Minimum!
30.7. Past Client Re-Activation Letter
30.7.1. Send a letter to "dead customers"
30.7.1.1. Someone who hasn't purchased in the past 6-18 months
30.7.2. Make an irresistible offer to encourage them to buy again
30.7.3. A 30% response rate is not uncommon
30.7.3.1. HUGE leaps in income can be seen just from using this one strategy every few months
30.8. Analyze your customers and separate into A-B-C groups based on responsiveness and then develop strategies to upgrade C's to B's, B's to A's
30.9. Make more offers to them more often
30.10. Sell renewable products or services
30.11. Learn more about each customer and tailor offers to match
30.12. Reward frequent purchasers
31. Systems
31.1. Take whatever is working and systematize it
31.1.1. Write each and every step down
31.1.2. Make sure every employee follows your systems
31.1.3. Test each step to improve it
31.1.3.1. Test ONE step at a time
31.2. Build a machine that can run without you
32. Irresistible Offer
32.1. #1 Marketing Strategy - Build Everything Around It
32.2. Always give an irresistible offer on everything (website, direct mail, up sell, in person, etc)
32.3. Put an irresistible offer on receipts (**Go to www.YourSite.com to sign up and receive 20% off your next purchase)
32.4. "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" usually out pulls "2 for the price of 1"
32.4.1. Same thing but the first one sounds better
32.5. "Gift with purchase" works well
32.6. Make what you're selling "free"
32.6.1. Example - New energy efficient windows will pay for themselves after a few years
33. Test and Identify
33.1. What's working NOW
33.1.1. Do more of it!
33.2. What's Not Working Now
33.2.1. Re-asses and re-vamp
33.2.2. Or STOP doing it asap!
34. Direct Mail
34.1. Create and test each component
34.1.1. Message, Market, Media Match
34.1.1.1. Send the right message, to the right person, using the right media
34.1.2. Headline
34.1.2.1. Does it pass the "stand alone test"
34.1.2.1.1. If you ran just the headline and a phone # as a classified ad, is it enticing enough to get calls?
34.1.3. Benefits
34.1.4. Overcome objections
34.1.5. Testimonials
34.1.6. Compelling Offer
34.1.7. Clear call to action
34.1.8. Scarcity
34.1.9. Deadline
34.1.10. Free Recorded Message
34.1.11. P.S.
34.1.11.1. Second most read part of a letter (headline is first)
34.1.12. Lumpy mail vs flat mail vs postcards
34.1.13. No copy on outside of envelope vs. putting copy on outside
34.2. Test Small First
34.2.1. No sense in mailing to a HUGE list only to find out it bombs
34.2.2. Test small first so you don't waste as much money
34.3. Must grab attention
34.3.1. Without grabbing your prospects attention nothing else matters because they won't see/read anything else
34.4. Send out mail to qualified lists
34.4.1. One step process
34.4.1.1. Attempting to get the sale on first contact
34.4.2. Multi-step process
34.4.2.1. Asking the prospect to "raise their hand" first
34.4.2.1.1. This is done by offering a free report, free recorded message, etc.
34.4.2.1.2. Great way to qualify prospects and weed out tire kickers
34.4.3. Dunning Method
34.4.3.1. Send a series letters
34.4.3.2. First letter
34.4.3.3. "2nd Notice" letter that refers to the first letter
34.4.3.4. "Final Notice" letter that refers to the first two letters sent
34.5. Return On Investment (ROI) is the most important number
34.5.1. If your profits are more than your print and mailing costs, KEEP mailing
34.6. Don't focus too much on response rates
34.6.1. Business owners have gone broke on a 10% response rate while others have become rich with a .05% response rate
34.6.2. ROI is the only thing that matters
34.7. Always use first class postage
34.7.1. Nothing screams "junk" faster than bulk mail
34.8. Always focus on the reader and not your company. People are always wondering "what's in it for me?"
34.9. Envelope
34.9.1. Teaser copy on outside
34.9.1.1. If you go this route, you mine as well use the entire envelope for copy
34.9.1.2. Put testimonials on the back
34.9.2. No Teaser Copy
34.9.2.1. Looks more personal
34.9.2.2. Use an invitation size envelope
34.9.2.3. Use first class stamp
34.9.2.3.1. If you don't, it will scream "ad" so you won't sneak in under the radar
34.10. Lumpy Mail
34.10.1. Great way to get attention and get your envelope opened
34.10.2. You include something that adds bulk to the envelope thus creating curiosity
34.10.3. Remember - You Always Want To Tie In Your Lumpy Piece To Your Sales Letter
34.10.4. Great source to buy "lumpy" items is OrientalTrading.com
34.10.5. Lumpy Mail Ideas - Tie In
34.10.5.1. Bag of peanuts - "Are you nuts?"
34.10.5.2. Rubiks Cube - "Can you solve the puzzle?"
34.10.5.3. Sand Timer - "Time is running out!"
34.10.5.4. Shoe - "Now that I have my foot in the door"
34.10.5.5. Fake Gold Coins - "treasure to be found in your business"
34.10.5.6. Magnifying Glass - "No fine print"
35. Packaging - Bundling
35.1. Good way to increase transaction size
35.2. Offer bargains
35.2.1. Buy 10 oil changes and get 1 FREE
35.2.2. Buy one Get one FREE
35.2.3. Pay up front for 10 months, get two months FREE
35.3. Offer bulk discounts
36. Continuity
36.1. Work out and implement a way to get people to automatically pay $XX every month for your product or service
36.1.1. Customers credit card automatically gets charged every month until they cancel
36.2. Examples
36.2.1. ProActiv Solution (acne product)
36.2.2. Weight Loss Pills
36.2.3. Continuities work best when the product is consumable; meaning the customer uses it up and has no choice but to buy it every month, like in the above 2 examples
36.3. Forced Continuity
36.3.1. When a person buys a product or service, they automatically get billed on a monthly basis (or whatever time period you choose) until they cancel
36.3.2. Good way to get recurring income
36.3.3. Make sure you are honest and up front about the continued billing, misleading people will only lead to big legal issues
37. Membership
37.1. Increases Retention
37.1.1. Think credit cards with "rewards programs"
37.2. VIP Club
37.2.1. After Hours Private Sale
37.2.2. Airlines "Frequent Flyer" Miles
37.3. People will visit a restaurant more often if they are a member
37.4. People will pay more to be a part of something
37.4.1. Country Club
37.5. Monthly Newsletters
37.6. Book Of The Month Club
37.7. Online Membership Sites
37.8. Coaching Groups
38. Takeaway Selling
38.1. People want what they can't have
38.1.1. The more they can't have it the more they want it
38.1.2. This is why scarcity works so well
38.2. Indifference
38.2.1. The more you act like you don't want their money, the more they'll try and give it to you
38.2.2. The more you act like you don't want their business, the more they'll try and give it to you
38.3. You must learn to speak using takeaway selling terms
38.3.1. "If you qualify"
38.3.2. "This may be too expensive for you"
38.3.3. "I'm not even sure this is right for you"
38.3.4. "If you still want to go ahead with this"
39. Influence and Persuasion
39.1. If you can describe someone’s problem better than they can, they automatically and unconsciously created you with knowing the solution. They assume you know the answer.
39.1.1. So ask yourself “What is my prospects problem” and “How can I describe it to them”?
39.2. Enter the conversation already going on in the persons mind.
39.3. People Buy Feelings
39.3.1. Remember, people buy based on emotion and justify it with logic
39.3.2. Give people emotionally reasons (benefits) to buy and logical reasons (features) to justify their purchase
40. Profit Leaks
40.1. Not Using An Up Sell
40.1.1. Biggest mistake you could make
40.1.2. Luckily, it's the easiest to fix
40.2. Not Selling To Past Customers
40.2.1. Easiest sale to make
40.3. Not optimizing what's already working
40.4. Not stopping what ISN'T working
40.5. Not Giving Irresistible Offers
40.5.1. Make your offer to good to pass up
40.5.2. Put offers on receipts
40.6. Not Having a Clear Call To Action
40.6.1. People need to be told exactly what to do
40.7. Mystery call your business to make sure staff is selling properly
40.7.1. Was the phone picked up or did the call go to voicemail
40.7.2. Phone should be answered by a live person
40.8. Not capturing the contact information of customers
40.8.1. Can't follow up with them if you don't do this
40.9. Not capturing the contact information of POTENTIAL customers
40.9.1. Can't follow up with them to make the sale
40.9.2. Not everyone is ready to buy right away.
40.10. Not Testing Everything
40.10.1. Simple A/B split testing can explode profits
40.10.2. Test prices and offers first
41. New Market Checklist
41.1. Large base of reachable, passionate fans?
41.2. Good margins?
41.3. Repeat business potential?
41.4. Easy up sells and cross sells?
42. The 13 Ultimate Marketing Rules
42.1. Always use an up sell
42.2. Find a hungry market first and fill their need, do not create a product first then look for someone to buy it
42.3. Always be testing and tracking
42.3.1. Deadlines and scarcity work wonders, use them
42.4. Always have a clear, call to action
42.5. Always remember that people are always thinking "What's in it for me?"
42.5.1. Answer that question in your marketing
42.5.2. Put your customers needs above your own
42.6. You must answer the question "Why should I, your prospect, choose to do business with you over any and every other option available to me?"
42.6.1. Your USP should answer this question
42.7. Make IRRESISTIBLE offers
42.8. Build systems so your business can run without you
42.9. Always work on building your list
42.9.1. Your list is your #1 asset in your business