The Ultimate Sales & Marketing Mind Map Maximize Profits & Eliminate Waste In Your Advertising

by Przemek Hocke 10/13/2018

The Ultimate Sales & Marketing Mind Map Maximize Profits & Eliminate Waste In Your Advertising

by Przemek Hocke

1. Up Sell

1.1. ALWAYS USE AN UP SELL

1.2. The easiest and fastest way to increase your profits TODAY

1.3. Use at point of purchase, when the customer is in buying mode

1.4. Examples

1.4.1. "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?"

1.4.2. "Would you like to add a 2 liter of Pepsi for just a dollar?"

1.4.3. "Because you bought _____, you can save 20% off ______ right now."

1.4.4. 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.

1.4.4.1. $90 purchase immediately went to $140

1.4.4.2. That's an extra $50 for simply telling me about the up sell

1.4.4.3. I was also offered another up sell, cost would have been $25, but I declined

1.4.4.3.1. But there is a percentage of people who will take that up sell as well

1.4.4.3.2. If I took that, the initial $90 purchase would have went up to $165

1.4.5. If your business has salesman or technicians out in the field, make sure they are using an up sell

1.4.5.1. If the customer declines the up sell, make the salesman/technician have the customer sign that they were asked

1.4.5.2. This will make sure the salesman/technician asks every customer

1.5. Money is being left on the table if up sells are not being used. Period.

2. Cross Sell

2.1. Offer at point of purchase

2.2. Offer after purchase (in follow up e-mails, phone calls, in person)

2.3. Do they know about everything you sell

3. Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

3.1. Why should customers buy from you instead of your competitors or not buy at all?

3.2. Why are you different?

3.2.1. Low price is NOT good enough

3.2.2. Great quality is NOT good enough

3.2.3. Great service is NOT good enough

3.2.4. ANY company can say these things

4. Customer List

4.1. Capture the contact information of customers

4.1.1. At the very least, name and e-mail

4.1.2. Birthdays and hobbies are good details too

4.2. Give compelling reason for them to give their contact information

4.2.1. "Join our newsletter" is NOT compelling

4.3. Ideas To Capture Contact Information

4.3.1. "Free _______ if you join our list"

4.3.2. "Half price off XX"

4.3.3. XX% discount on any product/service

4.3.4. REMEMBER - Give a great incentive in exchange for their contact information

4.3.5. Free reports filled with great content that is relevant to your market

4.4. MOST important part of any business, the customer list!

4.5. Sell to the top 20% of customers more often

4.6. Consider firing bottom 10-20% of customers

4.7. Can sell to them without having to pay big money to run an ad

4.7.1. Contact at least 12 times a year. Minimum

4.7.1.1. Monthly Newsletter

4.7.2. Build relationships with them

4.8. Carry out regular research: ask them what they want, ask them what needs improvement, ask them anything - reward people for answers

4.8.1. Phone calls

4.8.2. Emails

4.8.3. Questionnaires

5. Website

5.1. Important contact information on every page

5.1.1. Don't make visitors search for contact info

5.2. Important information above the fold

5.2.1. Above The Fold = The part of the page people see without having to scroll down

5.3. Opt In Box

5.3.1. Drop down - Pop In

5.3.1.1. Box appears on screen seconds after the visitor lands on your site

5.3.2. Right side

5.3.2.1. Box appears on the right side of the page at all times

5.4. Headline

5.5. Irresistible Offer

5.6. Clear call to action

5.7. Unique Selling Proposition (USP) clearly stated

5.8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

5.8.1. The purpose of search engine optimization is to make a website as search engine friendly as possible.

5.8.2. Keywords in title tag

5.8.3. Keywords in URL

5.8.4. Meta Description

5.8.4.1. Brief summary of the site

5.8.5. H1 tags

5.9. Up Sell

5.9.1. Placement

5.9.1.1. Between sales page and checkout page

5.9.1.2. After checkout

5.9.1.2.1. One click up sell

5.9.2. On "Thank You" page and/or in thank you e-mail

5.9.3. One Time Offer

5.9.3.1. Let the buyer know this offer will never be available again

5.9.3.2. Don't be surprised if at least 30% of people also buy the OTO

5.9.4. Test to find where the best placement is for your up sell

5.10. Include As Many Of These Components As You Can

5.10.1. Scarcity

5.10.2. Testimonials

5.10.2.1. Audio

5.10.2.2. Video

5.10.2.2.1. Best kind

5.10.2.3. Text

5.10.3. Videos

5.10.3.1. Submit to video sharing sites as well

5.10.4. Blog

5.10.5. Business listed in online directories

5.10.6. Proper Logo's - PayPal, Google, BBB, Credit Cards, etc.

5.10.7. Visible, great guarantee

5.10.8. Exit pop up box

5.10.8.1. One last effort to grab their contact info

5.11. Tracking

5.11.1. Install Google Analytics (it's free) to track website traffic

5.12. Mobile Ready

5.12.1. Consider making your website mobile phone friendly

5.12.2. The amount of people using their phones to search online is increasing every single day

5.13. Online Directories

5.13.1. Submit your clients website to online directories

5.13.1.1. Google

5.13.1.2. Bing

5.13.1.3. Yahoo

5.13.1.4. MSN

5.13.1.5. Yelp

5.13.2. Consider using this service - https://www.ubl.org

5.14. Checkout

5.14.1. Test putting checkout at bottom of the page instead of making visitors click "buy" or "add to cart"

5.15. Traffic

5.15.1. See "Online Traffic Generation"

5.15.2. Offline Traffic To Website

5.15.2.1. URL on printed materials

5.15.2.1.1. Brochures

5.15.2.1.2. Receipts

5.15.2.1.3. Ads

5.15.2.1.4. Direct Mail

5.15.2.1.5. Press Releases

5.15.2.1.6. Events

6. Clear Call To Action

6.1. Put a CTA on and in everything, and include it in conversations

6.2. Never expect the customer to know what you want them to do

6.2.1. Test your instructions on a wide range of people (age, skills, interests)

6.2.2. You must clearly tell them what they are to do next

6.3. Talk about what happens if they DON'T buy

7. Customer "Touches"

7.1. Communicate with your customer list at least 12 times a year. Minimum!

7.1.1. No reason you can't make contact at least once per month

7.2. Ideas To Contact List

7.2.1. Holiday Promotions

7.2.1.1. Christmas

7.2.1.2. Thanksgiving

7.2.1.3. St. Patrick's Day

7.2.1.4. New Year's Day

7.2.1.5. Easter

7.2.1.6. Mothers' Day

7.2.1.7. Fathers' Day

7.2.1.8. Labor Day

7.2.1.9. Memorial Day

7.2.1.10. 4th of July

7.2.1.11. Halloween

7.2.2. Birthdays

7.2.3. Anniversaries

7.2.4. New product or service

7.2.5. Overstock items

7.3. Send out a monthly newsletter

7.4. Keep in regular contact via e-mail

7.4.1. Very cheap solution

7.4.2. Open rates may be low, so consider an offline newsletter instead.

7.4.2.1. Test to see which gives the greatest ROI

7.5. Opinion Polls & Surveys

7.6. Offer them something to buy

7.6.1. Do not just pitch them non stop, but do give them an irresistible offer from time to time

8. Selling To Past Customers

8.1. New customers are 5 times more expensive to sell to than a past customer

8.2. Don't chase new customers when old customers are being neglected

8.3. Craft a 30, 60 or 90-day “New Customer Experience” designed to quickly generate a secondary sale while strengthening the new relationship.

8.4. Be willing to spend AT LEAST as much to KEEP a customer as you're willing to pay to get a new customer.

8.5. This is where "hidden money" is found in your business

8.6. Communicate with them at least 12 times a year. Minimum!

8.7. Past Client Re-Activation Letter

8.7.1. Send a letter to "dead customers"

8.7.1.1. Someone who hasn't purchased in the past 6-18 months

8.7.2. Make an irresistible offer to encourage them to buy again

8.7.3. A 30% response rate is not uncommon

8.7.3.1. HUGE leaps in income can be seen just from using this one strategy every few months

8.8. 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

8.9. Make more offers to them more often

8.10. Sell renewable products or services

8.11. Learn more about each customer and tailor offers to match

8.12. Reward frequent purchasers

9. Systems

9.1. Take whatever is working and systematize it

9.1.1. Write each and every step down

9.1.2. Make sure every employee follows your systems

9.1.3. Test each step to improve it

9.1.3.1. Test ONE step at a time

9.2. Build a machine that can run without you

10. Irresistible Offer

10.1. #1 Marketing Strategy - Build Everything Around It

10.2. Always give an irresistible offer on everything (website, direct mail, up sell, in person, etc)

10.3. Put an irresistible offer on receipts (**Go to www.YourSite.com to sign up and receive 20% off your next purchase)

10.4. "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" usually out pulls "2 for the price of 1"

10.4.1. Same thing but the first one sounds better

10.5. "Gift with purchase" works well

10.6. Make what you're selling "free"

10.6.1. Example - New energy efficient windows will pay for themselves after a few years

11. Test and Identify

11.1. What's working NOW

11.1.1. Do more of it!

11.2. What's Not Working Now

11.2.1. Re-asses and re-vamp

11.2.2. Or STOP doing it asap!

12. Direct Mail

12.1. Create and test each component

12.1.1. Message, Market, Media Match

12.1.1.1. Send the right message, to the right person, using the right media

12.1.2. Headline

12.1.2.1. Does it pass the "stand alone test"

12.1.2.1.1. If you ran just the headline and a phone # as a classified ad, is it enticing enough to get calls?

12.1.3. Benefits

12.1.4. Overcome objections

12.1.5. Testimonials

12.1.6. Compelling Offer

12.1.7. Clear call to action

12.1.8. Scarcity

12.1.9. Deadline

12.1.10. Free Recorded Message

12.1.11. P.S.

12.1.11.1. Second most read part of a letter (headline is first)

12.1.12. Lumpy mail vs flat mail vs postcards

12.1.13. No copy on outside of envelope vs. putting copy on outside

12.2. Test Small First

12.2.1. No sense in mailing to a HUGE list only to find out it bombs

12.2.2. Test small first so you don't waste as much money

12.3. Must grab attention

12.3.1. Without grabbing your prospects attention nothing else matters because they won't see/read anything else

12.4. Send out mail to qualified lists

12.4.1. One step process

12.4.1.1. Attempting to get the sale on first contact

12.4.2. Multi-step process

12.4.2.1. Asking the prospect to "raise their hand" first

12.4.2.1.1. This is done by offering a free report, free recorded message, etc.

12.4.2.1.2. Great way to qualify prospects and weed out tire kickers

12.4.3. Dunning Method

12.4.3.1. Send a series letters

12.4.3.2. First letter

12.4.3.3. "2nd Notice" letter that refers to the first letter

12.4.3.4. "Final Notice" letter that refers to the first two letters sent

12.5. Return On Investment (ROI) is the most important number

12.5.1. If your profits are more than your print and mailing costs, KEEP mailing

12.6. Don't focus too much on response rates

12.6.1. Business owners have gone broke on a 10% response rate while others have become rich with a .05% response rate

12.6.2. ROI is the only thing that matters

12.7. Always use first class postage

12.7.1. Nothing screams "junk" faster than bulk mail

12.8. Always focus on the reader and not your company. People are always wondering "what's in it for me?"

12.9. Envelope

12.9.1. Teaser copy on outside

12.9.1.1. If you go this route, you mine as well use the entire envelope for copy

12.9.1.2. Put testimonials on the back

12.9.2. No Teaser Copy

12.9.2.1. Looks more personal

12.9.2.2. Use an invitation size envelope

12.9.2.3. Use first class stamp

12.9.2.3.1. If you don't, it will scream "ad" so you won't sneak in under the radar

12.10. Lumpy Mail

12.10.1. Great way to get attention and get your envelope opened

12.10.2. You include something that adds bulk to the envelope thus creating curiosity

12.10.3. Remember - You Always Want To Tie In Your Lumpy Piece To Your Sales Letter

12.10.4. Great source to buy "lumpy" items is OrientalTrading.com

12.10.5. Lumpy Mail Ideas - Tie In

12.10.5.1. Bag of peanuts - "Are you nuts?"

12.10.5.2. Rubiks Cube - "Can you solve the puzzle?"

12.10.5.3. Sand Timer - "Time is running out!"

12.10.5.4. Shoe - "Now that I have my foot in the door"

12.10.5.5. Fake Gold Coins - "treasure to be found in your business"

12.10.5.6. Magnifying Glass - "No fine print"

13. Packaging - Bundling

13.1. Good way to increase transaction size

13.2. Offer bargains

13.2.1. Buy 10 oil changes and get 1 FREE

13.2.2. Buy one Get one FREE

13.2.3. Pay up front for 10 months, get two months FREE

13.3. Offer bulk discounts

14. Continuity

14.1. Work out and implement a way to get people to automatically pay $XX every month for your product or service

14.1.1. Customers credit card automatically gets charged every month until they cancel

14.2. Examples

14.2.1. ProActiv Solution (acne product)

14.2.2. Weight Loss Pills

14.2.3. 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

14.3. Forced Continuity

14.3.1. 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

14.3.2. Good way to get recurring income

14.3.3. Make sure you are honest and up front about the continued billing, misleading people will only lead to big legal issues

15. Membership

15.1. Increases Retention

15.1.1. Think credit cards with "rewards programs"

15.2. VIP Club

15.2.1. After Hours Private Sale

15.2.2. Airlines "Frequent Flyer" Miles

15.3. People will visit a restaurant more often if they are a member

15.4. People will pay more to be a part of something

15.4.1. Country Club

15.5. Monthly Newsletters

15.6. Book Of The Month Club

15.7. Online Membership Sites

15.8. Coaching Groups

16. Takeaway Selling

16.1. People want what they can't have

16.1.1. The more they can't have it the more they want it

16.1.2. This is why scarcity works so well

16.2. Indifference

16.2.1. The more you act like you don't want their money, the more they'll try and give it to you

16.2.2. The more you act like you don't want their business, the more they'll try and give it to you

16.3. You must learn to speak using takeaway selling terms

16.3.1. "If you qualify"

16.3.2. "This may be too expensive for you"

16.3.3. "I'm not even sure this is right for you"

16.3.4. "If you still want to go ahead with this"

17. Influence and Persuasion

17.1. 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.

17.1.1. So ask yourself “What is my prospects problem” and “How can I describe it to them”?

17.2. Enter the conversation already going on in the persons mind.

17.3. People Buy Feelings

17.3.1. Remember, people buy based on emotion and justify it with logic

17.3.2. Give people emotionally reasons (benefits) to buy and logical reasons (features) to justify their purchase

18. Profit Leaks

18.1. Not Using An Up Sell

18.1.1. Biggest mistake you could make

18.1.2. Luckily, it's the easiest to fix

18.2. Not Selling To Past Customers

18.2.1. Easiest sale to make

18.3. Not optimizing what's already working

18.4. Not stopping what ISN'T working

18.5. Not Giving Irresistible Offers

18.5.1. Make your offer to good to pass up

18.5.2. Put offers on receipts

18.6. Not Having a Clear Call To Action

18.6.1. People need to be told exactly what to do

18.7. Mystery call your business to make sure staff is selling properly

18.7.1. Was the phone picked up or did the call go to voicemail

18.7.2. Phone should be answered by a live person

18.8. Not capturing the contact information of customers

18.8.1. Can't follow up with them if you don't do this

18.9. Not capturing the contact information of POTENTIAL customers

18.9.1. Can't follow up with them to make the sale

18.9.2. Not everyone is ready to buy right away.

18.10. Not Testing Everything

18.10.1. Simple A/B split testing can explode profits

18.10.2. Test prices and offers first

19. New Market Checklist

19.1. Large base of reachable, passionate fans?

19.2. Good margins?

19.3. Repeat business potential?

19.4. Easy up sells and cross sells?

20. The 13 Ultimate Marketing Rules

20.1. Always use an up sell

20.2. Find a hungry market first and fill their need, do not create a product first then look for someone to buy it

20.3. Always be testing and tracking

20.4. Always have a clear, call to action

20.5. Deadlines and scarcity work wonders, use them

20.6. Always remember that people are always thinking "What's in it for me?"

20.6.1. Answer that question in your marketing

20.6.2. Put your customers needs above your own

20.7. 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?"

20.7.1. Your USP should answer this question

20.8. Make IRRESISTIBLE offers

20.9. Build systems so your business can run without you

20.10. Always work on building your list

20.10.1. Your list is your #1 asset in your business

20.11. Always provide value

20.12. Stay away from image advertising and only use direct response advertising

20.13. Don't forget the 80/20 in every aspect of your business...and life

21. Online Traffic Generation

21.1. Pay Per Click (PPC)

21.1.1. Google AdWords

21.1.2. Yahoo

21.1.3. Bing

21.1.4. Facebook Ads

21.2. Forum Posting

21.2.1. Good way to establish credibility

21.2.2. Big-Boards.com

21.2.2.1. Search for forums by topics

21.2.3. Put a link to your site in your signature

21.3. Blog Commenting

21.3.1. Commenting on blogs and including an anchor text link back to your site

21.3.1.1. Do NOT spam, add value with your posts

21.3.2. BlogCarnival

21.3.3. Technorati

21.3.4. WordPress

21.3.5. Create Your Own Blog

21.3.5.1. WordPress

21.4. Article Marketing

21.4.1. Write articles on topics in your market

21.4.2. Submit to article directories

21.4.2.1. EzineArticles.com

21.4.2.2. Buzzle.com

21.4.2.3. ArticlesBase.com

21.4.2.4. GoArticles.com

21.4.2.5. iSnare.com

21.4.2.6. SearchWarp.com

21.4.2.7. ArticleCity.com

21.5. Social Networks

21.5.1. Facebook

21.5.2. MySpace

21.5.3. LinkedIn

21.5.4. Twitter

21.6. Directory Listings

21.6.1. Google Local

21.6.2. Yahoo Local

21.6.3. Bing Local

21.6.4. InfoUSA

21.6.5. OpenList

21.6.6. Best of The Web Local

21.6.7. City Search

21.6.8. Kudzu

21.6.9. YellowPages

21.6.10. SuperPages

21.6.11. DMOZ

21.6.12. Yelp

21.6.13. Craigslist

21.7. Social Bookmarking

21.7.1. Google Bookmarks

21.7.2. Yahoo Bookmarks

21.7.3. Digg

21.7.4. Delicious

21.7.5. StumbleUpon

21.7.6. reddit

21.7.7. Searchles

21.8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

21.8.1. Tools

21.8.1.1. Keyword Research Tools

21.8.1.1.1. Google Adwords Tool

21.8.1.1.2. Google Suggest Tool

21.8.1.1.3. Keyword Discovery

21.8.1.1.4. Wordtracker

21.8.1.2. Search Engine Optimization

21.8.1.2.1. Tools.SEOBook.com

21.8.1.2.2. Firefox Extensions

21.8.2. On Page Optimization

21.8.2.1. Keywords

21.8.2.1.1. Page Title

21.8.2.1.2. Meta Description

21.8.2.1.3. Meta Keywords

21.8.2.1.4. Domain Name

21.8.2.1.5. H1, H2, H3, etc.

21.8.2.1.6. Throughout Copy

21.8.2.1.7. Bold and Italic text

21.8.2.1.8. Image alt text

21.8.2.1.9. Internal links anchor text

21.8.3. Off Page Optimization

21.8.3.1. Incoming Links

21.8.3.1.1. From high PR sites

21.8.3.1.2. .edu and .gov are best

21.8.3.2. Anchor text optimization

21.9. Solo Ads

21.9.1. Your ad gets emailed to a list of subscribers

21.9.2. You usually just pay a flat fee for the ad

21.10. Banner Ads

21.10.1. Cost per click (CPC)

21.10.2. Cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM)

21.11. Traffic Exchanges

21.11.1. EasyHits4U

21.11.2. Traffic-Splash

21.12. Video Marketing

21.12.1. YouTube

21.12.2. Google Video

21.12.3. TubeMogul

21.12.3.1. Use this to automatically submit your videos to a dozen or so video sites

21.12.4. Video Tips

21.12.4.1. Watermark your videos with your URL

21.12.4.2. Have your URL at the bottom (or wherever) during the entire video

21.12.4.3. Have a clear, call to action at the end of EVERY video

21.12.4.4. Lighting can make or break your video

21.12.4.5. Poor audio can make or break your video as well

21.13. Squidoo

21.14. Teleseminars

21.14.1. GoToMeeting.com

21.14.2. InstantTeleseminar.com

21.15. Webinars

21.15.1. GoToWebinar

21.16. Joint Ventures

21.16.1. They promote your product to their list in exchange for a percentage of sales

21.16.1.1. Should give at least 50%

21.16.1.2. The more you give the more interested others will be in promoting your products

21.16.2. Fastest way to build your list

21.16.3. Make it as easy as possible for JV partners

21.16.3.1. The last thing they want to do is more work

21.16.4. Work on building the relationship with JV partners

21.16.4.1. Make their job as easy as possible

21.16.4.2. Help them in any way that you can

21.16.4.3. Be friendly

21.16.4.4. PAY THEM ON TIME

21.16.4.5. The higher the percentage the better

21.17. Free Reports

21.17.1. Give away CONTENT FILLED reports as a way to get noticed and build your list

21.17.2. Have a link to your site in the footer of every page

21.17.3. Link (and short blurb) to your site in the beginning of the report

21.17.4. Link and a clear, call to action at the end of the report

22. Testing and Tracking

22.1. ALWAYS be testing and tracking everything

22.1.1. This means all components, even little ones

22.2. What gets tested and tracked gets improved

22.3. Always looks for faster, cheaper, and easier ways to do something

22.3.1. When you deposit the checks the bank won't give you more money if you earned it the longer, harder, and most expensive way

22.4. Always remember that "small changes equals big profits"

23. Testimonials

23.1. Social Proof - What others say about you is far more important than if you said the same thing

23.2. If you don't already have testimonials, get them now

23.2.1. Types of Testimonials

23.2.1.1. Audio

23.2.1.2. Video

23.2.1.3. Written Letter

23.3. Get permission from your customers to use their testimonials in your marketing

23.4. If your business has your customers waiting (doctors, dentists, etc.), have a binder in the waiting room that is full of your testimonials

24. Stick Strategies

24.1. Items That Are Packaged

24.1.1. 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.

24.2. Follow up with buyer soon after they have purchased

24.2.1. Follow up via e-mail to see if they have any questions or need help

24.2.2. Follow up with a letter to see if they have any questions, need help and to reinforce the benefits

24.2.3. Follow up with a personal phone call to see if they have any questions, need help and to reinforce the benefits

24.2.4. Use this as another opportunity to sell them something else (up sell)

24.2.4.1. Make an irresistible offer with a deadline

24.2.5. Use as an opportunity to ask for referrals

24.3. Newsletter

24.3.1. Keeps you "front of mind" for when customers need the type of product or service you sell in the future

24.3.2. Offers a chance to give value and build a relationship with your customers

24.3.3. Another opportunity to sell your products or services

24.3.4. Monthly newsletters are best

24.3.4.1. Quarterly or longer don't work as well

24.3.5. Best to send an offline newsletter, as in an actually newsletter you mail

24.3.5.1. Email can work but they aren't as effective.

24.3.5.2. Although, feel free to test email vs offline to see which is better

24.3.6. Can also do a paid newsletter

24.3.6.1. You must provide value with this option though for obvious reasons

24.3.6.2. Great way to get recurring monthly revenue

25. Referrals

25.1. Ask for them at point of sale

25.1.1. Ask for them at other times as well

25.1.1.1. When following up with customers

25.1.1.2. Anytime a customer says how great of a job you are doing

25.2. Give incentives to encourage people to give you referrals

25.3. Just getting a small percentage of your clients/customers to give you a referral will dramatically increase your profits

25.3.1. Another reason why you NEED to know the lifetime value of each client/customer

26. Guarantee

26.1. What is your guarantee

26.2. Your guarantee may make a good USP

26.3. If you are selling something you cannot strongly and fairly guarantee, you ought to find something better to sell

27. Advertising

27.1. Test small first

27.1.1. Always test and track

27.1.2. If it makes you money, keep running the ad!

27.2. Headline

27.2.1. Make it attention getting

27.2.2. Benefit filled

27.3. Free Recorded Message

27.3.1. Works well with printed ads

27.4. Use Testimonials

27.5. Irresistible Offer

27.6. Clear Call To Action

27.7. Deadline

27.8. Scarcity

27.9. Contact Information

27.10. Web Address

27.10.1. Better for those who prefer a website to a recorded phone message

27.11. Capture Prospects Contact Information

27.11.1. Your ad should offer a way to capture the name and e-mail of potential buyers

27.11.1.1. Offer a free report

27.11.1.2. Free gift

27.11.1.3. Anything you can think of to offer in exchange for their name and e-mail

27.11.2. Less Info Required = More leads

27.11.3. More Info Required = Less leads but higher quality

27.12. Return On Investment (ROI) is the most important number

27.12.1. If you bring in more money than it cost to run the ad, KEEP running the ad!

27.12.2. Even if you break even, you should keep running the ad

27.12.2.1. Gives you more customers to sell to on the back end

28. Free Recorded Message

28.1. Use as a tool to give out more information

28.1.1. This is a good way for people to listen to testimonials

28.1.2. It's also a chance to answer FAQs

28.2. Get More Information

28.3. Create special offers with a call to action (CTA)

29. Joint Ventures

29.1. Identity, approach and team up with other non competing, yet complementary, businesses and sell THEIR products or services to your list as special offers

29.1.1. Your customers feel grateful to you

29.2. Identity, approach and team up with other non competing, yet complementary, businesses and sell YOUR products or services to their list as special offers

29.2.1. You increase your customer list this way

29.3. Tracking is important

29.3.1. 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

30. Lead Generation

30.1. Always test and track

30.2. Always work on increasing conversion

30.3. What is something you can do today to get business that you didn't do yesterday?

30.4. Ways To Generate Leads

30.4.1. Direct Mail

30.4.1.1. Postcards

30.4.1.2. Sales Letter

30.4.1.3. Lumpy Mail

30.4.1.4. Free Standing Insert (FSI)

30.4.2. Telemarketing

30.4.2.1. Not recommended (bad positioning), but can work

30.4.3. Website

30.4.3.1. Give away free reports in exchange for contact info

30.4.4. YouTube Videos

30.4.4.1. Driving traffic back to your website

30.4.5. Cold Calling

30.4.5.1. Not recommended, very bad positioning, but can work

30.4.6. Print Ads

30.4.6.1. Magazines

30.4.6.2. Newspapers

30.4.7. Press Release

30.4.8. Write A Book

30.4.8.1. GREAT for positioning and becoming an authority figure

30.4.8.2. A book is mainly a positioning tool, don't expect to become wealthy from the sales of the book

30.4.9. Television

30.4.10. Radio

30.4.11. Val Pak

30.4.11.1. High open rate

30.4.11.2. Mostly looked at by females

30.4.11.2.1. Take this into consideration when crafting your message

30.4.12. Teleseminars

30.4.13. Webinars

30.4.14. Speaking

30.4.15. Workshops

30.5. Does a live person answer the phone

30.5.1. If not, why not?

30.5.2. Live person will increase conversion

30.6. Deal Flow

30.6.1. Always work on lead generation, even when you don't need to

30.6.1.1. Better to have too much than too little

30.6.2. Dig the well before you thirst

31. Raise Prices

31.1. Instant way to increase profits

31.1.1. Margins stay the same, so any extra increase in price is pure profit

31.2. Increase Perceived Value

31.2.1. If people don't want to pay, it's because you're not delivering enough value for the money you're charging

31.2.2. Value = Quality + Service + Price

31.3. Only a about 10%-15% of people really buy based on lowest price

31.3.1. People only buy on price when there is nothing else to compare

31.4. A common misconception is that raising prices will make people buy less, this just isn't true

31.4.1. People will find the money for whatever it is they want to buy REGARDLESS of price.

31.5. There is a market at ANY price point

31.6. Some people ONLY buy the most expensive products

31.6.1. Expensive = Quality

31.7. Offer Basic and Deluxe versions

31.7.1. At least 20% of people will ALWAYS select the higher priced version

31.7.2. Also moves the prospect from yes/no to "which do I want" thinking

31.8. There is NO downside to raising prices

31.9. People will pay more money for a specialized product rather than a non specialized product

31.10. People comply more when they are paying more

31.10.1. More skin in the game

31.11. Gives you greater flexibility in your marketing

31.11.1. Margins are now higher so you can afford to spend more on acquiring new customers

31.11.2. Most business owners want to spend LESS on acquiring new customers

31.11.2.1. But the fact is, the person who can afford to spend the MOST on acquiring new clients/customers will ALWAYS win

31.11.2.2. Because acquiring a new client/customer is the MOST expensive client/customer there is.

32. 80/20 Principle

32.1. Sell more to the top 20% of your customers

32.2. Sell more to the top 5% of your customers

32.3. Fire the bottom 10-20% of your customers

32.4. Stock and sell more of the top 20% of products

32.5. Look after and reward the top 20% of sales staff

32.6. Every time you add an 80/20 layer you increase your profit margins 10-50%

32.7. Do MORE of what's working

32.8. STOP what isn't working

32.9. 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?"

32.9.1. Answer = NO

32.9.1.1. Stop doing it!

32.9.2. Answer = YES

32.9.2.1. Keep doing it

32.10. Testing and Tracking

32.10.1. Always look for faster, easier, and cheaper ways to do things

33. Time Management

33.1. “There is no shortage of time, only a confusion of priorities.“

33.2. Start your day with intention instead of reacting to things around you

33.2.1. Other peoples emergencies are not your problem

33.3. Do NOT check your e-mail as your first task

33.3.1. Train employees in this habit too

33.3.2. Have specific times to read and answer emails. Stick to these times, and also let clients know you do this

33.4. Create and USE systems for everything

33.4.1. Train staff to use them properly and effectively

33.4.2. Review these systems periodically

33.5. Create weekly and daily To Do lists of important, value creating things, and get them done!

33.6. Have a FAQ section on your website

33.7. Always use deadlines

33.8. 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

33.9. Spend more time working ON your business instead of working IN your business

33.9.1. Set aside time every day/week to work on the things that are the most important in helping your business

33.10. Intent vs Reacting

33.10.1. Start your day with a purpose

33.10.2. Most people are always reacting to things

33.10.2.1. Their days are influenced by what's happening around them

33.11. 80/20 Principle

33.11.1. Analyze work patterns

33.11.2. Analyze profits and losses

33.11.3. Analyze client spend

33.11.4. Apply it to EVERYTHING

34. Lifetime Value Of Customer (LTV)

34.1. Tells you how much you can spend to get a new customer/client

34.2. One of the MOST IMPORTANT numbers in your business!

34.3. Know this number, and understand how you got it

35. Proper Positioning

35.1. Proper positioning is crucial if you want others to play by your rules and if you want to command higher prices

35.2. Write A Book

35.2.1. Becoming an author is one of the best ways to properly position yourself

35.2.2. You can hire a ghostwriter to write it for you

35.3. Doing what everyone else is doing will NOT position you properly

36. Niche

36.1. Consider specializing in one area of your industry, in one product, or one service

36.1.1. A brain surgeon does nothing but brain surgery. You wouldn't find him treating a broken bone, the flu, a pulled muscle, etc.

36.2. People pay more money for a specialized product or service

36.3. 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

36.3.1. The "big fish, small pond" approach is best for anybody operating with limited resources and/or budget

37. Follow Up

37.1. You can only follow up with customers/clients if you've captured their contact information

37.2. Follow up after purchases, contact from clients (good or bad), a year later, etc

37.3. Great time to OFFER customers/clients something else to buy

37.4. Great time to ask for referrals

38. Message, Market, Media

38.1. You must send the right message, to the right market, using the right media

38.2. Market is the most important of the 3

38.2.1. Mediocre marketing aimed at a very well selected target market will get better results than great marketing aimed at the wrong market

38.3. Create a very detailed profile of your typical customer

38.3.1. "Everyone" is NOT your market

38.3.2. When you identify your market you can speak directly to them

38.4. A lot of money is wasted on not getting these 3 things correct

38.4.1. 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

39. Know Your Market

39.1. What are your customer's choices?

39.2. What are they already being offered?

39.3. What problems are they facing?

39.4. What benefits are they being told they'll get?

39.5. How are they being sold?

39.6. Is there a gap in the market?

40. Buying Motivators

40.1. People buy to either avoid pain or gain pleasure

40.1.1. For most people, avoiding pain is a greater motivator than gaining pleasure

40.1.2. People buy when the pain of the problem is greater than the cost of the solution.

40.2. People buy based on emotion then justify it with logic

40.2.1. Sell to their emotions but give them reasons to justify their purchase later on

40.3. People buy what they WANT

40.3.1. Ironically, selling something they need is often times difficult

40.3.2. This is why you see satellite dishes and flat screen TV's in trailer parks

40.3.3. Sell things people REALLY want, not what YOU think they SHOULD want

40.4. People buy the results they get from your product or service, not the actual product or service itself

40.4.1. You don't buy gas because you like gas. You buy it because you want to drive somewhere

40.4.2. Don't focus on what your product or service is, focus on what it DOES

40.4.3. 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