Have you been watching TV or reading the newspapers? The bad economy makes great headlines, and they’re full of it. You can’t miss hearing or reading about how terrible it is for business. But if that’s all the news you’re getting, you are missing the good news.

The good news about this economy is plentiful. It just doesn’t make great headlines on TV.

It’s true: Many businesses will struggle or even fail during this downturn… but at least ten percent will prosper. That’s right: At least one out of ten businesses will see their profits grow!

Want to be one of those ten that attract more clients and profits? Find out how >>

Every week, I talk to entrepreneurs and businesses that, despite all the bad news in the press, are holding steady or even growing in this economy. And, they all have one thing in common: Their efforts are clearly focused on 3 simple ideas I’ll share with you below.

For most business owners, it’s not a lack of ideas that is the problem. It’s knowing which ones to use. So today I’m going to give you the keys to the kingdom: the three key ideas to use whether you’re thinking of starting a business or have been in business for decades.

These are the three most important ideas I’ve ever shared, and I recommend you read them and then tape them to your forehead, or rather to your computer monitor, and use them to focus your efforts, so you maximize your sales and profits this year and for the rest of your business career.

The 3 Keys to Ultimate Business Success

1. Needs
Whether you sell sunglasses, hearing aids, sports training, legal services, or financial advice, the place to focus is on your prospects’ needs. I know one entrepreneur who thought that the sunglasses parents were buying for their young children were a joke. So she came up with a line of quality unbreakable sunglasses for young kids, and her business is growing like wild.

Every product or service you create and market should be designed to meet an apparent or perceived need of your target market. No need, no sales. High perceived need, high sales.

The same is true of your marketing. It should be focused on your prospects’ needs. Focus your marketing on yourself, and you’ll struggle forever. Focus on what they want, and you’ll get their attention and their business.

Discover how to transform needs into profits >>

2. Relationships
Your biggest competitive advantage isn’t the quality of your products or services; it’s the number and strength of the relationships you have with prospects and clients. It’s the amount of confidence you command. So, where should your marketing be focused?

Focus 80-90% of your marketing efforts on relationship-building activities.

Typically, most marketing is aimed at getting the sale, not at building relationships or confidence. Big mistake! People need to first know you and trust you before they’ll buy from you. They need to be sure you’re the best company to buy from, and your product or service does what you say it does. Where confidence flows, money follows.

How do you gain someone’s confidence so he or she will buy from you? You help them get to know you through repeated contacts and demonstration of your expertise.

Find out how to build relationships for business success >>

3. Profits
Most entrepreneurs and business owners’ attention is squarely focused on increasing sales when instead they should be focused on profits. This can be a fatal mistake, skewing your marketing efforts and distracting you from what you should be paying attention to.

In the past few years, Washington Mutual had amazing success increasing the sales of mortgages. And as you know now, they lost money on each of these and, ultimately, caused the bank to fold.

Whether you are testing a headline, an ad, a sales letter, a website, an upsell strategy, or a followup strategy, the question you should be focused on is, “What will help us maximize our profits?” Yes, you could send out ten thousand postcards and get a few more sales, but if your response is low, your marketing costs are going to decimate your profits.

The solution to making more is to continually test and improve everything you do to market your business, so that each month, you’re generating more leads, more sales and yes – more profits.

Want to maximize your revenue? Discover how >>

That’s it! Needs, Relationships, and Profits.

Tape those 3 words to your wall, and if every day you ask yourself the following five questions, then you’ll be headed in the right direction.

–  What are the needs of my prospects (perceived or real)?
–  How can I do a better job of fulfilling those needs?
–  What am I doing to start more relationships with prospects?
–  What weekly and monthly activities am I doing to strengthen relationships with prospects and clients?
–  What elements of my marketing am I testing and what would work better to increase profits?

Interested in finding out how easy it is to increase your profits? Apply here >>

– Charlie
Small Business Marketing Success in Any Economy