“Charlie, I’ve been getting your articles and just now seen your blog. I want to install one myself, and wonder what program you use? Did you go to www.blogger.com or?”
– Judy Cullins BookCoaching
I used the free blog software available at Blogger.com . I then had my programmer integrate it with my page template and I’ve been using my VA to submit the site to my list of blog directories. – Charlie Cook
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“I’ve been reading your articles for the past year and they’re great. Do you have a marketing system I can use to make a living?” – Bob
To be successful you need two things. You need a specific talent or product that people want and need. You need to know how to market your products and services. Marketing systems by themselves are worthless without your services or products. Similarly you won’t attract clients or make as much money as you want if you don’t know how to market your products and services.
I frequently get requests from people looking for a get rich quick scheme. They want a marketing system that will help them go from the poorhouse to being rich in a few months. Don’t get suckered by this type of thinking. Unless you win the lottery, its not possible.
A. Products and services people want and need – these are the starting point.
B. Knowing how to attract clients – This is the key to leveraging your expertise to make money.
Have a product or service and at least a small list of statisfied customers? If so, then the marketing manuals on this site can help you become more successful. – Charlie Cook
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“Charlie, I already purchased 15 second message and 5 principles and am very satisfied with both. I was looking at the Next Step Networking ebook and noticed that the 15 second book was included. Is there sufficient additional content to make it worth the full cost to me? Thanks for really useful products.” – Bill Benitez
You’re right Creating Opportunity with Next Step Networking includes some of the same content that’s in 15 Second Marketing in addition to the next generation nextworking strategy. If you already purchased “15 Second Marketing” you can send me your order number and I’ll send you a link to upgrade it to the “Creating Opportunity with Next Step Networking” manual for the difference, or just $20. – Charlie Cook
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“Do you have strategies for direct mail for the mortgage industry?” – Jamie Gould
Direct mail isn’t a marketing strategy but rather one marketing tactic that can help you implement your marketing strategy. Do you have a written marketing plan that details your marketing strategy?
When you send out your mailing you want people to open it and read it. You want people to quickly decide they’re interested and you want them to contact you, by the hundreds. Does this happen when you send out mailings? Do you want to improve your response to your mailings?
The first step is to make sure you have a brilliant marketing message, one that gets your prospects’ attention. I’ve detailed how to write your maketing messages in 15 Second Marketing
and in Creating Opportunity with Next Step Networking.
Getting attention is the first step. The next is prompting your prospects to contact you. One of the best ways to do this is to offer a free guide relevant to your products and services that they can’t live without. It might be “10 Secrets of Saving Money on Mortgages.” I’ve detailed this strategy in The 5 Principles of Highly Effective Marketing.
Direct mail can be a great marketing tool and can help you attract many more qualified prospects, if you know how to use it to get attention, position your firm and sell your services.
– Charlie Cook
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Its true that you can find others who regularly offer large discounts on their manuals, especially when business is slow. I don’t do this for a number of reasons.
1. The manuals are worth full price, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Past customers certainly thought so and after they’ve paid full price I doubt they’d be happy to discover the item they paid $129 for is now selling for much less. Each year I update the manuals and rather than discounting them I usually raise the price while providing past customers with free upgrades. Overtime they become worth more not less.
2. You’ll find some marketers offering thousands of dollars of bonuses to motivate people to buy their products, in some cases the manuals they are trying to sell only cost $20-50 dollars. I don”t do this either.
You have to wonder too, if the bonuses are really worth hundreds or thousands of dollars why they are giving them away free. Usually the answer is that no one would pay full price for them. If a product isn’t worth buying on its own merit, its rarely worth buying. My suggestion is approach these offers with caution.
3. You are better off providing and marketing high value products and services. If you have a top notch product or service it should generate results that vastly outweigh the cost. Help prospects understand the value inherent in your products and services and you won’t have to resort to essentially begging people to buy your product by bribing them with additional offers.
– Charlie Cook
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“Do you know if any car dealerships outsource their marketing, promotions, and advertising? I am writing a business plan for my Marketing Management class and have chosen to research if a marketing/Promo agency that targets dealerships would be successful.” – Jared Brandon
Great question. Pick up the phone and call 20 dealerships, ask for the VP responsible for marketing, explain that you are a student doing a research project, promise to share the results with them. Then ask them a couple of questions about outsourcing. Tabulate the results, write your report and send it to everyone you want to impress in the auto industry. You’ll help them and in the process position yourself as an expert. – Charlie Cook
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“What percent of my budget should I spend in advertising and marketing my business?”
John
CallFinalPick
The percent of your budget you spend on marketing will vary depend on a number of variables. If you’ve just started your business, plan on spending 20-30% of your net revenues on marketing. Some new firms spend even more, 50-70% in an effort to build up their customer base. If your revenue target for your first or second year in business is $200,000 you should plan on spending between $40,000 to $60,000 on marketing.
If you’ve been in business for a number of years and already have an existing client base and want to keep growing you’ll need to spend 1-15% of your net revenues on marketing. Let’s say you’ve been in business for ten years and want to earn $300,000 in 2005, depending on your business you should plan on spending from $3,000 to $45,000 dollars on marketing. – Charlie Cook
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2004 was my first full year in business (started 04/2003) and I ended up with a total of $223,000 of commission income for my insurance agency. In 2005 my goal is to double that income through more aggressive marketing, website marketing, my referral reward program and using my autoresponder better.
Tom Larsen
Larsen & Associates Insurance Agency Inc.
To keep a postive focus.
L. VanPopering
My first resolution will be: ‘As part of my six-monthly business plan review to re-define my marketing strategies and set specific marketing targets.
David Moffitt
Managing Director
To build my financial services clientele big enough so that I can do that full time.
Casey Ditmore
To overcome objection, ask for the sale and increase sales for my business.
Nikki Morrile
http://www.iabweb.com/yourchoiceforhealth
Your newsletter hit a particular chord with me as I have been feeling overwhelmed by all there is to do. As you suggested in your article I have chosen one focal point only for the next week or so. This is to run a survey of potential product ideas, so that I can choose a product to develop.
Janice
www.weight-loss-motivation-program.com
More contacts from persons who visit my site.
Paul Hegele
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“What do you think of BNI?” – Coki Cochran
I’ve never been a member of Business Networking International though I’ve seriously considered it. I do know people who are members and generate lots of new leads and business from their involvement. There are lots of online and offline networking groups to choose from. You can review with the Business Networking Guide
on my site.
To take full advantage of BNI and other networking resources take a look at Creating Opportunity with Next Step Networking. – Charlie Cook
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“I have recently bought a golf driving range wich was in a poor state. In six months i have gained many new members and feel that we are going in the right direction by offering special offers at different times of the day or week, but locally there are newer driving ranges in operation. What i am looking for is a new angle on marketing, a fresh idea?” – live Staddon
Offers can be a great way to get first time prospects in the door but you need a long-term strategy for building client loyalty. Think about why people like golf driving ranges, what they are looking for and find a way to give it to them. The age of your facilty isn’t necessariy a negative. Focus instead on creating a unique ambiance, one that will keep golfers coming back. And look for ways for first timers to connect with other people who use your facility to create a strong social bond.
Relationships rule in keeping people coming back and then you can leverage those relationships to get existing customers to bring in new customers. – Charlie Cook
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