One of the smartest people that I know is a doctor who retired just last month. He and his wife, both very experienced sailors, had made plans to spend several weeks cruising the coast of Maine. In preparation, the doctor did a lot of work this spring on their 36-foot sailboat, including taking off and refurbishing the propeller and then putting it back on.<\/p>\n
When they launched the boat and started to back it off the trailer, though, the doctor discovered he\u2019d made a major mistake (Marketing Tip<\/a>: don’t make this mistake). When he shifted the motor into reverse, the engine pushed the boat forward and when he shifted it into forward, the boat went backwards.<\/p>\n He quickly arranged to have the sailboat hauled to the local boat yard and made a point of being there when the repair was made. He wanted the mechanic to show him exactly what he\u2019d done wrong when he reinstalled the propeller.<\/p>\n He wanted to learn how to avoid making the same mistake the next time around, get the boat moving forward when he shifted it into forward gear, and get the cruise underway.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s what winners do.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t hide or ignore mistakes or missteps. They acknowledge them, even celebrate what they learned from the situation, and move on.<\/p>\n Anyone can use this simple, no-cost marketing tip<\/a> to continually get smarter and make more money.<\/p>\n Over the last few decades I\u2019ve seen hundreds of people double or triple their profits within months, and I\u2019ve seen a handful never get where they want to go.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve seen the same thing. Two smart people from the same school end up in two very different places. One as the CEO pulling in a huge salary with generous stock options, the other struggling to make ends meet.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the single most important difference between winners and losers? It\u2019s not just that they make more marketing mistakes.<\/p>\n Winners are quicker to learn and adjust their course to reach their goals! The difference is\u2026<\/p>\n Marketing Tip: The Speed of Course Correction<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Imagine you are in a canoe race where the objective is to paddle across a lake to the finish line on the far side. You and your fellow competitors all have the same strength, paddling experience and start at the same time.<\/p>\n You\u2019re headed for the finish line and paddling hard when a breeze picks up and begins to push all the canoes sideways. Can you predict who will win<\/a> the race?<\/p>\n The winners will be the team that notices the change in the conditions and adjusts their course the quickest. They\u2019ll win by being the fastest to make the adjustments that will give the shortest possible route to their destination<\/a>.<\/p>\n Everyone wants a straight path to success, but obstacles get in the way; competitors, recessions, marketing that doesn\u2019t get a response, the shifting interests of your clients; the list is endless if you see it that way.<\/p>\n The business people who end up on top are quick to acknowledge that things are off course. They continually make the changes necessary to reach their goals.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the fastest way for you to stay in the winners\u2019 lane<\/a>?<\/p>\n Marketing Tip #1. Learn to Love Mistakes<\/strong> I could have thrown up my hands and decided that the Internet was a total waste of time. Instead I chose to get the most I could out of my $35,000 blooper.<\/p>\n I took it as a challenge to discover which mistakes I\u2019d made and what to do differently the next time around. I sold my second website a year later for just under a million dollars.<\/p>\n I made a big mistake, learned all I could from it, and turned that knowledge into a big success. You can do the same.<\/p>\n Marketing Tip #2. Acknowledge Mistakes Right Away<\/strong> If you\u2019re not getting the results you want from your marketing, admit that your current strategy needs to be adjusted, if not totally replaced. Let go of the strategies and tactics that aren\u2019t working and make room for new, more effective ones.<\/p>\n My doctor friend who put his propeller on backwards could have just kept the problem a secret and lived with it for the summer, remembering to put the boat in reverse when he wanted to go forward.<\/p>\n Or he could have tried to fix the propeller himself, hoping he could figure it out on his own the second time around. Instead, he admitted his mistake, sought expert advice, learned from his mistake and set off for a great vacation.<\/p>\n Marketing Tip #3. Be Ready to Change Course<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m sure that idea won\u2019t work for me.\u201d These are excuses to keep doing the same thing, even if it isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n Winners recognize mistakes and grab at new marketing ideas. They put them to the test, track the results and continually fine-tune the ways they market and manage their businesses.<\/p>\n I have many clients who\u2019ve done just that, and more than one who doubled their income last year in the midst of a lousy economy. They jumped on the ideas I gave them and put them into practice.<\/p>\n You can be a winner, too. Your business goals are within reach. To achieve them, be willing to make mistakes; admit them; learn from them and take corrective action, quickly.<\/p>\n Want to get the help you need to get to the top? Start here >><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n – Charlie<\/p>\n P.S.<\/strong> Wish you had a clear idea of what works and what to do to generate more leads, close more sales and maximize your profits? Each month I interview one of the top marketing or sales experts or entrepreneurs, all who have made a ton of mistakes and learned what works and doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n Find out the fastest ways to grow your business from these interviews. And if that isn\u2019t enough, I take the most important tactic from the conversation and detail exactly how to implement it. It\u2019s practically done for you.<\/p>\n Ready to get more business and increase your profits? Click here >> <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIf you don’t make mistakes, if you don’t have failures you’ll never learn\u2026too often I find people, they make a mistake, they don’t take the lessons from that and they make it again and again. So spend the time to figure out what you can learn from it so you don’t ever repeat it.\u201d Indra Nooyi, Pepsico, CEO<\/p>\n
\nWhen I had my first website in the mid \u201890s it cost me $35,000 and it was more or less a flop. It barely made any money.<\/p>\n
\nI talked to a business owner, a specialty clothing retailer, who told me he\u2019d spent $7,000 on Yellow Page ads. When I asked him how many customers the ads had generated, he said none. The following month he signed up with the Yellow Pages again. What\u2019s wrong with this picture?<\/p>\n
\nOver and over I hear the same things from small business owners struggling with their marketing. They tell me:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI know that already.\u201d
\n\u201cI can\u2019t find anyone to help me.\u201d
\n\u201cI just want someone to hand me a blueprint.\u201d<\/p>\n
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