“Fire in the Belly” and the Entrepreneurial Professional

How do you handle it when work is slow or at a halt, no money coming in, no clients wanting to do business with you.

How does your self-worth hold up?

What makes you “go” and “keep going”?

When I started out on my own, I had no clue what I was doing. I only had a desire to be an entrepreneur.

Before I decided to become a Marketing Consultant, I actually ‘tried’ being a Debt Negotiator. Because I was a student of Tony Robbins early on and learned NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) from his teachers, I also studied influence and negotiation with a passion. I remember receiving a sales letter in the mail offering me the opportunity to start my own debt negotiation business. I was ready, man!

The business model was like this:

Go to the courthouse and look for public records on people who’ve recently had lawsuits filed against them for debts owed;

Contact them and get them to hire you on a contingency basis to negotiate on their behalf;

Call creditor or attorney and negotiate a deal to discount the debt

Get paid

Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?

Well, in concept, yes. In actuality, it took A LOT of work.

The Internet was not very popular back in 1994. I had fire in my belly to do this business, but business didn’t come very fast. It took so much time to find leads that it took the steam out of my ‘entrepreneurial engine.’

I wasn’t getting any results. My ‘prospects’ would not answer their phones. They would not answer my letters. They would slam doors in my face. It wasn’t a fun experience.

On top of all this, my friends and family kept on telling me, “why don’t you get a REAL job.”

Entrepreneurs don’t want to hear that, especially from people they need and expect support from. DO we!?

To make a long story short, I didn’t do well – and it beat me up inside. One failed attempt after another beat the crap out of my self-worth.

I kept on saying to myself, “what the heck is wrong with me?” “If others around the country were succeeding doing this business, why not me?”

Quite frankly, I had no idea if people were succeeding anywhere else. I only knew that a number of people purchased the same program I did. If anyone was succeeding, I had no idea.

Because of my low self-worth, I drank a little more than I should, I slept in a bit longer than I should, I watched TV when I should have been at the courthouses getting leads.

I wasn’t acting as a guy with “fire in the belly”.

Because of the lack of success, I thought very low of myself. I had no one to talk to and no one to teach me the ropes. I lost hope because, really, I had no reference of seeing anyone succeed!

Have you ever felt this way? Feeling like you’re peddling as fast as you can, but you’re going no where in your business?

That’s how I felt.

I don’t make myself feel bad anymore. I have found positive ways to change my state of mind and get some clarity.

For one, I believe “there is always a way!” I believe that if I’m having a tough time now, that’s ok. I will find a way to succeed.
I also believe that there many successful people out there that I can learn from. My teacher Jim Rohn says, “Success leaves clues.”

I believe that, and I’m always in search of a great clue. Through books, tapes, seminars, meetings, introductions, etc., I find my clues to succeed.

One “clue” that I found recently was Christine Comaford-Lynch’s book “Rules for Renegades”. Wow! What a book. What great stories of how she went from “nothing” to “everything” she ever wanted.

She inspires me to have fire in my belly again, and a burning desire and passion to succeed at whatever I want in my life.

If you haven’t seen or heard about this book, visit her site to learn more: http://snipurl.com/1ro7z

Before I end here, I want to share a little something I have hanging on my wall from my marketing teacher Jay Abraham. In his book, “Stealth Marketing: How to Outmaneuver, Outwit, and Out-market Your Most Formidable Competitors”, he answers this question:

“What are the attributes most frequently present in successful people?”

First: Fire in their belly! Successful entrepreneurs believe so fully in themselves and their missions that they are undauntable, indefatigable, and so totally focused and purposeful, it’s contagious.

Second: They possess extraordinary concentrated focus - to rope in their diffused energies and bridle them into a laser-like powerhouse beam of productively channeled energy that turns into positive results.

Third: The super-successful people aren’t afraid of the unknown. They’re eager and willing to pursue pathways they’ve never been down before. They’re impervious to fear or paralysis.

Fourth: They persevere, persevere, persevere! Tenacity, commitment, resiliency, and unrelenting determination to accomplish their objective is their strategy. They don’t “fold” at the first sign of temporary defeat. Setbacks are but a challenge – and these are people who recognize the gossamer-thin line separating “frustration” from “challenge”

Fifth: They really prepare. The practice, do their homework, take full advantage of every opportunity, edge, and advantage that’s ever presented to them. They’re swift, accurate, and they make their life happen. They’re also very proactive. They know what they want out of life and understand that the only real way to accomplish their vision is with strategic, pragmatic, and continuous forward action.

Finally: They’re constantly picking better minds than their own. They read, talk, interview, brainstorm, and study every bright mind they get access to.

To be successful in your own professional entrepreneurial-type business you’ve got to have these qualities. Don’t let moments of let-down bring you all the way down.

Some days will be great, and others, well… won’t be. That’s ok.

You’ve got to have a burning desire to succeed – FIRE IN THE BELLY! That means, you’ll do whatever it takes to be successful – to reach your compelling worthwhile goals.

As Winston Churchill said in his brief but appropriate presentation to his elementary alma mater, “Don’t ever, ever, ever, ever, give up.”

If you can’t buy into that, well… I hate to sound like your unsupportive friends and family, but… you may have to go and get a ‘real’ job.

Craig Valine
blog@craigvaline.com
www.CraigValine.com

Copyright 2007 – Craig A. Valine – All Rights Reserved

 

Who’s a publicity hound? Are you?

If you’ve watched the news lately and have seen the bitter custody battle/downward spiral of Brittany Spears, you’ve seen Attorney Gloria Allred representing Brittany’s ex-bodyguard. Gloria IS a publicity hound!

Gloria doesn’t have to do any advertising. She takes on cases pro-bono, sets up press conferences, expresses her views, shares her expertise, and then people perceive her as an authority at what she does. People flock to her because of it.

Is she an authority? I don’t know. But, she is PERCEIVED as one, and that’s as good as being one when attracting new clients to your business.

Who else does this? Attorney Mark Gerragos took on Michael Jackson, Winona Rider, and Scott Peterson, the wife/baby killer from Modesto, NOT necessarily because he thought he could win, but because it gave him MASSIVE publicity.

Jesse Jackson? Al Sharpton? You’ve seen them, right? Publicity, baby!

Authors? Consultants? Psychiatrists? Tax experts? “Getting your house organized” experts? Spiritual experts? And, the list goes on and on.

If you’ve got a talent or expertise, you can do what Gloria, Mark, Al, and Jesse do. And, that’s getting the media to interview you about a topic that you know something about!

By the way, if you’re not already a subscriber of hers, I recommend checking out Joan Stewart’s “Publicity Hound” website. She has a great weekly ezine with fantastic strategies to get you in the press.

You can get thousands of dollars in free publicity by following the tips, tricks and tools, of “The Publicity Hound” herself. Joan’s a former newspaper editor, a small business owner AND she was tapped by Entrepreneur.com as its public relations expert. Click here to visit her website to read all the columns she wrote for Entrepreneur.com and check out her educational tools for small business owners.

It’s all about positioning yourself as “the” authority in your target market. Joan’s newsletter give a very healthy dose of strategies every week on how to do that, and to get yourself seen in the media as many times as possible.

Go there and subscribe today.

Have a super-duper-profitable week!

Craig Valine
blog@craigvaline.com
www.CraigValine.com

 

My 5 ‘Secrets’ to Help You Master Your Entrepreneurial Life

Being in business for yourself can be a challenge. If you left a fairly good paying job to become an entrepreneur, then of course, there’s the need to generate income as fast as we can.

The problem is that when we need money quickly to pay our bills and prove ourselves to those who think we’re crazy for going it alone, we can often make poor decisions and operate in a mode of desperation, instead of confidence.

To be a successful entrepreneur we have to operate in different ways than those who just “go into business” for themselves. We ARE different. We’re Entrepreneurs! My definition of an “Entrepreneur” is someone who “does whatever it takes” to succeed.

To help develop your mindset of doing whatever it takes, here are 5 keys that you should adopt to master your entrepreneurial life:

1. Raise your standards! When we’re not getting the business we want, we tend to take what I call “crap jobs” just to pay the bills. We tend to also let others dictate how we’ll do business with them.

As a professional, you have to dictate to the people who do business with you how YOU do business, not the other way around.

When I started out as a consultant, I had this problem. It destroyed my credibility completely. I wasn’t revered as a successful marketing consultant. I was perceived as “miscellaneous project boy”.

The lesson here: Set the standards in which YOU want to run your business by. You make the rules, not your clients.

If you don’t want to work on weekends, don’t!

If you don’t want to accept crap projects, don’t!

If you don’t want to take calls after 5pm, don’t.

Raise your standards and build your credibility as a successful entrepreneurial professional.

2. Change your limiting beliefs! I’ve heard it said before “belief systems are nothing but B.S.”
Sometimes when we’ve not had much success it’s easy to believe one of a few different things: “I’m not worthy”, or “I don’t know if I should even be in business for myself”, or “the other people in my field are much more educated than me”, or “I have no time for marketing”, etc.

This type of belief system will ruin you. And, guess what? The things you’re thinking to yourself and believing are not real! You just believe they’re real.

To get on your with your successful entrepreneurial life, you MUST believe that anything is possible. You must believe that “if anyone can do it, so can I!”

When you allow your limiting beliefs to run your life, it shows in everything you do, and will ultimately destroy you. It destroys your confidence, self-esteem, and self-concept.

Walk with pride! You’re an entrepreneur! The fact that you took a risk to be in business for yourself says so much about you. Now, believe in that.

3. Modeling ’success’ works! My teacher Jim Rohn (www.JimRohn.com) says, “Success leaves clues.” What he means by that is, there are so many examples out there of people doing things right, we need to take notice.

If you’re struggling to get your business right, study those in your industry who ARE doing it right. Find someone who may not be directly in competition with you. Ask them out to lunch (you pay!) and interview them and ASK the tough questions.

Ask them what their BELIEFS are that make them successful.

Ask them WHO their teachers of success are.

Ask them what driving PRINCIPLES they operate on that make them so successful.

They might say, “I read this book, and it changed my life.” Or, they might say, “I attended this seminar, and that’s all it took.” Or they might say, “I got myself around other successful people in my field, and it’s made all the difference.”

Take notes! Then, do what they do. Buy the book. Attend the seminar. Hang around similar types of people. It’s that simple.

Success leaves clues. Pay close attention to those who are already doing it well.

4. Increase your emotional intensity! You’re an entrepreneur! You’re in business for yourself! You help people! Be excited about it.

Be passionate about what you’re offering. Speak passionately about how you can help others!

To be perceived as someone who is good at what they do, you must have passion for what you do. It’s got to come out with everything you do and say.

Even if you haven’t reached all your goals yet, you must believe you will. And, you must operate with intense emotion about who you are and what you do. It’s so important.

5. Give more than they expect to get. One of the best ways I know to create a “Wow!” experience with your clients is to do more, be more, and give more than they could ever expect of you.

What does your competition do? They most likely give exactly what they advertise and nothing more – or worse – less than they promise!

What can you do that will “Wow!” them? This has to be a driving principle you live your life by. It’s not something you do once and then stop.

Here are a few examples of giving more than they expect:

Give them a surprise bonus of some sort for doing business with you.

Send a handwritten thank you note with a coupon for future savings

Prepare their work with such excellence it blows them away!

You must always be thinking, “How can I go above and beyond for my client?” or “How can I WOW them?”

People will go out of their way to do business with you, if you go out of your way to make them feel special and give them more than they expect to get.

These concepts are simple and effective. They’re easy to adopt into your life. But, guess what? Most small business owners don’t… and that’s why so many fail.

There’s a difference between a small business owner and an entrepreneur.

Small business owners go into business for themselves and hope things will happen for them.

Entrepreneur’s go into business and make things happen for them.

Think and act like a successful professional and master these 5 keys to your entrepreneurial life. It’s truly a much more fun way to do business by.

Have a super-profitable week!

Craig Valine
blog@craigvaline.com
www.CraigValine.com

 

Speaking of Success!

You know, back when I started out as a struggling consultant, I did do a couple of things right.

I wasn’t sure about getting my message out through direct mail or advertising… And of course, the Internet was pretty new to me.

One of a few strategies I used that DID work for me was public speaking. For many reasons, I believe using this strategy is beneficial to any service professional.

I don’t know that I was a great speaker or anything. But, I had just moved from Boston, MA to Pasadena, CA and had stumbled upon a little group called ‘Toastmasters’. Many of the successful people I’ve studied have recommended it in a big way. For the dues you pay, it’s training that can’t be beat!

I was an OK speaker, I guess. I was at least very passionate about my topic. I loved marketing and it definitely came out when I spoke about it. So, since I was bettering myself through public speaking, I figured I’d contact some local service groups, like Rotary, Kiwanis, Jaycees, Lions, etc., and ask them if they’d be interested inhaving me share money-making marketing strategies to their groups.

Many said ‘yes!’, and it was a great way to build interest in what I had so say. I got lots of chances to speak. I had one problem though. I wasn’t getting much business from it.

I got accolades each time I spoke. Everybody seemed to like what I had so say. But, I didn’t have anybody asking me to help them with their marketing.

I needed help. I needed to know how to use my speaking engagement to build my list of interested prospects. I just didn’t know how.

One day I came across some videos from a guy named ‘Tom Antion’ and my speaking life changed. Tom, at the time, was a professional speaker who trained others to use humor in their presentations without telling jokes. He has since become one of the top Internet marketing experts (and multi-millionaires) in the world.

I purchased his ‘Wake’em Up Presentations’ videos and discovered so many things I was ‘leaving on the table’ each time I spoke.

Key things I learned:

How to make more money in a day than most make in a month

How to use your talk to create multiple other profit-based products

How to get the names of all the participants if the organization won’t give you the membership list

How to know your audience better than they know themselves with a sophisticated Pre-Program Questionnaire

Advanced Seating Methods for laughter, interaction and involvement

How to handle introductions professionally so you come on with a ‘bang’

Tons of proven and reliable ways to make money speaking

How to create in-demand educational materials and other easily saleable speaker products that will double your income

And, tons, tons more!

As a significant part of my marketing strategy when I first started out, these videos helped me turn my ’speaking-to-acquire-clients strategy’ around. I started getting business because I learned proven ways to make more money from my presentations. I learned them all from the videos!

Once a year I watch these videos. Sort of a ‘back to basics’, if you will. Mine are in VHS. But, Tom has a new DVD collection with added videos that weren’t available when I purchased the program.

If you speak at all to promote your cause or your business, I recommend checking out Tom Antion’s Speaker Videos. You can see all the features and benefits of the program here: —> Tom Antion’s Website

To this day, I’m a serious student of what Tom has to say. And,you’ll learn a lot of what I learned from him in upcoming issues of my newsletter.

‘Speaking’ of great days… Have an outstanding one!

Craig Valine
blog@craigvaline.com
www.CraigValine.com

 

You. The Resident Expert?

In the posting, I shared my thoughts and philosophy about setting yourself apart from any other in your field – by becoming the expert…or, the AUTHORITY in your highly targeted niche market.

My teacher Dan Kennedy says it best: “The last thing you want to be compared to is just another ___________.”

You know, “just another salesperson”, or “just another consultant”, or “just another [whatever it is you do].

I shared some of the ways that the most successful professionals use to establish themselves as THE ‘go-to’ people in their respective target markets. If you didn’t see that issue, or you need a recap…

The most successful, highly paid, and sought out professionals do the following:

They specifically serve a highly-targeted niche market

They write articles, books, and special reports that focus on the problems of that highly-targeted market and provide solutions

They design and create programs that specifically address and solve the problems of their highly-targeted niche market

They only speak to the groups that this highly-targeted market belongs to

They use publicity and PR to their advantage to gain visibility to their highly-targeted market

They let the media know they are available when they need an expert for news items

They create synergistic profitable relationships with other types of businesses that cater to their target market

They use testimonials from happy and satisfied clients in all their marketing materials, and use endorsements from well-known centers of influence

They provide unique and innovative services to their clients

They communicate with their target market on a regular basis and treat their clients like dear and valued friends.

If that’s not enough for you to massively set yourself apart from the rest, here’s another strategy that I learned from Bob Serling that will make you the ONLY person your target market seeks out.

By the way, I haven’t seen this particular marketing strategy taught anywhere else. But, it’s so simple, you’ll probably be shocked you didn’t think of it yourself.

The strategy is called “The Resident Expert”.

Here’s how it works:

Offer to become the “Resident Expert” for an association, business group, corporation, or any other organization that serves your highly targeted niche market. You simply tell them you’d like to make your services available for free, to their members on a regular basis.

“Resident” means or implies, “in-house”, “their primary option”, or “the expert the organization endorses”.

For example, if you’re an accountant, you would contact a large hospital in your area (with a huge staff of doctors, nurses, and other professionals who are excellent prospects for your services) and offer to be the Resident Expert. Tell the hospital administration that you will be available to answer any questions their members have regarding their taxes.

Offer specific times that their members can contact you on a private line for a brief consultation. This could be from 3pm to 5pm every Thursday – a day that might be normally slow for you.

You can also offer a series of monthly talks or teleseminars on topics of interest to your target market. Offer them helpful reports or freebees tailored for their needs.

So, how can YOU become the Resident Expert in your target market’s organizations?

Well, depending on what organizations your target market belongs to, start by sending a letter to the President or person in charge of benefits to its members.

Start the letter off with something like:

“I have a proposal I believe would be very beneficial to your members.”

Then you might add:

“I would like to be the ” expert in residence” for your association. I would like to provide free advice both by telephone and in quarterly presentations to your members.”

The important ingredients following this:

Establish that your expertise is what is best for its members

Give them a sample of your expertise in the form of an audio, book, special report, or article

Give them a list of what the members will receive once they choose you as the Resident Expert

Finally, give them a few of your credentials and a list of any clients you’ve served. (The more you can show you’ve helped others like them, the better!)

You might be asking, “why am I giving my services away for free to all these people?”

That’s an intelligent question… one which I have a respectful answer to:

You must always be giving a little of yourself, your knowledge, your skills, your expertise… to get A LOT of people to seek you out to do business with you.

In ice cream-speak… my colleague Andrea Lee calls it “pink spoon marketing”. Giving a little taste of the ice cream (or a sample of what’s to come), gets people to want more of it. And, they will pay dearly for it.

In Craig-speak, it’s called “building your herd”. You are building your list of interested prospects with whom you can force-communicate to whenever you feel like it, offering beneficial and compelling offers that will make their lives better over a period of time.

So, “What organizations does your target market belong to that you can become the Resident Expert of?”

Write a list of 5 different organizations you can become the Resident Expert in this week. Write to them. Follow up, if necessary. And, let me know the results.

Have a super-duper profitable week!

Craig Valine
blog@craigvaline.com

 

Becoming a Highly Paid Authority Within Your Target Market

There are many experts in marketing – many who cater to the niche market to which I serve, which is YOU, the independent consultant, coach, or solo-professional.

What makes me different than any of my major competitors? Oh, I don’t know for sure. But, I can tell you that I rarely see or hear it from them. But, I think the major difference is, I confess to being a ‘former’ struggling consultant.

When I started out I had read & studied marketing from the ‘best of the best’ for more than two decades before I decided to ‘jump in’ the business world as a consultant. I had ‘insider’ information that could, if properly utilized, help businesses become massively successful and profitable. However, I had no ‘freakin’ idea on how to BE or MARKET myself as a consultant.

I attended lots of workshops and seminars, and I read a lot of books and listened to a lot of audios from ‘consulting experts’ – trying to find the secrets to selling myself as a credible consultant. One Saturday, I spent the entire day listening to a presentation on how the most successful and highest paid consultants market and promote themselves.

Do you have any ideas on how they do it?

I sort of knew, but I wasn’t practicing any of the strategies at all.

The most successful professionals in the world are the ones that position themselves as experts in their fields of expertise. They may or may not actually be THE expert (in the eyes of the few), but they position themselves as such with their highly-targeted markets.

Many not only position themselves as experts, but position themselves as an ‘authority’ on the subject for which they serve. The best of the best become a celebrity, in fact, thereby positioning themselves above everyone else.

(Can anyone say “Tony Robbins”?)

What do the most successful professionals do that we don’t do that make them so successful?

They specifically serve a highly-targeted niche market

They write articles, books, and special reports that focus on the problems of that highly-targeted market and provide solutions

They design and create programs that specifically address and solve the problems of their highly-targeted niche market.

They only speak to the groups that this highly-targeted market belongs to

They use publicity and PR to their advantage to gain visibility to their highly-targeted market

They let the media know they are available when they need an expert for news items

They create synergistic profitable relationships with other types of businesses that cater to their target market

They use testimonials from happy and satisfied clients in all their marketing materials, and use endorsements from well-known centers of influence

They provide unique and innovative services to their clients

They communicate with their target market on a regular basis and treat their clients like dear and valued friends.

 

It’s all about them. It’s never about you.

Why did you go into business for yourself?

Was it for the freedom of not having to work for someone else? Was it the potential to make more money than you’ve dreamed, as opposed to getting a salary or hourly wage that limits your lifestyle? Was it a control thing, where you just think that you can do the job better than anyone else and being in business for yourself allows you the control to execute things ‘your’ way?

Whatever reasons you have for being in business for yourself, I’m sorry to say, they mean nothing to your prospects and clients.

There’s a saying my teacher Jay Abraham says, “It’s all about them. It’s never about you.”

So many professionals I meet talk about themselves and act in self-serving ways. They forget this simple truth: “without a client, you have nothing!”

I am amazed at how people forget this!

World renown Management Consultant, Author, and Professor Peter Drucker said: “Since its purpose is to produce a customer, a business has two and only two functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results, all the rest are costs.”

What that means to me is, everything you do and think should be towards serving the needs of your prospects and current clients. It is completely about building and maintaining relationships with your clients – and finding new and better ways to serve them.

To paraphrase a winning football coach, “…it’s not a sometimes thing. It’s an all time thing!”

You can’t expect your clients to care about you or your debts, your famlily problems, or anything else. Like any healthy, loving relationship, your customers have to see, hear, and feel “your love” for them. They need to feel important. They need to be treated like “dear and valued friends”.

Forget about your problems and challenges when you’re communicating to your prospects and clients. They don’t care. They only care about themselves. And, if you want to do business with them, you’ve got to show you care about their wants, needs, and desires.

Concentrate on communicating innovation, value, benefits, advantages, and ‘reasons why’. Show why YOU are the obvious choice to do business with, instead of someone else.

Remember, “It’s always about them. It’s never about you.”

Have an outstanding day.

Craig Valine
blog@craigvaline.com
www.CraigValine.com

 

“The Secret” to Success

Have you seen the movie ‘The Secret’?

I hadn’t heard about it until, I think, last December when Rhonda Byrne, the author, was on Oprah. (No. I don’t sit home watching Oprah all the time. Someonetold me about it. Really!

There was a lot of hype and talk about this uncovered Secret. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was about, until I did a little research myself.

It turns out that Rhonda Byrne has basically created a publicity firestorm on a concept that has beenaround for centuries. I, myself, realized that I had been exposed to The Secret many times in my readings of the most successful people in the world.

Historical greats such as:

* Ralph Waldo Emerson
* Winston Churchill
* Robert Collier
* Abraham Lincoln
* Andrew Carnegie
* Ford
* Edison
* Einstein,

…just to name a few.

The book that triggered Rhonda Byrnes inspiration was a little green book called “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles. A book I have also read.

The Secret is based on the Law of Attraction. Or, better stated in theoretical terms, “As you think, so you create”. What you focus on becomes your reality. If you think and focus on success in your life, then you will create that in your life. If you focus on your debt, your problems, and how bad the world is, then more of that shows up in your life. Why am I sharing this? Because what you focus on IS your reality. And, if you constantly tell yourself “marketing is hard” or “I don’t like marketing” or “I’m no good at marketing”… then, guess what? You will attract that into your life – and be right!

The Law of Attraction is a powerful force. You can use it to your advantage…or to your demise. Your choice!

If you haven’t seen, heard, or read ‘The Secret’ yet, I recommend you get it now and watch it several timesas I have. It’s powerful. And, it just might change your life. You can order ‘The Secret’ DVD on Amazon.com here:

== > The Secret DVD

Or, find it at almost any local bookstore.

Let’s ATTRACT SUCCESS into our lives. Shall we?

Dedicated to helping you attract more clients, makemore money, and have more fun in your business…

Craig Valine
blog@craigvaline.com
www.CraigValine.com

 

Marketing Morsels: Direct Marketing Tidbits Full of Wholesome Goodness

I used to publish a postcard newsletter called “Marketing Morsels: Direct Marketing Tidbits Full of Wholesome Goodness.” It was a tiny tool I used to build and maintain relationships with my clients.

The other day, I was digging through my tons-o- marketing stuff and came across one of my old tiny, but useful marketing tools. Here are some “Marketing Morsels” that I think will be useful to you:

A loyal customer is nine times as profitable as a disloyal customer.

The best way to keep tabs on your competitors is to become their customer and see how they treat you.

In direct response, the offer is everything. Craft an extremely potent offer before writing your ad or sales letter. Make it an offer they can’t possibly refuse. Don’t complicate your offer; keep it simple.

Mail your customers free “gift certificates” in the form of a postcard.

Remember, people do not buy your product or service; they buy the benefits of having your product or service.

In direct marketing, there are two rules and two rules only; Rule #1: Test everything! Rule #2: See Rule #1.

Call your clients and ask them why they do business with you. You’ll discover a few common reasons. Use this information in your headlines and in all your advertising.

Repeat your offer and your guarantee on your order form.

Whenever possible, give your customers an additional unexpected bonus or gift as a token of appreciation for their business.

There are only three ways to grow any business: (1) increase the number of clients you do business with; (2) increase the average units per sale; and (3) increase the number of times you do business with your customers.

Force yourself to operate under deadlines.

Testimonials add credibility. Use them as much as possible.

The beauty of direct marketing is that experts use time-tested methods to get the results their looking for. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to get results. Just see what has worked in the past and test it!

I recommend A FANTASTIC resource for using time-tested direct marketing principles – Denny Hatch’s “2,239 Tested Strategies for Direct Marketing Success“.

Have a great day!

Craig Valine
blog@craigvaline.com
www.CraigValine.com

 

Truth in Advertising (or, “I know my van is ugly”)

It’s so funny…

This past weekend I was driving through L.A. and exited the freeway on a local off-ramp. As I sat at the light at the end of the off-ramp, eagerly awaiting the light to turn from RED to GREEN, I looked over at this van driving by and started laughing out loud to myself.

It was some guy in an ugly rusted grey van, wearing a “-beater” tee shirt, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

The first thing I saw on the side of his van was “Plumber” painted somewhat chaotically in black spray paint.

At first glance I judged it and thought to myself, “this would be a great example to write about what NOT to do in marketing yourself”.

But, at a second glance, I noticed some other writing below the larger type “Plumbing”. It read:

“I know my van is ugly. I know my uniform is ugly. But, damn! I’m a GREAT plumber who’ll fix ANY plumbing problem you have, GUARANTEED or the work is FREE!”

I thought that was AWESOME.

It’s easy sometimes to judge a book by its cover. But, sometimes, if we look a little harder we find that someone has done something quite clever.

This man has used a copywriting strategy called “damaging admission”, which means basically, “show them you’re human”. Let them know you’re not perfect, but you CAN do the job to meet OR exceed their expectations.

He also removed the risk by guaranteeing his work. This in itself is an outstanding marketing strategy.

In the article below, I share some wisdom from one of my teachers that says “success leaves clues”. You’ve got to keep an eye out for successful marketing strategies that you can adapt and adopt to your business situation. You never know where they will come from.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again… “You’ve got to educate your prospects and clients.”

Never assume they know that you’re the one they should be doing business with. NEVER assume that they know why they should be doing business with you.

Keep marketing YOUniquely!

Craig Valine
blog@craigvaline.com
www.CraigValine.com