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Browse every published article connected to Diane Conklin, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
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Browse every published article connected to Diane Conklin, or search within this exact expert archive.
Would you like to see better response rates from your marketing? The number one thing to always look at is your headline. Now this could be any marketing. It could be direct mail, it could be your email marketing, or it could be in your sales letters.
If you think the most important thing in your business is marketing, you’re wrong. The number one, most important thing in your business is your list. You build your list partially by marketing, but it’s not a numbers game, so no matter how big your list is, it may not reflect how successful your business is. So, if the most important things isn’t how big your list is, then what makes your list the most important part of your business? It’s the relationship, the connection you have with the people on your list.
Are you a ravenous student who just can’t seem to get enough books, tapes and courses in your niche, field, or in some topic area that makes a big difference in your business? Or, is the idea of reading a book, listening to an educational CD or DVD, or going to a seminar or workshop, to learn, appalling to you? If you’re reading this, it’s more likely you’re a ravenous student who just can’t seem to get enough, you devour books, you’re constantly listening to educational or self-help materials (even when you’re exercising or on an airplane), and you invest mightily in yourself.
Do you ever get stuck in your business? Not sure what the next thing is, what the next service is you want to offer, what the next product or products need to be, or when the next marketing sequence needs to go out? It happens to all of us. Here’s the thing to think about. The answers to those questions are typically in your numbers. Measuring and business numbers are typically things most small business owners and entrepreneurs don’t like and don’t really want to deal with. Do you feel that way? Measuring, measuring, measuring…knowing your numbers - it’s critical and here’s why.
Do you have a map? Not a map to get down the road. Not a GPS that talks to you and tells you which way to turn, but a marketing plan. Do you have a Marketing Automation Plan or MAP? Not having a MAP is the reason so many people think of marketing as troublesome. They don’t automate things and they don’t reuse and repurpose. You have to automate your marketing so things are happening while you’re sleeping, playing or while you’re working on other things. This is ideal for entrepreneurs who are always pushing for the next thing.
It’s never easy, in life or in business – making decisions. There is no magic formula or magic crystal ball that can show you the results of your decision before you make them. So how do you know when you’re making the right decision, or even good decisions? As a business owner, you know how important it is to at least make good decisions. Bad decisions can be costly, and in extreme cases, even put you out of business. Not being able to make a decision can be the thing that keeps you from doing what you want in your business.
One of the most common questions we get asked is “What exactly is Information Marketing?” What does that term mean? What is it all about? Some people call it information products, some people call it information marketing. It’s been a struggle to figure out how to describe what exactly Information Marketing is to people who don’t know. It’s sad too, because it is the best business in the world. Every business, no matter what business you’re in, you should have at least a part of your business be some sort of Information Marketing…whether you ever make any money with it or not.
When you go to the movies, you buy a ticket, maybe some popco and a drink. When you go to get your haircut, you pay for the haircut and maybe you leave a tip for the hairdresser. When you need to go somewhere, you pay to put gas in your car. So with all these things in life that you have to pay for just to do anything, why does the word sales make so many people cringe?
You’ve seen the guy on stage spinning the plates. He starts at one end and gets a plate spinning, then moves to the next plate, and the next, until he gets to the end of the line of plates. The hope is that when he gets the last plate up and spinning, all of the plates are still spinning and then he can go stop each one, take it off the stick it’s been spinning on and all of the plates are in one piece. That’s success for the plate spinner.
What does it mean that somebody provides done-for-you services? It can mean a lot of things but essentially it means you hire somebody to take care of developing things like newsletters, fliers, ezines, marketing plans and other things like that, that help you get your business done.
One of the problems with business in general, Information marketing, and some niche businesses, is that everybody’s fishing in the same pond. So, what’s the best way to grow your business even with heavy competition? Let’s say your business universe has 100,000 people in it, and everybody’s going after that same 100,000 people, because everybody’s going in the same direction. When you’re competing in the pool of 100,000 everybody’s already heard it and you have to work harder to get their attention.
One of the easiest ways to attract ideal clients and prospects is a really simple thing that will make you stand out to people who would be interested in doing business with you. It’s talking about what you believe. While that might sound strange, it’s something every person in business should be thinking about. • What do you believe about your business? • What do you believe about life in general? • Why do you get out of bed every morning, and do what you do?
Thinking about your business the same way you think about your health may seem like a strange analogy , or even illogical, but when you really break it down and think about it, there are a lot of similarities.
Consistency in your business is integral to its success. If you continually make good, sound decisions that move your business forward, you’re going to have great success. Consistency, over time, is a huge formula for business and marketing success. If you’re consistent in making the small decisions (the small “yeses” and the small “no’s”), and focus on the details of your business, this is where you’re going to make a big difference in your business. This is where you can set yourself apart from everyone else.
par • a • digm (p r -d m , -d m ) n. 1. One that serves as a pattern or model. 2. A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb. 3. A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline. You may remember the old story about paradigms?
When you go to the movies, you buy a ticket, maybe some popco and a drink. When you go to get your haircut, you pay for the haircut and maybe you leave a tip for the hairdresser. When you need to go somewhere, you pay to put gas in your car. So with all these things in life that you have to pay for just to do anything, why does the word sales make so many people cringe?
Do you ever feel like an alien? I’m not talking about the kind that’s green, from another planet and oozes nasty fluids. I’m talking about the feeling you get when you feel like you’re the only one who cares that the store clerk is having a personal conversation with her co-worker, while staring right at you, and still just goes right on talking as if they were the only 2 people in the world. Do you ever feel like you’re the only one who knows how to pick up the telephone and have a conversation with somebody to solve a problem or handle an issue?
If you’re thinking about niching your business you need to decide what the best niche for your business is. Niching simply means that you take an area, a subculture or group, and market to them specifically – you narrow your focus specifically to that group. By finding a niche, you’re focusing what you’re doing and who you’re marketing to, and your business gets easier. It’s easier to find clients and it’s easier to talk specifically in the language of that particular niche or group of people – in other words, it’s easier for you to “speak their language.”
Are you and your business more like a fire hose or a dripping faucet? As marketers and business owners, we sometimes want to give everything we know to our clients, as soon as they come to us. That’s being the fire hose. You have all this information in your head, that you have accumulated over the years and you open up the fire hose and try to give all that information to your clients and prospects in the first ten minutes they know you. And, you want to give them everything you know, every time you talk to them.
One of the greatest driving forces of business is your ability to implement and execute actions in a speedy and efficient way. Being able to move your business forward relies on creating systems, plans and blueprints, and then putting them into action. And not just any action, but massive action…massive, focused, directed action. This may sound like a lot of work, but it encompasses one of the concepts that’s extremely important to your business, and that’s leverage.
On an episode of Celebrity Apprentice, it became apparent to me that making decisions is something a lot of people struggle with – even very successful people … and celebrities. When asked directly by Mr. Trump who should be fired, nobody would give a direct answer. And, it’s important to note that this resistance is apparent in both the women and the men.
Do you have a pla B in your business? What if the things you’ve planned in your business, or that you’re working on today, whatever it is, doesn’t turn out exactly the way you wanted? What if your big launch doesn’t produce, or that email campaign doesn’t perform the way you want, or that team member you just hired doesn’t work out… do you always have a fallback position? What is your pla B?
Can you think of anything in this world that’s absolutely perfect? If you can, it’s probably doubtful that it’s man-made. Are you making the mistake of treating yourself, or your business as if it has to be perfect? If you are you really need to stop. Too often, you strive to achieve perfection in yourself and in your business, and all you’re doing is giving yourself an unrealistic goal. Stop white-knuckling life and stop trying to be perfect. No one expects you to be perfect, except you.
You have your business up and running and you have some products and services set up to offer to clients and prospects. Sometimes this is the part where you might begin to feel a little stuck, because you begin to wonder how to set your prices. Maybe you have a business where prices are already set, that’s fine because then you don’t have a choice – or maybe it’s bad because you don’t have a choice. More than likely you have a business where you need to really think about what you’re going to charge your clients for what you’re offering.
When it comes to putting out new things, whether it’s a new marketing campaign, a product, a teleseminar, or webinar or anything for your business, you have to understand that you can’t just put out one message. People need to see and hear about your something new more than once. As a matter of fact, your clients and prospects need to hear about everything you’re doing in your business more than once.
Marketing is the basis for everything you do in your business. Everything is marketing. Not all marketing is created equal. The best marketing builds authentic relationships with your clients and prospects. Many people think of marketing as manipulative or forcing people to do something they don’t want to do, or that’s not in their best interest. That’s not marketing at all.
The concept of upselling is certainly not a new idea. The goal of upselling is to increase your profit.
How do you make decisions? How do you make decisions in your business? Here is a philosophy that will serve you very well if you apply and use it… Say yes and figure out the details later. It’s also important to plan, but for most people if you apply say yes and figure out the details later, it will take you a lot farther than always needing to know the how and all the other details before you commit.
Authenticity! We hear a lot of people using that word these days and a lot of people are talking about being authentic in your marketing. It’s a very interesting concept to look at as you read headlines and study marketing. You’ve seen them. We’ve all seen those outrageous headlines that we all know can’t really happen but appeal to our sense of wanting things to be easy and to be able to get rich quick and all that. How about this one for example…“$12 Million in 12 Weeks” – saw that one recently and it actually made me laugh out loud.
Are you following-up with your prospects? Do you do enough follow-up? You may think the sale stops at the end of an event, or the end of a call, or at the end of the first step of however it is you go about making sales in your business. This is simply not the case. If you don’t follow-up in every way imaginable you might as well say “I give up, if you don’t want anything I have after this, you’ll never hear from me again.” And if you do that in your business, you’ll probably be shutting your doors before you know it. Don’t give up…instead, follow-up.
There are many keys to success in business, but one of the biggest is taking action. People think action simply means being busy, but nothing could be further from the truth. The key component to a successful business is not just action, but taking deliberate, massive, focused action, consistently, over time. When you’re doing something every day that’s focused on your goals, that’s what will catapult your business. That’s what will take you from the bottom rung of the ladder to the top – all in one fell swoop, because it’s deliberate, massive, focused action.
If there’s anything you should make time for in your life, its reading and jou aling. You can learn a lot from books, whether they’re business books, marketing-related books, biographies, or even fictional stories. In addition to learning from reading, you will more than likely also find great stories and information you can pass on to your prospects and clients as well. But, you might be asking yourself, who has time for that reading, right?
Without a doubt, advancements to technology have certainly opened the doors to new methods of marketing. With so many options in the way of digital marketing some of us may find ourselves asking if direct mail is an old, outdated marketing method. The answer is no. Absolutely not! Using good direct response marketing techniques and strategies is a tried and true way to market your business. Direct mail, if done properly, will never be out of date. After all, look how long it’s been working as an effective marketing strategy already.
When did the word marketing become such a bad term? When was it that marketing became associated with manipulation and the idea of making people do something they don’t want to do? As a business owner, you should be in love with marketing, because it’s a tool – a tool that allows you to get your message out to the world. It allows you to show your clients and prospects exactly what difference you have to offer that will make an improvement in their lives.
Sometimes when we get into business, we know what our products are going to be and we have a firm hold on our price points, but we don’t necessarily have all the necessary knowledge or skills to put it all together to get people to buy. Having a sales process is an important factor in sales and it also becomes important in having repeat customers or clients who buy from you over and over again.
Can you think of anything in this world that’s absolutely perfect? If you can, it’s probably doubtful that it’s man-made. Are you making the mistake of treating yourself, or your business as if it has to be perfect? If you are you really need to stop. Too often, you strive to achieve perfection in yourself and in your business, and all you’re doing is giving yourself an unrealistic goal. Stop white-knuckling life and stop trying to be perfect. No one expects you to be perfect, except you.
It’s pretty much understood among those currently on social media that pretty much every business needs to have a presence there in today’s world. However, you might be surprised to find out, especially if you are active on social media, and have been for awhile, there are still people every single day, who are joining Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and all the other social media platforms that are out there – many of them are businesses and business owners.
Springtime tends to be a time for clearing out the stuff you don’t need or want in your life anymore. Maybe you go through your closets and pack up clothes and shoes you don’t want, or you go into the garage and find tools you don’t use, and you get this stuff out of your way. Why? Because it’s good to purge this unneeded, unwanted, unnecessary stuff from your life once in a while and to declutter.
You hear a lot of talk about the importance of building your list. Your list is made up of all your potential customers, and all the people who have invested in your business. You can go out and buy a list, as well - that’s up to you. However, one great way to get people on your list is with your IFO. Your IFO is your Irresistible Free Offer. It’s very specific, and targeted, so it attracts only the exact people you want on your list and in your database.
Consistency in your marketing and consistency in your business equals huge success. You want to always be top-of-mind. Always be dripping on your clients with information, with marketing, with what’s next. What’s the next thing that you would like for your clients to do?
Have you heard people say that long sales letters don’t work? Some people claim they’d never read one. It’s always interesting when people say that.
Most business owners have leaks somewhere in their business…like the leaks in a bucket when it has holes in it. Does your business have holes in it? If you’re being true to yourself, to your business, and to your clients then the answer is yes, you do have areas in your business with holes. Every business does. So, if you have holes in your business and your business bucket is leaking, what are you doing about it? Do you even see the leaks? Do you even know they’re there?
As entrepreneurs and small business owners, sometimes we have a tendency to hide behind our computer screen, spending hours answering questions, filling your time being busy on the Internet…or maybe even wasting time on Facebook or other social media outlets. Here’s the question to ask yourself: Are you filling your day with busy work or are you being productive?
It doesn’t matter what level of marketer you are, you either have already, or will at some point in your career, make this mistake. You are going along and things are going pretty well. You’re in the middle of a marketing campaign and you’re getting good results with what you’re doing. You get through the entire campaign and have tremendous results – better than you ever got before with any program you’ve done.
Part of the holiday season is about giving and receiving gifts. Most of us like doing both – giving and receiving, whether we admit it or not. When we give gifts, we certainly want to be sure that the recipient knows it came from us.
When considering when to add additional income streams in your business, timing is critical. And, the right time depends on where you currently are in your business. Before adding additional income streams to your business, you need to really focus and hone in on the one thing you’re uniquely good at, or the one thing people know you for the best. When you get to that point is when you should be thinking about what’s next. Before you’re clear about these things, it would be premature to think about adding an income stream to your business, as it would more than likely fail.
When it comes to list building most small business owner aren’t ever really satisfied with their results and most wonder if they could do a better job of attracting ideal clients to their list. It’s often said that the person with the largest list has the biggest business. The person with the biggest list doesn’t always have the biggest business because there are many other factors that go into building a successful business. It’s not only the size of your list that counts, it’s how you use your list and the relationship you have with your list that counts most.
In business, you often hear the phrase “under-promise and over-deliver.” This concept is a myth and can actually cause harm to your business. Don’t ever under-promise…just over-deliver! Promise what you’re going to give people, and then give them more… but don’t intentionally under-promise.
Being consistent in business means building not only your credibility but also your dependability factor with your clients and others you do business with. Sometimes, credibility may seem like one of the hardest things to build in your business, but once you have it, it brings some of the most beneficial rewards.
Sometimes amazing things happen during our travels, but if you don’t take the time to notice and get excited about it, you might miss it. On a recent trip, something amazing happened. It was a long day. Up at 4:00am to leave for a long day of flying and connecting flights, no problems, until baggage, where there was a bunch of people still standing around when everybody else seemed to have picked up their bags and left.