The Essentials Group Archives - The Essentials Group

An old Chinese proverb goes something like this: “Confucius say, ‘Hungry man sitting with mouth open waiting for roast duck to fly in have long wait.’” So it is with marketing. So many businesses have great ideas and plans, but they fail to take action. They’ re waiting for “things to be right,” before they do anything. To some extent, that’ s understandable. Considering that most businesses… especially small businesses are tight for money, they want to make sure their advertising pieces are laid out just right, that the message is clear, that they’ re getting the very best deal on advertising rates, and that the market conditions are favorable.
Make no mistake, all those things are important…very important. But it’ s critical that we don’ t get paralysed into not taking action because of them. Back when Apple Computer was first getting off the ground, articles were written about how they used the “Ready, Fire, Aim” approach. That is, they got a product “Ready” (it wasn’ t perfect), they “Fired” (got it out in the marketplace), then “Aimed” (listened to customer feed-back, then made modifications) and got it back out there again. That is so different from the way many small or even mid-size businesses run their marketing campaigns today. They get an ad, a promotional letter, or campaign ready, then sit back and analyse it for months. Then they may or may not actually run it. What holds them up? Why don’ t they take a chance? Why not get the ad “out there” and see what happens?
That’ s what Apple Computer did. Who knows? Maybe the ad or promotion will be successful, and maybe it won’ t. But they’ ll never know unless they test it to see. Now, I’ m not advocating wildly spending money and blindly running ads and promotions just to see it they’ ll work or not. You certainly must put some thought into the market you want to target, the message you will send them, and the offer you make to them. This takes careful and calculated consideration.

But any business, even your business, can learn what exactly what Apple Computer found out: That the market will tell you if your product is right or wrong for them and whether or not your prices are too high. And, they’ ll tell you exactly what you need to do to make it saleable to them. Not only that, as a bonus, they’ ll tell you exactly how much to charge for it.

Learn more about getting your customers know more about your business by calling The Essentials Group. Get in touch, market your business and work wonders on your business in no time!

A few years ago, a friend of mine had dinner with Earl Nightingale and his wife Dianna. My friend, who has two teenage daughters, asked Earl what kind of advice he would give the young women to help them select their life’s work.

Without hesitation, Earl asked the first girl what she would do if she woke up on Monday morning, it was raining, and she had enough money in the bank that she didn’t have to go into work. My friend’s daughter laughed and said, “Well, I’d probably go shopping.”Without cracking a smile, Earl looked at her and said, “Have you ever considered becoming a buyer for a large department store? With that kind of job you could go shopping all day every day and get paid for it!”Earl then asked the next girl what she would do. She replied that she would most likely go horse riding. Earl then pointed out that where they lived, there are a number of Arabian horse farms, and perhaps she might enjoy work as a trainer. Then she could do all the horseback riding she wanted.

It is surprising to note the incredible number of people who have difficulty in determining what they want to do to occupy the time they have to spend on this earth. It’s true that there are so many interesting and challenging things a person can spend their time doing.

But for the most part, it is simply a lack of focus… an inability or an unwillingness to look at one particular thing, then focus all your efforts on finding ways to do it better than anyone else. With a clear focus any normal person can accomplish more and out-achieve even the brightest and most intelligent person who has a limited vision or an ill-defined path to run on. Indeed, focus is the essence of success.

Walt Disney had a unique formula for success. He said that a person could be successful in anything they did; in any job they held; in any project they undertook, if they simply followed this plan. Here it is:

“You do what you do so well, that when others see you do it, they want to see you do it again, and will bring others to see you do it.”

That sounds easy enough, but if we take that simple sentence apart and analyse it, it becomes clear how powerful and impactful it really is.

“You do what you do ….” What you do. Not what anyone else does… what you do. One of the problems in the world today, whether it is in business or in our personal lives, is that so many people try to copy or imitate other people and the things they do. We tend to emulate characters on television programs or in movies. We dress in the latest fashions, and attempt to create bodies like the popular models or sports heroes. If we go into business, we pattern our office design or layout just like others in similar businesses. We live, in large measure, in a “copy‑cat” world.

Walt is suggesting that we don’t try to copy others and do what they do… rather, we should identify what our uniqueness is, and concentrate our efforts on that. We should “do what we do”… not what anyone else does. That one piece of advice alone is worth its weight in gold, and is enough to make a world of difference in anyone’s life.

“You do what you do so well ….” “So well” are the next two words to consider. This automatically implies excellence. In other words, don’t settle for mediocrity. There is already too much of that in our society today. Whatever you decide to undertake; whether it is a project, a job, a relationship… whatever… do it better than it has ever been done before.

If you couple the “what you do” part of Walt’s formula to the “so well” part, you have an unbeatable combination. It is the joining of the uniqueness only you can bring to the equation, with the ability to do it masterfully… and no one can touch that!

“Do what you do so well, that when others see you do it ….” Who are the “others”? They are your customers if you are in business. This is show time for you. You are on stage, and just as a performer in a play or a stage act does, this is your time to demonstrate to others what you can do.

Now comes the payoff.”…when others see you do it, they will want to see you do it again …”

If you have done the one thing you are good (or expert) at, and have done it in a most exceptional manner, and if your customers have just experienced it, then certainly they want to see you do it again. That’s called “repeat business.” It is no secret that people like to do business with people or organisations that are successful, and the key to keeping them coming back to you, is to continue to provide a certain uniqueness well-executed to what ever it is that you do.

Now for the last part of Walt’s formula: “You do what you do so well, that when others see you do it, they want to see you do it again, and will bring others to see you do it.” That is called “referral business.” That’s the best and most cost-effective method there is of doing business. Referral business is business that comes to you as a result of people being happy with the value they received from you.

Get more customers. Build your customer base. Just get more prospects to buy from you and become your customers. This is the lifeblood of your business.

You see, when more people buy from you, you take in more dollars, and so you make more money. And the more people you add to your customer base the larger it becomes, and the more people you have to go back to for additional and repeat sales.

Now, it’s in this one single area where most business owners (including your competition, and probably, you, too, if you’re honest), spend most of their time, effort and money.

If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you probably realise that getting new customers is not always the easiest or most profitable thing you can do.

The reality is, most businesses only employ one or two main methods of attracting new prospects.

For example, prior to enactment of the “Do Not Call” law many insurance agents were heavy into the use telephone soliciting. And many of those calls seemed to come when unsuspecting prospects were just sitting down for dinner.

Chiropractors, car dealers and lawyers are known to advertise heavily on television… especially during the afternoon and late night hours to attract new customers.

Now, what about you? Think about your business for a minute.

Chances are, that you and your business, like every other business, also utilises one main method of attracting new prospects. And, most likely, the method you use, is the same method that nearly every other business in your industry or profession uses.

If you would like to know more about new and effective methods to improve and grow your business to new heights, contact The Essentials Group for a free consultation.

Now, here’s what you can do. Once you’ve set up your database of your existing customers, take a good, analytical look at them.

• Determine what their buying habits are.
• See where they live or work.
• Look at what types of products or services they buy.
• What their repeat purchase patterns are.
• What types of ads they respond to.
• Look at all the information that may be pertinent to your business.
• Does their age, family characteristics, type of home they live in or cars they drive have anything to do with how or what they buy from you? And how about the kind of work they do, or the profession they work in?

Once you’ve carefully analysed your existing customers and categorised them into like groups according to buying patterns, habits or interests, then look in your marketplace for other, similar groups of people or businesses.

The sources for locating these groups are numerous, and can range from compiled lists to directories to list brokers, and a number of other resources.

Now that you’ve identified who your best prospects are, use the same steps outlined above for following up with your existing customers, to contact them.

Follow up. Stay with it. Don’t let this slip. And always be testing different offers, different guarantees, and different headlines.

Be on the lookout for anything that increases your response rate. And be open to using and testing different methods of contacting them.

This group of contacts has the potential of driving your business right through the roof, if you approach them properly.

Your clients… your customers… current and existing… past… and potential… are the greatest assets you have in your business.

You’ve got to treat them with love and respect. You’ve got to let them know that you care about them… both as customers and as people.

And you’ve got to constantly keep in touch with them, always offering them a “better deal,” (which doesn’t always mean “lower price,” by the way), a better value, increased ways to further enhance the advantage, benefit, use or enjoyment they get from using your products and services, and from doing business with you.

Follow up with them. Don’t harass or bug them. Develop a plan… an easy-to-administer system for systematically and continuously following up, always offering your help, expertise, and the value you bring to your relationship with them beyond what the actual products or services you sell offer.

Always keep an action plan for success ready.

The typical business owner, manager, or entrepreneur spends a considerable amount of their day handling crisis and putting out fires rather than running, managing and growing their business. As a result, at the end of the day they find they’ve made very little, if any progress toward achieving their goals.

And, at the end of several years, they find they’re no further ahead than they were years ago. In fact, in many cases, they’re farther behind, because while their expenses and the cost of doing business continued to rise, their businesses failed to grow at a proportionate rate.

If this sounds like you, and you’re frustrated because of it, don’t give up. There’s a reason for it… and thankfully, a solution. And, the good news is, the solution isn’t all that difficult.

The main reason so many business people find themselves in this predicament is very clear to those who understand the simple principle behind it. Unfortunately, most people don’t realise, have never been taught, or fail to grasp this one basic and fundamental concept:

Most people in business spend too much time working in their Business, and not on their business

 

In other words, they’re working so hard trying to keep the ship afloat, that they don’t have enough time (and sometimes energy) to do what it takes to move the ship towards its intended destination.

And, it’s not always the business owner’s fault. Sometimes, the business they find themselves in has just grown so fast that they haven’t had time to keep up with it.

In other cases, the business might be slow to develop because of insufficient cash flow, inadequate resources, stiff competition, poor location, or an apathetic buying market, and it’s all the business owner can do to keep the doors open by running it him or herself. They just can’t afford to hire anyone else to help them.

How you prioritise and choose the activities you get involved with on a daily basis, as well as how much time, effort and attention you devote to those activities has a tremendous amount to do with determining the impact you have on the growth and direction of your business.

The reality is that when you work in your business, you’re doing the activities that, at best, produce only average results for you.

On the other hand, when you work on your business, you’re doing the 20% of activities that have the potential to produce an incredible 80% or more of your results.

Contact us for a free consultation and start to make a difference in your business!

The principles that make up the The Essentials Group business building and development systems, have been used to make enormous profits for businesses of all sizes and types, and in nearly every business, industry and profession.

The Essentials Group has adapted and refined these principles into a series of dynamic and scientific processes that meet the challenges facing businesses operating in today’s highly competitive environment.
The Essentials Group can help you…
• Drive hordes of hungry customers to your business.
• Craft and use powerful and irresistible direct marketing strategies to drive your sales through the roof.
• Counter competitor price cutting without reducing your margins.
• Keep customers coming back again and again to your business.
• Uncover and profit from the hidden and untapped assets to be found in your business.
• Quickly, simply and effectively increase sales to your current customers by 10%, 35% and even 90% or more, with no additional marketing costs.
• Advertise your business for absolutely no cost.
• Create passionate and undying customer loyalty to permanently keep your competitors out.
• Find, acquire, keep and motivate superstar salespeople and employees.
• Live and enjoy greater success by speedily building a business that is highly profitable and will run itself.
• Make your business 100% recession proof in 30 days or less.
• Get and use testimonials to dramatically boost your sales.
• Use price testing to garner maximum profit from every sale you make.
• Add an immediate $5,000 to $10,000 in new found profits in the next 30 days.
• Double, triple even quadruple your sales conversion rate.
• And much, much more…

Giving you an unfair advantage, contact us now!

Customer Service: (03) 8682 9523
Email us at: customerservice@theessentialsgroup.com