For most people it’s not much of an option – you’ll either be bare-handed or, a best, carrying a smaller knife.

My karate instructor was keenly aware of this fact and wanted to prepare us for the worst.

It was one of the most valuable lessons I ever got.

He paired us up, giving one of us a rubber (thank goodness) prop knife.

As we waited for further instruction, expecting to hear some kind of fancy ninja move that would even disarm Chuck Norris, he uttered four words that echo in my ears to this day:

“Alright, go for it!”

Huh??

Go for what – not getting stabbed by a costume weapon?

So we did what we could… one guy trying to stab, the other trying not to get stabbed.

As I faced my partner, noticing his eyes scanning my body for an opening, over and over I thought in my head, “Just don’t get cut. Don’t get cut.”

Now, you may be thinking, “Dude, it was just a toy knife!” and you’d be right.

But we were trained from Day 1 to train like it’s real, much like the military does.

The more real you make your trainings, rehearsals, trial runs – mentally, physically, and emotionally – the better you’ll perform when you’re actually going through it.

There’s no such thing as practice – you’re ALWAYS doing, even if it’s badly  or exceptionally well.

At first I was mucking things pretty badly, both as the stabber and as the stabbee.

But when I stopped worrying so much about the knife, I started getting better and better.

After about 20 minutes our instructor shouted, “Yame!” signaling us to stop, then gathered us around him.

“So what did you learn?” he asked.

Resoundingly, everyone in the group agreed, “No matter what you do, you’re going to get cut.”

No theoretical defense strategy or fancy Hollywood choreography is going to save you from that bitter truth.

Avoiding getting cut isn’t the goal…

The choices are either disabling your opponent and keeping him from seriously injuring you or getting the heck out of there.

And the same holds true in your marketing:

• You will fail
• You will have some real stinker campaigns
• You will have “genius” ideas that will crash and burn

But that just comes with the territory – business and entrepreneurship isn’t about avoiding risks, it’s about managing them.

Cheers to your success!

Philipp

Keywords:

When Procter & Gamble released Febreze in 1993, their execs were dreaming of how they would spend their bonuses – exotic sports cars, private jet charters, beachfront homes.

They spent millions of dollars and years of research creating a product that eliminated odors – genius!

Then the sales numbers came in, and brought with it a sad reality.

Febreze fell flat on its face.

No one bought it.

Huh??

A product that actually works, fills a real need, sold through thousands of distribution channels, and it BOMBED??

Yup.

After they licked their wounds, the P&G team took a look at what went wrong.

The people that DID buy it loved it and said that it worked, so the product wasn’t the problem.

If that was the case, then it must have been the way they were selling it.

The initial marketing campaign for Febreze touted it as an odor eliminator, a solution for an acute household problem.

But after more research, they realized that the customers who loved it didn’t use it for that purpose.

Instead, they used it as a way to “finish” their current cleaning routines.

That is, they were already in the habit of cleaning, but just sprayed the Febreze as a way to mark for themselves “this room is done”.

So P&G rolled out a new campaign.

Rather than showing it as a way to remove odors, essentially trying to teach consumers to do something new (eliminate odors with our product), they instead showed Febreze as a way to complete a routine they were ALREADY doing.

The result?

Sales doubled within two months.

Today, along with several spinoff products, the Febreze brand rakes in over $1 billion annually.

And all this success comes not because they had a superior product…

…but because they focused on a smart marketing apprach: piggyback off of what your customer is already doing rather than forcing a new behavior.

That’s one of the reasons I am a fanatic about email marketing.

Some mock and say it’s “soo 2001″, abandoning it for sexy, social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest (yup, another one).

“I’m gonna get my customers to follow me on Facebook!”

Look, I’ve got nothing against tweeting and liking and posting – I do my fair share.

But here’s the thing… there are 1900 times more email accounts as Facebook and Twitter accounts combined.

And daily post totals on Facebook and Twitter add up to only 0.2% of the messages sent and shared via email – a whopping 294 billion, which DOES NOT include spam.

So I’m just following the data and piggybacking on email’s coattails.

If you want to learn to do the same, tune in for my upcoming free training on email marketing.

I’ll have the date squared away shortly, so keep an eye out for the announcement.

And if you’ve got a burning question you’d like me to address on the training, simply go to the survey link below and submit it there.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MC7Y6B6

Cheers to your success!

Philipp

Keywords:

Social media is the collection of internet-based technology that allows the widespread creation, distribution, and collaboration of content (e.g., articles, opinions, videos, entertainment).  The technology is typically low cost and accessible to anyone with access to the Internet.  Contrast this with “industrial” media such as magazines, newspapers, radio, and television, which are expensive to produce and limit content creation and distribution to just a few.

The old world of industrial media allowed businesses to distribute specific messages regarding products and services, while the general public could choose only to accept or deny those messages.  Consumers had no other say in the matter and generally they accepted marketing messages in direct proportion to their prominence (i.e., number of times they were seen).

Although this model was the accepted environment for many years, the tide has turned. In fact, the New York Times reported that many top publications like Forbes and Fortune were down over 15%.  Thanks to advances in technology and access to high-speed Internet connections, for the first time in history, consumers have their own far-reaching voice, separate from corporate marketing messages.

For businesses this represents both good and bad news.  The bad news is that the way people buy has changed.  Social media provides such a rich source of information and opinions on any product, business, or service that many can choose to simply ignore advertisements, taglines, and positioning statements.  Even the “expert” review has yielded its authority to peer reviews from fellow consumers.  Forrester Research found that the people who say companies tell the truth in their advertisements has dropped from 13% to 7%.  Today’s consumer is more savvy, research-driven, better educated, and talking to other consumers worldwide to make very informed buying decisions.

The good news is that social media does not discriminate. Businesses have the same access to social media sites, technology, and tactics as the consumer.  This is considerably good news for the small business owner that can’t afford traditional industrial media.  Like many advances brought by the Internet, social media provides a very level playing field.

As many more businesses now come to this realization, many make the fatal assumption that, “All I’ve got to do is learn how to set up a blog, or Twitter account, or Facebook page, then start posting!” While these are absolutely important steps in the process, businesses must first familiarize themselves with the most critical pieces in social media: strategy and conversation.

A typical approach for businesses new to social media is to start selling by broadcasting their marketing message.  Imagine a single male that’s desperate to find a wife, walking into a backyard party and shouting, “Ladies, I’ve arrived! Come over here if you wanna get hitched!”  I bet you’d agree that is not the best strategy.  A solid strategy requires careful thought and planning in consideration of your overall objective, your audience, your audience’s objective, and the specific actions required to get them from where they are to where they need to be.

Because consumers have so much data available upon which to make their buying decisions, a simple one-liner won’t do the job.  Just like making friends at a backyard party, you must master the art of conversation.  People buy from people they like, and today’s Internet technology and online culture allow you to create meaningful connections with others you meet at the online party.  This is the key to social media – creating and taking part in meaningful conversations with others that will lead them to want to do business with you.

Social media CAN BE the answer for your business, provided you recognize it as another valuable tool in your marketing tool bag, create a solid strategy for its implementation, and respect the new buying landscape.

What do you think?

Keywords:

It shares some really good tips and tricks to make sure you’re getting the best bargain from a number of online and local merchants.

Great for me.

Great other consumers.

Bad for businesses.

Why?

Because these types of tactics effectively reduce a business’s value to one thing: PRICE.

The one with the best overall price (including shipping and tax) invariably gets the sale.

BTW… If you’re thinking, “Phil, that’s great and all, but I’m not selling electronics or toys or cookware, so this just doesn’t apply to me.”

BUZZ! WRONG ANSWER!

Make no mistake…

Whether it’s the portion of your servings, your star rating, the distance to your customer’s house, the number of reviews on your profile…

You are being compared to your customers in one way or another.

Back in my suit-and-tie days, we used to call these types of situations “column fodder”.

Purchasing managers would create reports for decision makers (AKA check signers) on their best recommendation for a product or service using a spreadsheet.

This would put every bid/vendor on an even scale so that they can make “fair apples-to-apples” comparisons.

Yeesh!  I cringe every time I hear that phrase… apples-to-apples.

So how do you get out of that one and still come out on top?

Two ways…

First, stop being an apple and be an orange instead.

Structure your offer, describe your business/product/service, and approach your prospect in a completely different way than your competitors do.

For example, bundle your services so that they can’t be broken out piecemeal and easily plugged into an Excel column.

Second, if you’re looking to win the price battle to attract customers, make sure you have a strategy for making back that lost margin.

Former customers of group buy services like Groupon and livingsocial know only too well that a flood of customers can quickly turn into disaster.

Don’t just look at winning that short-term transaction.

Think of your long term relationship with your new customer both in terms of repeat business and referrals.

Of course, this doesn’t just apply to the holidays, does it?

Cheers to your success!

Philipp

P.S. If you know you need help with creating effective, long term, automated marketing strategies, keep an eye out for my upcoming trainings.

Or for faster, more personal attention, you can request my comprehensive Marketing Process Audit at 909-297-1662.

Of course I’m referring to the opening of the final Harry Potter movie.

Now, I’m not a cloak-wearing, wand waving, lightning-bolt-tattoo-on-the-forehead uber-fan or anything, but I have enjoyed the movies.

One character in particular that I’ve really liked is the Hogwarts Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore.  If you’re not familiar with the books or movies, Dumbledore is one of the main characters that mentors Harry Potter throughout the series.

One of Dumbledore’s famous lines to Harry is, “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.”

This sage advice comes to aid Harry at many critical points in the series, usually when Harry is so concerned with protecting his friends and family that he tries in vain to carry the entire burden himself.

According to a recent survey, it seems that Harry Potter isn’t the only one that is heeding this advice… so are many small business owners.

• More than 40% report they need help for better local search rankings
• 37% say they need help using Facebook, Twitter and other social media
• Nearly 35% need help with email marketing promotions

Of course, when anyone asks me for advice I immediately ask, “Do you REALLY want to know, or are you just making conversation?”

The study also shows that many are at least somewhat serious about getting help, backing up their requests with the “ultimate” vote: their wallets.

A vast majority are going down the DIY path with 23% planning to spend between $1000-$5000. 14% plan to spend less than $1000.

On the other hand, 16% have allocated $5000 or more of their budgets to improving their online efforts, indicating a preference towards outsourcing the work to experts.

So what about you?

Are you willing to ask for help?

If you are, then here’s your chance…

Simply COMMENT BELOW and tell me exactly what you’d like help with.  I’ve asked other people to do the same.

It’s best if you phrase your request in the form of a specific question.  For example, “How do I turn my Facebook fans into real sales?” or “What’s the best way to grow my email list?”

Anyone that COMMENTS BELOW asking for some help (a question, clarification, or other request on anything regarding Internet marketing, marketing strategy, copywriting, and all the other things you’ve gotten to know me for) will get a report back from me that compiles ALL the questions asked of me, along with my answers.  (alternatively you can send an email to info [at] maramimarketing [dot] com)

Again, in order to get the compiled Q&A from me, you need to be one of those few that are asking for help.  So not only will you get an answer for your own question, you’ll get answers for things you probably would never have thought of asking.

Just a little something I learned from Dumbledore.

Or you can go it alone… it’s up to you.

Cheers to your success!

Philipp

Keywords:

I’m talking about the Oscar-winning MOVIE about the Titanic. This is the one you want to “make like.” Why?

Because it didn’t just win Best Picture… it SWEPT the 1998 Academy Awards, winning 11 out of 14 nominations.

Up to that point the movie had already pulled in over $1 billion. But its massive Oscar success allowed it to stay in the theaters for another 7 months, prompted thousands that had ALREADY seen it to see it again, and ushered thousands more that hadn’t yet seen it to watch for the first time. “It won ALL those awards? Well then it MUST be good!”

In those 7 months it eeked out another $800 million in box office sales. Imagine having THAT kind of response.

I don’t know about you, but that’s what I call DOMINATION!

Make like Titanic? Indeed.

Think about how you could do this kind of sweep in your marketing. Put yourself in that “category of one” where you’re so dominant that your customers have no choice but to come back to you again and again.

Lots of different ways you could approach this, but here’s where it’s gotta start:

THINK BIGGER

Simple, I know. And it works.

I had to do it myself a few weeks back with a test my team had put together. I was VERY skeptical, but it worked out AMAZINGLY well (http://www.maramimarketing.com/thinkbigger). So well, in fact, that as a result I’ll be offering it very shortly as a new service.

Just forget about “realistic” for the moment. Don’t worry about HOW you can make it happen. Simply give yourself permission to accept that there are even bigger possibilities.

You may surprise yourself.

Cheers to your success!

Philipp

P.S. For the record, I too contributed to the Titanic fund, having watched it three times in the theater. I couldn’t help it… that Leo is SO dreamy!

But before I give you the two words that reveal what it is, let me tell you a quick story…

Years ago, when I used to watch a lot of TV, I was up late doing an infomercial “marathon.”

After making my way through The Flowbie, Tony Robbins Personal Power, and Proactiv, a very different one popped on my screen.

It was an infomercial from the Church of Latter Day Saints (The Mormons).

Prior to that moment I had no experience with their traditions and was intrigued by what they had to say.

Every few minutes a phone number would pop up with an offer to get a free copy of their Book of Mormon.  I bit and picked up the phone and requested that a copy be sent to me.

Within a couple of days it arrived at my door.  Here’s where it got interesting…

The next day I get a knock at the door.

I opened the door to see two young men in white button-up short-sleeve shirts, black pants, and backpacks were standing on my porch.

The name badges on their chests identified them as “Elders” Williams and Barnes from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

“Hello, Mr. Lomboy?” one of them asked.

“Yes.”

“We’re from the Church of Latter Day Saints.  We understand you had requested one of our Books recently.  I’m not sure if you’ve gotten a chance to look at it yet, but wanted to see if you had any questions or would like to talk more about what’s in it.”

“Umm, sure.  Come on in.”

We sat down in my living room where I offered them water and a some cookies, and for the next 30 minutes and had an interesting conversation about their religion.

Now the fact that they didn’t convert me to Mormonism doesn’t take one bit away from this story (the subject of face-to-face salesmanship is a completely different conversation).

The key here is that even religious organizations use this two word strategy to get otherwise complete strangers to open their doors to them.

Here’s the strategy: LEAD GENERATION

Their infomercial was a direct response advertisement, designed to get people to identify themselves as qualified prospects by picking up the phone and requesting their book (i.e. lead magnet or front-end offer).

That information was then passed on to their missionaries (i.e., salespeople) that would follow up on these warm leads, who were presumably more welcoming and open to a visit.

Just like any marketing savvy business, the LDS understood that not everyone was going to be “converted” in one step.

Whether you’re “recruiting” worshippers, customers, or partners, the majority of your target audience will need to be led through a PROCESS of relationship-building, which takes a considerable amount of time and energy.

Lead generation strategies allow us to spend our time (a resource already in short supply) on prospects that have identified themselves as more likely to welcome a relationship with us.  Instead of finding creative techniques to jam your foot into a closing door, you can focus on the doors that are more likely to be open to you.

Not all knocks on your door are created equal.  What can you do to make yours more welcome?

Cheers to your success!

Philipp

One time in particular stands out for me.

I was laughing and playing with my daughters in the living room when I hear a knock at the door.

It was a woman with a Verizon badge and a clipboard.  I hear my kids laughing in the background.

“We’re doing courtesy visits to our Verizon internet customers to make sure that everything is working out okay.” I look back and see the girls bouncing up and down on our mini-trampoline.  I say, “Yes, it’s all working out fine,” stepping back to close the door.

“ALSO… I noticed that you’re not using our integrated entertainment package. Is that something you’ve looked at?”

“No, we don’t watch much television.”  The squeaking sound from the trampoline stops and I hear the pitter-patter of footsteps in the kitchen.

“I see.  Well I may actually be able to increase your internet speeds at no cost to you also.  Let me take a look.” She pulls a small laptop out of her bag.

“Look, I’ve really gotta get back to my family.  Thanks.” Annoyed, I shut the door and rush to the kitchen where the girls have apparently decided to form a band and go on tour using every pot, pan, and utensil in the joint as their instruments.

Looking back at it, I would have loved to get increased internet speeds for free.

The trouble was, I was SO annoyed that my daily play time was interrupted, and I wasn’t willing to give up any more of it, that I was completely blind to any potential benefits to me.

Don’t shoot the messenger?  Yeah right!

I’m not saying that door to door sales, telemarketing, and other forms of “interruption marketing” don’t work… I’ve done quite a bit of that myself in the past with good success.  (For the record, neither I nor my loafers miss those days one bit!)

What I AM saying is your approach does matter.

In the last couple of years business owners have starting to realize that relying on the “numbers game” isn’t good enough anymore because it’s now taking MORE numbers to get the SAME results!

A “one-call close” (making a sale on the first contact) is a rarity.

But there IS a marketing approach you can use that makes it MUCH more likely that you’re only spending time with prospects that not only GLADLY open their doors to you, they’ll even invite you to sit down for coffee and a danish!

It’s two words.

If you don’t know what it is, just look for my next email where I’ll share it with you.

Cheers to your success!

Philipp

P.S. If you think you know what it is, just COMMENT BELOW with your answer and I’ll send you an invitation to view my latest training on how to use webinars effectively as a low cost strategy to bring in leads and sales.

He had created some newly designed cards to hand out to customers when their job was complete as a replacement for his previous materials.  The piece itself was very nicely designed and even gave some good information to the customer.

But I had to ask the question, “What happened to the old materials?” which had been working very well for him in the past.

To which he replied, “I was kinda bored with them.  I get like that with a lot of our marketing stuff and just want to do something new and different.”

That’s when my ears perked up.

Your level of boredom is NOT the indicator that you should use to determine when to change your marketing.

Your primary indicator should be RESULTS!

Let me ask you a question…

Are you getting the results you would like from your current method?

If not, then by all means use your creative energy to come up with an alternate strategy that can be measured to determine whether the change worked.

If you ARE getting the results you’d like, keep on doing it!

At the end of the day, your customers don’t care how bored YOU are, and you shouldn’t either.  Focus instead on generating the maximum amount of return for your efforts and expense.

Profitability is determined through a simple equation:

[Dollars brought in] – [Dollars given out]

You’ll notice that boredom and creativity aren’t part of it.