Be Somewhere, Be Somebody and Do Something. 

I have been cleaning out my garage, my office and going through old notes to finish my marketing strategy session for the year and I noticed a great note written after the Advanced Coaching and Consulting Workshop given by Dan Kennedy last year and he said, Be Somewhere, Be Somebody and Do Something.

At first when I realized that it cost over $11,800 to be there and it’s this simple, I started to say – Hey Wait a Minute…  but after Dan finished I was convinced.

Let me share some of his suggestions…

1.  Be Somewhere!

If you want to make 2009 your best year yet, you have to be somewhere.  You can’t sit in the office hoping and wishing your business to be better.  You must be out networking, speaking, donating time, making connections, helping other business or organizations and just being out in the thick of things, you will be able to notice more and more opportunities.

2.  Be Somebody!

Basically, its time that you stop hiding and become the Expert in your industry.  How to do that, by speaking, writing articles, writing books, being quoted by your industry journal, providing expert information for case studies.  But, you can’t be an expert in your office to just your employees.  The world needs to know that you are important.

3.  Do Something!

Well, Creating plans, journals, thinking, dreaming, hoping, waiting for the Secret to attract the right kinds of clients, just won’t cut it.  Implementation makes an ordinary business into an extraordinary business but it is up to you to do something.

If you are waiting until you are ready – Guess What???  Ready never comes.

If you are waiting for the project, the ad, the sales letter, the thank you note to be PERFECT?  Guess What???  Perfect never comes.  Just get it done!

If we have learned any lesson for 2008, it is USING WHAT YOU GOT.  Making the most out of every opportunity and never ever giving up!

Remember, Be somewhere, be somebody and do something!

The only thing about Sarah Palin that helped John McCain during this election was her celebrity - the same thing that he accused President Elect Barack Obama of using. But what the McCain campaign discovered is that the use of celebrity works very well.

This is why no matter if I voted RED or BLUE, I decided that attending a lunch with Bette Midler (Small Business for Obama) was the best use of my time and energy. See picture with me and Bette!

Clients, customers, patients, prospects are all tuning into Access Hollywood, Extra and Entertainment Tonight. Added in the last few years, E News Daily, The Daily 10 and TMZ. All of the shows feature celebrity news. Even CNN, has a nightly segment dedicated all to celebrity news. If you are not using that phenomenon in your business you are missing out.

Lesson: You should have a celebrity representing your business. It can be you or your partner. If you are too shy, get a cartoon made of yourself so that you can be another person. Create a mascot that can be the celebrity or “rent” a local newscaster to represent your company. People buy People not products or things.

For years, I stayed in the background at FreshStart Telephone, no one knew me. Then, I started our newsletter full of pictures, as well as making our customers celebrities. Showing pictures of them winning the prizes, paying their bills and happy to have our service. It changed our business. Use of celebrity, increased our referrals by 32%. Everyone wanted to come in and meet T.T. and Shameka from the radio commercials, plus see if their picture made the Winners Wall or newsletter.

Even better - my little celebrity, daughter Devyn, I get more questions about what is going on with her than anything. Using a celebrity works!

Everybody is trying to steal recession proof your business but they are not giving you concrete things to do right now.

Here is the list.

1. Don’t stop marketing!
2. When you do buy advertising, make sure that you are using direct response techniques.

A brief example:

My new coaching client Stephanie participated in a “combo” special marketing program. First, Stephanie’s company sells beautiful high end handbags, in multiple colors and textures. A women’s dream! Check out her website at http://www.micis-boutique.com/.

Stephanie is really excited about what can happen with this program. It includes, an email blast to over 80,000, a full page ad on a digital magazine and a full page ad in the print magazine. Sounds like lots of exposure and she is waiting for her website to start sending orders!

So here is the prescription to make sure that this is going to work for her. Breaking the questions into 2 different categories.

Maximizing Sales

1. Designing your site appropriately for fast loading.
2. Monitoring things – making sure that the website has your best deals ready for buyers
3. Adding a special urgency message to the website so that the people visiting will buy immediately
4. Capturing the data from those that are not ready to buy just yet, but want to come back and browse. Getting their information so that we can follow up with them.
5. Adding upsells to the check out and thank you pages to take advantage of the shoppers in a buying mode
6. Making sure the shipping package includes coupons and discounts for other services especially for the holidays

Knowing your numbers
7. Proper tracking codes on each media so that we know which media – the email, print magazine or the digital magazine worked the best
8. Knowing the numbers! How many bags do you need to sell to make your money back?

Advertising again? During these economic times, only proven strategies should be used. Only media that you have used before and experienced a high ROI – return on investment should be used. Most entrepreneurs are not using this method. They like to hear the phone ring, or they are looking at the increased traffic to their website. Look – you can not deposit the good feelings, the hunches or the traffic. Only money is allowed.

Well, Stephanie is a fast learner but had not considered the info above. Especially not how many bags you need to sell to make your investment back. This number is KEY.

When deciding advertising to purchase, run these numbers first. Advertising is only expensive when it does not work. As long as it works, it is the best way to get new lifelong customers. But if you don’t know the numbers, it is like running through the house with a butcher knife… very very dangerous.

It is kinda like - when should I begin a diet? On Monday? - when the week is just starting? Or Sunday - so that it is a full 7 days?

I get asked more often when should I start marketing? Then, I hear, I am just too busy to think about marketing my business. I like to do it in my down time.

That’s when I start to get nervous! So here’s my answer that I can put in print and not get blocked by SPAM filters.

Put the burger and fries down now - and start the diet right this moment! Why dig the well, after you are thirsty?

Biggest mistake business owners make - not having a concrete marketing plan. I know, I am a go after it kind of girl who runs before she walks however, it is important to map out month by month what should happen in your business. And there should NEVER I mean NEVER be a time where you say, SKIP this month.

The main reason - hello, your bills don’t take Summer Skips or Easter Skips (like my Aunt Dorie says) They come every month - just like your marketing campaigns should.

Need extra help? I have 2 programs that might work for you.

1. The Ultimate Marketing Plan Tele-Class, which is an 8 week tele-class where we break down your plan month by month and develop an implementation program for you. This is limited to 8 people and the next one is starting soon - well as soon as I can fit it in my schedule - looks like late August. Email me if you are interested.

2. I have teamed up with my friend Brenda Prinzavalli from Balanced Organizing Solutions and the featured Organizer on More - Fox’s Television Show to develop an incredible online/telephone coaching program to put everything together for you called Marketing Organized. We break down my fundamental strategies with her specialized organizing expertise for entrepreneurs and BINGO it’s a winner! It is an annual program with a 12 month in depth review of principles, a little nudging if you slow down, and down right, kick ass skills to lead your business into BIG MONEY. Send me a quick note if you think this program would be good for you. Check out Brenda in her latest segment for Fox5 Las Vegas
http://www.fox5vegas.com/video/15065049/index.html This program is a winner - see you there!

The Formula is a Equilateral triangle ( all 3 sides are equal length)

Side 1 - Market: figuring out the who first. Not deciding to market after the product is done. Figure out the who first and then how do you reach them. Most business owners do this backwards. They read traditional stuff that says - do what you love and the money will follow–but what I love to do is watch TV (as many of you know) and eat Mexican food. That job is taken by the Taco Bell Chihuahua and even he got fired.

Focus on who is going to buy your product or service. Think through this one. Even at the telephone company - everyone needs a telephone right? Well, I was crazy trying to reach everyone. I didn’t have enough money to fight with the existing telephone carrier, the 33 other small ones like me and then Cable entered the market and I was doomed. I have to find a niche a target.

Once I found a target, then, I could consistently talk directly to them for less money. I could effectively reach a certain group that made us famous!

Side 2 - Message: Getting your message right. It should be focused and laser sharp so that your target market after reading your ad, hearing your presentation, walking into your store, will say - this is for me. Hey, it seems like they are talking to me. Since my target market is credit challenged customers, they typically have other challenges. They tend to borrow money from relatives to get them out of a bind. My radio commercial was a girl calling her aunt asking to borrow money. My customers would come in and say - I did that last week. My mother hated the commercial said it was demeaning however, my customer did not have a problem. Even my offices, they were not fancy in a fancy building. They were in a strip mall, or one was inside of a pay day loan company for years.

Side 3 - Media: This should be the last decision you make. Choose the media after you have determined your market and message. My customers were not readers so I had to figure out another way to reach them. There weren’t any magazines or newspapers that they read. So I chose radio.

Now that you have the basics, next week, I will discuss the other steps keeping marketing from being easy, such when to implement your marketing campaign.

As a Certified NO B.S. Marketing Advisor for Dan Kennedy - I have secured a way to get his award winning No B.S. Marketing Newsletter for free for 2 months plus lots of other bonuses totalling over $613 click here for the Most Incredible Free Gift Ever!

Last Sunday, Devyn asked can we go to the park, can we go bye-bye. All I can think about is the fact that it is 110 outside. SO I told her after her nap. As soon as she woke up, she said….Park…Park… I told her yes, or else I would have to hear park for the next 3 hours. Not that it gets any cooler after 5pm. It does not cool down this time of year until well, September! At midnight it is still over 100 degrees.

We dressed for the park and packed the car, put on her sandals, packed toys, lots of bottled water and headed for the park. I decided that we would have sandwiches instead of the normal McDonalds because it was just too hot for a hamburger. I went to a local Italian pasta and sandwich shop in a strip mall, that I have ordered sandwiches from before and every time I received bad service. The owner is behind the counter, mad that the business is not flourishing… and just plain grumpy.

Hannah Montana’s Wig
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Devyn’s new favorite TV show is Hannah Montana. I know, she is only 2 but she loves when Miley puts on the wig and changes into Hannah. Well, Devyn puts a baby blanket on her head to be her wig.

I know we look crazy going into the sandwich shop. Me – with the George Forman t-shirt on that is 2 sizes too big and my favorite weekend jeans with a hole in the knee, and Devyn as cute as she is with the doggone blanket on her head. I certainly don’t look like a million dollar business owner. Or the leading authority on business building for women….

Standing ordering in the shop were a group of seniors out on a Sunday. They ordered pasta dishes that included salads. It was time for me and Devyn to order and the owner took my sandwich order and told me it would be 15 minutes. .. 15 minutes????? For a sandwich?

Who are you $7…. And your kid has a blanket on her head?
He basically said to me that he wanted to take care of his other orders first. Even though, he could have made their salads and then made my sandwich. They were there to socialize and enjoy each other’s company. It would have been ok to have them wait , but he figured. Who is this girl with the $7 sandwich? And the kid with the blanket on her head??

Turns out, as I was waiting…the group commented on how cute Devyn was and I asked do they go out each Sunday. They replied, yes, they try out different restaurants. I then asked how often do you return to a restaurant. They told me NEVER because Las Vegas has so many. After 10 minutes and he still had not started my sandwich, I decided to cancel my order and leave.

What was the owner really losing?

The lesson – Be careful taking right now money – it may not be the best for your business.

I have been to this shop with a client (bad service then too) , I returned for a consultation with the client and instead of making dinner that night, I ordered again. And this time was my third trip.

Here are his top 3 mistakes:

1. Not taking my information the first time I entered the store and encouraging my return visits by giving me a coupon, a rewards card, something to identify me as a repeat customer.
2. Being grumpy in the first place – if you can not handle every customer as if they are the POPE, hire someone who can
3. Assuming that the group’s money was more valuable than mine. Basically considering me as a little fish and throwing me back in the water. I had spent combined in the 3 times I visited more than the group spent on their one occasion.

A final lesson – remember there are only 3 ways to grow your business.

Add new customers
Get customers to return more often
Have customers spend more

I was number 2! But, it is his loss. We don’t plan to return with or without the blanket.

The top 3 stories of February, 2007 based on internet searches, reported newspapers, television, radio…drum roll please… I bet you would not guess:

1. Great Britain withdraws from Iraq
2. Anna Nicole Smith Dies
3. Britney Spears Shaves her Head

For years, big business understands the use of celebrity but small businesses have not taken advantage of this perfect way to get publicity. Look at the night clubs right here in Las Vegas. Each week, Extra, Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight report about celebrity sightings at night clubs. Hallmark created a Paris Hilton Card that read—That’s Hot! They were sued by Ms. Hilton, but sold so many cards, it was worth it. They pulled the card but it was so much better than, hiring Ms. Hilton and having to pay her hefty fee. The event was reported by over 15,000 outlets getting Hallmark, free ads…

Now, that I have convinced you that adding celebrity to your business is essential, what are you going to do to add the celebrity to your business. Celebrity branding is the new way to insure a success. Attaching your business to a celebrity or making you or your customers celebrities, has a better effect on your bottom line than regular advertising.

If you missed our monthly Business Survival Meeting , you missed our guest speaker Nick Nanton, Celebrity Lawyer and author of Celebrity Branding You. Nick gave away free copies of the book but also, detailed strategies for dominating the internet, becoming a celebrity in your own industry and basic business building by using celebrities. I have a few extra copies. If you would like one, I will bring them to the next meeting, Wed, July 23, 2008 at the Antique Mall, located at 1495 E Flamingo Rd. between the library and Blueberry Hill restaurant. OK between, Tamarus and Spencer.

Check out Nick’s website – www.celebritybrandingyou.com and tell him I sent you!

Here are photos of several members and Nick signing autographs!

http://flickr.com/photos/nicknanton/sets/72157605867027173/detail/

I love watching every smile and even the failed potty training attempts. It is fun, but, I want to stay home. So … I am off on my Virtual Book Tour.

First Stop - Morgan State in Baltimore, Maryland

Broadcast live, Mario Armstrong’s Digital Spin is the Mid Atlantic’s
premiere radio programming that focuses on technology. It airs each Wednesday
from 7 to 8 p.m. EST on WEAA, 88.9 FM, which is located on the campus of Morgan
State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Did you get your copy of my book? If not Click Here

And we are off!

If you already have your textbook and No B.S. Marketing Binder, please bring it to the meeting.

If this is your first time, please read carefully how to order your MANDATORY course materials.

This workshop is normally $45. However, you can come for the cost of your materials, this is an incredible deal. The investment for training materials is $19.95 plus when you arrive I will give you a copy of the current lesson while you wait for the additional items to be shipped to you. You will also receive 3 free Webinars to help build your business.

I will also give you a free marketing text book from my favorite marketing guru plus a bonus chapter from my book How to Build A Million Dollar Business in Las Vegas – Without the Casinos.

Your meal is included as well as the next 2 workshops. We want to make sure that you get a great headstart in building your business.

Click here to order your materials

See you at the workshop!

Richelle