Do It! Marketing Manifesto
Published in: Marketing
Transcript
- 1. | 107.04ChangeThis The DoIt! Marketing Manifesto David Newman
- 2. | 107.04ChangeThis What is marketing? Put bluntly, marketing is the set of strategies, tactics and tools that make selling unnecessary. OK, that’s a bit extreme. Let’s try again… Marketing is the set of strategies, tactics and tools that help you sell more products and services—more easily AND more often. There, that’s better. Bad news: Marketing for the sake of marketing is broken. Kaput. Finished. Smart marketing is all about helping you generate MORE leads, BETTER prospects, and BIGGER sales. Period. Good news: That also happens to be the purpose of this cheeky, powerful little manifesto you’re reading right now. As a small business owner, independent professional, or thought-leading executive who’s looking to position yourself as an expert and maximize your visibility, credibility and marketing magnetism...
- 3. | 107.04ChangeThis Is this YOU? • You’ve experienced the fact that “old school” business development (random cold calling, batch-and-blast direct mail, buying ads and working hard to interrupt strangers) is broken and “there has to be a better way.” • You want to win more attention from prospects by positioning yourself as a thought- leading expert and by executing magnetic marketing strategies that pull (not push) qualified, targeted decision-makers into your world. • When it comes to positioning yourself and your company as the experts—and executing the daily marketing tasks to make it happen—you feel there’s too much to do, never enough time, and sometimes you’re not even sure where to begin. • You’d like to eliminate the ups and downs of your “feast and famine” revenue cycle with proven marketing tactics that generate consistent visibility and “top of mind” awareness so you become the obvious “go-to” choice for your target market • You want to outsmart, out-position, and out-execute your competition so you stop “marketing by accident” and so you no longer have to just settle for whatever business “falls in your lap.”
- 4. | 107.04ChangeThis Small business marketing is not a mystery. It’s just a series of simple decisions—and the action steps to carry out the implementation of those decisions—to help you regain the clarity, confidence, and control you need to reach higher levels of success. If you and your business are ready to kick some serious ass, you’re in the right place. Strap in, hang on—and let’s DO IT! The Four Levels of Marketing When it comes to marketing, there are four things that you need to focus on, four levels if you will. The four levels of marketing are: • Strategy • Tactics • Initiatives • Action steps
- 5. | 107.04ChangeThis When you go to a conference, when you ask your mastermind group for help, even when you start searching the web for answers and resources to grow your business, the number one source of overwhelm is when you’ve heard a whole bunch of strategies, a whole bunch of tactics, a whole bunch of initiatives, a whole bunch of actions steps and you don’t know the difference. There are three reasons why this short-circuits your brain: 1. You can’t do them all. 2. You can’t even prioritize or figure out how to start to think about them. 3. You can’t distinguish which is which and why or how it might work for your business. A strategy is a big picture area of your business. It could be a marketing-focused strategy. It could be a sales-focused strategy. It could be a financial strategy. Let’s say you come across someone who tells you Twitter is an amazing marketing platform and you’re really missing out if your business is not on Twitter. He’s using Twitter and it fits his business beautifully, and you respect this person and you admire their successful business. And now you’re thinking, “Oh man, it’s all about Twitter, Twitter, Twitter.” “If this guy built his business on Twitter, I can probably build my business on Twitter.” Well, let’s back up and analyze that as far as the four levels of marketing.
- 6. | 107.04ChangeThis Internet marketing is the strategy. In other words, Internet marketing is the big giant umbrella over Twitter. The tactic under that would be social media. There’s a lot going on via the internet, folks, that’s not social media. For example, Search engine optimization, your website, the structure of your web presence, blogging, email marketing, and dozens of other internet marketing strategies. Social media happens to be one bucket under that, so social media is the tactic. An initiative would be “I’m going to start using Twitter.” This is level three now. You say, “I’m going to start using Twitter. I’m going to start understanding it.” You might read a book. You might go to some websites. You’re probably going to grab some free Twitter ebooks and how-to resources. Now, the action step—here’s level four—always takes the form of verb, noun, date. • Set up my Twitter account by August 7. • Load my first 30 tweets in Hootsuite by August 11. • Find 100 influential people to follow in my industry by August 27. Those are action steps.
- 7. | 107.04ChangeThis You know you’re dealing with a REAL action step when you can put it on your calendar. Otherwise, it stays a random “to do” that will just make you feel overwhelmed and exhausted as it joins hundreds of other “marketing jobs” you’ve assigned yourself but never implemented. Ouch. Don’t let that happen this time. Your to-do list could be 50 things, but what are your top three most important things that you need to do based on the strategies you’ve selected, based on the tactics that you’ve chosen, based on the initiatives that you’ve designed, what are the action steps to put on your calendar and get it done? Small business marketing is not a mystery. It’s just a series of simple decisions—and the action steps to carry out the implementation of those decisions—to help you regain the clarity, confidence, and control you need to reach higher levels of success. “
- 8. | 107.04ChangeThis So let’s follow this through with a complete example—let’s say you’re in the insurance business. You’re selling into the insurance marketplace, insurance companies and insurance agents, general agents, insurance associations, insurance publications, and you’re looking to become a dominant resource in that world. Your action step would be “I want to follow 300 insurance industry folks on Twitter by November 7.” Does that fit into an initiative? Yes. The initiative is aggressively grow my Twitter following targeted to the insurance industry. Does that fit into a tactic? Yes, it does. It fits into the social media set of tactics. Does that fall under a strategy that you decided to use? Yes, it falls under your internet marketing strategy. So in unpacking those four levels, you’ve gotten some insights through which you can start to filter and sort all of your old ideas, old notes, all of those conference sessions that you may have gone to, all of those tactics and tools and light bulb moments, all those nuggets and sound bites that you may have swirling around in your head or on your “someday, maybe list.” If you start to sort them into these four levels; strategy, tactic, initiative, and action step— you’ll get a much clearer blueprint for ALL your marketing going forward this month, next month and next year.
- 9. | 107.04ChangeThis 11 Questions to Spark Your Success 1. There’s no good time. Now is the time. What are you waiting for? 2. Put out your best material. For free. Do you want to be SHARED or SCARED? 3. YOU may be your biggest obstacle. What would happen if you got out of the way? 4. Stop STARTING things and get more into DOING. What can you do today—right now? 5. A few may wish to see you fail. A lot more are rooting for your success. Where is your attention? 6. Forget the word vision. Better: What do you SEE in your future? 7. You’re aiming too low. How can you elevate your sights, your fees, and your value? 8. Stop blaming others. It’s ALL your fault. Move on—what’s next? 9. A bend in the road is never the end—unless you fail to turn. Where do you need to turn? 10. It’s not what you think it is. And it’s bigger than you think it is. Why not embrace that? 11. There are no silver bullets, secret sauces, or magic beans. Now what’s your plan?
- 10. | 107.04ChangeThis 7 Things Entrepreneurs Must Do Daily Here are the top 7 things that entrepreneurs, business owners, and independent professionals must do every single day: 1. Revisit your goals, milestones, and metrics for the day, week, month, and quarter (financial, marketing, sales, operations). Ramifications if not done daily: you lose sight of the big picture and get pulled off your game by distractions, trivia, and grunt work. 2. Put new prospects on your radar via strategic outreach. Ramifications if not done daily: your sales and marketing start to slip and you suffer from the feast-or-famine small business sales rollercoaster. 3. Thank your team—whether in-house, outsourced, full-time, or virtual. Ramifications if not done daily: your team loses their motivation, momentum, and mojo. Once that’s gone, they’re halfway out the door. 4. Offer value in terms of content with your blog, a video, a resource, a referral, a favor, a gift. Ramifications if not done daily: you become just more marketing noise and customers and prospects tune you out and see you as a peddler, not a partner.
- 11. | 107.04ChangeThis 5. Invite engagement online, offline, in-person, by phone or Skype, ask and answer questions, solicit feedback, invite comments, send a survey. Ramifications if not done daily: your busi- ness becomes isolated as you talk AT your customers and clients rather than talk WITH them. 6. Recharge your batteries—just like the airlines say, “secure your own mask before assisting others.” Ramifications if not done daily:entrepreneurial burnout, stress, drinking, drugs, and divorce. Don’t laugh, you could be next. 7. Be gracious and grateful—take a moment to appreciate what you have, what you’ve built, and who you get to serve each day. Ramifications if not done daily: instead of becoming more and more fulfilling, your business success becomes a trap, a race, and a never-ending contest that you can never win. Stop and smell the coffee! Take a moment to appreciate what you have, what you’ve built, and who you get to serve each day.“
- 12. | 107.04ChangeThis DECIDE is the most powerful word in marketing. Decide who you are. Decide who your prospects are. Decide to do your best work. Decide not to work with jerks. Decide on your menu of investable opportunities. Decide what business model you’re running. Decide what revenue model your pricing comes from. Decide what tasks can be delegated, eliminated, or outsourced. Decide to pursue a niche market. Decide to publish content regularly. Decide to become a valued asset to your prospects. Decide to become indispensable to your clients.
- 13. | 107.04ChangeThis Decide to make a bigger splash in a smaller (or bigger) pond. Decide what kinds of projects are NOT for you. Decide on your marketing strategy. Decide on a small, focused set of tactics. Decide to market more consistently. Decide to sell more bravely. Decide to dream bigger. Decide to act faster. Decide to crush it. AND. YOU. WILL.
- 14. | 107.04ChangeThis “I’m Calling It Quits” Good! Quit!! Please, for heaven’s sakes—quit already. I’ve come across way too many complainers, whiners, goofballs and goobers telling me how broke they are, how hard it is to be an entrepreneur, and how much they are struggling. Are you kidding me? QUIT NOW because... • If you want to make an EVEN trade of hours for dollars, get a JOB. • If you want to be ASSURED of a paycheck, get a JOB. • If you want OTHERS to define your work and your value, get a JOB. However... • If you want to MULTIPLY your own paycheck, be an entrepreneur. • If you can PROVE your work has worth, be an entrepreneur. • If YOU want to define your work and your value, be an entrepreneur.
- 15. | 107.04ChangeThis So you should QUIT right now... 1. Quit whining. 2. Quit complaining when your ideas and projects “fall apart.” (HINT: It’s YOUR job to pull them together!) 3. Quit saying lack of money is your problem. (HINT: Lack of tenacity and creativity is your problem.) 4. Quit going it alone. 5. Quit hanging out with losers. 6. Quit freeloading. 7. Quit expecting “zero” investments (time, money, effort) to pay off. 8. Quit following the herd. 9. Quit relying on social media (it’s the sauce, not the meat). 10. Quit believing your own negative self-talk. 11. Quit playing the victim.
- 16. | 107.04ChangeThis 12. Quit jumping from one hare-brained scheme to the next. 13. Quit putting tactics before strategy. 14. Quit under-spending and over-hoping. 15. Quit blaming others. 16. Quit blaming yourself. 17. Quit congratulating yourself on “the struggle.” 18. Quit bragging about how hard you work and how little you sleep. 19. Quit bragging (yes bragging!) about how little money you earn. 20. Quit telling yourself you’re doing your best, when you’re not willing to do what needs to be done. 21. Quit quitting when things seem impossible. Take a step back, breathe, think, regroup. This is no time to wimp out.
- 17. | 107.04ChangeThis Quit doing this destructive, dumb, demoralizing nonsense. And start turning things around. Today. Right now... Don’t make me come down there and slap you upside your head! What’s Your Mission for Today? Nope, this is NOT about that kind of soft, squishy “mission-vision” thing... This is about what’s on your plate right now, today, right this minute. My friend, marketing expert Jose Palomino, sent me an email about some website tweaking that he was doing that day. He wrote, “Getting the timing right and the sliders to stop rotating after the final reveal is today’s mission.” Quit doing this destructive, dumb, demoralizing nonsense. And start turning things around. Today. Right now...“
- 18. | 107.04ChangeThis Bam—that was his ONE thing for the day. Was he doing other tasks? You bet. Was he developing business, calling clients, following up on sales leads, and doing paperwork? Sure... but he also had his “mission” for the day. When it comes to being a business owner, entrepreneur, or independent professional, you have a million things to do and a hundred priorities. Wouldn’t having a SINGLE mission for the day be great? Well… you can. Many important tasks can be done in as little as 15 minutes, and tackling ONE head-on might be exactly what you need to regain that most precious entrepreneurial asset— MOMENTUM. Some examples to get you started: • Revise your home page copy. • Write an important email to a client or prospect. • Send an invoice you’ve been procrastinating on. • Post a blog. • Submit an article to a trade journal or industry publication.
- 19. | 107.04ChangeThis • Respond to a media request. • Send out your email newsletter. • Circle back with a prospect who’s on the fence. • Clean up your LinkedIn profile. • Post a long-overdue recommendation on LinkedIn. • Send a thank-you note. • Mail a book to a prospect, influencer or decision-maker. • Pick up the phone and apologize to someone important. • Ask for that referral you’ve been shy about pursuing. • Contact that virtual assistant you’ve been thinking of hiring. • Post your internship job description with your local university. • Begin a research file or a Google Doc for your next book. • Make a list of 20 companies you’d like to do business with.
- 20. | 107.04ChangeThis • Clear off your desk (you can do this in 5 min. if you create a file folder called “Crap from Desk” and today’s date!). • Do a competitive sweep and see who’s doing what in your industry so you can refresh your offerings. • Shoot a 2-minute video and post it to YouTube. • Buy my book and get $747 in bonuses right now (Shhh...). • Erase the whiteboard in your office and create a “fresh start.” • Take yourself out to a coffee shop for a 2-hour strategic meeting with yourself, a legal pad, and a pack of Sharpies. • Take a nature walk and bring your pocket audio recorder or smart phone to capture ideas. • Reconnect with an old client, friend, or colleague. • Write an amazon book review for a book you admire in your field. • Call your tech wizard to fix a nagging technology problem you’ve been tolerating for way too long.
- 21. | 107.04ChangeThis • Leave a 45-second voicemail for a client just to say how much you value your relationship with them. • Visit your favorite bookstore or newsstand and buy a magazine to flip through for new business ideas. What’s YOUR mission for today? How to Close More Sales Closing effectively is all about answering this question: “What can you do to minimize the risk to the prospect of buying your product or service?” Look at all the products out on the market that offer risk-free, money back guarantees. Do you offer guarantees, warrantees, refunds, free trials or make-ups? In today’s “do more with less” business environment, many economic decision-makers have a new top priority—and it’s NOT “Making the very best choice.” It is “Not making a mistake that will cost me my job.”
- 22. | 107.04ChangeThis If you can reassure someone with this mindset that buying from you is smart and safe and risk-free, you will automatically close more sales. Ask yourself the following questions: • How can I provide a free version of my product or service? • What can I learn from the auto industry’s new trend of “the 24-hour test drive”? • What does the buyer have to lose if they buy from me? • What do they have to gain? • How can I ensure the buyer’s success—not just their satisfaction? • How can I employ the concept of risk-reversal—meaning that the risk is all on my side if they don’t achieve success? Closing effectively is all about answering this question: “What can you do to minimize the risk to the prospect of buying your product or service?” “
- 23. | 107.04ChangeThis When most sales training programs talk about overcoming objections, they usually don’t discuss the real objections that are in most buyers’ minds. These are things like: • “I don’t trust you.” • “I don’t believe this will get the results you say it will.” • “This sounds too good to be true.” • “If this works, I would have heard of this solution already.” • “Who says so besides you?” You should understand (and expect) that people probably will not trust you in the beginning of the sales process. They have been sold stuff all their lives “against their will.” They bought the steak knives, the late-night infomercial real estate program, the Girl Scout cookies, the raffle ticket, or the used car and regretted it later. (Okay, maybe not the cookies.) Trust has to be earned over time.
- 24. | 107.04ChangeThis To address these aspects of buyer resistance, you can use a battery of smart sales tools. You may be using some of these already, but the more you pile on, the more effective they will be. Start to collect, document, and use: • Client testimonials (letters are good; audio and video are even better) • Awards and industry recognition of your product/service • Press clippings and articles mentioning you or your clients using your product/service • Objective, fact-based side-by-side comparisons with competing products/services • Cost analyses and comparisons between using your product/service, using the competition, doing it themselves, and doing nothing All of these items will help you reduce risk, build credibility, and pave the way for closing more sales—even to your toughest prospects!
- 25. | 107.04ChangeThis 17 Great Answers to “How Much Do You Charge?” For professional services providers, entrepreneurs and thought-leading executives... the #1 dreaded question is, “How much do you charge?” Especially when it’s asked too early, out of context, and before you’ve established any sort of relationship with the prospect or any sort of value for the project... In short, if you blow the answer, your prospect is gone. Here are three things NOT to do: 1. Quote a random price out of thin air (unless you sell haircuts for $18 or oil changes for $34.95 or you do bookkeeping for $65/hr) 2. Act surprised or unprepared for the question (“Uhhh... what do you mean?”) 3. Get defensive or go on a rant about how “all people care about these days is price, price, price.” Some of the answers you’re about to get are evergreen, some you can adapt to your own personality, and some you may want to keep in reserve until just the right moment with just the right prospect.
- 26. | 107.04ChangeThis Here we go... “How Much Do You Charge?” 1. A lot. Why do you ask? 2. I don’t think we’re there yet because I don’t know what you’re buying. 3. I’ll answer your question in a moment but to give you a more accurate answer, may I ask you three questions first? 4. Well, the friends and family rate might apply but we’re not friends yet — do you mind if I ask you a few friendly questions that will help us answer your pricing question together? 5. It’s nine million dollars until I know what you’re buying. Can we spend a few minutes narrowing that down to help you lower the price? 6. I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that you don’t have a $500,000 problem. The bad news is that you don’t have a $10,000 problem, either... if you can help me answer some key questions, we’ll both know a lot more about what your investment might look like. 7. If it works, it’s cheap. If it doesn’t, it’s expensive.
- 27. | 107.04ChangeThis 8. Let’s talk about what you’re trying to accomplish first and then we’ll work out some pricing options based on that. 9. Do you want the Ferrari version, the Lexus version, or the VW Bug? 10. A project like the one you’re asking about ranges from $X to $Y. Sometimes a little more. Not usually less. Is that what you were expecting to invest? 11. There’s no good answer to that question in a vacuum. Can we talk a little more about what you’re hoping we can do for you? Then I’ll give you some pricing options that make sense for your budget. 12. A project of this scope only makes sense if it’s already in your budget. Nobody wakes up one day and suddenly finds the money to solve these kinds of problems. If you can share the budget range you have set aside for this, I can tell you if it makes sense for us to talk any further. 13. I have a feeling that if I quote a random number right now, I’ll be dead in the water. Do you mind if I ask you some questions to get a better idea of what your goals are? Then the numbers we talk about will be specific to you and your situation.
- 28. | 107.04ChangeThis 14. Just like you need to make an educated decision about which partner or resource to hire, I need to give you an educated answer to your pricing question. And I’m feeling pretty dumb right now, since we just started talking. Mind if we have a 10-minute conversation about your situation? After that, I’ll have a much better idea of what you’re after and some different ways we can help. 15. Sounds like price is the most important factor to you. In my experience, everything is expensive until you want it. Can we talk about what you want and then work our way to the pricing options based on that? 16. It’s more than a cab ride to [local landmark, i.e. “the Empire State Building”] but less than [the landmark, i.e. “the building”]. If we can chat for 10 minutes about why you called, I can give you a much more specific answer. Do you have 10 minutes now or shall we look at our calendars? 17. Until I have a better idea of what you want—and whether or not we can even help—any number I give you is going to be too high. Would it be OK if we spend a few minutes discussing why you called? Then if we can help, I’ll get you the pricing options you need. And if we can’t, I’ll refer you to some other great resources that do things we don’t. Fair enough?
- 29. | 107.04ChangeThis The Shame of Success If you’d like to do better in your business... this one is for you. If you’re down in the dumps—no money, no clients, no prospects, no hope... this one is for you. If you’re doing great—and not sure exactly why or how long this “lucky streak” will last— this one is DEFINITELY for you... There’s a dirty word in business, especially among independent professionals, authors, speakers, and experts who, above all, feel that they should serve as shining examples of personal success and professional prosperity. That word is shame. It’s easy to feel shame when your business is doing poorly. I’m not saying that it’s RIGHT—but it sure is easy. And yes, it’s painful, negative, and unpleasant to feel shame. But perhaps there’s an upside to that because it makes you feel uncomfortable to feel unsuccessful. At least THAT part makes sense.
- 30. | 107.04ChangeThis There’s another kind of shame that is more pernicious, dangerous and much more common than you might think. It’s the shame of success. It’s when you juuuuust start to break through... when your business juuuuust starts to take off... when the money juuuuust starts to flow abundantly. You’re not only paying your bills, you’re paying off debt (credit cards, home equity line, etc.), you’re building up your savings, your rainy day fund is healthy, you’re paying yourself regularly, you are even... GASP... putting away some nice money for retirement and/or your kids’ college fund. Then it hits you... The Shame of Success. It’s a little voice in your head. You know what I’m talking about. I’ll bet you even know what it’s saying to you. It’s saying things like: • “This won’t last—it’s just a lucky streak... ” • “You’re one step away from being broke again... ” • “Don’t count your eggs before they hatch... ”
- 31. | 107.04ChangeThis • “You’re not that good... ” • “You’re not that smart... ” • “You can’t even handle this much client work... ” • “You’re going to blow through all this cash and be back at Square 1... ” • “Your clients will find you out... ” • “Your friends won’t like your new level of success... ” • “Better not tell anyone about this success, they’ll be jealous... ” • “They’ll think you’re lying... ” • “They’ll think you’re bragging... ” • “They’ll feel bad that they’re not doing as well as you... ” And on, and on, and on. Please... stop the madness. Kill that voice. Catch yourself every time you hear it and tell it to go take a hike. Refocus. Recenter.
- 32. | 107.04ChangeThis Remember once and for all that there is no shame in your success. If you have REAL friends, they’ll celebrate with you. If you have friends who don’t... guess what? They’re not your real friends. If misery loves company, it has company enough. And it’s time you quit that company. You know who REALLY loves company? • Passion loves company • Achievers love company • Winners love company • Success loves company Remember once and for all that there is no shame in your success. If you have REAL friends, they’ll celebrate with you.“
- 33. | 107.04ChangeThis There are already way too many people and circumstances that make you feel weak, unworthy, and unsuccessful... they do NOT need your help! • FACT: You TOTALLY deserve to be successful. • FACT: This is ABSOLUTELY your time to crush it. • FACT: YOU ROCK so hard, you don’t even know it. • FACT: You are insanely GREAT. Bottom line: You ARE fabulously successful—so KEEP GOING!!!
- 34. | 107.04ChangeThis BUY THE BOOK | Get more details or buy a copy of Do It! Marketing. ABOUT THE AUTHOR | David Newman is an acclaimed marketing expert, popular speaker, and founder of Do It! Marketing whose clients range from small and solo business owners to Fortune 500 companies, including IBM, Comcast, Microsoft, Accenture, and American Express. His expertise has been featured in major media including The New York Times, Selling Power, Entrepreneur, and Investor’s Business Daily. For information on David’s keynote speaking, seminars, and consulting programs, visit www.doitmarketing.com. ➔ SEND THIS | Pass along a copy of this manifesto to others. ➔ SUBSCRIBE | Sign up for e-news to learn when our latest manifestos are available. This document was created on July 10, 2013 and is based on the best information available at that time. The copyright of this work belongs to the author, who is solely responsible for the content. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. To view a copy of this license, visit Creative Commons or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA. Cover image from Veer. You are given the unlimited right to print this manifesto and to distribute it electronically (via email, your website, or any other means). You can print out pages and put them in your favorite coffee shop’s windows or your doctor’s waiting room. You can transcribe the author’s words onto the sidewalk, or you can hand out copies to everyone you meet. You may not alter this manifesto in any way, though, and you may not charge for it. Info
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