Money-Making Monthly - Oct 2013 by Steve Sipress

MONEY- MAKING MONTHLY

Volume I Number 9 | October 2013 | $97

THE Monthly Magazine For Sharp Entrepreneurs

Finally,

Your Own Business On Your Own Terms By MaryEllen Tribby

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Warning Signs That Indicate A Total Business Disaster By David T. Fagan

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When LESS is More By Dan S. Kennedy

ABOUT STEVE | OCTOBER 2013

About the Publisher, Steve Sipress

If you want to grow your business slowly – or just maintain it as is, you’ll have to do that all on your own. But if you want dramatic growth in your income and lifestyle, then Steve’s out-of-the-box and time-tested strategies and tactics could be the keys to your dreams. You can benefit from Steve’s coaching experience and expertise to revolutionize your business – yes, even in this challenging economy – at one of the many in-person entrepreneur events he hosts, OR from the comfort of your own home anywhere in the world. You can also learn basic and advanced direct response marketing strategies and tactics from 150+ hours of video instruction, plus use any or all of Steve’s multi-million-dollar, proven “done-for-you” marketing materials when you take advantage of his 30-days-for-only-$1 trial offer at SSSMarketingUniversity.com. That website has been called The Single Most Powerful Client Attraction Program Available Anywhere, and you could be using it to skyrocket your income anytime you want, 24/7, along with hundreds of other sharp, successful business leaders. Steve is a successful and award-winning serial entrepreneur, who has created and built nearly a dozen successful companies of his own, and he can help you do the same – more quickly and easily than you’ve ever imagined. In fact, you can immediately use plenty of his simple and powerful strategies and tactics that work especially well in this current frustrating economy! Steve is a celebrated author, speaker and business coach who has established profitable businesses and helped thousands of ambitious and aggressive business owners, entrepreneurs, executives and sales professionals all around the world. He has written numerous newsletters and articles on sales and marketing for a wide range of publications and has appeared on radio and television, helping millions of people along the way. If you want the very best, hard-hitting, no-nonsense, caring advice and help you can get, then “Straight-Talk Steve” could be exactly what you and your business need most. If you’re in the Midwest, you can meet other like-minded business people in person and learn from the world’s leading entrepreneur experts at one of Steve’s many “Chicagoland’s Sharpest Entrepreneurs” live events that he’s hosted since September 2008. You also have the chance to work with other entrepreneurs, business owners, executives and professionals like yourself who want to learn better, more effective ways to market their businesses and grow their in es, thanks to Steve’s online group and personal coaching programs. Whether you’re a current or future business superstar, Steve can help you get exactly where you want to go as quickly, easily and powerfully as YOU want – with massive results both short-term and long-term.

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www.SteveSipress.com www.RhinoDaily.com www.SSSMarketingUniversity.com www.Facebook.com/SmallBizHelp

www.Twitter.com/SteveSipress

“An Incredible Experience!” "When we first started, I was terribly in debt and we were just a few months away from bankruptcy. We started seeing a boost right away in our business, we took what Steve's given me and we just started implementing and implementing, and it's just totally transformed my business. Steve has helped me with my laser focus, he helps me implement, he's taken my business to a whole new level. We went from a half a million dollars to a million dollars in two years. It's just an incredible experience to know that where you think you're just dead and things are horrible, to now anything is possible. I can see taking this to a whole new three or four types of businesses -- it's going to be huge. Steve is all business, he is an unbelievably smart, brilliant man. I can't say enough about him. Everything he's told me, I've made so much money it doesn't matter what it costs. They don't make enough money in this world that somebody could pay me so I would stop listening to Steve. Steve is the exact reason why I have a retirement fund now. It's probably illegal how much fun I'm having!"

Jon Bockman

Owner, Bockman's Auto Care Sycamore, Illinois

FINALLY, YOUR OWN BUSINESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS | OCTOBER 2013

Your Own Business , y l l a Fin on Your Own Terms By MaryEllen Tribby

o you have a dream of starting your own business? Perhaps even out of

necessity. Maybe you have gone through the horrors of down-sizing. Or find yourself an “empty nester.” Or maybe you have just had enough of working for someone else, and it is time to embrace your true calling but you just aren’t sure how to start.

Well today, I am going to share with you what I believe is the best online business model in the world. It is one that does not discriminate due to age, race or religion. It is one that works for almost any niche and market place. All you need is a lot of passion, a desire to learn and an unconditional belief in yourself. I have personally taught this remarkable business model to thousands of people ranging from sixteen years old to eighty-seven years old. It’s called an Inbox Magazine or an “iMag” for short. You, The “Boss” The iMag business model allows you to become an authority, a leader and a publisher in your niche. Many years ago, if you wanted to start your own publishing empire, it would cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in start-up  costs, as well as countless hours of planning and training employees.

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FINALLY, YOUR OWN BUSINESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS | OCTOBER 2013

With the Inbox business model, the benefits are practically limitless. Some of them include: • Speed – The ability to have a fully functional business within 30 days • Cheap – Starting a “real” business for less than $500 • Time – Working as little as two hours a day • Flexibility – Working from anywhere in the world • Happiness – Having a business that revolves around your passion and your experience

• Learn as you go – You don’t need to be an expert technically or have vast marketing experience • Choice – You can build it to function with several employees or you can do it all by yourself • Diversity – it works for just about any niche from raising German shepherd puppies to financial publishing to alternative health, and just about everything in between

Starting is Fast, Easy and Fun! Right now you are probably wondering how you can get started. So let’s dig in. 1) Brainstorm – During this process you will determine your “market” and your “topic.” Your market is the “who,” and your topic is the “what.” 2) Create a Website – Some people are frightened when they think of building a website. They think it is hard and expensive. Well here’s the good news. Building a website can actually be very cheap and easy when you make the right choices. You should use WordPress for your site – it’s free and is a great platform. Just go to WordPress.org to pick a theme. If you do not want to build it yourself, you can use a service like Fiverr.com to get your site up and running for very little money. Sometimes as little as five dollars! Pg 2 | Money-Making Monthly Magazine | www.SteveSipress.com

FINALLY, YOUR OWN BUSINESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS | OCTOBER 2013

3) Prepare a “Lead Magnet” – A lead magnet is something that you will give away free in order to grow a list of likeminded people. Essentially it is a bonus for people when they sign up for your Inbox Magazine. This could be a special report on a specific topic or even an online video. The important thing is that it contains actionable and useful advice for your market. You need to think of the lead magnet as the ambassador of your business. 4) Create a “Landing Page” – A landing page is just that, it is the page where folks will land on and sign up for your Inbox Magazine. I am sure you have signed up for several newsletters or services in the past. Well chances are great that it was on a landing page. You can use a simple software provider like Optimize Press to build a landing page or again just go to Fiverr. com and have one built for you for five bucks! 5) Build a List – There is an old saying in the online world that still holds true today: “The money is in the list.” In order to build a list you need your lead magnet, your landing page and your website. Now go out to your Facebook page, your Twitter followers, all your social media contacts and ask them to opt-in. Once they do, they will receive your lead magnet and be on your list to start receiving your Inbox Magazine. 6) Design Your Inbox Magazine – Your Inbox Magazine should contain an essay that is between 800 and 1,400 words in length. You may have other sections that contain a quote, an advertisement, even a tip of the week. Subscribe to WorkingMomsOnly.com or any of the other Inbox Magazines mentioned today and use them as an example. 7) Get Writing – Some people are nervous about writing an Inbox Magazine. Well, fear not. If you are passionate on a subject and have experience in that field, chances are good you are a real expert. This means you have the knowledge in you. If you don’t know how to get started writing, simply talk into a recorder. It can be on your phone or computer. Once you have a subject covered, send it off to be transcribed. Once the transcription comes back, simply edit it. You will find that you have more than enough content inside of you. These seven bullet points will get you started. Soon you could be on your way to becoming an Inbox Magazine publisher and your own boss.

About MaryEllen Tribby If you are ready to follow your passion, obtain financial and personal freedom as well as live the life you have always dreamed, pick up a copy of MaryEllen’s new book, Reinventing the Entrepreneur: Turning Your Dream Business into a Reality to gain a stepby-step blueprint and discover the entrepreneur within. Here’s what Steve Sipress had to say about this instant best-seller: “This is not just the typical ‘ivory tower’ stuff you find in books, articles, videos, etc. all-too-often these days. This is real, actionable advice from an in-the-trenches master strategist who has experienced multiple business successes and helped countless others to do the same. Make sure you don’t just READ this book. Take ACTION and profit! I’m so proud to know you, MaryEllen. Bravo!” Get your copy on Amazon. com, and get her special report with the exact strategies she uses to build multi-million dollar companies again and again by going to: www.MaryEllenFreeGift.com

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MANNY’S BLOG | OCTOBER 2013

Manny’s Blog

Swimming Against The Current

It’s time to plunge into another Manny’s Blog and discuss one of my favorite topics: swimming. My “friend” Gatsby thinks he knows a lot more about swimming than I do, but don’t listen to him. He has an Olympic-sized ego. Yes, I love the sights, sounds and cardiovascular workout of swimming; but sometimes there are disappointments. What would you do if your master invited you “Let’s go for a dip”? Of course I grabbed my swim goggles, my ear plugs, my swim cap, my swim fins, and my beach blanket. Then my adventure turned out to involve veterinarians and flea-killing chemicals!! Don’t even get me started on the time my environmentally conscious master announced that he would be “car pooling.” A certain amount of swimming ability comes naturally to dogs, but the rest of it requires practice. Mom couldn’t afford formal lessons, so I learned watching Esther Williams and Johnny Weissmuller on black-and-white late night movies. That’s why –in the middle of a dive – I still pause to look for a bankruptcy lawyer or the latest ab-a-sizer machine. We dogs invented the dog paddle. We invented skinny dipping. And we’ve been drowning in our tears ever since, because no one had sense enough to hire a good trademark lawyer. (Come to think of it, when thongs were introduced, we also missed out on the licensing possibilities of Synchronized Turning Your Head And Pretending Not To Laugh At Your Master.)

Did you know that I am actually certified to be a lifeguard? It wasn’t easy at first; I had to learn that CPR doesn’t stand for Chasing Poodle Rumps. And that a “scissor kick” doesn’t involve being uncooperative with your groomer. On a good day I get to sit in the lifeguard seat, soak up rays, and catch up on my reading (“The Walk Street Journal,” “Good Housebreaking,” etc.); but I don’t mind the occasional rescue mission. I like dragging humans and my fellow canines to safety, but watching over cats is too much like work; they expect you to guard all nine lives and give them a bulk discount! (“Oops. Sorry, Fluffy. I think I saw Number Seven skittering off thataway. Better luck next time.”) I never turn down a creek or a pond, but when it comes to an actual swimming pool, I’m a real stickler. I have my checklist of supplies: Shock Plus to shock the water clear, algae eliminator, water clarifier, chlorinating granules, pH increaser, stabilizer…Wow, blogging is thirsty work. I hope Steve and Michele left the toilet unattended… Wish me luck on setting a new world record. No, not for speed or distance – for retaining the most water in my hair and waiting until I get into the living room to shaaaaake it all off! I expect a visit from the Guinness people soon. Maybe Steve will set a record for Longest Glare. Or Coldest Shoulder. Hey, if Michael Phelps had a hairier body, I’ll bet…

Manny (full name “Emanuel” or “Dog With Us”) is Steve and Michele Sipress’ crazy, rambunctious cocker spaniel. He has a weak leg (despite a mostlysuccessful back surgery), grey hair, is totally deaf and partially blind. But he still enjoys barking at the mailman and landscapers, pulling dead frogs out of nearby ponds and chasing after his beloved squeaker toy. He loves everyone (even the mailman and landscapers), and everyone loves him.

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5 WARNING SIGNS THAT INDICATE A TOTAL BUSINESS DISASTER | OCTOBER 2013

5 Warning Signs That Indicate A Total Business Disaster

By David T. Fagan

You should rarely be surprised with a business disaster. There are almost always WARNING signs. The trick is to notice them early enough that you can actually do something about it … and you can almost always do something about it! Here are Five Warning Signs that should NOT be ignored! WARNING SIGN #1 There is no movement to be measured. You must have metrics and alarms that go off when there is no movement in your leads funnel. If you are NOT getting new opt ins on your website, new friends on Facebook, new views on YouTube, connections on Linkedin, and/or the phone just isn’t ringing, you have a problem. People should be clicking, commenting, and sharing what you have online. There should be proof that people are interested, intrigued, and fascinated by your business. WARNING SIGN #2 New customers are coming quicker than past customers are being fulfilled and satisfied. Whether it’s a product or service, you need for them to be delivered and fulfilled as fast as possible. You can reach a point where new clients and new client sales are paying to get past clients fulfilled. One problem here is that if you stop getting new client business then you lose the income necessary to “keep the doors open” and complete what you have promised to do. WARNING SIGN #3 Your current team isn’t prepared for your current challenge.

About David T. Fagan

Sometimes the team that got you to where you are now is not the team that will get you to where you need to go. There are different challenges like technology and industry-specific experience as an organization evolves. You have to either get your team the training and tools it needs or get a different team. There is no other way.

David T. Fagan is best known as an expert in marketing, media and business development. His work has made people and products icons in their respective industries.

WARNING SIGN #4 You are becoming irrelevant in the market place. A successful business will have a certain amount of success to point to; I call this social proof. This includes things like awards, testimonials, endorsements, new certifications, diplomas, degrees, and influential or even celebrity clients. If you go years without new social proof to add, you run the risk of becoming irrelevant and old news. WARNING SIGN #5 Every month you start over. Ask yourself if you have been in business for five years or one year, five times. Ask yourself if you have been business for one year or one month, twelve times. You should be growing a database and sphere of influence. You need to be following up with past leads and prospects. When you don’t, you are essentially starting over every month or every year from scratch like a brand new business. If you can constantly build upon past successes then you can create more momentum and essentially make more money in less time. Having a pipeline of prospects that is constantly full is paramount.

He is the former CEO of Guerilla Marketing. As a Business Development Coach for Inc. 500 Infusionsoft, David strategized the company’s system and was able to turn Infusionsoft into a $14 million dollar company from a $7 million dollar company between 2008 and 2009. David has published and written several books, including his most recent, Cracking the Icon Code. David is the owner of Icon Business Development & Cutting Edge Ventures LLC and has created the Icon Mindset and Marketing Conference, for people to network and learn successful business strategies from leaders in the industry. For more information, go to www.DavidTFagan.com Volume I Number 9 | Pg 5

A CAUTIONARY TALE | OCTOBER 2013

A CAUTIONARY TALE By Steve Sipress I’ve used MANY vendors over the years. That’s one of the keys to getting a lot of things done, and done well – having a team of great people to put all of your ideas into action. At the heart of the matter, I believe that the role of a true entrepreneur is to START great projects – not to finish them. The good news is that the vast majority of vendors I’ve used and recommended to my clients and loyal followers have been outstanding people and have done outstanding work. But once in a while, a bad apple finds its way into the bushel... Last week, I received a very troubling phone call from a friend who is a highly respected member of the direct response marketing community. His voice cracked as he relayed the shocking news to me: He had been the victim of multiple scams over several months by someone that I, too, was involved with in various business dealings. *One of these scams was even perpetrated on both of us at the same time! Unbeknownst to each other, we had both wired tens of thousands of dollars and signed similar agreements making us part owners of the very same “revolutionary” software – software that, as it turns out, was completely non-existent. My friend explained to me how he had discovered that the person who was scamming both of us at the same time was operating under a fictitious alias, and is actually internationally notorious for cheating many, many people

out of their money via multiple scams. He told me the scammer’s real name and urged me to do a Google search, upon which I immediately found mountains of evidence of his various schemes. This news sickened me, and not just because I had paid his company tens of thousands of dollars for various services and had just agreed to partner with him in a business venture. Worst of all, I had recommended this con artist’s services to some of my friends, colleagues, members and clients. When I confronted the fake-named scammer’s partner, I was shocked and saddened when he told me that he had found out about this man’s fake name and unethical past several months ago, and that instead of letting me and his other clients know the truth, he had made the decision to keep up his partner’s fake name charade. (He said that he felt his charlatan partner had changed his con artist ways and should be given a second chance – an opinion he conveniently decided to keep from me, and his other clients.) So far, this company CEO continues to insist that he is merely an innocent victim along with all the rest of us – that his COO duped him, and that he never intended to harm or defraud anyone. That’s why I now refer to him as “The Pete Rose Of Business” (or Lance Armstrong, or Ryan Braun, or so many others who repeatedly denied any wrongdoing for a period of time before finally coming clean). Will he ever admit that he helped perpetuate this fraud that continues to harm so many people? If not, I’ll have to start calling him “The Barry Bonds Of Business.”

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A CAUTIONARY TALE | OCTOBER 2013

In contrast, to me the most important thing in business is trust. I believe that if anyone is going to hear anything negative about me, they’re going to hear it FROM me, and they’re going to hear it from me before they hear it from anyone else. Therefore, here’s the completely different way that I chose to approach the situation… I started going through the difficult process of letting my colleagues and clients know what I had found out about this scam, and admitting that I had played a role in it by promoting the scammers. I also promised to do whatever it took to right any wrongs to my clients because of these scammers. Was that a very uncomfortable thing to do? Could it result in a considerable financial cost to me? Absolutely. But I believe that it had to be done. My clients agree, giving me feedback such as: “I know this has been difficult for you and Michele. I also know I am not alone when I say I am proud to be associated with you. The way you run your business with total honesty and integrity is rare and admirable in today’s world.” So what about the business partner of the fake-named con artist? Sadly, he chose to take a different path… • He denies any wrongdoing, claiming that he never meant to hurt anyone. • He also refuses to return any of the wrongfully attained money he collected as a result of the scam. • He continues to list his con artist partner as the COO of his company – complete with phony bio – on his website. As a result, I, and many others, have lost all respect for this man as a businessperson. Here’s the moral of the story... Negative things are bound to happen to you in business. When they do, have the courage and integrity to be up front with your clients, and avoid making excuses and trying to place blame on someone else.

Always remember: It’s about your clients. It’s not about you. To find out more about Steve Sipress and how he can help you have more fun and make more money with your business, see the Inside Cover Page. To get new money-making strategies and tips every weekday from Steve and other top business-building experts from around the world, and to read over two dozens comments in response to this article, visit his new blog: www.RhinoDaily.com

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WHEN LESS IS MORE | OCTOBER 2013

When Less is More

By Dan S. Kennedy

Entrepreneurs, by nature, have the instinct, conditioning and competitive spirit to want “more.” So do sales professionals. More gross revenues, more sales, more customers or clients and more web site traffic. More leads. Even more square footage, more employees. But more is not necessarily better, not necessarily more profitable or even proportionately profitable. The unbridled lust for growth of any kind at any cost gets a lot of business owners into a lot of trouble. For salespeople, it can lead to burnout. For both, their best clientele ends up poorly served and neglected as quality thins to accommodate quantity. Few business owners take the time and trouble to carefully and analytically study their present customers or clients, account by account, for contribution to net profit. Few entrepreneurs analyze their own activities and time usage the same way, in terms of contribution to net profit. When they do, they discover the classic 80/20, 20/80 rule is alive and well, and further, that there’s a 95/5, 5/95 rule too. In brief, 80% of profits tend to come from 20% of clients and time. Usually about 5% of clients and 5% of time used prove infinitely more valuable than the other 95%. The results of this rarely done analysis are often: getting rid of the least profitable clients and stopping, delegating or otherwise altering the least-profitable time use. In many instances where I’ve come in as consultant to a business, coach to an entrepreneur, I’ve made less into more, by pruning away the clientele consuming 80% of the resources, but contributing only 20% of the profits. This creates fewer customers rather than more, but by enhancing the relationship with the 20% who contribute 80% of the profits, it results in a more successful business. Most business owners are being supported by a relatively small -- often shockingly small -- number of “best” customers. Most entrepreneurs are also producing 95% of their income and wealth from only 5% of their time. Even a slight re-adjustment in time investment can multiply income. In my NO B.S. TIME MANAGEMENT BOOK FOR ENTREPRENEURS, we begin in chapter 1 with some math exercises, to accurately determine what your time is worth, what it must be worth to achieve your goals. Together, we shift your thinking about time to investing and allocating, managing and measuring results in terms of investment and return on investment. The business operation changes and behavioral actions this provokes are frequently radical, dramatic, exciting and extremely beneficial. I promise, you’ll do some very serious thinking about the ways you invest your time if you read that chapter. The big questions are these – do you actually know what your hour must be worth, in order to reach your desired income goal for the year? Do you accept and prioritize responsibilities, projects, opportunities, reject, and delegate away, based on that number? Do you have good “future banking” statistics  so you can judge the value of what you just did with the last hour? Volume I Number 9 | Pg 9

WHEN LESS IS MORE | OCTOBER 2013

In short, are you doing your best to consciously, deliberate, mathematically, financially hold yourself accountable for the ways you invest your time? I hate the near extinction of full-service gas stations. In the ten minutes required to pump gas and wipe windshield and windows myself, I could have sat comfortably in the car and listened to an informative tape, jotted an answer to a memo, read an item from a newsletter or magazine or just thought about a business matter – any one of which infinitely more valuable than the minimum wage job of pumping gas. It is an example of the fact that we let ourselves do low-wage work much too frequently. You wouldn’t take a part-time job and go pump gas or clean your house or mow your grass for $8 an hour, would you? If you mow your lawn as recreation, as exercise, as a hobby that you genuinely enjoy, that’s one thing. But if you do it because you’re too cheap to find and pay a kid to do it, that’s another. Add to this the “more problem” — the piling on of “more” that produces more low-wage work and consumes time for little value. This you must be very, very careful of. The more successful you become, the more your entire approach to opportunity and to time must evolve. Consider something as simple as the client who requires an excessive amount of time, access, coddling. As your time and your staff’s time grows more valuable, he becomes less valuable. If, to reach your goals, your hour must be worth $1,000 and your staff’s $100, and he consumes 10 hours a year of each more than the next client, he costs you an extra $11,000. But if your time has to be worth $2,000, your staff’s $200, the same 10 hours of your time plus 10 hours of staff time leaps to $22,000. If his contribution to income stays the same, he’s instantly worth $11,000 less. At what point does he cost more than he’s worth? At what point are you better off without his revenue altogether? Your gross might dip, but your net might improve. And/or that vacuum can be filled with a more profitable account.

The more successful you become, the more your entire approach to opportunity and to time must evolve. Pg 10 | Money-Making Monthly Magazine | www.SteveSipress.com

WHEN LESS IS MORE | OCTOBER 2013

The all-time champion worst idea for doubling your income is to double your work. You’ll be a rich corpse. This is also the most unimaginative, uncreative, non-analytical approach. Consider farmers. At one time they all plowed with mules. They tried to get the mules to pull harder, move faster. They hitched two, three or four mules together, then tractors and then faster tractors. All the same brute force multiplied. One of my earliest consulting clients in the 1970’s was a company that did very complex, detailed soil analysis of farms. Their sales rep collected soil samples in test tubes from every part of the farm. In the lab, they analyzed each sample. On a color-coded map, they depicted nutrient and mineral deficiencies --- different in soil only a few feet away from another hunk of ground. They prescribed different fertilizers for different parts of the farm. The soil’s ability to produce was greatly multiplied. Not by the farmer working longer hours, not by more mules pulling harder, not by a bigger tractor. By scientifically, strategically, cleverly leveraging the real asset: the soil.

A more creative, cerebral, interesting approach is to search for ways to achieve more with less. About Dan S. Kennedy Now consider salespeople. To increase income, they will try to generate more leads, squeeze in more presentations, run more appointments, work longer hours, talk on the cell phone while driving, eating, even while peeing! But that’s not leveraging the real assets: time and sales skill. Consider the business owner, same approach, more advertising, more leads, more customers, more products, longer hours. It is all too common to attempt reaching bigger financial goals simplistically, by adding more customers to beget more sales even if you must personally work more hours, juggle more responsibility and absorb more stress. But this IS simplistic, almost unthinking and certainly uncreative? A more creative, cerebral, interesting approach is to search for ways to achieve more with less.

Dan Kennedy is the author of many business books. Additional information and free chapter previews at www.NoBSBooks.com Dan Kennedy is also a busy entrepreneur, consultant, speaker and direct-response advertising copywriter. To sign up for Dan’s Elite Gold Crown Program and receive his Look Over My Shoulder Newsletter, go to: www.EliteGoldCrownProgram.com

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IT IS NOT ABOUT THE COFFEE | OCTOBER 2013

It Is Not About The Coffee

By Steve Clark

“How do you get people to pay 10 times as much as they are used to paying for a commodity such as coffee?”

In 1990, Howard Schultz had a proposal for a small coffee wholesaler in Seattle called Starbucks. At that time, the average cup of coffee sold for 50 cents and Schultz wanted to help them sell the 50 cent cup of coffee for $5. Of course, the people at Starbucks, and other players in the coffee industry, thought he was crazy. “No one will ever pay $5 for a cup of coffee,” they said derisively. Fast forward twenty years. Howard Schultz was right. People willingly pay $5 for a cup of coffee. Every day at hundreds of Starbucks stores people line up and gladly pay $5 for a Starbucks cup of coffee. How can this be? How do you get people to pay 10 times as much as they are used to paying for a commodity such as coffee? More importantly what lessons can you learn from Starbucks? How can you raise your prices 10 times and have people lined up outside your business waiting for you to open? Most reading this will avoid expending the mental energy trying to come up with a creative answer to this question by using the lame excuse of, “my business is different and what Schultz did will not work in my business or industry and besides no one would ever pay 10 times the amount we now charge for our product or service. That might have worked for Starbucks, but it will never work for our industry.”

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IT IS NOT ABOUT THE COFFEE | OCTOBER 2013

People will pay more, a lot more, for your products and services, if you package up something more valuable, entertaining, and fun. It is all about the customer experience. So what about you? Are you selling a 50 cent cup of coffee? Here’s how you can tell: • • • • • •

You are selling a product and service that is perceived as a commodity; You are selling your product or service on price, and receiving a low margin on every sale; There is no discernable difference between you and the other competitors in your industry; Your marketing message is boring and doesn’t inspire people to want to meet with you: You have no unique selling proposition in the marketplace; The customer experience your customers have is boring and unpleasant.

If you analyze what Starbucks does you will realize that it is not about the coffee but about the experience. Schultz has called Starbucks the “third place,” the place between home and work where people go to hang out and relax. If you haven’t been to a Starbucks lately take a field trip and spring for a $5 cup of coffee. If you do you will discover beautifully designed stores with leather couches and fire places. Nice music. Cheerful, well trained staff. Three different sizes of coffee. Every conceivable kind of coffee. Good locations. Fun atmosphere. So what lessons are there to be learned from Starbucks? People will pay more, a lot more, for your products and services, if you package up something more valuable, entertaining, and fun. It is all about the customer experience. People are not always looking for the lowest price. The added value you create has very little to do with the core product, in this case, coffee. It has to do with the value delivered through the enhanced packaging, which creates the customer experience. Enhanced packaging involves better stories, higher-level physical images, and improved and more interesting processes. The biggest value provided by Starbucks is emotional value. People are actually paying the additional $4.50 not for better coffee, but for a better feeling. Think of that: People will pay a lot of money for a good feeling. Reread that again because it is huge. The investment in the packaging always comes before the sale. You have to invest the time, money and effort in packaging the $5 cup of coffee before anyone will buy it. So what about you? Are you going to hide behind the excuse that your industry is different or are you going to invest the time trying to figure out how to sell your own version of the $5 cup of coffee?

About Steve Clark Steve Clark aka, “The Sales Psychologist”, is the founder and CEO of New School Selling, an international business development and marketing consulting firm. He is the author of ‘Profitable Persuasion - Proven Strategies for Sales and Marketing Success’ and the Co-Author of “The Ultimate Success Secret” with marketing Guru Dan Kennedy. To take a FREE Sales Quiz, and receive a customized personal analysis of your sales skills plus a set of 6 FREE Sales Training CDs go to www.SteveClarkFreeOffer.com

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MONEY-MAKING MONTHLY Volume I Number 9 | October 2013

www.SteveSipress.com/magazine

This Month’s Money-Making Info

Finally, Your Own Buiness On Your Own Terms

A Cautionary Tale Steve Sipress

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FEATURE ARTICLE

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David T. Fagan

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