Volume III Number 6 I June 2015 I $97
LEAD MAGNETS:
MANNY’S BLOG: When in the Course of Canine Events...
Your Brand Ambassador
Surprising Stats on
Scheduling, Sleep and Success
expert interview with
SUMMER READING for Entrepreneurs Stand out and Get
Noticed
Jeff Giagnocavo Retail Marketing Magic
June 2015
ABOUT STEVE
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 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. If you’re just starting up your new business, you’ll want to take advantage of all of Steve’s training, guidance and resources at NewBusinessAcademy.org. 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. You can discover the basics of Steve’s powerful “The WOW! Strategy™: How To Solve All Of Your Marketing Problems” by watching a short video at www.SteveSipress.com. 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. For over five years, Steve was the #1 “Dan Kennedy Certified No B.S. Business Advisor,” and was Runner-Up out of 25,000 members for 2010 GKIC Marketer Of The Year. 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. 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.SSSMarketingUniversity.com www.NewBusinessAcademy.org www.Facebook.com/SmallBizHelp www.Twitter.com/SteveSipress
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
WHY RHINO?
June 2015
WHY RHINO? It was the summer of 1992. I was struggling in the early days of what would become a 9-year door-to-door sales career. My days were filled with disappointments, challenges and frustrations — but not many sales. It was just then, at one of the lowest points in my life, that I looked for help from one of my more experienced and successful colleagues, and he promised to share his secret to success. Did he give me a lesson in the features and benefits of the products we were selling? No. Did he share his most-effective sales techniques? No. Did he disclose some kind of “tricks of the trade?” No. He handed me a tattered, well-worn little paperback book, and told me to read it. “It has big print and lots of pictures, and it’ll only take you about an hour to read,” he said, in an attempt to overcome the disappointed look on my face. “It’s a really fun book.” “And what’s the point of it?” I asked. “All the top performers, leaders and owners of the company have read it, and live by it.” I was now more puzzled than ever, but that was good enough for me. That night, from the moment I opened it and read Page 1, I tore through it until I reached the end. Sure enough, it changed my life. I’ve read it (and the two other books in the series by the author) over and over in the decades since then, and have given out over 100 copies to entrepreneurs, business owners, sales professionals and friends I cared about. Many of them have had the same experience as me. By now, you’re probably wondering, “So what’s this amazing, life-changing book, Steve?” Its title and message inspired the name of this magazine, as well as my podcast and blog: “Rhinoceros Success” by Scott Alexander. I HIGHLY recommend you pick yourself up a copy and read it for yourself. For now, here’s its basic message… There are two kinds of people in the world: Rhinos and Cows. Cows live on a farm, depending on a farmer to house them, feed them and basically tell them when and where to get up, go out, come back to the barn and sleep. They move very slowly, with no real direction, around the same field day after day,
with their heads down, grazing on the same grass their whole lives. They have very thin skin and can even be “tipped” over by mischievous kids. All that keeps them on the farm is one thin strand of wire and the expectation that they will be cared for and told what to do for their entire lives. Nothing much good or bad can happen to a cow in its basic, mundane existence. Then there’s the rhino. Rhinos live in the jungle, where every day is different and danger can lurk around every corner. That means the rhino must remain alert at all times and on the lookout for both opportunities and danger. The rhino doesn’t need anyone to feed or take care of him. He has two-inchthick skin, so it takes a lot to bother him. And if he falls or gets knocked down, he gets right back up again and keeps charging at his goals. He isn’t guaranteed success or happiness – he prefers to hunt for both of them. Bottom-line: If you put a rhino onto a farm, he would simply burst through the flimsy wooden walls of the barn, charge through the inadequate fence around the pasture and gain his freedom. If you dropped a group of cows into the middle of the jungle, they would simply stand there and become lunch. As Scott Alexander writes… The secret of success is, naturally, becoming a rhinoceros… The first order of your day as a rhino is to charge. Hopefully, you have something to charge at. You must have some goals that will add purpose to your life as a rhinoceros. If you have been getting up every morning, to work all day, just to buy yucca-yucca bushes for dinner and pay the rent, then it is time to get mad. It is time to get disgusted! It is time to say, “I have had ENOUGH of being a lazy cow grazing in the pasture day after day! I am fed up with doing nothing, seeing nothing and accomplishing nothing! I woke up this morning as a rhinoceros! I am going to sacrifice the security and complacency of the pasture and live a rhinoceros life of excitement and adventure in the jungle. I am going to be a rich rhino! If you want the full dose of Scott’s fun and motivating point of view, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you get yourself a copy of his book immediately, and also follow him on his blog at www.ScottRobertAlexander.com. And roam around the jungle that is www.RhinoDaily.com, where you’ll find motivating stories and priceless advice from me and some of the other leading entrepreneurs of the world – rhinos, one and all – updated for you daily, in both blog and podcast form. And of course, keep reading every issue of Rhino Monthly!
CHARGE!! www.SteveSipress.com I RHINO MONTHLY
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June 2015
SUMMER READING FOR ENTREPRENEURS
SUMMER READING FOR
ENTREPRENEURS By Steve Sipress
Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, and although it’s not yet officially “Summer,” there’s nothing like a few 90+ degree days to get everyone’s mind turning to thoughts of rest, relaxation and... summer reading. All wealth-minded entrepreneurs, small business owners and sales professionals know that the money is in the marketing, while the vast majority of business people mistakenly focus instead on improving only the quality of whatever happens to be their deliverable, to the severe detriment of their bank accounts. So for all of you sharp marketers, here is my list of the most basic small business marketing books that are absolutely essential reading for all entrepreneurs. My copies of all of these are dog-eared, highlighted and underlined, and none are ever more than a few feet from my desk:
Al Ries and Jack Trout, “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!” and “Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind” Both are quick and easy reads, full of common sense wisdom that, unfortunately, is not very common. Good for the very basic purpose of establishing a marketing mindset (but other, more in-depth study and research is necessary to become an effective marketer).
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Dan Kennedy, “The Ultimate Marketing Plan” A very basic overview of direct response marketing for beginners who are unfamiliar with and/or have never used it to grow their businesses, by my closest marketing mentor, who graced the cover of the October 2013 issue of this magazine and is also a regular contributor.
Robert Collier, “The Robert Collier Letter Book” Pure genius from one of the all-time greatest copywriters. In addition to the many examples of the very best “salesmanship in print,” Collier gives step-by-step advice on the #1 skill anyone can have: how to sell with the written word. Just reading some of his classic salesletters over and over helped me recognize effective copywriting and start creating it myself.
SUMMER READING FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Jon Spoelstra, “Ice To The Eskimos” and “Marketing Outrageously” Two fun-to-read books full of actionable ideas and real-life examples of their implementation by a hired gun of the pro sports world, often called upon to turn around under-performing franchises. Even if you don’t actually use any of the author’s strategies or tactics, just reading these two books will put you in the right “problem-solving” mindset to stop feeling helpless or powerless and start realizing that you can achieve success even if you – and everyone else around you – think you can’t.
June 2015
Claude Hopkins, “My Life In Advertising” and “Scientific Advertising” Two classics by one of the true pioneers and masters of direct response marketing and copywriting. If you don’t read and study Hopkins’ simple formula for advertising success, you’re likely to become an “advertising victim” and believe that the garbage that passes for modern advertising is anything more than the total waste of money that it is.
Eldridge and Eldridge, “How To Position Yourself As The Obvious Expert” Very easy to read, with plenty of advice and examples of the power of getting prospects to chase you instead of the opposite. After reading this, you’ll know how and why to use basic “information marketing” strategies and tactics to revolutionize your business by attracting more and better customers, clients or patients than ever before.
John Caples, “Tested Advertising Methods” Another phenomenal book on direct response marketing and what really works. Caution: The most current revision is not up to the standards of the classic version – make sure to get the 4th Edition or earlier. Joe Sugarman, “Advertising Secrets of the Written Word” Joe was featured on the cover of this magazine in June 2013, and is one of the all-time most respected, admired and innovative marketing geniuses, and one of the best teachers of direct response marketing. This book is an entertaining and informative read, full of real-life examples and immediately-actionable advice. Robert Cialdini, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” Very entertaining and engaging, with plenty of stories and scientific research to back up every point. I have personally used all six of the basic principles of influence that Cialdini teaches to bring in millions of dollars in dozens of different businesses. All of direct response marketing comes down to math and behavioral psychology, and this is the best book ever written on what makes consumers take action.
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, go to:
www.RhinoDaily.com
Denny Hatch, “Million Dollar Mailings” An amazing collection of some of the most successful direct response marketing salesletter ever, with thorough explanations of how they were put together. Use it to learn exactly what makes a salesletter great, or as a “swipe file” to create your own multi-million dollar pieces, or both. Just make sure to use it. Fairly expensive – and easily worth 1,000 times the price to an action-taker.
Victor Schwab, “How To Write A Good Advertisement” Another classic that must be a part of every serious businessperson’s library. Even if you read no further than the opening chapter’s understated “100 Good Headlines and Why They Were so Profitable,” you’ll have gotten a lot more than your money’s worth and greatly improved your marketing skill. This chapter alone has saved me untold hours and dollars attempting to “reinvent the wheel” by providing me with winning headline templates – and the psychology behind each of them – that have brought in millions of dollars for me and my clients.
If you read, study and use these books over the summer, or even within the next year or two, your income and lifestyle will forever be changed in a major, positive way.
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June 2015
EXPERT INTERVIEW
expert interview with
JEFF GIAGNOCAVO
Retail Marketing Magic Steve Sipress: Jeff Giagnocavo, this interview has been a long time coming. I’m extremely excited, and I know that you are just still kind of in the early stages in the launch mode of this fantastic new business/service that you’re doing for brick-and-mortar business owners called Infotail. Why don’t you start by telling my listeners what are some of the biggest benefits that Infotail gives to brick-and-mortar store owners. Jeff Giagnocavo: Yeah. Well first of all, thanks, Steve. I’m really excited to be here with you. Infotail, at its core, we want to help business owners accomplish 100% of the things they should do 100% of the time. And you know, Steve, these aren’t things like make the donuts, ship the packages, be in the store, wait for customers to come in, and sell them something. The things that we help business owners accomplish 100% of the time are these high-level skills of running a business like marketing, advertising, implementing systems, looking at their sales numbers, finding where their successes are, and replicating those to other things in their business. And finding things maybe they’re struggling with, and seeing how we can help them
fix them and make them a success. The saying around here at Team Infotail is, “How do we make it 100/100?” So 100% of the time, we help business owners accomplish these things that they need to be focusing on because a lot of times, business owners, they have a high-paying job. They don’t really run a business; the business runs them. At Infotail, we look to get our clients, our folks out of that. We look to give them the business back for all the reasons they originally started it. Steve: Well, it’s nice that you suggest that business owners have a high-paying job, but unfortunately all too often, they have a very low-paying job. They have a high-stress low-paying job, and the only good thing about it is that we all love is at least we don’t have a boss. But I love what you’re doing. You can take them to that next level in the income. But to me, equally or more importantly is in lifestyle of when you keep mentioning automation and doing the “working on” of the business, and ensuring that customers are flowing through the door and returning and referring and staying, and all that kind of good stuff because when it comes right down to it, in my experience helping
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thousands of small business owners over decades is many of them got into the business and started the business because they love doing the business, and the rest of the stuff they see is some kind of necessary evil. The things you mentioned; marketing, advertising. Yeah, I know. I get it. I’ve got to do marketing and advertising. So for you to be taking some of that stuff away from them, it’s fantastic. So I know that this comes from you having tremendous success in a mattress store that you owned, so can you tell me. What gave you the idea to start teaching other brick-and-mortar business owners how to do what’s making you so successful in your store? Jeff: Yeah. If I take a step back, Steve, you and I met probably at the first super conference that I attended, a big marketing conference that I attended six years ago, maybe even seven years ago now. At that point, I was a manufacturer’s rep, selling to other furniture, other mattress store owners, and I said, “Hey, you’ve got to check out this marketing stuff. It’s going to change your business.” For two years, I was told, “Oh, that’s not going to work. It’s too expensive. You don’t understand retail, Jeff.” Any excuse in the world.
EXPERT INTERVIEW
Four years ago, actually right now four years ago, my business partner Ben and I, we had closed the business we bought, and we’re in the midst of moving it into our new location and opening up what is now our retail store that we own, Gardner’s Mattress & More. But four years ago, I had the opportunity to buy a retail business, and I jumped at it because I had a marketing plan. I had a business plan really kind of in place, in theory, ready to be taken by somebody who sold furniture and bedding. I just didn’t realize it would be myself. So I bought into this business, and really from day one I just didn’t want to be, Steve as you said, the low paid employee who really owns the business. So from day one, we set up our business around tools, around these business systems, and then as best we could early on, looking to automate them. But then three years ago, we really kind of got the automation bug, and it’s gone full force ever since. Case in point, my business partner Ben and I, we returned from a trip to England just yesterday actually. We were there for five days. Our business ran. We came back, and our staff, we got an email when we were able to turn our phones on from the plane. Our staff had sold a $17,000 mattress to a customer from the U.S. side of Niagara Falls who Ben and I, we didn’t even know that they were part of the conversation. Steve: I’ve got to stop you there because of a couple of things. I understand this, and I’ve been through the shock years ago of this, but my listeners have got to be thinking now number one, “Does a $17,000 mattress even exist? What is it, stuffed with money?” and number two, you’re talking about Buffalo, New York. Your shop is nowhere near there. So two things. How do you sell a $17,000 item that is interviewed all over TV, newspaper, radio; everywhere you turn for $99 or something? And number two, how do you sell it to somebody who lives 400 miles away?
Jeff: Yeah. Well, when you embrace what we teach here at our company Infotail, Infotail is information-based selling. Think of the power of the internet harnessing that information, that interest, that traffic, and directing it through your retail front door. So people who are in Buffalo, New York can be searching for premium luxury mattresses as much as people in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where our store is. Steve: Well of course they can. You’re talking about it, and now you’re helping a lot of brick-and-mortar owners. You know the routine, at least I do, from helping thousands of them. It’s pretty much like they take out a map and turn a glass upside down on it, and take out a magic marker, draw a circle, and go, “That’s it. Five mile radius. Ten mile radius. You know, my industry is a seven mile radius.” And they listen to all the BS of whatever, all the “experts” in their industry tell them, which of course is why they got low-paying high-stress crappy jobs. But 400 miles for a brickand-mortar store? Really?
June 2015
Steve: Yeah, wait. No. You must have the biggest glass in the world, or the smallest map. Or maybe the widest sharpie. Jeff: I shattered the glass and I shredded the map. Steve: Apparently so. Jeff: Right. I just don’t believe that I’m constricted, and really no one should. Again, embrace what’s going on on the internet. Listen, internet business is only 7% of all retail commerce. That’s all it is. 93% of all retail commerce is still done through an establishment. They have a front door, you open and close it, and lock it between your set business hours. So I don’t know. People will come that are spending a lot of time researching online, and you need to know as a business owner, you can harness that. I’ll share a couple of ways throughout our talk today of how we do that.
Jeff: Yep. Well, right. First it boils down to you have to be offering great products. And Steve, I know one of your core beliefs is the ante to be in business is you have to deliver really good stuff, and for a $17,000 mattress, it is really that good. So there’s interest there because of what it is, but then how we position it, how we talk about a premium Vispring mattress, what it will do for your sleep. The information that we offer in exchange for the person’s name and email, and they find us online. So the first part of being an Infotailer is offering information on the web, and then capturing it. That’s a tool that we’ll talk about a little later, but capturing that information and beginning a dialog before they even visit your business or pick up the phone to call you. That’s how we get people from Buffalo, from Ohio, from Georgia, Washington, DC. That’s how we get people to come to our store.
Jeff Giagnocovo is a retail marketing and sales expert. An entrepreneur since the age of 14, Jeff worked in the furniture industry for 9 years before purchasing a store for himself and transforming it into a massive success. Jeff has published articles for a variety of industry publications and has spoken at a number of trade events on the power of information marketing for retail stores. Get your free 12-step tip sheet on How To Accomplish 100% Of The Things You Should Do 100% Of The Time at:
www.InfoTail.com
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June 2015
SURPRISING STATS
SURPRISING STATS on Scheduling, Sleep and Success By Marissa Brassfield
A wave of recent research reveals a close link between sleep and success. Essentially, the more sleep you get, the more likely you are to be successful and financially comfortable. Let’s dive into the statistics.
1. Wealthier
During 2013, the percentage of adults who slept ≤6 hours in an average 24-hour period declined with family income from 35.2% for those with family incomes <100% of the poverty level to 27.7% for those with family incomes ≥400% of the poverty level. The same pattern was found for those living in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. There were no statistically significant differences between those living in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas except among those with family incomes <100% of the poverty level, where 39.8% of adults living in nonmetropolitan areas slept ≤6 hours compared with 34.2% of adults living in metropolitan areas. Via cdc.gov.
Households Sleep More. In the startup world, we tend to glorify the extreme schedules of small teams and entrepreneurs (not at Ridiculously Efficient, of course). But for one-third of those who live around the poverty level, sleeping less than six hours a night is the norm. Here’s what Centers for Disease Control lead author Lindsay Black found when she analyzed data on 35,000 U.S. households from the National Health Interview Survey:
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Sleep, it seems, is the new social justice issue.
2. We Trade Sleep for Work. It’s easy to argue that we lose sleep for a variety of reasons — young children, staying out too late partying, insomnia, Netflix marathons — but researchers at my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, say work is Public Enemy No. 1 to sleep.
Relative to all other waking activities, paid work time was the primary waking activity exchanged for sleep. Time spent traveling, which included commuting to/from work, and immediate pre- and post-sleep activities (socializing, grooming, watching TV) were also reciprocally related to sleep duration. With every hour that work or educational training started later in the morning, sleep time increased by approximately 20 minutes. h/t journalsleep.org That last sentence is promising. What would happen if more of us didn’t have to report for work at crazy-early hours?
3. We Sleep Better When We Have Schedule Control. Flexible schedules — or at least a modicum of agency and control on the employee’s part — go a long way in increasing sleep.
Exhibit A: A recent Work, Family and Health Network study: Researchers in the Work, Family, and Health Network gave 474 employees more flexible schedules and followed them to find out how it impacted the rest of their lives. They were allowed to sleep in and work from home, eliminating a stressful rush hour commute, and could adjust work around for time zone differences without adding to the load. Employees weren’t judged—silently or otherwise—if they weren’t sitting at desks from exactly 9-5 every day. After a year, researchers found that workers were getting an hour more sleep per week. But most importantly, they felt like they were getting a better nights’ sleep. Via fastcompany.com Exhibit B: A 2013 Occupational Medicine study on employee-controlled work hours and performance (including “recovery, sleep quality, work–life balance, and ‘near misses’ at work”): A significantly higher quality of sleep and better work–life balance were found in the ‘high control with low variability’ reference group than in the other groups. Significantly better recovery of fatigue was also observed in the group having control over days off with low variability. Via oxfordjournals.org Exhibit C: Another tidbit from the Sleep journal research mentioned above: Self-employed workers achieve significantly more sleep than private-sector employees, and are 17% less likely to be short sleepers. Via fastcompany.com The sad reality is that, at least right this moment, many of us in the working world have little to no control over work schedules. I suspect that as the nature of work changes, though, our schedules will become more fluid and self-guided.
Marissa Brassfield is Ridiculously Efficient®. She’s the ultimate project manager for industrytransforming entrepreneurs – resourceful, proactive, and able to consistently deliver what’s needed ahead of schedule, under budget and above expectations. Marissa knows how to maximize entrepreneurs’ leverage and impact from the inside because she’s done it firsthand. Marissa helps industry-transforming entrepreneurs unlock the best performance from their support staff. She leads the only productivity community by and for entrepreneurs’ staff at:
www.RidiculouslyEfficient.com
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June 2015
STAND OUT AND GET NOTICED
Stand out and Get
By Robert Skrob
Noticed
You and I are bombarded by commercial messages. While Consumer Reports estimates the average American receives 247 commercial messages each day, it seems like I get more than that in emails alone. Each of us has to adopt a coping mechanism to get through the day without spending all of our time reading and listening to advertising. You and I ignore most of it. We delete the email unopened, we pass by the billboard unread and I bet you are even ignoring the ads in the right column next to this article. Of course, it’s the only way we can get through our day. Each of us focuses on what matters to us. If it doesn’t seem important at first glance, it’s immediately ignored. Our customers are making those same judgments. Each time you and I send an email, display a web advertisement or send a direct mail piece, our customers
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STAND OUT AND GET NOTICED are giving it a quick glance to decide “is this important”?” If not, it disappears so they can move on to what they do judge as important.
June 2015
Only the most important people have events— so if you host one, that makes you important.
Thus, you and I are in a constant battle to establish ourselves as important, fighting for attention and to stay in each customer’s consciousness. This is one of the reasons why product launches work so well. These events create huge spectacles: dozens of affiliate partners sending their customers emails focused on one event, live web casts with interesting guests that customers want to see. All of this makes the marketer seem larger than life. And most important, it gets attention. It captures the imagination, and potential buyers tune in. Another tactic to appear larger than life is to create custom names for your process. A profile of James McAnally, DDS, in the Info-Marketing Library describes the sales process he created and promoted to cosmetic dentists called “Big Case Marketing Sales System™.” Dr. McAnally started in the info-marketing business a few years ago in the same place you and I did, with no customers or notoriety. In addition to a lot of marketing, one of the smart things he also did was to name all of his processes. One component of his “Big Case Marketing Sales System™” is “The Pathway to Yes™ Case Acceptance System.” Case acceptance is the dental industry’s term for a sales presentation. Dr. McAnally is really teaching a sales presentation and closing system. However, by creating his own name for his process, he’s the only one in the industry who can teach the “Pathway to Yes™.” Using unique names like Dr.
McAnally does makes customers curious because it’s not something they can categorize in their minds. They have to spend time investigating, giving the marketer a good chance to get even more attention. A third great way to break through the clutter and get attention is to host your own events. Only the most important people have events—so if you host one, that makes you important. While the truth is anyone can rent a hotel room, pay for a coffee setup and stand in front of the room, hosting an event still gives you a lot of credibility in your business niche. I know many info-marketers
who are hosting large events today who started with only 15 to 25 people at their first one. That’s right, they marketed their event and ended up with only 15 people. Yet for every person who attended, there were four or five who wanted to come but couldn’t break away. There were dozens more who were interested but wanted to see how it turned out. If your first event is small, take heart. As you publish testimonials, produce audio programs and host a second event, more customers will take notice and attend. Your events will grow, as will your reputation.
Robert Skrob is the author of the five marketing books, including, “you Association Shortcut: The Definitive Guide for Generating Customers Through Associations”. Watch the special free training video, “5-Easy Ways to Solve the 7 Biggest Marketing Problems y Marketing Through Associations” by visiting:
www.YourAssociatioShortcut.com
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June 2015
LEAD MAGNETS: YOUR BRAND AMBASSADOR By MaryEllen Tribby
If you have an online business such as an Inbox Magazine or a blog and you do not have a lead magnet, you are turning away customers by the boatload. Even if your main business is a physical brick and mortar one such as a spa or bait store, you still need an online component and a great lead magnet. Unfortunately many entrepreneurs do not have a lead magnet. When I solicit as to why they do not, too many times itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand what a lead magnet does or the power it harnesses. So listen up because this one issue can change the way
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you do business and build your community faster than you ever dreamed. A lead magnet makes an offer in exchange for someone giving you his or her name and e-mail address. In most cases, your lead magnet will be the first piece of content a subscriber/reader/member receives from you. This is where you need to put your best foot forward and make a great impression. This is where you show your potential customers why your business is different and better! You should think of your lead magnet as the ambassador for your business.
LEAD MAGNETS
The More Relevant, The Better The beautiful thing about a lead magnet is that you can change it at any time to make sure it stays current and relevant. The more relevant you make it, the better it will serve your subscribers, not to mention increase your conversions as well. You can even have different lead magnets, depending on where you place your offer. If you provide content to an Inbox Magazine targeting working mothers, then your lead magnet might offer a free e-book on how to manage your time. If you provide content to an Inbox Magazine about making money, then you would want a lead magnet that caters to the idea of making more money. If you own a spa, your lead magnet might be on the ten hottest hairstyles for 2014. The ability to change your lead magnet to target a particular audience at a specific time is what makes your opt-in offers so flexible. Think how Sports Illustrated markets their magazine. Most people who watch Spike TV are young guys, so Sports Illustrated might emphasize their swimsuit edition and swimsuit calendar. On ESPN, people are more interested in sports, so they might offer a commemorative Super Bowl football. In the winter, they might offer a fleece pullover. Same idea, different lead magnets. They’re just customizing their lead magnet for each particular market and season. Now you may ask, why use lead magnets? It’s because your subscribers/customers/members want immediate gratification. The job of your inbox magazine or blog or website is to provide valuable information and maintain a relationship over time. But it may be more difficult to describe the value people will get from your services at first glance.
June 2015
So you have to give them the immediate gratification by giving people a compelling reason “Why?” that offers an immediate promise and benefit. More important, when people request your lead magnet, make sure you tell them that they’ll be signing up to your website at the same time. You may be proud of your product for sale, but don’t pontificate on its greatness since they can’t experience the value yet. Let your product do the talking once you have them on your list. For now, just focus on the lead magnet.
Types of Lead Magnets A lead magnet can be a digital product or a physical product. Examples of a digital product include reports delivered as a PDF file, an audio stored as an mp3 file, or even an infographic. A physical product could be a CD or DVD if you want to ship something. You need to promote your lead magnet as a special or secret report that’s hot off the press. When you do this, customers are more likely to read it. And that is what you wantconsumption from your subscribers. This is how you turn your subscribers into readers, your readers into fans, and your fans into advocates. If they do not consume your lead magnet, they can never be your advocates or buyers of your product. A traditional lead magnet entices readers to give their name and e-mail address in return for something valuable. If you omit a lead magnet and direct people straight to a sales letter, that might feel too aggressive and actually drive people away. So give all your potential customers value with your lead magnet and build your list and soon you will start seeing exponential sales in your business.
MaryEllen Tribby is the proud Founder and CEO of WorkingMoms Only .com, the world’s leading media company for the empowerment of the working mom. Prior to founding WMO, MaryEllen was the Publisher & CEO of Early to Rise where she was responsible for growing the business from $8 million in sales to $26 million in just 15 months. Before that, she served as President of Weiss Research where she led the company to $67 million in sales from $11 million in just 12 months. MaryEllen is a highly sought-after business consultant, speaker, and author. Her first book, which she co-authored with Michael Materson, is Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions Fr Your Business. It hit #1 on Amazon.com within just 10 hours of its release. If you have been yearning to start a business, but are confused, overwhelmed or scared about the thousands of programs out there, go to:
www.MaryEllenFreeGift.com
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June 2015
MANNY’S BLOG
When In The Course of Canine Events… DID YOU KNOW THAT JUNE 15 MARKS THE 800TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE MAGNA CARTA (GREAT CHARTER)? WHEN A GROUP OF REBELLIOUS ENGLISH NOBLEMEN REFUSED TO ROLL OVER FOR KING JOHN AND FORCED HIM TO SIGN THAT DOCUMENT, IT ENSHRINED PRINCIPLES THAT STILL LIVE ON TODAY.
My friend Spuds asked his master how he was going to celebrate the anniversary of the Great Charter, but his master thought he said Old Charter, and the conversation went off in a whole different direction. I am quite the aficionado of historical documents, although my archiving system gets a little tricky when moles or sewer line workers invade the back yard. It’s a little known fact (among people), but the most famous human documents have counterparts in the canine world. For instance, the Mayflower Compact. Forget rules for governing the colonists. It was originally the memoirs of a compact teacup poodle that one of the Pilgrims brought to Plymouth. Martin Luther is remembered for posting 95 theses about religious issues. Reform-minded dogs posted their own suggestions, which went unheeded. These included substituting Scooby snacks for communion wafers, inserting the scripture “Let he who is without sin blame the dog,” and matching every blessing with a “Curse you, Red Baron!”
Then there were the Articles of Confederation. The human one was about organizing the union during the Revolutionary War, but the dog version required all dog whistles to play “Dixie” and all toilet bowls to contain mint juleps. Yee-ha! The Treaty of Paris. The dog version required construction of the monument known as the Bark de Triomphe. It also called for banning Napoleon from hiding treats in his coat, and for equipping “The City of Light” with more walking trails for whenever the pooches had to “oui oui.” The Northwest Ordinance: until it was repealed, squirrels and rabbits were required to flee in a northwesterly direction. The Bill of Rights informed humans of their innate freedoms, such as “You have the right to remain silent when someone offers you a bunch of free kittens.” The Missouri Compromise involved one Basset Hound telling another, “Okay, when we ride through St. Louis, you get to hang your head out the window, but in the open countryside…” Many documents can be quite verbose, but the Emancipation Proclamation consisted of “Okay, okay -I’ll put in a doggie door! Sheesh!” The Interstate Commerce Act codified a ban on exorbitant prices for roadkill found on the interstate highway. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act involved a beagle named Sherman never being left home alone again after ruining his master’s new carpet. Let’s not forget President Reagan’s dog and the famous “Tear down this invisible fence” challenge. But I’d better sign off for this month before we get into the Alien And Sedition Act. You’re not ready to hear about Little Green Terriers demanding, “Take me to your alpha male. I’m mad about Pluto no longer being a planet!”
Manny (full name “Emanuel” or “Dog With Us”) is Steve and Michele Sipress’ crazy, rambunctious cocker spaniel. He has a weak leg (despite a mostly-successful 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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June 2015
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RHINO MONTHLY www.SteveSipress.com/magazine
Volume III Number 6 | June 2015
CONTENTS:
2
6
Summer Reading for Entrepreneurs By Steve Sipress
Surprising Stats on Scheduling, Sleep and Success By Marissa Brassfield
8 13 10
Stand out and Get Noticed
By Robert Skrob
Lead Magnets: Your Brand Ambassador
By Mary Ellen Tribby
When In The Course of Canine Events…
Manny’s Blog
4 Jeff Giagnocavo INTERVIEW WITH
Retail Marketing Magic
Publisher Steve Sipress Successful Selling Systems, Inc. 869 E Schaumburg Rd #237 Schaumburg, IL 60194 (p) 773-236-8134 (f ) 847-232-1535 Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
w w w.AskSteveSipress.com
Editor Michele Tiberio
Layout & Design Bobbie Miltcheva www.33graffics.com Publisher’s Notice: Copyright 2015 Successful Selling Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act without permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Neither the author nor the publisher make any express or implied warranties concerning the legal or ethical appropriateness of any of the marketing documents, materials or instructions in or enclosed with the magazine and/or your use of the same. If in doubt about the appropriateness or legality of any materials or instructions, you should obtain competent guidance, just as you would with any marketing documents, materials or marketing plans you have develop ed or would develop on your own. In the interests of disclosure, we want to b e op en ab out how we may, from time to time, make money from this mag azine. Certain third-party links contained in this magazine may be affiliate links for which we get paid a commission if you buy the product or service through the affiliate link.