Leads United by Results Rules OK Ltd

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Leads United… Mbr = (p x t) + (l x l x m) + p + (s x m2) …8 Steps to Marketing Brilliance…

E Book 6 David Holland MBA The Results Guy… June 2011

©Results Rules OK Ltd 2011

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Contents 1. Introduction 2. The 8 Steps to Marketing Brilliance        

Step Step Step Step Step Step Step Step

1– 2– 4– 4– 5– 6– 7– 8-

Product Target Location Language Method Process Systems MOIRA

3. About Results Rules OK – the marketing bit...

©Results Rules OK Ltd 2011

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1. Introduction. Of the 5 P’s – Philosophy, Product, Process, Promotion & Profit – Promotion is paradoxically the most overlooked and yet the most powerful contributor to your business success.

Philosophy

Profit

Product

Promotion

Process

It is our Promotional activities that allow us to grow our business and attract the Customers we need to achieve the results we desire. In my experience, it is the area Promotion that most people in business either avoid or ignore, due to time constraints as they focus on the Product and Process or knowledge constraints as without a clear and simple guide, the Promotional activity seems overwhelming. The only purpose you do any promotional activity is to get someone to make a positive move towards buying from, either for the first time or for repeat business. In the Small to Medium ©Results Rules OK Ltd 2011

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size Enterprises - SME’s - in which most of us operate there are a couple of basic rules to bear in mind when undertaking your activity; Rule One – you are not in the business of building a brand – let Coca Cola do that… Rule Two – you are in the business of building a reputation – everywhere… Rule Three – you are a sniper not a machine gunner - cheaper on bullets… Rule Four – it’s a numbers game – not everyone is ready to buy today… Rule Five – there are no more rules – keep it simple. The only reasons you should do any promotional activity is to get the telephone to ring, your “In Box” to fill up or your someone from within your target to simply say to you “can you help me..?” These simple rules will help you focus on the appropriate activity for your business, and help you build a promotion strategy that is simple, effective and makes you money. This E Book is designed to explain the basics about generating leads for your business, with a specific focus on getting leads for FREE – so enjoy the read and let me know how you get on. Finally, the other reason I have written this document is because it is part of my Promotional activity and is intended to move you towards getting in contact and working with us on one of our programs – so please prove me right and email me to see how we can help you build your remarkable business. davidholland@resultsrulesok.com Enjoy reading…

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2. The 8 Steps to Marketing Brilliance… a. Step 1 – Product. Be clear about what it is that you are actually selling. This sounds like an unusual question, but remember we need to focus on what the customer is buying rather than what you think you are selling. For example, let’s look at my business. No business owner wants to hire a Consultant, Coach or Advisor – what they want is results. These results can include an increase in sales, profits and cash in their business, working fewer hours, achieving a specific goal or simply having support and ideas to help them on their journey. My product is Results – that is why the business is called Results Rules OK, because Results do Rule, and in order to achieve Results, you have to follow the Rules. It’s why I am called The Results Guy. I could call myself the Managing Director, CEO or Founder – all of which are true, but they are only important to me, they are not important to my clients. Ask yourself not what you sell, but what do people buy and you will begin to build a message that is more compelling to your prospects. It doesn’t matter whether you are in the Website, Dental, Transport, Restaurant, Printing or Retail business people may not be buying what you think you are selling. One of my companies was a transport and courier business. I realised that I was not selling transport at all – I was selling signed delivery notes. A signed delivery note that is on time and clearly dated meant that my customers Despatch Manager could relax, invoices could be raised and reputations made. How I got the delivery note was down to me, we used a fleet of vehicles, but that is not what my customers bought – they simply bought signed delivery notes from me. When my message changed to reflect this we won more business. People don’t go to Restaurants for the food – they go for the experience, part of which of course is the food, but it is the context in which the food is enjoyed that defines a restaurant.

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b. Step 2 – Target. Now you know what you are actually promoting – which people will be the most likely to buy from you..? When you go into a restaurant, do you simply ask for “anything” or do you like to be more specific. From the menu you will choose the dish, how it is prepared, the sauce and the drinks to accompany – to enjoy a great evening you need to be specific about what you want. Same in business, the more specific you are about who you want as customers, the more you will enjoy a great result. This is where your sniper skills come in to play. In the SME market we have to be efficient with our activity and give attention only to those targets that we know have the need, money and motivation to buy from us. We cannot afford to promote ourselves to everyone, we have to be specific, and being specific means knowing exactly who to aim for. Defining your target simply requires you to list down the top 10 key attributes of your ideal customer – refer to my book Your Business Rules OK for more detail. For example here is a list of criteria for a town centre Italian Restaurant; Ideal Customer Criteria – Francesco’s Restaurant 1 Age range – 35 to 65 2 Location – within 3 miles of the Restaurant 3 Family People in Relationships 4 Income - £40,000 plus 5 Car – BMW or Mercedes 6 Eats out twice a week 7 Prefers Wine to Beer 8 Non Smokers 9 Will give referrals and introductions 10 Takes European Vacations Now, being this specific about exactly who we want to be our customers means that we will instantly recognise one when we see one, and that we can adjust our activities such that they will appeal to these types of people rather than “anyone with a credit card and a pulse”. Now remember that whilst this is the “ideal” customer, if a 30 year old beer drinking smoker from 20 miles away turns up in a Porsche, to your restaurant, you will of course allow them in. This list is not designed to exclude anyone; it is simply designed to enable us to be clear on what we are looking for so we can adapt our message accordingly.

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c. Step 3 – Location Now we know what we are selling and who we are selling it to, we need to know where all these prospects actually are. What do they read, where do they relax, where do they live, what schools do their children go to etc. The reason we need to know where they show up is because that is where our messages will need to be displayed. If I want to attract people to my Italian Restaurant according to the criteria I have chosen, then I will not display my message at the local Youth Centre or Job Centre. Your prospects have several types of locations that you need to know about and they fall under three main categories; i. Online. 1. Facebook 2. LinkedIn 3. Twitter 4. Website 5. Blog Site ii. Physical 1. Home address 2. Work address 3. Email 4. Telephone 5. Mobile 6. Fax – just for fun send someone a Fax, for old times’ sake 7. Skype iii. Associated 1. Clubs and Associations 2. Children’s School 3. Networking Groups 4. Alumni This may sound like we are stalking rather profiling, but the more we know about where our ideal prospects “show up” the more clinically and therefore economically we can deliver our promotional message, and the more likely we are to get a positive response. Clearly, the location of your prospects will be different, but the principle is the same – only put your message where you want it to be seen.

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d. Step 4 – Language & Step 5 - Method So far during my career I have had the good fortune to have visited 41 Countries plus 15 States of the USA - worked in 21 of them and lived in 3. I have been “around a bit”… I have learned that language is really important – it’s not just what I say but the way I say it that counts… When we were in the USA we used cell phones, shopped at the mall, put the groceries in the trunk and drove home along the freeway. Now whilst everyone in the UK understands what I’m talking about (thanks to Hollywood…) – it is not in the language of common use in the UK, and in order to get my message across more effectively I would replace the terms above with mobile phone, shopping centre, boot, motorway etc… So it is in promoting your business – you need to speak the language of your prospects such that they feel at ease with you and you are able to find common ground and rapport. Once we have identified your targets, we need to understand two key things about which language to use; 

Physical words and phraseology - We need to choose the sayings, phrases and jargon that the prospects are used to. If they speak a different language, then we should out of courtesy use their language not English for at least some of our correspondence. I did a workshop in Mexico and although I had interpreters on hand, I did a full introduction in Spanish, and won the respect of the audience.

“comunic8N W teens nEdz a specl nu n weird lang dat l%ks weird 2 d restof us bt maks senZ 2 em” – for example.. 

Method of Distribution –If someone prefers E mail to telephone, or text message to direct mail; then use whatever method they feel most comfortable with. I have invited people to my seminars by telephone, text, email, letter, on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – however my prospects prefer to communicate, that’s how I get my message to them. Remember, the true test of whether your communication is working is the type of quality of responses you are generating as a consequence. If the message isn’t getting through, change the message.

©Results Rules OK Ltd 2011

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e. Step 6 – Process. With the best promotions activity in the world, not every prospect that you get your message to will immediately become a customer of yours. The more effectively you apply the 8 Steps of course, the more likely that your conversion rates will be higher, but don’t assume that everyone will sign up straight away. Refer to page 4, Rule 4 – It’s a numbers game and you need to understand the numbers in order to win the game. We run a number of programs for business owners. A regular event is a FREE Seminar in the UK, run from 18.30 hrs to 21.00 hrs where I explain the key concepts to building a business, and explore the models and strategies that will help the audience achieve great results. We like to have around 12 people in the room, and in order to get this many people my marketing team will undertake a number of strategies, each built with regards to both the language and distribution needs of our targets. For example, Lynn will send out 2,500 Emails to business people inviting them to the seminar. She will do this on the Friday, two weeks before the event, the Wednesday of the preceding week and Monday of the actual week of the event – and we will get around 18 people register their place. We know that approximately 1/3 of people will just not show up, so we get 12 people attending – perfect. The same types of processes will apply to your promotions activity; it is a process not an event. Be prepared for people to request to be removed from your list (make sure you do…), be prepared for smart Emails back offering attendance in return for favours (yes really...). Also be prepared for your best ever customer to be attracted to you from your activity – you just need to do enough of the appropriate activity and the results will come. You will need a CRM system, need to develop a systemised process of keeping in touch with your prospects such that after a number of “touches” they are compelled to contact you. I have had customers who saw me on stage and then took 12 months of keeping in touch for them to call me to work on one of my programs. Follow up, follow up and follow up again.

©Results Rules OK Ltd 2011

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f. Step 7 – Systems Your Promotional activity should run like a machine, with regular activities planned in advance and scheduled accordingly. I have my FREE Seminars planned at least 6 months in advance, if someone can’t make June then we can offer them July or August or even October of they prefer – systems give you clarity and structure. Use more than one single method of promoting your business and build structure around the methodology such that you can prepare for it and your prospects will know what to expect – here is a sample of some of our systemised promotions activity;             

Monthly FREE Seminar – booked 6 months out. Weekly Blog Twitter Updates LinkedIn Updates Facebook Updates Email Marketing – monthly program Newsletter – monthly to 25 Countries Referral Program for Customers E books – they work, that’s why you’re reading this... “How To” Flyers PR and press releases Speaking Engagements Books – Life Rules OK & Your Business Rules OK

All this activity combines to build our reputation and attract people to us who like what we do and want to find out how we can help them. We need to build a similar pipeline for your business – of course the strategies we use may be different, however, the approach is the same. One of the key benefits of systemising all your activity is that it can be measured. I know exactly what it costs me to run a seminar, what response we get from our newsletter, and how much it costs me to acquire a new customer. In your business, we need to know the same, we need to understand your conversion rates at every stage of the process so we can improve the pinch points, and we need to know what the return on investment is so we can always look for improvements. When we have a proven system, where for every £10 we put in we get £50 or £500 back, then we can build your business…

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g. Step 8 – MOIRA Any strategy must be measured and the results checked to make sure they are in line with expectations. The offers you make and the strategies you employ will be dependent upon your business and the customers you serve, but regardless of the sector you are in, it is the results that are critical. Be prepared to adapt strategies and tactics regularly based on the results. Also be prepared for some strategies not to work from time to time. The method of managing your strategies should follow the MOIRA process. Measure – Measure the performance of the process or system before you make any changes to the method of working. This gives you a fixed start point against which future results can be compared. Objective – Agree to an objective for the future performance of the process or system. Consider the consequences of not only the improvement in one aspect of the business but the potential for reductions elsewhere and make sure the net effect is positive. For example, sales values vs gross margins. Introduction – Introduce the strategy to your business with training and consultation with the team. Consider limited time offers, introducing the strategy in one small part of the business first before rolling out to the whole company. Reporting – Measure the results achieved as frequently as possible and within the shortest reasonable timescales. Daily and weekly reporting will enable adjustments to be made to any strategy introduced. Share the results with the team, whether they are positive or negative. Analyse – Look at the results and consider what changes, if any, need to be made. This analysis should include the raw data for the strategy being considered – in this case average order value – and also the consequential effects that the strategy has on margins, customer experience, and the number of times the customer comes back to order again. Remember that any strategy you introduce must be consistent with your philosophy and the vision and mission of the business. If customers sense that they are not congruent, they will lose trust in your motives.

M = (p x t) + (l x l x m) + p + (s x m )

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3. About Results Rules OK Results Rules OK was created with a simple and clear 2020 vision;

To enable everyone to enjoy learning, achieving, doing and being more... This is achieved through the delivery of World Class Business Coaching, Training, and Development Programs designed for business owners and entrepreneurs just like you… We recognise that all businesses are different, as are the people that build, own and run them so we have a range of products and programs that will help, inspire and support you – whatever stage of development your business is at… You can register for our newsletter, check out David’s latest blog and even download documents and templates from our website at www.resultsrulesok.com If you’d like to come along to an event – either to join one of our Webinars or participate in a Workshop or Seminar – click on the LINK to find our full schedule of events. David is offers a limited number of FREE Business Strategy Sessions for qualifying businesses, to arrange a meeting or discussion with David, simply got to our Home Page, scroll down and press the “Book Free Session with David” button... Our USP is our people, our delivery, the results our Clients achieve and our philosophy of Fun in Life and in Business. We are a growing profitable business, and we believe in making contributions to charity and causes that are aligned with our values. David’s unique experience, background and passion for adding value to the business and personal lives of others have enabled him to become not only a top Business Coach, but an accomplished Speaker and Author. Having worked in 21 countries so far, his presentations and key note presentations are compelling, informative and fun and his books reflect his knowledge and personality…

David’s first two books are available now… Buying David’s books in Hardback, Paperback or in Kindle format is easy – just click on the LINK… To check David’s schedule and arrange for him to speak at your next event, or arrange a bespoke program or workshop for your team – just drop us an email at info@resultsrulesok.com We look forward to hearing from you…

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If you have got this far then maybe we should talk…!

Results Rules OK Ltd 55, Newhall Street, Birmingham, B3 3RB. England Tel - +44 (0)121 416 0023

Looking for someone inspirational, competent but also kind & honest? He's THE guy. A true leader that's always there to make you better.' "David Holland MBA is FUN, he is extremely engaging and shares his wisdom generously with an intent to always be of service to others." 'David is always able to add just the right bit of humour to his professional endeavours’ 'David is a superb coach with extensive business experience and knowledge - oh, and one of the funniest people I have ever met! ' 'David has been an inspiration to me with my business and possesses many systems and processes to help anyone!' 'David is an amazing coach & trainer.' ''David blends strong practical commercial experience across a number of industries and continents with a great sense of humour. '