“You can spend your energy complaining about things you can’t change, or you can change the things you have control over. One path creates frustration and unhappiness, the other creates momentum.”
~ Debra Hilton
I don’t spend much time on Facebook, but recently I noticed a thread with the question: “What is one thing that would make the last quarter of 2019 sensational for your business?” and I was intrigued and appalled by some of the answers and I also did some sleuthing around…
- “The Australian dollar to increase and our economy to improve;”
- “My website to get updated and my book to be finished;”
- “More new customers to walk through my doors;”
- “If my employees did more work and spent less time checking their phones;”
- “More repeat business;”
- “Get on the front page of Google;”
The first comment was the one that really caught my attention, because while it’s a nice wish, it’s something over which business owners have no control so, from my perspective, it’s not something to focus on. Thus, as I mentioned, I did some sleuthing and popped in a few questions of my own to discover the depressing reality that:
THE PASSIVE NATURE OF THESE COMMENTS REFLECTED THE PERSON’S REALITY. WHILE THERE WERE OTHERS WHO WERE TAKING ACTION, THE MAJORITY OF THE COMMENTS REFLECTED PEOPLE’S HOPES AND DESIRES, NOT THEIR ACTIONS!
And yes. I was shocked.
Hope is NOT a Solution!
Here’s the harsh reality…
- The economy won’t change just because you want it too… but some people do great business in every economy.
- Your website won’t get updated and your book won’t get written unless you either: do it yourself, or pay someone else (preferably someone with expertise) to do it for you.
- More new customers will not walk through your doors unless you give them a reason to do so: visibility and irresistible offers.
- If you don’t manage your employees and provide them with appropriate directives, rewards, and penalties then they will continue to behave badly.
- Your customers won’t come back unless you give them a reason to do so… which doesn’t necessarily mean a discount, it could mean a great experience.
- I know businesses who went bankrupt getting on the first page of Google because they lost focus on their core purpose of their business.
Direct Marketing Magic…
What if…you took in control of your economy?
That means you:
- Stop waiting for someone else to take action;
- Decide who you want to work with, how much you want to charge, and the way you are going to work with customers;
- Manage your employees and team with humanity and clarity;
- Attract ideal customers profitably;
- Focus on strategic objectives and key actions to achieve them;
You can’t change the Australian economy, but you can change your own results no matter what the economy is doing if you’re willing to do the work and invest your time and energy appropriately.
One of my friends, whom I’ll call Alan, has done this in an industry where many of his competitors are going bankrupt or putting expansion (and profits) on hold. He prides himself on his integrity and work ethic and his business reflects those values.
The GFC was a wake-up call for him and he decided that he would future proof his business so he implemented a direct marketing system called Magnetic Marketing in 2009 and he’s been refining it to fit his needs ever since.
Essentially he’s always testing and tweaking ways to attract his ideal customers and educate them in advance of talking to them so when he does get people on the phone most of them already know what he does. He doesn’t teach people how he does his job, but he makes sure they understand his methodology and the principles on which he operates.
He keeps an eye on his competitors, but it’s more a question of noticing what they’re doing and asking: “Would this make me more or less likely to do business with them?” than of copying them. His employees are held to a high standard of performance and commitment and each one of them knows exactly what is expected of them and what will happen if they don’t meet the required standards… like all of us, they have their off-days, but it’s such a great place to work that none of them want to jeopardise their future.
What Sets Direct Response Marketing Apart?
A large part of it is knowing what you are and what you are not and basing your strategy on that knowledge.
Alan is absolutely clear about who he wants to work for and what benefits he can deliver to that person. He doesn’t go randomly chasing them, either. He puts out his bait and waits for them to come to him because he knows that that will put control in his corner.
He’s so familiar with the thoughts, habits, and behaviour of his ideal clients that he places his bait in unusual places – ones where his competitors wouldn’t dream of hanging out – and his investment pays off handsomely. He’s also got his customer on-boarding down to a fine art as a result of testing and observing so he’s able to add value where it’s appreciated, and avoid anything that creates unnecessary friction.
As he says, “It all starts with setting the expectations. Until I started creating information and resources to draw people into my circle and inform them about my policies and processes I didn’t realise how much time and energy I was spending either:
- working with people who weren’t really ideal; or
- saying the same things over and over.
Even if direct response marketing hadn’t dramatically improved my profitability and lead flow, it would have been worth it because of the ease of operation.
To Learn More About Direct Response Marketing and Network with Other Magnetic Marketing Practitioners…
Visit the Melbourne Magnetic Marketing Entrepreneurs Mastermind Group which meets monthly in Box Hill. Our goal is to provide Entrepreneurs with a safe yet challenging environment in which to discuss business and marketing strategies, ideas, and implementation as well as to get feedback on specific campaigns and collateral.
Our members come from a variety of industries and have a wealth of experience designing, implementing and refining every aspect of business and marketing to deliver the lifestyle and income we want. You are welcome to visit once and see if it is what you are looking for before you join.
To learn more and sign up for notifications visit https://memg.com.au.
NB: This is not a sales or referral meeting. Our purpose is to help each other reach our ideal clients, patients, and customers more effectively.
