Six-Figure Marketing: Marketing Strategies to Attract New Clients and Improve your Cash Flow!

As with any type of marketing, you have to open your eyes and ears to new ideas. When you hear an idea or technique being used in an unrelated industry… PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. When you take a proven marketing strategy from an unrelated industry and make it fit your own – you will experience a breakthrough.

It’s always easier to look within your own industry for ideas – but the real good, profitable ones will almost always come from outside.

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What are you doing to keep in touch with your clients and prospects?

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It always amazes me to watch how the typical business treats their clients… after they become clients.

At first, it seems they would do anything to get you to buy from them.

Run advertising, offer special deals, bundle things together, new customer discounts… you name it, they do it.

BUT, as soon as they get you as a paying client – you get dropped faster than a steaming hot iron.

Why?

After all the work you put into getting your first deal from a client: earning their trust, showing them you are different, getting them to pull out their wallet, and getting them to put their cash on the table for the first time.

You do all of this – and then never communicate with them again. It makes no sense if you think about it.

You know as well as I that it is MUCH easier to get a person to buy from you if they have already bought before.

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Step #1: The biggest and most immediate returns you can see from your marketing efforts involve your existing clients. Not in finding a new army of eager first-time-buyers… which is where most small business owners put their efforts.

Your existing clients are where the real money is.

Cultivate a solid relationship with them – and build in a consistent communication stream with them – and you will see a big difference in your revenue growth.

The easiest way to use Step #1 in your business?

A monthly print newsletter that shows up in their physical mailbox. Email newsletters also work great – and still must be used – but the real money is in adding print to your marketing efforts.

For example:

Rita started her first print letter 5 months ago to promote her automotive repair business. Her challenges before starting the print newsletter:

– the automotive repair business operates out of their farm – they have a number of employees – they do not live near a town or city (no local nearby population to draw from)

– they had never really kept much of a database

– people have to drive for miles to visit their shop and get their car repaired

So, how do you find hot new buyers for a business that depends on people physically visiting your location, yet they live many miles away?

Rita bought a list of addresses surrounding her (quite a wide circle out in the country). She bought 5,000 addresses to mail to that were within reasonable driving distances (under one hour).

She designed a 4-page print newsletter that gets mailed cold to these names.

It costs her $0.10 to print each and $0.10 to mail each (bulk mail)

So – her total outlay per month is $1,000 to mail to 5,000 homes. ($5,000 total to mail the newsletter each month for 5 months).

Her results:

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OVER $200,000 in new business Over 250 new clients
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With a simple print newsletter.

Now, if Rita can do this with a completely COLD list – what can you be doing with your own client database? Imagine what is possible if you put this same investment out there every month.

$200,000 from a $5,000 investment. For every $1 she invests, she gets $40 back into the business.

So, do I have your attention yet?

Do you see how powerful and profitable this is?

Her newsletter is simple, consisting of:

– Jokes
– Facts
– Trivia
– Cartoons
– Specials on repair work
– Articles on vehicle maintenance

Content you could easily put together once a month, or even outsource the bulk of through services like Elance.com or Rentacoder.com. Her first one took hours to put together – now it takes her less than an hour a month to get it compiled and ready for print.

If you commit to doing a print newsletter once a month to your clients and prospects, you will see near immediate results (as long as you stay consistent in sending it out).

You can find template designs – even template content to use in your newsletter… but you must test it out in your business. And yes, it will work in your business – no matter what your industry is. Mix up the offers with some fun stuff (jokes, trivia, strange facts, etc.) and people will look forward to reading your next one.

Make sure there is always a solid offer or two in the newsletter. And give them incentives that are not available through any other means than through your newsletter (makes it easier to track results that way).

Once you get them to start buying, and buying more often, then you can build in other incentive campaigns as in step 2 (which will be discussed next week).

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SOME IDEAS FOR YOUR PRINT NEWSLETTER

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– Unique human interest stories from team members (new births, pets, hobbies, in the news) – make the team members a significant part of your newsletter

– write ups on your clients successes with your products and services (follow the case study format: what their life was like before using you, how they found you, how they selected you, their experiences using you, and the end results they attained)

– interesting trends that your target market would be interested in (business trends, people trends, aging trends, spending trends)

– strange facts or history – does not need to be related to your business or industry – people will love this section as it keeps them entertained and looking for more

– a full page Ad for one of your products or services – can be used to test ads as well so have 1 regular ad and 1 test ad running in same newsletter

– Endorse others (preferably clients) who run their own business

– Staff Memo – have your staff “write” the newsletter and/or promotions

– Calendar – upcoming events – special days or promotions

– Jokes (keep them clean)

– Cartoons are always a hit. http://www.cashcartoons.com/ or http://www.goofyfaces.com/ or http://www.cartoonstock.com/

– Happy customer pictures

– Pick on a common enemy (taxes, government, media, poor customer service, reality shows, whatever you find your customers commonly complain about)

– Questions for them to ponder

– Book reviews

– Product reviews

– Tips for use

– Advanced tips for use

– 27 Creative Ways To Use ( ___ your product or service ___)

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Book Review Jump In, by Mark Burnett
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What a fantastic book! I honestly knew very little about Mark Burnett – other than he was behind the “Survivor” series. I had no clue on ALL the other reality shows he is behind… nor did I know he was such an inspiration to all who want more out of life.

He is a master of teaching the power of leaping while you look (not looking before you leap). The “Ready-fire-aim” approach. Most people are petrified of taking any action – which is why the majority of people settle for lives of mediocrity and “what ifs?”. Those that adopt Mark’s philosophy are those that end up creating wildly successful lives.

I am not a big reality show person. I am not a big TV person. The only real show I watch is the “Apprentice” (another Mark creation). This book completely changed the way I looked at reality TV. I had no idea what went on behind the scenes for these shows… the work that goes into it. The money that it takes to develop these shows – the money that can be MADE with these shows.

Amazing.

Some of the big lessons in this book:

NEVER pitch a big idea over the phone. Always arrange a face to face meeting so you can see, judge and react to their body language. You will blow the deal if you ignore this step.

Jump In without worrying about being perfect – or appearing unprepared. Successful people appreciate passion and inspiration – not meticulous spreadsheets and over-analyzed business plans (things change way too rapidly in the real world to get fixated on a plan of action that may not work)

Learn to fly by the seat of your pants – but (just as important) look as if you are well prepared and were expecting these twists and turns to happen.

Only results count – not how you arrive at those results. If it takes longer than expected and a hundred changes in direction had to happen – so be it. At least the end goal was achieved.

Hire people smarter than you, more focused than you, and will speak up in pursuit of a better solution

Be right or be wrong – just don’t be afraid of making a decision. People will forgive you for bad decisions if you are an action taker and a decision maker.

Be an optimist and a dreamer – expect greatness from yourself and unexpected surprises will find their way.

Celebrate ALL your mini-victories. Have fun with your staff – and with your family. They are all there along side you and it is up to you to make sure they know you appreciate them.

Facing your fears robs your fears of their power

Originality ALWAYS wins out over imitation

Stand by your dreams and never sell out.

Stick to your guns – no matter WHO says you are wrong.

Create your own surge of success and wealth… it is not owed to you nor will it be handed to you. Create your own.

He doesn’t talk about the money much – more the achievement he feels when landing a bigger deal – another show. The money is just a measuring tool of how he is doing.

Family oriented – his boys are a strong part of the book, his achievements, and all of their experiences throughout the story of his personal quest for success.

Mark Burnett is an amazing guy who is the perfect model to follow for those seeking success and achievement in their lives – in short periods of time. A fascinating read and a must for those who have a dream and want to make sure that dream comes true. Jump In! can make it happen.

To your marketing and profit breakthroughs!

Troy White
Turning Your Words Into Wealth
Troy@SmallBusinessCopywriter.com

photo credit: me and the sysop