Some Misguided Fools

That's not you, obviously. But some misguided fools think their business is so different that the things that work in just about every business that's ever tried them won't work in theirs...

Which is daft, but it's good news for you, because it means that there will always be people - your competitors - who are NOT doing all they could do to make their business more profitable and easier to run.

Meanwhile, YOU can do much better, not least by copying whatever good stuff they are doing, as well as taking a peek at what successful businesses in just about any market are doing right. 

In other words, if a business is doing well you can probably learn a lotfrom it, even if it's in a totally different industry to you, just by taking a peek at how it works.

But how do you do this 'peeking' into other people's businesses?

You won't be surprised to find the 'how' as well as the 'why' is all right here.

Unless you're one of those misguided fools you'll understand the best way to build a better business is to learn everything you can abouthow other successful businesses work.

And you'll know by now that the 'how' and the 'why' is right here.

Roy

PS. You don't need a Kindle to download and read Kindle books. Just download the app for your device from the Amazon store. You'll find the link on the page for every Kindle book.  

 

Religion and Politics

Received wisdom says that the two subjects you must never raise with anyone you don't know well, and especially with potential customers and clients, are religion and politics.

Specifically, you mustn't reveal your own religious and political opinions. Even friends stay clear of these subjects for fear of spoiling their friendship.

Well, for a corporation wanting to appeal to the maximum number of people by offending no one, that might be good advice. For a family wishing to keep relations harmonious against the odds, glossing over differences might be wise. For friends who agree (or agree to disagree) about most things, not airing their differences is probably a good idea.

But can you imagine a political party not mentioning politics?. Granted, politicians have been known to skirt issues to get themselves elected, but the main objective is to attract supporters who agree with them and repel the people who disagree. Having clear opinions and policies and telling people what they are is the only way to polarise opinion in this way. The politicians with the strongest following are always those who polarise opinion.

Likewise, a church needs to be clear about the beliefs it represents. Again, this might be fudged to appeal to the masses, but that kind of support is transient and insincere.

The same principles can apply in your business, especially if you're in a business that involves relationships with real people. If you don't project the real you, how will you attract the kind of people you want to spend your time with? If you sell widgets you probably don't care too much who you sell them to (although you might sell more at higher prices if you concentrated on promoting them to obsessive widget fanciers).

But any business where you're expected to spend time dealing with customers or clients will be a lot more fun when you only have to deal with people who either agree with, or can agree to disagree with, you.

So; my religion and politics?

Atheist and liberal. Feel free to discuss!

Roy

When I Fall in Love

We're all apt to do it - falling in love with the idea, the technology, the wonder and fascination of building something new that works.

We can waste a lot of time and money on a more interesting or ingenious way of doing something, without asking ourselves if it's actually a better way of delivering our desired end result to the customer or consumer (which could be just ourselves or millions of paying customers).

Ask yourself if your new 'technology' is about action or distraction, and cut it out if necessary.

Simple is usually best.

Roy

Permission Granted

You don't need permission to plough your own furrow, make your own way or start your own enterprise.

There are no rules to say who can and who can't make a difference in this world with their own initiative, ideas and hard work, so the next person who does that may as well be you.

Be authentic, be exceptional and have a memorable story to tell and you'll have as good a chance as anyone else of making it.

Roy

You, the Expert

So you get a call or an email from a client or a customer, asking for your opinion on something.

Is it a test? Will you pass? Can you evade the question or pass the buck?

No. It's a compliment. It means they value your opinion (even if, from time to time, you don't).

So give them the benefit of your expertise. It's only your opinion, but it's obviously something they value. It's a gift that's yours (and only yours) to give.

Lucky them!

Roy

Be There or Be Nowhere

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (remember those?) I was very, very pleased indeed yesterday to see the best ever visitor numbers (ever!) for my cycling blog.

Each day on that blog, I post a cycling tip, aimed at getting an inexperienced (or at least unfit) cyclist to the start line for a big ride or tour in about a month or so. I do this partly because I've set myself a challenge to ride over 120 miles on 6th April - for a very good cause. Every tip is written from personal experience, not just theory or accepted wisdom. That means people might disagree with some of the tips, but that's fine.

But the point is, if you blog daily, or email your list daily, or even just update a Facebook page or twitter account regularly, you need to 'be there' in the content you share. Useful tips are perfect blog or newsletter material, but they're even better when you can include some of your personal experience, character and opinion along with the facts.

If you're worried about people disagreeing with your opinions, don't be. Only you can write about what you know from your experience. And, since you're the one taking the trouble to write it, it's your opinion that counts.

The same goes for any communication.You know what you know.

And when you share what you know, you both contribute and benefit.

Roy

Attracting the Right People

On the subject of having the right people in your life, the best place to start is with yourself. In fact, it's the only place to start and finish, since you can't (or shouldn't) control who else comes and goes.

And being the best, most authentic version of you is the best way to attract and keep the people who are the best fit with who you are. Again, this is true in life and in business.

Note 'the best' and 'most authentic'. You can change for the better and still be 'you'.

One thing you need to accept, though: when you change, the people you attract will change, too. But it's better that way around than you forever trying to be someone you're not, to attract or keep hold of the people who don't really fit with the real you.

They don't really belong here, do they?

Roy

Not Targeting But Serving

If 'targeting' an audience sounds a little too calculating for your liking, even though your business needs to be all about making the best decisions in order to survive and thrive, look at it another way.

Instead of aiming your service at a group of people who ought to want it, first decide who you want to serve (for whatever reason) and set about actually serving them.

There are few things more rewarding than serving people you like with what they really want.

Roy 

I Knew You Were 'Special'

Hello again

I hope you've been watching the latest free Stompernet videos or, if not, that you've downloaded and read their Formula5 report. As they point out in the introduction to the report, we all have different learning styles.

Personally, I prefer reading, with pictures...

And among all the good, sound advice - none of it revolutionary but most of it eye-opening when it's presented the Stompernet way - was one nugget that was worth more to me than all the reminders to follow up, improve by 15% here, test higher prices there, and so on.

It was this: if you're in business, you're different. Just recognising that fact gives you two immediate benefits.

First, you can stop assuming your customer thinks like you. He doesn't, because he's a customer and you're a business owner. So when you offer a solution to his problem, he's grateful. He's far less aware of the fact that you're making money out of him than you are. So supply what he wants and ask for the money.

But the second benefit is even more profound. Because you're different you have permission to behave differently. Some of the rules and attitudes the rest of the world lives by don't apply to you. Like the one that says 'modesty becomes you'. Like the one that says 'no one will like you if you're pushy', or 'we don't talk business at social occasions'.

If you're in business, be in business. Promote your products in your emails, tell anyone who'll listen about the great product or service you offer, be proud of your business and definitely don't be modest about what you can do. That doesn't make you more attractive to most people; it just makes you appear uninteresting and less important than you are. That casual acquaintance might be (or might have been) your next big customer.

Of course, it's much easier to be upbeat and confident and to appear proud of your business if your business is something to be proud of, but it also gets easier if you're in the habit of promoting it at every opportunity.

Be proud to be different and be proud of your success in business.

Roy

What's He Got ...

... That I Haven't?

It seems a fair question to me. I mean, why should some people have all the luck, all the money, and that damn attitude that seems to say, 'I deserve it all'?

What do truly, exceptionally, mind-bogglingly successful people have that the rest of the population lacks?

What is it that divides the self-made 'haves' from the unmade 'have nots' (not counting those that inherited or otherwise got lucky)?

In short; what have they got that gets them everything else?

I think that's the wrong question, however we phrase it.

I think what they actually have is something missing.

Something like doubt, fear, uncertainty - or something that creates those unhelpful feelings, anyway.

I've finished Professor Daniel Gilbert's excellent book Stumbling on Happiness, and if you've read it too, you might well know what I'm talking about. You might have come to a similar conclusion already, anyway.

It's that mental process that seems 'unique to humans' - a dangerous phrase, as the Professor points out - which is so unreliable in most of us we really might be better off without it sometimes. It's called imagination.

It's imagination that shows us the worst possible consequences of an action, and it's imagination that makes us fearful for a child's safety when they're out of sight, even when keeping them in sight might put them in greater danger. It's imagination that makes us wonder 'What if I can't do it?'

And that's something that the most ballsy, seat-of-their-pants, outlandishly flamboyant and successful entrepreneurs in the world never seem to allow themselves to consider. Some of them don't seem able to conceive of the idea.

So, next time you're considering a new venture, and wondering 'Should I try this? What if I can't do it?' Stop imagining and just try!

Who actually knows what will happen if you do try? Not you, that's for sure.

And what's the worst that could happen?

No - don't answer that!

Unless you want to stay exactly where you are, that is.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

What's Your Net Worth?

Okay, so what is your net worth?

If you're a financier or banker, or you have money matters on your mind, you might well be thinking that's none of my business.

If you're a deep sea trawler skipper, you might think differently.

And if you're a trawler skipper who's especially aware of his or her finances, you might have read the question both ways...

But, if you owned the Internet, you'd probably be able to answer, 'As much as I'd ever want.'

All of which goes to show that we need to understand what we're being asked before we can give a useful answer. From there, we can draw all kinds of lessons about finding out what people want before we try to sell them a thing; about how communication is a two-way affair, and how the best answer in the world may be totally irrelevant to the person asking the question.

Sometimes, though, an unexpected answer to a question we've asked gives us a wonderful insight into a world we would never otherwise have known.

On a more mundane level, a product designed to solve one problem may actually be a perfect solution to another problem we didn't know existed. Apparently, chewing gum was 'discovered' by scientists trying to create synthetic rubber.

Do you have a product that just won't shift? Is it a great product, but without a great demand? If so, could you market it as the solution to a whole different problem - even one you didn't know was a problem?

Maybe; maybe not. But bat around some crazy ideas anyway - you never know. After all, who would have thought people would pay for a food you have to chew forever without it ever being ready to swallow, that has no nutritional value whatsoever and which, as far as I know, is totally indigestible?

Well, all over the world, people buy chewing gum.

And remember, even something that only ever sells to a small minority can make you a fortune if you can spread your marketing 'net' across the whole world.

So I wonder; what's Wrigley's net worth?

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. What? All this talk of 'nets' and not a mention of networking? Well, you ought to know by now that I think that's priceless. But rest assured, I'll get back to it!

Back on My Soap Box

Just a relatively gentle reminder, really, of the absolute necessity to get out there and network if you want your business to grow exponentially. And if you want to meet the people who can help you to the next stage, even the next five or six stages, you have to get to the biggest events you can.

Because that's where you'll not only get the best information but also get to meet the biggest names - the people who can help make people like you rich, with nothing more than a few well-chosen words or a single deal.

So, knowing what I know about the importance of learning and networking, I'd be negligent if I didn't tell you about a massive opportunity to network like there's no tomorrow...

AND to learn from some the BIGGEST names in Internet marketing

AND to profit from some amazing bonuses - easily worth far more than the ticket price

AND to witness a live experiment in online marketing

ALL at the WORLD INTERNET SUMMIT UK, at Earls Court, London on 15-18 November.

I'll be there. Most of my JV partners will be there. You can meet Ewen Chia, Tim Brocklehurst and Sean Roach there too, along with Tracey Repchuck, Tom Hua, Brett McFall and others.

Fancy networking with those kind of people?

If you really want to make it big in Internet marketing and you can possibly make it, you must get to Earls Court on 15-18 November. In fact, just cancel any other plans you had!

Because it's not called the World Internet Summit for nothing.

Want to know more? Click here for more information

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. It's a massive event; everyone who's anyone in the world of online marketing is going, so just click here to see who you'll meet. Don't delay too long, though - I've no idea what the capacity is, but I do know it's filling fast.

PPS. Excuse me getting excited, but this really is massive. I only just heard about it yesterday and I snatched up one of the remaining tickets. It's just too good to miss.

Accounting For Beginners

Well, yesterday's business (and busyness) spilled over into today, so this will be a very brief post.

Do you ever wake up in the night with a brilliant idea? No, not the ones that seem brilliant in the middle of the night but are clearly bonkers when you review them next morning; the ones that still seem to 'have legs' when you're wide awake.

How many of those have you had? Me too. How many have you actually acted upon?

No, me neither. But maybe the first stage towards acting on them is telling someone else you will act on them. Someone who'll hold you accountable if you don't.

That needs to be someone who's prepared to tell you off when you've broken a promise, not let you off with a warning.

An accountability partner is, I think, the next stage on the networking - mastermind-group road.

I'm counting on mine to help me make me make my latest 'not bonkers' idea into reality.*

It will take a while, but watch this space.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

* That does make sense if you read it really slowly.