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How to Succeed at Inbound Marketing: The Secrets to Prospecting Part I

September 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Building an Inbound Marketing Consultancy…

…or Social Media Management Firm

Prospecting is one of the major stumbling blocks to inbound marketing consulting and social media management success. Paradoxically, prospecting is crucial for success because, in order to help others build their businesses, we must simultaneously build ours.

If we do not find and develop inbound marketing and/or social media clients, we will never be able to do what we love to do….what we are good at doing. To help others succeed, using the inbound marketing and social media management strategies we have come to understand and believe in, we have to seek out and educate brick and mortar business owners and professional people (i.e., M.D.s and D.O.s, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists, attorneys, accountants, etc.) about what it is we do and why it is in their best interest to allow us to assist them with the transition from an old media, outbound marketing strategy that no longer works to a new media, inbound marketing strategy that will.

Significantly, is it not only crucial that we identify inbound marketing and social media management prospects, we must have a plan in place to contact, develop, and educate them once we do.

I’ve mentored several inbound marketing consultants, men and women just beginning to build their inbound marketing consultancies; and, in almost every case, they have reached the same point with much the same reaction. Interestingly, while they have followed enough of the steps I will discuss below to have made a contact…they don’t know what to do next!

Or, they have actually been contacted by a prospective inbound marketing client only to freeze up!

Failure and Teachable Moments: Prospecting and Inbound Marketing

Significantly, many of these failed calls did not fail because the consultant didn’t know his or her craft…quite the contrary. They failed because they simply placed too much pressure on themselves and froze up. Ultimately, the call ends badly and a contact that may have developed into an inbound marketing client instead developed into a teachable moment and a valuable lesson.

Note: We learn as much from these failures, if not more, than we do from calls that go just right and end with an appointment being made. Keep in mind, the sole purpose of the call is to make a good enough first impression to get a second appointment. At this point you do not know if you have a prospective inbound marketing client or not, so don’t try to sell anything. Once you develop that mindset, it is easier to talk to business owners and professionals. You see, at this point you do not have a sales situation, all you have is conversation.

While you may conceive of selling as difficult, having a conversation is easy…so quit trying to sell!

What do we do?

How are these calls handled?

Well, first you have to get the inbound marketing or social media management prospect to call. This means generating prospects, knowing how they are likely to react, and being comfortable enough with yourself, the phone, and the material (inbound marketing and social media) to do a good job; and that all comes with experience.

We will discuss more about this in part two.

However, the first thing we need to do is to identify the prospect, and then develop the prospect, so they are willing to take that initial step and either make contact…or be receptive to our first follow up contact.

For you to understand how big a step it is for most business owners and professional people to make that first call, think back to how you felt the first time you contacted someone about getting help to build your business.

If you haven’t, you will…Almost everyone does!

Interestingly, the emotions experienced by an individual making that first call, the individual on the other end of the receiver, are a combination of desperation, curiosity, and fear.

  • Desperation - Because they generally have an issue with their marketing. Their marketing is generally some form of outbound marketing…or perhaps a static website that dates back to ’90s online marketing mentality. The “offline” business owner or professional is in pain or they wouldn’t have made the call. In other words, they have a problem with their marketing and they know they have a problem.
  • Curious - Two, they are a bit curious about you, particularly if your message resonated with them enough to prompt a call. That also means they will probably be cautiously receptive, provided you don’t come off like a nervous idiot!
  • Afraid - Finally, they are afraid for a number of reasons:
    • They are undoubtedly afraid that you are going to come across as some high pressure jerk. This is how they may feel…not how you actually are. I hope!
    • Or, conversely, you that may come across as someone who cannot help him or her at all…thus leaving the business owner in even worse shape. Keep this in mind: Deep down they hope you have the solution; and, it took a lot for them to make the call…so handle it properly! They want to talk to you, they are simply apprehensive…afraid!
    • They are also afraid because they may have to change something. Or a lot of somethings; and, people resist change. We all fear and resist change, so be aware of that fact; and, deal with it with confidence, reassurance, and education…at the right time!

For all of the above reasons, and many more, you have your work cut out for you!

Now that you have some idea of what you are up against, you can at least begin to design an approach that is appealing, low-keyed, and effective.

You have two choices:

  1. “Throw enough spaghetti against the wall and some of it will stick!” This is the old shotgun method. Some stick a pin in a map and then begin to prospect geographically. Others tailor their efforts demographically, still with something of a shotgun approach. Still others use a combination of geography, demographics, and psychographics (we will get into this next) to get as close a look at their target market and their buying behavior as possible but they are still using a broad-cased approach with little or no real broad-based research…beyond that mentioned above.
    1. Direct Mail - I personally like direct mail and use it a lot! If it is done right, and over time, direct mail can be very effective based on ROI. The problem most people have with direct mail is that it doesn’t get opened because it looks like junk mail or it doesn’t pass the 3 second test and goes right into the waste basket. We will deal more with this in an upcoming article.
    2. Craigslist – Actually, all of the free online classified directories work and they also do well with Google, particularly Craigslist. It is free and, if you are not using it, spam and the negative media notwithstanding, you are throwing away a few clients yearly. Over a five year period, that is a significant sum of money!
    3. Backpage, Kijiji (eBay), etc – The same goes for these free classified sites, they are all useful and every inbound marketing and social media management firm should have a presence on them. Even the sponsored listings are ridiculously inexpensive…so do it!
    4. Cold Calling – I am not a big fan of cold calling, in fact I loathed it, particularly in the old school way. However, there is a course available that has transformed cold calling and it is worth a look. Even if you only use the course as a means of getting comfortable with the phone, because we all us it, this course is a must. It is called Unlock the Game by Ari Galper. The inbound marketing consultants I have mentored will tell you, this is the first course I suggest for all new consultants. It is a must! The free training alone is incredible and will change your thinking and your approach to the phone, and prospecting, forever.
    5. Others - This is where I place all the other things that you might like to try. However, if you apply the other strategies, those listed above and those I will get to below, you really won’t have time to fool around with a lot of them. One I will suggest is the Yellow Pages.
      1. The Yellow Pages - Businesses advertising in the Yellow Pages have watched response drop and the prices for ads skyrocket. Many of these business people are looking to get out. Be creative and do you research and you will find very good inbound marketing prospects in the Yellow Pages. If you have the time, this can be a valuable resource.
      2. Valpak – Valpak used to be one of those things that hit the trash, validating The 3 Second Rule! Now I view it as a resource. If a merchant is willing to go to the time and effort, not to mention the expense, of setting up a Valpak account? They will be interested in what you have to say…provided you approach them properly and educate them thoroughly. I place Valpak advertisers into one of three categories and then develop them accordingly. Again, I will cover this in an upcoming article dealing with direct mail and inbound marketing consulting.
  2. You can get creative! Creative prospecting includes a variety of strategies, all designed to find the hungry market…what I have heard others refer to as the hungry fish. I am not crazy about calling prospective clients fish but if it helps you visualize what I am talking about…whatever works and so much the better. However, your prospective clients are people just like you with real world concerns, families, and businesses to provide for, keep afloat, and run. The more human you perceive them to be, and not just as “hungry fish” or “target audiences” or even “prospects,” the easier it will be to connect with them, build interest, relationships, confidence, trust, bonds, and clients for life!
    1. First – Go where the business people are. Join the Chamber of Commerce, the Jaycees, etc. I’ve mentioned this marketing step before. Get the membership directories but be careful not to prospect to them aggressively or right off the bat. Learn who the key influencers are and attempt to get to know them, very much as you would do on a social media site. Chamber of Commerce members are a there for a reason, to network and to build their businesses. If you can help them build their businesses, once they get to know you, you are in!
    2. Go to the local library and offer to teach a class on how small businesses can build an online presence. Libraries usually introduce these programs well in advance, usually in a bulletin, so you can get great exposure and have plenty of time to develop the course material. Libraries usually require an outline but that can be accomplished in an afternoon. You can teach the class as an over your shoulder course, one in which the students (local business people) follow along throughout an inbound marketing campaign set up. Or, you can simply do the A-B-Cs of inbound marketing and social media. The latter works well if relate it to local offline business. In either case, you will have many people approach you and ask if they can hire you or at least talk to you about what they can do to improve their online marketing. It is up to you to do the rest. Hence forth, you will be viewed as an authority in your community and the word will spread rapidly.
    3. Get a digital recorder and drive through your town, making note of the new businesses, the grand openings, and certain high value or high ticket businesses that attract your eye. Once you have “carded” the area (i.e., recorded the information, picked up local newspapers, maps, periodicals, grocery store handouts, and the rest), go back to the office, transcribe the information, note the advertising, and create a spreadsheet. Then it is time to do some research. Make sure you log the following information:
      1. Name
      2. Address
      3. Phone – Verify from infoUSA.com
      4. Web address (if they have one – note if they do not)
        1. Alexa Rankings
        2. SEO Information (to be covered in an upcoming article)
      5. Google them and establish how deep their online presence goes and what they are doing in the way of inbound marketing and social media to build The Ultimate Internet Image (couldn’t resist!)
      6. Email address from website About and Contact Us as well as from Whois.com and BetterWhoIs.com
      7. Business Owner – Contact Name infogroup/infoUSA.com
      8. Contact Title
      9. Verify Mailing Address from American Chruch Lists
      10. Type of Business
      11. Employee Size
      12. How Long in Business
      13. Other Relevant Data
  3. Referrals and Warm Contacts – These are either referrals from business owners and professionals you are already assisting (I will go into how to develop referrals and letters of recommendation – testimonials in an upcoming article). You can also approach the individuals you do business with and pass out a business cards, strike up a casual conversation, and ask them if they have a few minutes and take it from there. How you handle referrals and how you handle your warm market are different but they are both high quality leads and a great source of business.
  4. Local Newspapers – Businesses spend a lot of money on newspaper advertising with very little to show for it. I suggest OfflineBiz.com. When you upgrade to the Gold forum you get a letter as part of your introductory series that converts better than any direct mail piece I have ever used! I am talking about 12-18% for every mailing that goes out. The nice part is that you can use it in conjunction with newspaper ads, magazine ads, Yellow Pages ads, etc. It is without a doubt the best letter I have ever used for response on a cold mailing as part of a direct mail campaign. Try it! It will be worth it. And OfflineBiz.com offers instructional material that is really quite good. If you use the information and the letter provided by OfflineBiz.com you will see your response rate related to newspaper advertising prospecting in association with direct mail skyrocket. I have never seen anything like it! Sound like a commercial? It works or I wouldn’t mention it, affiliate link or not!

Prospecting for inbound marketing and social media clients is about…

…research, experience, and empathy!

If you can put yourself in your prospective inbound marketing client’s shoes and understand everything there is to know about them before they call you, or before you call them, you can speak intelligently…without pressuring them!

The key is to make it a conversation and get the appointment.

The appointment may lead to something…and it may not. It is up to you and the prospective client at that point. However, if you lay the groundwork and choose your prospective clients well, combining the best of both approaches, the spaghetti approach and the creative approach, you will have more business than you know what to do with…long term.

Ultimately, we will get into greater detail with respect to several of these points.

But for now…know this:

You can never do too much prospecting and you can never be too prepared. However, do not try to sell anything over the phone and do absolutely no selling on the first visit.

Your job is to listen, learn, and understand!

If you can do that, you will be on your way to inbound marketing and social media management success!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
Skype: johnzajaros1
216-712-7004

PS, I am accepting 5 students and will work with them for the next 180 days. You will have your business up and running in that amount of time and be making money. Guaranteed! For more information, you may contact me via my personal email address: excellencepaidforward@gmail.com

PPS, Watch for Part II. We will deal with the nuts and bolts of each issue.

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Filed Under: Ari Galper's Unlock the Game, How to Succeed at Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing and Social Media, Inbound Marketing Consulting, Inbound Marketing Strategies, Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing and the Ultimate Internet Image, Prospecting Sales and Marketing, Social Media and Business, Social Media and Marketing, The Secrets to Prospecting Part I, The Ultimate Internet Image, The Yellow Pages and Outbound Marketing, Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image and Inbound Marketing, Ultimate Internet Image Consultation, Ultimate Internet Image Consulting Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Positioning, Differentiation, and Inbound Marketing Commoditization

September 4, 2010 By 1 Comment

Positioning, Differentiation, and Homogenization

The Impact on Inbound Marketing and Social Media Management!

Positioning and differentiation are two of the most important concepts you will come across as an inbound marketing consultant for social media manager.

Your understanding of these fundamental marketing principles will assist you in building your inbound marketing consultancy. Additionally, they will help you understand your clients; and, the businesses and/or professional practices of your clients.

In order to offer something truly remarkable, we must be remarkable ourselves, and that means personally and professionally. Additionally, we need to define and distinguish ourselves and our work in the marketplace; and, to do that, we must be remarkable.

As many marketing experts have so aptly pointed out:

Good is no longer good enough.

In fact:

Great is no longer good enough either!

You must be remarkable, consistent, and determined in your inbound marketing efforts…and your social media strategies.

Dan Kennedy states that, “Positioning is controlling how your customers and prospective customers think and feel about your business in comparison to other, similar businesses competing for their attention.”

Brian Tracy states that, “Positioning refers to the way your clients think about you and talk about you, and your company, when you are not around.” Tracy goes on to explain that, “The position that you hold in your client’s mind determines all of his reactions and interactions with you. Your position determines whether or not your client buys from you, whether he buys again from you, and whether he refers other people to you.”

In other words, everything you do when it comes to your client’s inbound marketing requirements affects the way your client thinks about you, your inbound marketing and social media strategies, and your inbound marketing consultancy’s brand…your Internet image.

Brian Tracy and Dan Kennedy differ somewhat, with Kennedy conflating the definitions of positioning and differentiation somewhat; and Tracy offering distinct definitions.

In the end, it all comes out in the wash!

Why?

Because you cannot have one without the other and be succcessful, positioning and differentiation are like the Ying and Yang of marketing.

Tracy maintains that, “Differentiation…refers to your ability to separate yourself, and your product or service, from that of your competitors. Differentiation is the key to building and maintaining a competitive advantage.”

Ultimately, it comes down to how you read their individual definitions, with careful attention to the context in which each definition is offered.

Positioning and differentiation are two halves of the same whole, an advantage you and your inbound marketing firm has over your competitors in the same marketplace; the unique benefits no one else can provide your clients.

However!

When all you have to offer is what everyone else is offering, and you have made it all about the price, you have little chance to be remarkable.

In fact, even if you are? In all liklihood, you won’t get hired because you have defined the parameters before you even open you mouth.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing the homogenization of inbound marketing and social media management!

We are also witnessing this trend throughout much of the business world today. As a consequence of this trend, the homogenization of inbound marketing, we are witnessing less of a distinction between inbound marketing consultancies and social media management firms.

What defines good enough…much less remarkable?

Is it true that good enough…isn’t good enough?

Additionally, what qualifies one entity to “certify” another at this point? And yet, we see this movement to be “certified!”

Interesting!

I call this trend “Follow the follower!”

Worse yet?

We are also witnessing the commoditization of inbound marketing, along side its homogenization.

Listen to Dan Kennedy talk about price lists some time if you want a real education on commoditization.

He is dead on the money, pun intended, on this point.

When you make the conversation all about price?

You become nothing more than a discount operation in the eyes of your prospective clients!

Instead of being about what makes you separate and distinct?

Your positioning and differentiation?

Instead of what makes you remarkable?

You are nothing more than an inbound marketing or social media version of K-Mart!

Why K-Mart?

Because they went bankrupt!

And making the conversation about price before you know anything about your client is bargain basement mentality; and, all your competition has to do is chop your price…and you rapidly fade away!

How can you possibly know how much to charge an inbound marketing or social media management client when you have yet to establish your client’s needs?

Or, for that matter, if you can help them at all?

In many instances, the business building and marketing strategies of today are not based on a follow the leader approach, an approach most refer to as modeling.

Modeling is a strategy that makes sense, at least to a point.

“Standing on the shoulders of giants!”

However, as noted above, we seem to be witnessing a “Follow the follower” mentality, everyone lock-step behind the next…and the result is lackluster at best.

I suggest that inbound marketing is perhaps too new, as a marketing discipline, to have many giants worth modeling…much less available for a perch on their shoulders!

Sadly, many of the companies at the forefront of the industry, those worth modeling at all, do not have extensive experience in the trenches, building inbound marketing and social media strategies for businesses and professional practices day in and day out, belly to belly, one at a time…over a period of time.

Ironically, many of the leaders today are primarily thought-leaders, with little in the trenches experience with local, “offline” businesses…consulting one on one.

Frankly, this takes getting out from behind the monitor and the desk and talking to business people in the community. What Dan Kennedy would call a No B.S. education, one based on real world experience and not on theories and concepts learned from an info course or on a website.

The best experience you will ever have, the fastest way to mastery of your craft, inbound marketing consulting and social media management, is to get out and rub elbows with business owners every day!

If you build the kind of site I see online today, the one-size-fits-all type of inbound marketing website…with services and prices posted like some sort of as menu?

You are one step away from becoming K-Mart!

If a client finds you at all, they will simply go down the menu and circle what they want, scratching what they don’t want, and that will be that.

Sadly, it will not be based on positioning or differentiation!

It will be all based on price before you even have an opportunity to establish why you may indeed be different and remarkable.

Why?

…because you are simply K-Mart!

That will be 12 blog posts please…to go!

Hold the fries!

Please let me know what you think!

Also, check out the contest on the home page…we are running out of time.

Subscribe and get a free copy of the Inbound Marketing A though Z available September 8, 2010!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
Skype: johnzajaros1
216-712-7004

PS, For more on this topic check out The Homogenization and Commoditization of Inbound Marketing (Part I) and Homogenization, Commoditization, and Mediocrity in Inbound Marketing (Part II).

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Internet and Inbound Marketing: How to Deal Information Overload

August 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Protecting Your Most Valuable Marketing Resources – Time and Money

Information Overload Pt II

In the previous article, and the videos attached to it, we dealt with focus and entrepreneurial success characteristics. We talked briefly about the various aspects of online marketing, to include Internet marketing and inbound marketing, and the cacophony of sound, both literally and figuratively, generated by online marketers.

I hope you had a chance to look at Internet and Inbound Marketing Success: Focus and Information Overload, and the videos attached. The article, and the videos associated with it, set the stage for the rest of this series.

I think if take the time, you will find that your time is well spent.

On to Internet and Inbound Marketing:
How to Deal Information Overload Pt II

One of the biggest challenges many of us face when beginning to make sense of the Internet generally, and inbound marketing in particular, is deciding just which expert to listen to and which resources to invest in.

The noise made by this guru and that expert is absolutely deafening and, because we don’t know who to listen to or what to invest in…we attempt to listen to everyone and jump from one program to the next in an attempt to get it just right and not miss something vital.

Incredibly, most of the inbound marketing experts we are listening to have never attempted the actual nuts and bolts of what they are teaching for any length of time…they are simply teaching others how to do it.

Yes, some have. But they quickly find out that, online anyway, it is better to teach than to do!

In other words, it is like the saying:

“Those who can’t or don’t do…teach; and those who teach…make more money!”

Sound a bit facetious?

It should!

I actually heard an Internet marketing guru say, and I am not sure he realized what he was saying at the time or not, I have the recording of it, that he realized early on he could make much more money teaching others how to make money online than he would ever make practicing the principals he was teaching himself.

Amazing!

It goes to show you 2 things:

  1. There are a lot of “gurus” who have never actually practiced what they preach
    1. Marketers selling dog training courses who have never trained a dog
    2. Marketers selling courses to teach parrots to talk who have never taught a parrot to do anything and, like the dog trainer, may not even own one
    3. Marketers selling inbound marketing consulting courses who do not own and run inbound marketing consultancies and have no concept of what it is like to run and brick and mortar business
  2. There is a lot more money in information products teaching others how to sell info products that there is in any of the subdisciplines most gurus point the masses towards
    1. There is a lot more money in selling info products dealing with how to be an affiliate marketer than there is being an affiliate marketer
    2. There is a lot more money selling apps for making Facebook pages than there is making Facebook pages

Picks and Shovels!

Sam Brannan taught us all a lesson during the California Gold Rush and savvy Internet marketing gurus haven’t missed a beat!

Brannan sold picks and shovels to the 49ers and made a million. The gold rushers, the 49ers, bought Brannon’s wares and got tired, broke, and hungry.

Today?

Internet marketers sell the picks and shovels of marketing.

You dig and they get rich!

Stop buying picks and shovels and start focusing on a few resources and make them pay.

How?

First, decide to follow one or two experts and then devour everything they teach you. If they refer to a resource, check it out…but remain skeptical and only purchase what you absolutely require.

Hopefully, you will choose wisely Grasshopper!

Ask yourself these questions before you invest your time or money any anything online:

  • What’s in this for me?
    • Marketing Lesson: How does this benefit me and help me to grow my business?
  • Who cares?
    • Marketing Lesson: Does this seem to be something that has worked for others?
  • Can I validate the claims being made?
    • Marketing Lesson: Does the person offering the resource or the advice have a following and/or a track record?
  • Why should I believe you?
    • Marketing Lesson: Malcolm Gladwell speaks of the adaptive unconscious in his book, Blink. Adaptive unconscious is the mental processes that works automatically and rapidly…based on relatively little information. In other words, intuition and gut instinct! In most cases, if you listen to your gut, it will guide you in the right direction.
    • Marketing Lesson: If you get a feeling deep in the pit of your stomach that says, “I just don’t know?” Walk away…fast!
  • I’ve heard it all before!
    • Marketing Lesson: If you get the sense that they are spouting the same-old, same-old? Find a new teacher or think about investing in a different product.
      • This is particularly true in the inbound marketing sphere right now, with every Tom, Dick, and Jane selling their particular Ju-Ju for $997 or $1997 on how to corner the inbound marketing niche and make $5,000 to $10,000 per month starting Monday…and it’s Sunday night!
  • Why in the world did I buy this product?
    • Marketing Lesson: If you get that feeling after investing your hard earned money in a course you should be all excited about…cancel! Today!
      • Yes, there is such a thing as buyer’s remorse. However, if you think the product doesn’t measure up or they are going to feed you bits and pieces over several weeks or months, it often means they don’t even have the product completed and you need to get out before the refund period lapses or you will be stuck with a subpar program and nothing to show for it!
  • What else should I be doing now?
    • Marketing Lesson: If you are watching a video or reading an article and you are asking yourself what else you should be doing now, you need to:
      • Set it aside and come back to it when you have time to devote your complete attention to it.
      • Decide whether the message is relevant or not and move on.
        • Note: Keep in mind that not everything an expert is going to offer will resonate with you. I use the 3 strikes rule, unless it is really bad. I give an authority I am interested in 3 strikes. It they haven’t offered anything that floats my boat by strike 3…they’re out!
  • Will this be a wise investment in terms of my time and money?
    • Marketing Lesson: If you can’t afford it in terms of money or can’t swing the time? Walk away! Offers are like the “gurus” making them…there will be another along later this week, next week, next month, and so on and so on and so on….
      • In fact, if you haven’t noticed it already, almost every big launch has a relauch and then a 2.0, a 3.0, and so on and so on and so on….
      • So, don’t sweat it if you can afford it…there will come a time when you will be able to. And then? You’ll probably be glad you didn’t buy it “back when,” because you will know enough by then to see it for what it is.
      • And 9 out of 10 times it is junk…or at the very least can be bought for much less or even found free with a little digging and a bit of Googling!
  • Finally, ask yourself the following question: What makes you different?
    • Marketing Lesson: In other words, why should I listen to you? What makes you so special? And don’t worry about feelings! You are dealing with two of your most precious resources:
      • Time
      • Money
        • If either of these two resources is not well spent, and you can’t find a reason why the person asking for either is worth your time and money, because time is money? Walk away…Fast!

In Part III we will discuss the different coaching strategies and the various authority sites. We will also discuss the various Internet and inbound marketing resources; and, whether or not they are worth investing in or not. Finally, in Part IV, I will discuss some of the major implementation strategies I have used over the past two years, those I have discarded and those I still use…and why.

I hope you have found this interesting and useful.

If so, please leave a comment and share it with your friends via email and social media!

Thanks so much for taking the time and please don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter which starts off with the Inbound Marketing A through Z to be published September 7, 2010; and, it will be free of charge for subscribers.

Thanks again and please leave your feedback!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004
Skype: johnzajaros1

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Filed Under: Focus and Information Overload, How to Deal Information Overload, Inbound and Internet Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing Consulting, Inbound Marketing Strategies, Information Overload, Internet and Inbound Marketing Success, Internet and Inbound Marketing: How to Deal Information Overload, The Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image Tagged With: , , , ,

Internet and Inbound Marketing Success: Focus and Information Overload

August 27, 2010 By 1 Comment

Entrepreneurial Success Traits

The Importance of Focus

Internet and Inbound Marketing Success, the Entrepreneur, and Focus

I know, I know! I really couldn’t settle on a title…so I figured the next-best solution was the shotgun approach. I could tell you I’m testing it and all of that…but that would be bunk.

So, I’ll just tell it like it is…like I always do! Why change after 55 years?

Note: I will discuss this topic, and that of distraction and time management, in greater depth in The Ultimate Internet Image’s upcoming ebook, Inbound Marketing A through Z, scheduled to be released to our subscribers on September 7, 2010. You can find the details for it and the contest on the home page (link right above you). I would suggest entering the contest…the odds are fantastic right now and someone is going to win a nice little Apple iPod Touch and some other nice prizes!

So, check it out.

OK, done with the commercial!

I have added a couple of videos below.

The first is by David McCandless and his TED talk is entitled:

The beauty of data visualization

The second is by Gary Flake and is entitled:

Is Pivot a turning point for web exploration?

The latter is very exciting because it goes hand in hand with the recent discussion about TweetPivot in The Inbound Marketing Week in Review and in the follow up interview with Chris Arnold of TweetPivot. Chris is a great guy and you can follow him on Twitter at @GoodCoffeeCode

Phew! Lots of links…sorry…but they’re for a good cause!

The two videos mentioned above deal with information overload and focusing on information (data) in a very different way. I think if you take the time to watch them, and read the accompanying article below (of course!), you will find you have a better, perhaps somewhat different perspective than when you arrived.

At least that is my hope!

For now, I want to talk about focus as it relates to Internet marketing, inbound marketing, and online entrepreneurial endeavor.

Peter Baskerville states that:

“Entrepreneurs know better than most, the power generated by focus.”

I agree!

However, I would qualify it somewhat by stating that successful entreprenuers know how to focus. I would also suggest that a large part of that success comes from our ability to focus in spite of the many obstacles in our way; and, in particular, in spite of information overload.

I suggest that, in spite of the myriad distractions, changes, and hurdles that may confront us, thus obstructing our path, we as entrepreneurs are able to keep ourselves, and those working for and with us, focused on the ultimate result, either an immediate or long term goal; and, usually both.

The successful entrepreneur, complete with the obsessive tendencies we often display towards our passion, and in spite of many obstacles and distractions noted above, will maintain focus and get the job done.

It is important to distinguish between the word entrepreneur and the phrase successful entrepreneur.

Additionally, it is important to understand the characteristics that define entrepreneurial success. Understanding the distinctions between the two, and the characteristics that define success in this realm, we can begin to understand what defines a successful entrepreneurial endeavor.

Interestingly, there are a great many individuals referring to themselves as entrepreneurs.

In today’s world, it is easy to claim to be almost anything!

It takes minutes to set up a website or blog and be online today. I can do it in less than 5 minutes…tops.

In a moment a relative unknown can go toe-to-toe with a reputable firm, established and able to deliver on their promises…and no one is the wiser.

Whether in Internet marketing, inbound marketing, or some other niche specific online endeavor, people referring to themselves as entrepreneurs are everywhere. People calling themselves “gurus” are just as common. And I’ve discussed the latter until I’m blue in the face.

There are entrepreneurs and then there are Entrepreneurs; and, there are Gurus and then there are “gurus.”

For more on this you can read:

The Top 10 Guru Survey and the Truth About Internet Marketing Gurus

This is both exciting and worrisome. Exciting, because it allows a relative unknown to step up and do incredibly exciting things. Worrisome, because it also allows the bottom feeders to surface, grab their prey, and submerge never to be seen or heard from again.

Sadly, the latter muddies the waters for the former and makes it difficult for the legitimate entrepreneur to establish himself or herself.

However, there are a few young (meaning: new on the scene), successful Internet marketers, inbound marketing consultants, and/or online marketing specialists who have been able to break through and establish themselves as successful entrepreneurs, in spite of these obstacles, by remaining focused on their ultimate desire through service to others.

When all is said and done, there are very few truly successful entrepreneurs.

Why?

I think it comes down to several things but an essential characteristic or trait for successful entrepreneur is, as stated above, the ability to focus and remain so in spite of obstacles and distractions; and, information overload is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, distraction in the online world.

In other words, the ability to remain focused, to remove all obstacles and distractions from our path, is the key ingredient to success…and a real challenge for online marketers in any sphere.

Whether an entrepreneur is solely focused on Internet marketing (e.g., as an information marketer, affiliate marketer, or some other specialty) or is exploring some other sales and marketing niche (e.g., inbound marketing), the amount of information and the shear volume of noise is deafening.

Seth Godin referred to the subject of noise on his blog today:

The blizzard of noise (and the good news)

While Mr Godin was talking about noise and the online world, particularly in the context of the familiar versus the unfamiliar, it is a constant theme of his…and for good reason!

An Aside: It is interesting, and I have mentioned this before, how many times we will be thinking of something, writing about it or whatever, and suddenly it seems that several people are talking about the same thing. The fact is, they always were, it’s just that we weren’t looking in that direction, at the shooting stars, until now!

I wrote an article about this topic just the other day and you can find it at:

Shooting Stars, Abraham Lincoln, Prayer, The Beatles, and Commitment

Interestingly if you are pursuing an entrepreneurial endeavor as an inbound marketing consultant, there is always something appropriate, something interesting, and/or something useful. However, to avoid information overload, we must settle on what a few trusted sources and resources, what feels and fits best, and stick with them…remaining focused on our primary task above all else.

So, what are the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur as related to focus?

  • The ability to remain focused in spite of setbacks
  • The ability to remain focused in spite of distractions
  • The ability to remain focused in spite of unforeseen changes (flexibility)
  • The ability to maintain focus in our personal lives, because personal problems (i.e., family issues, health concerns, etc) are a major distraction and can and will undermine our entrepreneurial endeavor or endeavors
  • The ability to keep others we depend on focused in order to get the job done; and thus meeting and exceeding goals and objectives, both personal and professional
  • Passion – Passionate about our work, about others, about our family, and about life in general
  • Concentration – Again to the point of obession but not to the point of myopia. Marketing myopia, discussed previously and again in our upcoming ebook release can be and often is the entrepreneurial kiss of death
  • Prioritize Everything – Prioritize to the point of obsession! While making sure you have the small things taken care of, be aware of the ultimate prize. I suggest the video below: Rory Sutherland: Sweat the small stuff
  • The ability to compartmentalize the various components of our lives and the task at hand…in the context of overall personal and business goals
  • “Single-minded with an eye-constantly-on-the-prize” Peter Baskerville
  • Entrepreneurs rarely, if ever quit (The Dip being the qualifier here - Seth Godin’s book is a must)

Ultimately, entrepreneurs must have the ability to focus, as if with blinders on, until the job is done. This is extremely difficult in today’s world. The Internet is a cacophony of sound, literally and figuratively; and, it is difficult, if not impossible, to remain focused to the exclusion of all unnecessary distraction.

One of an entrepreneur’s greatest assets is curiosity. Curiosity is also one of an entrepreneur’s greatest enemies!

It is an inquisitive mind that is always looking for the next-great opportunity, the next-best thing. However, if one is to succeed as an entrepreneur, it is imperative that we remain focused and as ourselves one thing. Yes, it is always important to keep an eye open for the next great opportunity…just so long as it is not a distraction.

Consequently, there is a constant balancing act going on between what may translate into something real and what must be done now…in order to accomplish the task at hand.

Ultimately, the question that must be asked and answered is this:

Will this get me closer to my main desire, the task that will take me that much closer to my ultimate goal?

If not?

Then you must walk away!

Why?

Because there is simply too much noise online today and if you are not working toward the completion of the task at hand?

You are walking away from it!

The former is crucial and the latter is self-defeating.

In order to succeed in today’s connected world, any of us, we must be able to tune-in in order to enhance our knowledge and learn what is necessary to go forward toward the completion of our task.

And, we must know when to tune out, to put the blinders on, and focus on our primary goal to the point of obsession.

“Unfocused energy dissipates whilst focused energy, like the sun’s rays, through a magnifying glass BURNS!” PB

I also like Marc Joyner’s analogy of the knife and the box.

I will save that for another time…or you can ask me in the comments below and I will be happy to explain. In either case, please leave a comment.

I have added the videos below for you. The videos are useful and quite appropriate, both narrowly and broadly speaking.

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. Please remember to subscribe!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004
Skype: johnzajaros1

Note: Peter Baskerville is an Australian entrepreneur who likes to call himself “a New Venture Architect.” Peter recently discussed the traits and characteristics required for success as an entrepreneur in a Google Knol. The Knol was entitled: Characteristics of an Entrepreneur: The A to Z of the characteristics of an entrepreneur. You can access this Knol through the linked quote above.

David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization

“David McCandless turns complex data sets (like worldwide military spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates) into beautiful, simple diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections. Good design, he suggests, is the best way to navigate information glut — and it may just change the way we see the world.”

Gary Flake: Is Pivot a turning point for web exploration?

“Gary Flake demos Pivot, a new way to browse and arrange massive amounts of images and data online. Built on breakthrough Seadragon technology, it enables spectacular zooms in and out of web databases, and the discovery of patterns and links invisible in standard web browsing.”

Rory Sutherland: Sweat the small stuff

“It may seem that big problems require big solutions, but ad man Rory Sutherland says many flashy, expensive fixes are just obscuring better, simpler answers. To illustrate, he uses behavioral economics and hilarious examples.”

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Filed Under: David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization TED Video, Focus and Information Overload, Gary Flake: Is Pivot a turning point for web exploration TED Video, Inbound and Internet Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing Consulting, Inbound Marketing Strategies, Internet and Inbound Marketing Success, Interview with Chris Arnold: Social Media, Interview with Chris Arnold: Social Media Twitter and TweetPivot, New Media and Inbound Marketing, Peter Baskerville and Focus, Rory Sutherland and the Small Stuff, Rory Sutherland: Sweat the Small Stuff TED, Sales and Marketing, The Ultimate Internet Image, TweetPivot, Ultimate Internet Image Tagged With: , , , ,

The Four Letter Word in Sales and Marketing: The P Word!

August 19, 2010 By 2 Comments

Building Your Inbound Marketing Consultancy

Prospecting is a Four Letter Word

Building an inbound marketing consulting business is very much like building any other kind of service-oriented business. Building a business, particularly from scratch, requires perspicacity, professionalism, patience, persistence, practice, persuasion, people skills, perception, penetrating insight, and prospecting.

And that’s just for starters!

If you read most of the success-related, self-help books on the market today, they will recite, almost in unison, the litany of success killers, the traits we either have or do not have that lead to an entrepreneur’s undoing.

Interestingly, the number one reason why most people fail, at least as far as the success and self-help “gurus” are concerned is procrastination. Over and over again, until it has attained the status of dogma, we are told that if you can only beat the nasty procrastination habit we will all be masters of our universe and captians of our destiny.

And I say…

Poppycock!

I’d say something else but this is a PG kind of blog and I think Poppycock does it rather nicely.

It is my firm conviction, my belief if you will, that people only procrastinate when they hate doing something. Now, they may hate it because they dread the action, they may dread it because they aren’t crazy about the result, or they may dread it because they simply hate what they are doing in total.

Regardless of what the act or the outcome is, the bottom line should be crystal clear to anyone looking at this whole thing objectively:

A procratinator dislikes, often hates, at least some aspect of what they are doing. In fact, they dread doing it. And, unless you change the underlying fear, because dread and fear are incredibly powerful forces that go hand-in-hand, a procrastinator will continue to procrastinate.

Consequently, they will also continue to fail.

Have you ever heard of anyone dreading a vacation to the Caribbean?

Have you ever heard of anyone dreading payday?

Have you ever heard of anyone dreading winning the lottery?

Have you ever heard of anyone dreading their favorite pastime?

Walk with the dog?

Spend time with the grandkids?

Well OK, maybe you have me on that last one.

But you get the point, right?

And what is the activity most dreaded by salespeople and marketers?

Heck, by business people and virtually anyone who has to “go out and get it!”?

Prospecting!

Why?

Because you have to ask people to do something thay may not want to do. You have to go out and talk to people, people who are resistent to change under the best of circumstances; and, you may be rejected.

And fear of rejection is right up there with fear of failure and they both stifle productivity and lead to procrastination!

Prospecting has linked to it, built into the very core of it, fear of change, fear of rejection, and fear of rejection. Is there any doubt in your mind as to why salespeople procrastinate when it comes to time prospect?

I hate prospecting! Or at least I did!

In fact, I had one of the most coveted marketing jobs in the country. I was making top 5 money. That’s income in the top 5% of all wage earners in the USA. I walked away from it because I hated prospecting and, in particular, the telephone.

Loathed, hated, despised, broke out in hives, got physically ill!

And that was on a good day!

And I wasn’t talking to people who resented my call either. I was talking to warm leads, referrals from other businessmen who were already clients.

It didn’t matter…I hated it!

Why?

Because I put so much pressure on myself to make the sale, to make every sale, that I made myself sick.

Interestingly, looking back at it many years later, there was virtually zero pressure coming from anyone else; the pressure all came from within. But it was enough to completely destroy my ability to do my job effectively.

The ironic part of it?

Once in front of a prospective client I was fine. I had one of the highest closing percetages in the company, ever.

But when it came to the dreaded “P” word…I was a basket case!

I can’t go into all the reasons why, they are beyond the scope of this article, but I can tell you this, my reaction was irrational, it was illogical, and it is felt by hundreds, if thousands of salespeople each and every day across tashe United States and around the world.

We all hate two things:

  1. Being required to ask people to do something they may not want to do
  2. Rejection

Now, what if we could get around those two obstacles?

I think most of you reading this, if you are serious about selling and marketing at all, will agree that making a sale, bringing a new client on board in any sales situation, is a kick. It is one of the best feelings in the world, a complete rush!

“Better than sex!” we used to say.

Hey, what did we know…we were young!

But the fear of rejection and the pressure we place on ourselves can be such an impediment to success that it undemines everything else we do or even attempt to do.

Even the result, knowing a big commission or an annual contract worth thousands isn’t enough to offset the dread and the pain associated with prospecting.

Ironically, while the dread and pain are self-inflicted, they are nevertheless real.

Happily, because we have done this to oursleves, we have the capacity to undo it. But it takes shifting our thinking, looking at the entire process with new eyes and a fresh attitude.

Unfortunately, there are far too many sales trainers, prospecting experts, offering the same, rehashed notions that have been around since Christ left Chicago.

Funny thing about sayings, and there are a number of them, is no one can remember how they came to be used, if not accepted.

The same is true of prospecting methods.

Since Christ left Chicago!

Since Christ was a Corporal!

Since Pontius was a Pilate!

Throw enough “spaghetti” against the wall and some of it will stick!

Every no gets you closer to a yes!

And so on and so forth. You get the drift, right?

Plenty of catchy sayings and lots of rah-rah, chant in front of the mirror, manic mantra “stuff,” but not enough real world, nuts and bolts, “How do I overcome this terrible feeling?” advice.

Why?

Because they didn’t and still don’t know how to themselves!

Why?

Mainly, because we were going about it all wrong.

The prospecting process, in fact the entire sales process was and remains fundamentally broken for millions of salespeople doing their very best, day in and day out, to “Go out and get it!”

Just go out and do it!

Buck up and all that old boy!

Pip pip!

“I am the greatest salesman in the world!”

And so on and so forth!

Most of the rehashed “stuff,” another four letter word, has been around a very long time and every few years a new sales training “guru” comes on the scene and tries to sell the rest of us what has never really worked all that well to begin with.

Interestingly, with the emergence of inbound marketing many salespeople and marketers have come to believe that everything can be accomplished at arms length. And, while it is true that more things can be accomplished at a distance, for the majority it is simply not the case.

In fact, there have been several studies, including one concluded just recently, The Digital Report 2010, that suggest that people are more skeptical than ever of information gathered and/or received from online sources.

That means salespeople have an even bigger hurdle to overcome than ever before!

There is a fundamental lack of trust for any information gleaned from the Internet. Consequently, salesmanship, and personal contact, have become more important than ever before. In many instances the sales and marketing infrastructure is directing us one way, and the consumers seem to be demanding something altogether different.

Does that mean that prospecting, and indeed the entire sales process, has to be more difficult?

No!

Significantly, recent findings would suggest that the high pressure prospecting and sales closing methods of the 50s through 90s, and even into our current decade, are not only outmoded, they are counterproductive.

In other words, they just won’t fly anymore.

People are turned off by the old school tactics, and that includes many of the more intrusive outbound marketing practices dating back decades. The consumer is smarter and better educated than ever before and the tricks of yesterday simply fail to convert.

Today, a new sales approach is necessary if we are to be successful, and that goes for inbound marketing or any other field.

The new approach is a laid back, conversational approach!

In the words of Ari Galper, one of the smartest sales trainers to come along in a very long time, it is necessary to:

“Go deep with the client.”

In other words, instead of the shotgun approach to prospecting, a method in which the focus was to talk to 10 people by 10am, now the focus should be to talk to one person from 8am until 10am…or longer.

The idea is to drive deep into the issues and concerns of the prospect, the challenges they are grappling with.

A great word: grappling!

Imagine walking into a business with no expectation of a sale. Now, imagine taking the time to get to know the individual who has their very life blood invested in that business and seeing them as more than a prospect.

Now look at them as more than simply number one in a one out of ten on my way to 10am.

You might actually find out something useful about them. You will build a relationship. And once the relationship is established, trust will follow, and the sale will take care of itself.

Interestingly, when you shift the focus from a sales pitch to a conversation, the stress and the dread disappears…from both sides of the equation.

Remember when I said I used to hate prospecting?

No longer is prospecting about making a sale, it is about building a relationship, getting to know the man or woman you may have as a client for a very long time…getting to know them in a way the old school apporoach never would have allowed for.

The greatest thing about Ari’s approach?

You will never feel the same dread again. You will no longer be out to make a sale…you will be out to begin a conversation.

Once the sale and the sales pitch are removed from the equation, the experience becomes a pleasurable one and one that will ultimately lead to more sales, greater success, and less procrastination and dread.

That is a Win-Win in anyone’s book!

Contact me anytime for more information and see the postscript below for more information about Ari Galper’s Unlock the Game. Ari’s free training alone will change how you approach sales forever.

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004

PS, Best of luck and please leave your thoughts and feedback below. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter. All subscribers will receive Inbound Marketing A through Z free of charge on September 7, 2010!

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Filed Under: Ari Galper, Ari Galper's Unlock the Game, Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing Strategies, Prospecting Sales and Marketing, The Four Letter Word in Sales and Marketing: The P Word!, The Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image Consulting Tagged With: , , ,
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