“If I could only land this one huge client, I’d make it big!”

I hear it all the time, “forget the minnows… fish for that whale!”

And it did make sense in an industrialized-aged era. In the previous century, the marketing & sales efforts to attract one hundred clients paying $1,000 was usually significantly more than it was to hook one client paying $100,000.

But in the age of the internet – where information flows swiftly, and technology has helped smart businesses create virtual pipelines for promoting & delivering goods and services – this is no longer the case.

We now have the ability to use social media, websites, email, video and a host of other technologies to further our product’s reach and effectiveness.

As entrepreneurs living in the 21st century we have wonderful opportunities available to us. And over time, we will present specific scenarios and case studies in which you can apply technology into your business.

But technology is not the premise of this article… It’s about being happy.

Finding happiness:

Who am I serving? Why did I create this business? How can I improve the lives of as many people as possible? And most importantly: Am I happy?

The questions every entrepreneur should ask themselves.

And after deep introspection, you should begin to see that it’s not the Microsofts, Fords or the governments of the world who you’d like as a customer. It’s the little guys, the mom and pops of society.

Because as the size of the client grows, so does the demands. The more you become trapped in the bureaucracy associated with their specificity. And unfortunately, the more your individuality dies.

No happy entrepreneur wakes up worrying about what their major client is going to demand next. Instead, a happy entrepreneur wakes up wondering how they can improve the lives of others.

Caution: It’s not always peachy, but usually

As you continually improve your offerings to appeal to your customer base some may not enjoy the tweaks, but most will.

With many users, one client parting ways will not break the bank. Respect their choice to leave as you’ll still have thousands of others who love your product.

Without that whale dictating your every move, you won’t be forced to create something the CEO thinks is best, but what you think is best for your users. Which means you can create something that makes you happy.

And this is why we become entrepreneurs in the first place: to be happy.

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Dear Solopreneur,

Are you a one-man-band pretending your business is bigger than it truly is? It’s easy to do, you know, just change “I” to “we” in your sale scripts. Instantly, you have yourself a firm instead of a home office. Magic!

But you may be doing more harm than good.

What if your potential client or customer is looking for someone rolling solo? You may have scared them away. Or what if a company needed a 10-person shop to help them out and you would have never won the business alone? You and the prospect may have unnecessarily wasted valuable time discussing the project.

Ultimately, it’s best to be honest and up front, since it will only be a matter of time until the client realizes the you-not-us scheme. So as a rule of thumb going forward: be honest and set proper expectations. Call a spade a spade. It’s not We… it’s You.

Sincerely,

Brad

ps. As your business grows and you bring on one or more employees, you will experience a tremendous boost in motivation when you’re changing the content on your marketing collateral from I to We.

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It’s no secret that the world of marketing has drastically changed over the past few years.

But unfortunately, I still see entrepreneurs sticking with the old tactics of marketing to increase sales.

It’s dangerous to your business.

Are you thinking you might be one of these old-time marketers caught up in the old techniques?

If so, we have compiled a list of 5 marketing and sales tactics that no longer work:

Build it and they will come

“We’re in the phonebook.”

Phonebook! What’s that?

Elderly aside, most people turn to the Internet these days. They read reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp. They quickly check out the competition. And usually make up their mind before leaving their desk.

The companies that rely on the fact that they are simply out there and available, will be left to die a slow and capital-depleting death… alone.

We’ve always done it this way!

Have you heard the saying, “The only thing constant in the world of business is change?”

Marketing strategies are no different.

Fifteen years ago, the Internet was mainly reserved for geeks and gamers. Six years ago, YouTube didn’t exist. Four years ago, Facebook was a thing college kids played with.

Think of the past few years. Has your marketing and business system evolved at this rate? For your business’ sake, I hope so.

Location, location, location

Besides gas stations and convenience stores, this mantra no longer holds true. The business that promotes, differentiates and delivers on promises will ultimately draw the most traffic and sales. Foot traffic helps a little in walkable neighborhoods, but not enough to compete in this market.

Some of the best restaurants and stores I have visited were located off the main city strip but had caught my attention days before I grabbed the car keys.

Sales training is a second tier expense

“Whatever we can afford is fine.”

It’s not fine!

Sales is the lifeblood of your organization. Without it, companies die.

Sounds obvious? Not so much.

There are literally thousands of businesses out there that only spend the base minimum. You run into these businesses everyday. For instance, the next time you’re out shopping, take note of the salesperson’s friendliness and professionalism. Then take notice of the customer base and if they truly enjoy shopping there or if it’s a force of habit. Most likely, your urge to return will be a direct relationship to your employee interaction.

Exceptional companies focus a great deal of its resources on finding a great sales staff, investing in their training and consciously tracking successes.

Cutting costs is the best way to boost the bottom line

“We don’t need to advertise, they know we’re here!”

What!?!

For most of you, this statement may seem completely fictional. However, I have encountered businesses with this mentality. Since you are reading this article, I assume you know this one.

Just remember, don’t be penny smart and dollar dumb. Good Luck!

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You can learn a lot from a business’ restroom.

From small signs such as the employee’s level of dedication to things as major as the overall success of the company, a restroom usually never lies.

Why?

Because when a business or its coworkers are not on the top of their game, the restroom’s cleanliness is the first to go. Toilet paper rolls are left unchanged, the garbage is neglected and the mirror is full of water spots.

My Father’s old business partner/mentor was adamant about this concept. He would never invest into a business with an unclean restroom.

And me being taught this at a very young age, I’ve constantly kept my eye on restrooms.

It never fails, every clean restroom is found in a successful business. Those unclean facilities I’ve encountered are now mostly all attached to “for lease” empty buildings.

The Slippery Slope of a Dirty Restroom

If your income statement’s bottom line isn’t where you’d like the numbers to be, it may be easy to find yourself neglecting the restroom. Such as switching from luscious 3-ply to sandpaper-esque 1-ply and letting the garbage go for a few days because it’s not full, hence saving a bag or two. Or worse yet, not refilling soap dispensers or air fresheners.

But you need to maintain a high-quality facility. It’s crucial.

And while you or your coworkers may not regard the rooms as anything different, your guests will be aware. In fact, the guests may not consciously notice the lack of caring. But they will subconsciously. I’ll guarantee they will get a feeling of quality abandonment. That you just don’t care. And that’s not good. Not good at all.

So go clean the restroom… NOW!

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Day in and day out, business owners, executives and sales teams struggle to compete for new business. Constantly approaching new companies and consumers begging for a sale.

To assist in the search, marketing departments continual craft witty messages to attract buyers. But more times than not, the sales staff will never sell anything to these folks.

Beaten and depressed, most sales people move onto the next target. The entire time thinking that they lost the sale to their competition down the street. Never realizing that more likely, the prospect never bought from the competitor either.

Finding Your True Competition

B2B Example Scenario: I spent some time after college working as an account manager for a technology reseller. And in the beginning, the sales process was a shaky one. I would find myself with a sinking feeling in my gut every time I heard, “we decided to go another route, but thank you.” It was heart breaking, to say the least.

“What did I do wrong?” I’d ask myself. “I came in with faster shipping and better terms, but yet they ‘decided to go another route,’ come on!”

After a few weeks of constant daggers in my heart, I started probing into their reasoning further. “Why did you choose to abort this plan?” I’d say in one-way or another. And slowly I started seeing a pattern. It wasn’t my negotiation skills, shipping details or the price. But rather, the company needed to allocate the money in a different department.

This was mind blowing. As a tech reseller, I wasn’t truly competing with the Dell’s and Newegg’s of the world. In actuality, it was the company’s IT department competing with the HR department’s need for new desks, the janitorial staff’s requirement for a new worker, the security team’s constant requests for updated cameras, the CEO’s self-interests, the marketing department’s media buying… the list went on and on.

Realizing this, my entire sales process changed. I continually crafted my questioning process. Learning from each encounter, asking more precise questions and ultimately getting to the heart of the company’s current situation. For instance, did they need this new server configuration? And if so, how can I make this package more attractive to the COO than their admitted need for an updated CRM.

Once I began to understand this concept, my sales went from mediocre to stellar. And because I was able to get their bosses approval for new stuff, my account contacts loved me… I found if you make an ally with the contact at the company, they would share with you the happenings and gossip of the company. Perfect ammunition going into the sales presentation.

To Summarize

In essence, your biggest competition isn’t in your vertical. But rather, the endless other needs of the company or consumer will ultimately be the deciding factor in whether or not you receive the business.

Do you have any real life examples of this?

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Most businesses are boring.

And I don’t mean boring in terms of Office Space boring.

What I’m getting at is this:

When an outsider (customer, client, passerby, etc.) looks at your business, what do they see?

Do they see a boring front sign, boring website and boring cubicles?

Or do they find a magical operation? One filled with fun surprises. A business with that spark which makes people say “Whoa, these folks got something special go on here!”

This is the essence of business design in the 21st century: Be Remarkable.

It’s no secret people like to do business with people they like. But they especially like to talk about businesses worth talking about… i.e. remarkable

Remember: Word-of-mouth is the best marketing.

So whenever you make a marketing decision ask yourself, “Is this a conversation starter?” If so, implement it. If not, improve it.

All too often, though, most entrepreneurs and marketers fall in the trap of doing the minimum. Which results in unremarkability.

Instead, when you find yourself with a great marketing idea, consider it a start. Not a strategy.

The more you obsess, test, tweak, and improve your marketing, the more remarkable it will become.

And remarkable businesses create remarkable bottom lines.

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Conventional business wisdom states that the more unique your company’s niche, the more potential for success.

And at its core, this makes complete sense. Finding a niche usually results in a lot less competitors, along with a loyal group of customers.

But you must also keep the future in mind.

Where do you see your business in 1 year? In 5 years? In 50?

Envisioning the Future

Example: Let’s say you’re passionate about parakeets. And after some market research you determine that an e-commerce store marketed towards parakeet owners is a smart move. (caveat: I haven’t done this research, parakeets randomly came to mind)

You include parakeet in your brand name. You go out and buy a domain name with parakeet in it. You do every generally accepted strategy to let people know you’re all about parakeets.

And after a couple years of building brand awareness, business is booming. You’re considered the place to go for parakeet supplies.

Your Brand’s Glass Ceiling

But what happens after you become the biggest? How do you grow from here?

Having branded everything as the place for parakeet owners, you may become stuck. Because there are only so many parakeet owners. You’ve hit a glass ceiling that will take some clever tactics to overcome (if it’s at all possible).

Or you could start planning today for the long haul. Thinking logically how you proceed with marketing decisions.

It’s important to think of both the short-term and long-term effects of choices you make when continually branding your company.

The Biggest Fish Prepared for the Biggest Bowl

In the above example, instead of including parakeet in the brand, domain, and what not. A better long-term strategy would be to use more generic wording. Maybe even replace parakeet with bird. And then use a tagline to explain the niche.

In other words, you’d find better success by designing your brand around the most general possible niche. And use your marketing skills to initially narrow down into a tightly unique niche.

So ask yourself, “how am I branding for the future?”

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More does not equal better. More features does not equal a better product. More attention does not equal more customers. More customers does not equal more profit.

And, more often than not, more is not an effective strategy. In fact, it’s often a failed strategy. Especially when it comes to marketing.

Everyone seems to be after more. More attention, more followers, more likes, more ________ (fill in the blank).

Before you decide to go after more, consider this…

More people hate Apple products than love them.

More people buy shoes without a swoosh on the side of them than buy a pair of sneaks from Nike.

There are more Bieber-haters than Beliebers.

When it comes to marketing, consider less.

Less focus on finding more people and more focus on targeting the ones who matter. Yes, you’ll alienate a lot of people in the process. But, that’s the point.

Do you think Beiber cares if you hate his haircut when he has thousands of 13-year-old girls screaming for his attention? No. Because you’re not the one paying for his cool leather jacket. Those 13-year-old girls are.

Do you think Nike stresses when a hippy once again passes up a pair of their sneakers in favor of a pair of birkenstocks?  No. They’re focused on the kid shooting baskets at midnight unwilling to leave the court until he hits that fade-away from 15 feet.

Do you think Apple calls an emergency board meeting when the internet complains about their closed iOS platform? No. The middle-aged mother or father who just bought that iPad, and that iPad, and that iPad, oh and that one, and that one…is far more valuable to them than non-buying technology geeks who complain about their closed platform.

Want more? Alienate more.

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Are you continually adding features to your product or service? It’s easy to do. And it may seem like a smart move.

It’s a classical formula: Adding More = Better

But does it? Is adding more really better… Or is it overwhelming?

As you work on your products and services, are you including more and more stuff logically? Or are you just adding stuff to add it? Maybe, you’re including more in the sales conversation to help overcome objections. Maybe you’re trying to reach a larger audience by offering more options. Or maybe you want to add more functionality for your current clients. Whatever you’re doing, you must painstakingly watch out for feature creep.

I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
~ Bill Cosby

The Homer Car

The absolute best example of feature creep is Homer Simpson’s interpretation of the perfect car. (pictured above)

The Homer, as it’s egotistically named, has something for everyone. From three different horns that plays “La Cucaracha” to a self-contained bubble for the bickering kids, it has it all. Ideal for the average American, as Homer says.

But as you can see from this ridiculous example, continually adding crap to the design of the car results in exactly that: crap.

Preventing Feature Creep

In essence, the best way to prevent feature creep is to constantly remind yourself of what makes your product or service special. Ask yourself: What is the unique characteristic that initially attracted your user base? What are your core competencies? What makes you, you?

By continually reminding yourself of what makes you remarkable, you’ll be able to consciously inspect your offering’s evolution. And hopefully keep a keen eye on the prevention of the dreaded feature creep.

Your Experience?

Have you witnessed feature creep within your business? If so, how did you respond when you realized? Or is this something you’ve never thought about before? Let us hear your thoughts:

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If you are like many entrepreneurs on a tight marketing budget, social media seems to be the best answer for your online marketing. And for good reason: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the new Google+ have millions and millions of users and are all free!

So why not leverage these platforms for all your web marketing efforts, right?

Wrong.

When you put all of your “marketing eggs” in the social media basket, you’re on a losing path. Because you have little control over the marketing campaign. You don’t own the basket. You’re renting the basket with no guarantees of that basket existing in two years, two months or even two days.

And history proves this. Myspace was once all the rage. So was AOL (remember those CD’s we all received in the mail). Giants can fall.

Stop Riding the Social Media Waves

With the launch of Google’s new social media platform, we have a bunch of “gurus” saying how Facebook & Twitter must watch out. That Google+ is serious contention for dominance. And with 20 million users already on board, they probably are right.

But in terms of long-term marketing success, this is all bullshit. Who cares? Stop hopping from one platform to another in hopes of attracting a larger audience.

Instead, own your basket. Stop listening to all the “social media experts” and create an online marketing strategy that simply works.

And this starts with a website. Something that you have complete control over. Social media platforms will come and go, but your domain name is permanent.

The content on your website could change 500 times over the life of your business. But guess what? The website is still there. It’s never going away.

So toss a few “marketing eggs” in social media. But be sure to put as many eggs as you can into a website, because it’s here for the long run.

Therefore, my words of advice for you:

Own The Basket

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