IF YOU’RE NOT GETTING THE RESULTS YOU DESERVE FROM YOUR MARKETING AND ADVERTISING YOU SHOULD ANSWER THESE ELEVEN QUESTIONS… IT’S “GUT CHECK” TIME
Sometimes, staying away from levelers and a simple “gut check” is all it takes to start making good decisions when it comes to taking control of your advertising, marketing and sales.
The Renegade “Eleven Honest Awareness Questions” below are meant to help you “self-evaluate” and develop an “honest awareness” of your current efforts.
Take a minute or two and just answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions.
The only person that will see the answers is you – so do your best to be totally honest with yourself as you answer.
If you answer “yes” to most or all of these questions I guess that your business is doing great and the wild gyrations of the economy have left you relatively unfazed.
If you answer “no” to most or all of these questions and are still doing OK the odds of you boosting your sales and profits quickly are in your favor – but you will need to take action on several “fronts” to get the results you deserve.
Ask yourself the following questions… some of your answers might “sting” a little:
1. Are your current advertising and marketing efforts consistent and effective?
2. Are you able to track and measure the return on investment that your advertising, marketing, and sales produce?
3. Does your advertising produce a steady stream of qualified leads that are “ready” to learn more about your products and services?
4. Do you have a system to capture the contact information of each “lead” your advertising and marketing generates?
5. Do you have a documented follow-up process or system in place once a potential client “raises their hand” to learn more about your products and services?
6. Does your follow-up process include mail, email, telephone, and personal contact?
7. Do you have a “drip” marketing system to continually communicate with your clients and prospects?
8. Do you have a step-by-step sales process or system that produces reliable results?
9. Is your pricing based on what your competitors have determined to be appropriate or do you make your own pricing decisions?
10. Have you calculated the “lifetime value of a client” for your business?
11. Do you have a process in place to generate qualified referrals from “influencers” and current clients?
Even if you answered “no” to some of the questions above you have taken a step most business people avoid. You honestly identified pieces of your marketing system that could use some help and improvement!
Now it’s up to you to “take action” and start working on the areas that need help.
Beware of the levelers
I want to warn you about one of the biggest obstacles that you may run into as you set out to take yourself and your business to the next level.
Beware of the “Levelers”!
And I’m not talking about the window coverings.
All of us have experienced “levelers” in some way, shape, or form.
Basically, a “leveler” is a person or group that wants to make sure that no one gets too far ahead of them in their business success, career success, and sometimes just life in general.
The problem with “levelers” is that for the most part, they don’t want to work any harder, learn any more or do much at all to improve their “lot in life”.
Instead, a “leveler” will do their best to make sure you don’t get ahead of them. They want you to stay at their level so they don’t end up looking bad.
Instead of encouraging you to pursue your goals and create the lifestyle that you want, “levelers” will tell you why your idea will never work, your goals are way too lofty and give you all kinds of advice on how to “just make the best of things” as they are.
And you know what – it works!
Have you ever had a great idea or set a personal or business goal that you were really excited about? Maybe you even started the process of taking the steps necessary to succeed?
In fact, maybe you were so excited or enthusiastic about your new plan or idea that you actually told some other people what you were up to – and then the “levelers” stepped in.
– They told you how they had already tried that and it didn’t work.
– They knew someone who knew someone that had tried it and failed.
– They reminded you how much work it would be and maybe even made you feel “guilty” about the time commitment.
SPECIAL NOTE about levelers:
A really good “leveler” will even ridicule you or embarrass you in public by revealing your “way too lofty goals” or your great idea to others in hopes they will help “level” you as well!
Finally, after all of the advice and input from the “levelers”, you felt like you might as well just give up and “stay where you are”.
So how do you avoid this “leveling” stuff?
Ignore the “levelers”. Don’t listen to them. In fact, the more people that tell you that you are on the “wrong track” the higher the odds are that you are moving in exactly the right direction.
One of my favorite slogans is “observe the masses and do the opposite”.
The other way to beat the “levelers” is to start spending time with people who are crazy like you – people that want and know that they can choose any lifestyle they want, create the income level and financial security they deserve, and really just don’t give a hoot about what the “levelers” think or say.
In this “weird” economic climate the “levelers” will literally “come out of the woodwork” to keep you at their level.
Be prepared, be strong and keep moving ahead.
