MAKING THE MONEY CONNECTION — #3 SUMMARY

November, 17, 1999, 1 p.m. 

“Successful Advertising & Direct Mail Methods for the Millennium” 

Jay: Welcome and intro’s to:

      Michael Fishman

      Brian Kurtz

      Dan Kennedy

      Jim Rutz

      John Finn

      Mac Ross

      Drew Kaplan 

First Question: Is direct response advertising or direct mail still a viable strategy for use today by businesses either to build new customers, markets or resell old ones? If yes, tactical difference to maximize it. If no, what’s taken its place? 

Answers: 

Brian K.: Very viable strategy. More and more. Come trying to incorporate direct mail into marketing and it’s just beginning. 

Michael F.: Absolutely still viable. Key to maximize is to leave out emotion. Don’t limit yourself to familiar market. Stress the key benefits of your business to the buyer and why they should buy from you. 

Dan K.: More viable than ever. No other media can match. Avoid irrelevance. Be good at “message to market match” which means that the recipient clearly and quickly identifies and understands that you knew who you were writing to, that you knew a lot about them, that you are delivering information that is meaningful. 

Jim R.: Echo Dan. Sophisticated buyers want to know if they’re understood and if their problems are appreciated. Otherwise, more and more mail will be deposited in the wastebasket. Consequently, the mail must be done carefully and concisely because the moment of exposure is a split second. 

Mac Ross: Complete agreement. The tremendous volume of mail creates a statistical drop off in effectiveness. So, if you want to make money — using direct mail and direct marketing techniques, you must do targeting. Who’s buying your time? 

Drew K.: Direct response bigger than ever. But must be tied in with the Internet. Great place to test your promotion. Find out which is going to work before you go to ink and paper. Key elements:

      One: Identify your clients.

      Two: Identify your product. Give it a personality.

      Last: Establish a personality, establish credibility. 

How to do this? Provide information on your expertise. How long in business, how many customers, what kinds of resources, etc. Create a “big company” illusion even if you’re running it out of a garage. 

Question: epilogue? 

John F.: Direct response is alive and well. Clients and writers doing very well. 

Second question from Jay: Give me two of the biggest myths or mistakes or misperceptions or dumb logic that you see most people make with regard to direct response strategy, tactics, logic and — the corollary, what should be the thing they be doing?  

Maybe just use this as the question: Two really big mistakes, misconceptions and the right thing to be doing? 

Answers: 

Dan K.: One mistake, well two…I’ll give you two that I see most frequently made as mistakes. One is: In lead generation or in the initial step of getting someone to raise their hand and identify themselves as a prospective customer, making the hurdle that person has to jump over too high, the leap too big, as opposed to giving them “baby step” opportunities.  

Example of this would be the professional dentist or chiropractor whose advertising focuses on getting people to call up and schedule an appointment. This as opposed to getting a free report or hearing a free recorded message — something that’s less threatening and allows them to move forward in smaller steps. Second mistake: Not only are buyers more sophisticated, they are also more skeptical, more cynical and more timid. Therefore, it is increasingly important to quickly offer proof of claims. So, its behooves people to write copy or script that can be proven in every way — every fact, every assertion of fact, every statement. 

Brian K.: The biggest mistake a lot of mailers make is that they’re not working with the concept of lifetime value enough. They don’t have what is a basic premise of direct marketing. That is, if you have the first product, you’d better have the second, third, etc. ready to go. The remedy for this is to clearly think through the business plan in multiple levels of what the products are going to be as you bring them on stream — called contact strategy. 

The second mistake is what Gordan Grossman calls “tiny tests.” Direct mail is too expensive to test single variables as in indirect marketing. It’s really important to test the big things in direct mailing.  

Mac R.: You can’t use tricks and gimmicks in direct mailing. One must understand buying motives, how messages are received, how products are perceived — in other words, understanding the marketplace. 

Drew K.: Number one. People are wasting too much money by not testing. It can’t be just two big tests. In order to understand what your customers want, you must figure out who he is. You must understand the nature of your product. Be an expert. Test first before moving ahead. Second, you must focus on the product and what it does for people. Write everything you know about the product and the customer, then edit. 

Michael F.: It’s important to treat customers as members of the family, not as strangers. Nurture them, offer incentives, provide additional products, and give special promotions. The other thing is that people actually spend too much time launching new businesses. Don’t overspend to find out if you have a viable product. 

Jim R.: You can’t please everybody. Nor can you keep everybody as a customer. So don’t try to please everybody. Polarize. Write your direct mail package at the level of a bright junior high school kid. Too much information will lose most people and “hill” the package. 

John F.: Two mistakes come to mind. The first is too little for copywriters — as he calls them the “goose that lays the golden eggs.” They should not be looked at as a necessary evil. The other thing is to allow some time to analyze the copy. Don’t analyze daily. Copywriters may need help to interpret what the customer wants, needs, etc. What the product or products provide, etc. 

Question: In three minutes, give a survival plan on how to create advertising or sales letter that sells today. What things have to be done to make sure your advertising had the highest probability of working for you? 

Answers: 

Brian K.: Create an offer the prospect can’t refuse offer. The ability, credit and guarantee that is sound. Use testimonials. 

Mac R.: Gather potential customers together. Talk to them about products, what they buy, what they would buy. If you can’t sell in person, you can’t sell on paper. Record everything you do and listen carefully to find out what’s important to them. 

John F.: With Jay’s encouragement, improve your existing market, increase yield by spending time on backend marketing. 

Michael F.: What people want in the benefit not words. Give guarantees that give security to buy. Also, use language appropriate to the recipients. Give them a chance to see themselves using the product and having an inside relationship with your company. 

Dan K.: Do your homework. Build a profile of who it is you’re selling to. You want to tie your message to real gut-level emotional factors. Also, stick to the most reliable, proven classic sales formulas. If you can’t afford to fail, you can’t afford to experiment. Third, build an irresistible offer. 

Jim R.: Avoid “boring.” The only way to avoid this is hard work. Second, it’s more important to do the reader good than to get his money. Get his attention, first. Also, use light humor and wit. Make reading a pleasant experience. The rest follows. 

Question: Who is your one biggest mentor who influenced your thinking and what is it you got that can be shared? 

Answers: 

Jim R.: Gary Halbert communicates in an absolutely outrageous style. But he comes across as an individual not a machine — very important to the future of communicating one-to-one.  

Brian K.: Dick Benson whose book, Secrets of Successful Direct Mail, is one of the great books on the tricks of the trade. He’s got 31 rules of thumb, one of which is a business concept that says that you should, as often as you can, outsource non-core competencies. This essentially means you should use outside experts if it can be done less expensively and more efficiently. 

Jays adds: Don’t create mediocrity within your company if you can hire somebody outside to do it better.  

Michael F.: Gene Schwartz is a well-known copywriter who drove home the message that selling people is all about understanding how they behave in various situations. To know about benefit, aspirations and innermost desires. Also, to better understand the marketplace, see what is being sold to the masses — the movies, magazines for example.

Mac R.: Two influential people: Dad and Joe Carbo. Both had the same message, which was:

      One – keep it simple.

      Two – Have a great headline.

      Three – Bullet your copy.

      Four – Be able to answer, “who cares?”

      Five – Make an offer they can’t refuse. 

Dan K.: Sales trainers for one. Bob Tralen does a phenomenal job showing how to “tighten up” a message. Maxwell Maltz’s work on self-image is important, too. It’s important not only to convince the person of the superiority of your product but also what the person will benefit from the product. 

Drew K.: Joe Sugarman blazed the trail in space advertising. Gary Halbert and Claude Hopkins are great marketers. Learn about the product and pay attention to the customer — key to great copy. 

John F.: Dan Rosenthal formed a direct response agency. From him come six pearls:

Long reason – copy Big promises Powerful headlines Dozens of magic sales words Maximum number of benefits Lifetime value

 

Question: Name two successful direct response marketers who are extraordinary models for what any business owner can do and should integrate into their direct response marketing. 

Answers: 

Dan K.: Omaha Steaks, a well run direct marketing company, does a great job of tracking individual customers buying preferences and habits and feeding that back to them. They send printouts of previous purchases to customers to encourage further sales. 

Drew K.: Williams-Sonoma manifests credibility with first class advertising. They give information. They deliver benefits like cooking tips in their catalogs. 

Jay’s aside: Benefit the other person whether it be a business or personal relationships. 

Drew continues: Web pages give information for free. 

Mac R.: Damar catalog treats preferred buyers well. Lands End, Microsoft, CDW, Lillian Vernon and Amazon.com all treat their buyers extremely well. All communicate top down. All communicate from the Chief Executive or someone who in the persona of the Chief Executive directly to you. Too many businesses leave you totally abandoned. The good companies service the people who are good customers. 

Jim R.: Boardroom, Inc. stands out with their Bottom line Personal, Bottom line Health, etc. A constantly improving suggestion box system. Agora Marketing puts out newsletters that emphasize individuality. 

Michael F.: Rodale Press publishes Prevention and Men’s Health among others. They communicate well with customers and deliver accurately. No surprises. They acknowledge people, describe benefits and erase distrust from the buying environment. For example, if you’re displeased with an ordered book, a postage-paid label is provided in the box, which has sufficient utility to be used again for remailing. Builds up a tremendous amount of trust and discourages product send back. Levinger is another company that has developed into a lifestyle shaping opportunity through customer service and product reliability. 

John F.: Phillips Publishing publishes dozens of consumer newsletters in health and investing fields. With skilled copywriters like Jim Rutz and Gary Benzovinga they write the Whittaker promotions among others. They’re great with customer relations. Others, but not specifically named, work in space ads in newspapers and magazines. Examples are those in Saturday Evening Post or the golf ads in daily newspapers. 

Brian K.: A lot of good companies, many already mentioned, but ESPN did a good one with the perfect football player. Bill Bonner at Agora has covered the market on narrative and direct mail writing. He doesn’t have the million-circulation product but he cleverly weaves a story that should be carefully examined. The company is also innovative, not afraid to fail. Amazon.com does well with customer service. Rodale has done more than the Julian Whittaker newsletter. Their vitamin and supplements business, backend is just unbelievable. 

Drew K.: Wanted to add to his comments above regarding the importance of spending time at the Amazon site where a lot can be learned about advertising. 

Michael F.: Also wanted to add how important it is to spend the “big bucks” to get the best package. Can’t be “pennywise and pound foolish.” 

Mac R.: Copywriters are the best salesmen you’ll ever meet. They’re worth the big money because they know your market, your businesses better than you do.  

Question from Jay: What would you recommend to each person on this call if they were not going to be their own copywriter, that they use as a criteria for trying to select for themselves, knowing that they may not be able to afford, you know, $50,000-$100,000 + mailing piece to hire Jim Rutz or $1,000,000 for Jerry Benziminga, or whatever Mac or

Dan cost?  What would you recommend to them to get the greatest benefit they can, whether they’re large, medium or small?   

Answers: 

Dan K.: Look for somebody who has demonstrated success. Speak with clients. Have the clients gotten a good return on investment? Have there been multiple successes? If the copywriter is not one of the “very expensive guys,” then there must be a collaborative process. That is, the company must provide or make available recording and transcripts of their best sales person’s best pitch — facts and features from competitors as well. 

Drew K.: Suggestion — write your own ad, first, listing all benefits. Put together your best effort, then go to the copywriter. A good copywriter should be able to turn your ad into a good marketing ad. 

Brian K.: Concurs with Jay and other that the copywriters need help from several sources to write the best ad. In that regard, the Internet is invaluable because there, one can study a category faster and on a wider scale than ever before. It’s also a way of finding a new and good writer who’s waiting for the opportunity to be discovered so to speak.  

Mac R.: Recommends buying Jay’s programs, “How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.” Also, Dan Kennedy’s package. With the principles both teach, the reader will have a handle on what’s right and what’s wrong in the field of advertising. 

John F.: Recommendation is to hire a local journalist to write an editorials story about you, your product, your service, etc. — lots of detail, then hire a copywriter to convert the data into benefits and a number one sales copy. This is a common practice that has been successful. 

Jim R.: Cautious against hiring according to pedigree. Even the best can produce junk. Don’t commit yourself to someone without first seeing some good work, getting a feel for their enthusiasm, their insight. If they don’t excite you, they won’t excite anybody they’re writing for. 

Drew K.: As a litmus check test, I’ve insisted they write form the actual product not the spec sheets. If they don’t or won’t, they aren’t my writer. 

Jay comment: David Olgivy insisted that anyone who worked for him had to live with his products, his client’s products. 

Jay further comments about a non-success. One should not get chagrined because of it. Take it as a step in another direction. 

Michael F.: Great writers do “strike out.” If they didn’t, it could mean they’re not really creating breakthroughs. A failure is not necessarily the death hull for the product. 

Brian K.: Testing is the “lifeblood” of this business and that’s why direct mail works so well. If you don’t have a winner, at least learn something — whether it needs to be a “soft” offer rather than a “hard” offer; that it needs to be a net premium, not a gross premium: that the price point is, $30, not $40. Learn something so that you don’t make the same mistake over again. 

Drew K.: Testing allows for success, perhaps one in ten. That one success can be rolled out in a hundred different directions. 

Question from Jay: Will the panel summarize an insight that can be taken home and acted upon by entrepreneurs of all kinds.  

Answers: 

Brian K.: Polarization is not a “duty word.” The world is being made up of more specialists in more different areas than ever before. 

Jay aside: Better to be loved or hated than to just be tolerated. Toleration will lose clients. “I want to polarize. I want to “own” my relationships with the people who really recognize the value I bring to them.” 

Brian K.: In direct mail business, a 1% to 2% net response could be a winning proposition, which means that 98% of the people are “turned off.” If polarization is a positive, then why not get a 30% response rate in a much smaller marketplace at a much higher price.  

Drew K.: A little success is bad because if keeps you from rewriting, from improving your package and then you never really get ahead. So, a failure, odd that it seems, can be a blessing in disguise.” 

Question from Jay: Based on your insight, what would compel someone to take action? 

Answers: 

Michael F.: Finding joy, pleasure and value in studying potential customers so you have a sense of how they tick, how they move, how they resonate with your message. Secondly, create a sense of familiarity with customers. 

Drew K.: It’s the relationship between you, the company and the customer. It’s very important that every single mailing, every single relationship have a one-to-one relationship so that you feel like you’re only talking to one person. 

Mac R.: I concur that the term relationship is key. It’s the relationship building process. You have to be involved. You have to care. 

Jim R.: Relationship is primary especially with a very impersonal thing like direct mail. You need to set up a team, a product that you love and be able to establish relationships with your buyers, your customers that convince them this is a good thing, a happy thing, something they can trust. 

John F.: Closely watch the “cutting-edge” people in the business. Learn from them. Buy their tapes, their materials, and their interviews. They have many good ideas.  

Question from Jay: What question would you like to ask each person on this call that would haunt them and move them to an even higher plane of understanding and action? 

Answers: 

Mac R.: Why are they in business, beyond the money? Why are they producing and selling their product? What makes them unique, different and powerful in their niche? 

Drew K.: How much would it bother you if you fail? If you are bothered, can you go on to the next promotion? Success builds on failure. 

Jim R.: Have you really helped people to the maximum you could? Have you improved the world? Is it going to better because you were in business? 

John F.: What is the passion that you have about your product? And why is it important? 

Conclusion from Jay (from Fortune): People fail in business not because they don’t have the right strategy, but because they fail to implement that strategy, not act upon it, not really committing to it. The market won’t tolerate mediocrity, equivocation, procrastination or being “off your mark.”               

                  

Transcript Outline– December 14, 1999.

Making the Money Connection

Power Panel Conference Call

Hidden Assets 

      Operator:  (Greeting) 

      Jay:  Welcome

      Summary of Background

      Introduction of Power Panel  

      David Cochran:  Summary of QualPro  

      Jay:  Summary of “Rules”

      Introduction of Chuck Richards

      Summary of Goals of Discussion – Non-Theoretical

      First Question:  What is the one unrecognized factor about increasing the performance and the opportunities for business? 

      Richard Spring:  Impact and Expense of Gaining Customers on Businesses

      Internet Marketing’s Impact – Skeptical, Price-Driven Environment  

      Chuck:  Businesses as a “For Sale” Entity and Resource \

      Be Paid to Own an Outside Business

 Dave C: Rely on data rather than theories. 

      Dave Wagenvoord: Look within your own business for hidden assets before going outside. 

      Jay:  Second Question: What is the biggest single hidden opportunity that you have personally capitalize on or contributed to somebody else? What were they key elements that made it possible, and what’s the lesson? 

      David W:  Story of Saving DHL Account - Don’t give up prematurely. 

      Dave C: Story of Tennis Shoe Manufacturer (Expensive vs Inexpensive Displays)

      Never trust an untested idea - Many ideas are only effective when done in

      combination with another action. 

      Chuck:  Story of Buying Out Aging Competitor – Competition can be a cheap

      takeover candidate. 

      Story of Small Town Car Wash Takeover. 

      Richard:  Example of Left Over Radio Station Advertising Time –

      You can partner with another company to mutually take advantage of their assets

      and at the same time achieve your mutual goals. 

      Jay:  Question Three:  Describe your own ethical opportunistic mindset 

      Chuck: 1. “Full Scrounge Mode” Get your resources from the cheapest place you

      can.  Example of high tech composites manufacturer – obtained old spinning

      machines for free and rebuilt - an internal philosophy.

      2. “Smart Radar” - external and inexpensive resourcing  

      Jay:  (Additional comment) – Find out who’s already got what you need.  

      Chuck:  Story about obtaining use of expensive testing equipment from Army

      Labs for mention of their name.   

      David C:  Improved results are always possible, and you don’t have to spend a lot

      of money to do it.  Example – Government nuclear missile facility changed

      cooking process on their foam batter and tripled output. 

      David W: Unsold radio time (diminishing asset) is commonly in large supply 

      Jay: Look at the productivity of your own processes 

      Richard:  Go into every day’s work being in a position to broker productive

      activity.  Instead of trying to get 50% of every transaction, get 2% of ½ of the

      transactions, and in so doing, leverage your portfolio.  

      Jay: Well-rewarded partners will be motivated to work hard, because they’ve got

      more to gain than you do. 

      Question Four:   What is the difference between the entrepreneur and the big

      corporate type? 

      Example - Most entrepreneurs think in terms of “me” instead of an enduring

      institutional entity; Talk in terms of profits instead of earnings; Think in terms of

      sales and earnings instead of building an asset and revenue; Look at their business

      as a mechanism to service their lifestyle rather than an asset.  

      Chuck:  They miss that their business is an asset - people in big corporations

      realize that the corporation is owned by outside shareholders, and that they have a

      fiduciary responsibility, risk profile and discipline to build the asset missing in

      most entrepreneurs.  

      Jay:  Entrepreneurs usually have no defined exit strategy.  

      Chuck:  One in five businesses for sale will actually sell due to 1. Buyers and

      sellers can’t find each other; 2. Entrepreneurs fail to position themselves. 

      Jay:  If you have a business that’s worth less when you’re not there you don’t

      really have a business – you have a very nice income. 

      David W: Entrepreneurs tend to think enthusiastically or go with fads, but should

      think longer term - the Asian influence. 

      Jay:  Most entrepreneurs don’t handle their “downs” proactively, where by doing

      so they would take advantage of a preemptive advantage over competition.  

      David W:  Being a salesman is like being a heroin addict - you have to close

      Often - the adrenaline that you get out of your business. 

      Jay:  Entrepreneurs often want to make things happen more quickly than

      strategically, and are tactically-oriented. 

      David W:  Jay has a philosopy of leaving more on the table for the person he’s

      dealing with, with the result of enthusiastic business partners, rather than taking

      as much off the table as possible and “shooting the horse”.  

      Jay: I want to max out on the life worth of the relationship.  

      David C: Entrepreneurs have a passion to challenge the status quo, and a lot of

      curiosity and interest in learning new ways to do things.  Corporate types are the

      protectors of the sacred cows, and entrepreneurs are the hunters. 

      Jay: What is your advice to an entrepreneur to maximize the ethical

      exploitation of that distinction? 

      David C:  If it ain’t broken, improve it 

      Richard:  The distinction between corporate manager and entrepreneur is

      narrowing.  Examples: Compensation levels are narrowing; Risk for the corporate

      manager is greater; The allegiance of the corporation to the individual is

      lessening. (Illustration of $5 billion company vs. $50 million company - $5 billion

      wants joint venture-feeling relationship, and wants to learn from entrepreneur.

      $50 million wants to outwit.

      Radio example: Easier to deal with management of a large ownership group

      than to deal with a single station. 

      The corporate door to the Fortune 100 is open to the entrepreneur now as never

      before, because the Fortune 100 guy knows he doesn’t have all the answers

      anymore.

      The cutting edge of business is taking place outside the halls of corporations.

      Entrepreneurs will be surprised by the reception if they knock on the front door

      of large corporations.   

      Jay:  Question 5:  Recommend model companies that all the entrepreneurs

      would be advised to study to maximize hidden assets, and cite the things they

      do. 

      Chuck:  Landmark - Has a continuous search pattern for deals and companies;

      an open door policy to new ideas; they’re willing to try them; they’re willing to

      partner; they’re willing to bring in people who know more than they do; they

      know that there are pearls out there; they’re continuously learning; they put their

      resources behind the pearls, and they build them, because they realize that over

      the long term, you only need 1 or 2 real winners to make yourself look like a

      genius. 

      Example: The Weather Channel. 

      They’re also willing to tell you about their losers. 

      Example: New Core Steel – Drives extraordinarily complex processes with basic

      things that they have scrounged; doesn’t buy something new just for the sake of

      buying something new.   

      David C: Southwest Bell (SBC Corporation) – Has a unique passion for

      Delivering customer value in the regulated telecommunications industry; details

      are very important to them; they establish internal measurements and statistical

      techniques for process improvement. 

      Richard: AOL – Is a very young and vibrant group of very smart people; they

      acted like a big success, even when they were hemorrhaging money (example –

      Phoenician party); they “get” the Internet psychology; they successfully used a

      carpet-bomb marketing strategy, and were willing to lose money on the front end

      to capture long term customers 

      VerticalNet and FreeMarket.com  - have obvious understanding of Internet

      dynamics. (Not a direct mail outlet without the stamp and envelope) –

      an informational tool between like-minded people in specific industries; have

      created Web communities between rust belt businesses; have created

      informational value for their customers though they expect revenue from their

      activity to lag.  

      David W: Southwest Airlines – started with few planes flying between Houston,

      Dallas, and San Antonio for $12, and aggressively bartered for radio marketing;

      Have retained original formula of no food, no first class, no interline baggage;

      will earn more profit than any other U.S. airline this year; Chairman Herb Keller

      hires people based on attitude rather than skill; employees have good attitude;

      stuck with modest ad campaigns; have never had 3 consecutive unprofitable

      months; they found a formula that worked and never changed it.

      Jay: Question 6: Give an example of how someone you know of has

      discovered hidden assets. 

      Chuck:  Businessman got company with interesting processes for nothing.

      Lesson - If we keep our eyes open, inexpensive opportunities are everywhere.   

      Richard:  Accountant with specialty in helping small businesses get contracts

      with the federal government put it on a Website and acquired the active

      participation of 100,000 small business owners, managers and procurers and was

      acquired by a bigger Internet company - will end up with $9 million by taking

      what he already knew and applying it to another medium.   

      David C:  Client who manufactured newsprint and sold it to newspapers was

      having problem with breaks, and was at risk of losing a large client.  They learned

      by experimentation how to reduce the breaks and saved the customer.

      Lesson: It’s possible to improve results, and at the same time, reduce costs. 

      David W:  Example - Bud Paxton and Roy Spear started Home Shopping

      Network from original concept of auctioning off electric can openers and

      cruises on the radio. Paxton then bought underperforming TV stations and

      provided the programming. NBC bought a minority position in the network

      for $450 million, with buyout option in 5 years.  

      Chuck:  1 – The hallmark of great entrepreneurs is they keep testing until they

      find something that works, and then cookie-cutter it out

      You can find assets at your local technical university labs.  Example: MIT

      materials lab and the weaving crossover technology

      Example: laser/microwave surgery technology.

      Lesson: Some great minds are locked behind doors of places like MIT, and they

      can’t communicate with the business world, but may be working on something

      that may be valuable to you – also accessible through Internet. 

      David C: Front line workers that are tremendously underutilized.

      Example: steel manufacturer’s front line workers recognized rainy days as

      yielding defective product.  

      Richard: Maine company who was driven into the ground by departing from

      successful formula 

      David W:  Radio stations can destroy successful program format by crossing

      demographic  

      Jay: Question 7: What was the one biggest impacting factor that gave you the

      benefit of being who you are?  

      Richard: Jay Abraham.  

      Jay:  Go back through past purchased-materials. 

      Chuck:  College department chairman helped his to change from physics to

      economics.  You must understand intuitively the field that you choose.  

      Richard:  Today’s 23-year-olds have an understanding of the future, and may

      qualify as mentors for those of us who understand business on a more experiential

      level. 

      Chuck:  If you listen, you can learn from about everybody.  

      Jay:  Example: Score – organization of high-powered CEOs and entrepreneurs

      that are voluntarily offer themselves for a nominal or free rate to help anybody

      who needs them. 

      David C: QualPro - taught him to find the counterproductive processes.

      

      Jay: Reality in Advertising book by Ross Reeves ahead of Ted Bates –

      first person to do impact studies on whether factors suppress, depress, enhance

      yield, and analyses that certain factors have the effect of lessening of brand and

      market share.

      Everyone should test their conjecture-based assumptions. 

      David C:  Example – magazine placement in additional sites in supermarkets

      dramatically reduced their sales because people were reading the magazines in the

      aisles instead of buying them. 

      David W: (Turn around to Jay) - What sent you in your direction? 

      Jay:  (Gave personal history)

      Concept of synthesizing success practices

      Natural incessant curiosity

      The greatest way to learn, is to ask.  

      David W:  Did you know where you going, or did you just kind of head in the

      direction that seemed to work? 

      Jay: I felt like I had a higher destiny, and a chance to make a meaningful

      difference, was uninhibited, and I had others’ best interest at heart.

      Most people fall in love with their product, their company, and their industry

      instead of falling in love with their client. 

      David W:  Where do you go from here? 

      Jay:  Marketing one of my businesses

      Regarding the Internet – Will work to counsel on adjustments once the euphoria

      settles down.

      Question 8:  What’s the one realization you got out of this? 

 

      Chuck:  The concept of bartering and its creative possibilities.

      The concept of duplicating a successful formula.  

      Jay:  Whatever your stabilizing factor is in your business life, don’t put it at risk. 

      Chuck:  Ribbons of revenue - once you get one ribbon going, don’t mess

      with that ribbon.  Layer another one on top of it. 

      Richard:  I met David Wagenvoord

      Shok Tung - Korean words meaning your family business, which you should

      firmly identify.   

      David C:  Don’t make changes casually.  There are risks associated with

      making changes, and also risks associated with not making changes, because the

      environment changes.

      Never make changes without having first thoroughly tested the idea.  

      David W:  (Enlarged on testing) Test in smaller radio markets first

      Example:  Expensive Super Bowl advertising.   

      Richard:  Story of Net firm spending $24 million on billboard advertising on

      trucks in 14 major cities with no feedback mechanism.  

      Chuck:  Story of Apple’s award-winning Super Bowl advertising that preceded

      their decline. 

      Jay:  (Requesting contact info from panel) 

      Chuck: It’s charles.richards@valley.net. 

      David W:  (727) 424-4991 day or night. 

      Richard:  rs281@aol. 

      David C:  Reach me by telephone.  (865) 927-0491. 

      Jay:  Thank you and goodbye.    

Making the Money Connection Summary

E-Commerce

      Jay:   First inaugural version of Making Money Connection and Power Panel

 

Topic:   Making the Most Out of Your Business Internet Presence

      Hosts:   Jay Abraham & Audri Lanford

Objective:  Getting applications and things that can be executed and implemented to a specific business situation

      Audri:  Introductions:  Four panelists

             

      Dr. Jakob Nielsen – web usability “guru”

principle of Nielsen Norman Group has written several best-selling textbooks holds 35 Internet patents

 

      Declan Dunn

specializes in affiliate business development author of Complete Insider’s Guide to Affiliate and Associate

Programs publishes monthly online newsletter called Links to Sales

 

      Larry Chase

author of Internet Marketing best-seller is Essential Business Tactics for the Net publisher of Web Digest for Marketing magazine works with many large and important companies

 

      John Audette

founder, President, and CEO of Multimedia Marketing Group has many influential clients founder of the Internet News Bureau founder and moderator of the i-Sales discussion list (14,000

subscribers) Vice President and branch manager of a major New York Stock

Exchange firm

   

Jay:  Goal of panel discussion:  Draw from practical, day-to-day experts their perspectives to help make the best possible strategic tactical decisions and implemented internet presence.   

Audri:  First Question:   State the two universal principles that can have the

                                         most impact on the achieving desired results.   

Larry:  1.  Website must be known

                   - Ask why is somebody going to come to my website

                  - Optimize website to come up in search engines legitimately as high as          possible, using all the keywords people would use

2. Have an e-mail list

-  Ask permission to get e-mail address by offering something of value in return 

John:     1.  Find a way to give something before taking --- valuable content, entertainment, etc

2. Acquire an e-mail address and permission to use that e-mail address

 

Jay:  Value it as a prize.   

Jakob:    1.  Do a user’s study of the website by getting customers in.

2. Use the website in a variety of ways…..content, buy a product

 

Declan:  1.  Focus on the customer, on your lead product. 

-   What initial products?

-   What would you sell on the back end? 

   -   e-mail list important here

2. Ways to put your website into other people’s websites

   -   find out what your customers are interested in

   -   drive traffic to your site/reward them with a sale

   -   tap into existing traffic 

Jay:  How can you stimulate ethical affiliate programs? 

Declan:  Make the program appealing to others

                        -   Offer reciprocity.

                  -   Offer return links, compensated links, based on margin they offer

           -   Give them a full package       

Jay:  Question:  What key factors are most critical in developing their unique and optimal under valued web strategy?   

John: 1.  Focus on marketing.

it’s more important than the quality of the product your website must be known….a billboard in the basement is not effective content linking important must come up on first page of search engine

how?   Content linking with other sites – not free anymore, must exchange

promotional software --- ad applications

Use the most effective, most efficient, most cost effective first

Jakob:   1.  Understand the customer’s needs

it’s better to give people opportunity to solve their needs instead of promoting yours

do what your customers need

2. Make it easy to do what the person wants to do…..and FAST 

Declan:  3-step approach

1. Understand customer’s online behavior2. Find existing favorite traffic patterns 3. find way to turn this into “pay per performance” advertising

 

Larry:  Advertising the least effective

1. #1 is e-mail lists2. Narrow your target.3. Hypothesis marketing….

offer low-cost item…..create a newsletter to build prospects

4. Important!  Niche focus (the more focused….the more you can charge)

                

Audri:  Another question.  What’s working right now in area of promotion?    

Declan:  “llusion” – that lots of traffic means lots of sales.

Usually it means more cash to acquire customers Find frequent visitors & build relationship Get someone who has a good e-mail list to recommend your product

John:  “Tangibilizing”

We deal in an intangible medium & product Remember:  user is in charge Tangibilize as much as you can.

           Put your physical address on all your web pages. 

           Put your signature on a welcoming letter.

           Put a recording of yourself on the page

           Build your credibility…..it comes down to trust 

Larry:  John has it right.  Don’t make your address a secret. 

              Put it on the front page…..and every page….

        Learn from your competition…find out who’s out there, who’s better & let them help you  

                             

 

Jay: Question:  How many people monitor continuously their own local and world competition to see what’s out there, what they’re doing and how many different ways they’ve approached it? 

  

Larry:  Most people don’t bother.  You need to see what’s out there, who’s pointing at you and why. 

Jakob:  You need to look at competition.

                        

Jay:  Question: Recommend three websites to visit and why.  Also, what would be one key observed insight people should really see when they visit each one and learn and take from it?   

Jakob:     1.  Amazon.com, a year ago.

2. Barnes & Noble – they have a “spelling check” for misspelled names & Anchor desk, which give readers ability to comment on the page

3. CDNow – you can listen to tracks online

 

Do something that can’t be tried in the physical store. 

Larry:      1.  Net Mechanic – because it’s simple

2. Web Position – offers good tools for service.  Lots of “freebies”3. Alert Box – uses “reverse pyramid” concept……give the best, first.4. John Audette’s News Bureau

 

John:      1.  Excite

2. Amazon3. ESPN

 

      Why?  Customization ability. 

Declan:     1.  GoTo.com – they solved the problem of how to get on top of the search engines

2. Xoom.com – a chat community but you can sign up for their e-mail list which is a great  direct marketing tool

3.   BizTravel.com – personalizes and customizes travel plans according to your needs

    

Audri:  Question:  What are the three best business models on the internet?   

Larry:   1.  Dell computer – they anticipated my questions & assisted me in making a decision

2.   UAL.com -  they will sell you a ticket for a competing airline if you wish3.   CDNow – they’re attentive.  They watch my behavior and cater to it.

 

Jakob:   1.  Business models that work are those dealing with sales stuff.

2. Sell content – things that move purely move over the wires. (Purely intellectual items)

3. Don’t use it to make money….give away web service as a loyalty phenomenon ---    helps bring back customers who will buy from your other business models

 

Declan:  1.  Affiliate programs – very cheap way to start advertising, to make your business an integral part of another website

2. Integrating the “brick and mortar” world into the Internet  Reel.com sells videos.  Rite-Aid and Barnes & Noble are looking into this.

3. Bring this down to the small businesses.

 

Larry:      1.  E-Marketer.com -   Weekly newsletter with abstracts of the internet. People look for free, then subscribe …..over 25K subscribers in

two years.   

Jay:  Question:  For those who have “brick and mortar” businesses who want to position for their internet presence, what would be the best universal advice for using the internet most effectively?  

Jakob:  To succeed in the web, you’ve got to make it primary --- not easy, but necessary. 

            Expect to give discounts. 

John:  To me, the internet is a revolution.  It’s a very big deal.  Nobody realizes how big the internet will become.  It’s presently under “hyped.” 

Larry:  The internet is best for the best sites.  Costs are rising, profits decreasing.  Too much spent trying to get a single sale.          

Jay:  Question:   What advice would you give to a business who’s competing with a far larger, better-financed company that is selling products either below cost or has so much more in the form of technology or depth?  

Larry:   Small business has agility.  It can move faster, go left when Goliath goes right,

               e.g.  Add the human touch to counter the automated world of big business. 

               Humanize.

De-mechanize. 

Jakob:  Agility is good. Also, don’t be intimidated by the “big guys”.  Most typically they don’t   understand a new medium like the internet. 

Declan:  The bigger the competitor, the better.  The bigger they are, the less they respond to the customer. 

Focus on people, not the price.

Personalize & customize.

Use the phone…..most big businesses don’t do this. 

John:  The internet is profoundly market driven.  The customer rules, so be responsive, courteous, respectful, etc.  The marketplace is “in charge.”   

Audri:  Question:  What is the single biggest insight you’ve gained during this call?   

Declan:  It comes down to people.  Technology is not the problem confusing people.  Everything is wrapped around the customer.  It’s all about them and knowing their interests and being able to deliver that so directly. 

Jakob:  Even though we’re from different backgrounds, we all agree on the core message……..the customer rules.  It’s about customer satisfaction. 

John:  We’re barraged by push advertising and sale to marketing messages.  People are tired of that.  That’s the old model.  And so it comes to the human element.  Respect for people.  Their intelligence.  Their needs, not yours. 

Jakob:  Customers are in control so give them service and what they need.  That’s the key to success. 

Larry:  1.  Your house list is your best list.  If you don’t have an e-mail in-house list, by all means start one.

2. Trust yourself. 

    

Jay:  Question:  What would be the most effective communication marketing composition you use as the most powerful connection to your customers and prospective customers?   

Declan:      1.  I would ask what you do for your customers that makes you an important  part                 of their lives. 

2. You need to become more important to them and help them get what they need.

     

Audri:  Question:  (Wrap Up)  One thing you would like everybody to remember from this call  --- over time.  

Declan:  The internet is all about communication. 

    Establish a way to communicate with customers, competition and your partners.     This will make your business grow.  

John:  Don’t be afraid to get started.  Nothing scary about the internet.  Just go ahead.

            Get plugged in.  Get moving.  The internet is wide open.               

  

Jay: Question:  What revealing, revelational, illuminating question would you ask that would profoundly help them make a realization that would fuel them to accomplish more with their web presence, web marketing, website, web contribution to their market, etc.?   

Jakob:  What are the three reasons people are at your website?  Another…..Why are your users or your customers coming to your website?  Why to you? 

Larry:  People are afraid to make mistakes.  Is it fear of failure?  Failure is actually a learning curve.  So I would ask people what they have learned from their failures. 

John:  I would ask:  Are you honestly prepared to put your customers first? 

            If you want to do a significant business on the internet, you need to be prepared to sincerely meet the customer’s needs. 

Larry:  A signature file – your tell them who you are, what your product is and how to get in touch with you, etc.  

Jakob:  Keep it short.  Write a subject line so that it makes sense and sense and sends a message about and why you should care to open it.  It must telegraph benefits to you.  It’s got to be something that they should care about --- personal, pissy and punchy. 

Declan:  Be real.  Be yourself.  Don’t exaggerate.  Use plain, simple English.  Write it on a 6th-9th grade level.  Take the “hot air” out of it.  Talk face-to-face.  

Jay in Conclusion:  Thanks, etc. for a great job and for providing collaborative breakthroughs for people.  

Audri in Conclusion:  Thanks, etc.   How can you be reached if anyone is interested. 

John:  e-mail: ja@mmgusa.com   website:  mmgusa.com 

Jakob:  website is USEIT 

Declan:  e-mail: declan@marketplance.com     website:  activemarketplace.com 

Larry:  Newsletter is a free service called Web Digest for Marketers

             www.wdfm.com