It is simply staggering how many small businesses fail. For every 1 million small businesses now operating, in 10 years time just 40,000 will still be going. And of those, only about 7,000 will be profitable. Probably the best example I see of businesses failing is restaurants. That seems like such a tough industry. No […]
What “The Apprentice” has taught me
Here in Australia the reality TV show “The Apprentice” has just started. In the show, a group of people start working for Donald Trump. He fires one- (1) a week until there is only one- (1) person left. That person then gets a job for a year at $250,000. One of the contestants comes from […]
Why being seen as an expert is so important
Part of our web marketing at the moment is an ad with the headline “Web sites that actually work.” We are targeting those many, many business owners with web sites that don’t do anything in terms of providing a benefit for the business. I had the typical response yesterday from a guy with whom I […]
Sell before you sell
A big part of selling your products or services is what happens before you even meet the customer or client. Here are 2 tips for selling. Don’t sell. That’s right. # 1: Talk with your customer and establish exactly what their problems are. Then, using whatever the expertise is that you have, provide solutions. That’s […]
Coffee maker, massuer, computer, camera, car – all rolled into one!
I received my new mobile phone in the mail today. This thing pretty much does everything – all the latest gadgets on it. I’m so confused already! The phone was promised to arrive on this Friday coming. But it was delivered to home today (Tuesday). A little thing that is very simply done As the […]
One man’s slip is another man’s windfall
Here in Australia we have a good swimmer called Ian Thorpe. Thorpe is the Olympic 400m freestyle champion swimmer. He was expected to win gold when he swan in the 400m in Athens this year. But to get to Athens he first had to qualify at the national trials. He’s the best 400m swimmer by […]
Leverage what you have
Today I want to talk about leveraging. And by that I mean leveraging your marketing to best effect. I thought of this topic when I was watching TV tonight. An ad came on that’s been on for a while. This guy is at the bar when 2 friends come up and plead with him to […]
Why you should charge for workshops and seminars
We are organising our first workshop in our local area. We’ve often had small seminars before, but this one is a fully fledged 4 hour intensive marketing workshop. We’ve hired out a local hotel’s conference room, we’ve organised a terrific workshop and we’re set to put on an intensive and action packed show. It’s been […]
3 – very interesting ads. Well, 1 ad for 3
The new player here in Australia in the communications industry is a company called ‘3’. They have some ads running now that I find very interesting. I think they’ll work wonderfully well. Here’s what happens in the ads. A voice over shows various situations. The commentary goes something like this: “Have you ever noticed that […]
Should I wait until everything is perfect?
Howdy. Hope you weekend has gone well so far. Mine has been quite dull. I’ve almost finished my first e-book. I wrote up a Case Study on the survey. I wrote up a Case Study on a pitch we made for a job. I’ve been going over the changes to be made to the site. […]