• I must confess…

    I’ve changed my mind about what I was going to write about today — four times already… why?

    The answer is simple. You see, yesterday I gave you the formula for creative massive profits (VC)x2(P)=($$$). Then I asked you: “what you need to know next?”

    And the feedback you gave me was excellent…better than ever…in fact they’re all…

    TOO EXCELLENT!

    For example…

    • James – what needs to be in place before approaching VIPs?
    • Eran – what are the strategic elements in leveraging (P) and (VC)?
    • Vincent – what’s the first step to making the formula work?
    • Nicola – what other activities should she be doing?
    • Curt – how did I create (VC) in my reports?
    • Ryan – how to apply (VC) to “what’s most personal is most general”?
    • Greg – how to improve content to seize his audience’s interest?

    And so on… and so on…and so on…

    See what I mean? They’re all great + there’s tons more!

    So I started answering one, then thought “no, this other one is more important” and scrapped the one I had already started. And I did that again… and again… and again.

    Want me to prove it…

    garabage on the beach

    (see all those crumbled up papers? Those are the attempts that’ll never see the light of day again)

    But then it hit me! And now I’m absolutely positive…

    YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE THIS BLOG POST!

    Why?

    Because I’m going to answer all of them in one fell swoop.

    Bottom line: I’m dedicating every second of every minute I have left here on this beach today to give you 100% of what I can squeeze in.

    And you want to know why? Because anything less would…

    CHEAT YOU OUT OF THE MONEY YOU COULD BE PULLING IN!

    Alright, enough foreplay…

    You see, I realized by my 4th attempt on this here post – this: My answers to each unique question was strikingly similar.

    Here’s why: They all centered around two concepts…

    CLARITY & CERTAINTY

    It seems to me that’s what many of you are missing.

    O.K., the first thing you need to know is clarity (in everything) always comes first.

    It always does.

    In fact, with clarity, you’ll have…

    ALL THE CERTAINTY YOU NEED!

    See what I just did?

    I just cut my work load in half!

    Whew…I’m thinking I might just pull this off now.

    I’m going to pose four questions that have the power to totally transform your business starting right now.

    But, please, stick with me. Because each answer sets up the next question. Which means you might not “get-it” until the fourth and final question.

    But sure as night follows day… before we’re through… it’s going to hit you like…

    A TON OF BRICKS!

    That stated – let’s dive in.

    Question #1: What impact do you want to have on the world?

    Reason it’s important: Because if you’re an entrepreneur you’ve got big dreams. You want to (I’ll quote Steve Jobs here) “put a dent in the universe”.

    And your business is the living, breathing, organism that you’re going to leverage to accomplish it.

    My Example: I want to radically increase the odds of success for any entrepreneur who starts a business online… while also drastically improving their life experience. To alter the world of small business forever!

    (sidenote: do you see how this gives me all the direction I need to write these blog posts?)

    Hint: Think… if you could… really… make the world a better place… who would it impact?… and what change would you want to create?

    Next…

    Question #2: Why does your business exist?

    Reason it’s important: This answer takes your dream and focuses it like a laser beam on what your business should be doing right now.

    It’s the North Star for deciding what products to create, what should be in those products, who you’ll need on your team, and countless more big and small decisions you make in your business.

    My Example: Strategic Profits exists to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit in the minds of our clients… the entrepreneurial drive and desire in the hearts of our clients… while providing the advice, tools, and roadmap to building the business of their dreams!

    (sidenote: do you see how this focuses and inspires me and everyone at Strategic Profits? That our work matters? that we have a bigger vision for our clients than they might even have for themselves?)

    Hint: Think about taking your answer from question #1 and clarifying it by figuring out what you’d have to do to actually accomplish it. Also, take it from your personal ambition to a rallying cry for everyone that connects with your business (employees, outsourcers, prospects, clients, vendors, etc…)

    Next…

    Question #3: Who are your prospects and customers… really?

    Reason it’s important: Obviously, you won’t know what products or services to market… how to market them effectively… where you should be marketing… what content will really turn them on… what content will ignite a buying frenzy.. etc. Until you can answer this question spot on!

    I suggest you create a persona – where you give them a name – find a picture that represents them – and a complete description including – who they are… how old are they… male or female… their home life… their relationship with friends and family… their biggest worries… deepest desires… major frustrations… darkest doubts… firm beliefs… biggest dreams… insecurities… suspicions…etc.

    My Example: Sorry, this is something I can’t share publicly on the blog (I do in some of my courses) – because when you develop yours in the same detail we have… it becomes a huge competitive advantage. And I’ve got too many competitors who read my blog religiously, and it would be rather stupid of me to throw them such a big bone… I hope you understand (sorry).

    Hint: I realize this is no small task – and in an upcoming post I’ll give you steps to create this – but for now…

    …go to sites like Alexa.com, Quantcast.com. Compete.com and do searches and compare visitor profiles for the most successful companies in your niche…

    …look at best selling products sales copy and try to determine the subtext of why they sell well…

    …go to the most popular blogs in your market… look at which posts get the most questions and try to figure out why… read the comments on those blogs to gain even further insight…

    Remember this: These are the most important people in your business life – they hold the key to your success or failure. So you must get to know them intimately.

    There’s no doubt you’ve heard you’ve got to love your customers – but have you really ever thought of what that means?  You know, what does it mean to love your customers? Well, I can’t go into all the details now – but…

    Know this: When you fall in love with someone your usually obsessed about learning everything about them… right? So, can you honestly say you’ve fallen in love with your customers?

    Next…

    Question #4: What are you really selling?

    Reason it’s important: You’ve heard this before… You are not selling grass seed -you are selling a green lawn… you are not selling tickets to a baseball game – you are selling memories of a great afternoon a father and his kids will cherish forever.

    When Samuel Johnson was auctioning off the Henry Thale brewery he said “We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams of avaraice”

    Charles Revson, founder of Revlon, summed it up quite well when he said “In the factory we make cosmetics. In the stores we sell hope.“

    Know this: THIS IS THE MONEY ANSWER! — remember, all the answers we’ve done up to this point (while valuable in their own right) were done to better prepare you to answer this question – because the answers to this question create…

    BREAKTHROUGHS IN YOUR MARKETING
    THAT’LL EXPLODE YOUR SALES AND PROFITS

    Hint: Whenever we’re thinking of marketing anything, the whole team gathers and we brainstorm as many answers to that question – “What are we really selling here?”

    We come up with a long list of answers – vote on which ones we believe are the best answers and then we test ads and salesletters around each concept.

    (and that’s what you need to do – whether you are alone in your business or you’ve got a team)

    The difference in performance from one answer to another will astound you, open up new markets to your company and give you the midas touch in your marketing.

    Think about this: Is Starbucks just selling coffee? Is Disney Land just selling rides? Is Porsche just selling cars? Am I just selling Business & Marketing advice?

    See what I mean?

    My Example: I’m running out of time – so I can only give you one – and if you’re really curious to see how I did this, read my free report “The Uncertainty Syndrome.” That report was the beginning of a marketing campaign to sell GPS — a course based on the Theory Of Constraints.

    Now I can assure you no one in our market (before I wrote the report) woke up and said to themselves “I need to learn Theory Of Constraints” – But what we realized is… we were really selling the ability to fully tap into your potential – and a few weeks later we sold over 800 new clients in our newest $2,500 program and even more bought the $1,500 basic version.

    See how powerful this is?

    Good God! I’m already late – I need to jet to the office…

    Also, do you see how knowing the answers to these four questions gives you all the certainty you need?

    But before I go – please know I’m putting my heart and soul into every single one of these posts. And the biggest payoff I get is to read your comments and see your retweets.

    But today I’m going to…

    BRIBE YOU TO COMMENT
    WITH MY MOST PRECIOUS ASSET!

    On Monday I’m going to pick one lucky commenter (who also tweeted) to receive a free 1/2 hour one on one call with me to help you answer these questions.

    I’ll announce the winner in Monday’s post.

    And if you win…

    I’ll point you in the right places… Give you my best answers to whatever questions you have… And help you in any way I can for the entire thirty minutes.

    ******************************************************

    So here’s what I want you to tell me today:

    1 – What’s Your Biggest Take-away From Today’s Post?

    2 – What From Here (this post) Do You Want Me To Expand On For Monday?

    ******************************************************

    And remember – you must retweet too if you’re going to win (I don’t care if you have zero followers, just sign up and do it anyway)

    Have a great weekend…

    To Higher Profits And Beyond,

    Rich Schefren

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