Challenges | online marketing | business marketing

- Sep 08 2007
- Finding Treasure Among the Trash
- 31 Comments
- Posted In Blog, Effectiveness
  
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Man, I love this blog.

I enjoy the give-and-take of this group as we hammer-out the challenges and issues in the Attention Age.

Your comments provide great material for Part 2 of The Attention Age Doctrine, which will be ready later this month. Thanks for your contributions and your patience. I promise, it’s going to be great!

As you may realize, one of the best attention-holding features of blogging is the opportunity to keep conversations alive. I do it here as often as I can.

While each blog post may survive on its own merit, it is also possible – and encouraged – to carry thoughts from one post to another as a viral thread.

After all, this is how some of the best ideas are spread.

That said, let’s return to the topic of Return on Attention (ROA).

Return on attention is the performance metric by which we measure the value of the attention we "pay" to other people and ideas.

You’ll remember from a previous post that I asked about the return you are receiving from the attention you freely give to others. Thanks for your comments on this topic and keep them coming. You’ll see in a moment why I asked for them in the first place.

Think of ROA as a financial transaction.

When you pay for a product or service, you expect something of value in return:

- Pay for milk. Bring milk home and drink it.

- Pay for housecleaning services. Come home to a clean house.

- Pay for business coaching. Get Rich Schefren. :)

The return should always be of great value, otherwise, there’s no point in making the purchase.

Yet, as I’ve noted earlier, we tend to give our attention away to many things, asking little or nothing in return. Seems strange, especially if you are trying to succeed as an online entrepreneur.

Since attention is such a scarce resource, we should recognize its value and only exchange it for something of equal worth.

It’s like bartering diamonds for gold pieces. The value of each must be measured accordingly.

Yet each day, we let our mind and our attention wander away from our own business goals. We squander our intellectual capital and waste our energies on lesser subjects and ideas.

By doing so, we take our eyes off the ball with regard to our own business goals. We divide and subdivide our own attention to our detriment, diminishing our power to achieve.

Re-read that last sentence out loud. See if it applies to your own online business situation.

Giving away attention devalues its impact. It dulls the force of our competitive nature.

It’s like giving up diamonds for rubber bands. You probably wouldn’t do it if you were of sound mind – unless you received a helluva lot of rubber bands – so why do we constantly give away our valuable attention?

ROA often comes in the form of knowledge. It’s what we receive as a benefit for having paid attention to a customer, a client, a motivational speaker, or anything else.

What we derive from that experience should have its own reward for us, either in the form of financial gain, wisdom increase or future benefit.

Our goal, as always, is to convert that knowledge into wisdom.

Entrepreneurs are the alchemists of the online world. We are innovative enough to make gold out of straw. But we can’t afford to give away our well-earned wealth – in the form of attention – without receiving greater value for our efforts.

Global business strategist and author John Hagel III has his own take on ROA. He says it is "driven by the proliferation of options available to us in all domains of our life, increasing the relative scarcity of an increasingly valuable resource – our attention."

I couldn’t have said it better myself, so I didn’t. That’s why I’m giving him full credit.

Hagel suggests that virtual communities, such as this blog, can be powerful conduits in delivering ROA by enhancing good fortune.

In other words, you’ll become "lucky" just by paying attention to my blog. I completely agree.

Don’t you get a rush of excitement when you "accidentally" discover a valuable, relevant resource of information that you didn’t even know existed?That’s what the StumbleUpon.com web site is all about. It creates value from other sites that we "stumble upon" as we navigate our way around the Web.

As a former baseball executive said a long time ago, "luck is the residue of design." You’ll be amazed at how lucky you’ll feel when you do things with real purpose – not just out of habit – like searching for knowledge to grow your business.

The challenge is to harness the power of these valuable resources and derive a healthy return on the attention we give during our quest.

How can you connect with others to grow? How can you take advantage of your skills for finding relevant "treasure among the trash" and use the materials as key building blocks for your success?

Your attention becomes an investment in that success. You have to mine the gems before you realize their value.

Let’s put it to the test on this blog.

Think like a big shot bankerÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ Where will your attention receive the greatest "bang for the buck?"

Share your attention wealth with my blog readers.

Tell me your top three goals for getting a great return on your attention.

It is possible to find treasure in the trash, if you know how to pay attention.

Let’s see if we can turn that attention into business gold.

Please leave your comment…

Tags: Blog, business coaching, business goals, challenges, entrepreneur, own business

- Aug 31 2007
- Open Thread – Attention Age Doctrine
- 15 Comments
- Posted In General
  
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As I toil away on research into Part 2 of the Attention Age Doctrine, a creative idea came to mind.

How about having an “open thread” on my blog that invites comments from you – my readers – about what you’d like to see in Part 2.

What are some the concerns you have about focusing attention on your business?

What are some of the top challenges you face when dealing with interruptions to your work flow?

What challenges have you come up against in getting the attention of your market?

I’ve made a commitment to have fun this weekend as well, so that may have something to do with this request. But don’t let that discourage you. If you can find time in your fun activities to give this blog some attention, I’d greatly appreciate it – and so would your fellow readers.

So, consider this an open thread… What’s on your mind regarding attention?

What kind of solutions would you like to see included in Part 2 of The Attention Age Doctrine?

Let me know and have a great weekend.

I’m anxious to see your ideas.

To Higher Profits,
Rich Schefren

Click here to provide your comment

Tags: challenges, creative idea, interruptions, profits, work flow

- Feb 22 2007
- Startup To Freedom Video Now Available!
- 217 Comments
- Posted In Effectiveness
  
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Hey Guys,

Lots of you have been waiting patiently for this new presentation, and I sincerely appreciate that.

But before I share the video with you, I just want to take a minute to thank you all for your overwhelming support.

The emails that have flooded my inbox over the last week have been heartwarming.

They really mean a lot to me… especially since we had some challenges last week.

In any case, my long awaited presentation “Startup To Freedom” is now available online. You can get access to it here:

http://www.strategicprofits.com/startuptofreedom

This presentation reflects my latest, cutting edge work, and it’s my clearest articulation of the process I use to build million dollar companies in a short period of time.

I know it may be difficult for you to believe that you could build a million (or multi-million dollar) company, but know this… it is very possible if you work hard AND if you have a good strategy.

Of course, it’s not easy.

In fact, it is one of the most difficult things you can do. But it is possible with the right knowledge and the right mindset.

So with that said, I invite you to head over to watch my latest video. In it, I outline the process I go through when building companies. I’ve tested and used this process myself and with clients, and I know it works, and works well.

Of course, it’s not a magic pill or silver bullet for the people who are simply wishing and dreaming that money will suddenly “manifest” into their lives.

To put it bluntly, these are not the people who I want to work with. I’m looking for people who are dedicated to building a company that can give them freedom and prosperity beyond their wildest dreams. But in order to do so, work is involved.

There is no magic formula. But there are methods, strategies and tactics that have proven to work in the past.

By understanding these strategies, you can increase your chance of success dramatically. And that’s why my latest video is all about.

Check it out here:

http://www.strategicprofits.com/startuptofreedom

To Higher Profits,
Rich Schefren

P.S. After you watch the video, please let me know how
you’ll be implementing these ideas in your business.
You can do this by posting your thoughts right here.

Tags: challenges, money, prosperity

- Nov 17 2006
- Analyzing Your Current Reality
- 17 Comments
- Posted In Strategy
  
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Hey Guys,

I hope you’re doing well!

And I hope you’re implementing some (or hopefully MANY) ideas from my recent reports.

Now as you probably know by now, the launch was NOT what I expected.

As usual, I’m writing something up that I think you’ll find very interesting (which you can then turn into business profit).

I don’t want to go into detail here, but what I’m about to reveal will be something that you’ve never heard from a well know marketing personality.

It’s all about analyzing what works and what doesn’t.

And facing the current reality can be one of the biggest challenges that any business owner can have.

So for now, please review the Internet Business Manifesto, The Missing Chapter, and The Final Chapter.

If you study these documents carefully, especially the sections on planning and strategy, then you may be able to discern what’s coming. ;-)

To Higher Profits,
Rich Schefren

P.S. The main lesson in this post is that there are probably things in your business that you’re not “owning up to”. These might be problems or issues that you just don’t want to face. They must be addressed. Your profits will thank you for doing so.

Tags: business owner, business profit, challenges, internet business, manifesto, marketing, profits

- Oct 23 2006
- Win A Trip To Meet Rich And Agora
- 260 Comments
- Posted In News
  
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Hey Guys,

Tonight’s teleconference with Michael Masterson has already filled up. All 1,000 lines were reserved in JUST 90 minutes!

If you were one of the lucky few to get in, then I congratulate you and look forward to you joining us tonight.

And if you missed it, DON’T worry, we have some more calls lined up. Please don’t call the office and ask if you can sneak on, it’s not physically possible.

But to those of you that did get in… You’re NOT off the hook just yet. Registrations were coming in SO quickly we couldn’t turn the page off in time…

To be exact, we handed out 1061 registrations.

Please be sure to call in early so you ensure you don’t get booted. If you were lucky enough to get
registered in time, then you definitely DON’T want to miss this call.

Win A Trip To South Florida to Meet Rich and Agora

If you haven’t read the Final Chapter, here’s a damn good reason why you should.

And if you have read it..

You have a better understanding of what you need to do in order to grow your business to the next level.

What if I told you that I would PERSONALLY pick you up at the airport, in my Porsche, and let you rack my brain for an ENTIRE afternoon?

Imagine starting out at my office and my team and I brainstorming ideas on your business. Then taking off for a power lunch. Imagine heading over to Agora (the Early To Rise office) and their team spending the rest of the afternoon working hard to solve your biggest challenges.

Well, that’s EXACTLY what we’re going to do.

If this is not a once in a lifetime opportunity, then I don’t know what is…So for one VERY LUCKY person, we’re going to foot the bill for this very exclusive trip.

How do you win? Follow these instructions.

1.) Click “Comment” Below

2.) Summarize why it’s critical that your business has a consistent series of back end offers and why it’s important that you build alliances within your marketplace.

The person who has the best summary will be chosen and notified that they’ve won.

Please don’t ask for more direction, we simply CANNOT answer all of your questions right now, as we’ve been swamped with inquires regarding the Final Chapter.

The winning entry will be based on merit, and not based on need. So keep your summary ON topic, and show us just how smart you really are.

Rich

P.S. Good luck with your summary, and don’t plan on packing tons of luggage… my Porsche can barely store two gallons of milk. ;-)

Tags: alliances, challenges, lifetime opportunity, michael masterson, porsche, power lunch, teleconference