Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by Howard Jacobson, PhD. howieConnect, Inc. 15 Indigo Creek Trail Durham NC 27712 www.howieconnect.com Email: howie@howieconnect.com
Revised 7/07/06
COPYRIGHT NOTICES
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Exceptions: purchasers may photocopy and distribute Chapter 1: Why Most Marketing Fails and What to Do About It as many times as they like. Purchasers may also photocopy the toolkit for their own personal use on different marketing campaigns. Published by howieconnect and written by Howard Jacobson, PhD. 15 Indigo Creek Trail Durham NC 27712 www.howieconnect.com Email: howie@howieconnect.com Printed and bound in the United States of America 2002-2006 Howard Jacobson and howieConnect, Inc. LEGAL NOTICES: Limits of Liability / Disclaimer of Warranty: The author and publisher of this manual and the accompanying materials have used their best efforts in preparing this program. The author and publisher make no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents of this program. They disclaim any warranties (expressed or implied), merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable for any loss or other damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. As always, the advice of a competent legal, tax, accounting or other professional should be sought. This manual contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.
Acknowledgments
Without the following people, Leads into Gold would still be a bunch of rants in my brain: Sue Bannon, graphic artist extraordinaire, who designed the covers for Leads into Gold. Sue has the rare ability to turn her clients personalities and messages into graphically perfect statements that dont look like anything else in the world. If youd like her to design cool and effective stuff for you, reach her at: sbannon@bellatlantic.net Joe Pepitone turned my clumsy attempt at studio recording into an audio masterpiece, quickly, proactively, and professionally. If you have any audio needs, Joes your man. Hes a real musician (he composed the snippets of music on the CDs), so his standards for audio quality are very high. Reach Joe at: joe@switchedmusic.com The following people graciously let me use their marketing materials for the swipe file. Theyre all masters of marketing. Visit their sites, put them through their paces, and if you have a need that they can fill, by all means use them with complete confidence. They service even better than they sell, which is saying something! Perry Marshall Pamela Yellen Alex Mandossian Jim Fleck and Jeff Paul Susan Guarneri Robert Middleton Yanik Silver Michael Senoff Reed Hoisington www.perrymarshall.com www.pmiinc.com www.marketingwithpostcards.com www.instantprofits.com www.resume-magic.com www.actionplan.com www.surefiremarketing.com www.hardtofindseminars.com www.reedhoisington.com
Thanks to all my prospects, clients, and the ones that got away. Youve taught me as much about business as Ive taught you. Im honored by our association. Thanks to Peter Bregman, of www.bregmanpartners.com, who has taught me that business can make the world a better place. You know how a good coach can help you? Peter does that for entire companies. And finally, thanks to my wife, Mia, and my children, Yael and Elan. I do it all for you.
Foreword
In ancient times, alchemists spent their entire lives in search of the secret of the Philosophers Stone: the miraculous substance that would allow its possessor to turn base metals like lead into gold. Today, modern businesspeople still seek the magic formula to transform the base elements of their business into wealth, freedom, happiness, and purpose. Many of us also long for a decent deli within driving distance of our office. But business has become more difficult, competitive, and impersonal over the last generation. Too many vendors spewing the same boring, meaningless messages into a frenzied, overcrowded, obnoxious world. So many annoying ads and commercials that we tune it all out. So much hype and sameness that we disbelieve everyone selling everything. You hold in your hands information that will do nothing about dry lunch meats or cole slaw with too much mayo. It only addresses the issue of how to attract customers or clients to your business without your having to chase, bother, or beg them, and without flushing your advertising budget down the toilet of unaccountability. The key to this system is lead generation advertising. You will learn how to use various media (including many that no advertising sales rep will ever try to sell you!) to position your business as the obvious choice in your marketplace. You will learn how to escape the commodity treadmill, where all you ever get asked about is your price. You will discover how to position yourself as a trusted, expert advisor, so that your prospects will line up and raise their hands and beg you to do business with them. And you will learn how to measure every penny of your marketing spend, so that you get the maximum bang for every marketing buck. So, aspiring business wizard! Sharpen your quill, polish your cauldron, and light the hermetic fire (I have no idea what that means I read it on a web site about 20 minutes ago). Roll up your sleeves and get ready to learn the secrets of modern-day business alchemy: How to turn Leads into Gold.
Page 1 Howard Jacobson 2002 All Rights Reserved www.howieconnect.com
Introduction
Leads into Gold is designed to quickly turn you into your own marketing expert. Throughout this course Im going to try like crazy to convince you that marketing is by far the most important thing to focus on in your business. For two reasons. First, because marketing is the one function in business where the smallest efforts can create the largest returns. Having a great product is important. Keeping overhead low is important. But effective marketing can grow your business in a way that nothing else can. When you master your marketing, you find a sense of control, security, and freedom that no other skill can match. Second, because you can delegate everything about your business except marketing. Youre already the expert. Nobody knows as much about your business as you do. Certainly nobody cares as much about it as you do. And nobody is in a better position to explain it to the world. This course is not going to give you all the tools and experience you need to become a master. No course could. I dont care how many pages, examples, audiotapes, exercises, CD-ROMS, videos, spreadsheets, etc. No course is going to improve your skill. The only way to get good at something is by doing it, over and over again, and paying careful attention to the results. The entire goal of this course is to give you the knowledge and support to let you take the first step. It will teach you what to do (and what not to do) and give you the confidence that you can do it effectively and easily. This course has been designed to give you just enough to start creating effective lead generation ads. Because theres very little difference between the person who knows nothing and the person who knows everything. But theres a huge difference between the person whos done nothing and the person whos done even one thing. Your job is to use Leads into Gold to help you do that one thing. And the good news is, that one thing will immediately vault you into the top 3% of marketers in your market. Your life will change for the better. Leads into Gold has seven components:
1. Crash Course in Lead Generation Marketing - Audio These audiotapes or CDs will explain the principles of direct response marketing, walk you through a complete business analysis unlike anything youve experienced, and prepare you to start using lead generation advertising to grow your business without cold calling or wasted advertising dollars. I recommend that you listen to them more than once; studies show that repeated listening builds understanding without any other action on your part. Since direct response marketing is a huge mind shift for many people familiar only with branding and other irrelevant marketing strategies, you may need to be convinced in your gut long after you agree intellectually. In fact, you probably wont become totally convinced until after the success of your first campaign. 2. The Lead Generation Toolkit The toolkit is where you do your homework to create a powerful and unique lead generation campaign perfectly suited to your business. 3. The Personal Trainer Audio Course Your own personal tutorial on cassette or CD that walks you through the toolkit at your own pace. 4. The Unfair Head Start Swipe File The examples at the end of this binder will give you a head start in creating your own lead generating ads and magnets. Feel free to adapt them to your specific business. 5. Additional Resources to Keep You Going A special web page with links to all the resources I describe in the audio course, as well as service providers that I can personally vouch for. 6. Crash Course in Lead Generation Marketing - Text The transcription of the audio will allow you to look things up quickly and study them at your leisure, without the need for a cassette or CD player. 7. Free Consulting Coupon
The critique coupon is your chance to get my feedback on your first lead generation campaign. This is potentially more valuable to you than the rest of the course put together. If you follow the principles and steps laid out here, create something, and run it by me first, youll vastly improve your chances of a successful first campaign. Youll also learn by doing, as opposed to by reading.
Introduction to Me
My name is Howard Jacobson. I am uniquely qualified to create this course for three unlikely reasons.
Im a Lifelong Educator
First of all, my life has been about education. I have been a teacher, in one form or another, since I was 13 years old. I have taught nursery school through adult education. I have worked as an elementary school teacher, a middle school teacher, a high school teacher, a college instructor, an adult school instructor, an executive coach, a corporate trainer, and a business consultant. I have taught intellectual subjects like history and philosophy, policy courses on child abuse prevention and international health, hands-on subjects like woodworking and juggling, sports like football and ultimate Frisbee, and business courses on sales, marketing, negotiation, management, and coaching. If theres one thing I understand, its how people learn and then apply what theyve learned. While there are many marketing geniuses in the world, most of them have a hard time explaining what they mean to beginners. After all, marketers are good at getting people to take action by promising no work and immediate results. When was the last time you bought something that promised, Work really hard and after a long time youll have something to show for it? So most of the direct response marketing education Ive seen has either been totally theoretical, or so immediately hands-on that readers were immediately disoriented and confused. Leads into Gold is designed to comfortably move the beginner to action with a solid grounding in principles.
mystery to me. The thought of selling anything was both terrifying and repulsive to me. If you had asked me what my picture of a salesperson was, I would have immediately described a sleazy, greasy used car salesman with a plaid jacket and a toupee. My picture of a marketer was a telemarketer interrupting my dinner. Advertising was a stupid TV commercial telling me that if I bought this car I would have lots of great sex with hot blondes. Heres an embarrassing example to make the point: As a teacher in my 20s, I hardly even knew anyone in business. The whole thing just seemed like a secret club, and I didnt even know who to ask for the password. Then one day I decided to become a licensed massage therapist. I enrolled in school, took the required courses, passed the required tests, bought an on-site massage chair, and set out to seek my fortune. The only problem was, I had no idea what to do. I lugged this chair around in the back of my car to businesses, to stores, to malls. I once drove to Merrill Lynch in Plainsboro, New Jersey, no appointment, and carried this chair to the receptionist and asked how I could offer seated massages to the employees. I was shown the door so fast I practically suffered injuries from the G-forces. After about two weeks of embarrassment, frustration, and the beginnings of a nagging backache from carrying the darn chair (great advertisement for a massage therapist, huh?), I just gave up and went back to teaching. Why does this qualify me to teach marketing? When I was a kid, math was a breeze for me. When I became a teacher, I was a lousy math teacher. I just didnt understand why the kids werent getting it. Because I was a totally clueless marketer, I understand why marketing is hard for people. I can lead them on the same journey I took, only much quicker and easier. By the way, I now have a thriving consulting practice, helping individual and organizations attract and serve customers profitably and joyfully. I market through referrals, public speaking, writing articles, getting publicity, and of course
lead generation advertising. I never cold call. I never get ripped off by advertising reps. My friends who knew me when think my transformation is the funniest thing in the world.
we all win. Just imagine a world without cold calling and dinnertime telemarketing. How much is that worth? Nitpicky Language Stuff (for you English majors): One note about the words product and customer: I use product to refer to anything that you sell, be it physical product, service, or combination. I use customer to refer to anyone who gives you money for your product, be they customer or client. Also, I use the word they to refer to someone who could be either male or female, rather than assuming that everyone is a he or using some horrible construction like he/she or s/he or (heaven forbid) shim. I did pass high school English, and I know some people think that using they in this way is a terrible grammar mistake. All I can say is, tuff. Write your own course.
Crash Course
(Transcription of 4 Crash Course CDs)
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Why Most Marketing Fails and What to Do About It_________ 1
Lie #1: Sales is a Numbers Game _____________________________________ 2 Lie #2: Advertising Works by Building Brand Recognition _______________ 3
The Energizer Bunny ____________________________________________________ 3 Which Advertising Doesnt Work? _________________________________________ 4
Lie #3: The Better Your Product or Service, the Better it Will Sell _________ 5
Message: Where the Mission meets the Market __ Error! Bookmark not defined.
The Watering Hole of Your Market ______________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Translate Every Feature into Multiple Benefits _______ Error! Bookmark not defined. Million Dollar Marketing Secret: Start with Benefits and Back into Features ___ Error! Bookmark not defined. Using Psychographics to Craft Your Message _____ Error! Bookmark not defined. Example: Stress Management for Teachers _______ Error! Bookmark not defined. Superior and Believable_________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Concrete + Specific = Believable _______________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Massive Superiority _________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. A Note about Massive Superiority ______________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Unique Selling Proposition ______________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. USP Examples______________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. USP checklist ______________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. USP Generating Helpers ________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Average Annual Customer Value _________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Average Annual Value per Lead __________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Average Lifetime Customer Value ________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Lifetime Value per Lead ________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. What If You Have No Data? _____________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Ways to Cut Costs _____________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Use a Web Site _____________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Self-liquidating Lead Generation _______________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Test Small _________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Market First, Create Second ___________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Find Joint Ventures __________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Rant ______________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Use Speech Recognition Software ______________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Interview an Expert __________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Hire Someone to Write a Report ________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Hire Someone to Collect Sources _______________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Buy a Report _______________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Get a Report from a Joint Venture Partner ________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Tape a Sales Call____________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Other Resources ____________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.
are going to track me down and chain me to a rock and hire some eagles to eat my liver. Its not because these secrets were jealously guarded by a secretive aboriginal tribe in Papua New Guinea, handed down from seventh son to seventh son, until I patiently gained their trust and learned their language, consisting only of eyebrow movements and the sound made when someone chews the top off their Bic pen cap. No, its because the vast majority of people youll meet have been brainwashed to believe that this stuff doesnt work. The wrong-headed dogmas of sales, advertising and marketing are still conventional wisdom. People may admire you for your guts, but theyll pity you for your lack of common sense. And theyll never ever be convinced. Here are the big lies that most people believe about sales and marketing. Your competitors believe them. Your customers believe them. Your colleagues and advisors believe them. But they arent true, and they kill more businesses and ruin more careers than Id like to think about. Disc 1, Track 2
The truth is, sales is a numbers game. But if youre smart, you get to decide what the numbers are. Would you rather have to make 100 calls to get an appointment, or 3 calls? Would you rather respond to 50 detailed Requests for Proposal (RFPs) a year to get one contract, or just one RFP? Remember that sales ratios are averages. The average office equipment salesperson has to make 100 (or whatever) calls to secure an appointment. Believe me, there are office equipment salespeople who fill their calendars with appointments with eager buyers without making a single outbound call. Lets say the average sales cycle for a management consulting gig is 18 months. There are consultants who get a phone call from a prospect, and start work (check in hand) the following week. Now, no sales methodology will work every single time. But some work a heck of a lot more often than others. Why work 50 times as hard and 50 times as long, when you can simply use a more effective methodology and increase your skill level? Direct response marketing has two huge numbers advantages over cold prospecting. First, the numbers are much better. Infinitely less grunt work for much greater return. Second, direct response marketing has a built in tracking function, so you can determine exactly how well each part of your sales mix is working. When you can measure it, you can constantly improve it. Disc 1, Track 3
Well, which battery do those bunnies sell? In a survey, most consumers thought it was Duracell: the Duracell Energizer. And, by the way, the only battery company to significantly increase market share during the 1990s was RayO-Vac, which didnt spend a penny on television advertising at all. The bunny sells Eveready Energizer batteries. And if he were a real salesman, with territories and accounts and quotas, hed be in a petting zoo by now. Because clever and amusing as he is, he doesnt make the numbers.
you dont. You honor your guarantees cheerfully or you dont. You innovate or you dont. Your store is clean or it isnt. At this level, branding is just a measure of how congruent you are how much your actions and words look the same. Its not bragging its simply how you do business. The issue is whether to spend money pre-branding yourself to the vast universe of people who will never be your prospects, or whether to target your brand message to your prospects while you sell and deliver, at no additional cost or effort. Unless you are Coca Cola or Nike, you cant afford to spend money putting feel-good messages into the air. You must target your messages to your prospects, and talk about them, not yourself. Because they dont care about you. They care about themselves. Because image or branding advertising cant be held accountable, the advertising industry can make this amazingly self-serving claim: People need to see your ads at least seven times before theyll remember it, and 12 times before they act on it. How convenient for marketing agencies and media outlets! The answer to ineffective advertising is MORE ADVERTISING!! Disc 1, Track 4
Lie #3: The Better Your Product or Service, the Better it Will Sell
Dont we wish it were true? Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door. Right? When you see people who believe this, its very sad. The very best, most honest auto mechanic in town wonders why he struggles to stay afloat while the chain store repair shop is always busy. Its just not fair! The mostly highly trained psychologist, with hundreds of peer-reviewed research papers and several university-published books, rails against the idiotic pop psychologist on public television who sells millions of books a year. Its just not fair! The truth is, high quality is often a marketing problem.
You see, your market usually cant judge the quality of your stuff. Youre the expert, theyre not. So the best and the worst often look just the same to them. And until they experience the difference in quality, all they see is the difference in price. And higher quality usually costs more. So the better products and services are competing against cheaper products and services that can make the same claims. And all the buyer sees is the price difference. In some industries, being ethical is a downright disadvantage. Look at the mortgage industry. Bait and switch mortgage brokers can offer imaginary deals, and then reveal five-digit closing costs after the consumer is locked in and has no other choices. Honest loan originators look more expensive to the price-sensitive shopper, even if they are ultimately a much superior solution. If you have a superior solution for your market, then you have a moral obligation to market it as aggressively and successfully as you can. Im not talking about an obligation to yourself and your family to be successful and make a lot of money. Im talking about more than that. How would you feel if a family member or friend got stuck with an unethical or inferior vendor just because you couldnt find an effective way to tell the truth? Well, even if that wont happen to your friends and family, why should it happen to mine? Not marketing to the best of your ability, when you think about it, is downright selfish, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself. No, not you. You bought Leads into Gold. You understand your moral obligation to your community. But Im sure you know plenty of really good people who feel awkward or sleazy when they market or sell their stuff. Please convince them to do the right thing. In fact, you could actually tell them to go get this kit, and learn how to do it for themselves. Ive given you permission to photocopy the transcript of this section as many times as you like, as long as you keep the copyright information intact. Now that you understand how important it is to market effectively, lets begin learning the techniques and skills that will enable you to end cold calling forever and attract more business than you ever thought possible.
Desperation
The second obstacle is desperation your own. Now you know you cant get permission to talk to your prospect if you dont offer them something valuable. In order to know what your prospect cares about, what they think is valuable, youve got to focus on them, and not on yourself. Now, its confession time. I was not a popular little kid. When I was little, I spent most of my time with adults, not other kids. In elementary school I was picked on, and had few friends (mostly other outcasts and victims). By the time I
discovered girls, I was pretty sure that none of them would have anything to do with me. So the minute a girl was nice to me not remotely interested, but merely polite I pounced. I instantly became such a pain, such a pathetic puppy dog, such a desperate slob, that I chased them away. People can sense desperation. Its unattractive, and it clearly says, Im no good. If I were any good, I wouldnt be this desperate. Desperate people are always in a rush. Desperate daters ignore natural rhythms of a relationship. And desperate salespeople try to force themselves on others. When youre desperate, youre thinking about one thing: yourself. The essence of marketing and dating and just about everything else is putting other people first. Thinking about whats important to them. Striving to see the world from their eyes. One of Steven Coveys 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is, First seek to understand, then to be understood. Desperate people cant do that.
An Example
I wrote the notes that this talk is based on in my public library. There were about 50 other people there when I was writing, and I didnt want to talk to any of them. I was on a deadline. Writing was just about the hardest thing that I had to do. So, Im sitting there, I absolutely refuse to make eye contact, to smile, to offer help to little old ladies carrying too many books through the door. Im armored against all these people, because they have nothing to do with my big goal: to get this damn thing done. (Excuse my language.) But, unknown to them, I have a problem. My laptop battery is running out of juice. I dont have a power cord. Im starting to bum out. Do you think I would respond differently to the following two approaches? 1. Hey, excuse me. I sell life insurance. Ive got a great deal on a 20 year whole life policy. Stop what youre doing and look at it right now. 2. Excuse me, I noticed that you have a laptop that isnt plugged in. I sell a laptop battery charger that completely recharges your battery when you squeeze this rubber bulb five times. Would you like to try it, no obligation? Both approaches are total interruptions. But the second one asks for my permission based on an observed need. Its about my needs, not the sellers
needs. Youd better believe I would have squeezed that rubber bulb five times. And even if I did need to increase my life insurance coverage, I would instinctively recoil from the disrespectful approach shown by the life insurance salesman in my example.
Save Time
I remember the worst week of cold calling I ever did. Projects were ending. The economy was tanking. The top of the sales funnel was empty. I panicked. So I researched 250 prospects online. I didnt take the time to learn about the companies (these were all small financial services firms in Manhattan). I didnt even bother with the names of my prospects. I didnt have time.
So I consulted my collection of sales books for a last minute dose of inspiration. Then I locked the door and started smiling and dialing. I had an Excel spreadsheet open, but soon resorted to scribbling on a yellow pad. Whos in charge of that? Oh, how do you spell that? Oh, when will she be back? No, Ill wait. Press what to hear the options again? Yes, Ill be happy to send you some information. Hi, Im calling to find out if you received the information. Sure, Ill send it again. Oh, shes on another business trip. Hi, this is Howard Jacobson, and this is the seventeenth voice mail message Ive left. Are you sure that youre going to return my call as soon as possible?
Sound familiar? Boy, I HATED how much time it took. I HATED how many times people said No before one person said Yes. I HATED being lied to: No, Ms. Prospect is in a meeting and cannot take your call. I HATED leaving dozens of unanswered voice mail messages after the recording that went, Leave me a message and Ill call you back as soon as possible. After all this, I found exactly three companies that needed what I was selling, out of 250. I got two phone meetings with low level managers, and left voice mail messages for three weeks with one decision maker, until I finally got her on the phone and forced her to admit she was going with another vendor (because she never would have told me if I hadnt pushed). No new business. Imagine: if those three companies had identified themselves to me, I could have avoided like 247 unnecessary sets of calls. I could have focused my
attention on their particular needs, and I would have been talking with decision makers, or at the very worst, lower-level employees directed by decision makers to contact me. Even more important than saving all that time, what if those companies had called me? Would that have changed the dynamic and made it more likely that I would have succeeded? You had better believe it. And thats the second part.
But I would never have gotten there unless I had adopted that positioning before it was the truth. If you want to be treated like a successful person, then act like a successful person acts. If you want to be treated like a saint, act like a saint acts. If you want to be rich, act like a rich person acts. People will treat you exactly like you feel you deserve. Disc 1, Track 7
Track Accurately
The third principle of direct response marketing is the ability to accurate determine the return on every single investment of your marketing campaign. This is crucial for two reasons. First, you can ruthlessly eliminate every investment of time and money that doesnt work. Second, you can ruthlessly test whats working so that you continually improve its effectiveness.
you to conduct a specific aspect of direct response marketing called lead generation. Lead generation means that the primary objective of the marketing campaign is to get qualified prospects to identify themselves to you. Note that the goal of the first step is not to make a sale. In fact, its often to give something away. There are two reasons for this. First, despite what you may have heard about people not reading long sales letters or copy-intensive advertisements, the fact is that selling in print often takes a lot of words. The amount of line inches or airtime you need to sell a $150 product or service will often be prohibitively expensive if youre broadcasting it to the entire universe. And the higher the price point of your initial sale, the more words youll need to make that sale. Why is it so expensive? Because 99% of the people youre reaching with you ad or your commercial arent your prospects. But you have to pay to reach them, even though you dont want to. So instead of buying enough space or time to tell your whole story, you buy much less space or time to offer something of great value to your prospects at very low risk. The deal is, they tell you that theyre interested and give you permission to sell to them in exchange for the value that you give them first. Second, your prospects will be much more open to your sales presentation once they have gone to some effort to get it. People will go to great lengths to be consistent, to act today in a way that validates the way they acted yesterday. Once they have responded to your lead generation ad, they will continue to view you in a positive light unless you blow it and give them reason not to. In other words, having people call you reverses the burden of proof. When you approach someone, youve got to convince them that youre OK. When they approach you for help, theyve already convinced to a great extent that you can help them. And all you have to do to reinforce their opinion is to do it to provide them great value. So here is the entire system of lead generation in three simple steps. The rest of this course is designed to help you get these three steps right. Step 1: The Lead Generation Ad
Step 2: The Lead Generation Magnet Step 3: The Front End Product There is kind of a Step 4, the back end, which we talk about, but its way beyond the scope of what were going to get done here. But itll come into play when we start looking at the calculations and the metrics (yes, there is going to be a little bit of math here, but its nothing that you havent done in third grade, and I promise you it wont be painful). Lets get back to the steps.
Thats it. The whole system. Do you see how it turns traditional prospecting on its head? You no longer chase your prospects. They chase you. Youre no longer desperate. Youre in demand. Anyone whos ever dated successfully understands this process intuitively. The job of the rest of this course is to give you enough tools and confidence to go out and apply it successfully in your business. The next thing were going to talk about is going to take you through the most thorough and powerful marketing plan youve ever created. Youll be tempted to skip it please dont. The brain work you will do in crafting your message and understanding your market will practically give you superhuman marketing powers. Unless you understand what you offer and what people want, all the tricks, tools, and techniques in the world will be nothing but weights on your shoulders. Once you are clear about who you are, and what you offer, and why your prospects should care, those weights turn into wings.
Perry Marshall
Perry Marshall & Associates B2B Internet Marketing Guru
"Increase Sales and Profits" "In this unbelievably thorough package, Howard Jacobson takes you through a thought process that's bound to help any small business increase sales and profits (and have more fun)."
Author Permission Marketing
Seth Godin
"Worth its Weight in Gold" Howie Jacobson has set out to do one of the toughest things imaginable: laying down the core principles of effective marketing from the ground up, starting with the most basic concepts and moving
into specific tools and advanced applications. If you have never sold anything before in your life, this course will be worth its weight in gold to you by saving you countless weeks, months and years of frustration and wasted effort. Intermediate marketers are going to find their knowledge base broadened rapidly and painlessly. 'Old pros' will find Howie's program to be a superb refresher course and something they can give to employees, partners, friends and family members who need to get smart about marketing fast. I wish something this clear and comprehensive had been available when I was getting started. "Leads Into Gold" is a great place to start for anyone who wants to improve their results.
The "System" for Internet Marketing http://www.the-system-seminar.com
Ken McCarthy
"This Stuff Really Works!" '"I struggled for several years to figure out a way to get my message out to potential clients. I tried everything from cold calls to partnerships with CPAs and nothing seemed to get me off first base. I knew that I could really help businesses improve their benefits and spend less money, but couldn't find a way to reach customers. Then I discovered the methods you teach in 'Leads into Gold,' and it changed my business and my life. "In the first two months alone I signed up two new clients! That might not sound too good, but these were much bigger clients than I had ever gotten before, and really about all I could handle at the time. In fact, I even had to cut back the amount of marketing I was doing - it was working too well! "Using your methods, I've been able to build a terrific business made up of exactly the type of clients I want. This stuff really works!" Best regards, Bernie Heer, CFP
I got your materials the other day. Very interesting. So interesting as a matter of fact that the next morning I sat down to redo one of my boring web pages (the ones that look like every other MAS90 software reseller) into one that I believe will help me capture the leads that I need. It's www.s-consult.com/schulz1.htm.
Fast forward 60 days...
"Someone just called me for a reference on Leads into Gold and I've given you a rave review. "I think it's been about 2 months since I started implementing your ideas and about 1 full month of 'really trying.' So far in that month I'm on track to add 60 prospects. That's in 1 month! And the cool thing is that all of these people asked me for information. No cold calling!" Wayne Schulz,
Wayne Schulz Consulting Glastonbury, CT
Leads into Gold has opened my eyes Leads into Gold has opened my eyes. Given me a whole new way to look at advertising, which in the past I always turned my nose up at. But given the information in Leads into Gold, I know this is the way to truly advertise with direct response advertising. And whats so great about Howies tool is that it gives you the step by step procedure so you can do it yourself. As soon as we come home from vacation we have to decide where were going to put the direct response ad! Trudy Bryson, BV Systems
Gift and Incentive Specialist Chesterfield NJ
"WOW! Ive listened to the first CD of Leads into Gold and I am very exciting to go to the next CD. I found the material to be
fantastic and a great motivator for anyone whos ready to take the necessary steps to grow their business. "You explain the concepts of direct response marketing in an easy to understand and engaging way. I've already gotten several ideas to grow the commercial lending book of my own bank. "Leads into Gold is great and no one who wants to be successful in business should be without it. I highly recommend this information, this approach, and this system to everyone." Marge A. Callahan
Vice President of Commercial Lending, Grand Bank Hamilton, NJ
"Leads into Gold offers an informative look into the world of direct marketing in a format that is both interesting and entertaining. A must have for every business. Jacobson offers dramatic insights into customer behavior that will change the way you market, no matter what your business!" Roe Fisher
Real Possibilities, LLC Cranbury, NJ
An inspiration "Thank you for Leads into Gold, it has been an inspiration. I have begun to develop the front end reports and a lower priced initial product to promote a web hosting service for small public companies. "You are a continual source of great information, and have been for me a tremendous motivator. Thank you!"
I hesitated for about two months Im the president of a strategic marketing company located in northern New Jersey. Ive been in the business of sales and marketing for the last 15 years, and Ive read hundreds of books and listened to numerous informational CD-ROM programs on the topic of marketing. Now I thought I knew all there was to know about marketing after all, Ive worked in the business for the last 15 years, and Ive read and listened to all the material that the so-called worlds best marketing gurus have produced. When I came across Leads into Gold, I hesitated for about two months before I bought the program. And the reason that it took me so long to purchase the program was because I wasnt positive I wanted to invest in something I was sure was going to be another regurgitation of all the other marketing programs out there. And Ill tell you what broke me down was Howard Jacobsons strategic follow-up system, that I found not only to be very intelligent and effective, but also refreshing. Because based on my experience, Working with many different types of businesses over the years, I find that most companies all too often let selling opportunities slip through the cracks. It was Howards marketing strategy and execution that got me to buy. And he teaches you how to do this in the Leads into Gold program, along with many other great things. When the program arrived, I spent the time to listen to the CDs in their entirety. And frankly, I havent stopped listening yet. I found the content to be extremely informative and fresh. I would highly recommend this program to anyone who would like to become an intelligent and effective marketer.
Joe Cerbo
Pine Brook, NJ
"I'm dead convinced that you're a great communicator with a talent that I should consume intently. Thanks for the direct honesty, I both need and appreciate that. The time you spent looking at my site and doing that write-up was worth the purchase price alone. That tells me you really have a real desire to help and much more to offer. I deeply appreciate your sincerity and time."
Two weeks later...
"I am cruising around with notebook and tape recorder capturing all the ideas you're helping me generate. I appreciate your 'step by step' approach, there is a huge difference between general knowledge (everywhere) versus concise actionable methods (what you've provided). It's nice to have someone say 'sit down and do this first, then...' as it cuts right through the clutter."
Carson Sweet
Why wait? To stop cold calling now and forever, and to attract more business than you can handle through fun, respectful, and effective marketing, click here to order Leads into Gold. You have 60 days to return it for any reason, and a full year to put it to the test. This offer obligates me, not you. If you are not delighted and thrilled with your results, I insist on buying it back!