The simple mechanics of truly succeding in business in 2008

December 31, 2007

In this issue: The simple mechanics of truly succeeding in business in 2008

By: Eric Albertson

Word count: 1,354

Time to read: 3-4 minutes

Your biggest problem in 2008 might be this:

I predict that the number one problem many of you will have this year is simply being overwhelmed by useless information, hype, and other nonsense that does not help you live the life you want to live, nor make the money that you want to make.

Your problem might be your clients’ problem, too

I also predict that most of your customers will feel the same way. If you make it simple for them, they will help you get rich.

A better 2008 for both of us

2007 was a wonderful year in many ways, but there was one exception: It was not simple enough to be as good as it could have been. I am going to change that in 2008 for myself, and I’ll do my best for you, too, if you keep reading.

What does a B17 Bomber have to do with a better 2008?

In 1935, Boeing introduced the B17 Bomber. They had the most experienced test pilot from the Army Air Corps fly the plane one day, to show it off for the top brass. Within minutes of takeoff, this world-renowned pilot crashed the plane. The Air Corps decided to buy another, less capable, plane from a competitor of Boeing’s simply because the B17 was too complicated to keep in the air.

But I heard that the B17 helped win WWII

“Wait,” you say. “Didn’t the B17 become a pivotal advantage in winning World War II?” Yes it did. I know. My father flew one in Italy, and lived to tell about it.

What happened?

They simplified the process

Simplicity happened. No, the plane did not get one lick easier to fly, but they came up with a way to make the process of flying — even the B-17 — simpler: They introduced the checklist.  Boeing eventually got the order. 

A checklist saved lives in the ICU, too

Four percent of everyone who enters an American ICU (intensive care unit) gets what is known as a line infection. It was one of the top killers.

Everything that goes on in an ICU is complicated. Some procedures incorporate more than 1,200 steps.

Then, one day, an innovative surgeon determined to make it simpler. He came up with a five-step checklist that virtually eliminated line infections. The checklist saved thousands of lives.

A simple choice

It was simple with the B17 and the ICU: Follow a simple checklist, and things work. Don’t follow the checklist, and things usually don’t come out as well. 

A prize inside. Just like Cracker Jacks

This year at www.succeedinginbusiness.com, we are going to do our best to make everything very simple. And yes, we are going to provide you with lots of checklists that you can use to get more of what you want with a minimum of complexity. Just read the newsletter each week to see if we have a new complimentary checklist for you.

Seven simple ways – your first checklist

Our observation is that success in business boils down to some very simple things. We intend to talk about this subset of those key success drivers:

1. Setting your objectives.

2. Target list-building in your target market (your "ideal client list")

3. Building an elevator speech that gets prospects to say, "Tell me more."

4. Building a relationship with your target market.

5. Building a proposal that closes 70% or more of the time.

6. Getting the sale closed easily.

7. Getting better margins.

By the end of 2008 you will have been given the checklists necessary to perform in each of the seven areas, simply by being a regular reader of this newsletter.

As appropriate through the year, I will provide a checklist to help you make the complex simple. Each checklist will be tested and proven before you get it. You can use it with confidence.

Another change I am going to make this year is to the Marketing Fast Track course. The January course will be my last class in which anyone from any industry can enroll. 

After January, I will teach live classes for industry verticals, only. Verticals such as:

No Promises on when your program might be offered

I will produce these courses in cooperation with top-flight professionals from each industry. I cannot promise when, or if, your industry will get the class in 2008.

I want to make the January course as close to a “Mafia Offer” as possible

I want to make this next and last open-enrollment class as attractive as possible, to as many people as possible. The “Mafia Offer” is intended to be an offer that is simply too good to refuse.

Here is the Mafia Offer

If you can give me 60 – 90 minutes a week for eight weeks, I can help you get more new business than you have ever had before, as long as you follow the simple steps in the system. The class will start Monday, January 21st, at 1 P.M. Pacific Time (3 P.M. CT, 4 P.M. ET, 9 P.M. GMT, Tuesday at 8 A.M. UTC).

I will also surprise you each week with a gift of one of my e-Books. At the end of the course you will be given, as a gift, a bundle of all the e-Books you don’t already have.

In addition, I won't charge your credit card until 45 days after you register for the class, so you can be confident that all those holiday charges are behind you.

Further, I will give everyone an e-Book containing all of the 2007 Success Tips Newsletters at the end of the class.

Finally, as usual, if it doesn't work for you for any reason, I'll give you a refund and a smile when you let me know.

This course will work for you as long as what you sell is not a one-call close product or service and is not a retail product.

If you just do a few of the things recommended in the course and you can follow some simple instructions, you can earn significantly more in 2008, than in 2007, no matter what the economy does. (See the testimonials at the end of this newsletter.)

My intent is to get as many people as possible into action to help them make more money in 2008.

So, if you can give me 60 – 90 minutes a week for eight weeks, I can help you get more new business than you have ever had, as long as you follow the simple steps in the system. The class will start Monday, January 21st at 1 pm Pacific Time (3 CT, 4 ET, 9 pm GMT, Tuesday at 8 am UTC)

All Classes will be recorded for later listening if you can't make a session.




Sorry to put such a big push on this. If you have been wanting to take the class, now is the time. Your industry may not come up for some time and I don’t want anyone to be left out.

If there is anything stopping you from taking the class, let me know and we will work it out if at all possible.

Click here for more information on the Marketing Fast Track program.

If you have already signed up for the January 7th class, you will also get all of the bonus materials and your class will start on January 21st instead of January 7th. I’ll email you separately.

Thanks,

Eric

---

The stories about the B17 and the surgeon are from an article in the New Yorker magazine called, “The Checklist,” by Atul Gawande, published December10, 2007. You can check out the full and fascinating article here:

 http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/12/10/071210fa_fact_gawande

 

---

PPS: We are going to completely revamp the www.succeedinginbusiness.com Web site in the first quarter of 2008, to make it more valuable for all of our subscribers. If you have suggestions, please email them to eric@succeedinginbusiness.com    

 

---

 PPS: Here is a sample of past Marketing Fast Track participants testimonials.

---

I was hoping for a 25% sales increase when I came to Eric and Succeeding in Business. A year later I am looking at a 144% sales increase and a foundation to rapidly grow for years to come.

— Barbara Wright, C.I.D. Barbara Wright Design, Inc. www.barbarawrightdesign.com

---

As a new sales manager, with a new company, I was able to go from last to first place, 3rd quarter on the whole west coast and doubled my business, using the principles I learned in the Succeeding In Business Marketing Fast Track Program. Certainly I added skill, hard work and motivation. The Marketing Fast Track showed me how to build a message that gets people to say “tell me more” – from there; I can convert them to sales.

— Kim Bishop, Sales Manager at www.employee-benefits-custom-designed.com

---

Your ad just spoke to me.  I thought you were talking directly to me.  That is EXACTLY how I felt.  My husband said to tear out the ad and call those folks. 

Our new ads using the MFT methods and formula have been working so well that even in the current housing recession (some say depression) we have been able to increase sales while spending less advertising dollars.

— Jeff Jones, President
Interior Expressions Design Showroom
(520) 275-9368
(520) 275-9368
Jeff@InteriorExpressionsAZ.com
1171 E. Rancho Vistoso Blvd Suite 131
Oro Valley, AZ  85755

---

The greatest result I gained from participating in the Fast Track class was the knowledge to identify where a prospect is in the cycle of marketing and sales.  This has allowed me to effectively use my time by choosing critical actions that get move us to the desired effect (more qualified prospects moving into the sales pipe).  I am now able to consciously coach my team as to what actions are best applied at what phase.  I feel very empowered. Thank you.

 – Brenda Bowles, VP Marketing
Professional Growth Systems & Board Growth (www.professionalgrowthsystems.com
and www.boardgrowth.com)

---

I’ve run a successful business for 20 years and have focused on sales with little marketing. Fast Track Marketing helped me better understand the steps required for effective marketing and sales. The focus on communicating benefits and sharing success stories provided me with a renewed focus for my sales efforts.” 

— Thanks and best regards,
Mark Sterne
Express Printing & Promotions, Inc.
847.498.9640     Fax 847.498.2976
Mark@Express-Print.com
www.Express-Print.com

---

Eric's course taught me that marketing is a game and that to truly succeed at marketing (just like in a sport) you not only need to know the rules and practice but also enjoy the game.  Before I started this course I often thought of marketing as something I needed to do but I did not think about it as something to enjoy.  Eric does a great job of presenting the rules of the marketing game clearly and then helping everyone figure out how to enjoy playing and winning their own marketing game resulting in more sales and increased profits.

— Eric Hnath PhD, Sales Executive, www.rigaku.com/

---

As a straight commission manufacturers rep, time is money and my goal in taking the Fast Track Class was to find ways to be more effective with my time.  Eric's class has provided me multiple ways to improve how I market my self but more importantly, how I market to the customers who want to work with me! I'm becoming more efficient by spending time with people who want to work with me and are paying me with new sales!

— Dick Darraugh 

---

Your Marketing Fast Track class provides such value.  It breaks ‘marketing’ down into simple steps with guidelines and examples.  Additionally, it provides the participants with 8 opportunities to interact, share ideas, and resolve stumbling blocks.  And the materials (ranging from the documentation to the recorded sessions) make it possible to memory refresh and review at any time.

— Kathy Taylor

---

Until this course, marketing seemed like an intimidating and costly effort that might not yield results. If you do the homework, Eric makes it very simple to succeed. Now for the first time in my career I have a powerful and clear message to respond to the "And what do you do?" question. Better yet, when I give that message to those in my target market, they almost always say the words I long to hear “Please, tell me more”.  I see how I will be able to use the marketing message and executive summary to guide all my regular print advertising as well as email advertising, phone messages. Eric’s ‘Marketing Fast Track’ program was fun to take and is beginning to change my financial life! . Thanks, Eric!  

— Marcia Creighton, Realtor, marciacreighton@yahoo.ca

---

The help Eric & www.succeedinginbusiness.com gave us was way beyond what we expected. I am amazed. During the "good times," we were ruled by the tyranny of the urgent. Now that the economy has changed in our industry, things aren't so easy or so urgent. You've given us the tools we needed to get organized and strategize and grow additional relationships and find the customers who would best be served by our unique strengths. Thank You!

— Valarie Nordstrom  October 15, 2007, Services Industry

---

I  look forward to the marketing classes because they provide me with a real plan for making things better and unbiased expert input on my efforts. Thanks so much for a great service at a great price.  

— Cindy Poore, Perfection Landscape
"Building the scenery of your life"
 

 

---