If not… WHY NOT?

They can be a very effective way to drive targeted traffic and find incredibly valuable demographics information on your ideal prospects and clients.

In a 2012 survey, 43% of B2B companies and 77% of B2C companies reported that they have acquired a customer through Facebook.

I am working on a project right now in a specific niche, and Facebook advertising is a part of the lead generation efforts. I targeted a specific geographic area, set my daily spend low to start, set my targeted likes and demographics… then let it loose.

And it bombed.

So I rewrote the ad, put a different picture in, refined the targeting.

Nailed it.

Got exactly what I wanted…

…good click through rates, good landing page results, and some VERY telling demographic information.

Facebook has some exceptional demographic reporting. I found out that a certain sex between 45-64, that live in 4 Canadian provinces are VERY good prospects for me.  They clicked the highest and responded the highest.

Now I can refine my ads and target JUST THEM.

So I eliminate the money I was spending on the wrong age groups and wrong provinces… while narrowly targeting my most likely prospects.

The results are exceptional when you do measured and targeted marketing like this.

Are you?

You know you should… and NOW is the time to start!

 Announcing the Facebook Jumpstart Series…

Where you get ads up and running quickly and inexpensively on Facebook.

The place where you find out:

• how to design the ads

• how to write ads that make money and attract the RIGHT type of prospects

• what types of pictures to use

• what types of pages to send your prospects to

• how to measure response

• how to dig into the demographics report to uncover hidden gold and money

• how to refine your ads based on your demographic research to get stellar clickthrough rates and buyers

• …and much, much more.

This series is 3 calls of 45 minutes each. One call a week.

1. You get access to the webinars.
2. You get access to the recordings
3. You get access to the transcripts
4. You get BONUS gifts:

• Small Display Ads report (sells for $20) – which gives you some insider tips on generating leads through advertising
• Turning your words into wealth (sells for $49) – formulaic blueprints for writing ads that sell
• Surprise recordings never before released (including an interview with the $7 billion dollar man on how to use stories in your sales for exceptional results – works AWESOME for Facebook marketing!)

…And you get a bankable blueprint for generating leads and sales when you need them

Lets get realistic though.

I like no BS… and here it is.

Do not expect to make a million dollars with your first Facebook campaign. Even your first ad or three may BOMB. That’s part of the process. I have been writing ad campaigns for a decade now and get very frustrated with people who believe in the fairy tale nonsense the BS slingers throw around.  You probably won’t get it exactly right the first time – but it can and has happened.  You need some extra money for testing ads on Facebook (you can set your daily ad caps as low as $1 – I recommend starting your campaign with a $5 a day budget and growing it from there, based on results).

I won’t feed you bull.

And I won’t put up with bull either.

I have invested many, many tens of thousands of dollars in my training over the past decade.

I have written hundreds of ads, sales letters, and lead generation campaigns.

And I have made my clients many, many millions of dollars (you can see testimonial at the link near the top of page).

Advertising and marketing is not about trying something once and giving up… complaining the entire time about how it “doesn’t work”.

IT DOES WORK. You need to figure out how to MAKE it work for you, your business, your product or service, and your offer.

That means investing some time and money. Not much money I am asking for a decade worth of experience in writing ads and campaigns that produce results.

A whopping $39.

Others are charging $799 for Facebook training.

But I have invested in them and feel they are far too deep and advanced for what most people want.

I specialize in the entrepreneurs out there.

Those with limited budgets and time.

People who just want to get it up and running quickly and easily without all the stuff they may nbever need.

EXACTLY what this is.

You will be up and running with one or more campaigns in this time.

You will have clicks to analyze.

You will have demographics research to fuel further marketing and refine your message.

You will have a system that you can run for years to come.

…feeding you leads when you need them.

Facebook DOES work… and I will show you how.

IT STARTS MAY 8th.

I am only accepting 30 people in the program… so capacity is limited as I want to be able to provide question and answer help to everyone in the program.

PAYPAL PAYMENTS

or…

REGULAR CREDIT CARD THROUGH THIS LINK

Join me in this Jumpstart program!

You will discover a simple and fast way to attract quality clients and prospects.

See you there.

Troy

It allows me to see where people are at in the marketing world, and it allows me the opportunity to share new ideas with them.

Some recent ones that I wanted to share:

Question: “….in the last few years I’m losing money on internet businesses as I also found out, it’s probably NOT for me. I’m really sick-and-tired of failures…and my Daughter need some help too, so I have to be successful again. We talked to my Friend about home-made cooking-business, I love to cook and He said many single guys would be open to the idea to get home-made cooking 3-4 times a week. I can use His kitchen. Any idea about this???”

My response: “Hi Agnes. Nice to meet you.

Making money with an internet business can be a lot of work and hassle for sure.

So can an offline business :O)

Your idea is sound… but I would look into what others are doing in that area.

Are there other companies doing this in Calgary?  How much do they
charge? How do they market and position themselves?

The best way for you to make this work would be a very specific niche.

Recently Divorced Men.
Missing Moms Cooking.
College Students.
Fitness Finatics.

Figure out a specific group of people that you could target and it
will be much easier.

Anything ring a bell?

Troy”

{NOTE: selling the exact same product as you do now, but to a narrowly defined niche or target market, is a GREAT way to stand out from the clutter. I tell the story often about the realtor in Calgary who markets herself as “The Pet Lovers Realtor”… which I think is brilliant! Most realtors I talk to don’t though. “That won’t work for me… I want to sell to evvvvvvveryone”. Wrong.

When you target everyone you sell to few. When you target a very specific niche and market in their language… you can capture the market. Many realtors don’t get this… which is exactly why most of them struggle… and why realtors like my friend Al Z. is thriving!”}

===========

Question: “Hi Troy,

Here’s a digital copy of the letter I sent out. I’d appreciate your feedback and any suggestions you may have.

Also, let me know if you have any interest in attending the information session tomorrow. It’ll cover a subject not many people know much about, but I’m doing my best to bring it to the attention of more people.

Have a great day,
Dan”

My answer: “Hi Dan, some thoughts.

1) I would cut out some of the ‘fluff’ at the beginning and start the letter off with “Money doesn’t disappear…it just transfers.”  Something like that.

2) then I would lead in to a story about yourself or someone else who thought they lost, then realized it went somewhere else or to someone else they know.

3) Talk about what you are doing and why this letter (different than what you used to do – tell more of the story why)

4) Make a compelling “bribe” to get them more interested.  Attached is an example.

5) Give them the option to attend a webinar, phone call or live training event.

6) tell one last story to close it off about wealth transfers and what is happening.

7) Lay all this out in blocks.  Even cut out pieces and try reorganizing them on a table to see how things change when the flow of the letter and stories change.

Test it.  To those who you already mailed to. To new people.  See what works and with who.

9) Missing the MOST important piece… a headline.  Make it at the top of the letter (left justified) in one font size bigger.

10) Use subheadlines to break it up more – bold and a font size bigger.  Every second or thir paragraph should use a subhead.

Hope this helps. Troy”

===========

Question: “Hello Troy

I recently upgraded my subscription to your daily newsletters from the infrequent ones.

Today’s was a good indication that I made a wise decision, I enjoyed both the video of John Paul Dejoria and your comments on wealth. We need more free thinking, independence loving marketers like yourself to spread the word and counter the propaganda about “income inequality” that is being spread by most of the mainstream media. Not to mention the political correctness that is in danger of crippling and emasculating our great country.

Thanks again for good newsletters.

Just a point, you asked for comments but did not specify by email or on your website, hope this finds you.

Regards,

Peter”

My answer: “Thank you Peter.  It does mean a lot to me – so thank you.

It is a very dangerous trend I see out there now that the motivated entrepreneurs who create the jobs and abundance North Americans have grown to ‘demand’, are the same ones being punished for doing so.  Stealing from the rich and motivated and giving to the poor has never worked, and never will work. The time when there is nothing in it for those of us who love to create and build, will be the time we stop sharing what we create.

Read Atlas Shrugged before?

SCARY how close that book is to what is happening in reality right now.

Ayn Rand was a beautiful person and writer – and that book is like a vision of the present – and the future.

Sad to say, but this self-entitlement generation is going to destroy everything that they are presently enjoying.

Anyhow,  my continuing rant on this subject :O)

Troy”

Hope you enjoyed these.

Have a great day.

Troy

David Ogilvy was an advertising legend.

He is the man behind many of the greatest campaigns ever done:

“The man in the Hathaway shirt”
“At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”
Only Dove is one-quarter moisturizing cream
“The man from Schweppes is here”

…to name a few.

So how is it possible that one of the greats thinks he sucks at it?

Well he does.

And he wrote this letter to explain why he thinks that.

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/01/i-am-lousy-copywriter.html

12 points are listed there that you MUST pay attention to.

I love points 1, 5, 9, 10 and 12

Point 12 defines why he feels he is a “lousy copywriter” and what he does to make it shine.

Why does this matter to you?

Because ANYONE can write a great marketing campaign if they work at it and follow his steps here!

You can.

I can.

Anyone can with the right formula and blueprint (http://www.storysellingtips.com is a great start and a killer deal)

Have a great day.

Troy

PS: Are you a DOG LOVER?

Me too.  I have something BIG stewing for dog lovers like you and I.

This Friday at 3:00 MST I am hosting a webinar that will show you a proven way to improve the health of your dog, while putting some extra cash in your pocket.

If you are interested in finding out more, just fill in your information and I will be in touch right away with the webinar details…

It just shows you are interested in finding out more, no other catch, hook, or gimmick.

I had a great time debating ethics in advertising yesterday on a Blog Talk Radio show.

Mandie Crawford is a long-time friend and business associate

(she was also one of the favorite speakers at the Wild West Wealth Summit, which you can STILL get the ENTIRE 2007 and 2008 Wild West Wealth Audio MP3 Library for only $29!  Go to https://responsivedm.infusionsoft.com/saleform/nathnisf.  This is the SAME information that helped Chris V become a multi-millionaire before he hit 30 years old!

…Mandie saw an advertisement in a National Business Paper and immediately took offense to how the ad was designed and presented.

So, she thought: “Why not beat up Troy on the radio on ethics in advertising? Sounds good to me!”

… that she did.

We had a good chat on the 25 minute interview

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/roaringwomenradio/2012/03/12/rw-radio–ethics-in-advertising

The ad in question is actually an advertorial, which is an advertisement that looks like an article.

Mandie didn’t like some of the wording…or how it looked too much like an actual article (even with what looks like Canada Posts official insignia).

To the right I have a graphic of the online version with a very-hard-to-see-or-read-example.

(look in the far right corner for the actual layout – I don’t have a better scan)

So the question is…

…is it unethical or not to do an advertisement like this?

Who does the responsibility fall on… the consumer to pay attention and read the3 ad before acting… or the advertiser/copywriter to lay all their cards on the table right at the beginning of an ad?

Listen to the radio interview then leave your comments on the blog below.

I would LOVE to hear your feedback on this one!

Have a great day.

Troy

PS: Are you a DOG LOVER?

Me too.  I have something BIG stewing for dog lovers like you and I.

This Friday at 3:00 MST I am hosting a webinar that will show you a proven way to improve the health of your dog, while putting some extra cash in your pocket. 

If you are interested in finding out more, just fill in your information and I will be in touch right away with the webinar details…

It just shows you are interested in finding out more, no other catch, hook, or gimmick.

Quickly.
Inexpensively.

For example, through these daily emails, I can rapidly expand the reach of them in 10 minutes a day.

Here is how I do it, and you should too:

* Write my daily email.  Depending on how much and how fast you write, this can take from 15 minutes to an hour.  BUT, the more you write, the faster you get and the less time you take.  Less time = more money.  (aim for 250-500 words)

Simple, right?  The Story Selling Home Study http://www.storysellingtips.com includes the 31k Club emails which will have you cranking out emails every day for 31 days.  You are rolling then.

* Format the email for text-based broadcasting (I use www.formatit.com to set email line length to 65 characters for emails – easier to read for people)

* Send broadcast out to you.

* Put that same email into the autoresponder sequence so it can keep on promoting me for years to come with no additional effort.

* Post non line length formatted version to my wordpress blog

* Through Social Media plugins on my blog, I can then share my article with Linked in, Facebook, Twitter and Stumble upon.  It takes another 2 minutes MAX to do this.

* Optional: Read article onto video and distribute video through site like www.oneload.com – it then sends your video all through the web for free.

Think about this…

…one email.

…6 immediate sites it is posted on.

…if I choose the video option then we are talking DOZENS of sites.

THAT is leverage.

Small investment of time in, mega distribution out.

Get an assistant to help if this is too much for you to do.

But marketing should never be considered a hassle or too much work!

It’s your lifeblood.

Just get it done.

This is a simple formula that works for me… and will work for you too.

Have a great day.

Troy

Step #2: Turning Your Leads Into Sales

No matter how great your leads are, unless you have a solid follow up system in place, you won’t convert nearly as many as you could.  Once the follow up letters are written, tested and improved – you can send these out as often as possible and you will know that you can make $xx,xxx every single month as long as you are sending out a certain number of letters.

If your letter #1 converts 10% of your prospects into buyers, letter #2 converts 5%, and letter 3 converts 3% – you have 18% of your prospects that you can convert to paid clients – without a single meeting or phone call – the letters can do ALL the work.  

{insert video, email, autoresponder, etc in place of letter – the system is the same for all}

So remember, the goal of all these exercises is to build you a business system that makes you money month in and month out.  Something you can repeat, grow, or shrink, depending on how much business you need or don’t need.

The most powerful way to do your follow up is through direct mail, email, audio or video.  

Until now, they have put up their hand to say they are interested in your offer.  You have taken down their contact information and sent them the gift offered.  Now you need to get them to buy into your products and services.   And a 3 step follow up campaign is the most powerful way to close the deal.

I don’t have enough room here to properly show you how to create follow up campaigns that work.  But I can give you a formula to use throughout.

Have a look at www.smalldisplayads.com – notice the letter there.  It sells a $20 special report which converts very well.  The formula that I used there is the same one you should be using:

Attention – get them to read it right off the bat. The headline you use is KEY and will make or break your success with the follow up.  Some of the best formulas for headlines will be found in… you ready?… The national Enquirer and Cosmopolitan Magazine.  Those have some of the best headline writers in the world, and you had BETTER pay attention to how their write their cover headlines (email me if you want a list of the 100 most effective headlines ever written – email address at end of this chapter).  Right under the headline you need to continue with the same thought you were on in the headline.  Leading to…

Interest – You got them to stop and read your letter.  Now you need to build up their interest and show them you have something that they will want (if you have done your research, targeted the right person, and gotten them to put up their hand for more information… you know they are interested).  Now you have to build on that interest and further the reason for them to keep reading…

Desire – This is where you introduce to them an incredible offer that they have ever seen before.  I like to bundle numerous products or services together and offer them a fabulous deal on the bundle (call the bundle something different so they can never compare apples to apples with your competitors).  Offer them an incredible guarantee.  A price plan.  Testimonials from happy clients.  Proof that you deliver on your promises. And then…

Action – The most important (yet neglected) step in the entire marketing system.  Ask them to take action NOW.  Give them reasons and incentives to visit or buy right now.  Give them every reason in the book to trust you.  And make sure they understand what will happen if they don’t take action NOW.

Not exactly rocket science – but it certainly makes money on demand.

Step #3: Measuring And Testing

As mentioned previously, you need to track EVERYTHING.  Noting what works, what didn’t, how well it works or didn’t, exactly what you did, etc. The easiest way to do this is keep a simple excel spreadsheet (or something similar) detailing everything that has happened. Then it is time to rank the results you got.

Rank it:

1 – stellar success and either brought in a ton of sales, new leads, or positive comments from your customers and prospects.

2 – marginally successful – broke even on profits (or small profit), got a few new leads or positive comments

3 – not good results at all – lost money or time for nothing, no new leads or sales, no one even noticed you during your attempt

4 – disgustingly bad – big loser, negative feedback and comments, complete waste of time for your business

Rank everything you have done in your marketing campaigns – from 1 through 4.

Then separate them into 1’s and 2’s (the winners) – then another group of 3’s and 4’s (the losers). The 1’s and 2’s you are going to do again… the rest you will hold off for now and revisit them in 6 months or so (things change – what didn’t work now may work exceptionally well in 6 months – the internet and society is on warp drive right now – never throw out your test results).

You can even go further into detail and give your honest thoughts on why some things worked and didn’t. These notes you make could be worth a fortune to you in 6 or 12 months.  Rather than reinventing the wheel – you may find you tested it already but forgot it didn’t work – or did work.

Now write out how you can make them better, more fun, more exciting, more profitable, more enticing, more powerful, more appealing to the emotions… anything you can think of to make it better – write it down.

Post these types of results on a regular basis.

Keep in marketing results binder – review monthly – or whenever you need new promotion ideas.

With the above example – you would definitely want to run ALL the 1’s at least one more time a year, test the 2’s again – and don’t bother running the 3’s.

THINGS TO TEST
(only test one thing at a time or test is invalid, test must be run to exact same list or publication as initial control)

Put in columns
Free samples
Quantity discounts
Method of payments (cash, check, ccard, multiple credit card options, purchase orders, extended payments)
Method of response: phone, mail, email, web, fax, in-store
Regular envelop vs larger
Live stamps vs pre-printed
Teaser copy on envelope vs none
Window envelope vs regular
Signature in blue ink vs black
Different headlines
Handwriting in margins or spread throughout
1 page letter vs multiple page
Opening paragraph
Change the PS
Color vs black and white
Font size
Different font
Bonus bundles
Deadlines vs no deadlines
Write as if from you vs write as if from someone else (staff, spouse, client, supplier)

[NOTE: Do NOT ask your friends, family, or co-workers for their impressions on your marketing! They are the worst ones to ask.  Either hire a professional, use the templates here as a foundation, or test your campaign to see the real results.  I can’t count how many times a spouse or employee has completely destroyed the effectiveness of a campaign with their “thoughts about it”.  Stick with the formula here – it works in the real world.  Your best friends advice doesn’t work in the real world... guaranteed]

Once you have a campaign that works for you–keep using it! 

Don’t stop just because you are tired of it.  Send it out to every new lead that comes in the door. If it works once – it will work again.  That is the beauty of this kind of marketing.  You write a direct response campaign using the principles laid out here, you test the results, you try variations of, find a winner, and keep using the winner as many times, and as often as humanly possible.

That is how fortunes are made and how small businesses become big businesses (or at least very profitable businesses, for those who want to keep it small).

A CHALLENGE TO YOU…

Don’t just read this post, take action on it.

NOTHING good comes from inaction.

…especially in marketing and sales.

Troy

PS: Note something on the sales system here… real success in this type of marketing is based on using stories.  Stories are proven (Carnegie Mellon study) to outsell facts based promotions by 180%.

Don’t fight the desire to crawl under a rock when asked to share your story… DO IT.  The more stories of your past and present experiences… the more people will like and buy form you.

The simple addition of more of your back story is the simplest way to generate a following of prospects and buyers.

DON’T HIDE IT!

Most entrepreneurs seem to be scared or embarrassed about their beginnings.  Yet, to those who pay you for products and services, it is one of the MOST important things about you.

Don’t kid yourself…

…you have competition out there… LOTS of them.

Your buyers could choose you or one of a handful of others.

So product isn’t how you differentiate yourself (and trying to win in the long run on price is a losing battle)

Your STORY is how you win them over.  TELL IT!

Starting with this step-by-step home study program to get it out there http://www.storysellingtips.com

Adding the story in helped one company go from $500 a month in online sales to $15,000 a month!  Just by adding a single page on their site that shared their story in a compelling way.
What could it do for YOUR site?   http://www.storysellingtips.com

This is my million dollar lobster report... a fantastic lead generator (if you haven't read the report, click the image to get it)

Yet, it can be one of the most difficult things you can do.

They can be expensive… difficult to find (quality ones anyhow)…and converting a lead to a buyer is not always simple.

Step #1 in the process is outlined here today, and the follow up steps will come next week.

Enjoy…

Rule #1 Must Have A Good Headline – and possibly a different font as the rest of the ad

All Bold – NOT ALL CAPS – which is difficult to read

Your ad must visually stand out from other ads (look at the ads in the section you’ll be advertising in and make yours look and sound different)

Either an attention getting headline – or a benefit based headline (WARNING! STOP! IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO…  or the Fastest and Easiest Way To Lose Weight- For FREE… or… How To Win
Friends and Win Friends and Influence People)

Rule #2 You must address the readers – not yourself

Use “normal people talk” not “advertising” talk – make it sound like a conversation you would say to a prospect the first time you try to get their attention

Again, you must contrast with others in the section – talk like one of them

Write your ad as if you are talking to one person only.  Most ads are written as if they are talking to a group (use words like you and yours – actually count the use of you and your versus I and we – there should be less than 5% of the use of I , me or we)

When people are looking at ads – they are typically interested in buying – so always remember you’re talking with people who already have a burning desire for your offer

Rule #3 Make Your Display Advertisement As Long As It Needs To Be

There is a false belief that you must keep your ad as short as possible (again – false advice from people who have never been accountable for the results they get from their advertising.  The more you tell the more you sell has always been true – and it always will be)

Always be addressing the benefits of what you provide to them – not the features. List out everything about you, your business, your product or service – then ask “so what?” – do you answer that? Do you tell them what it means to them?  What is in it for them to read your ad and to call or come by your business?

Rule #4 Find a way to leave them with an emotion after reading your ad

Create a picture in their mind of their new lifestyle – using your product or service – enjoying the benefits – thinking how glad they are that they used your service or bought your product

BY FAR - the biggest mistake made – you MUST have call to action (most people miss this one. ask for them to take action – request your report – get their free coupon – book a free consultation – make it a limited time offer – or limited quantity – or a single day of the week)

Step #2 to come…

Troy

PS: Your ability to weave a good story into your marketing has never been more important than now. People are buying experiences more than products and services right now… and stories help them see that the experience of buying from you is DIFFERENT.  Which is what they want.

Your competitors probably suck at telling stories, so here is a very powerful tool to put you ahead of them quickly.

It helped one company go from $500 a month in online sales to $15,000 a month… with the addition of a one-page story on their website.

You can do that too with the Story Selling Home Study Coaching program http://www.storysellingtips.com. It is ready and is an
incredible way to introduce your clients and prospects to your backstories…

…where your real money will be made. http://www.storysellingtips.com

I love getting action takers to send me their results.

This just in from Fran Marion at Legacy Canvas…

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“Thank you for creating the awesome marketing resources such as the Calendar and providing the daily tips via email!  Much appreciated!

I have started to use several of  your examples and ideas for marketing my business, Legacy Canvas.  Last week a story played on the regional news that resulted in my committing to support this Edmonton family with a donation of 25% of my sales between now and March 10, 2012.

My website is updated using your “story telling” ideas, and I’ve also linked the Legacy Canvas Facebook page to my website and started to Tweet about it in the hopes of motivating others to take action towards supporting this young teen’s dream of independence, privacy and self-expression.

I wanted to share “the story” with you (I feel like I’m a Troy White “Alumni”) to see your ideas in action.  And of course, you and your readers are welcome to purchase a custom canvas to help Bethany!

http://www.legacycanvas.com

Thank you for the opportunity to share Legacy Canvas’ story with you.

Warm regards, Fran Marion

=======

What is important to note here:

* They are investing their time and money into their marketing. Marketing IS sales when you do it right. The more you market yourself the more you sell. Period.

They are investing in different marketing tools like the 2012 Cash Flow Calendar http://www.cashflowcalendars.com and the Story Selling Home Study http://www.storysellingtips.com.

Better yet…

…they are taking ACTION with what they invest in!

A big shelf of books is useless if they are never read or acted on.

* They tied into a local media hot-spot.  You always need to be on the lookout for local interest stories and FIND ways to hook yourself to their wagon.

It is YOUR responsibility… no one else’s.

Near where I live there is a little strip mall with a little bay at the end for different foods.  Business owners come and go from this spot every 6 months or so.  Always a new owner, a new name, a new type of food.  The funny thing?  Not once – EVER – have they sent out fliers to the neighbours announcing their grand opening, their take out or delivery options, even a damn menu!

They just EXPECT people to look for them, and buy from them.

I repeat, it is YOUR responsibility to get the word out that you exist and that you are different!

It is NOT your potential buyers responsibility to seek you out.

That’s your job.

* They tied themselves to a good cause.  go to the site and watch the video.  This is a very good cause here.  Then think about who you are helping when you invest in the canvas!

Hint hint: Valentines day is right around the corner – may be a good gift idea for a loved one.

Or for a client.

Or for a donation.

Or, or, or.

The key is – invest in your marketing education – and then take MASSIVE action getting your newfound knowledge applied to your business and in front of those who are buyers.

Then… let me know how you do it and I will GLADLY share your story.

Much like Fran’s here today.

Have a great day!

Troy

Keep it coming.

It helps me focus in on the ares you want me to focus on, and it’s always a treat to know someone is reading… and taking action on what they read.

Like Tom for example…

Here is what he wrote me:

Troy

I love your daily musings especially your focus on storytelling. I am  building a new website with a focus on personal stories from my own experiences in combination with factual information. My biggest fault and drawback is procrastination. When I am ready to write, I can and derive much satisfaction from the results. It is getting in the frame of mind.

Sometimes, I force myself to sit, ready to write, then have to give up.

Recently, I wrote a little piece for the editorial page of our local newspaper. We are in a transit strike here in Halifax and there is a lot of emotion swirling around this issue, mostly negative from both sides of the argument. I am very adverse to negative behaviour, both in business and our personal lives. Life is hard enough, without being bombarded daily by negativity. That is why I enjoy your comments, especially your recent Budweiser find. That was a great ad. My entire family watched it.

So….on with my letter to the editor. I was in the “mood” when I wrote this and it only took several minutes. It incorporates a story, will perhaps encourage alternate travel, instil a moral value or just bring a smile to someone’s face. I hope you enjoy it (see below).

Keep up your good work.

Tom McLane
1-888-507-8880
http://www.goldwaterseafoods.com

The article…

I remember back in the seventies, there was a transit strike in Halifax. Hitch hiking was popular then and I had returned home from hitching across Canada. My mother was in her sixties and had an appointment downtown. We depended on the buses as we had no vehicle. My dear old mother told me she was going out to the street and “stick her thumb out”. I told her no one would pick her up and she was crazy to try. She slung her purse over her arm and went to the street with her thumb out. I would guess it was no more than two cars went by and she was whisked away in plenty of time to make her appointment.

Today, I would gladly pick up a senior, student or anyone else waylaid by the current transit strike. Humans are a resourceful lot and will always find ways to solve a little inconvenience. Let’s get back to those glorious 60’s and 70’s when we trusted and helped one another with a smile on our face. Pick up someone in need of a drive and share your story of a bygone era.

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My comments to Tom…
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Thank you Tom.

Great to hear from you.

Sounds like you are well on track to get more stories out there. Actually, writing for the papers, and even writing letters to the editor, are great ways to get practice writing and to get exposure.

Anything you can do to write, write stories, comment on peoples articles or posts, etc. is great practice.  The more you write the better you get.  Thanks for sharing this.

Troy

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Further on this
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Finding your “personality in print” (or personality in pixels) is something you must strive for.  Once you find it, you have a marketing asset that you can use anytime and every time you want to build your business or communicate with your clients.

But the ONLY way to find it… is to write.

Write lots.

About anything and everything.

The other night I got in a mode and wrote for an hour about a 30-day trip I took to Africa back in ’99.  I had never written about it before in this depth, but I sure did enjoy recalling it!

You will get to see it and some of my Africa pictures at another
time.

The point is… you must write.  

Consistently.

Passionately.

Your payback will be great… and the best thing is… your ability to pour your personality down onto the computer screen is a skill that will pay you forever.

Any business.

Any market.

Any economy.

Get busy will ya!

Are you writing yet?

Have a great day!

Troy

PS: Your ability to weave a good story into your marketing has
never been more important than now. People are buying experiences
more than products and services right now… and stories help them
see that the experience of buying from you is DIFFERENT.  Which
is what they want.

Your competitors probably suck at telling stories, so here is a very
powerful tool to put you ahead of them quickly.

It helped one company go from $500 a month in online
sales to $15,000 a month… with the addition of a one-page story
on their website.

You can do that too with the Story Selling Home Study Coaching
program http://www.storysellingtips.com. It is ready and is an
incredible way to introduce your clients and prospects to your
backstories…

…where your real money will be made. http://www.storysellingtips.com

I battled hard for that job and beat out almost 400 other equally qualified University grads.  I did something that those 400 forgot to do though… ask others who had worked in the same position I was applying for… at the same company… what to do to nail the interviews.

6 or 7 interviews, and 5 or 6 written exams later I nailed one of the creme-de-la-creme jobs out there.

Prestigious, well paying… and an incredible career path.

Meanwhile I had ignored my true passion… building and running a business.  (I put myself through University with my own College Pro Painters Franchise, but ignored the entrepreneurial path in trade for that shiny new corporate gig).

Little did I know at the time, I was about to meet…

…the boss from HELL.

He was an old timer. He had been selling computer gear way back in the mainframe days.  He was crusty… rude… anti-people in many ways… and a VERY proficient paper pusher.

Hence the problem.

To him… I was going to be his paper-pushing protege.

To me… that was the last thing I want to do.

I was hired for SALES… not administrative work!

But he persisted pushing his crap on me.

We went toe to toe time and time again.

I hated pushing paper and doing administrative tasks (still do).

I LOVED getting in front of people to tell the Hewlett Packard Story.

We fought.

Again and again.

My annual reviews sucked, of course.

But I was allowed to do some sales, just not as much as I wanted.

Fast forward 3 years later, I had enough.

I QUIT!

Biggest load of BS I dumped off my shoulder ever.

I went from Hewlett Packard, with 100,000 employees… to a company with 5.

I was home.

Before I left HP though, I landed one of the biggest deals they had seen in that office… with an account that hated paper pushing as much as me.

They liked my relationship building techniques… and my pig-headed persistence (still one of my greatest assets).

And we landed a multi-million dollar computer deal.

One of the proudest moments of my life.

…especially when the client told me we would have never gotten the deal without me in that job.

So, you’re welcome Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard!

I am glad to have contributed.

To my old boss… piss off.

And thank you.

You taught me to never bend to someones will, just because you are told to.

You taught me to NEVER give up on what you love doing and are good at.

And you taught me to NEVER, EVER work for a paper-pushing bureaucrat like you ever again.

Now I work for me… and that ain’t no great thing some days either.

…but I love what I do and I will never go back.

The lesson for you today… never give up on your passions and talents.

No matter what people say, demand, or beg you to do.

Just don’t do it.

Build iron-clad persistence and thick skin.

And never look back… only good things ahead.

To a great year ahead!

Troy

PS: Your ability to weave a good story into your marketing has never been more important than now.

People are buying experiences more than products and services right now… and stories help them see that the experience of buying from you is DIFFERENT. 

Which is what they want.  Your competitors probably suck at telling stories, so here is a very powerful tool to put you ahead of them quickly.  It helped one company go from $500 a month in online sales to $15,000 a month… with the addition of a one-page story on their website.

You can do that too with the Story Selling Home Study Coaching program http://www.storysellingtips.com. It is ready and is an incredible way to introduce your clients and prospects to your backstories…

…where your real money will be made

Story Selling Tips Home Study Program