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Apr
04

My Grand-dogs were in the movie 2012

By | Main Content, Marketing on the web, Success

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Who’d a thunk it?

But it’s true…

…my Grandmother’s Welsh Corgies were stars in the movie 2012.

Kinda cool, hey?

My Grandmother, Jill, is one of the few Welsh Corgie breeders out on the West Coast of British Columbia.

So when the directors were trying to find some Corgies to play the part of the Queen’s dogs in the movie, they called my Grandmother.

Not only did they pay her very well for bringing the dogs to the set for a week or so, they put her and the dogs up in a nice place, fed them and pampered them.

Not a bad gig.

If you saw the movie 2012, you may recall when all the World Leaders and Billionaires were being loaded into the “Arks”, the Queen was there with her infamous Corgies.

Ya, those were my grand-dogs.

Stars!

Actually, their roles were about 2 seconds worth… but they were still stars in a $769 million dollar movie.

Are you a dog lover?

If so, you need to be on the call I am hosting tomorrow night.

Sign up and get the details below.

This is a $60 billion dollar market and I have stumbled onto a great opportunity for marketers and entrepreneurs who also happen to love dogs.

Join me on the call and find out what is happening, and how you can create additional income streams in your life, and with your love of dogs.


Fill out this form and it will just show you are interested in learning more.

Dog Lovers Who Like Making Money

Dog Lovers Who Like Making Money

Person Information
First Name *
Email *


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


Details on the upcoming webinar will come to you soon. (the call will be Thursday)

Have a great day.

Apr
03

Winning the price wars… or is it losing?

By | Marketing on the web, Marketing Plan, Success

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If you ever thought you should be more competitive with pricing, this is a must read for you.

My stance is and will always be: you can NEVER win a price war! There will always be someone willing to undercut you. There is always someone hungrier. There is always someone with deeper pockets to ride out a price war.

You won’t win.

Period.

Prime example sent in by Greg Douglas of Douglas Environmental (http://www.douglasenviro.ca)

From the New York Times:

In Manhattan Pizza War, Price of Slice Keeps Dropping

By N. R. KLEINFIELD
Published: March 30, 2012

In the amped-up war of commerce and 75-cent pizza on the Avenue of the Americas in Midtown, a perilous moment is approaching. Circumstances suggest that ravenous New Yorkers might soon witness 50-cent pizza, 25-cent pizza or, yes, free pizza.

How low can they go in the price war on Avenue of the Americas between 37th and 38th? “We might go to free pizza soon,” one combatant said. 

It is that caustic. Neither side is willing to yield an inch — or a cent. Escalation seems imminent.

As so often happens in twisty New York stories involving wallets and food choices, who is being picked on and who is attacking vary in the telling. Convenient facts get omitted from the narrative.

It’s best to start at $1.50 a slice.

That is what pizza was selling for about a year ago at a family business that is a combination vegetarian Indian restaurant, candy store and pizza parlor on Avenue of the Americas (also known as Sixth Avenue), between 37th and 38th Streets. It is called Bombay Fast Food/6 Ave. Pizza.

Then a Joey Pepperoni’s Pizza opened near the corner of 39th and Avenue of the Americas, offering pizza for $1, a price that has in recent years been favored by a number of New York pizza establishments.

So Bombay/6 Ave. Pizza shrank its price to $1 too.

All was good until last October, when a third player entered the drama.

A 2 Bros. Pizza, part of an enlarging New York chain of 11 shops that sell slices for a dollar, opened virtually next door to Bombay/6 Ave. Pizza. The only separation is a stairwell that leads up to a barbershop and hair salon.

Price stability at a buck all around persisted until eight days ago, when both 2 Bros. and Bombay/6 Ave. Pizza began selling pizza for the eye-catching price of 75 cents a slice, tax included — three slender quarters.

(This alone was not a milestone. The Ray’s Pizza on Broadway between 54th and 55th introduced a 75-cent slice for a limited time in January of last year. Slices are now 99 cents, plus tax: $1.08.)

The primary owner of Bombay/6 Ave. Pizza is Ramanlal Patel, 68, who also has a few businesses in Atlanta and holds property in India.

His nephew, Bravin Patel, 45, oversees the establishment. He and his manager, Mohid Kumar, 49, were there the other day griping about 75-cent pizza.

“I’m thinking, God help me,” Mr. Patel said.

They said that 2 Bros. was trying to drive them out of business, that 2 Bros., unprovoked, slashed the price to 75 cents, forcing them to follow, that things were miserable, that Ramanlal Patel has serious kidney problems, that property in India had to be sold to keep the place going.

“We’re angry,” Bravin Patel said.

Depicting the battle as “small guy” (Bombay) against “big guy” (2 Bros.), Mr. Patel said: “He comes in and he thinks he’s king.”

Mr. Kumar said he was contemplating checking with a lawyer to see if there might be a city law that somehow prohibits a business from selling pizza at outlandishly cheap prices.

But as is so often the case in battles like these, the other side told a slightly different story.

At the St. Marks Place office of 2 Bros., its owners, the Halali brothers Eli, 29, and Oren, 27, identified the true aggressor as Bombay/6 Ave. Pizza.

Here’s how they described it:

On Thursday evening a week ago, Bombay/6 Ave. — unprovoked, and without warning — cut its pizza price to 79 cents. The next morning, 2 Bros. retaliated by moving to 75 cents (its owners felt it was easier to make change from a dollar than at 79 cents). Bombay/6 Ave. matched the 75 cents, and that’s where everything sits.

“We don’t sell pizza at 75 cents,” Eli Halali said. “But if they think they’re going to sit next to us and sell at 75 cents, they’ve got another thing coming.”

Could they prove it? At this point, it was just one pizza seller’s word versus another’s.

But 2 Bros. has a security camera. Winding back to the night in question, the night of the sudden 21-cent price drop, a manager found frames that showed the front of the two stores. And there it was: Bombay/6 Ave. Pizza’s 79-cent sign when 2 Bros. was at $1. Mr. Patel and Mr. Kumar had made the first move.

When they were apprised of this information, they said they did not realize there had been interest in talking about 79-cent pizza.

Why, then, did they lower their price first?

“He was taking away our customers,” Mr. Kumar said. “How were we going to pay our rent?”

For his part, Eli Halali made it clear that 75 cents was a temporary price point. He said he could not make money at that level and eventually would return to $1. He said that if Bombay/6 Ave. Pizza went back to $1, he would as well.

Mohit Mitra, in white hat, served a customer at Bombay Fast Food/6 Ave. Pizza on Avenue of the Americas. One customer said, “We need 75-cent hamburgers next.”

If it didn’t, he said, it better watch out.

His father, Joshua Halali, who acts as a consultant to 2 Bros., said, “I suggested to my children to go to 50 cents.”

Oren Halali said, “We might go to free pizza soon.”

Eli said: “We have enough power to wait them out. They’re not going to make a fool of us.”

The brothers said they are also contemplating adding fried chicken to the Avenue of the Americas store to intensify the pressure on Bombay/6 Ave. Pizza.

Meanwhile, Mr. Patel remains intransigent. “We’re never going back to $1,” he said. “We’re going lower.”

“We may go to 50 cents,” Mr. Kumar said. Of his next-door rival, he said: “I want to hit him. I want to beat him.”

They had added the name, Pizza King, to the sidewalk sign out front, hoping a regal nickname might do some good.

Related prices at both establishments have also tumbled. The special of two slices and a drink dropped to $2.25 from $2.75. An entire pie fell to $6 from $8 (actually to $5.99 at Bombay/6 Ave. Pizza).

A haircut at the barber located between them is $12. Better that you eat.

As for Joey Pepperoni’s, Met Zade, one of the owners, said: “I can tell you we’re absolutely not dropping our price. For $1 a slice, you can still make a profit. For $1, an owner can still sit down and eat. At 75 cents, you’d be a mouse on a wheel.”

While the pizza parlors insult one another, the eating public couldn’t be happier.

At 6 Ave. Pizza, Mike Dooley, 60, a maintenance worker, said while polishing off a slice: “I think it’s beautiful. We need 75-cent hamburgers next.”

At 2 Bros., John Combs, 46, a carpenter, said, with a mouthful of pizza: “It’s awesome. I’m from Jersey, but any time I’m in the city I’ll be back. It’s awesome.”

You see it?

A no-win battle.

Yes – you may get more customers - but you are going to lose your shirt in the process.

I don’t call that winning in business.

Look throughout history… never has price alone been a long-time winning strategy.

Walmart is still around… but in the grande scheme of things… they haven’t been around long at all.

NOT ONE PRICE LEADER LASTED IN THE LONG TERM.

Interesting lesson there if you ask me!

I repeat… you will NEVER win a price war… don’t bother trying.

Look at what has happened to the Groupon customers or fad-of-the-day coupon sites.

They may have gotten new customers in the door… but they are AWFUL customers to have!

They buy based on the cheapest price of the day…

…and have NO INTENTION on ever coming back.

And are proud to admit it.

Yee haw – fun customers to lose your shirt for!

Just don’t do it.

There are far too many other ways to win the marketing game.

Have a great day.

Troy

Mar
16

Marketing questions from readers

By | Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Marketing on the web, Success

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I love good questions from readers of this blog and my newsletter.

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.

8) 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

Mar
09

Our Blades Are F***ing Great

By | Entrepreneur, Marketing on the web, Wacky marketing ideas

1 Comment

I love, love, love the video example for today.

Not exactly sure where I saw it – you may have too.

But I want you to note a couple things about this GREAT example of both marketing, and video marketing.

First the video:

Some of my personal favourite quotes:

“Blades so gentle a toddler can use them”

“Do you think your razor needs a vibrating handle, flashlight, a backscratcher, and 10 blades?

…your handsome-ass grandfather had one blade… and polio”

“Stop paying for shave-tech you don’t need.”

And of course… “our blades are f***ing great!”

What I love most about this video is that in 90 seconds they have some fun, make some fun, tell some jokes, offend some people… and sell their membership oh so good.

It’s beautiful.

It’s a 90 second video!

Now, their website: http://DollarShaveClub.com

shave club marketing

 

 

 

The about us page is great:

“Like most good ideas, The Dollar Shave Club started with two guys who were pissed off about something and decided to do something about it…”

A STORY!

You know how much I love using stories in marketing.

These guys tell theirs on why they started the business (many guys biggest frustration with shaving is the rip off prices they charge for the blades).

So they create their own line of simpler, less-expensive blades…

…and add in a membership piece to it.

F***ing Brilliant!

These guys will kick some serious butt with this.

2 million views of their video in just a few weeks… ya, they’ll do ok.

Everything about the message, the story, and the website are SIMPLE.

Something we all need to aspire to and emulate.

Spend some time on this site and video today. Then think about how you could simplify your site and message, maybe have some fun along the way while putting more moola in your pocket.

Have a great day.

Troy

PS: Another fantastic thing you should be doing today is signing up for this free webinar I am doing with Tom Poland on March 20th.  Tom is a master at generating referral business… and he is sharing his best strategies with you on this call.

How To Get Ten Successful Referrals Every Month
(And even when you’re on holiday or asleep)
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/177974689

Make sure you sign up and show up – Tom has some fantastic information for building your business.

Jan
18

Jackie Dumaine… Yogawoman on a mission (and a great storyteller)

By | Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurial Spirits, Marketing on the web, Story Selling, Writing

2 Comments

Jackie Dumaine... Yoga Woman on a Mission

Jackie Dumaine... Yoga Woman on a Mission

I met Jackie Dumaine some time ago when she was in the advertising business, and I was considering buying some advertising.

We never did do business together there, but I have been marveling lately at her new found passion for yoga, meditation, and incredible story telling.

She mentions in one of the pages I am going to refer you to that she began writing at the young age of 6, and obviously has kept up her craft, as her site sings with pure genius.

          I want you to first read her “I Am Manifesto”
          http://www.jackiedumaine.com/about-me/i-am-manifesto/

Not much I need to say about it other than… AWESOME!

Jackie has poured her personality on that page and it is a work of art.

Have a look through her entire site and pay close attention to what she has done, and how she has shared it.

http://www.jackiedumaine.com/

Jackie has put together a wonderful example of how websites SHOULD be done.

Personal.

Personality driven.

Revealing.

Engaging.

If only more of them were like this!

I have nothing to do with Jackie’s success, and I don’t want to infer that by any means.

We have spoken a few times over the years and I always enjoyed speaking with her.

Tad Hargrave (http://www.marketingforhippies.com) had some influence on her marketing, me thinks.  

Tad is a great guy and a very smart marketer.  Tad and I co-taught a seminar or two way back when… and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and seeing how he too has found his niche and created a revolution of “hippy” story tellers like Jackie.

I am a marketing geek, and just LOVE great success stories like this.

Especially when the story telling side is woven into the fabric of their websites and marketing.

Jackie… you go girl!

I am in awe of what you have done with your site and your vision.

Can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve next.

Troy

PS: If you are near Calgary on Thur night, you definitely need to see about attending her Guided Synergy Magazine Launch Party (she is on the cover and is the feature story).

Details at http://www.jackiedumaine.com/events/

Dec
30

Cashing in on the not-so-obvious

By | Email Marketing, Entrepreneurial Spirits, Marketing Calendar, Marketing on the web, Marketing Plan, Viral marketing, Wacky marketing ideas

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Why do people overcomplicate things like they do?

It always amazes me.

Without a single thought or care about mastering the basics of marketing, they sprint head first following the scent of a shiny new “social media marketing tool”.

Meanwhile…the greatest marketing opportunities are right in front of their eyes.

Here is a perfect example that was sent to me by my friend and fellow marketing consultant, Graham McGregor (who, by the way, has an EXCEPTIONAL free book you can grab at  http://www.TheUnfairBusinessAdvantage.com).

======================
How they capitalized
on one of the
worlds greatest disasters.
======================

Before the naysayers go off on their tangent about capitalizing on disasters… listen in first before you judge.

The Titanic sunk in 1912.

Thousands of lives were lost.

The 100 year anniversary of this disaster is in 2012.

…rather than shying away from the sinking of a cruise liner, the New Zealand Cruise Ship, the MS Balmoral, decided to make the most of it.

2,000 people have pre-booked a cabin for the MD Balmoral voyage that retraces the route of the Titanic’s maiden voyage

Not only are people paying up to $12,100 for passage on this cruise, they are also lining up to “have costumes made to re-create the appearance of the original passengers, while there have also been requests from musicians to audition for places in the modern version of the string quartet that played as the flagship of the White Star Line fleet began to list.”

This Centenial Celebration is gearing up to be a highly enjoyable one for the passengers, and a highly profitable one for the Cruise line.

(http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10775547)

======================
What did they do right,
and how can you copy?
======================

The 2012 Cash Flow Calendar http://www.cashflowcalendars.com is designed to help YOU do exactly what the MS Balmoral has done…

…find unusual events, and create theme-based promotions around it.

For example, in January of 2012, here are a few unusual events you could create themed product or services launches around:

* Second week of January is National Pizza Week
* The fourth week is National Mozart week (and Jan 27th is his birthday)
* January 12th is the 36th Anniversary of the passing of Agatha Christie in 1976
* Friday January 13th is not only a Friday the 13th, but is also the Rubber Duckies birthday
* Sunday, January 22nd is National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day… what better reason for a pet-related marketing campaign (pet campaigns can be a BIG draw for contests, competitions, and just fun all-around promotions).

Keep it simple.

Find a special event or date you could really have fun with.

Do some research about the basics of the date or reason for celebration.

Create a 3 step (minimum) campaign that has some fun with the date, tells a great story that ties into that date, then relate the celebration to your special offer.

Send out all 3 steps, each of them having fun and telling a different part of the theme or story-based campaign.

Simple.

In theory… right?

The key is to just do it. Don’t overthink it… massive momentum and action will take you MUCH FURTHER than over analyzing it will!

Just get it done.

Have some fun.

And give your clients and prospects something fun to get excited about too.

It worked for the cruise line… and will work for you too.

Here’s to a fun-filled, promotion and story packed marketing year!

Troy

PS: People often ask if this applies in their country too (assuming they are outside of North America).

Why not?

Even if National Pizza Week is an American thing, or a Canadian thing, so what?

There is no rule book saying you can’t create your own holiday like this.

DECLARE IT!

You don’t need to ask for permission to do a promotion… just get it done!

2012 Marketing Plan and Cash Flow Marketing Calendar

The 2012 Cash Flow Calendar...turning wacky dates into money making marketing campaigns

The 2012 Cash Flow Calendar http://www.cashflowcalendars.com walks you through the basics of good theme-based promotions and gives you AMPLE opportunity for standing out from the crowd.

…it also gives you a 12-month, week-by-week calendar you can modify to suite your own marketing plans for the year.

Rest assured though… actually filling the calendar out for your own use… and then IMPLEMENTING what is planned… is THE KEY to massive marketing success in 2012.

Thinking about it or promising to do it won’t get you there…

…getting it DONE will.

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