The David Martin Show

We are not in the perfection business. Highly productive people know when the project is good enough to produce results. And that’s when they move on to the next thing… It can ALWAYS be better. But at a certain point it won’t be any more profitable. So you MUST know your "good enough" spot. 

Every prospect that calls or emails in to inquire about your product or service is put into a sales funnel. This is a regimented system where they will be dripped on through a series of emails, newsletters, special coupons, phone calls etc… This will continue forever or until you quantify they are no longer a viable prospect. If you're NOT doing this, you are walking away from a huge amount of money and giving it to your competitor.

Are you good at what you do? If so, then it’s time to make sure everyone knows you are good at it. Make yourself known by: Writing books, Writing articles & advertorials, become active in industry and community affairs, feature yourself in advertising, feature yourself in videos, webinars, and social media, Get interviewed on radio and TV and then post on your website, use media to publicize your brand which is YOU. 

Create differentiation and stop chasing after bottom feeders. Do NOT try to be the low price leader. You’ll LOSE… Don’t try to compete with your competitors… You’ll be frustrated. By positioning yourself as the expert and authority in your industry you will create demand because you will be in a category of one. You should broadcast your awards and your client testimonials. Let EVERYONE know about your accomplishments and awards. This will create a sense of celebrity status in your town. People will flock to you because celebrity is one the most powerful forces in marketing. Our culture is obsessed with celebrities. Once you have done all this, you can demand high prices and people will gladly jump over barbed wire fence, swim through shark infested waters, and BRAG about it just for the opportunity to pay for your services.

Saying everyone is your customer is the same thing as saying no one is your customer. No one has the budget to market effectively to the whole world… You're better off creating a specific niche and JUST focusing on them. If you think you're leaving money on the table by doing this you're not thinking correctly… Specialists in most any industry always demand higher prices. And they are almost ALWAYS in very high demand. 

Sometimes growing does not mean more profit. It means more employees, more costs, more headaches… The point is PROFIT. How much is left over after all the bills are paid… You should spend your time trying to figure out what are the most profitable areas of your business. How you can create more profit centers like that. How you can lower your cost of goods and maximize profit. When did you last raise your rates? Are you over staffed? What unprofitable services are you offering customers you can eliminate without sacrificing the integrity of your product offering? Are you over paying in rent for your facility? What in your business is lying around being unproductive that you can put to work and monetize? 

Of course, it is equally true that if you're going to spend real money on marketing you had BETTER know what the heck you're doing. So start studying! Either that or find someone that can help you. But the reality is, until you start spending REAL money on your marketing, you growth will be long and painful. Don’t be fooled by people who say, “My business is 100% word of mouth…” That may be true, but I guarantee you it took them a lot longer to accomplish this than if they had started with a strategic, aggressive marketing system. Don’t focus on how much the ad costs, focus rather on the ROI. If you gave me $5 and in return I gave you $50, would you feel reluctant to spend another $5?? The amount spent is irrelevant, the ROI is all that matters. Besides, as you develop your business marketing strategy, you should be looking for ways to spend MORE not less. This is how you will establish market domination over your competitors which gives you a significant advantage by discouraging competition.

What happens at the end of the rainbow? Or have you ever thought about that? Are you going to run your business until you die? Are you going to have your kids take over your business? Or do you have a plan to exit your business once certain financial goals are met? Do you know what those goals are?

Giving your employees a vision for where the company is headed so everyone is paddling the boat in the SAME direction is the key here. If we don’t take the time to inspire our staff and shine the light as to where the company is headed, you will have a rudderless ship. So this might look like holding regular meetings to articulate where the company is and where it is going. It could look like setting bonuses company wide for meeting certain targets as a company… This will garner more ownership from your employees.

How much extra time do you have during the day? Do you feel like there are never enough hours? Do you feel like you do things in your business someone else could do just as well (or maybe even better) than you? 

At some point you need to get OUT from working IN your business and start working ON your business. It’s very difficult to grow a business from the inside looking out. It’s a LOT easier to grow it from the outside looking in.