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Downhill Yet Again...
Posted By: viperbl1 on 9/9/2006 1:54 PM (CST) 125 Points
Hello,

Great site here. I visited several months ago, to get some feedback on my website and my marketing difficulties. Unfortunately, my situation has deteriorated to a far worse situation than when I last visited.

I have however, managed to secure some cash that can be dedicated to marketing once again. I am currently trying to decide what sort of marketing vehicle would work best in this situation. I currently have the option to go with direct mail, magazine advertising, or throw more dollars to web advertising. Or of course, I can hire someone to devise a complete marketing plan for me (Yet again)

I know with this limited information, it's difficult to draw any sort of a conclusion, but I have heard a lot of chatter lately about direct mail going down-hill, and offering a lower ROI these days. I am hesitant to do anything online with PPC as I recently lost over $600 with a PPC campaign that did not generate a single dollar in return, despite having a professional company manage the campaign.

I do have my website getting worked on currently by the same company, but I can't make any judgement calls just yet as I'm still waiting to see the final product. I've been kicking around the idea of hiring a company to handle the creation of specialized landing pages and integration of my newsletter and SEO campaigns.

I guess the reason for my post, is I'm just curious as to where one heads to when everything seems to be going downhill. When your product is very strong (Over 90% success rating from users) and fills a much needed niche in the market, what can cause such a failure?

At this stage I am tired of hiring company after company, and professional after professional, only to end up in the same, if not worse position than I started, only poorer after spending money on useless campaigns.

Is there anyone out there that can actually take stock of a situation, provide usable and strong advice and help you weave everything together into one workable campaign? If so, I'd like to speak to that person!

I know that in the end, it all boils down to the product and the strength of the person running the company, but I know that what I have here is simply a problem with the marketing message, conversion, and lack of effective follow-up campaigns. I'm sur ethere is a solution out there, I just haven't met the person who has it yet.

The problem is, I'm on a limited budget, and everyone I have hired in the past, tells me "That's not a problem, we'll help you earn some quick cash up front, then reinvest in your marketing and grow it from there."

Well, so far that has not happened, and the problem has not come from hiring cheap help either. I'm not afraid of spendingmoney on quality, unfortunately, I have not found a good fit yet, or met someone who truly understands my market, or prospects. Any suggestions?
(Sorry for the rambling)

Posted by: W.M.M.A. Accepted Answer
9/9/2006 2:06 PM (CST)
On this site, I can recommend several. However, I know that Wayde Nelson (whom I have worked with on several projects), is very thorough in the area of assessment.

If you were my client, I would tell you to whoa for a while.
From your story, I believe it is time to completely assess what it is you have done - everything - and perform a SWOT Analysis. Wayde has an MBA from Duke, and will perform stellar work.

The great thing is this, when he, or any you may select from this site complete their assessment, more than likely, they will bring the high points of the assessment and plan here, to KHE, and again ask the advice of his peers.

At that time, adjustments will be made, and you will know exactly where it is you can move, in order to secure long-term business relationships.

Perhaps it is time to stop "trying" this and that, and completely define your market, and the options you have available to reach them, effectively.

And, as you already know...when you leave your post up here, you will enjoy a tremendous amount of information, if you wish to do it by yourself.

I get clients, from to time that are in the same predicament as you, at this time. I first take go to Wayde, and ask his counsel.

Good Luck Viper...
If we can be of any service, do not hesitate to contact us on or off forum.

Randall
WMMA
 
Posted by: W.M.M.A. Member Response
9/9/2006 2:20 PM (CST)
I should have read back...I see you tried Wayde, and it is not a good fit. I read through your plan, and believed that it was a sound program...his assessment was well done.

But, I don't believe there was complete follow-through with the SWOT, was there? I believe that there is no fast way to ensure your success with your Average Joe program. This is a tough sell.

One of the issues, as I recall, was your site was way out of control...some changes were made, and you just recently launched...not too long ago.

In the time-frame that I know, there hasn't been near enough time...for success. I recall too, that I advised changing your name from Average Joe to 'something else'. I was never convinced that you should stay with that. I just do not believe it is a name that embraces the market you are seeking.

No one thinks of themself as an average joe...you are not an average joe...your sales presentation is fantastic; your webinars are great. But, IMHO...I believe that your business name keeps a lot of your potential customers away.

If I am a good broker/agent, there is nothing in your name that would make me open your page...or, even go to your site. I believe that you are, in fact, telling your prospect to either stop being, or not to be an average joe, and break out of the mold that everyone else is in.

Again, no one thinks of themself as an average joe...and, it may be offensive. In addition, you have yet to create yourself as the brand, which is where this should have been taken. You should use your name...you were amazing at the things you accomplished in your business. Your plan works...you just are not working the plan.

I do not mean to be offensive, please, that is not my intent. But I truly believe that you need a name change, and begin to build you as the brand. You are in fact trying to sell a system you created. It is the reason why you became so successful. That, and you worked so hard at achieving success. It didn't just come to you. You worked.

I am rambling now, but I feel strongly about the name.

YOU ARE THE BRAND, my friend. Not Average Joe.

Randall
WMMA
 
Posted by: ShannonD* Accepted Answer
9/9/2006 3:45 PM (CST)
Your keyword is going to be networking. Why? Word of mouth is one of the best marketing tools you have that you can't afford or even purchase. You need to be at trade shows, setting up meetings, and doing some foot work. At least get a sales person or someone to set appointments for you.

As Randall said, your the brand, you have to make yourself known. You need customer referrals. I'm in the car business, 60% of my business is from my customers. There is no dealership name, rebate, or commercial that will bring my customers back like how I treat them. From there I get lots of referral business. The initial process starts though with networking. I go out on the weekends, I'm a relay for life member, Lions club member, have family connections as well as business, and I used to be a school teacher. I'm very well networked. That's how most of my business got to me in the first place. Conviencing them that my product is better than our neighbor's, giving them great service, and the perception of value, all comes from me. I've been promoted from Business Development Center manager, to Finance and Insurance Manager, to Internet Sales Manager and my customer base just keeps increasing. As of now, I see about 7 to 10 customers a day who come in and ask for me by name, and I've only been here 2 years. It's all because I networked and I make everyone I talk to feel like my number one, with best value. You should do the same. Plug yourself in and build from there. My father is a Mason, when he started his glass business, it was those men who helped him start the business, and he took care of the rest. It's all about who you rub shoulders with.

Customers have three objections.
-Previous or lack of expereince
-Bad service
-Value

Now flip that, make it work for you. Learn about your company versus your market, then make yourself stand out. From there, if you are offering all of those things and maintaining a great business, then you need to evaulate the actual product you offer.

Just my imput,

Shannon D
 
Posted by: viperbl1 Author Response
9/9/2006 4:10 PM (CST)
Thanks for the replies.

Here is the catch 22 for me. The loan officer community is an odd one. First off, they are very selfish with their information. When they find something that works well for them, they tend to not share it with others, as they want to hold their cards close to their chest. Here's an example:

I run FREE 1.5 hour conference training calls every friday for loan officers. They loved it. Instead of providing a 1 hour commercial and product shoving session, I actually provided real world usable solutions, but I was careful not to give away the farm either. I ran these calls for over 6 months, and the thank you letters flowed in. Hoewever, when I made the calls members only, they quit coming onto the calls and I was flooded with angry emails that I was now allowing only 1 free call per loan officer.

They were happy to take the free information from me, and many of them uimproved their careers off of the free info. The only thing I asked, was for them to invite co-workers or other loan officers onto the call, so that I could get exposure. They were too lazy, or too selfish even to do that one simple favor for me. I have had over 5,000 visitors onto the calls, and tons of exposure and heartfelt thank yous from those who were impressed with the info, but it did nothing for me.

These are lazy people as well. I am flooded with emails every week of loan officers telling me they heard great things about my training course, and they are literally demanding I help them for free.

No, my new site is still not up. I can hardly communicate how frustrated I am with how long I have been waiting for the new site. Honestly though Randall, with all of the feedback I have gotten from loan officers I have sent to the new site prototype that is about 75% finished, it's an even split. 50% of the loan officers tell me they like my old site better, and about 50% tell me they think the new site is ok. I decided to go through with the new site to give it a chance, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I have a feeling though that it's not going to be the great fix I was told it would be though, based on initial reactions. Here's hoping I am wrong.

I hear what you are saying about the name, but honestly, I get great feedback from it. It is memorable, and rarely does anyone fail to comment on it. The name was designed to communicate the niche I was trying to fill. Most of the trainers in the industry are multi-millionaire business owners who have not originated a loan in decades, and cannot seem to empathize with the average loan officer out there who is barely scraping by. They feel these are untouchables, who have a ton of cash to throw around, and just assume that other lo's do as well.

My system was designed from the opposite spectrum. Perhaps you are right, but honestly I feel it may be a bit too late to change names considering the name already carries quite a bit of recognition? I'm open to suggestions here. THanks again for all the great feedback. I'm really wanting to hit it out of the park, but it seems everyone I end up doing business with ends up telling a different story, and gives contradictary advice to what "everyone else" is saying.

I wish I could say I was ready to go it alone, but I'm not interested in trial and error. Sure there is always a certain degree of this, but one would think that with the right direction, the correct path would be fairly clear to see. Thanks again guys.
 
Posted by: Focus Fields Accepted Answer
9/9/2006 5:16 PM (CST)
All right, just first relax. You have the same problem that most businesses have at some point in their lifecycle. However, you recognize you have an issue, so you are already ahead of 90% of companies.

You wrote: "I currently have the option to go with direct mail, magazine advertising, or throw more dollars to web advertising. Or of course, I can hire someone to devise a complete marketing plan for me (Yet again)"

My bias is, of course, none of these. The mass media spending you are thinking about will likely (and you already know this) not bring you the success you are looking for. Yes, it MIGHT bring you some sort term success, but it will not be sustainable. I must say that I LOVE your concept about essentially giving away your services. This tells me you are pretty open to trying new ideas and NOT doing the same old thing to get new business (in this case, mass media being the same old thing).

I think you do have to answer some fundemental questions about your marketing and sales model. Where is your service positioned? Who are your customers (really? are you sure?)? What TAILORED messages are you telling them? The reason why mass media campaigns fail is because you say the same thing to everyone. This does not work anymore (it never did, but it used to be a lot cheaper so you could get a positive ROI). I really do believe that your issues can be addressed quite comfortably by looking very closely at your entire marketing and sales model. I don't believe that you have the positioning of your service and your market clearly defined. You may have it specifically defined, but that's not enough

The big question is: are you telling a good story (and a true one) to people who want to hear it? If the answer is no, then that's your problem. If your answer is I don't know, that's your problem. If your answer is yes, I'm telling a good story and the people I am telling it to really do want to hear it, the you need a new story for new people because your current market isn't buying what you're selling. Chances are, if you are being completely honest and objective, your answer is either no or I don't know.

We'd welcome the chance to give you some more specific (and, yes, free to start) advice on this situation. Feel free to contact me or anyone from our company through following the links in our profile so we can discuss more if you think the comments above match what you really believe your situation to be.

JMR for Focus Fields
 
Posted by: Jon Aston Accepted Answer
9/9/2006 5:24 PM (CST)
It sounds to me like the "Average Joe" branding is attracting the wrong kind of customer in large numbers. These are people who aren't prepared to do what it takes to be at the top of their game. That being said, it doesn't mean that there aren't a decent number of Average Joes among them who are ready to stop being average...and therefore are ready to invest in their own development...and this may be true to varying degrees.

I think your difficulties probably have more to do with your model. You might want to re-think it BEFORE you re-launch and spend another whack of dough on marketing.
 
Posted by: darcy.moen Accepted Answer
9/9/2006 9:11 PM (CST)
Been there, done that....and it is possible to live through it.

1st off, its very rare to have an instant success. It takes time, effort, and money to build a brand. It takes time, money and effort to find what advertising, and what combination of advertising works....and works well for you.

When I had my drycleaning shop, I hired a consultant to help me market my business. The best advice I had from this man was: 'If I have to do all your marketing for you, you will never be successful. But, if you LEARN what makes marketing work, ask questions, and try new things, and challenge everything...well, you'll find that you will be better at promoting your business than anyone else." After six years, he was right. Not that I quit him or every really out grew him....we became more like collaborators.

Pardon the hard truths, but I'm just going to say it. One can't expect that an outsider can parachute into your operation, come up with one idea, and one ad campaign turn an operation into a sales machine. Sorry, silver bullets usually only work in the movies. Nothing comes easy, and nothing comes without some sort of fight.

Here's what worked for me in my shop, and how I dug myself out of the marketing hole (and I'll be adding this to my book, so thanks for the question). I encoded every direct mail piece, every radio ad, every tv ad, every newspaper ad, and even my business cards and referrals, with a code or marking method that I could track the business lead back to each ad. I kept a copy of every ad run in a binder, and recorded the results of each on an analysis page.

As each offer ran, I recorded the number sent out, or the market targeted. I would record the size of the market contacted (if possible), then record how many responses were generated. In time, I could determine which media worked best for my business. That which is not measured, we soon forget.

Keeping records allowed me to determine ads worked better than others, and why. I began to experiment with different ads, changing not only entire ads, but just components of them. I began to determine which offer, or headline performed better than others. Over time, I ended up with a portfolio of winning ads that worked very well for me.

Making mistakes is what its all about. LEARNING from them is what separates winners from losers. I know its painful not to have time on your side, and limited budget with which to make mistakes...but the most expensive advertising of all is the advertising that you do without improving!

You found out PPC sucks for you. Great, one down, much more media to go.

Look, you'll build a reputation in time. It takes three years to build a consulting practice, maybe longer. In the mortgage industry (banking industry too), they are cheap. These folks are very averse to pay a consultant to teach them how to do what they should know how to do. Heck, I'd be willing to bet many are content to simply fly a desk and receive paid attendance, and could care less about how they perform. You might want to go after the INDEPENDANT mortgage brokers...that may be a better market, because the more paper they write, the bigger their pay check.

Do you ask for and keep testimonials? Do you carry a tape recorder around with you to record your one on one sales pitches? Do you record your seminars? There are many reasons why I'm asking you this, but the main one is...you are building a library of resources that a marketing consultant can review with you, and help you craft killer offers. This same consultant should be willing to work with you and evaluate your marketing efforts, and help you determine why a marketing effort worked, didn't work...or brainstorm with you how you two might make it work better next time.

Marketing is an investment. Sometimes it pays, sometimes it pays you back with education. The trick is to get better fast enough so you can outlive your mistakes. Business isn't about not making mistakes, its about surviving them.

My advice to you is: keep making mistakes, record them, analyze them, and learn from them.

I hope you find your marketing mentor, or become one yourself. Then you'll have two products to sell (Mortgage training and mortgage marketing training).

Darcy Moen
Customer Loyalty Network
 
Posted by: Ric Accepted Answer
9/10/2006 3:24 AM (CST)
Hello Viperbl1

I can feel your pain and frustration and also the hint of panic. I read your original post and the answers you received including the above as well. I also visited your web site and even tried to sign up (I’ll get back to that). I almost decided not to post a reply because the one thing that stands out is, you have already had a lot of very good advice – in fact you are possibly suffering from information overload.

Sometimes too many ideas can paralyse you because you don’t know which way to go. Right now I think you need a simple strategy that you can implement immediately.

You need some results, not just for the money but more importantly, to restore your confidence. In my experience when all is going badly, the best way to arrest the downward spiral is to have a win. It doesn’t matter how small the win is because any win breaks the downward trend.

Once you have stopped the problem getting worse, you can build upon your successes one piece at a time. Gradually you will see things improving, the panic subsides and the confidence returns and with it the forward momentum. In times of crisis the only solution is to get back to basics. Whenever something is not working for me I get out the notes I took 20 years ago and I start at the beginning.

1. The buck stops with you. You are the only one that is truly committed to your business – you benefit when it thrives and you lose when it fails. Asking for advice is good and most of the posts to your enquiry were right but maybe, they are not all, right for you right now. It is your responsibility is to sort through them and select the ones that you can implement immediately for the best result in the short term.

2. Its good to have a long term vision that keeps you motivated and on track – but you have to act short term. You need to get the runs on the board NOW.

3. Concentrate on getting sales. Now you might say “that is what I am trying to do” but I’m not so sure. What you are trying to do is develop a system for selling to LO’s on line. If you need sales today, the best way to get them is to make them yourself.

This will be a very interesting exercise for you because you may find your target market is somewhat different to what you currently think it is. For example you are getting a lot of people that want your information but don’t want to or can’t afford to pay for it. That’s not a good target market. This seems to be the crux of your problem. You say you get 80 people a day to your web site but you didn’t say what your conversion rate is i.e. how many of them sign up for your course. I get the impression it is not many.

Here are some key questions you need to ask yourself

a. Are the people who are attracted to your web site the right target market?

b. Who benefits if they improve by taking your course? For example do most LO’s work for a company – are they on wages plus commission or commission only. Should you be selling to the employee or the company? If the latter, shouldn’t your web site be directed to the boss?

c. Do you offer in house courses? If not, why not?

d. Do you speak at industry events? Do the local brokers have a regular meeting you could attend – if not could you invite them to one you host? Create a presentation on how they can improve their sales and at the end of it, tell them about your course. Make sure you have a brochure for each one but also follow up personally.

Here are some Steps you can take now

a. Talk to the association that they belong to, offer to speak at their conference, put an article in their magazine, on their web site and advertise through them.

b. Form a cooperative arrangement (a joint venture) with the association – they promote the course and you deliver it and pay them a commission for each attendee or sale. That will cut your advertising costs and you only pay when you get a client.

c. Start an affiliation programme so other web sites can promote your service and get paid for sales.

d. Broaden your range – add more products to give you more flexibility e.g.

I. offer courses with personal mentoring (from you) you can do this in person in your home town or by phone anywhere in the States or even overseas.

II. Have a starter package – less options – cheaper price

III. Have a corporate plan – companies can sign up for all their reps

IV. Offer tailored in house programmes

V. Put on seminars – one day or two half day seminars including a work book for $xx – offer attendees a special price if they join the programme at the seminar.

VI. Definitely get referrals from happy users even if they only use the free service. Referrals are the most powerful way to sell anything. I would immediately make up a list of all the people that have used your web site or attended a webinar and call them to get referrals.

e. Have a member only section in your web site for your clients.

Most importantly, take personal responsibility for making sales – I mean get out there and sell like crazy – personally. Visit your local prospects, ring the ones that are too far away. Don’t rely on a telemarketer until you have worked out a sales spiel that works.

Set yourself a budget – aim to sell 2 memberships a week then when you achieve that consistently, increase it to three and so on.

If you make a presentation to someone that doesn’t buy, before you leave, say “ Thank you for listening to my story, I obviously did not give you a good reason to buy, would you do me a favour and tell me what it is that you don’t like?” Quite often when the prospect starts to think about it they change their mind. The worst that can happen is you find out where your presentation is lacking and you can alter it next time – you could even say “If I could offer that benefit would you join?” If they say yes and you can accommodate them – you just made the sale.

All this experience will feed through to your web site, you will know what their main objections are and deal with them and you will know what packages sell and offer them as options.

Finally regarding your web site, there are lots of good ideas there but honestly, it doesn’t work. However, that is not as important as getting the content right and that is your responsibility, for example, I tried to sign up for your course to see how easy it was and I could not find the way to buy it.

I had a chuckle when I finally got to a place where I thought I could sign up only to be met with this message:
“It's easy! Simply visit my site at www.averagejoelo.com. Click on the “products” tab at the top of the page. Towards the center of the products page you will find the purchase info for the Average Joe L.O. Marketing System.”

I was on the web site – I should not have to go to another page when I am hot to buy, but when I did, the mystery tab was nowhere to be seen. Next, how much is it going to cost? I saw $495 but there was a comment that if I am not happy I don’t have to pay the next instalment of $500. Before most people are willing to spend this much they want to know exactly how much they are up for and they want a money back guarantee.

One of my favourite quotes:

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." --Winston Churchill
Good Luck, I hope you keep us all informed of your successes.

Ric
 
Posted by: viperbl1 Author Response
9/10/2006 6:21 PM (CST)
A heartfelt thanks to everyone for their replies. I had a great, and very detailed synopsis of my current situation typed up, but when I hit send, the system timed out, and I lost my reply. So sorry if this new reply seems a bit rushed and disconcerted.

Ok, first and foremost, I wish to make it clear that while I certainly understand that there is no such thing as a magic bullet, and success cannot be expected to be instantaneous, the business did start off great. In fact, when I opened the doors, I was turning a net profit by the end of my first month, and the company was growing at a tremendous rate. In fact, it was turning a nice enough profit that I was able to put away enough cash to allow me to buy out another company (I gain control in 1 week). But about 3 months ago, the sales just came to a screetching halt and have gone down hill ever since, despite the fact that the marketing approach really has not changes, and my database of weekly newsletter subscribers continues to grow (Over 2,000 subscribers since february using only the web).

As far as networking, my articles are published in 3 of the top industry trade magazines (9 articles in 4 months) and my articles are constantly being added to very high traffic blogs and loan officer hubs and forums every week.

I do realize that my current website is rather clunky, but it will be gone in 1 week (Replaced by the much smoother site). I am primarily looking to find a way to help prospects come to a buying decision for an expensive product based on a web visit and the follow up newsletter I offer. Perhaps this large of a sale needs a longer sales cycle? WHat i find confusing about that thought pattern, is that once again, lo's WERE purchasing just fine in the beggining, and I do have a much more cost effective product on my site that works unimaginably well, for those who use it correctly. At only $39 a month, it is much more affordable, but no more popular amongst the loan officer crowd when it comes to purchasing. THis confuses me a bit.

I am looking for effective ways to integrate some strong calls to action and interactive elements with my newsletter. The newsletter is free to sign up for, and has very useful information for loan officers.

I also do plan to integrate a telephone campaign this week into my daily schedule. I have committed to 20 conversations per day. No not dials, but 20 actual conversations per day. Here is how the call will proceed:

Phone call will most likely go to a gatekeeper or a loan officer on duty. I will ask for the sales manager, or a loan officer. If asked what the call is regarding, I will explain that I am calling to extend an invitation to an educational tele-conference provided for area loan officers (Actual script will of course be set up to demonstrate maximum benefit within the shortest period of time). If the call is not transferred, I will ask for permission to email, mail, or fax information regarding future events (I will hold calls twice per month). A company email, or even the sales managers email will be ideal and help me build my list.

If I am transferred, I will of course invite the entire office onto the call.

I feel that this campaign will help me build some key contacts, and gain name recognition within key areas. I am open to feedback on this rough draft.


Also, I am in the early stages of setting up an area seminar. Since this will be held out of state, I am looking for creative "guerilla" tactics to put butts in seats. I have thought about magazine ads, but I'm not sure I will get enough attention or signups with a national industry publication . Once again, I am open to feedback. I am willing to hammer the phones with this, but I do have a $2,000 - $3,000 budget available to promote the event.

Thank you again for your asistance and thoughts. This has been a great resource for me.
 
Posted by: Phil* Accepted Answer
9/10/2006 8:36 PM (CST)
Hiya ViperBl1,

I have read through your comments, and those of some of the very cleaver people you find in this forum...and I would like to say just a couple of things. You have been given a lot of advice which is great advice, and having bucket loads of great advice sort of puts you back into the same position you were when you started the quaestion. I do understand both the panic and the frustration you are going through, having been there myself. And, whilst it may seem a bit of a cliche...when things get tough, the tough get going - but it is a truism. So first off, do not disbelieve in yourself or you offering until you have unequivocal proof that they are not right. It's a question of sorting it all out and seeing where the trees are rather than the forest of help that's on offer to you.

The next and last thing I would suggest is that you look at the starting point again, the place where you felt it was right to put your stake in the ground for your business. From what I can see and read (so that's not like talking with you - but it is a start), you are dealing with a group of people who have problems of their own. One way to start the ball rolling is to identify those problems in their terms, not yours. So my suggestion is that you take a bit of time out t talk with your target market. Conduct something like one-on-one informal interviews where you are prepared with your 'need to know' questions, but have other things that can put them at ease. Two things happen from this. You get some clarity around what tyhe service presentation should be - not the PowerPoint or the seminars, but how to address their needs through what you do best. The other thing that many people forget is that in doing these informal one-on-one's you start to get those people much more interested, to the point they may become purchasers.

I know that direct sales are not what you are intending as a business model, but you should be able to discover what are the issues, how they want you to demonstrate that you understand their predicament, and be able to give the answers (this is wehere you tease them with the trigger connections you find out in the discussions).

But the real point of all of my suggestion, is to market better, you need to get back to who you want as your customer and ask them. They will give you clarity rather than trying some cunning plan on the front page of your website - then waiting and seeing.

If you want to chat more about this I'm happy to help offline (just send me an email).

Whatever you choose to do from all the advice everyone has provided, I hope you have success.
Good luck

:)

Phil
 
Posted by: Focus Fields Member Response
9/10/2006 8:45 PM (CST)
To follow on Phil's ideas above...what about some good primary market research? I assume you have a list of emails with permission to contact these folks (if you don't there's one of your issues). Send them out a survey. Offer an incentive or don't...you'll probably get the same return.

You might be able to find out more about your customers' needs, who they really are, price points, how they want to get the information you have, etc. You can do this very inexpensively with Survey Monkey.

You can probably even get some free advice on this board about the questions you need to ask.

This might be a great jumping off point.

JMR for Focus Fields
 
Posted by: darcy.moen Member Response
9/11/2006 2:50 AM (CST)
So what was working when you first started out? What was it you were doing that lead to the great start? Its obvious to this outsider that you were doing something right and generating results. You need to get back to that, and build from there.

Me thinks that when you bought out the other company, you lost focus. There is something to be said to sticking to one's knitting (note to self). Did you lose focus?

Fantastic that your articles are being picked up, are they funneling prospects to your website? Are you closing those prospects?

As for the web site. I've seen some real stinkers in my day...and I've seen some real winners. Lets be real honest here...and my apologies to some of the very talented web site designers out there....but frankly its not a pretty web site that makes sales...its a selling process that makes sales. Point I'm trying to drive home is: its the sales process that works...not a glitzy web site. A glitzy web site can facilitate sales...but if the sales process is broken...you are SOL from the get go. For example, I know some very talented consultants out there (and some on this forum) whose only web presence is a link to a 'coming soon' page...and it's been a coming soon page for almost two years....but guess what...THEY ARE MAKING SALES! How do they do that? Its the sales process!

The web, any marketing process, or advertising system is only a method of AMPLIFYING your message. If you have the wrong message, or the wrong method...its simply spinning wheels. If you have a selling system that does not work, the web, marketing and advertising is only going to cause it NOT to work in greater volumes.

Okay, you are going to work the phones now. Was this what you did when you first started out that was working so well? The pitch sounds pretty good. The invitation to a seminar is good. Obviously you are going to tell and sell, and hopefully close them at the seminar (or are they going to sponge up your ideas and walk away without making a commitment to you?)

If you sign some clients at the seminar, please get some testimonials from these guys. Offer incentives for referrals to all your past customers. Ask for permission to publish the results your students achieve before and after applying your methods. Establish credibility and a track record. Keep building that reputation. I get the feeling that you do an awesome presentation and offer a lot of information. Perhaps a bit too much in the presentation that the client doesn't see value in signing up...they received more than they bargained for in the free seminar (note to self...stop offering so much advice for free on Marketing Profs)

Go back to my first reply to you. Are you going to record your seminar? If you do, go back and watch yourself, LISTEN to yourself...and put yourself in your potential client's shoes. EVALUATE yourself and your package. Again I ask...what's working? WHY is it working? If you do X, does it cause result Y?

If you record your seminars, you might be better off editing the tapes and creating a home study course. Sell the books and DVD's over the Internet. Do an online course, or a Conference call, or sell seats to a Webinar...because I'm wondering if you might have tapped out your local market...and need to move onto the next pond?

Already I can see another problem...you are jumping around from idea to idea, trying to find what will get a result. SLOW DOWN! Jumping from idea to idea is courting disaster. You have barely finished one marketing method when you are all hot and bothered for the next big idea. While I profess building multiple streams of potential customers using multiple media and multiple marketing methods, I don't recommending jumping into setting them all up at once. One at a time, and build those multiple streams a channel at a time. In time, you'll have your multiple streams, but get one working sort of half @ssed before going all in on the next one.

I can feel your pain. Been there myself. Experience from making all the mistakes has made me wiser. No need you have to repeat every single one of them again...so take breather and think back........

what was I doing that was working so well, before I messed it all up? What did I do just after than? And after that? And oh yeah, after that? I hope you write them all down, because suddenly, when you go back and review your notes...you'll see....RIGHT there is where it all started to go sideways...and then you'll have your map how to get back to where you were before it all went downhill yet again.

Darcy Moen
Customer Loyalty Network

P.S. Here is a tip how to avoid the dreaded time out error and lose your post. Go to start, programs, accessories, notepad....then place your mouse inside the "answer" box, right click and select all. Copy and paste into the Notepad window. This way, if the session times out, you can go back, copy and paste from notepad into the 'Answer' box...and make your post. Hope this tip makes the MP newsletter or Tip of the day area.
 
Posted by: viperbl1 Author Response
9/14/2006 2:50 PM (CST)
Ok guys! I finally have a rough draft of my NEW website. Tomorrow I will be speaking with the designer to make changes and adjustments before it hits the web, so I'd love to get some honest feedback here.

Keep in mind that the text here is basic at this point, and audio training and archives will be added to the site. I'm a little concerned about a few things on it at this point, but want to hear from others if they are seeing what I see. Thanks again!
 
Posted by: aguilford* Accepted Answer
9/15/2006 7:21 PM (CST)
What about aproaching the management of larger loan companies rather than individual brokers? Many businesses have their own in-house training departments that bring in consultants and guest speakers.
Also, try doing a "leaky funnel" analysis. I learned about this concept at a MarketingProfs retreat - there might be a couple articles about it in the MarketingProfs archive. Basically, it's a study of why certain prospects do not convert to customers. This will give you a starting point for improving your conversion rates.
 
Posted by: carrie77 Moderator Response
9/23/2006 7:34 AM (CST)
Hello Everyone,

I am closing this question since it's more than 2 weeks old. We do this to reward the contributions of participants in a timely manner + to give increased visibility to the newer questions.

Thanks for participating!
Carrie (Production Editor)
 


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