Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

codybella, let me know where you are located and I may be able to help -- either as a private tutor or with a referral to someone nearby who is qualified. If you prefer, you may use the email address in my profile.

Dear CodyBella,

Know this and bind it to your soul with hoops of steel: Michael Goodman is THE MOST QUALIFIED person to
teach you about this kind of stuff that you could POSSIBLY connect with.

A few modest thoughts of my own:

1. For deep market analysis, think about the specifics of the sector and the depth of information you'll need to pull in. Here, DO NOT think like a marketer: think like a buyer. The mindset is totally different. The buyer has a pain, an itch that needs scratching. What is it? The buyer has specific set of numbers in mind. Challenge the buyer's perceptions on these numbers with questions that most marketing people NEVER ASK. The questions are:

1. Who is the buyer's ideal buyer?
2. How can YOU help THEM attract more buyers?
3. What is the short term value of that buyer in net sales (net, mind you, not gross) to your client?
4. What is the LONG term value of that buyer in net sales (net, mind you, not gross) to your client?
5. What DIFFERENCE will "X" number of new buyers per month (3 of buyers that you'll provide or direct to said client via your STELLAR marketing) make to your client's end of year figures?

These are the kinds of questions that sell clients on your service because they project imagined futures into the client's mind. This makes for powerful, powerful marketing juju.

For competitive analysis, figure out who's doing what for whom, then brainstorm TOTAL OPPOSITES. In business, in sales, in marketing, in advertising, in messaging, and especially with money, the same simple rule always, always applies.

The majority is ALWAYS wrong. Read that again.

Think about this for a moment. The very existence of the 1 percent movement proves that they're WRONG about money. There's nothing wrong with profit. What's screwed up is profit that's never redistributed in the form of bonuses, thank you's, and the like.

Product analysis: what can the product do for the
client that the client as yet has no need for? What NEW purposes can existing products, goods, and services SERVE? In an ideal world, what problem would the client like to see die a horrible, violent death, and how can YOUR products kill the monster? What could be adapted to slay the beast? What other products from other niches could your SWIPE and redeploy in cunning and insightful ways?

Here, I'm saying you must have an evil plan to take over the world. The plan isn't REALLY evil, it just kicks ass.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you. Now, be off with you and contact Michael!

Gary Bloomer
Princeton, NJ, USA