In 1957 Drayton Bird’s situation was bleak.

He was making 7.00 a week editing a small trade journal.

Even in those dear, dead days when cigarettes cost the equivalent of 10p a packet this would not support a wife and child – even in the two-up two-down cottage with outside lavatory they lived in.

He had to do something.

At the time, Drayton was much taken by a smooth aristocratic friend who worked in advertising.

He seemed to be making pots of money without too much effort and advised Drayton to become a copywriter.

It took six months using all his reserves of servile flattery to find a willing employer.

Drayton had three qualities to offer, apart from desperation.

One – He was brought up in a northern pub with a widely varied clientele. Encountering very different kinds of people after they have had a few drinks is splendid education for life.

One minute he might be serving a pint of best mild in the vaults to Alec, whose party turn was describing how his wife had gone out one day for a loaf of bread and never returned.

The next he would be listening to a mottle-faced cotton magnate in the American Bar lamenting the Socialist government’s determination to part him from all he possessed.

Two – He could write.

You may consider this essential for the job he sought, but this is not apparent to many would-be copywriters.

An alarming number cannot spell, punctuate or write long sentences – let alone tangle with such niceties as ‘it’s’ versus ‘its’, ‘compliment’ as opposed to ‘complement’ and so on.

Three – He had read every book on advertising in Manchester Public Library – there were three – and enrolled in an evening course on the subject.

You may also see these preparations as obvious, but not all agree: when Drayton finally entered the industry, he discovered few of his colleagues had taken the trouble to study the subject, or were even clear about the purpose of advertising.

It has now been over 50 years since Drayton entered advertising.

Zoom forward over 50 years, Drayton has been named one of the top 50 individuals who’ve shaped today’s marketing. And David Ogilvy said he “knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world.”

A few days ago, I managed to coax Drayton away from his busy schedule for an interview, just for you.

And in this interview he reveals, for the first time, almost everything you need to do to set up a successful business.

He goes into as much details as he possibly can, given the short time available for the interview. (It runs for just over 50 minutes).

He mentions the need to study what others are doing: The successful and the unsuccessful ones. As he says, “We learn as much from the way in which people have failed as we do from the way in which people have succeeded”.

However, before you go onto listen to the main interview, here’s a couple of questions Drayton answered in a little more detail via email. Read this first and then go onto the audio portion.

This is all meat.

Rezbi:

The bottom dropped out of the economy, but it’s now picking up again. Your business went bust. All your clients’ businesses also went bust, so you can’t even write copy for them.

You have nothing except what’s between your head, and the only way you can get back into business is via the web – an online business.

You can use any means at your disposal, but you only have 200 to do it with. You can create your own product, or sell as an affiliate, or any other way you can think of based on the resources you have.

What would you do?

Drayton:

I would do the things I did in pretty much the same situation.

1. When I saw the internet was going to be huge – and that I was seen as a dinosaur – I built a website offering lots of free information about marketing. All that costs is a knowledge of WordPress – not money – and a knowledge of marketing. Again, freely available.

2. I sent out an e-mail to a list of marketing people offering helpful marketing ideas, free. I think I could offer those today without any list on the social sites. Costs you nothing.

3. I thus built a list – as you could, free. Then I offered to write copy for the people on the list.

I have done a few other things, but none cost any money

Rezbi:

Similar question to the first, except now you’ve been asked for advice.

The questioner is a 20 something graduate who left University with a degree, but no education. He’s been struggling to find work with no luck, so has decided to go into business.

Trouble is, he’s only got 200, but he can use any means, online or offline. And he’s got a year in which to get his business going and achieving some level of sustainable income.

He’s willing to do whatever it takes, including studying further to first get the required knowledge, and then starting the business. Or even side-by-side.

What advice would you give him?

Drayton:

1. The best time you will ever spend is not in trying to get going in business. It is in study.

2. It’s easy to give in to despair. Don’t. Learn. This gives you an incalculable advantage. Most people know too little.

3. Settle on something that really interests you. Most people don’t give enough thought to this

4. Be willing to give up a lot to pursue it. Few people make enough sacrifices.

5. Don’t just sit around thinking about it – most people just dream. Do it.

6. I would study:

a. New businesses that are doing well (not old successful ones)

b. How to write better – few people can do that at all well

c. How to sell face to face (get a job doing it)

d. How people are selling online

7. If I saw a business that was doing everything right, offer to work for a month free.

Sorry this is a bit vague – but the question is utterly impossible.

The best advice I can give is, don’t give up. I had a minor nervous breakdown when trying to get my first job in London.

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The business Development Strategy is used to underpin your main Business Plan and essentially it sets out a standard approach for developing new opportunities, either from within existing accounts or by proactively targeting brand new potential accounts and then working to close them.

This document highlights the key issues you should consider prior to compiling your own plan and will hopefully guide you logically through a proven framework.

The key word is ‘Strategy’, because you are creating a workable and achievable set of objectives in order to exceed your annual target.

Your Starting Point:

The key words are Who? What? Where? When? Which? Why? How?

For example:

Who – are you going to target?

What - do you want to sell them?

Where – are they located?

When – will you approach them?

Which – are the appropriate target personnel?

Why – would they want to meet with you?

How – will you reach them?

If you have conducted regular account reviews with your key accounts during the previous twelve months, you should be aware of any new opportunities that will surface during the next twelve months. You will also, when assessing what percentage of your annual target usually comes from existing accounts, need to review data over the last two or three years. (It is likely that you can apply Pareto i.e. 80% of your business will probably come from existing accounts and in fact 80% of your total revenue will come from just 20% of your customers/clients)

You will be left with a balance – i.e. “20% of my business next year will come from new opportunities” – therefore you can then begin to allocate your selling time accordingly.

Ideal Customer Profiling:

Pro-active business development demands that we create an ideal target at the front end – i.e. an Ideal Customer Profile. The essential characteristics you will need to consider are:

- Industrial Sector

- Geographical Location (Demographics)

- Size of organisations (Turnover, number of employees etc)

- Financial Trends

- Psychographics – i.e. Philosophical compatibility

Many strategic sales professionals merely profile their best existing clients and try to replicate them – there’s nothing wrong with doing this but we should always remember that we are seeking an IDEAL and we can always improve on what we already have.

‘New’ Opportunities From Within ‘Old’ Accounts:

Because it costs approximately ten times as much, to first locate and then sell to a new customer as it does an existing one (although these costs are rarely reflected in the cost of sales), it is essential that we fully develop our existing accounts working upwards, downwards and sideways, thus making the most of the (hopefully) excellent reputation we have developed already.

Most corporate accounts have several divisions, departments, sites, even country offices and you must satisfy yourself that you have exhausted every possible avenue. Don’t be afraid to ask the question “Who else should I be talking to in your organisation”?

Developing New Opportunities:

There are a number of ways in which we can target new opportunities e.g.

o Direct Mail

o Telephone Canvassing

o Researching Archived Files For Customers Who Used To Buy From Your Company

o Exhibitions

o Seminars

o User Groups

o E-Mail Campaigns

o Referrals

o Qualified Leads

o Advertising

Not all of these will be appropriate to your particular industry, but you should not be afraid to experiment – i.e. challenge the paradigm – and do not accept that just because a particular idea has not worked in the past that it will not do so in the future. (Remember when you were learning to walk – it didn’t work first time then!)

The important thing is to make an early decision in terms of what you are going to try and then build this (those) ideas into your master plan.

A Typical Business Development Plan:

You should plan out the whole year and review / revise quarterly.

o List your existing accounts and plan what activities / actions need to be completed in order to fully exhaust all opportunities. You may for instance, plan to cover more bases within the decision making unit or contact associated companies or offices. The Strategic Account Profile can be used as a prompt.

o Begin to target new accounts using business directories etc. and set targets per week / month / quarter i.e. I normally allow for eight hours per week as a minimum (Don’t forget to continually refer back to your Ideal Profile)

o Then build in what assistance you need from your marketing function – i.e. qualified leads, seminars, exhibition attendance etc.

o Finally share your plan with your manager and then commit to it.

You should also measure it against S.M.A.R.T.E.R. i.e. is it.

S.pecific

M.easurable

A.chievable

R.elevant

T.imed

E.xciting

R.ecorded

Linking With Your Commercial Plan:

I have suggested that your Business Development Strategy, would link with your Master Business Plan but logically you should also integrate it into your Commercial Kit(this is a document that outlines your monthly,quarterly and annual targets) – specifically the areas that deal with new business generation, account management and development, four tier account lists etc.

These three documents when combined should drive and guide you through the next twelve months and beyond.

Summary:

As I have said often enough “People do not fail because they planned to fail but rather because they failed to plan”

The man who knows where he wants to go is more likely to get there, he just has to decide how to get there. All plans are essentially maps and guides; the strategic element is the ‘How’.

Do be prepared to change course, flexibility is key, and don’t be afraid to experiment, look outside the square.

Copyright ? 2008 Jonathan Farrington. All rights reserved

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Are you looking for effective internet business models that will bring in long-term, sustainable income? Well, who isn’t – right? I’m not going to bore you with long winded theories about how you might make money with ten different plans. Instead, I’m going to lay out the current best way to make money on the Internet.

Everybody and their brother want to make money online. And because there is such a great demand for guides, how to, and general information, there is a lot of garbage and nonsense out there. I don’t say this to scare you, but instead I want to warn you to be cautious from this point on. Various marketers are only out to help you empty your wallet and that is all they will help you with.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to business.

The most effective Internet business model today is one that involves selling to your customers on the backend. Forget about these fly-by night schemes that tell you to hit it and hit it quick. This method is an evergreen method that has been used for years.

What am I talking about?

Email marketing is what I’m talking about. Email marketing is the biggest and most sustainable business model for any new or veteran Internet marketer to use.

If that is not enough to convince you, then let’s take an example to prove my point. Let’s just imagine for a second that you already have a successful email marketing sales funnel setup.

A customer signs up to your email list because you offer them something of value. Then a few days later, you send them an email asking them to buy something of greater value. Perhaps it is your product or perhaps it is a product that comes highly recommended.

Now at this point, you’re probably not amazed. But, think about what’s next. Instead of that person simply buying and never speaking to you again. You now have the ability to ask them to buy something else later on.

Can you imagine how much money you could make from one subscriber in one year? What about 1,000 subscribers? Getting the picture now?

As you can see, email marketing is clearly the most sustainable business model because it allows you to continue the sales conversation. With other business models, it usually stops dead in its tracks after the first sale.

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Chula Vista, California is a great place to start a business. The attorneys in the area know that operating a business alone or with others is an important step in your life, and you need legal advice before you begin. The opening of a new business in any area is great to help the economy, but in Chula Vista the economy helps new business owners. You need to make sure that you get a Business Attorney to help you plan and advise you on starting up your business.

One of the many things that an attorney can do is to help you form a corporation, or an LLC, to make sure that your own personal life is kept separate from that of the business. You may be a sole proprietor, or have a partner, but if things go array you do not want to lose your personal things in a law suit. That is why it is very vital to have an attorney to help you with all the legal documents.

In Chula Vista, which is a part of Orange County, there are groups that help the entrepreneur with a business start-up. This is very good because you know the area is ripe for new business, and there is support to help you. No matter what type of business that you plan on starting, an attorney will help you with all the important paper work and help to advise you on important legal matters.

One of the concerns that new business owners have is the tax advantages that are offered to new business owners. One of the major things that are important in the Chula Vista area is that you can get tax deductible benefits when you incorporate your business in Orange county. These are all very important matters that will help your business to grow successfully.

While looking for an attorney to help you with your start-up business, check out his status in the Chula Vista community. Make sure that they have been in the Chula Vista area for a while doing business. You want to know the attorney’s victory rate when it comes to handling court cases concerning business related problems. You should find out what they’re going rate of pay is, their retainer fee, and if they will negotiate with you at least in your first formative years of business. Many attorneys will work for a yearly fee while others need a retainer fee for each specific job function.

Then of course you do need to make sure that your attorney will be available when you need them during special times of the year like tax time. When you need to ask advice, makes sure that you have the type of attorney that will answer your phone calls. A good Business Law attorney knows the zoning ordinances and can assist you when it comes to expanding your company. There are many important procedures that need to be done in order to start up your business that is why it is fundamental that you have an attorney to help you make the right decisions.

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Imagine you’d given an early autumn evening party outside, on your lawn under the trees. The next morning, you awoke to discover (1) winds overnight had blown many leaves off the trees, covering your grass with leaves and (2) a guest had left a message on your voice mail saying that one of her diamond and something-or-other earrings had fallen off while she was standing on the lawn and could you please look for it.

Imagine that you spent that next day on your knees on the lawn, lifting and turning over one leaf and then the next looking for the earring and that, on the 500th leaf, you found it. 499 leaves that didn’t pay off. 15 seconds per leaf, four per minute, 240 per hour, about two hours work. Would you be tired? Yes. Bored? Probably. Resentful? Possibly.

Would you feel rejected after turning over 499 leaves? Are you nuts? Leaves are just leaves. So, why do we feel rejected when 499 prospects say “no” or “not now?”

The most frequently requested topic I receive for my Weekly Sales Thought column and for our sales training is “prospecting” or developing new business. Sometimes, I sense that the requestors are asking for a magic twist that will transform their new business development activities so that prospects will arrive, swooning, at their doorsteps, a variation on the “one day my prince/princess will come” story, and that they will never again need to face “rejection.”

My extensive research on the subject has led to the following conclusions:

1) There is no such magic prospecting pill, wand, potion, dance, chant, phone script, mailer, or love potion.

2) We can’t make people be prospects if they don’t want to be.

3) The best business-to-business new client attractors have developed and use several techniques that DO work for most people, most of the time, to reduce rejection.

FOCUS: Think of this as “diamond earring under a leaf.” Very clear focus. The best new business developers we know can tell us exactly what “good prospects” look like, and they don’t fool around with companies or individuals that don’t fit the profile. This also means that they can train their referral sources to send prospective clients who will be good prospects.
REASONS TO CALL: When we approach prospects for appointments, we need better reasons than “you’re next on my list of 200 names.” While that may be true, we need another reason — some danger that’s coming, some benefit that’s emerging, a new idea, a market trend, an introduction, a possibility to consider. The idea is to connect with people on the issues about which they’re thinking to, to attract them to us with value or opportunity. We can make it specific to a company or a moment in time, based on our research (e.g. “we expect the price of oil to increase 50% by next fall so we’re calling to….”) or general, related to the benefits our products or services generate.
REFERRALS: The best new business developers typically make very few cold calls. They have developed reciprocal referral relationships that provide most of their new connections. The referrals can come from “centers of influence” (typically 3 – 5 of them) or clients and friends. By the way, referrals from clients are a LOT easier to ask for and receive if we are brilliantly serving them.
GROOVE UP SLOWLY: Pouncing suddenly from the weeds on unsuspecting prey (i.e. cold calling) is good sport, but it’s a lousy new business development strategy for most people. The best new business developers we know develop relationships and network relentlessly in a community (however they define it). They put themselves in places and activities in which their prospects or referral sources congregate. Instead of pouncing from the bushes, they gain peoples’ confidence over a period of time, then ask questions that open conversations leading to business discussion. It’s a very natural process, part of a 24 x 7 job.
REPETITION: Back to the leaves on the lawn on our knees. If we can’t reach our prospects (the diamond earrings) through referrals (e.g. specific directions to the location of the earrings on the lawn), we’re going to be turning over leaves until we encounter prospects who are interested in our messages.

Boring? Yes, it could be. The best new business developers see it more like a good game of cat-and-mouse. The fun is in the hunt, trying different approaches, ideas, and messages They decide the frequency, whether it’s once a year, four times a year, or eight times a year and touch them with messages that inform, connect, or refresh prospects’ memories about the value the sellers provide.

Repeat, repeat, repeat. 498 leaves to go. No rejection. They’re just leaves.

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Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania is one of the most outstanding business schools in the world. Thousands of people submit applications each year to attend. Only 800 are accepted. Graduates include Donald Trump and at least one of his children, along with numerous highly successful executives of Fortune-500 companies.

Carbon Copy Pro is the premier educational platform in the world for Internet Marketing. Thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs submit applications each year to join this community. All applicants are accepted who demonstrate that they are serious about becoming successful. Graduates include Jay Kubassek, Aaron Parkinson, Michael Force, Jeff Learner, Dr Charlie Smithdeal, and many other top earning Internet entrepreneurs.

Wharton’s MBA curriculum is a two-year program. The cost to attend is roughly $160,000. (Tuition = $50,000 per year, plus books, materials, room, and board.) Students must be physically present in Philadelphia, Pa. Graduates consider the cost a bargain in return for the education, training, and opportunities received. Wharton does not provide tools or systems essential for conducting a specific business after graduation.

Carbon Copy Pro’s basic education and training is typically completed within 90 to 120 days. Ongoing support and training updates are provided for as long as members remain active. CCPro’s application fee is $39. The complete online educational system costs $395. Monthly tuition of $150 begins the second month. Students and members learn Internet marketing and operate their online business from anyplace in the world that offers an internet connection. Most Internet entrepreneurs work from home. Carbon Copy Pro provides all tools and systems essential for conducting a successful Internet business. Among these are 1) professionally designed websites with proven landing pages and “thank-you” pages, 2) archived and live weekly training calls, 3) video tutorials, 4) multinational conferences, 5) accounting systems, 6) marketing systems, 7) advertising training and materials, auto-responder e-mail messages, 9) weekly updated marketing information, 10) live support, and more.

Wharton School cannot guarantee that any particular student or graduate will succeed in business. It offers a general business education for business models used since the industrial revolution. To do this, it provides experienced professors and business coaches, an outstanding core curriculum, plus numerous electives in a variety of specialized business categories. It also offers an opportunity for students to network with: 1) fellow students and faculty, 2) noted business leaders through executive speakers’ series and conferences, 3) on-campus recruiting, and 4) full access to Wharton’s alumni network and club activities.

Carbon Copy Pro cannot guarantee that any particular student or member will succeed in Internet Marketing. It offers the best education and training available today for a business model born of the information age and Internet revolution. Put quite simply, Carbon Copy Pro members are shown how to market anything to anybody on the Internet–at anytime, and from anyplace in the world. For the person who has their own product or service to market, CCPro first shows them how, and then provides the tools to do so. When someone does not already have a product or service to market, CCPro suggests ones that have proven to be in demand.

Carbon Copy Pro offers its members an opportunity to network with 1) fellow members, instructors, other online marketers, 2) noted internet marketing leaders and “gurus” through guest lecturer “webinars” and live conferences, and 3) full access to Carbon Copy Pro’s alumni network and activities in more than 160 countries.

Wharton School is one of the most outstanding educational institutions in the world for anyone who desires a general business education.

Carbon Copy Pro is the most outstanding educational system in the world for anyone who wants to understand and successfully apply the new business model of Internet marketing.

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Geo-Marketing (or Geographic Marketing) is a new method of marketing a business and its website through web searches, mobile searches and social media. As you can see, the geo-marketing tools being used are digital and through the Internet or Mobile devices.

While geo-marketing’s definition is the association of data and maps in the traditional sense, the added convergence of local business listings, mobile marketing, and social media makes this method of marketing more powerful than ever before. This marketing tool is no longer just a large business marketing tool, but is available to small and medium size businesses too.

We should define what we mean by local business. A local business is any sized business dependent on the local consumer for its revenue. This means you could be a national company like Home Depot, U-Haul, or Best Buy or you could be a local florist or independent store only known to your local geography.

From a technical standpoint an Internet user’s IP address is tied to GPS data, like longitudes and latitudes, which are mapped with technology to geographies around the world down to the city and street level. While all this data may seem overwhelming, the good news is that most businesses do not need to concern themselves with this part of geo-marketing. Many of the tools already have all of this information built into their software or hardware technology so we can stay focused on how we will use geo-marketing tools.

The difficulty with any new marketing tool is a business’s inability to adopt the methodology early. When it comes to technologies and the Internet, in the past, by the time most businesses are ready to adopt a marketing tool, the industry has already moved on to something new. Being an early or at least an earlier adopter of marketing methods on the Internet and through digital devices can only benefit the business.

We have seen many signs over the past two years regarding the evolution of geographic marketing. When companies like Google, Apple, and the investment community of Wall Street start to put $100 million and more behind a technology it will become part of our daily lives whether a business wants it or not. Consumers have and will be using more of these geo-marketing tools to find businesses, services or products near them.

Let’s take a look at the three main tools that consumers are using to find businesses, products or services close to their geography.

1. Web searches are the first and most obvious, however, these are web searches in which a map displays with targets the businesses that match the search criteria. Unlike the traditional yellow pages, these geo-listings (a.k.a. Local Business Listings) can be claimed and updated with your business marketing information in order to meet these search criteria.

While this may sound relatively easy, geo-listings also include: consumer reviews that need to be managed; the clean-up of duplicate listings; coupons; offers; discounts; videos; photos; citations; QR bar codes; and, hyper local websites. Understanding what to start with and how to strategically use these components can be done by a professional marketing firm that specializes in this area. You can read more about these components in one of our previous articles on our blog.

2. Mobile Marketing is the next most significant geo-marketing tool in which SMS Texting, Mobile Applications, Mobile version of your website, and Mobile advertising are your key components. The starting point in this process will be with SMS Texting to get your alerts out to customers that subscribe to your short bursts of information. The reason why this is your starting point is that it will take time to build your list of subscribers.

3. Social Media Marketing continues to evolve and is, also, geographic in its targeting ability. Consumers are using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wiki sites, Four Square, Instant Messaging and other social community tools on their mobile devices. While they use it mostly to find businesses, products and services, in the social communities they are seeking recommendations from their friends (near and far). They are, also, using these social communities to post their experiences with a business, product or service. For this reason you have to monitor the social communities in order to embrace any potential problem situations and work with them.

These three geo-marketing components are important to any business size – large or small – and each have their own sub-components that need to be well understood in order to succeed. Understanding the strategy amongst them; the acceptance and embracing them early; and, finally planning on a 3-year return will put you on the right path of geo-marketing.

Certainly your time resources are limited and Geo-Marketing Services are provided by SmartFinds Internet Marketing. You will find this to be of great benefit to your time resources and the low cost service may eliminate your yellow page ad costs. Let the experts of over 16 years Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly and prevent brand security issues from occurring.

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