June 6, 2009 - 8:09:59 PM
John 

Dear Tim,
I was reading that you did a presentation at the Underground Online Marketing event. I am starting an industrial products association and was wondering if you have the handouts or anything that I could use to get a head start on this venture. Thanks! John
Hello John,
As a matter of fact, I am putting the finishing touches on a FREE e-book entitled, Tim Schmidt’s Tribal FORMULA - Revealed! Heck, I’m also going to be holding a FREE webinar on July 2nd, 2009 that covers all the nitty gritty aspects of what I’ve learned over the last 10+ years of building my businesses. Stay tuned for more information.
-Tim

———————————————-   
June 4, 2009 - 11:50:45 PM
Scott L

Hey Tim,
I have read your blog and gotten your emails for a while now. I have a great deal of respect for what you are doing and accomplishing. I was impressed with the emails and PDF regarding Tribal marketing as well. I do have a suggestion for you to help you improve the profitability of your company. Normally I would charge a nice consulting fee for this but wanted to provide it to you for free. I would suggest testing the following on your sign up page. You currently offer three choices. Web only $27 Magazine only $37 Mag and web $47 I would suggest testing the following. Web only $27 Mag only $47 Mag and Web $47 If you know Mike Hill or have read Predictably Irrational you will see a big increase in your mag/web subscriptions. I sincerely enjoy your work and hope you are doing well. A former chemical engineer Scott Lovingood www.AskTheWealthSquad.com

Hi Scott,
Dang, that is some SOLID advice.  Believe it or not, but I recently purchased the book “Predictably Irrational” (I just haven’t read it yet!).  It sounds to me like the price change you’re suggesting would have a sort of “decoy” effect?  I can’t wait to test this and thanks AGAIN for the great advice.

This video doesn’t really have to do with business or marketing.  But instead with ourselves and our internal motivation.  People don’t take our goals away from us, we give them away.  I like what Will Smith says here, we have to “protect our dreams.”

All the best!

 
Tim Schmidt

Monique (April 5, 2009 - 8:57:08 PM)

What is the best way to market a small salon in a small city?

Dennis (April 5, 2009 - 12:30:32 PM)

Hi Tim, I’m 51 and recently laid-off from the last employer I ever want to work for. I’ve started my own business (again), training people to get their concealed carry permit for the state of Florida. I have several certifications and am obtaining more and setting up safety classes for new teen-age drivers as well. My budget is super-small, so I must make my advertising really pay-off. I’m on several internet search engines but I need to reach more of my local area. Where’s the best bang for the buck when it comes to local advertising?

Hello Monique & Dennis,

Believe it or not but I’m going to answer BOTH of your questions at the same time. Yep, I am NOT kidding. Your best value in small-town or local advertising is either Val-Pak coupons or Yellow Pages advertising. BUT… and this is a HUGE, you have to do it right. Now the good news is that most businesses do Val-Pak coupons and Yellow Pages advertising all wrong. But that’s OK, they’re just making it a lot easier to compete with them. Here’s what you do, you make your Val-Pak coupon or Yellow Pages ad look EXACTLY like a miniature direct-response mail piece. First you must lead with an attention-grabbing headline. DON’T put your company name and logo up at the top. Don’t do it. The only people that care about your company name and logo are YOU and your Mom. Your headline ought to be a benefit-driven headline that answers the question, “What’s in it for me?” Next, you need a short list of immediate BENEFITS that your prospect will receive if they DO what they’re supposed to do. Now you’re probably thinking, “Well Tim, what are they supposed to do?” Good question. That brings us to the second to the last thing in your ad, a call to action. Yep, tell them what to do. Dennis, here’s a call to action for you. (Examples) Call 123-456-7891 to schedule your FREE Concealed Carry expert consultation. Monique, here’s a call to action for you. Call 987-654-3210 to book your appointment and get a FREE highlight procedure (or whatever you call that stuff). So you grab their attention with the headline, give them a short list of benefits, and then tell them exactly what to do. Give them something of tremendous value and they will come back for more.  Oh yeah… and the LAST thing to put in your ad? In small type at the bottom, you can put your name and logo… just to soothe your ego and make your Mom happy!

Good example! FREE offer, then tells them what to do. Business name is at the bottom, secondary to offer. Give value=build trust=loyal customers!

Take care,

Tim Schmidt

Harvey March 16, 2009

Tim, Thanks for your thoughts. I have been down the same paths before. I have succeeded, failed and succeeded again. I have been successful for many years now and don’t owe a dime to anyone. Yet, today with the real or imagined, Media-hyped economic downturn my business is down 35 percent from last year, this hurts. Oh not because it will ruin me, although it could I suppose. No it’s because my employees are already suffering and will likely move on and/or go broke, more in the hole then they are already. I pad their pay each week with extra hours but it helps only minimal. So, the question is what does one do who owns a business, advertises a lot and still can’t ‘create’ work for the company or the employees? I can wait-out the economic real or contrived downturn, but many others just can’t.

Hello Harvey,

This question is pretty tough to answer not knowing more specifics about your business, your industry or your exact current marketing strategies. But… I’ll give it my best shot. First of all, I really admire the way you care about your employees. Having that attitude is a smart way to run a business. From my experiences, MOST small to medium businesses are not marketed very well. (Heck, most BIG businesses have crappy marketing as well!) So, I’ll take a shot in the dark and guess that there just might be areas in the marketing of your business that could use some improvement. You say you advertise a lot. That is good ONLY if the ads are working. It is critical that you have a system in place to track the performance of every advertising dollar you spend. What does this mean? Well, if you put and ad in the yellow pages, you should have a specific coupon, or offer code or custom website landing page that tells you exactly how much business that ad is generating for you. I could go on and on… Instead, you should read this book: No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy. It’s $10.36 at Amazon.com Here’s the link… http://bit.ly/197JLu

Paul March 4, 2009

My question is very general. If I had 10k to start a small business in the current economy, what areas would you look at?  Something retail, service oriented, or labor intensive? I have run a small lawn care biz in the past so I’m inclined to go service but wondered what your general thoughts were. Not opposed to trying something different. Thanks, Paul

Hi Paul,

Oh boy… this is a great question. I’m going to assume that you live reasonably close to a large population center. (Within 100 miles of a city of 200,000 people) FACT 1: The FASTEST growing demographic in the United States is the “mass affluent”. I know, I know… it’s hard to believe if you watch or listen to the news, but I am NOT joking. FACT 2: It is harder and harder to find ANY level of decent service anywhere in any business. FACT 3: People who consider themselves affluent (which is a very relative term!) for the most part are willing to pay a lot of money for exceptional service. Okay Paul, here’s where I’m going with this. It almost doesn’t matter WHAT business you’re in, just be sure that you set your business up so that you target the mass affluent. How do you do this? You TARGET them. You learn how to communicate with them. You provide AMAZING and consistent customer service and finally you charge a LOT of money for this. And you can’t have it both ways. You either go big or go home. Here’s the perfect book for you: No. B.S. Marketing to the Affluent by Dan Kennedy. It’s $12.21 at Amazon.com Here’s the link… http://bit.ly/TbGAv

Are you actively LOOKING for ways to win?  You know I heard someone say once that motivation is like a shower.  You need it everyday or you start to stink!  Listen to what Les Brown has to say about motivation and vision for our current reality.

Make it count!

Take care,

Tim Schmidt