The Newsletter Pro - August 2020

The Newsletter Pro - August 2020

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

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Understand the 4 Campaigns Your Business Needs to Focus On Common Reasons Marketing Fails and How to Fix Them ‘The Power of Moments’ Book Review Aha! Helps Companies Nail Deadlines and Organize Projects Planning a Drive-In? Check Out Our Marketing Tips No Challenge Is Too Big for Attorney Matthew Taylor

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MAKE A PLAN TO GET TO A

POSITIVE OUTCOME

company don’t stand a chance. I read a few weeks ago that in Idaho (where I live) alone, the number of calls to the suicide hotline last month was 10 times higher than it was the same month last year. I know that, personally, when I can’t imagine a better future and see a path forward, my mental health that day or week is off. I thrive when I can work toward a better tomorrow, which is likely the reason I’ll never retire. As the leader of your company, you have to take time to focus on yourself and your own well-being. There are a number of things I do in this arena that have helped me through numerous difficult times in my life, including this pandemic, and I’ll share my process in the rest of this article. Continued on Page 2 ...

As I listened to those in the room, it was interesting to hear the themes. Everyone had been affected, as you’d imagine. Some had seen tremendous growth during COVID-19, and others took massive hits. Some had to reinvent their businesses on the fly, and others reinvented nearly all of their marketing. Most had gone to some level of working from home. Everyone just wanted to get back to normal, as we all wish we could. Regardless of all the changes, growth, or decline, nearly everyone agreed on what it would take for entrepreneurs to work through this crisis and come out better and stronger on the other side.

Over the last several years, a few of my friends and I have been getting together 3–4 times per year to help each other with our businesses. These are some of the best and brightest entrepreneurs on the planet. In years past, we’d all talk about marketing and growth or hiring and firing. We may have helped come up with new product or service ideas or helped find a new way to sell an existing product or service. We recently got together for the second time in 2020. Our first get-together was weeks before COVID-19 really hit the U.S. The group of people in attendance this time around was much smaller, as you can imagine, and the topics covered had a bit more variety because some of us had challenges related to COVID-19 to discuss.

The first area we all need to focus on daily is mindset. If your mindset is off, you and your

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... CONTINUED FROM COVER

works and how your subconscious can’t tell the difference between practice reps in your mind and the real thing. Many years ago, I read a book called “Psycho-Cybernetics: A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life” by Maxwell Maltz, and that is where I was first introduced to this concept. It has been pivotal for my success in life. There is also a very good talk on this subject called “The Secret Imagination of Elite Performers” by Charlie Unwin. I allow myself to have hard times or days. Like everyone else, I’ve had to deal with COVID-19 and its impacts, which have been both positive and negative. This goes for both my business and some major personal issues that hit on literally the exact same week. Frankly, it has been one of the most difficult periods of my life, and I’ve had to take a minute from time to time. I’ve had periods where I’ve been overwhelmed with emotions, stress, or in most cases, both. I put in 16-, 18-, even 20-hour days, seven days a week, for over a month, and the exhaustion would get the best of me at times. It is okay to not be okay occasionally. As the leader of my company and my family, it is difficult for me to admit sometimes that I need a minute or that I’m struggling. After all, I’m the one everyone else turns to when they need help. I’ve learned over the years — and 2020 has reinforced this — that I can’t help anyone if I don’t first help myself. Many people rely on me, both personally and professionally, and I need to make sure I am at 100% or I won’t be able to help anyone else. And you need to do the same, both mentally and physically. –Shaun

“I’VE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS — AND 2020 HAS REINFORCED THIS — THAT I CAN’T HELP ANYONE IF I DON’T FIRST HELP MYSELF.”

No one is going to be right in the mind if they consume 24/7 negativity, and that is what is being thrown at us. You have to limit your intake of bad news, and when you do, you’re more likely to stick to just the facts and what’s been proven, and it helps eliminate the opinions as much as possible. I pray, I meditate, and I visualize. I’m a Christian, so prayer is a part of my life. I both ask for help and express gratitude for what I have. I meditate so I can clear and focus my mind. I’m not great at this one yet, if I’m being honest. I also visualize. This goes hand in hand with what I said earlier about needing to see a better future or the outcome I want in order to work toward that outcome. There have been many studies about how the brain

As I said, I need to have some goals to work toward in order to see a path to a positive outcome. I can muscle through bleak situations, and I have, but I find it much easier to keep going when I’m moving from bleakness toward positivity. I also need a plan for the worst-case scenario, just in case. If the situation calls for it, I may have a plan for two or three worst-case scenarios. This allows me to see potential issues coming and maneuver to avoid them before the worst case happens. I limit my consumption of social media and news. There are way too many opinions floating around out there, and most of them are wrong — and that’s just on the major news outlets. Don’t get me started on social media and the keyboard warriors.

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IT’S TIME TO FOCUS ON THE FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS BUSINESS HOW-TO

4. Customer retention campaigns: The longer a customer stays with you, the more valuable they are to your business. Making sure you’re building relationships, nurturing (as I mentioned above), and having amazing customer service is very important to keep as many customers as possible for as long as possible. After each of those is in place, you can certainly look for additional new-customer acquisition campaigns. Most people typically start with campaigns to entice new customers, but that isn’t smart at the best of times, and right now, it may be an even worse idea. New-customer acquisition campaigns are by far one of the most difficult (and least profitable) parts of running a business. Investing in marketing that may not pan out, while you’re leaving low-hanging fruit on the tree (as in the above four sections), is silly. The campaigns I’ve mentioned will cost less, yield more profits, and do it more quickly than another new-customer acquisition campaign. This will ultimately help your company be better prepared for the coming downturn, whether that downturn comes next week, next month, or six years from now. –Shaun

THE SMARTEST MOVE IS TO FOCUS ON THE FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS, WHICH ARE (IN

It makes me feel old when I can look back and think, "I remember the last time the economy went through a cycle like this" and see the patterns repeating themselves. Right now, I'm seeing a number of businesses that have not been working too hard at their marketing and are scrambling. I’m also seeing a number of professionals, who had a few months off, suddenly be as busy as ever and think that is going to be the new norm. As the economy was previously very good, everyone — from the entrepreneur to the customer — got lazy and sloppy. Employees, in many cases, felt invincible; after all, they were in demand and could get another job whenever and wherever they wanted. Entrepreneurs felt like they were geniuses; after all, their business was growing with little to no marketing or effort needed. Customers allowed businesses to be sloppy because they had more money in their pockets than ever before and weren’t as scared of having a bad experience; they could always leave a negative review. And the sheer volume of other vendors to choose from gave them confidence. Right now, it is too early to tell which way the economy will go for sure, but I’d bet that it won’t be as strong as it was at the end of 2019. However, it is unlikely to be The Great Depression Part II, either. With that said, no one really knows. So, what is the best strategy for growing your business right now, without taking on too much risk, just in case?

NO PARTICULAR ORDER): 1. Nurture campaigns for

prospects: These campaigns will allow you to maximize any investment you’re already making in customer acquisition. 2. Nurture campaigns for driving

revenue growth from existing customers: The easiest sale to make is always to an existing customer. The sale is made even easier if you’ve done nurture and

relationship marketing previously, as customers always prefer to buy from someone they know, like, and trust. 3. Referral campaigns: Birds of a feather tend to flock together, and referred customers close faster and spend more on day one than cold leads. As an added bonus, referred customers also tend to refer others more frequently.

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