I guess I’m not much of a cook.

I don’t want Colonel Sanders’ fried chicken recipe.  Famous Amos makes great cookies but I have no need to reverse engineer the baking.

And I don’t need to know the secret in any sauce.  Original thinking is better than a copy.

Too many marketers are looking for a formula to increase revenue.  And it better not be simple.  If it’s complicated, it must be better.

I’ve made a lifetime of study in the field of time management.  I’ve taught several hundred seminars to leaders in search of a better time management system.  When students come in the front door of the class, they have a hidden expectation that the marker board will soon fill with a magic formula:  “Ancient Secrets for Time Management.”

This is my course content for time management: “Do ONE thing today toward your highest priority goal. Write it in a time slot on your calendar. Then do another.”  Of course, a good seminar leader can take 4 hours to deliver that takeaway.

The longer I teach and consult in marketing, the more I realize that many leaders work too hard to make marketing work.

Here are a few simple takeaways from deep-dive seminars I teach.  I consider each point to be fundamental:

1. Go where the pain and pleasure are formed.
2. Write one or two sentences about how your product or service provides a solution to #1.
3. Draw a circle on an 8.5/11 sheet of paper.  Inside the circle, list descriptions of people who need what you do.
4. Make a smaller circle and identify the top 20 percent of your bigger circle.  The Top 20 should consist to:
   •     be the easiest to reach
   •     have the strongest motivation to solve their problem
   •     have funds to purchase your solution immediately
5. Collect email addresses from people who match your small circle.
6. Develop a drip campaign using email, video, social media. (pick one) Show up every day and make sure your WORDS address the problem and solution.
7. Do this for a long, long time.  Every drip makes a difference in the long run.

This is a secret recipe.  The best secrets are simple.

 

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