Why Businesses Fail and what to do about it.

Reg Gupton here.

Why businesses fail - and how to make sure yours succeeds

1. A closed mind

I know. You have been thinking about your business/product for years and years. You (might) have talked to friends, looked at the world and decided that you have it all figured out. Your product/service is the best. Period.

Your product solves a major problem. Your graphics are tops (at least your graphics designer tells you so).

You have fallen in love with your idea and you are going to hold on to it until you die or go bankrupt.

You should consider an Advisory Board to broaden your perspective and gain the help and advice of others. These Boards can be free, meet with you monthly.
They can be a Mastermind Group as described in the best selling classic Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

2. Sloppy or ineffective marketing

Or no marketing. Restaurants and retailers remodel a space, invest in equipment and inventory, and create a great menu. Then the doors are opened. Maybe a few folks show up for a few days.

I call it stumble in the door marketing. You take good to great care of the customers who make it in your door.

Then what? What do you do to get them coming back? Do you capture their contact information? Build a list to market to. A friend with a restaurant in Metro Denver build his list from 650 to 3,500 in a couple of years and his gross revenue from $650,000 to $1,8000,000 over the same time with a massive growth in profit. Just because he build a list and communicated with it regularly.

3. Ignoring the competition

You have identified a slight weakness in the biggest business in your niche. They have been around for 10 or 20 or 30 years. Whenever anyone mentions the product/service, they are who gets mentioned.

You think that because you have indentified a weakness, you can exploit it and exploit it you might.

However this competitor did not get big and last for decades by being stupid. They are likely doing many things correctly.

Make sure that the niche or weakness you have identified is cared about by the people in your market area.

4. Ignoring customer needs

You must listen to your customers. You must do exit surveys, you must do entrance surveys. Why do people use you and why do they quit?

What hours of operation do they need, what sizes, what colors, what days of the week do you need to be open?

5. Inadequate/incomplete business plan

Most business begin operation without a thorough business plan or one that focuses on the product and/or the numbers without adequate thought about how the product/service will be marketed, to whom and at what price.

There is little thought about the Three Ms of Marketing: Who is the Market, what Media will be used to reach them, to deliver what Message?

6. Poor location

Small business owners often believe that if you open your doors they will come.

If the only way into your store is a left turn without a traffic light on a busy street, you are doomed. If there is no or limited parking, you are doomed. If your business is not a destination experience and you are at the edge of a market area, you are out of business.

7. Poor execution/lack of discipline

Owning, starting, and running a small business requires consistent action and implementation of strategies, plans and tactics. For example, your store has to be open promptly at the time you say you are going to be open.

You have to create and follow systems and processes which will deliver a consistent result for your customers.
8. No viable market for your product

In Boulder, CO, where I live, I see engineers and technology people create products with no thought of who will buy them. They are products looking for a problem to solve.

No one cares. No market research has been done. No one had done any market testing to see if anyone is interested. And what price they will pay.

9. Inadequate accounting system/no management of cash flow

Recently I spoke with a local commercial banker working with small businesses about the proportion of people he speaks with who have “workable” accounting systems in place.

His opinion based on his experience: three out of ten. And those who use them monthly: one out of ten. This is a major indicator of impending failure.

10. Hiring incompetent employees and not training them

Many small businesses have an inadequate or non-existent system for hiring new employees. They are not consistent in the process used to hire their employees. Hiring someone who can fog a mirror is suicidal.

Further, people come to you to you so you can deliver a specific result, whether it is a cup of coffee, a tax return, or a properly repaired pair of shoes. Turning your business (and your success) over to poorly hired and inadequately trained high school students will take you to the poor house or bankruptcy or both.

I hope you will learn from this and not make these typical mistakes.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton
www.businesssuccessvideos.com

Meet David Ogilvy. You have much to learn from this marketing master

Reg Gupton, here.

One of the masters of marketing. Most of his time was spent with major brands most of which translates to inform your marketing or it should.

Here is information on a recent book about him.

The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of ...

www.doceymedia.com12/27/11

Famous for his colorful personality and formidable intellect, David Ogilvy left an indelible mark on the advertising world, transforming it into a dynamic industry full of passionate, creative individuals. This first-ever biography ...

Note: This is a 54 minute video interview with David Ogilvy about how he got started in advertising and what he learned. This is great!! Get a cup of your favorite beverage, plug in your ear buds and learn.

A conversation about advertising, with David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy interviewed by John Crichton in 1977. Realized by the American Association of Advertising Agencies AAAA. David is seen as the "pope of advertising". This is the complete interview version. Entrevista realizada por la AAAA al "papa de la ...

Search for the World's Greatet Salesperson - David Ogilvy, Salesman: The Early Years

Note: Here is David Ogilvy on sales. This is great too.

www.youtube.com Our founder, David Ogilvy, started as a cook and then a sales person. Learn lessons he picked up a long the way and the Art of Persuasion. We're looking for the world's greatest sales person. Are you the one? Visit the winner Todd Her...

What is the difference between Marketing and Advertising and why you should care.

Reg Gupton here: Understanding the difference between Marketing and Advertising is a distinction which will help you grow your business.

This is an important distinction which most business owners don't have a clue about. Having a business with open doors and believing print media advertising is all the marketing you need will not bring you success and might lead you and your family to bankruptcy or worse.

Read this and learn what to do differently.

Marketing vs Advertising | Business on Goldenacts

business.goldenacts.com12/16/11

Understanding what is the difference between marketing and advertising is very important for people in the fields of marketing, advertising and administration.

Note: Here is a classic video from David Ogilvy about direct marketing which is not advertising. Watch and learn from a master.

David Ogilvy: We Sell or Else

Renowned Advertising guru David Ogilvy gives a brief speech on the importance of direct marketing.

Note: What is your opinion or research on this topic. Post a comment below so we can all learn together.

New Presentations posted For You

Hi, Reg Gupton here.

Check out http://slidesha.re/profitbleslideshows for 11 new presentations on all sorts of topics from why small business fail to how to generate more leads in your business.

You will find tips on how to increase sales, increase profit and get more leads easily accessible to you.

Pass this email along to your list. They will thank you for it.

To your continued success,

Three slide shows for you

Hi, Reg Gupton here.

You will find three slide shows uploaded to Slideshare.net for you today.

They cover, six profit starving myths about direct mail, ten characteristics of wildly successful people and your most favorite topic, How to easily write a Business Plan for next year and every year after. You know if you don't have a written business plan, you are leaving massive amounts of money on the table. Get the money for you and your family.

You can view them here: http://slidesha.re/profitbleslideshows

If you like one or more of these presentations, "like" them on Facebook, share on Twitter or just forward this email to your list in your contact manager.

Your friends will thank you.

All my best,

Reg Gupton

How to easily receive all the leads you can handle

Reg Gupton here.

I recently recorded a video which tells you have to earn more than $10 for each dollar you invest in your marketing system.

And increase sales, increase your profit, learn how to prospect and much more.

Watch it here.

It is only 8 minutes long and well worth your time.

Leave your comments either positive or negative below the video. I promise to respond.

Check it out.

Reg Gupton offers 5 easy steps to use Holiday Direct mail in your marketing plan

Hi, Reg Gupton here.

Now is the time to begin/start your direct mail marketing plan. If you are not convinced that direct mail, pays. We should talk. The average return on investment for target direct mail is over $14 of income for each one dollar invested. If you don't know how to use direct mail profitably, we should talk about that too.

I have seen it done poorly with all the money wasted.

Below are the dates of the major holidays in the US for 2011.

You can use your Expresscopy account profitably in 5 easy steps. Don't have a free Expresscopy account? Open your free acct here http://bit.ly/b48cnM You will also receive 20% off on your first order.

Here are the 5 steps.

1. Decide that you are going to send holiday cards as part of your direct marketing to your Sphere of Influence and Past Clients.

2. Select the holidays you are going to celebrate with cards to you list.

3. Mark your calendar a minimum of 10 days before the holiday date to send the cards.

4. For those days which you choose with no pre-designed cards, upload your own pictures and create a custom card.

4. Sit back and watch the money roll in.

Date-Holiday Number of cards

Expresscopy.com

Jan 17-Martin Luther King Day

Feb 14-Valentine's Day 8 cards

Feb 21-Presidents' Day

Mar 17-St Patrick’ day 5 cards

May 8 – Mother’s Day

May 30-Memorial Day 2 cards

Jul 4-Independence Day 10 cards

Sep 5-Labor Day

Oct 31-Halloween 20 cards

Nov 11-Veterans Day

Nov 24-Thanksgiving Day 29 cards

Dec 25-Christmas Day 104 cards

Sit down with your calendar and get started.

You will be glad you did.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Reg Gupton's Top 10 Referral Business Builder Tips

It is an old saw that it is more expensive to acquire new customers than to work with established ones. This has certainly been my personal experience and the experience of others that I have consulted to and coached over the years.

Ignore these habits at your peril.

1. Be honest at all costs. No matter what.

2. Never pressure someone just to make a sale

3. See every customer as a friend not just as a sale or money.

4. Don't work with everyone that crosses your threshold. Be selective and work with those that you genuinely like.

5. Stay in touch after the transaction is over. If nothing else, be in touch with cards, letters and newsletters. In person or on the phone are the best.

6. Perform a written post-transaction quality survey. Then listen to what your clients say.

7. Follow the "Platinum Rule." Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.

8. Give small referral gifts to everyone that sends you a lead whether it becomes a sale or not.

9. Learn the biggest problem in your industry. Solve it for your customers.

10. If your industry offers advanced designations, earn them and display your credentials.

Reg Gupton's op 10 reasons to stay in touch with past clients

I have noticed while coaching numerous real estate agents over the past decade that many do not stay in touch with their past clients after they get paid and the transaction closes. Here are 10 reasons why you should stay in touch.

Top 10 reasons to stay in touch with your past customers

1. You would like them to buy from you again.

2. You would like them to give you a testimonial.

3. You would like them to send you their friends as customers through referrals.

4. You would like them to be brutally frank and rate your customer service delivery system.

5. You would like them to honestly and candidly evaluate your product or service.

6. You would like to learn the many ways that your customers use your product or service.

7. You would like them to give you ideas on ways to improve your product or service

8. You would like them to talk to a prospective customer who has asked to talk with a current customer.

9. You would like to develop a friendly relationship with them so that they are comfortable discussing problems with you.

10. You would like them to buy more frequently from you.

Reg Gupton's Top 10 Database purchasing tips

Reg Gupton here. Here are the Top 10 mistakes I see when watching people purchase an electronic database.

Follow these simple steps and you will make a better decision when buying database software.

1. Ask friends what they use and how they use the database software that they have.

Surely one of your friends uses relational databases. They will be able to tell you what works and what does not with the package that they use.

2. Do your own due diligence on the features that you need

After receiving suggestions on several packages from your friends, get on the web; use Google to search for the software

3. Purchase a Relational Database.

A Relational Database simply put is a lot of data like name, address, city, state, zip, phone number, e mail addresses etc that is searchable in too many different ways to list here.

The power comes in allowing you to find any single record (read person) or group of records (group of persons) quickly and communicate with them in numerous ways. For example you can search for past customers that live in Colorado Springs. This search might be helpful if you are going to be in the city and wish to visit your existing customers.

4. Hire a coach/consultant/trainer to teach you how to most effectively use the software you acquire.

Your time is too valuable to noodle around in a database program trying to figure out how to perform the basic tasks that you wish to accomplish. An hour or two of a skilled consultant for the software will save you tons of time and get you productive in hours not days.

5. Make sure that the program will allow you to setup and implement marketing campaigns to both individuals and groups.

Some programs will allow you to send communications (e-mails, postcards, and letters) to individuals but you need to send each one individually. The better programs allow you to send all the necessary letters (for example) with a single mouse click (or two).

The program that I use sorts through all the letter and/or emails that are to be sent off into the future and lets you know how many are scheduled to go out today.

This should be done in the main program without add-ons or additional pieces of software.

6. Think about the expenditure as an investment and not a cost.

Investing in database software and building the list of names is truly like buying a printer or other piece of software or a high-speed connection to the Internet.

You will be able to conduct business in ways you never imagined prior to owning and building your personal database.

7. Assure that you can send emails directly from the database software that you acquire.

Some database packages force you to use intermediary steps or use the e-mail client that came with the software. Many are not supported nor are they in the mainstream.

8. Make sure that the software will allow you to mail-merge a group of people receiving different letters or e-mails.

Mail merge allows the software to look up the name, address, etc and the letter or e-mail put the two together and send them. Other pieces of software force you to do this manually. Not a good use of your time.

9. Realize that in the beginning there is a huge investment of time entering the data from your paper system.

Be aware that it could take you only 60-120 seconds to enter each person's contact information. And also be aware that you will only have to do this one time. Ever. Then you can use your personalized database as a Rolodex, phone list, birthday card reminder system and to carry out marketing campaigns just to mention a few uses. Once the contact information is entered, it is there forever.

10. Realize that once the database is built, it's effective use will feed you, your family and your business forever.

After you enter all the people that you know in the world, you can begin to make them well crafted offers for your goods and services.

No more hand writing (unless you chose), no more looking through stacks of business cards for a number to call.

All you have to do is enter the name and up pops their contact information to use in a money producing way.

Top 10 reasons to use color postcards

Think about it: You spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a nice newspaper/magazine ad and not hear from a soul. Why is that? One reason could be (and likely is) that they were not in the market for your service when you made your offer. Just as likely, they did not read the page that contained your ad. Think about it, if I don't look at the page that contains your ad, you just flushed your money.

Print media salespeople will tell you that it pays to advertise - that you must spend money to make money. They offer you significant discounts. And you buy. Focusing on the discount(s), not on the results.

What they don't tell you is that advertising does not equal marketing. There are many other ways to market your service.

There are 4 ways to touch a targeted audience. And targeting is what you should do.

Here are the 4 way:

1. Face-to-face

2. Phone

3. Direct mail

4. E-mail.

I've found a way around this dilemma by using color postcards. They have been an essential part of my marketing toolkit for years

Experts say that if a marketing effort is to be successful, it must be repeated. You will get results from your targeted postcards if you repeatedly send to the same audience. Not spread them around.

Continue advertising in the paper, but only if it has worked for you in the past. Measure your responses. If you are not getting the sales/calls that you want, stop.

1. Even for the smallest of businesses can afford postcard mailing.

If you have as few as 50 customers/prospects in a database you can afford to send a targeted color postcard.

2. You can make a sneak attack.

Your competition will know if you're advertising in the newspapers/magazines! It will take them longer to find out with direct mail postcards.

3. It's easy to track your results.

Your card can tell recipients to call for a free (value added) report. Further you can direct them to use a special code when they place an order on your web site.

4. Postcards are versatile.

In a single mailing, you can seek business from prospective customers, and solicit repeat business from existing customers.

5. Postcards can establish and support your brand.

When you use a systematic, direct mail postcard program, you and your business will become familiar to your target audience.

6. No more wasted marketing campaign money.

Send your proposed/test card to a small sample of your database. Measure the response. If you are pleased with the response, mail to the rest of the target audience. If not, change one thing and test again.

7. Postcards are read quickly.

You have only 6-8 seconds with the reader of your mail. That is enough with a postcard.

8. Postcards don't take up a lot of space.

If appropriate, they can be easily carried around until the time to redeem them for your great offer.

9. Postcards are easy and inexpensive.

Visit http://bit.ly/simplesolutions I am a partner with this great company and make a few cents when you purchase. You will find powerful new tools that make sending color cards inexpensive. Your investment will be from $ .48 to $ .60 cents per card including postage, addressed, printed (in four color) and laminated. Then delivered to the post office.

10. Postcards are fast and simple.

You can create/use a template so that the majority of the card stays the same (for great branding) and just change your offer/message.


Add color postcards to your marketing mix in your Business Plan for next year and every year in the future. Your business will thank you.

Reg Gupton asks: are you making these database marketing mistakes

Make this list of mistakes at your peril. You don't need to. I have made them all and can help you learn from my mistakes and massively explode your business in a very short time if you are willing to be disciplined and learn from others.

1. Believing that your most profitable source of new customers is from print media ads.

2. Believing that your marketing energy and money should be spent predominately trying to attract new customers.

3. Believing that marketing to your existing customers is expensive, time consuming and not very profitable.

4. Not capturing the names, addresses and email addresses of your existing customers.

5. Not offering your existing customers incentives to stay with you.

6. Buying software that requires a Ph.D. in computer science to operate.

7. Buying software that will not allow you to create and run marketing campaigns easily and automatically.

8. Buying software that will not allow you to send e mails directly from inside the program.

9. Not investing in training or coaching on the use of the software that you buy.

10. Believing that contacting your prospects and past buyers 2-3 times per year is enough.

Print these ten tips, post them to your wall and read them daily. Don't engage in them. Ever.

Easily add this proven lead generation strategy to your Business Plan for 2011

This morning I rec'd an email from a coaching client asking me to review an message she was planning to send to some local business people telling them that she would like to add them to her referral network and recommend them to her list of about 700 Past Clients and Sphere of Influence folks.

We have talked numerous times about making the referral process reciprocal. She has agreed that would be a better idea. And then promptly forgot it this morning.

Why should agents always be referring folks to their list without securing referrals in return? Reciprocity is a great thing.

If you have a handful of local service people who have a list as described below you could easily increase business with qualified leads as little cost to you.

You should print this and make it happen before the end of the year.

My Ideal Cross-Marketing Affiliate is:

1) Must have an electronic database

i) At least as big as mine

ii) Preferably bigger

2) Must be someone reputable

3) Must be someone I’m pleased to endorse

4) Must be willing to endorse me

i) Periodically

ii) Invest money to do that

5) Must be someone I like

6) Must be a business I like

Add this leg to your lead generation plan. Increase your business easily in 2011 and beyond.

Remember: If I have to persuade them, I don’t want them!

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Lemons into Lemonade or where have all the buyers gone

Hi,

Reg Gupton here.

Yesterday while on a group coaching session with my clients, more than one person complained that their pipeline was empty or near empty. They were freaking out.

I explored the obvious action or should I say inaction when the market gets tough. In my 30 years in the housing as an agent, CRS instructor and now coach, I have observed that agents withdraw into themselves when things get hard like a turtle or ostrich putting its head in the sand hoping that things will get better if I just wait.

They retreat rather than look at what is working for a colleague, what has worked in other down markets or, where the opportunities are now.

One of my hiking/outdoor friends is actively investing in the stock market. On a hike recently, were talking about what she was doing as the market move up one day and down the next. She told me that the investor with the right attitude and skills could make money in any market. She is doing fine, thank you very much.

I asked my clients yesterday: "Who is this the right market for? Who should be buying is this market?"

This is a short list of those who should take advantage of this market.

• Those who can put 20+% down.
• Those who have great credit.
• Those who have a good, stable income. And more importantly believe it is going to last.
• Those who believe that rental and non-rental properties might go down slightly before they go back up as they always have in the past.
• Those investors who plan to hold their property for 5-10 years.
• Those who want to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in 40-50 years (depending on who you listen to).
• First-time buyers who plan to stay for 5 plus years.
• Those who would like to take advantage of a huge listing inventory.
• Those who would like to work with motivated sellers.

After we created this list of the characteristics of the target audience, I asked them: "now what?"

They decided that crafting two emails, one for investors and one for everyone else would be the thing to do.

These emails will be sent to their lists several times with different subject lines as between 65 and 80% will not have opened and read them the first time they are sent.

I hope you will do the same.

If you are looking for a book to help you these tough times, look no further. It is here:



To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Are you making this marketing mistake?

Reg Gupton here again.

In 1967, I graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University. Then in 1969 I got my MBA in marketing and quantitative methods. From that time on I have been a student of best marketing and sales practices.

Marketing Basics

The way that people and companies market has obviously evolved over the years, but there are some facets that remain the same and have for over 90 years..

Three things that I have seen work consistently throughout the years are as follows:

1. Building and nurturing a relationship with your clients and prospects creates an environment that is conducive to marketing and sales, which become more like suggestions and referrals.

2. Providing value above and beyond what is expected will help to nurture relationships and also help people to know, like, and trust you.

3. Putting systems or processes in place to handle tedious or menial marketing tasks makes accomplishing your goals and objectives seem much more simple or less monotonous.

Marketing continues to evolve in conjunction with the ways that people communicate with each other. As you can imagine it is tough to keep up with the changing trends, but you don’t have to be doing the latest greatest thing to be generating leads from your marketing.

No Need for New Tricks

Even in our fast paced world there are some tools that continue to produce great results even today. Of these tools, a personal favorite of mine is direct mail. Direct mail delivers a physical presence to the client/prospect and has numerous applications.

I would recommend that you use ExpressCopy for direct mail for several reasons:

There are many occasions that warrant sending out a touch to a client or prospect and ExpressCopy has hundreds and hundreds of pre-made postcard designs and layouts to make the process easier

You’ll find scheduling mailings a breeze, the time you will save is undeniable
ExpressCopy postcards are professional and protected by UV lamination, ensuring that they arrive looking like they are hot off the press

It’s a Win Win

If you sign up for ExpressCopy through me, I will make a little bit of money, but in return I would like to offer you something extra.

After you sign up for ExpressCopy through me I am thrilled to talk with you for a free 1/2 hour session (a $150 value) with me during which we can talk about to whom and with what frequency you should be sending direct mail.

Sending direct mail is not always obvious. Over my 30 years in the housing I have seen many, many agents waste their money by doing this wrong.

Until August 20th, ExpressCopy is running a summer special on their direct mail pieces. This means that you can save 4 cents per postcard, which will add up. If you were to schedule all of your holiday mailers now, by pre-purchasing and scheduling their send out date, then you could lock in the summer discounted rate. I called to check on this. It is true.

Even if you don’t get to lock in the summer special price, ExpressCopy still provides an excellent value and will always save you time.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Reg Gupton offers a quick tip for agents

Just finished a call with a client who said that she had a RWA buyer ready to purchase with nothing in the MLS that would work. The buyer is pre-approved for a loan. Ready to buy now.

I asked if the property existed in the market place and was just not listed at the current time.

Answer: yes!

I suggested that she send an email to her list of over 300 asking them: "Who do you know who owns this kind of property?" List the features, neighborhood, etc. I suggested that she say she is not looking for a listing.

She is looking for a property that could be purchased now by a RWA buyer. Now!

No extended listing period, only one showing, no getting the house ready. Show, sell and move.

This strategy worked well for me when I was an agent on the street. You can use it too.

Oh, while I was explaining the idea to my client, she had already moved mentally to thinking about all the people who she did not have an email address for. She did not think of the other side of the list. Those who she did have emails for.

Even if she had only 1/2 of the emails, that would still be over 150 folks who would be out working for her. Please remember that each person you know knows about 200 people, so as many as 3,000 people were now on her team helping her satisfy her buyer.

Let me know what you think and how it has worked for you if you have used this strategy in the past.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Are you finding new prospects like this? I bet not.

Hi Reg,

The 8x8 and 33 touch programs really do work! As you know they are described on page 146 and 147 of the MREA book by Gary Keller and Dave Jenks. You can read a book review here

As you know, last May I was in the hospital for 3 days. At the end of my stay I struck up a conversation with the discharge nurse as she was wheeling me down the corridor of the hospital toward the exit doors, I struck up a conversation with her. I told her what I did and that I'd like to mail her valuable information. She was interested so I wrote down her contact info and put her and her husbands info in Top Producer and started them on the 8x8 program. After the 8 weeks we put them on the 33 touch. Over the last 8 month period I had called them twice and left a message just to check in with them.

Just this week she called me and invited me to come over and talk to them about listing their house for sale. I met with them last night and spent some quality time getting to know them. As we were finishing up I mentioned that I'm always on the lookout for people like them who could use the services of a Realtor like me.

The husband then said, "How many cards do you have in your pocket?"

I looked and I had 5. He said I'll take all of those but we might need more. Then he and his wife named 2 close relatives, a neighbor, and 3 friends/associates that they were going to give my cards to.

I was writing down the names and addresses and info about the prospects as fast as they were giving the info to me. After I got home that evening I counted up the leads and the potential here turns out to be 8 sides! Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I'm meeting with the husband and wife tomorrow to list their house for sale.
Reg, thank you for coaching me on a pathway that really does work!

Jerry Readle
Remax Alliance
6343 W. 120th Ave.
Broomfield, CO 80020
Jerry direct: 303-327-6777
fax: 303-469-7959
main office: 303-469-8821
email: jerryreadle@gmail.com
website: www. realtorjerry4life.com

The #1 reason for not being successful in your small business

Hi Reg Gupton here.

Today I took the current issue of Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazier's No B.S Marketing Newsletter to lunch as my date. If you are not familiar with these marketing geniuses, look here. They are the best direct response marketers out there.

Anyway, in the FAQ, Bill was asked: "What is the number 1 reason you see for people not being successful in their business."

Here is his answer: "They don't work. They are not willing to put forth the effort to work on their own marketing education in order to achieve the knowledge they need and then, they don't implement what they learn. If you do these two things, you will be successful (plain and simple)"

Having coached dozens and dozens and dozens of agents, I could not agree more. Many agent are unwilling to educate themselves and will not implement the ideas/plans that they develop.

So they fail or do not achieve the success they deserve.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Must there always be something new

Hi,

Reg Gupton here. A while back a current client mentioned to me that a local sales manager/owner was not interested in working with me to help her agents because I did not offer anything new.

I thought about that a while. I reviewed what I recall about her and her office.

Until a real estate agent has the basics covered in the lead generation there is no need for anything new.

The basics are focus on what really works. This is not opinion. There is compelling research from the National Assoc of Realtors about how the public picks their agent.

Here is some of it. About 67% of the sellers had either used the agent before or were referred by a friend/family/neighbor. Almost 70% from your past clients and/or those who know, like and trust you seems pretty targeted to me. And points out the benefits of staying in touch with your sphere of influence and past clients.

And the typical seller (84% to be exact) interview only one or two agents.

Further, 81% would or probably would use the agent again. However, only 24% had used the agent before.

And 87% were very or somewhat satisfied with the process. That is a very, very high satisfaction rate. Most industries do not have that kind of success.

This broker had been in business for almost 3 decades. She had no database of past clients. She walked away from the closing table unemployed.

No repeat business. Seems like hard work to me. How about you?

True. I have nothing new to offer. And for most agent there is no need for anything new until the basics are covered.

Having trouble with implementation? Get with me for a few tips on how to get this done.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Reg Gupton asks: Are you making more than $20 for each marketing dollar invested?

Hi,

Reg Gupton here.

If you are not seeing a return of over $20 in income (GCI) for each and every dollar you invest in your marketing, we should speak immediately.

One of my most long term clients and I were reviewing her Profit and Loss statement thru the month of September as we planned her business for 2010. We were both shocked, in a positive way, to see that she had invested a little over $11,000 in Lead Generation/Marketing and had a GCI of over $250,000 or a return of over $20 for each dollar she invested in Lead Generation. Her lead generation program is simple and completely delegated. She just works the leads that she receives.

There is no mystery in what she is doing. You can do the same thing, easily and simply if you know what to do. Do you?

If you are unsure what to do, call today to learn the 3 simple steps that she is using to produce dozens of leads and a return of over $20 for her marketing money. If your return is higher, I and everyone else would like to know what you are doing.

I have often said to my clients that the steps I will share with you are so fool-proof that you should borrow the money from almost anyone to fund these simple, proven steps. As you can see, you can afford to pay lots of interest and still be profitable. And you could be 1/2 as good at converting the leads and still make a ton of money.

Your call to me will not be a sales call and I will even pay for it. Call today.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

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