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www.thenewsletterpro.com 2020
10 AREAS R TO FOCUS ON RIGHT NOW TO SEE MASSIVE GROWTH IN YOUR BUSINESS!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
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Use This 1 Question to Get More Growth, More Sales, and More Success Developing a Buyer Persona for Your Business ‘Originals: How Non- Conformists Move the World’ Book Review
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Want to Read Your Customers’ Minds?
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How TikTok Can Revolutionize Your Marketing
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There’s a Reason People Love Chick-fil-A
1. Why do we do things this way? 2. Which areas of my business have I always wished were different? 3. Can I simplify my products or services? 4. Where can I get leverage? 5. Are there opportunities to make investments in my business and get huge returns? 6. What stuff don’t I want to do anymore? 7. Where are there opportunities for partnerships or growth that weren’t available previously? 8. Are there any major accounts in play that I can finally land? 9. What talent may be in the market that I can get access to or hire? 10. Are there new products or services I should be considering?
Not all of these are created equally, and not all apply to every business. The question is this: Which of these makes sense for you and your industry? The answer will be different for everyone but let me touch on just a few. No. 10: Be careful when thinking of new products and services, as this can be a kind of shiny object to us entrepreneurs. There is a reason I put this one last; I didn’t want anyone to get stuck on this one and not get through the whole list. Nos. 1–3: These are my favorites. When answered truthfully, they can have major impacts on profitability and your overall happiness in your business, which is important, especially since business valuations for most companies are depressed right now. No. 6: This is an area I’ve spoken about a few times, but it could be difficult to make tons of improvement on it at this particular moment. Recently I’ve found myself having to do work in areas I haven’t had to think about in years. This Continued on Page 2 ...
Are you ready for the opportunity that is coming? Right now is one of the single best times ever to gain market share, grab attention, and make a name for yourself and your business. Everyone is asking to go back to business as usual, but that’s not going to be how things play out. “Business as usual” will need to be redefined for everyone, and it could become whatever you say it is for your industry or community. Over the last number of weeks, I’ve been looking at all areas of my business and reevaluating them. I’ve asked myself what I like about my business and what I don’t like, and I’ve been working hard to change and/or remove the areas of my business I don’t like. So many businesses are in a state of change right now. You may have already stumbled upon this, but if you’re being forced to change, then why not also reevaluate the areas of your business you wish were different? Why only look at the areas of change that you’re being forced to look at? Here are 10 good questions to ask yourself to help find some of the opportunities in your business.
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... CONTINUED FROM COVER
YOU CAN CREATE THAT BUSINESS, LIFE, AND INCOME YOU’VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF. YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL.
hustle anyone, and that belief was really put to the test as I struggled to overcome the onslaught of both personal and professional obstacles. The unexpected benefit, though, is that I suddenly see the world through new eyes. Business, people, places, material goods — all the things around me are suddenly different. It’s like I went from seeing everything in standard definition to seeing everything in high definition. Everything has become crystal clear. And let me tell you, the opportunities around all of us right now are massive. The ability to make your dreams come true and leave your mark on the world — or, as Dave Ramsey says, “change your family tree” — has likely never been better than it is right now, if you’re willing to do the work . If you’re willing to build out your business foundation and focus on strengthening your relationships, then you can thrive like never before. You can create that business, life, and income you’ve always dreamed of. You can have it all.
would be a negative to most, and honestly, some of the work was less than pleasant. However, it has allowed me to see other opportunities in the business that I may have missed had I not gone “backwards” and done work I’d passed off long ago. Another massive opportunity is found in purchasing one — or maybe all — of your competitors’ businesses, or better yet, maybe just their list and phone/web properties. Some businesses simply won’t make it through this. When they close, there will be a great opportunity for the ones that survive to buy up their assets for pennies on the dollar. There will be a whole industry of people devoted to helping put those deals together. Think of this industry like the short sale industry in the housing market, but for business. You can easily set those deals up yourself or, if you have massive amounts of free time or are going to lose your business, maybe this is a nice hustle you can get in the middle of and make some good cash from. Depending on how big and complicated the deal is, there is even the possibility of taking a tollbooth position, which is one of the single best positions to have in any transaction. (A tollbooth position is where one person sits in the middle of a deal and takes a cut of sales or profits from one or both parties on an ongoing basis. If you arrange the deal correctly, then you could get a piece of the action for years to come. Of course, you have to provide a good reason for these people to need you in a tollbooth position. But it can be crazy profitable once you have your reason, arrange the deal, and get the contract in place.) Like most of us, this year has been crazy for me. The craziness came both personally and professionally. As I write this and reflect, I’m not sure I’ve ever been through a more difficult time in my life — and surely not in such a short amount of time! I’ve always said I can out-work and out-
–Shaun
P.S. One of the changes I’ve made to my business has allowed us to create a better product and service for our existing customers as well as new customers. We were able to make these improvements and still decrease the monthly investment by 33% on our starting newsletter program. If you’ve been thinking about getting a newsletter to help grow and building out the foundational marketing aspects of your business, then now is a great time. You’ll be able to get the best possible quality and pricing we’ve ever been able to offer. To get more info and see how we can help you and your business thrive right now, go to www.NewsletterPro.com/schedule or call 208.297.5700.
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BUSINESS HOW-TO
HOW TO MOVE FORWARD AND GET MORE GROWTH, SALES, AND SUCCESS
I got a call from my friend Yamin yesterday asking if he could come over because he needed some business help. But before I get to that, I want to tell you Yamin’s amazing story. Born in Burundi, a landlocked country in Africa, Yamin lived through and witnessed unspeakable horrors. As a young man in his 20s, he came to America as a refugee. Yamin lived in a Motel 6 for three months, working multiple jobs until he could save enough money to buy a car and become an Uber driver. Then, one Uber drive changed the trajectory of Yamin’s life. That ride happened to be for a very close friend of mine — and now of Yamin’s — where Yamin spoke of his desire to learn how to code, develop websites, and one day become an entrepreneur. A few days after that drive, Yamin, with the help of my buddy who he drove, enrolled in a program to learn to code. Fast forward a few years and at 26 years old, Yamin is a student at Boise State, was recognized last year by the mayor of Boise for his accomplishments, and has his own business building websites for other entrepreneurs, fulfilling his dream. So, like many other entrepreneurs, last night Yamin wanted help knowing what to do in his business to grow, especially right now. He wanted to know what he should be working on and how he should prioritize his day. The funny thing about the advice I gave Yamin is that I’ve given this same advice to literally tens of thousands of people over the years. I’ve shared it in different ways and via different mediums, but the advice is still the same and works just like it always has. The problem is that it’s not complicated or shiny. It’s foundational advice you build your business on and a process you should use and not deviate from. But one thing I’ve noticed about many Americans is that if advice seems too easy, then they assume it won’t work. People tend to brush off this advice and pretend they already know it and do it. But Yamin was taking notes. I guarantee he acted on this advice last night and will begin to incorporate it into his daily routine.
Moving Forward Every day you need to ask yourself one question: What is the most important thing I can do to move my business forward? It’s really that simple. The funny thing is that very few people do it, and they lose days, hours, and minutes of their valuable time as a result. Too many people focus on what they want to do or on the fire right in front of them. Too many people allow the day to be stolen from them by letting the priorities of others dictate what they do with their own time. Once you know what needs to be done, the question changes: How many of these tasks that will move you forward can you get done in a day, week, or month? Most people are working eight hours a day. What if you worked 16 hours a day? You’d be working double what everyone else is in a week. What if you also worked 16 hour days on the weekend? You’d
be working nearly three times what a high performer is working in any given week.
Starting on about March 14, I worked 18–20 hours a day, seven days a week, for a month to navigate COVID-19. I didn’t just want to survive. I wanted to put The Newsletter Pro in a position to thrive as we emerge from the pandemic. I will out-work, out-think, and out-hustle anyone. You have to be willing to fight for your dreams. You have to be willing to work hard for your dreams. You have to be willing to put it all on the line to achieve your dreams. You can do anything you want. The question is this: How bad do you want it, and what sacrifices are you willing to make? Don’t write this idea off as too simple. Yamin surely won’t. Do this process daily. –Shaun
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CLIENT SUCCESS
MARKETING HOW-TO DEVELOPING A BU PERSONA FOR YOU
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WHY THE G ORIGINALIT Read ‘Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World’ b
“I've been a very happy Newsletter Pro client for four years. I trust them to help me retain my current customer base and add more customers! And if your peers tell you direct mail newsletters are not for your type business ... that's perfect ... it means YOU will be the only one gaining profits from a printed newsletter. Thank you, Newsletter Pro!” -Wally Conway Homepro Inspections Schedule a call with us! Visit NewsletterPro.com/schedule or call 208.297.5700
Original, creative ideas can seem difficult to come by and even harder to execute due to obstacles or personal reluctance, but that shouldn't stop you from chasing them. In “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World,” Adam Grant examines the conflict inherent in presenting new ideas and how that feeling is far more universal than some may think. Even if you don’t necessarily consider yourself a creative person, you might have found yourself with unique, risky opportunities that you were reluctant to take. Many of those who went down in history for their brazen originality, such as George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., and Michelangelo, were incredibly hesitant to perform those acts. In reference to leading the Revolutionary Army, George Washington wrote, “I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it.” Martin Luther King Jr. was
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UYER UR BUSINESS
industry, size of business, revenue, and location, to name just a few demographics.
However, when you take on the wrong customers, it can be a nightmare for both parties. Every business has occasional customer service issues, and you need to work hard to keep your customers satisfied. But we’re talking about the kind of clients you can’t please, even if you had a million years to make the attempt. Even with the best intentions on your part, these wrong-fit relationships typically end badly because you never should have been working together in the first place. Understandably, someone finally decided to get a divorce. So how do you find clients who are a match for you and your business? You need to develop demographic and psychographic profiles.
You wouldn’t get married to just anyone, would you?
Psychographics involve looking at your markets or consumers based on their personality traits, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. By developing a buyer persona, you’ll have a much easier time targeting your content, sales message, and marketing toward someone who is more likely to not only do business with you, but to also be a great match for your product or service. How to Develop a Buyer Persona Start by looking at your best customers and make a list of what you know about them (or can research online and find out about them).
Of course not!
You need to have a relationship first, feel an attraction, and be with someone who’s a good match for you. Obviously it makes a lot of sense to be picky in your personal life, but it’s just as important to be picky when you’re looking for new customers in your business! Many business owners happily accept any leads that come their way, but finding the right customers for your business isn’t that different from finding the right spouse. If you get the right customer, then everything is great for both parties — you’re making money, and they’re getting a valuable product or service.
Demographics are statistical data about your potential customer. For example, you may look at
Continued on Page 6 ...
GREATEST OBSTACLE TO TY IS FEAR by Adam Grant
Have You Heard the Good News?
The problem here is that excellence isn’t always guaranteed, even by the greats. Grant says it simply, “Nobody has a biological immunity to risk.” Perhaps that is why trends tend to incite the most momentum in industries — popularity tends to lessen risk. For this, Grant shares a quote by Thomas Jefferson, “In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.” A No. 1 New York Times bestseller, Adam Grant’s “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World” neatly expresses (perhaps unintentionally) the beauty of failure: It proves that we’ve overcome fear to take risks and “moved” the world to make space for our success.
hesitant to speak at rallies, writing, “I had so recently finished my thesis, and needed to give more attention to my church work.” Michelangelo? He found painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling to be such an overwhelming task that he fled to Florence for two years before the pope convinced him to do it. Think about the Michelangelos of the world who might have had truly original ideas but weren’t “catapulted into the spotlight” to pursue them, as Grant explains in his book’s first chapter. People who take original actions or make original ideas are forced to stand out. That can be very intimidating for people in pursuit of excellence, an interest which only deepens fears of failure.
Philippians 4:13 — “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3 — “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 — “But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
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MARKETING HOW-TO CONTINUED ...
• Goals • Solutions for challenges • Desired outcome as it relates to your product or service • Common sayings (for example, “No one can do it as good as I can.”) • Common objections Keep in mind that it is likely you’ll have multiple buyer personas that will fit well with your product or service. Typically you’ll find that people name their buyer personas — think “Marketing Mary” or “Owner Oli” — both to have fun and to more easily identify which persona is being referred to in discussions around each of their demographics and psychographics.
Armed with both demographic and psychographic info on who your ideal customer is, you can start to shape your marketing message to attract your ideal buyer persona and discourage people who aren’t a good fit. We’ve found that as we have continued to hone our buyer persona, we have both happier customers and happier team members; we also have lower customer attrition and a more detailed marketing message that tends to better attract our ideal prospects.
Conduct research using online or offline surveys to determine similarities between your best buyers. You’ll need to get at least five people to agree to chat with you for each buyer persona you’re trying to develop. You’ll also want to interview some customers who you feel may not have been a fit, so you can identify the similarities in your non-ideal customers as well. One good way to gather data is to check with your sales team and other employees to find out who they feel are the best customers. Make sure you don’t simply look at the easiest customers to sell to (which may be the ones your salespeople prefer). Also look at customer retention, the number of referrals generated by the group, how easy they are to work with after the sale, etc. Once you’ve conducted your research, you can start to paint a picture of your customers' problems or what they're trying to achieve. Some of the things customers want are:
RESOURCE OF THE MONTH KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOUR CUSTOMER IS LOOKING FOR YOU
Answer the Public: Your Very Own Mind Reader
your business, so you can see how your customers are looking for information about you. You can then use these searches to gain insight, validation, and creativity when it comes to marketing and content strategies.
Every business owner can admit that at some point, they’ve wished they could just read their customers’ minds. Work would be so much easier and much more fruitful if you could know exactly what customers are looking for. But
because mind reading is still a dreamy advent of science fiction, Answer the Public has taken it upon themselves to provide the next best thing.
Answer the Public gives you a way to meet your customers exactly where they are and create relevant content that strikes a chord with them. You can get updates on when people talk about your keyword in new
Search engines like Google receive more than 3 billion individual searches a day, and 20% of those are brand-new inquiries that have never been made before. When someone types “How to ...” or “Why does …” into their search engine, there’s no telling what might come next because it changes so quickly. But Answer the Public is a tool for reading those thoughts by tapping into search engine keywords. These gold mines get at the heart of not only what your customers are looking for but also how they’re looking for it.
ways and discover hidden niches that boost your search. You can eliminate guesswork about which keywords are working and which aren’t via instant search insights directly from customers, not generated by a machine making predictions.
Former Google data scientist Seth Stephens- Davidowitz poses that “Google searches are the most important dataset ever collected on the human psyche.” That little search bar is a powerful tool, and in many ways, it’s a direct line into how customers think when they shop. Answer the Public may not be reading minds just yet, but it's providing businesses with valuable insights about their customers’ thinking like never before.
The tool compiles autocomplete data from search engines to quickly reveal every useful phrase or question that people are asking in relation to your keywords. Questions that start with “why,” “how,” “are,” and “which” are all presented in tandem with keywords you use for
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HOW TIKTOK CAN REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR MARKETING IN THE SPOTLIGHT Benefits of the Popular Video App
TikTok first came into the spotlight as a social media platform because of its fun and creative videos, which last anywhere from a few seconds to a full minute. However, with over 1 billion users who open the app on average more than seven times a day, it has become one of the leading social media channels for marketing audiences. If you’re looking to enhance your content marketing plan, then use these tricks to help scale your business through TikTok. CREATE A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR IDEAL AUDIENCE Building a strong relationship with your audience can take time depending on your market. When you’re scaling your company, it’s these key connections that determine how fast you grow. With fun video content that relates to your audience, you can build those relationships with any target demographic. Young adults make up 41% of TikTok’s users, and half their total user base is under the age of 34. So, by being an early adopter of this app, you can strengthen these connections for years to come. INCREASE CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT Video content is becoming essential to any advertising campaign. A recent study by Wyzowl showed that the number of companies using videos
for instance, which were a creative way to gain a new audience. Or check out how companies are using the #learnontiktok hashtag to share valuable and silly video content to relate and connect to their followers. This not only tailors a business’s brand voice but also increases the business’s value to customers regardless of what it sells. If you haven’t already tapped into it, then TikTok makes for a great addition to advertising campaigns for companies that want to invest in content marketing and establish a social media presence. Your short videos don’t need to be Hollywood quality either. With a smartphone, a simple stand, and a professional background, you can create fun, engaging content that your audience will love.
has increased from 61%–85% over the last few years. This is partly due to a shift in demand from consumers since they’re watching an average of 16 hours of video content each week. This is a great opportunity to get your brand in front of prospects by feeding them video content they’re already interested in consuming. BUILD AN AUTHENTIC BRAND VOICE Creating an authentic and consistent brand voice is challenging especially across various channels like YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, etc. However, by utilizing TikTok’s platform, you can specifically tailor your brand’s voice to your demographic’s needs. Accomplishing this requires a solid understanding of your customer’s profile on a psychographic level. Take the Washington Post’s hilarious TikTok videos
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BUSINESS PROFILE
BUILT ON HAPPY CUSTOMERS AND GOOD CHICKEN How Chick-fil-A Continually Fries Above Its Competition
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Climb with care and confidence.
No. 1 among limited-service restaurants in the United States according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s (ACSI) annual survey. Chick-fil-A ranked ahead of other restaurants such as Panera Bread, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, and Subway, the four restaurants that came in just behind the chicken chain. And why do customers rate Chick-fil-A so high? According to ACSI’s ranking data, customers love the cleanliness of the restaurants, the quickness of the food delivery, and the approachability of every employee. There is another important value Chick-fil-A upholds that contributes to customers being so satisfied with the service and the food: consistency. Practically every Chick-fil-A restaurant is the same as the next. It all comes down to the fact that they rarely franchise. Nearly every Chick-fil-A restaurant is owned by the company itself. According to Business Insider, they only accept 0.4% of franchisees. Those who seek to open a franchise are then only allowed to open a single location and cannot own any equity in the business. For many people, there really isn’t much incentive to become a franchisee. But this is good news for customers. It means they can rely on that consistency no matter where they are. And when you’re a customer looking to spend money with a business — or looking to spend more money with a business — consistency can go a long way. One of Cathy’s recipes for success was to never lose a customer, and on that front, Chick- fil-A isn’t playing with their food. They know what people love, and you can be 100% sure they’re going to deliver.
There are a lot of things Chick-fil-A gets right. For one, if
2. Create a loyalty effect.
3. Never lose a customer.
you’ve ever been in a Chick-fil-A restaurant, then you know the second you walk through their doors that they are different from every other fast-food chain.
4. Put principles and people ahead of profits.
5. Close on Sundays.
The Chick-fil-A founder had many more “secrets to success,” such as not to be burdened with personal debt and to be kind, but these five were among his biggest and are still reflected in Chick-fil-A restaurants today. In many ways, these five steps can be attributed to much of the chain’s success and the reason why there are over 2,300 locations across the U.S., Canada, and Britain. A major part of Chick-fil-A’s business model is simplicity. Unlike many other fast-food restaurants, Chick-fil-A keeps its menu completely straightforward. It rarely changes, and you won’t find any gimmicky sandwiches, seasonal experiments, or a rotating menu — except for a handful of seasonal milkshakes. You can visit any Chick-fil-A at any time and know what you’re going to get. At literally every location, you’ll find their classic selection of chicken sandwiches, salads, milkshakes, and Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries — not to mention their sauces. On top of that, their ingredients are known for being exceptionally high quality. Everything that goes into their food is sourced from some of the best food producers in the industry. Chick-fil-A doesn’t spare any expense, but they still manage to keep their prices competitive.
Their restaurants are clean, their service is fast, and their food is some of the best you can get for the money and time. Founded in 1946 in Hapeville, Georgia, by S. Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A didn’t start out as the fast-food restaurant we all know today. It wasn’t chicken sandwiches and waffle fries. Back then, it was called the Dwarf Grill, which would become The Dwarf House. It wasn’t until 1964 that Cathy developed his first chicken sandwich, which led to the complete rebranding of his business. In 1967, The Dwarf House became Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A went on to become one of the biggest restaurant chains in the United States, and much of it was because it did things differently . Cathy was known for his entrepreneurialism as well as his religious beliefs. As a Southern Baptist, his devotion to God and his church informed much of Cathy’s approach to business. That’s exactly why Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays. Cathy maintained what he called a “five-step recipe for business success.” These were core values that he practiced in his business ventures and applied to great success. Many entrepreneurs continue to practice these steps and call Cathy someone to be emulated.
Another defining feature of Chick-fil-A is their customer service. In 2018, Chick-fil-A ranked
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