A Marketing Lesson From TV's The Apprentice

Advertising and marketing are creative disciplines. That's one reason I adore being a share of the marketing industry. Finding creative solutions to attend clients sell their products and services is a fun map to fabricate a living. Having said that, I must also say that too often I glance marketers going too far.

In my idea it is certainly possible to be too creative for your gain capable. What exactly do I mean by that? Let me portion a very public example to justify.

My example comes from the reality television prove, "The Apprentice." Okay, so I admit it, I esteem that display. I'm not noteworthy of a reality TV fan, but there's something about watching these teams compete on business challenges week in and week out that intrigues and entertains me.

Quite often they are given marketing-related tasks on the exhibit. Let’s face it, marketing is one of THE most necessary jobs you’ll ever have in business. If you can do it well, your business will more than likely do well. If you can’t market well, your business is in wretchedness.

In a novel episode of “The Apprentice” the task was to form a TV commercial for Dove Body Wash. The teams were instructed to near up with an "out of the box" 30-second situation to promote the product. The result?

Both teams created garbage! I guess some may argue they certainly did mediate "out of the box," and both teams tried to clarify that's what they did, but in the demolish, they failed miserably at their number one task: to sell the product!

And that's what I consider happens to many marketers who try to be too creative. They lose behold of the fact their job is to sell a product or service. To do that effectively, your marketing has to be one word: relevant.

You can be as clever or creative as you want, but in the ruin if your marketing is not relevant to the product and to those who are most likely to take it, you have failed.

perceive, I realize we have to be creative to choose our audience's attention. After all we are trying to sever through a sea of marketing clutter. I fair wish more marketers tried harder to connect with their audience vs. simply entertain them.

Heck, I sometimes wonder if marketers even know who their audience is. This definitely came into play in The Apprentice with both teams showing men using Dove Body Wash in their commercials. C'mon, it doesn't prefer a lot of sense to contemplate this product is for women! But because they were so focused on being clever, they lost leer of this very basic fact.

If I can leave you with one plan it is this: Identify and know your audience and then aim to connect with them and jump into the conversation they are already having in their head about your product or service.

If you can do this, you will be effective in capturing their attention, AND selling your product or service.

© Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing

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How Successful Entrepreneurs Handle Failure

There are many differences that separate the winners in business and life from those who are struggling and falling by the wayside.

One mammoth contrast is how they handle failure. Successful entrepreneurs have a definite mindset around the experience of failure.

When they fail, they sight at it as a result. They took "x" steps and produced "y" result. "Y" didn't work, so it's relieve to the drawing board to change the formula and try again.

Many original business owners don't fabricate it out of the gate because as soon as they fail, they figure, "Who am I kidding? I knew it wouldn't work" and then pause!

If everyone had that mindset, we wouldn't have electricity, airplanes, vaccines ... actually, we'd have sparkling worthy nothing!

Every single success in this world was preceded by one, two -- a thousand failures!

Babe Ruth location a describe for the most home runs. Did you know he also had the narrate for the most strikeouts?

Thomas Edison failed more than a thousand times before he perfected the light bulb.

If you're not failing, you're not pushing yourself enough. You are remaining in your comfort zone and cannot question to approach the level of success you're wonderful of.

Failure is what allows you to learn and grow. If you stay as soon as you meet with failure, you will always remain exactly where you are.

Albert Einstein once said, "You cannot solve a dilemma with the same level of thinking that created it."

And, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."

What these statements advise is, in order to overcome failure, you must judge differently and act differently. It is what separates the ordinary from the fantastic!

You might have to leer out guidance from someone else who can offer the expertise you need. You may need to inject original perspectives and talent by forming a team around your project.

awe of failure is one of the biggest obstacles that possess novel business owners serve. Failure should not be feared, but embraced because a life lived in dread is a life half lived.

If you're stuck and unable to depart forward because of horror of failure or because you have failed in your previous attempt, bring someone else into the mix to offer benefit and guidance.

Tweak your concept and give it another go.

Engrave the words of the following masters into your mind and never, EVER give up.

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything modern. - Albert Einstein

He who fears being conquered is certain of defeat. - Napoleon I

Problems are not discontinuance signs, they are guidelines. - Robert Schuller

2006 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source

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How Well Do You Know Your Prospects? hold this 10-Point question to bag Out

It’s crucial to know your prospects if you want to market effectively to them.

retract this rapidly inquire of to glimpse how well you know and understand your prospects. If you can't reply these questions, how can you be distinct you are connecting with your audience in a relevant and meaningful design?

How can you be obvious you are reaching them with a compelling message about your product or service?

How can you be distinct you are tapping into the conversation they are already having inside their bear head with respect to your product or service?

I would argue you can't. And if you can't do these things, your marketing will not be effective.

1. Who are they?

2. Where do they live ... work ... play?

3. What spot do they have that you can solve?

4. How does your product or service fit into their life?

5. What else do they grasp in your product or service category?

6. Where do they fetch information regarding your product/service?

7. What is most principal to them?

8. What are they most disturbed of?

9. What is their emotional connection to your product/service?

10. How will they rationalize purchasing your product/service?

How’d you do? If you can’t respond these questions, odds are your marketing message isn’t connecting with your prospects. And if your message is not connecting with them, you won’t be very successful in selling them on your product or service.

remove the time to procure to know your customers and prospects. Learn all you can about them. spend this ask as a guide. When you do you’ll be able to yelp directly to their needs and concerns with your marketing, they will acknowledge. And your business will thrive.

© Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing

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Young Entrepreneur's On The Rise

I caught up with the recent entrepreneur’s (Terry and Sherry Braley) this January at a Biker Rally. After talking to some fellow riders they were telling me about Terry and Sherry’s modern website (Road Rash Apparel) and how rude their prices were on their Leather Apparel. So after digging through the crowd I finally met up with them. I introduced myself and we sat down and must have talked for over 2 hours about their novel business. Well, they talked. I asked Terry and Sherry why they started their business and WHY! Do you sell your apparel so cheap?

Terry – “Well, we were on the Internet one night looking for some leather jackets and chaps to recall. We must have searched for three hours looking at what seemed to be every space there was to search for at and I couldn’t maintain the prices of some of them. I know you regain what you pay for, but damn? I don’t want to pay for the whole cow! “

Sherry –“It seems that all the cheep leather was that “patched leather” or some call it “Diamond reduce leather”. We weren’t enthusiastic in that. Not to say there’s anything depraved with it. If that’s what you like, then pick it. To each its occupy.”

Terry- “Yeah. I had asked around about what kind of jacket to take. The majority of the riders I had asked, told me to regain one that was made for riding. You know, honest in case you lay your bike down. And patched leather wasn’t the best plan to go.
Anyway, I made the comment that someone needs to open selling this stuff that caters to us dreadful bikers.”

Sherry – “I looked over at Terry and said, “We can do it””

Terry – “A week later I conclude my job and started building the website. I did A LOT of research on Leather. Types, thickness of it and where it comes from. I was almost sick of leather after about 3 days. Anyway, we decided we wanted to bewitch our leather from an American made manufacturer and I ended up finding a company in Spokane WA that had what we were looking for. They make leather apparel made for bike riders. And its damn agreeable leather. And I’ll inform you. What I pay for the jackets and what I sell them for, we don’t fabricate a spacious profit on them”.

Now that we've covered those aspects of Biker Shirts, Leather Jackets, Motorcycle Apparel, Boots, Chaps, Vests, Leather Lingerie, let's turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

Sherry – “Yea, we’re not in it to obtain rich. unprejudiced obtain a cramped money and wait on out our fellow bikers”.

Terry – “Since we’ve went live on the Internet we have sold more T-Shirts than jackets. That’s okay. I believe when people scrutinize our price’s they judge its cheep leather and stray away from it. But it’s Top Quality Leather! You can’t glean our type jackets on the internet for a better mark I think”

Well without going into the whole 2-hour conversation we had. We continued to talk and they told me more about what they sold on their position. T-Shirts, Leather Lingerie, Boots, Chaps, Vests and the list went on. Terry said “right now we sale over 700 types of t-shirts and conception on adding more. By the time we fetch done, we will have well over 1500. That’s a lot of damn shirts”

These were two of the friendliest people I have ever met. Both Terry and Sherry are from Georgia and reside in Douglasville Ga. And you could assert that these were honest two people really trying to examine out for fellow bikers and our shallow pockets.

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Starting an IT Consulting Business: Establishing Partnerships

When starting an IT consulting business, should you already have partnerships established with other companies to provide services that you don’t? The whole jam with running an IT consulting business is that you need to be able to satisfy a lot of needs. However, don’t let that beget you abet from getting started.

Know Where Your Expertise Lies

It’s really not that indispensable to have partnerships in space when you’re getting your IT consulting business started. However, if you feel that you have gigantic weaknesses and you’re going to encounter a lot of prospects needing services your IT consulting business can't provide, you may want some suitable contractors lined up.

understanding Ahead and Bring on Partners Slowly

In the IT consulting business, you should generally wait until you’re more established to manufacture solid partnerships. Once you secure your business up and running, try to meet up with one person every other month that could be a potential business partner or contractor.

You’ll meet prospective partners or contractors at chamber events and networking groups and other people will refer you to them. The best potential partners for your IT consulting business will be at your mutual clients’ station of business.

The Bottom Line about the IT Consulting Business

Once again, don’t let your lack of expertise in sure areas prevent you from getting your IT consulting business started. You’ll have plenty of time to effect up the partnerships later. There’s no reason to go overboard unless you feel you really need to have those skills backing your IT consulting business.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, runt Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

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3 vital Boundaries for Mom Entrepreneurs and Their Husbands

In the beginning, I concept it was going to be a waddle when my husband, Terry, joined me working full-time in my business. If anyone could do it, we could! We already had a healthy relationship built on trust and respect. We communicated well. We both strongly believed in what we were doing. We understood the need to attend each other with the children, keeping the house, and with the business. We planned to allow for fluctuations in income to sustain stresses over money to a minimum. Yet I level-headed wasn’t prepared.

For anyone considering working with your spouse, here are 3 primary Boundaries for Entrepreneurial Couples to attend to ease your transition:

1. define expectations for work/home.
Nothing can prepare you for the blurring of boundaries and turf that occur as you transition into working together. When you join together with your spouse, most likely, both of you have experienced success throughout your careers, and have developed your fill working style. Suddenly you have a whole current dynamic in your relationship with your spouse you must learn to work through. I always knew that we had different gifts and talents: Terry is very techie and he loves to write, and I am a people person who is an administrative whiz. Even though I should have probably seen it coming, I was collected surprised at the dissimilarity in our work styles. I multi-task all day long, and he prefers to work on one project at a time. objective like being newlyweds all over again, we had to effect some wretchedness into getting to know each other on a whole unique level to be able to work well together.

Beth Butler, creator of the Boca Beth Program has some apt tips for clarifying expectations with your spouse. “I accomplish us lunch each day and we try to talk about BOCA BETH items that are pressing. It's our time to reconnect - he works from home for the wine company he represents and I work from home sharing my passion for second language learning with young children. A humorous mix, but it works! We talk about what each of us has planned the next day so there are no surprises - and I exercise that time to ask for his encourage. I can't demand him to guess what I need so I have learned to be very specific.”


2. Schedule time for treasure.
Most entrepreneurial couples complain they have less time together than before. It is possible to work beside your spouse in the same office all day long and barely allege on a personal level. How difficult is it to turn off your cell phone and talk a gallop with your admire? It is imperative to gain it a point to schedule time for your relationship so that the business does not overtake it. Terry and I view ahead to sneak away for lunch or to buy a wreck at Starbucks. We have found if we don’t assume the time to schedule in these lunch or coffee dates, then they are less likely to happen as we work to meet deadlines or collect a project done. We haven’t yet been able to master scheduling “regular dates”, but its next on our list of priorities in order to assist hold our halt relationship.

3. Schedule time for yourself.
It can be a shock when you suddenly have so great time with your spouse. In your previous life, they left at 7 AM and came home at 6 PM, and then you discussed your day during dinner. Now you utilize most (if not all) of the day with them, and during dinner, there is nothing modern to discuss. Where is the time for you? Karyn Fagan, Founder of Team Women, tells “We both have hobbies that we savor outside of the house so we have that vital away time.”

Terry and I certainly have a long intention to go as an Entrepreneurial Couple, but we have made it through our entrepreneurial “honeymoon” period. Each day, we work together to approach our goals and dreams. We understand when we relieve each other we will come our dreams sooner, so we wait on each wherever its needed!

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Business Systems - Not unprejudiced For immense Business

When I mention business systems to you, what comes to mind? Do you assume of an IBM mainframe computer sitting in a immense room in the middle of your building? Do you consider of expensive, highly specialized software? That’s what many limited business owners imagine. And they reflect it’s not for them. If that’s what you contemplate, you’re only half moral.

Half factual because expensive, highly specialized software is probably not for you. Half scandalous because superior business systems most definitely are. A business system isn’t hardware or software. It’s the method that you do any piece of your business. It’s how you do things. You are using systems all the time, you impartial may not be using them efficiently.

I regularly hurry business owners to procure everything they know about their business out of their head and onto paper. I’m urging you now to do the same with your systems. initiate writing out how you do things in your business. At a minimum, write out how you treat your customers or clients, how your paperwork for each sale flows, how your production systems work, how you market to clients, and how you do your bookkeeping.

Do this in detail. For each space, originate a very detailed description of every step in the process. Include what you do and why you do it. Include the subtle parts that produce your company uniquely you. Include the parts that you are proud of. Include the tricks that effect it efficient. Include what you tried that didn’t work and define why. Each system should become a very rich, highly detailed system. Why so considerable detail?

Because this is the beginning of being able to consistently explain results. And the beginning of being able to consistently tell results even when you aren’t around. Documented (written) systems obtain delegating considerable more manageable. Delegating is one of the keys to success in growing your business while unruffled having a life.

Maybe you don’t want a bigger business. Maybe you want to hold yours exiguous. serene, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go on a long vacation and turn the keys over to someone else to rush and get money for you while you are gone? Without systems, that wouldn’t be remotely possible. With systems almost anything is. Now, does that sound like something that should only be for mountainous business? I reflect not.

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