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How To Overcome 10 Deadly Marketing Mistakes And...
Revitalize Your Business...Virtually Overnight!


     It's a certain fact...business is more competitive than it's
ever been!

     To stay alive in these uncertain times, you can't just offer
a quality product at a fair price...you have to know how to market
effectively.

     You should demand that you get the best results from every dime
you drop into marketing!

     Unfortunately, most businesses have no idea of how to get the
most out of every marketing "dollar" that they spend.  Most companies
spend more time planning their company Christmas party than they do
creating powerful, persuasive, marketing communications.

     Now this can stop.  Herein are the 10 "most" deadly marketing
mistakes and how you can overcome them.  Before I get into it, let
me tell you why my associate and I put this together.

     As I consult with current clients, bring on new clients, and
market for more, I'm learning more and more.  It's come to my
attention time and time again, when I bring on a new client I find
that they're making almost the exact same marketing mistakes as
another of my clients was, in a totally unrelated field!

     These marketing mistakes aren't confined to a singular
industry. These mistakes I've found across the board.  I have
worked with computer software companies, food companies, cable
sales companies, real estate brokers, financial consultants, and
many more.  All of these companies had most, if not all of these
profit-draining mistakes present in their operations.

      If one or two of these mistakes don't apply to you, you should
congratulate yourself!  You must already be on the road to marketing
success! Here they are... in no particular order:


 >>>Mistake # 1: Your Business Focuses On Itself, And Not On Your
Prospects' And Customers' Needs.

    Does this seem too obvious?  Look through your yellow pages.
Pick them up right now and glance through.  Answer this question:
Are most of the ads telling you what benefits you get if you become
a customer? Or are the ads telling you about the vendors, where they
are, how wonderful they are, what they do, how great their quality
is, how great their service is, and all about them?

    Ninety-five percent of the ads are likely totally focused on
the business and not on what the business can do for YOU, the prospect!

    Take a look at the ads in the newspapers, on the TV, and listen
to the radio.  You'll find the same thing happening there, consistently,
every day. This type of selfish advertising falls into the terribly
wasteful category of "institutional advertising".

    Institutional advertising generates, at best, delayed results.
But, at its worst, this kind of advertising accomplishes no profitable
purpose whatsoever. Unless the business has very "deep pockets" and
can afford to wait a long time for the "payoff", institutional
advertising is a wasteful, ineffective expense.

    You know when it's institutional advertising because
institutional advertising is geared toward telling you just how
great a company is, or how venerable and stable they are. Perhaps
businesses such as large banks can do this...but it just doesn't work
for most small and medium sized businesses. Fancy, cutesy, and
non-compelling frivolity is another sin of much of today's advertising,
and much of it can also be classified as "institutional".

    Your selfishness is what kills most of your marketing.  From
brochures to flyers, and sales letters to advertisements, your marketing
message should let your prospects know that you are concerned ONLY WITH
WHAT THEY WANT!

    Anything about you should always come last.  Your clients,
customers, patrons, patients...whatever you choose to call them,
should always come first.

    Any marketing documents you create should start out by
focusing on the prospects' wants.  Every sentence should show that
you understand the prospects' wants.

    Until your marketing efforts focus on the prospects' wants,
your marketing is handicapped.  This is the marketing philosophy
my associate and I follow and which we learned from our mentor...
West Coast marketing wizard, Jay Abraham (you'll find more of Jay's
highly profitable basic marketing concepts revealed to you throughout
this report).  Jay...by the way...is likely the highest paid marketing
consultant in America, and his marketing really works!


 >>>Mistake # 2: Failure To Test

    Very few companies ever test any portion of their marketing,
and then compare the test results.  They "place all their bets" on
arbitrary, prejudiced decisions and conjecture. This is unfortunate
and unwise for a number of reasons.

    First, we don't have the ability or the control to prejudge
and decide for ourselves what the marketplace really wants, what is
the maximum fair price the market will pay to get it, what kind of
package they'll be most receptive to, or what approach will be best
accepted.

    It's not our right to make arbitrary decisions concerning what
our customers and prospects want.  It's our obligation to test and then
let the market tell us what they really desire as they "vote with their
pocketbooks" (which is the only kind of vote that counts in marketing
...because it's totally "honest").

    When you test, you effectively "make up the ballots" and "set
the stage" for your prospects and customers to give you their unbiased
votes.

    It's important to test prices (one price against another),
headlines (one headline against another), guarantees, ad concepts and
offers, plus where (and when) you place your ads and offers.  The list
goes on and on, but these are the most important aspects to test (and
they'll have the most impact on your responses... and on the increases
you'll see in your "bottom line").

Your reward for all your extra effort can be astounding (and this is
proven true time and time again).  When you test the above aspects
(always one at a time and with a small but representative segment of your
market) and then carefully record and analyze your results, you'll almost
always discover that one of your test prices, headlines, guarantees, etc.
always seems to "outpull" all the others in your test by a substantial
margin.

    Think about what this means to your profit potential...now with
the same amount of effort and expense as before you can begin using this
same approach to more of your market and enjoy a multiplication of your
previous results.  (But do exercise caution at this point and gradually
expand to include the rest of your market ...small tests need to be
verified with larger tests before you decide to "roll-out" to everyone).

    When you systematically test in this way you "leverage" your
marketing and begin to demand (and get) maximum performance from every
marketing "dollar" and amount of time spent.

    What if your salespeople out in the field average 8 or 12 or 16
calls a day...? It makes excellent sense (doesn't it?) to experiment and
discover the outstanding sales pitch or special offer that gets you twice
or three times as many sales per call and/or increases your average order
by a significant amount (yet requires little or no extra time or expense
to make the sale).

    To quickly begin enjoying dramatic increases in your sales and
profits, you've only to start a program of systematic testing.

    Begin tomorrow!  You could, for instance, start to test with your
sales staff.  Have them try alternate sales "pitches" and experiment with
different "bumps" and special offers made at the point of sale.  Devise
alternate follow-up offers and construct different reduced-price "packages"
for them to sell.

    Then analyze and review the results of each test and track the
results.

    After your tests show one marketing approach is "out-pulling" all
the others by 25%-50%-75% or more then have a few others in your staff
begin to use this same approach.  As the results continue to justify it...
rapidly progress to having all your sales staff do it.

    One at a time...begin to systematically test all your sales
variables.  Pay careful attention to any significant change (either
positive or negative).  Close observation of these changes will help you
to do what is right for you, and you'll dramatically begin to increase your
"bottom line" like never before.

    At this point you may be tempted to "rest on your laurels", but
(if you want  to truly maximize your marketing), you'll keep going and find
out just how you can "be all that you can be" (as the Army recruiter would
say).  Through testing and analyzing your results, you'll have established
your "controls".  Now comes the fun as you try to "beat" the controls (using
them as your profit base you can continue to experiment to develop better
and better ones).

    The definition of a control as applied to marketing is any approach
which you've established through your testing as the very best performer.
It's consistently proven itself to give you the highest profits and you can
rely upon it to provide you with a substantial income.  It's your "bread and
butter" approach.  You'll keep it in use to produce a reliable income while
you're continuing your testing in some segment of your market and working to
better it.

    Those serious about maximizing their marketing results will first
establish reliable controls and then hold onto each control while they
continue to test. When a test proves itself as being more profitable than the
current control, it then replaces that control, and the procedure continues.
If this seems like a lot of work... consider...as controls get better and
better, profits move higher and higher.

    One of the variables you'll want to test early-on is prices. When you
begin to systematically test prices you'll be astounded at some of the totally
unexpected results you'll see.

        You might expect a lower price to always out-pull a higher price on
the same item...but..."it ain't necessarily so" and the margin between what
different prices will yield can be enormous.

    My mentor, Jay Abraham, has discovered these facts in some of his own
promotions:

    $19 has outpulled $25 by 300%.

    $195 has outpulled $245 by huge margins.

    $295 has outpulled $195 on certain offers, which netted a cool
                  $100 more per sale!

    It's really conjecture to speculate as to why one price would produce
a better return than another.  It could be because of a multitude of reasons,
perception of value created in the mind of the buyer being a very important
one. Some in marketing theorize there are various price points beyond which
it's not wise to cross, but every situation can yield different results, so
never assume you've established the right price until you test several (and
even then remember your best price is only your control and another may come
along later and prove even better).

    Here's some more ideas on what you'll want to test...

    If you run ads in any media, test different headlines, different
hot-button emphasis, different approaches.  Some people react best toward a
negative approach, some a positive approach...discover which approach is best
for your market.

    Test different packages, different rationales, and different special
bonus offers you've tacked-on to your basic offer.  In addition to any free
bonus offers you make, you might also want to test some bonus items for which
there is a small extra cost, because...that small extra can prove to be very
profitable for you in many instances.

    Test different directives to the reader or listener or viewer on how
to respond (experiment with advising what actions for them to take).

    In newspapers, magazines, etc., test positioning (if the editor will
allow it). Generally tests have proven for a small ad the best place for it
is in the upper right-hand  corner of the page (and, of course, the front or
back cover of any section is even more desirable).  Try to avoid having your
ad appear below the fold in a newspaper (and especially avoid having it below
the fold on the left-hand side unless your ad is on the inside cover sheet of
a section...even then, above the fold is the place you usually want to be).

    In radio and TV...test where your commercials run.

    Now, these are the questions you'll be seeking to answer as you analyze
 your various test results for each separate control:

    1)  what has been the average cost-per-prospect to get you a prospect?

    2)  what has been the average cost to turn a prospect into a customer?

    3)  what has been the average amount of sale each prospect has returned?

    4)  what has been the conversion rate from prospect to customer?

    5)  what has been the average profit-per-sale?

    After you've computed and compared number five...the average
profit-per-sale, you'll know which approach to keep as your current control
(and the one you'll want to continue to use until a better approach beats it).


The suggested top three testing order is:

    1) Headline

    2) Price

    3) Offer

    You must have a strong headline always!

    Your headline is your "ad" for the ad.  If people are not drawn into
the copy by a strong, compelling headline, then you'll have wasted your effort.
A headline is not just there to attract attention to itself.  It must talk in
terms of a benefit to your prospects along with a promised solution to a problem
and thereby convince the prospects it's well worth their time to look at (or
listen to) the rest of your promotion.

    Begin tomorrow and start a systematic testing program.  It will make
you a "marketing genius".


 >>>Mistake #3: You Fail To Determine Specifically Who Your Market Is And What
Their Wants And Needs Are.

    Ninety percent of the businesses out there rarely make the attempt to
determine who their market is, and what their market's desires, needs, wants,
and passions are.

    This is a grave mistake.

    The successful marketers can tell you precisely who they're marketing
to, and what their prospects and customers want in a product or service.  They
can tell you the age of their best prospect, who this person is, where this
person is, educational and income levels and other critical information.  You
must know who, then you can find out the "why".

    Why does your customer buy from you?  What do your customers want or
need most in the products or services you offer?  You need to probe and discover
what the "why" is so that you can focus your marketing efforts to show your
prospects you can meet the "why" in the most satisfactory fashion.

    Think about it...How can you expect to adequately fill someone's needs
if you never take the time to get involved and understand them?  Yet few
companies ever bother to seek to meet their customers' needs.

    Companies that are a success with their marketing understand their
customers' needs and attempt to satisfy those needs better than the competition.

    If you want to own your market, find out what your customers real wants
are.  Discover their desires.  Search out their passions and needs. Once you
have this information you will be armed to corner your market.


 >>>Mistake #4: You Fail To Capture Your Customers & Prospects Names And
Addresses.

    Of all the marketing mistakes to make, I feel that this has caused the
loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars every month more than any other. Yet
it is by far the simplest mistake to correct!

    Why a company would spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to get a
customer in the door and them let them walk out without getting their name and
address and any other information from them is beyond me!  I don't know why,
but 90% of the businesses in America don't ever bother to keep track of their
loyal customers, let alone any prospects!

Your mailing list, or customer database is your biggest source of lifetime
profits!

    Here's why you should keep track of every customer and every prospect:

    1) According to Fortune Magazine, it costs 5 times as much to generate
a new customer than to resell an existing customer. Existing customers are
almost as good as money in the bank!

    2) Your existing customers already trust you and know you. They've
bought from you and (hopefully) have had a positive experience with you. Sales
resistance is low.

    3) They know you'll deliver on your promises, because you've delivered
before with energy and promptness (haven't you?).

    All you need to do is develop a systematic way of keeping track of
them, and asking them to buy from you more often.  Computer databases are easy
to come by, and more affordable than ever.

        If you don't want to bother with computers, that's OK.  Just make-up
and hand-write on a customer index card, that has your customer's name, address,
and phone number on it.  A simple 3 X 5 card would do nicely.  You should also
include vital information like: what they've bought in the past, what they'd
like to buy from you, etc.  A list like this opens the door to developing a
profitable, long-term relationship.

    Do you see how valuable this list becomes?  When I consult with a
business, one of the first things I do is ask if they have a customer list.
If they do, then I know I can increase sales dramatically in just a few short
weeks.

    To make a list profitable, recent studies show that you should contact
them once every 21 days.  A minimum of once a month.

    Here are some ideas for staying in touch:

    1) Sponsor some kind of information-based event.  A workshop, seminar,
luncheon with guest speaker, etc.  Anything that would be of interest to your
customers and prospects.

    2) Send a postcard announcing a private sale with special discounts or
added services exclusively for your loyal customers.

    3) If you work with businesses, send them information that will help
them become more successful (for example, a copy of this report) along with a
personal note..."I thought you might benefit from this".  This report is under
Copyright but as long as you give it away FREE (and include ALL of it with your
gift), you may feel free  to copy and distribute the file and/or file printout
to anyone you choose.

    4) Send a postcard with problem-solving tips on it for easy, quick
 reference.

    By collecting the names, addresses and phone numbers of your customers
and prospects, you will be in a position to increase the profits earned from
each customer anywhere from 35-200%.


 >>>Mistake #5: You Don't Try To Sell Your Customers Something Else On The
"Back End".

    Your hottest prospect is someone that has just bought from you. This
is your best opportunity for another immediate sell.  The key to successfully
doing this is having products that offer solutions to problems that your
prospects have.  Related problems and related solutions equals increased
opportunity for sales.

    How simple it would be for the cashiers at the local discount store
to suggest another product that may help solve the customers' problem. All
they have to do is notice how related the products are that the customer is
currently buying, and be knowledgeable enough about what the store has to offer
to be able to suggest another product that could help the customers' problem
become solved.

    The buyers that just bought from you offer you a prime opportunity to
sell again. Your products must be good, however, and you must prove to them
that your "back-end" product will also solve their problem.

    Here again we are talking about knowing your prospects wants and
desires.  Your job isn't over once you've sold your customers their first
product. You and your people should constantly be striving to ascertain what
problems your prospects have, and then be creative in developing and proposing
the appropriate solution to it.

    If you are focusing on what your customers want, and are offering them
another solution to a related problem, they will not resist as you try to
"up-sell" them.  They'll be grateful for your desire to solve their problems.

    Just remember: your customers are never "hotter" than when they first
order.  Immediately acknowledge their first purchase and tell them how
appreciative you are.  And then, offer them something else so they'll have the
chance to solve more of their problems and to spend even more money with you!

    You should look for logical product or service extensions to offer your
customers.  Using the back-end will turn one-shot sales into repeat customers.
Amazingly, few businesses try to sell their current or previous customers
anything again.  The really smart marketers do it constantly.


 >>>Mistake #6: You Fail To Make Doing Business With You Convenient, Easy,
Appealing, And You're Not Ready To Sell When Your Prospects Are Ready To Buy.

    Most businesses almost make it difficult for a prospect or customer
to buy from them. Most businesses do business from 9 to 5.  That's fine. BUT,
you must be prepared to do business when your prospects are ready to do
business.  With technologies that are now available, there's no excuse for a
business not to have a 24 hour phone service center.  Even a simple answering
machine can work wonders in this area if utilized as a marketing and sales tool.

    You must be fanatical about servicing your customers and causing
positive impact on your prospects.  You must focus on their needs consistently.
Think of how you want to be treated when you do business with someone.

    I mean...really think how you'd like to be treated.  Then, treat your
customers in that way.

    Most businesses never "walk a mile in their prospects' moccasins". Why
else would they make doing business with them so difficult?

    If someone walks into your store, how well prepared are the sales
clerks to help them?  Have you spent the time and prepared special dialogs,
questions, and little booklets full of advice for your people to ask or offer
to customers?

    When a customer or prospect calls your company and first talks to your
switchboard operator, is your operator able to give them what they ask for
(and more) in a cheerful and compelling manner?

    Are you and your people willing to answer questions and provide truly
helpful and informative advice in a friendly way (even when it may not result
in an immediate sale)?

    Is it easy for your customers and prospects to find your business...
and can they easily find things once they're in your store?

    Do you consistently keep customers updated on the status of their
orders, or back orders?

    These are questions that you must answer on a regular basis so that
you can keep on top of the flaws your prospects and customers see every time
they do business with you.

    By making it easy, appealing, and convenient to do business with you,
you'll attract more customers, more customers will consistently return to
your business, and you'll get more referrals.


 >>>Mistake #7: You Are Not Persistent And Willing To "Stick It Out" Until
You've Contacted Your Prospects Enough Times To Warrant Dropping Them,
Constantly Testing And Trying New Approaches Until You Find The Hot Button
That Sells.

    Too many businesses rely entirely too much on the hoped success of
one advertisement or one direct mailing.  Marketing success is not an event
...it is a process.  Processes take time. Therefore you should never put your
faith in one ad, one mailing campaign, or one TV spot.

    You must commit to connecting with your prospects a minimum of 7
times in 18 months.  If you are not willing to pay that price, then you
shouldn't even start to promote to those prospects.

    You need to decide that you are willing to connect with your prospects
time and time again and hit them with the same benefit packed points over and
over again - from every conceivable angle - in a determined attempt to motivate
your prospects to take action!

    Remember that any single marketing event will not ordinarily produce
outstanding results, not now-a-days anyway.  It used to be true that a person
could make a fortune off of one ad, one promotion.  But today, it's just not
going to happen very often, and you should NEVER plan on it.

    You must know precisely who you are marketing to, what their desires
are, and you must resolve to connect with them again and again and again, until
they either prove that they are not a prospect, or until they see that you have
the best solution for their pressing problems.

    Marketing requires persistency to say the least.  You must work at it
on a daily basis.  Some days will be downright discouraging for you. But, you
cannot give up.  If you have done your homework, and you realize that you have
the solution to your prospects' problems, if you have focused precisely on your
target, then you must not let discouragement get in your way.

    It can keep you from succeeding.

    If your prospects are not responding, then you need to refine your
approach. You need to refine who you are trying to connect with.  You may need
to approach them from several different angles to find the approach that works
the best...indeed, you will need to test constantly, always trying to improve
your "take".

    In short, you must persist so that your prospects never have the
opportunity to forget who you are, and what you can do for them.

    Realize, the only ways to discover your prospects' "hot-buttons" are
to test and to test continually.  You can't afford the luxury of prejudging
what your marketplace wants, what the best price is, the best pulling headline,
the best selling "package-offer", or the best approach.

    As a marketer, you have the obligation to find out from your market
what they really want through testing...one marketing approach against another,
one ad concept against another, one headline against another, one TV or radio
commercial against another, one price against another, and the list goes on
and on!

    Testing is an ongoing process.  You should always be trying to
"out do" your best results...because you never know when results are at their
best!  The point is that you cannot guess what your market will buy. It is
something to be discovered...

    You must demand maximum return from every marketing dollar you spend.
Testing is what tells you where to demand more. Remember, an ad costs you the
same amount of space, production time, or air time whether it produces 10
prospects, 100 prospects or 1,000 prospects.  It only makes sense that you
should test different ad approaches to maximize your investment. You must not
sleep at night until you know you're getting better results than last week.

    Testing takes persistence.  It will pay-off big if you do it.

    As I mentioned earlier, marketing is NEVER an event, it is always a
process. Keep this in mind when you consider sellingsomething to your market.


 >>>Mistake #8: You Have No Marketing Plan To Guide Your Business To Financial
Success.

    On dozens of occasions I consult with businesses and discover the
morbid fact that 90% are flying by the seat of their pants, with no direction
for tomorrow, no idea how much they're going to make in the next 365 days, and
no written plan whatsoever.     ...Let me say this as strongly as I can...

    Your business will never succeed on any type of a large scale unless
 you commit to writing a plan that guides you to success.

    This is a fact that all too many businesses will never accept, to their
own demise.  If you don't have a marketing plan, you'll never reach any truly
substantial objectives.

    If you're without a plan. grab a piece of paper and pencil right now,
and let me help you get off to a good start.  Your plan must include the
following:

1) A specific, clear, precise, dollar objective for each year, for each of your
products or services.  Break this dollar amount down into how many widgets you
must sell to reach that amount. Next, figure out how many sales that means you
need to make. Next, figure out how many prospects you must connect with in
order to sell XXX amount of widgets, based on your past experience.  If you
have no past experience, use a 20% closing ratio to figure with.

2) A specific dollar amount for each month, for each of your products or
services. Do the same things as above, except figure the totals on a monthly
basis.

3) An objective evaluation of all of the different marketing alternatives that
will help you reach your monthly and yearly goals.

4) An exact indication of which marketing alternatives you have decided to use,
why, in what ways, and how often, and how much these alternatives will cost you
in money, time and materials.

5) Techniques to use that will help you capture and keep track of your customers
and prospects.

6) Techniques to use to help you sell the "back-end" to a new customer.

    Mind you, these are the bare bones basics that you need in your plan.
With this information alone, you'll probably perform head and shoulders above
your competition.  If you want to take the plan further, make sure you include
precise deadlines for each step.  Then take each of these steps and break them
down into the action steps that you can take on a daily basis to reach your
monthly and yearly goals.  The key words here are "daily basis".  Marketing
should be a daily activity for you, like eating and drinking.

    It's not a difficult thing to draw up a simple marketing plan like
this.  I think the problem is that most companies feel like they have to have
graphs and charts and demographic specifications and all of this other
mumbo-jumbo that just confuses people. That stuff is NOT going to motivate
you or help you follow a path to success.

    Realize the power of this simple, easy to do marketing plan. It's so
easy! And it will bring you success!

    Without a specific marketing plan ON PAPER, you cannot expect your
business to have massive successes.  Yes, you do need to put it on paper.

    Why?

    On paper you have focus.  If you keep your ideas in your mind,
you'll lose focus on your objectives.  Believe me I know, I've made that
mistake before.  Get your plan on paper.

    Even though it's on paper, doesn't mean you can't change it. Be
flexible. Understand that as your business grows and succeeds, you'll want
to update your marketing plan.  I re-evaluate my plan on a weekly basis.
I ask myself:

a) Is this plan taking me where I want to go?

b) Is there any part of the plan that isn't focused on the desired end
objective?

c) What can I do to update my plan to gain more focus on my end objective?

    Questions like these on a weekly basis will help you reach your
objectives quicker, and in a smoother way.  Remember, without a written
plan, your success is highly unlikely.


 >>>Mistake # 9: You Don't Have Any Idea How To Write Or Produce Persuasive
Marketing Documents That Get Your Prospects To Buy NOW, Or To Get Your
Customers To Buy Again.

    If your car was having a problem, and you knew NOTHING about cars,
(except where to put the gas in) would you open the hood and try to fix it?
 NO!

    Why then, do so many businesses try to write their own advertisements,
their own brochures, their own flyers, and other marketing communication when
they don't know how to do it?

    It doesn't make sense.  If you don't know what you are doing then
you shouldn't be doing it, or else you'll mess things up worse than they
were before!

    The real problem comes, however, when someone thinks they know
what they're doing when in fact, their efforts are usually self-centered
and unfocused on the needs and wants of their prospects and customers.

    Larger companies have entire design and marketing departments that
do nothing but put together and create their marketing documents. Though,
in my opinion, most of these "Madison Avenue Types" do terribly wasteful,
institutional advertising...I feel that everyone can always learn how to
communicate better with their prospects.

    No one has all the answers, but I do believe that a company is
better off to hire an outside consultant to come in and do the job right.
Maybe I only feel this way because my associate and I are such consultants,
but...I think it's better because the consultant can look at things
(usually) from a prospect's point of view easier than an "insider" from
the company can.

    Because the majority of companies don't know how to put together
a persuasive marketing piece, most marketing documents:

1)  Focus on the seller, instead of the buyer and the benefits that the
buyer gets.

2)  Are terribly boring, dull, and uninteresting.

3)  Don't excite the prospect to want to take action NOW!

4)  Don't ask for any action from the prospect.

5)  Don't tell the prospects "what's in it for them" if they act right
away.

6)  Assume that the prospect is as interested in the product or service
as the seller is.

7)  Brag on and on about product and service features, when all the
prospects really care about are the benefits they'll get from the product
or service.

8)  Try to be creative and "clever", thinking that "clever" sells when
actually clever does nothing to motivate a prospect to buy NOW.

9)  Try to be "professional" and worry about their image...when really
...the only thing that matters is relentlessly focusing on your prospects'
desires.  You must focus on the benefits that your prospects are wanting
you to tell them about.  You need to worry about delivering on your
promises,improving your product or service...and forget about the
"professional" image.

    These are just a few of the problems that you'll see every day
around you when you look at typical marketing communications
going on.

    It's terrible.  It's a waste of paper, money, time, energy and
other valuable resources.  Don't fall prey to this game.

    Find yourself a professional copywriter and designer that can
deliver what your prospect wants (or at least get hold of some good books
on the subject and make a thorough study of what sells and what doesn't
in "copy"... applying the basics you've learned in this report is an
excellent start, but there's more, much more to "effective" marketing).

    Your investment in a good copywriter will be worth more than
anything else you'd ever spend your marketing on.

 >>>Mistake #10: You Don't Determine What It Is About You That Makes
Your Prospects/Clients/Customers Want To Buy From You Because They Can't
Get What You're Offering Anywhere Else.
(Establishing Your Unique Selling Proposition...Very Very important to you!)

    What advantage is there for your prospects or customers to do
business with you?  What makes you unique?  Your unique selling proposition
(USP) is the unique advantage you hold out in all of your marketing,
advertising, and sales efforts.  It's something that a customer usually
can't get anywhere else.

    It's the very foundation of your business-customer relations, and
it's essence should be ingrained in everything your business does.

    To create an effective USP (unique selling proposition) you must
first answer the question..."what specific market niche do I want for my
company".  It's almost always a mistake for small to medium sized businesses
to try to be "all things" to their customers and prospects.  The business
which has carved out (and "owns") their own segment of the market is the
business best able to thrive and prosper.

    Does your company sell only the highest grade products in the
industry?  Make that a large part of your USP.

    Is your company able to sell your products at the lowest prices.
Maybe that should be your USP.  But be careful with this USP (those who
"live by the sword" can "die by the sword"). It's better to at least augment
this USP with something else your customers or prospects want and can only
get from you (you never know when a "Superstore" is going to suddenly
decide to open its doors to your market).

    Can your company sustain 24-hour, 7-days-a-week service (including
holidays) for your customers.  That would be a great USP (customers would
love this...and who could compete)?  If this is an impossible task for you,
perhaps some modification would work which wouldn't overly tax your resources
(but will be much better than what your competition could or would provide).

    Is your company able to respond exceptionally quickly to your
customers and prospects?  If you could guarantee a response time of days
when your competitors are taking weeks and hours when your competitors are
taking days, that's another USP worth "its weight in gold" to you (and one
you should be "shouting from the rooftops")!

    Perhaps you have the wherewithal to be able to maintain a full stock
at all times and can guarantee your customers and prospects will never have
to wait or have their orders placed on "backorder".  Use that in your USP.

    Maybe your business carries the most complete stock of any
competitor and you're able to satisfy almost any request (especially for
the smaller items which are difficult to find). Tell that story and make
it your USP.

    Most companies are "me-too" companies.  They look just like
everyone else. They sell like everyone else.  They carry the same
products as everyone else.  They develop nothing to make them unique
that creates a desire in the prospect to have that special uniqueness.

    Too many companies are just out there to sell.  You need to commit
to becoming a company that's dedicated to solving a client's problem.

    In fact, a well articulated declaration of your company's
dedication to solving your customer's problems could be your USP!

    The USP can carve you out a market so quick you won't believe
it!  So, figure out what your USP is and start promoting its benefits
to your customers and prospects today!

 >>>Bonus Tip: Once You Understand The Mistakes In This Report, Don't
Go Back To Doing Your Business And Marketing The Same Old, Unprofitable
Way.

    Change is difficult.  Change can be tough. When you try to be
different, do things differently, or make waves, people get uncomfortable.
Undoubtedly, some of the ideas in this report will warrant a change or
two in your business.

Please...change!  It will not only mean a heck-of-a-lot more money to
you, it will also mean increased satisfaction in knowing that you are
running a business that is focused on the customer, and wants to serve.

    Don't try to overhaul your business if you are making a lot of
these mistakes. Instead, after you've read these ideas, pick out JUST ONE
that you need to work on the most.  Focus your energy on changing just
one at a time.  Put up notes to remind you of key concepts.  Re-read this
report over and over again.  Contact me to ask for further advice.
Whatever you do, decide to make the changes that'll better your business
along.

    Once you think you've got the first change down, determine your
next step. Decide what you want to change next.  Focus on it...and change.

    The toughest thing about change is when it involves other people.
They're in a comfort zone that they've gotten used to. Now you're gonna
come along and suggest change.  Motivating your people to change will be
the toughest part.  But don't give up. Be strong.  Be the example of a
successful marketer.  With or without your people, you can make your
business a success.


 CONCLUSION

    The marketing mistakes in this report are real.  They cause the
loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for business.  Now
that you have the answers, I'll  expect to see your revenues go up higher
than they've ever been!

    It really can happen for you!

    In order to help you get started off right with your marketing
documents, I've been able to obtain a neat book called "The 300 Best
Headlines Ever Written". This little book was put together by Karen Myers
(the wife of marketing genius Bill Myers).  Karen for several years before
she met Bill was associated with Gary Halbert (a "one-of-a-kind" guru in
direct marketing).  She learned this very profitable copywriting strategy
from Gary:

    The easiest (and usually the very best) way to come up with a
great headline is to sit down and read a large number of highly successful
headlines, and then let your mind run free to innovate and meld together
hybrids.

    The idea isn't to steal someone else's words, but to develop
your own sense of what elements make the most profitable headlines --
(realize because your headline is in reality the "ad" for your ad, all of
the headlines you use are critical to your marketing success.  Did you
know it's been proven...if the bodycopy is "good", it's possible to
increase ad response by up to twenty-one times simply by changing the
headline and nothing else? (that's 2100% potential improvement!!!).

    How can you know which ad headlines have been the really
profitable winners and are worthy of your study (and which have been
real "dogs" and certainly not what you want for your ads)? It's a good
question to ponder, because many times the best "looking" ads don't yield
anywhere near the best results ("award-winning" ads can be BIG losers).

    In her Forward to "The 300 Best Headlines Ever Written", Karen
answers your question by writing...

    ...  "We are forever grateful to the creative geniuses who
worked hard developing the headlines reprinted in this book.  And while
we would like to recognize the marketing wizard behind each headline, it
is an impossible task as many of these headlines and variations on them
have existed since the very beginnings of the advertising age"...
(i.e. These are the headlines you'll want to study and emulate in your
promotions -- and then watch your responses mushroom).

    If you want to JUMP START your sales, it's easy to own this
book.  All you need to do is take out your credit card, pick up your
phone, and call the TM&A order line at 1-800-GET-JUMP ...
(That's 1- 800 - 438-5867).

    Just say...I'd like to order "The 300 Best Headlines Ever
Written", and be ready to give your VISA, MasterCard, American
Express or Optima card number and expiration date. Or... you can
mail a check or money order should you prefer.

    The price for the book is only $9.95 plus $1.00 for shipping
and handling (Illinois residents, add 67 cents sales tax).  Make your
check or money order payable to TM&A, print your name and address on
a slip of paper that says, "Send the 300 Best Headlines", and mail
your request to:

TM&A
30W 205 Argyll Ln
Naperville, IL 60563


All the best to you and may you market successfully!

Millard Grubb
Deerfield, IL
(E-mail  America OnLine to: MGrubb .. or Internet to: [e-mail])


PS.  One more item...it may be important to you.  With this little
book, you get a total "hassle-free" money-back guarantee.  If for any
reason you don't discover a wealth of time-saving material waiting for
you...ready to stir your mind and jump-start your creativity, you have
every right to a quick refund.  Of course, the sooner you begin analyzing
these headlines, the quicker your ads and other promotions are going to
really start to push-up profits for your business.  Order today..there's
no risk..and you've "lots" to gain!


PPS. (...As President of TM&A Creative Marketing Inc., Millard's associate,
and a Protege of Jay Abraham, I'd really like to know what you thought of
our Report.  What in the Report did you find most useful to you, etc.,
and would you like to learn more of our mentor's, and Bill and Karen Myers'
marketing strategies and concepts?  You can send your note via E-mail to:
America OnLine  EdwGreen  .. or Internet to:  [e-mail])


Best wishes,

Edward Green
Naperville, IL


Copyright 1994 TM&A Creative Marketing Inc.