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![]() Choices. In my lifetime, I've made a lot of choices regarding how I was going to "bring home the bacon". Some choices didn't have much thought behind them...and those are the cow pies of failure I dropped in the pastures of my life.
Some were well thought out, even had a business plan. Some came out of nowhere, some trends or hot topical ideas, others were evergreen. If I have a regret (don't really) it might be, NOT taking the time to learn about all the options and choices I had, but were off my radar because of a lack of research. Of course, we didn't have the Internet back in the day either. SO.... how do you make your money? Does it fit into one of these MODELS, or is outside the mold? Feel free to tell us your models and how you have used them. MODEL #1 Direct face-to face selling. At 10, I knocked on doors and sold hand picked flowers from a field. On one hand this is the fastest, easiest way there is to make a buck, on the other...it can be a grind. Every day a repeat, of see the people, see the people, see the people. Success 'secret' one: call on the right people at the right time with the money to spend. You can create the when and where. It is hard to beat for FAST, Quick cash in your hand, but it can beat you down over time. MODEL #2 Provide a service. Plumbers, auto mechanics, doctors, lawyers and software sellers...provide a service. I did resumes. Made $1,000.00 a day providing this service, they came to me. Success Secret two: you must have effective advertising, lead generation or your prospect must know you exist and be their go to person. MODEL #3 Well, from here, I guess most are variations of selling a product or a service, it is in the details and nuances isn't it? So, here is a list, make it a faster read. Direct selling. Face to face. OR by remote means; mail order, online, personal solicitation or brick and mortar. Direct service provider; plumber, doctor, lawyer...they can come to you or you go to them. What I want to do with this post, really, is to share my opinions, one of those "knowing what I know now, what I would do differently" kind of things...in the hopes that those of you that are looking for new CovidCrisis opportunities will put in a lot of thought, BEFORE you pull the trigger and just jump in. Not all, of course, but many times those that do the FIRE, AIM, READY dive head first in are in a state of desperation and can get their necks broken because the pool was shallow. NEEDING money now, leads to some poor decisions. What is the biggest lesson I've learned from my 60 years in various businesses? Maybe the lesson from RICH DAD, POOR DAD...which is, learn how money works, what it is and what it isn't. Translated to: learn how to save, reinvest and grow your money. Desperate, and hand to mouth types don't understand the power of savings. Simple enough, but according to most stats, the one thing most people don't do well enough. Also, LEVERAGE. Or TOLL POSITIONS. I didn't OBSERVE my surroundings well enough, I was asleep at the wheel for much of the ride. I didn't see the Franchise opportunities of the 60's and 70's. I didn't see the many gov't contracts while I was in the Navy, and actually dealing with and learning from some of them...if I had been more observant, I would have seen lucrative long term contracts for thousands of items our gov'ts buy. Most of those early years, I traded time for dollars, and having spent 15 years in social services, however emotionally satisfying and rewarding, probably was a mistake...even though I had side hustles going on. I didn't fully develop the side gigs to the point of automation, or of the Side Hustle (SH) making the money that makes me the money (investments and savings). Like too many of us, when the good times rolled, I rocked. We got into the habit of fulfilling our wants, when we should have delayed some of that gratification for the cloudy days. So, what would I do TODAY, knowing what I know? It would depend on my age. Younger people should explore, have adventures, but OBSERVE, record and recall the opportunities. During my first retirement, from 22 to 26.5 I had my youthful adventures, having given four years to Uncle Sam in the USN, I felt the need to give myself the same amount of time off. Although it was great fun and high adventure, the MISTAKE I made was not paying attention to those who were also having adventures while hauling in the dough too. Could have done both. If I were single or married would have bearing on my choices. If I had kids or not, would also play a big part. So, before I can make any blanket recommendations for any biz-op, I would say it is circumstance dependent along with a clear idea for the future. (What do you want and why?). But in general, I can tell you businesses I liked and probably should have done more of. I like the Harvey Brody TOLL POSITION model, where you have control of a consumable commodity...which gets used up and bought over and over again. This may be the top of the business concepts, if one doesn't have exploitable talents or skills, like NFL Quarterbacks, Hollywood Actors, Charles Shulz type cartoonists, etc., etc. If I were younger, and not desperate, I would spend time learning all about Intellectual Property, Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights and the MARKETPLACE that routinely buys and sells these things. Not all of us can create, like Harvey Brody did, a product...but we can all ACQUIRE them and hold onto them for years. One of things I did right, was creating and developing my own products over the years, and setting up AUTOMATION. The Automatic Product Vending sites were a right, albeit, narrow path I did follow. Also, I didn't learn how to ask the right questions either. Now some of that was my POOR DAD upbringing, and then when I had the chance to ask many multimillionaires, I encountered too many Trump like (grab em by the Pu88y) locker room guys, whom I regarded as two faced hypocrites who felt entitled. That was WRONG on my part. I could have separated the do what I do from the do what I say...but my personal bias got in the way of that, so be aware of your own prejudices too. Just because you don't like or respect someone, doesn't mean you can't learn from them, and be the good guy too. What are the right questions to ask? To be continued. Last edited by GordonJ : August 25, 2020 at 11:26 AM. |
#2
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![]() Hey, GordonJ. Thank you for this post, I think that it's important to know this kind of models because they will help you to sell as more stuff as possible which is very great. I found out about these business models 2 years ago, when I had a small business, I didn't know what to do, in order to sell my products so I decided to find something on Google, I've been searching for 2 hours and I found an article about it, you can check it out, maybe you can edit your post and paste it because there is some additional info about selling: https://tracktime24.com/Blog/suggestive-selling-tips . I've been using tips from it for some time and I can say that it helped me to start developing my business, maybe somebody will be able to succeed too, who knows.
Last edited by HellenYeah2 : September 3, 2020 at 11:02 AM. |
#3
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![]() Thanks for the post and link. I do have some thoughts on Suggestive Selling.
First, very few people have listened to SPIDERS SNAKES AND MICE, OH MY found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hsqk8vjh7b...iders.mp3?dl=0 Which is fine. It is long at 38 minutes. But way back in 1960 I discovered the ELMERS, Wheeler and Leterman. Both were masters of SUGGESTIVE selling. Mr. Wheeler, a prolific writer, penned one of the greatest tomes on selling of all time, TESTED SENTENCES THAT SELL. In the book he had his Wheeler Points, the famous one is DON'T SELL THE STEAK SELL THE SIZZLE. But another of his points gets overlooked, and that one is, DON'T ASK IF, ASK WHICH. Give them a choice, and that is basically what the article you linked to talks about, giving your buyer some more choices. In the Pizza shop model, consumable{brick and mortar}, the whole model depends on repeat business. I helped owners keep their customers while INCREASING the amount per sale, via this suggestive selling method. If a guy was buying two large pizzas on a Sat. night to feed his family, we would suggest a salad, or bread sticks or drinks, even desserts. All of this suggestion led to a blacker bottom line. In REMOTE DIRECT MARKETING, we often have BACK ENDS, these are either upsells, cross sells, or even down sells made via SUGGESTION. Now these suggestions are carefully crafted by professional copy writers skilled in the arts and sciences of influence and persuasion. Once a person incorporates and habitualizes the suggestions, it becomes second nature and the business, almost any and every business will perform at a higher profit level. The article mentions Starbucks and an 18% increase via a simple customer awards/appreciation or loyalty program. It is one of the easiest add ons to offer, and over the lifetime value of the customer pays for itself over and over and over again. Thanks again for the link. GordonJ Quote:
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![]() I'm sorry for posting here but where I can find the continuation of your post? can you help me out?
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#5
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![]() Quote:
I was waiting for someone to ask. So, today, I'll continue it here, refresh often because I do it in bits and pieces so as not to get it lost by software glitches we sometimes have. So, thanks for asking. And to pick up where I left off...about asking the RIGHT questions. Here is ONE of my processes, which you will find has been sprinkled through this forum for the last 20 years now...goes like: HOW DOES THE TRANSACTION TAKE place. Begin at the end where money (or value) exchanges hands. You can use this for every evaluation of biz op you do. How to get their money into your hands? So, some model examples. Pizza, a HOT biz now thanks to delivery. You order via phone or online, pay via some method, and they make and deliver the pizza to your door. People of an all cash nature don't have much success because few shops have CASH on delivery...for a lot of reasons. So if you are thinking of investing in a pizza shop or starting one, you want to know the TRANSACTION, currently about 85% of all shops' biz is DELIVERY And maybe 15% pickup, with a part of that dine in, if allowed. So, you ask the question of HOW do I get their money? Which should lead you to the next question of WHO? Who is going to give you the money? With a pizza shop, you know that most of your biz, again 85% will live within a few miles of your shop. Then the next who would be... WHO ELSE CAN THEY BUY FROM? With brick and mortar, it is pretty easy to determine your market, with online not so much. With WALMART firing up their membership again this month (which I will join and report on)...it will give us AMZ PRIME members an option on WHO to buy from. TARGET is supposedly about to offer a similar service, we'll see what happens. The questions continue... You have identified the HOW of the exchange (getting the dough $$$) You have considered WHO is going to buy from you. And this is probably the most important question which gets asked the least amount of time. Today we call it an AVATAR, old days it was your prospect. Pizza and many brick and mortar biz's are easy in to define your ideal customer. But what about the online service provider? I'll use copywriter for the model, but it could be a web builder, graphics artist, SEO consultant, all that Internet Marketing stuff. But for example, I'll use COPYWRITER. The #1 question by far new copywriters ask is how do I get clients? I giggle. Because... a real copywriter is a salesperson. I am a salesperson. As noted above, the first question a sales person asks is WHO will buy my goods, (after knowing what the transaction looks like). It is the same question that makes many of us wealthy because we can sell the answer, often disguised as LEAD GENERATION. So, Mary has taken some classes, immersed herself in learning how to write copy because for most of her life people have told her she should write, and writers who don't make any money are like little bugs attracted to those zappers...they flock to COPYWRITING because, as they have heard... it only takes one letter to make you rich. Go to the beach with your yellow legal pad, knock out an ad in the morning sipping Mai-Tais, send your letter to you customer, collect the 15k and wait for the money to come pouring in. Feel free to use the above paragraph for your template if selling copywriting training. Anyhow, HOW does a transaction take place with a copywriter (or any service provider online)???? Well, here it is a combo of WHO & HOW. WHO buys copywriting? Almost everyone with something to sell. Some sort of copy is needed to either describe or motivate or influence someone to get out their wallet and buy whatever it is you are selling, right? Now, when I did consulting for PIZZA shops, I taught them to use add ons to increase the size of the order. Like the post about SUGGESTIVE SELLING (AND I'll answer that one later today too)...I had the shop identify who were the regular customers, what they ordered, how often. Typical numbers we REMOTE DIRECT MARKETERS are use to, sounds almost magical to many brick and mortar guys, which makes it so lucrative to consult with them. So, by suggesting and order of bread sticks or a liter of pop (soda), or a big salad, many shops increased their business by adding VALUE to the regular orders. With services, the very best advertisements are RESULTS. Which of course, the newbie copywriter doesn't have. It should be their first step in their learning process, which is why, in the past I have made my copywriting students WRITE a promotion first thing. In lieu of testimonials or results, then you have to make promises, or give them a reason to use your service, with pizza shops, I could easily guarantee a 10% annual increase of profits, which would amount to thousands of dollars, and that would more than pay my fee and create happy, satisfied customers. And you get new clients with the same process, by asking them the same questions...who are their customers, how is the transaction taking place, what can they add on, how often do they contact customers, what sort of retention/reward program do they have...SEE? QUESTIONS. Ask the right questions from the get go, right up front and so much time can be saved and so much more money can be made. So choosing any business or money making activity, or BIZ-OP begins with asking how the transaction takes place, and with who, and how often... I ask new pizza shop owners WHY they invested in their shop? Never got a straight answer, although I did identify certain types of people. Likewise, I would ask a new copywriter WHY did you select this as a way to make your living and how much do you expect to make in say, 5 years??? followed by HOW? And over 90% of them can NOT answer that question. IF anyone has questions about a specific biz, I probably have some case studies to share with the questions asked. I believe in spending time to find the RIGHT business to pursue, and not just chase after money, it makes the whole business more fun, and more profitable too, so ask if you have any questions, OK? GordonJ Last edited by GordonJ : September 4, 2020 at 11:03 AM. |
#6
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Hey Gordon Just want to thank you for sharing this brilliant PRACTICAL advice on how to "reverse-engineer" (business) ideas. I wish more people will read this and save themselves needless "lessons learned" Thanks again
__________________
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#7
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![]() Quote:
Today, younger people say someone is BASIC as an insult. I would thank them for the compliment. We live in a complicated world, most of the time listening to people who don't have any idea why they are evening opening up their pie holes... so, if I can share some useful information and keep it basic, I'm happy. People, mostly, need to learn their own lessons the hard way, and sometimes it takes getting knocked down a few times to wake up and try a different way. I like the way of experience, tested and proven with results. That is what we attempt to offer here at SowPub, thanks for noticing. Gordon |
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