Joey Ragona | Strategic Business Academy

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Market Your Product

Business Marketing Tips To Make You STAND OUT

These business marketing tips are going to help you connect with your prospects.

Yea, I know you've heard the “connect” thing a million times…

But here's what you may not have heard so much:

Your marketing MUST be an adaptive system.

This simply means you have a system in place that constantly gathers information about your customers and prospects' fears, anxieties and aspirations.

In other words, CHANGE your marketing to be relevant.

You see, most entrepreneurs are so caught up in producing and making money, they forget to update their customer research.

That is, IF they've done any in the first place.

Here's A Business Marketing Tips Example:

I always use the real estate agent example because I have a lot of clients in that world.

When they first come to me to get more customers, and I tell them to use an automated follow up system through dynamic behavioral response, they'll say “oh yea, I have an automatic email campaign set up.”

At closer look, it's the SAME ONE Joe Realtor (seriously, if I EVER become a realtor, THAT'S gonna be my stage-name) down the street is using – but with my clients' name swapped in.

What's even worse, it's a “campaign” built “for them” by their handy dandy brokerage.

What's wrong with that you ask?

For one, the marketing message is VERY plain and “standardized” to fit any situation in any market.

So they can have a true “set it and forget it” automated email campaign…

And the brokerage, email setup dudes or whomever “sell” them on the idea that they can just concentrate on buying and selling for their clients.

And it's a great “sell” for them – because 99% (that's not an official number, it's just my guess after listening to so many realtors) buy into that.

Here's what I mean by standard one-size-fits-all marketing messages:

“Joey, I'm sure you've noticed the market changes in the past 6 months. There's no better time to buy/sell your home…”

Something like that will fit when the market is hot – AND when the market is “crashing” because the person receiving that email doesn't want to “lose” any more time and money if they wait to buy/sell.

Get me?

Listen, this stuff works, and it will continue to work ( to a degree, because it's another “hope marketing” tactic that people use as business marketing tips )

PLUS – and this is really important – you'll be positioned as every other realtor out there.

And, MOST importantly, you'll be struggling and pounding the pavement like every other realtor.

THAT'S why adaptive marketing is so critical.

Without it, you, your product, and your service loses relevance – and you're like another bag of rice on the shelf – no difference.

So unless you're adapting to TRUE changes , and not general crap that can applied to anyone, anywhere, any time, you'll lose profit and market authority very quickly to someone who has their ear to the ground.!!

Hope these business marketing tips help!!!

Let me know your thoughts below.

Improve Email Marketing

Email List Cleaning

Doing regular email list cleaning is essential f you want your stuff delivered to your prospects inbox.

Here’s how:

REDUCE your BIG AUDACIOUS LIST!

Bigger is not ALWAYS better.

No matter what the email “guru” told you.

The size of your list doesn’t matter…

IF they’re not engaging with you.

IF they’re not GETTING the emails because the internet Gods send your stuff to spam because you haven’t conformed with this email marketing best practices.

Quarterly Email List Cleaning

Every quarter – (at LEAST) – you may want to run an “unengaged” report.

Simply, this means people who have not opened your emails in the last 3 months.

I use Infusionsoft and thankfully, they've recently put in this search feature as you see here:

It doesn’t matter what service you use – the point is, you NEED to do some proactive email list cleaning to follow email marketing best practices and not get slapped when you send your stuff out.

What To Do With The Unengaged

After doing some major email list cleaning, the question I get from clients is “what should I do with these contacts – I don't want to just delete them”

Sometimes, we spend good money to get these contacts onto our list…so deleting them just because they’re unengaged – hurts.

Here’s what to do:

MOVE them to another email service provider.

Here’s why you do that:

Many of my clients will ask “well, if I'm gonna keep them on another list, why not keep them where they are?”

The reason is, if you have people on your main list that are unengaged, it hurts your deliverability ratio.

For example: If you have 1000 contacts and only 500 engage – that’s 50%.

Over the next 3 months you add 500 more contacts, and people opening jumps to 700.

Good right?

Not really.

Your open ratio actually went DOWN to 47%.

That may not seem like much, but if the trend continues…

The Google, Bing & Yahoo Gods look at this and decide to limit your “importance” and send MORE of your stuff to spam.

So, if you DELETE them from your main email marketing platform (in my case, Infusionsoft) and move them to a completely different email marketing service (in my case MailChimp), you STILL keep the addresses.

Why Is This Important When It Comes To Email List Cleaning ?

Two reasons.

It keeps your main email marketing platform clean with only engaged people.

You can upload the unengaged email addresses you have in Mailchimp (or whatever) to Facebook so you can retarget them with advertising.

In other words, you can send advertising ONLY to those people who have engaged with you before…

OR, you can use the unengaged or opted out lists as targets to AVOID in your Facebook ads…because if they've opted out…perhaps they'll give negative responses if they see your ads on Facebook as well.

It's all a test to see what works best for you.

But ad targeting on Facebook is a whole other topic 🙂

Anyhoo, I don’t want to make this email list cleaning post all technical.

And, I can already feel I’m going off on all sorts of tangents (thanks A.D.D.), so I’ll stop here for now.

To end this, if you follow a strict standard operating procedure of email list cleaning every 3 months like I’ve outlined here, you’re already miles ahead of others who don’t put the effort and end up in SPAM boxes.

If you have any questions about email marketing best practices, just ask me below.

Spark Entrepreneurship

Can’t Focus Properly? (Personal Case Study into Adult ADD & Driven to Distraction)

If you can't focus properly, this is something I want to share with you…

This is sorta personal because most people do NOT know this about me…

And I’m sharing why I can’t focus properly so it may help you or someone you know.

I also see how MANY of the people I coach, consult and train can’t focus either.

I witness my clients in their everyday lives. Many distracted, restless, and sometimes challenged with self-esteem…

The reason you can't focus properly could be as simple as Adult ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)

And by writing this, I hope it helps more people by shedding some new light on the subtypes of Adult ADHD and why they can’t focus properly.

As you may have guessed, I’m not an expert in the field of adult ADHD.

But I just purchased Driven to Distraction (Revised): Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder
for my own understanding of ADD and why I can’t focus properly.

UPDATE Feb 2020: I also bought the new book: Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder

From these books, I did my own adult add diagnosis. And I'm really happy I did. Because my biggest challenges are with organization, procrastination, failure to finish – (I call the 80% syndrome), and so on…

And here's the kicker. I’m a business coach who TRAINS people on how to overcome ALL of that and more.

If I told you that I’m a master at it, I'd be lying…

Despite that I continue to struggle with organization and procrastination I have been able to get a LOT of it under control. Just by identifying my “problem.”

I tease myself all the time when I'm speaking to groups about my self-diagnosed ADHD.

We chuckle as I joke about my days and how I'm “all over the place”…

More often than not, 50% of the room or higher will nod their heads in alignment with my “symptoms”, because they too can’t focus properly…they “get it”…

In reality, it's not a funny (ha-ha) subject because MILLIONS of people struggle with ADHD and can't focus at work.

And most are un-diagnosed.

First off, Adult ADHD isn't a “disease”

– it's not something “bad”

It doesn't mean something's wrong with you.

And for a long time, ADHD was heavily associated with “hyperactive” kids…

Many times, people with ADHD do well early in school, and then drop off later – or visa versa. I included

People in these situations have had the WRONG DIAGNOSIS: “dumb”, “stupid”, “they just don't get it”, “need to try harder”, and so on.

I know I sure felt the last two once I hit grade 9. I had to go into BASIC math (lower than standard BTW). And I STILL failed. Numbers and I don't line up.

Am I an idiot? Am I dumb?

Far from it. Just because I don't “get” math, doesn't mean I can't operate a business, pick up computer programs as I wrote them, or coach people to succeed in their businesses for example.

It didn't mean I couldn't start and rock out a real estate investing business (which BTW is ALL about math).

So I want you to know, if you've been “labeled” a certain way all your life just because you can’t focus properly, maybe it's an indication of how brilliant you really are…

Believe it or not, ADHD has some advantages…

One being able to HYPER-FOCUS. And if you do it, you know what I mean.

Or perhaps you “daydream”, lose interest in something very fast, you don't get around to doing the things you want to do…stuff sits around, but you've lost interest, and you move on to something else.

There are SO many symptoms of ADD (although they have themes) that anyone can be labeled incorrectly.

So I wanted to learn more about my own challenges and why I can't focus properly by reading Driven to Distraction (Revised) I told you about.

Adult ADD is very real; and for millions of people whirling around from project to project, struggling to express a part of themselves that often seems unraveled, they may have “challenges” such as these:

Adult ADHD Symptoms

– trouble getting organized
– having a sense of underachievement
– always procrastinating and having trouble getting started
– having many projects going simultaneously
– an intolerance for boredom
– easily distracted, trouble focusing
– trouble in going through established channels, following proper “procedure”
– impatient, low tolerance for frustration
– impulsive, either verbally, or inaction (like spending money, changing plans, new careers, opportunities, etc)
– tendency to worry needlessly
– a sense of insecurity
– mood swings (good mood, bad mood, back to good in the space of a few hours for no apparent reason)
– restlessness (nervous energy – tapping fingers, feet, shifting position while sitting, etc)
– Tendency toward addictive behavior
– Chronic problems with self-esteem
– Inaccurate self-observation

Although this is a “suggested clinical observation” list to diagnose Adult ADD – it's accurate enough to understand how “DISTRACTED” you (and me) really are, why you can't focus properly, and if you possibly have ADD.

Again, I want to stress that it's not a “bad” thing…

According to the book, here's how you interpret this list:

More than likely, you will identify with 1 or 2 of those…heck, maybe even a few… (my wife looked through the book and marked off a few), which means you probably don't have ADD.

However, if like me, and millions of others, you identify with at LEAST 15 of those symptoms (more detail in the book) combined, welcome to the club!

NOW you know why you can't focus properly.

Because like I said, if you ask ANYONE if they “procrastinate” or something like that, the answer is more than likely “yes”.

Even though I’m not finished reading Driven to Distraction (Revised) as I post this, so far I will tell you in the first 100 pages I’ve read today, I feel a sense of RELIEF!

I’m not saying this will CURE me or you…but it WILL help you identify why you can’t focus, and how NORMAL you are.

So I hope this information about adult ADHD helped you and if you have anything to add, or comment, ask, let me know!!

Spark Entrepreneurship

Lock Down Your Business Ideas & Avoid Failure

ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS I see as a coach and consultant are business IDEAS..

Yea, those pesky little things that constantly pop into our heads all day long that are sure to be the next big thing for our company.

We (entrepreneurs) have no problem coming up with new business ideas and solutions, don't you agree?

So what's the problem?

Aren't entrepreneurs supposed to change the world with their big business ideas?

The answer is yes. However for every entrepreneur that changes the world, there are thousands more who fail.

And it really doesn't have to be that big of a statistic.

Here's why:

Most entrepreneurs go from the idea phase , to the ‘production’ phase.

They don't spend time testing and validating their business ideas.

Therefore, so many of those entrepreneurs lose steam, money and can no longer sustain their business so they end up closing shop.

How do we fix the problem?

The answer is so simple, you'll wonder why so many business ideas fail.

Here it is:

ASK YOUR CUSTOMER to validate your business ideas. (potential customer that is)

See? I told you it was simple – yet very few do it.

The few who DO it, survive – at least longer than anyone else.

And that doesn’t mean EVERY ONE of their business ideas rock.

They just find out sooner, rather than later, which ones are worth pursuing…and more importantly, which ones they should drop.

That leaves them with the money, resources, time and everything else they would have spent creating something nobody wants, to do – err…rather TEST the next idea.

However, like I said, these are the few. The masses are entrepreneurs tying to figure out marketing messages, price points and distribution channels…and if someone will actually BUY their thing, all on their own.

When all they needed to do was ask:

“Hey, do you have this specific problem? Would this (your product / service) work for you? How so? What have you already tried to fix the problem? Where would you expect to buy this solution? How? What would you expect to pay for something like this?”

And so on…

I could write a book on the “customer discovery” process because it's what I do every day for my own business ideas…

This is also the first thing I instruct my coaching clients to do…because just like you and me, they have big business ideas too!

When you constantly go back to the market and ask them to validate each step of the way, marketing later on becomes a cinch.

Why?

Because indirectly, your customers will TELL YOU exactly what to say!

You just have to LISTEN – and here’s a novel idea – WRITE IT DOWN!

🙂

The bottom line is this: your big business idea is probably killer…and I'll bet you a dollar, that you'll discover something you've never thought about if you just take the time to go through the process of talking to your customers.

The BONUS, like I mentioned already, to all of this validation, is you'll discover a dud much sooner, spending LESS time, energy, and money building something nobody wanted in the first place.

And believe me, THOSE duds are the stepping stones to the ideas that change the world.

So let your customers tell you which business ideas are great, not your friends, your spouse or your Nona … they all love ya too much to hurt your feelings.

What d'ya think? Let's get a conversation going…

Spark Entrepreneurship

Help! My Life is Ruining My Business Freedom

If you don’t have business freedom and time in your day (yes – EVERY day) to “walk barefoot in the grass”…

You’re screwed.

There’s no other way to put it.

Because I’ll tell you something straight up…

Trying to build your business so you can get these types of business freedom days in the future is a battle most entrepreneurs and small business owners lose.

Because they gamble away the “NOW” moments for something better in the future.

In the end, they’ve traded away their lives.

I’ve witnessed it – I WAS living and following the path of my dad, and I’m here to tell you it’s a bet you can’t win.

How To Get More Business Freedom

In reading this far, you’ve probably already guessed, that I’m not a typical “rah-rah” coach or motivational dude.

I do my best work when challenging you.

Because I’ve watched so many entrepreneurs throw away moments of their lives for just “one more email”, to “finish the last piece of paperwork”…and so on for business freedom later.

It’s a lifeless loop.

Entrepreneurs constantly tell me “I have no time to X”

“Then WHY are you in business?” I’ll ask.

Their eyebrows raise like they’ve never been asked that direct question before.

It stops them DEAD in their tracks.

Seriously – you could quit what you’re doing right now and just get a nice job so you can at least punch the clock in and out and let THEM worry about shit.

Then you’ll have your nights and weekends to do more of walking in the grass barefoot.

Instead, in the most disbelieving voice, they'll say “I’m in business to GET more freedom.”

Seriously?

“So you’ve chosen to work 18 hours a day rather than 8 to…um…let’s go over this again:

GET MORE BUSINESS FREEDOM?

And you’re telling me you’re so busy to take 5 minutes, to get up from your email, from the technical problems, the computer work, the hiring, firing, hiring, firing, re-hiring, firing, managing and all the other stuff that goes on in your business?”

Seriously?

“Get a life” I’ll bark at them.

Too harsh?

Too bad.

I've watched my father sacrifice his life – literally.

And although I learned the most valuable business lessons from him, at 57 when Cancer said “you better start living because you only have 3 years left”, he scrambled to do that.

And I’m betting you know someone who is “grinding” to the bone just as much…

Maybe that person is standing in front of you, hoping something will happen to balance the scale when you look in the mirror.

People tell me they want “work-life balance…”

GUESS WHAT –

THEY'VE ALREADY GOT IT.

Trouble is, they're balancing the wrong shit at the wrong time.

Here’s how you can spot these peeps:

They’re on their phone at their kid’s soccer games…

Whatever – “catching up.”

Yet they miss the moment their kid looks over to see if they saw them do that cool kick.

They’re thinking about the school play they’re missing sitting at work with twenty-one windows open on their desktop “multi-tasking” so they can “get home as soon as possible honey…”

Seriously?

Get a life.

Because without a life, you’ve got no business.

Read that again.

And if you think “productivity” is the answer…

Here’s how you increase productivity:

Do more of the stuff OUTSIDE of your work that totally turns you on – that recharges you.

YOU have the ability and choice to do this.

A typical Joe-Blow working dude has to pray for the weekend every week.

YOU don’t.

MAKE your weekend ANY DAY you want.

So I’ll leave you with this: one day in a private mastermind with John Assaraf, he asked me “what are you willing to trade your life for? “

And before I do anything work related, even picking up the phone when it rings randomly without a call scheduled, I look at this pic staring at me over my computer every day”

Get a life.

What are your thoughts? Let's get a conversation going below!

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