NOTE: Each lesson in the Pre-System
series comes in two parts:
* The e-mail lesson
* An accompanying tele-seminar with
the System faculty member who is
expert on the lesson's focus (the
tele-seminar link comes at the end of
each lesson.)
More maximum impact, read each lesson *and*
listen to the tele-seminar.
Taken together, these lessons make up
a master level course in Internet
marketing.
That's why so many people have profited
so much from this course.
======================================
Reader
It's all in the market...
I used to wonder what it took to build
a successful business.
I tried all kinds of things...
I followed all kinds of advice. I bought
"plans" and "programs." I sat through MLN
pitches. I invested a small fortune in
traveling across the country so I could
sit at the fee of the "gurus."
You may be doing some of these things too.
How would you like to stop?
How would you like to know once and for
all and beyond the shadow of any doubt what
you need to do to become truly financially
independent.
Because that's what we all want, isn't it?
We want to stop punching someone else's clock.
We want to stop being at the beck and call of
some crazy employer's whim.
We want to be free of the fear of having our
incomes suddenly cut off through no fault of
our own.
We want to live life on our own terms.
These are worthy goals...
And they are attainable goals...
for anyone willing to pay the price.
What's the price?
The answer is so simple it's going to floor you.
It's this...
Service to a market.
I'm not talking about customer service or being
in the service industry. I'm talking about an
attitude, an outlook and an approach to business.
----------------------------------
Where money comes from
----------------------------------
Money changes hands when people are served.
That's it.
Yes, you can learn the newest "sure-fire" trick
from the latest get rich qwick Internet scam
artist - and you *might* shake out a few dollars.
Or you could get real and create something real.
Money comes from the marketplaces. Period.
It doesn't come from brilliant ideas or great
products or "genius" marketing.
All these things are nice and can contribute to
your efforts, but first and last the thing that
matters is your market and your relationship
to it.
Once you "get" this idea - really get it -
you'll be financially bullet proof for the
rest of your life.
But until you do, business will forever be a
mystery - and a painful one at that.
----------------------------------
How NOT to do business
----------------------------------
When someone is trying to sell you on a
money-making scheme, they usually
stress how easy it is, how anyone can
do it and how it's all "push button"
and on auto-pilot.
Guess what?
If you had a sneaking suspicion that
offers like these are worthless, you're
right.
Of course, we want to be efficient.
Of course, we want to get the biggest
bang for our marketing dollars. Of course,
we want to succeed.
But talking about these things in the
abstract without rooting them in reality
of a real flesh and blood business
connected with real flesh and blood
people is not going to help you.
Here are the two biggest mistakes people
make in business, online and off.
#1 They focus on everything else but
the market BEFORE they start their
business
# 2 They focus on everything else but
the market AFTER they start their
business.
Let me give you an example that will
make all this crystal clear.
A man decides he wants to open
a restaurant. It's been a fantasy
of his for years and he's seen
people make good money in the
restaurant business so he dives
in.
He finds a location and obsesses
over the details of the interior...
He talks with chefs, picks one and
starts designing the menu...He opens
accounts with food purveyors...He
recruits and trains his staff...He
buys ad from all the door-to-door
ad salesmen that knock on his door...
The big day comes and he opens the
door with a big blowout for all his
friends, family and investors.
Six months later, he's out of
business and there's a smoking
crater where his net worth used
to be.
What happened?
He NEVER at any point in the process
asked the question:
"WHO will my business serve and
HOW best can I serve them?"
It's crazy, isn't it?
How could any sane person spend
tens (sometimes hundreds) of thousands
of dollars and months and even
years ramping up a business - and
not ask this basic question?
Yet this happens every day of
the week to smart, hard working
people all over the world.
People get an IDEA that THEY
like and then they throw it
at the marketplace *assuming*
the market will want it.
----------------------------------
How to do it RIGHT
----------------------------------
Start with the market first.
It's that simple.
Ask yourself this question:
"WHO do I want to serve?"
The WHO is infinitely more
important than the WHAT or
HOW.
Get the WHO right and you're
more than halfway there.
The would-be restaurant
owner probably never gave
much thought to WHO exactly
might be attracted to his
restaurant.
Young people, old people,
families, people on a budget,
high rollers on expense accounts...
WHO?
What he should have done
is drawn a circle around
his restaurant on a map
(about ten miles away in
all directions), get in his
car, drive around and
really LOOK.
What kinds of people live
in the area?
What kinds of restaurants
already exist?
Which ones are doing well?
Which ones are not?
What do people in the market
feel is missing?
Who's doing a great job -
and who's not?
What can I bring to these
particular people who live
in this particular area
something that will "WOW!"
them so much that they come
back again and again?
I guarantee that failed
restaurants do not ask these
questions...they were too busy
talking with their interior
designer about muted earth
tones in the dining room.
I'm using a restaurant as an example
because it's so easy to visualize,
but this applies to ALL businesses,
ESPECIALLY online ones.
-------------------------------------
The pros and cons of doing business
on the Internet
-------------------------------------
All the gurus love to talk about the upside
of doing business on the Internet.
Low start up costs, low overhead,
reach the whole world.
All these things are true.
But the downside to Internet
marketing is this...
Unless you know how to promote
online and turn visitors to your
site into customers, you won't make
a cent.
It's a very special skill set
and it's what we focus on in
our trainings.
At the System Seminar we teach
a very simple formula.
Traffic + conversion = profits
We'll show you how to get visitors
to your site.
In the Internet world that's called
traffic.
Then we'll show you what to do
with the people who come to your
site so that it's a positive
experience for them - and a
profitable one for you.
That's called conversion.
When you get these two things
right - and you're marketing the
right thing to the right market -
you'll see that success in business
is not about luck.
It's about KNOWING.
One of the best market research
experts I know is Glenn Livingston.
In fact, let me re-state that...
Glenn is better at researching
online markets to see if they
have real profit potential than
any person I know.
That's why every year since I met
him I've literally begged him
to make the trip to Chicago to
share what he knows with my students
at the System Seminar.
So far, every year he's said yes.
Glenn doesn't hang out with the
guru crowd and you won't see him
doing seminars all over the globe.
He leaves his beautiful home in
New Hampshire to schlep to Chicago
as a personal favor to me - for which
I am very grateful.
Take advantage of it...and take
advantage of this Pre-System
tele-seminar I did with him.
Picking the right market is 90%
business success - and no one
does it better than Glenn.
He'll show you he works his magic
here:
http://www.thesystemblog.com/2008/01/glenn-livingsto.html
Ken
----------------------------------------------
System Seminar 2008
May 30 - June 1, 2008
Chicago, Illinois
http://www.TheSystemSeminar.com/register.html
----------------------------------------------
Ken McCarthy
The System Seminar
---------------------------------------------------------
* Home study solutions for Internet entrepreneurs
http://www.KensCatalog.com
* The System Seminar May 30 - June 1, 2008
The annual gathering of *serious* Internet entrepreneurs
http://www.TheSystemSeminar.com
* Serious marketing books for serious marketers
http://www.RealMarketingBooks.com
---------------------------------------------------------
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Education for Internet Entrepreneurs
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