Post: #751

There's some days I want to throw my laptop 300 ft in the air and let it smash. Today is not one of those days.

I've been blogging more and more. Today I took a step back and updated my workflow.

1. Drafts are done on Google Docs. The editor is so easy, compact, and gets everything done in one place.

2. Using an Add-On, final posts are uploaded directly to WordPress. Images, links, formatting, everything follows precisely. I simply scan through and make sure no formatting gets messed up, and presto.

3. Using Plug-Ins, blog posts are instantly shared on Steemit and Facebook. Same thing as #2, I take a quick read to make sure my formatting followed and looks pretty, and publish.

Boom, now I've gone from simple Google Doc to Wordpress, Steemit, and Facebook in 2 minutes. Love it!

Post: #752

Today was productive. I left all of the materials currently in the testing phase at a client last night intentionally and went home empty handed so that I'd be forced to wake up on time and finish up several new materials in time for another set of testing sessions beginning at 4PM tonight.

This strategy was very effective. I got a ton done and am very proud of the finished product.

I need to implement this type of "do or die" strategy on a routine basis.

The thing is that I enjoy the product development work I do, but without the right motivation, I'm easily distracted.

Post: #753

I've decided to try something different to generate leads.

Direct mail.

With everyone doing social media, email, phone calls, etc... direct mail is the zig of today's zag. I'm even putting a small QR code on my sales letter, when scanned, will lead to my landing page with a call to action for a free consultation. Tossing in a small flashlight keychain with my logo engraved on it, too...

Going to start small with about 100 people within a niche market, and see what kind of response I get.

Post: #754

Cleanslate that is a good idea, one too often overlooked these days.

LouieG had an interesting method, and while he didn't get calls directly from it, it was memorable and he got some sales on follow up.

His thread is gold and the lessons and methods can be applied to many services, it directly helped me make money. I recommend anyone selling services read it all:

/thread-29744.html


From Part 3- Getting Started:

Quote:3.4 First Contact

My cold approach was simple. I printed 200 glossy postcards with a nice photo and my business’s name on one side, and blank space + fine printed contact info on the other.

In the blank space, I Sharpie’d two columns:

Left column - What I estimated the business’s profit to be on one sale, two sales, three sales, etc, of whatever service they offered. I kept my estimates of their profit-per-sale very conservative. I remember the principal of the investment bank laughed in my face for guessing he made only $20k per engagement.

That was embarrassing, but then he signed on for a $17k website, which provided a great deal of consolation.

Right column - The cost of a basic website. I made sure the cost was always less than the profit from two (at most three) sales for the client.

At the bottom I included a little note saying I’d like to meet & discuss further. I mailed them out on a Monday.

Almost nobody called back, and no one I ultimately sold to did. But I spent all day Thursday and Friday placing follow up calls, introducing myself, and asking if they’d received my postcard.

Many that I spoke to had, and a lot said they wanted to learn more. I kept these phone calls brief, and pushed for in-person talks. Some balked, some bit.

I set up a round of meetings for the next few weeks.

Now when doing B2B services like he was it is not uncommon to not receive many (or any) direct responses from the mailings- helping to get you some sales on follow up is the goal. A compelling and memorable direct mail does make a difference.

Post: #755

I'm currently working in sales but found a way I think to leave the corporate world forever before I am 30 (still working, just not in corporate envt).

Biz is also growing but its a little more challenging than I thought. Will hopefully generate meaningful revenue within 6 months.

Post: #756

Let us know how your DM pieces go, CleanSlate. Sounds like you've got a winning formula.

Are you mailing to USA companies? From SE Asia? I'm not updated on your location.

Post: #757

For aspiring entrepreneurs that want a good introduction to small business realities, I recommend David C. Barnett.

https://www.youtube.com/user/DavidCBarnett

Barnett is an entrepreneur and consultant that specializes in business sales, purchases, and valuations. His short videos are well-tailored to a new entrepreneur and helpful to existing business owners in preparation to sell or just professionalize their small business.

I intend to watch the remaining of his videos and then buy two of his books. I found him through Captain Capitalism. A good and incredibly low-cost resource for the type of very practical knowledge he delivers.

Post: #758

I'm curious if anyone here has ever brought a food product to market?

I have been working on developing a food product, and I am getting to the stage where I am finalizing the basic ingredients and the marketing strategy & branding approach. The idea is by no means revolutionary, but I like it and am interested in pursuing it for money as well as general interest.

I know that the key to scaling is sourcing the ingredients commercially, for (small) mass production, and getting the product made in a commercial kitchen, in accordance with all the relevant federal / city / food regulations, and then packaging it in an FDA compliant package, and then finally getting it in front of commercial buyers.

However, before I even go that far, I'm trying to figure out if there are companies or consultants to whom I could either send my ingredients, or, after signing a confidentiality agreement, provide a list of my ingredient suppliers, who would then cook & prepare my food product, and then package it? Anyone work on anything similar? Have any tips, leads, or recommendations? I would greatly appreciate it!

Post: #759

(10-23-2017 01:01 PM)redbeard Wrote:  Let us know how your DM pieces go, CleanSlate. Sounds like you've got a winning formula.

Are you mailing to USA companies? From SE Asia? I'm not updated on your location.

I’m living in SEA but will be visiting the USA next month. So I will take that time and opportunity to send out my DM pieces while I’m there.

But if there’s a way to print and mail stuff out remotely, I’d love to hear about it.

Post: #760

(10-22-2017 03:37 PM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  

(10-22-2017 11:30 AM)Stroked351w Wrote:  Has anyone ever been involved with network marketing? I have a chance to get into it but I'm a little skeptical.

Oh man this is hilarious.

Sure there is a chance of making it work. But any other thing is almost better and easier to make it work.

Would you mind explaining? I sat through a presentation but could help but wonder what the "founders" were getting out of it besides a warm and fuzzy.

Post: #761

I have won my first Ebay case (as a seller).



One dude (who lives in America, but has horrible English) bought a dark navy suit from me. I sent it via EMS (fully insured, with tracking).


When he received it, he claimed that the color is not as described, despite all evidence. I have accepted a return, gave him my address, and told him to provide a tracking number.


In the following two weeks, I have received neither a tracking number, or my suit. Suddenly...I saw a neutral feedback, in which he claimed that...he never received his suit (tracking shows that he gave an e - signature to the postman).


I blocked him ASAP (he can contact me still, but can't see my listings), and wrote an email to Ebay, explaining the situation.


Nothing happened.


Then I have contacted PayPal, and they said that this is out of their jurisdiction.


And finally, I heard on the Ebay sub-Reddit that they (Ebay) can be contacted on Facebook. I was relieved, because calling them on phone was inconvenient due to time differences (I use American Ebay).


I have logged into Facebook, and contacted Ebay. They replied fast, and solved the issue in my favor - the facts that (1)the buyer could not prove he sent my suit back and (2) buyer lied on feedback helped me win. Not only I got my money back (a few hundred dollars, a lot), but the feedback he left was removed as well (I didn't ask).


That decision is final, and can't be appealed on either Ebay or Paypal (which basically deleted it), so I can re-invest it safely.

Post: #762

(10-24-2017 07:42 AM)Stroked351w Wrote:  

(10-22-2017 03:37 PM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  

(10-22-2017 11:30 AM)Stroked351w Wrote:  Has anyone ever been involved with network marketing? I have a chance to get into it but I'm a little skeptical.

Oh man this is hilarious.

Sure there is a chance of making it work. But any other thing is almost better and easier to make it work.

Would you mind explaining? I sat through a presentation but could help but wonder what the "founders" were getting out of it besides a warm and fuzzy.

Sure it can work, but it will probably take a few years before you will see any reasonable success. (see the masses that fall out of Amway.)

All those years are better spent working at a real company in corporate sales working your way up to enterprise accounts.

Post: #763

(10-24-2017 07:42 AM)Stroked351w Wrote:  

(10-22-2017 03:37 PM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  

(10-22-2017 11:30 AM)Stroked351w Wrote:  Has anyone ever been involved with network marketing? I have a chance to get into it but I'm a little skeptical.

Oh man this is hilarious.

Sure there is a chance of making it work. But any other thing is almost better and easier to make it work.

Would you mind explaining? I sat through a presentation but could help but wonder what the "founders" were getting out of it besides a warm and fuzzy.

Most networking marketing is a scam. The only people that profit are the ones that start it. Type whatever the company is into Google and then the word "scam" and check the results. If it is new then set up a Google alert for that keyphrase.

Let us know what the company is here and we can check for you too.

Post: #764

How do you guys create a new offering then determine pricing? I've been thinking about it lately and it seems more like an art than science.

Post: #765

(10-24-2017 09:07 AM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  How do you guys create a new offering then determine pricing? I've been thinking about it lately and it seems more like an art than science.

There's a bunch of ways of informing your decision.

Are there other products out there that are similar, what do they cost, what's your edge on them (ie are you able to produce cheaper and undercut, or are you offering a premium product that serves a need others don't)?

If it's a really innovative product, and there's nothing much like it out there, then what is the cost to the customer of not having it? If the cost is high, then you can pretty much pick a number. I had a good run with a product line like that once, and I was making about 10x cost, and cutting my customer's costs by 70% or so.

What does it cost you to acquire a customer, and what is that customer's lifetime value to your business if you are able to charge X?

Past that though, it's really about trying to get a range between the minimum you need to charge to make a profit, and the maximum you can charge before it becomes cheaper to use another product/combination of products rather than use yours. Then you just stick your finger in the air, see what way the wind is blowing, and take it to market. It's much easier to lower your prices than it is to put them up though.

Post: #766

(10-24-2017 04:35 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

(10-23-2017 01:01 PM)redbeard Wrote:  Let us know how your DM pieces go, CleanSlate. Sounds like you've got a winning formula.

Are you mailing to USA companies? From SE Asia? I'm not updated on your location.

I’m living in SEA but will be visiting the USA next month. So I will take that time and opportunity to send out my DM pieces while I’m there.

But if there’s a way to print and mail stuff out remotely, I’d love to hear about it.

There are many companies that will do your mailing from start to finish. They can supply you with the list, do the printing, and do the mailing. One such company - I use for printing the mailing materials, not mailings- is https://4over.com/#keyfeatures/mailing . A quick internet search for mailing services will bring hundreds of other companies.

In the US, the minimum for bulk mailings is 200 pieces, so be aware of it. Also, make sure to speak with a knowledgeable person because the size of the mailing piece also plays a role. Obviously, the more you print, the less expensive it is the job per piece. Bulk mail also has the advantage of a discounted stamp, it comes down to an average of 26 cents for me. I have a mailing permit for my business because I do mailings constantly.

I have read in a trade publication in my industry that whether you mail an enveloped brochure or a postcard it doesn't affect the response rate; right now I am doing postcards, but testing both. Postcards are easier to put together. However, I know for a fact that if you include a small gift it will increase the opening rate. Inform yourself before buying the promotional product because certain bulky items are not USPS machine friendly and will go to a different category disqualifying them for bulk mailing.

I am always doing mailings, and during certain times of the year I do thousands of pieces a week.

I suggest you keep track of all costs incurred, i.e. envelops, labels, printed material, hours of your own labor, stamp, other fees ... so you can evaluate your cost of acquiring these customers.

If done correctly, Direct Mail is a very effective promotional activity in B2B.

Post: #767

(10-23-2017 02:15 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  I've decided to try something different to generate leads.

Direct mail.

I know a businessman who's been doing the same thing--he calls it 3D mail.

Before sending direct mail to a client like you do, he does some research on him. Oh, he went to X college, where they're super proud of their basketball team. So he mails a client a t-shirt with the college logo. Just food for thought.

Post: #768

(10-24-2017 02:36 PM)The Man w/ the Golden Gun Wrote:  

(10-23-2017 02:15 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  I've decided to try something different to generate leads.

Direct mail.

I know a businessman who's been doing the same thing--he calls it 3D mail.

Before sending direct mail to a client like you do, he does some research on him. Oh, he went to X college, where they're super proud of their basketball team. So he mails a client a t-shirt with the college logo. Just food for thought.

I've seen something similar before too. Mixed results. They called it lumpy mail. For example, they would send a brochure, a good quality tea bag (works in the UK) and a high-quality large biscuit. They would then have instructions on how to make the perfect cup of tea, told to sit back have a drink, eat a biscuit and read the brochure.

Post: #769

I ordered some mini-flashlight keychains with my logo engraved on it. Not a lot, but some. Will test that and let you know.

I probably won’t make it my regular thing because I’m remote. Postcards will likely be my goto DM method over the long run.

Post: #770

Does anyone have any recommmendations for some invoicing software or an app or something like that.

I need something that will generate a receipt for the client after they have made their purchase and then if it could generate an email to the customer to go with it that would be even better.

Anyone know of anything like that?

Ps. To all the rvf entrepreneurs, keep at it. The road you've chosen is hard but sometimes you have to chose to do the hard thing.

Post: #771

(10-25-2017 02:09 PM)Ski pro Wrote:  Does anyone have any recommmendations for some invoicing software or an app or something like that.

I need something that will generate a receipt for the client after they have made their purchase and then if it could generate an email to the customer to go with it that would be even better.

Anyone know of anything like that?

Ps. To all the rvf entrepreneurs, keep at it. The road you've chosen is hard but sometimes you have to chose to do the hard thing.

I use Freshbooks. Love it.

Post: #772

Biz made another sale today. Still negative 1-2k on the new ventue but that will be a bad month if I can get it moving... and completely passive. Is going positive and has the possibility to completely support me in 1-2 years.

Thinking about talking to the CEO of my firm in a few months to see if I can go fully remote. Might move to a small beach town in the South or something.

Also have another venture related to copywriting I am starting to work on that is going ok.

Post: #773

(10-24-2017 09:05 AM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  

(10-24-2017 07:42 AM)Stroked351w Wrote:  

(10-22-2017 03:37 PM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  

(10-22-2017 11:30 AM)Stroked351w Wrote:  Has anyone ever been involved with network marketing? I have a chance to get into it but I'm a little skeptical.

Oh man this is hilarious.

Sure there is a chance of making it work. But any other thing is almost better and easier to make it work.

Would you mind explaining? I sat through a presentation but could help but wonder what the "founders" were getting out of it besides a warm and fuzzy.

Sure it can work, but it will probably take a few years before you will see any reasonable success. (see the masses that fall out of Amway.)

All those years are better spent working at a real company in corporate sales working your way up to enterprise accounts.

It definitely wouldn't be my main source of income, it's more like a side hustle. I have heard of Amway and this is basically the same concept, based on a good bit of info I've gathered anyway. They seem rather secretive about their business so that's mostly what has me worried but there is no money that you have to put into (so far) at least.

Post: #774

(10-25-2017 10:09 PM)Stroked351w Wrote:  

(10-24-2017 09:05 AM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  

(10-24-2017 07:42 AM)Stroked351w Wrote:  

(10-22-2017 03:37 PM)qwertyuiop Wrote:  

(10-22-2017 11:30 AM)Stroked351w Wrote:  Has anyone ever been involved with network marketing? I have a chance to get into it but I'm a little skeptical.

Oh man this is hilarious.

Sure there is a chance of making it work. But any other thing is almost better and easier to make it work.

Would you mind explaining? I sat through a presentation but could help but wonder what the "founders" were getting out of it besides a warm and fuzzy.

Sure it can work, but it will probably take a few years before you will see any reasonable success. (see the masses that fall out of Amway.)

All those years are better spent working at a real company in corporate sales working your way up to enterprise accounts.

It definitely wouldn't be my main source of income, it's more like a side hustle. I have heard of Amway and this is basically the same concept, based on a good bit of info I've gathered anyway. They seem rather secretive about their business so that's mostly what has me worried but there is no money that you have to put into (so far) at least.

Yeah run. You're better off selling something door to door than doing Amway.

Hell you'd probably make more money writing blog articles. Ask other people here and I'm sure you'll have the same response.

Post: #775

NEVER host a domain on HostGator, holy shit. My contract was up and I decided to leave for SiteGround. SG offered a cheaper package and I heard their speeds are top notch. I didn't even have a problem with HostGator until I tried to leave.

Now that I'm dealing with HostGator customer support, holy shit these guys suck ass. They wanted $25 for a backup. Nope!