Dan Kennedy

Everybody gets too close to their own business to see the
opportunities and flaws clearly. Every business benefits
from periodic examination by "fresh eyes". This need can
be fulfilled by appropriate paid consultants, by
mastermind groups such as those organized by my friend Joe
Mancuso at the CEO Clubs or by those of your own making,
even by you taking a few weeks away then returning to your
business refreshed and relaxed.

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A special entrepreneurial skill is the discovery of "hidden worth" in a business, and most existent, mature businesses have plenty of it overlooked by those running it.
In the cosmetic industry, for years Oil Of Olay was a single product. In recent years, somebody has recognized the value of that name as a brand, and is exploiting it successfully. Some years ago, the service station industry discovered the "hidden worth" in their frequent customers and got into the high margin, high profit convenience store business. Jay Abraham made his name as a marketing "genius" by identifying the "neglected worth" of a number of companies' customer databases and relationships.
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As you know from all the advertising, the trend in the automobile industry has been to stretch out the length of the loans/leases so as to offer the lowest possible monthly payments. But one expert recently showed me some fascinating analysis revealing how this works against the car dealer in terms of customer retention and repeat business. I then talked to a top car salesman I know who said that he made a point of showing customers 24, 36, 48 and 60 month schedules, including how much interest is paid in each case, so as to encourage the buyer to take the shortest term he can afford - because this gets the customer ready and able to trade-in for a new car earlier.

He also teaches his customers how to make small extra principal payments on their car loans, so they save money on interest and are able to trade-in quicker. I think this is a great example of taking a look at the direction the herd is moving in your industry, then looking carefully in the opposite direction.
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There is no bigger-bang-for-your-buck than directmail, employed effectively. You need to look for every possible opportunity to use directmail in your business.
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"Specialization" or "perceived specialization" can turn an ordinary business into an extraordinary business, boost prices and margins, provide competitive differentiation, and allow you to be a "big fish in a small pond."

Just for example, you might say that printing is printing and business forms are business forms. But I know of a printing company specializing in medical forms for hospitals. They and their competitors packaged and sold their forms in cartons of 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000. But many small hospitals and nursing homes refused to buy from them because they couldn't use up 1,000 copies of any of these forms in a year. This company developed a catalogue of all the forms priced in packages of 150 and targeted all the smaller institutions. In short order, they controlled this market. And they tripled their profit margins which more than made up for the handling of smaller orders
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Everybody gets lazy - especially when things are going well - and tends to rely on just a few means of acquiring their new customers. But your job is to continually and constantly test new methods/media, so as to, over time, enlarge the scope and diversity of your marketing.
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One of the most annoying things to me, as a consumer, is calling some advertiser to request information and being told I'll get it in 3 to 4 weeks - or not being told anything at all, but getting the information so late I can't even recall wanting it. Leads stay "hot" for a very, very, very short time. One of the best things you can do to maximize response is to get promised information into the hands of leads fast. And, given a sufficiently high sale price, it's always worth checking whether or not Federal Express or other overnight delivery boosts response more than enough to justify its cost.
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In terms of profit improvement, there may be no greater point of leverage than the immediate telephone upsell, because there is virtually no cost of sale. One survey I saw recently indicates that the overall odds of selling to a new customer are 16-1, but of selling to an existent customer just 2-1. I think those odds get even better when the 2nd sale is made immediately behind the first. Our experience in DRTV and catalog houses indicates that 20%+ of all purchasers will say yes to an upsell offer.
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The phone rang persistently in the little shoe store where I was buying a pair of shoes. Finally, after six rings, the clerk at the counter said, "dammit, I'm busy", but grudgingly answered the phone. Guess how he must have sounded to that caller!

This attitudinal error must occur a million times a day in every type of business, as the incoming call "interrupts" the "important" work.

Somehow, you must educate, motivate and staff so that the response to the inbound call is enthusiastic - it's OPPORTUNITY CALLING!

Every inbound call is an opportunity to impress, make a friend, make a sale or upsell.

Inbound Call Management can dramatically improve a business' profits.
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For years, I've used and preached the importance of following up the sale and delivery of merchandise with a "stick letter" - designed to make the sale all over again and make the sale "stick." (REFERENCE MY BOOK, THE ULTIMATE SALES LETTER). These days, many of my clients employ very sophisticated, complex, multi-step "stick procedures" to reduce refunds - and they are usually highly profitable.
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