3

Comparing Yourself to the IM Greats

comparing yourselfComparing yourself to the IM greats is an exercise in self-torture.

And yet newbie internet marketers do it all the time.

It's not entirely their fault--they're encouraged to do it by the greats themselves. "Just buy this program; I walk you through it step by step."

OK. But there are some missing things we need to talk about.

Things that will make you cry, if you're an impressionable newbie.

Comparing Yourself On Traffic

Let's talk about traffic.

The market leader will tell you, with all sincerity, all you must do is get people to see your offer.

After all, they do this every day. They have experience with it. They can even afford to pay someone to manage the traffic process for them.

The newbie can't.

In fact, without being previously informed, the newbie has likely invested their last dime in the leader's program without knowing a further financial investment in traffic will be necessary.

The leader doesn't make any money from this, so why talk about it on the sales page? Often the newbie has bought something that is already incomplete and they are unable to get working.

But let's say our newbie does have the additional cash. They can make the traffic investment. All right. Now what?

Despite how easy the leader makes it sound, crafting a winning ad is laborious work.

It takes trial and error. Time. And cash.

You're unlikely to succeed on your first attempts.

What's this? Another opportunity for the newbie to give up. Trying to emulate the leader...but not having the resources of the leader.

Comparing Yourself On Conversion

Now to conversion.

The leader gives good technical advice on how to take visitors and turn them into buyers.

Nothing sinister here.

Except the same trial and error requirement is back in play.

It takes EFFORT to develop a converting sales page.

And again, the newbie is dangerously unaware of this as they listen to the leader confidently prattle on about what has worked for them.

Now let's say a leader has put out a new product.

Accompanying that new product is a new funnel, right?

Except that it's not "new."

The leader has built into it everything he or she knows works...and many resources the newbie simply does not have access to.

Comparing Yourself On Cash

Let's talk cash.

Just one factor...money. And how it makes all the difference in a campaign.

So our leader launches the funnel.

First of all, they get testimonials, feedback, buzz, and hype from friends, enemies, and the lay brethren waiting below for dropped alms with outstretched arms.

Leaders 1, Newbies 0.

Now the advertising appears. Paid ads on Facebook, let's imagine. Ah, the leader has a recognized face. Good for them. And the newbie trying to emulate?

Leaders 2, Newbies 0.

Comparing Yourself On Price

Even if the ad performance sucks--the targeting is way off, the message is a complete mismatch--the leader can force it to work.

Because the leader has guts.

The leader knows they can charge $297 or $497 or $2114 for their product.

The Chicken Little newbie does not have this confidence, and is busy clucking at the ground for a few pennies here and there.

Leaders 3, Newbies 0.

See, the newbie says, "I'll take what I can get," and prices at $47.

And the ad budget runs up against that price point very fast.

Say it's $1/FB click.

Our newbie has to make it work within 47 clicks just to barely break even--in fact, with other costs they're losing money here.

But our leader?

They have all the way to 497 or TWO THOUSAND clicks--two thousand chances, one right after another, that they can well afford--to get that sale and break even.

While the newbie runs out of ad money, ROI room, and "at bats" to convert almost instantly, the leader can keep throwing cash at it UNTIL IT WORKS.

So it takes 1,050 clicks to get a sale? At a $2114 price tag, who cares?

For our cash-rich leader, what's a thousand bucks?

But our poor newbie has taken their bat and ball and gone home long ago.

Leaders 4, Newbies 0.

Game Over.

Comparing Yourself On Mindset

The herd mind really likes easy, free, proven, guaranteed. But the plain truth is that none of these apply to internet marketing.

I'm sure nearly all leaders are genuine in their belief that they can help others. And they can. But the road will not be bump-free as they make it out to be.

So if you're a newbie, stop comparing yourself to the IM greats.

They can do more than you, act faster than you, take the road they know works that you don't know, and much more.

Can you get there?

Do they have much to teach you?

Yes.

But it's not going to be a bump-free ride.

The only way you can compete is on mindset. Get to work on that.

>> Jason Kanigan is a business strategist concentrating on conversion. For a $0 no-nonsense guide to marketing, containing all the things a newbie can put into action today, click here. <<

2

Chronic Marketer by Brad Gosse – Review by Jason Kanigan

Chronic Marketer by Brad GosseChronic Marketer by Brad Gosse is foremost the personal story of how this internet marketer built his business.

Nothing beats a "How To" that's a real life story. Too many internet marketers' books are theoretical, how things 'should' work: Brad's shares how things actually worked for him.

Your path may not be the one he took. You may even be turned off by his path. That's no problem--if you don't like Brad or his story, you're free to leave.

In fact, he makes a point of saying it's OK to anger more than 50% of your audience if you are an online marketer...because it's the vocal, loyal minority you want...not the bland, uncaring majority.

Four Key Takeaways from Chronic Marketer by Brad Gosse

Brad Gosse and I, it turns out, agree on many things. Chronic Marketer is a book for IM newbies and they need this information. Here are four critical points we agree upon:

Get out there and DO to learn

To develop true expertise, you need to try, fail, and learn--not just read it in a book or hear it on a webinar. Test--even if you're only investing a few dollars--to discover what works and what doesn't for you.

Stay away from Chamber of Commerce and local networking events

Successful business owners are not out at networking events. They are in their offices, making decisions. Local networking events are filled with broke business owners trying to sell (badly) to everyone else...they cannot buy from you.

You can scale your content, but you can't scale yourself

Brad talks about the Freelancer-Producer-Director progression. These are important phases and distinctions, and if all you've done is be stuck in the Freelancer phase for years, it's time to take a different point of view and direction in your business.

Train people on how to deal with you

Letting people walk all over you is not okay. As I share in my Sales On Fire training, you can teach people how to work with you by using a strong Up Front Contract. This lets them know what behavior is acceptable and what isn't. And as Brad points out, it's perfectly fine to fire customers when they're out of line.

Video Review of Chronic Marketer by Brad Gosse

Here's a quick video run-through of my review.

Chronic Marketer is available on Amazon.

>> Jason Kanigan is a business development expert. Want to work with Jason? Click here to apply. Don't miss the latest post here at salestactics.org--subscribe by email or Follow us on Twitter! <<

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