Today, most companies aren’t really competing on quality or price.  The real differentiator is the REASON WHY the company exists.

I’ll take an example from two convenient-store/gas-station chains in Arizona: QuikTrip and Circle K.

The reason QuikTrip exists is to provide service that is quick, clean and professional way.  If you live in Arizona and you have entered one, I am sure you have noticed the difference they provide.  The goal of Circle K, on the other hand, is to be everywhere.  Sometimes you even find two Circle K stores facing each other on opposite sides of a busy intersection!  In both cases, their REASON WHY is clear.

You can see this same principle at work at Apple, Target, Pet Smart, Starbucks, Infusionsoft, Squidoo, Zapos, Craigslist, etc.  Not everyone patronizes these places, some people even hate them…but the people who like them, LOVE them.  The people who love them are the people who align with the purpose of the company.  These companies express some ideal possibility that resonates with other people who seek that same ideal.

What ideal possibility does your business express?

With what, in your business, can people resonate?

When companies and customers align like this, their relationship becomes a sort of music or complimentary dance where they have conversations that have the phrase, “…and then WE could do…”  When there is a synergistic ideal, the customers feel like they are part of the ‘fight’ to help the business make it.

Every business starts with a relationship and a conversation.

That relationship and conversation give birth to the REASON WHY.

That Why is what inspires people.

That inspiration is what allows you to be bold about your calls to action.

Your calls to action are what determine what kind of business you’re going to have.

It’s never too late to go back and restart that initial conversation!  The possibility of a warrior is to live a life of honor.  What is yours?

Goals to me have always been relatively easy to define.  Priorities, on the other hand, have always seemed a little more obscure.

Goals, in my life, have been things like: Win the next football game, get accepted to college, come back from Iraq with 100% of the people I went with, and run a successful business.

It was easy to look at these goals, define the variables and break them down into their smaller, actionable parts.

Priorities, on the other hand, are things like: raise a happy and tight-knit family, be a good servant of our God and be a good steward of the freedom I have been given solely by the virtue of where and when I was born.

Goals are things that can be accomplished in short sprints; priorities are marathon events.

I have read books that advise you to break your priorities down into smaller actionable steps, but whenever I tried that, it never felt very ‘real.’  I make sure to block time in my calendar specifically for my family, but how do you really measure “happy and tight-knittedness?”   The real measure of these things lies in the heart.

It is not easy to break priorities down into smaller actionable parts.  However, what I have found is that when you stay CONSISTENT and ENGAGED in the areas of your priorities, they  tend to get better.

How do you make sure that the priorities in your life are getting better?  Do you have any type of ‘measuring stick’?

These are not rhetorical questions, I’d truly love to know.  I’m sure your sharing will touch all the other readers as well.

As you may know, I believe that “time management” is a nonsensical term.  Seeing that we’ve got no way to stop time, slow it down, speed it up or alter it in anyway, all we can do is be good stewards of it.

Two friends of mine, Tom Hinchey, and Kelly Darling, gave me some great insights to being a good steward of time and effort.

Tom taught me an interesting trick with drawing straight lines.  Go ahead and try this for yourself as you read.

1. Take out a sheet of paper, and try to draw a straight line of about 8 inches or so.

2.  Now, draw two dots about 8 inches apart.  When you draw a line between them, focus only on the end dot.

Most of the people who were in the room the day that Tom gave this example drew much straighter lines when they were focused on the end dot.  His point was, if you have a goal to focus on, it’s a lot easier to make things happen.  Surely a simple idea, but how often do we lose focus and draw lines that are far less than straight?

Kelly showed me the goal-management system that she used, which accounts for the many roles she has in her life and all the goals in those roles.  Because we have so many roles and goals, it’s easy to see how we can so easily lose focus.  From her system, I created yet a third exercise I call “short sprints.” (again, try this for yourself as you read.)

3.  Use a straight edge to draw 8 vertical parallel lines, no more than an inch apart.  On the first line, draw several dots.  Then draw the same number of dots on the last line.  Now, as you connect the dot on the first line to the dot on the last line, stop at each line in between.  It is much easier to draw a straight line that’s only an inch long than it is to draw a line 8 inches long.  If you draw a line that is only 1 inch and you know where the end point is, you can stop, rest and start again very easily.  The other great part about this, is that you can stop, start another line, and come back to this line without missing a beat.

Just because you are focused on growing you business, writing a book or developing the prototype for the next big thing, the rest of your life doesn’t stop.

I have seen people on both sides of the focus spectrum.  There are those who focus so much on their goal that the rest of their life starts to fall apart.  What good is it to gain the world but lose your soul and family?  Then, there are those who focus so little on any single goal that they accomplish very little.

However, I have met a few people who are great at short sprints: they have their goals set up before them, no one of their goals is all-consuming, and, every time they show up, they are 100% there.  The energy and potential this brings is contagious, un-fakeable and it inspires others to action.

Do you know what your priorities are?

Do you know what your goals are?

What areas of your life are you not 100% there, when you’re there?

How can you start setting up short sprints for yourself?

What do you do?  I mean, really, what do you do?  In most cases, you really don’t DO much that other people couldn’t do.  So what makes the difference between them and you?

The difference is who shows up to do it.

I’m not a big fan of using sports analogies, but they tend to be easy because there are statistics and public records of performance.  So, here it goes… There are obviously many AMAZING athletes in the NBA.  But what makes one any better than another?  Interestingly enough, it’s not his ability to play the game.  In the NBA, the margin of error between the talent of best and worst player isn’t all that big.

What makes the difference is the player’s ability to create effective relationships.

The distinguishing mark of people with effective relationships is the productivity and performance of the people around them.

When Michael Jordan was physically on the court, the statistics of all the players on the court went up; on his team, and the opposing team.  Yes, Jordan was good, but we’ve all seen superstars on teams that couldn’t win. (Think 2004 NBA Olympic Dream Team).

For a business example, consider Herb Kelleher and (Neutron) Jack Walsh.  The first has a very prevalent core value of humor, while the other got his nickname for “vaporizing” people and their careers.  Two very different personalities and leadership styles, yet both masters at raising the game of those around them.

Here are two steps to start building effective relationships:

1.  How you show up has nothing to do with your personality style, rather it has much more to do with WHY you are showing up.

2.  When you show up, SHOW UP!  You’ve got to be physically, mentally and emotionally present.  There is a lot of truth in the saying, “Showing up is half the battle.”

So, I ask you again, when you do what you do, who shows up to do it?

Is it someone who raises the game of everyone around you, or someone who’s just getting things done?

What you physically do pales in comparison to WHO shows up to do it when it comes to your success!

Our School system is geared to help people use linear thinking to process the world around them.  Linear thinking is the type of thing that made assembly lines so popular. Creating the assembly line took some non-linear, creative thinking, but once Ford put it into practice, it just made sense for everyone else to follow. The assembly line is the epitome of linear thinking. Each person along the line does one thing, and they do it over and over again in hopes of moving up to management. What is management of an assembly line? Checking certain parts of the assembly line over and over again to make sure everything is working the way it’s supposed to. Linear thinking at it’s best.  Which is a perfect tool for an industrialized nation… Which we no longer are.

This type of linear and hierarchical thinking in America today will only lead to a long, slow and dull death.

Non-linear thinking isn’t always scalable, or even practical; look at the Rolls Royce, or the Indiana Jones Lego set.  However, sometimes it is scalable and even more practical than before.  The point is, that we live in a country that allows non-linear thinking, and that gift will generate bountiful fruit in your life if you use it.

Linear thinking : you know a certain process works, so you always stick to it.

Non-linear thinking : you know a certain process works, so you intentionally push it to it’s limits until it breaks so that you can build a new and better process.

Non-linear thinking suggest that you can increase the size of your comfort zone and boost your creativity in non-linear ways.

As the Father of a 2 and a 4 year old, I have the luxury of hearing, “But I don’t want to!” quite often.  Not that it’s a bad thing, but it’s what you’d expect from a child.

Curiously enough, I meet many grown adult business owners who use this phrase all the time.  They just use  different words or actions to say it.  “That’s not my job,” “Well, I did my best,” “Well, when the market crashed…”  As adults, we’re really good at making our child-like comments/behaviors sound logical and justified.

There aren’t very many things we can’t do in our country if we really wanted to do them.  It’s usually just a matter of actually WANTING to do it.

Yes, even in this economy there are more options available to people than they care to admit.  It just takes a certain level of ambition, willingness, and some hard work, which would mostly come in the form of education.  By education, I don’t mean attending a university, rather, I mean learning by doing. If you’re willing to take a risk to learn a lesson, you’re ready for a real education.

You don’t like your job?  Create a new one, without even leaving your current job!  Be creative enough to figure out what would make your job come alive for you, and then start doing it… at the risk of getting fired.  Most people who are willing to take that risk end up with a job they actually like doing, either where they were, or someplace else… the point is that they start doing something they like, instead of settling for what they’ve got.

You don’t like your spouse?  You can have a whole new marriage without ever getting divorced.  Just like with the job, it’s going to take some personal risk on your part, and a lot of hard work.

You’ve got very entrenched habits and thought patterns that have made your job and your marriage the way that it is.  Stepping out of that groove is far easier said than done.  As a Warrior, I’ll never promise you easy, I’ll only promise you “worth it-ness.”   Do you want a risk worth taking, or do you prefer to arrive to death safely?

It all comes down to you!

Are you willing to step out of your own head long enough to see what other people’s objectives really are?  To realize that you’re not the only one with objectives that matter?  Are you willing to take personal and emotional risks?

OR, HAVE YOU JUST COME UP WITH A REALLY CREATIVE AND CONVINCING WAY TO SAY “BUT I DON’T WANT TO!”

Look at some of the areas in your life where you might be saying “But I don’t want to.”  Job – Marriage – Education – Network – etc.

You  can create a whole new “X” without changing your “X.”

The only thing in life that really needs to change is….YOU.
“You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

~Dr. Seuss

And anyone as brainy and footsy as you,
can make a whole new life in whatever you do.
When things get so tough you don’t want to fight through,
you won’t be the one who says, “But I don’t want to.”
~Yours Truly

Ok, so what does marketing have to do with the rest of your life? Great Question! You are always marketing to people, you just don’t think of it that way.

When you tell your employees that some process is changing in their normal workflow, or when you talk to your spouse about plans you have in mind for the backyard, you’re marketing.

Just because you are not making a financial transaction, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to market and sell.

As we have already discussed, the purpose of advertising isn’t to sell, but rather to draw people to your Magnet. Yet, often times, when we are talking to our employees or family members, we think that we can go straight from the idea to the sale. Wrong!

My suggestion: if you’ve got a place you’d like your company or family to go, don’t just tell them what it is and then say, “This is what we’re doing.”

Advertise it first!

See how many of them you can ‘draw to your magnet.’

Make sure you have a good magnet and then follow-up until they buy!

Just as you wouldn’t intentionally deceive your customer into buying something that wasn’t in her best interest, you wouldn’t create a marketing plan to deceive your employees or family into doing something that wasn’t in their best interest.

Imagine the freedom, power and joy you will have in your life, when you learn how to persuade the people closest to you to continuously move forward towards your common best interests.

That is why marketing is so interesting to me. It has an influence on every part of our lives. The better we get at marketing, the better our lives get.

It’s not about cold hard numbers, and churning customers through our process. It’s about being authentic, and living to become the possibilities you create for yourself and the people closest to you.

“Wellll, they never taught me THAT in marketing class.”

We’ve talked about what marketing is: The Art of Conversion. We’ve talked about the critical conversion measuring points:  Advertisement to Magnet, Magnet to Follow up and Follow up to Purchase.  If we don’t know where and what to measure, then we’ll just be spending money on hope.

Now I’d like to talk to you about who you’re marketing to.  Understanding Target Marketing is critical for small business owners with a finite budget.

I’m sure you have heard of Geoffrey Moore’s Model of Diffusion, as diagrammed below.

A quick explanation: when a new idea, product or technology comes along, the vast majority of the people will ignore it, or even go as far as to violently oppose it.  However, there are the few who embrace the idea: the ‘Innovators’.  Consider the internet back in 1995.  It was not easy to create a web page.  The innovators were the ones who spent high prices to have a site and did the hard work to create them.  Today, you can make and host a website for free without doing a single line of code with companies like Weebly.

After the Innovators come the ‘Early Adopters’. These are people who keep their ear to the ground and know what is new in their industry.  They aren’t the first to try things out, but, once they see proof of the innovators using it successfully, they join in as well.  By this point, the prices are usually a little lower and the product or service is usually a little easier to use.

Finally, for this discussion anyway, the ‘Early Majority’ show up when the product is so easy to use that there is very little learning required to use the product successfully.  By this point, the price is set for mass consumption as well.  Chances are, you run a small business that sells a product or service that has already reached the early majority.   Which means that there is an industry leader who is dominating the market and you’re just hoping to get a small percentage of the market share.

If you were to hit the market with the same mass-marketing techniques of the industry leader, a few things are likely to happen.
1. You’ll probably gain far less than 1% of the market share.
2. You’ll probably spend far more than 50% of the industry leader’s marketing budget.
3. You’ll probably make your product and service pretty boring.

Instead, you need to find a Target Market, a ‘niche’. If your product isn’t new, you must find a new way to view, use or sell your product and do something that no one else is doing. Yes, this requires risk, creativity and care.

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, you can select a Target Market and grow to become the market leader. If you ask me, shoes, books and coffee are some of the most boring products on the planet.  If I were going to create a break-through business, I surely wouldn’t pick any of those mature industries.   However, if you look at Zapos, Amazon and Starbucks, they have revolutionized those industries entirely. Here is how I think they did it, and how you can do it too.

First, care about what you do! Care about your business, the industry you’re in and your customers.

Second, you need to find the Innovators in your market. As tempting as it is, FORBID yourself from marketing to the masses that live in the early and late majority.  It took innovators and early adopters years to convert them to do what they are doing now.  Those people don’t like to change.  Innovators are people who have an infatuation of sorts for your industry.  The Japanese call this ‘Otaku’. Go to a comic book convention, you’ll see first-hand what means to have an otaku.   These are the innovators.  When a new insurance product comes out, there are some investors and business owners who are so driven to be on the edge, that they purchase them instantly.  What’s your otaku?  Mine is Buffalo-Style Chicken Wings!  (You can read more about Otakus in Seth Godin’s Purple Cow.)

Next, you need to find the Early Adopters. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Tipping Point describes a type of person he called a “Maven.”  A maven is an expert or connoisseur.  Someone whom you might turn to when you’re getting ready to make a major purchase of some sort.  They are the people who just want to know things. They may not be the first to buy things, but they always want to know what’s new, what’s better and why.  These are the people whom companies like Zapos, Amazon and Starbucks catered to in the beginning.

What are the people who have an otaku for your industry looking for?

What are the Mavens saying about you?

Do they even know you exist?

The success coaches and non-script-reading customer support team are a huge part of Infusionsoft’s success.  This is also as big a part of the company as the software itself.

What can you do that would get mavens and people with otakus talking?

Start with people who want to change!

We have seen that Marketing is the Art of Conversion. Now we need to know where the conversion points are, and know exactly what conversion we are trying to make.

A critical observation before we go on:  If you don’t have a target market, none of this works!

A target market allows you to have a targeted message.  A targeted message is what really allows you to get someone’s attention.  A broad message for everyone is boring and won’t get anyone’s attention.  If you use a targeted message, you’ve got something to measure.  If you have something to measure, then you’ve got something you can influence!  Marketing isn’t magic; it’s art, backed up by a lot of testing!

So, here are the critical measuring points you want to isolate:

Advertising: The purpose of your advertising is not to sell your product.  The purpose is to earn people’s attention and draw them to your Magnet. If people click on your ad to see your magnet, your ad has done its job, it converted a look into a click. The small fraction of people who are ready to buy today, will.  But if you want to see any of the rest of those people again, you had better have a magnet.

Magnet: The purpose of the magnet is to give you a CHANCE to follow up with all the people who are not ready to buy from you today.  The Magnet is something that the prospective client will find valuable.  In many cases, it is an educational webinar or report of some sort that teaches the client how they can solve their problem on their own.  Then, it usually presents some compelling reasons why it would be in their best interest to have YOU, a professional, do it instead. If people opt-in for your magnet, then it has done its job and converted a lead into a prospect.

Follow up: The purpose of follow up is to turn the prospect into a happy client.  Some of the most effective follow-up messages build on the message that you put in the magnet.  They will say things that support this idea, “In the magnet I gave you all the basics, now here is an advanced feature that would further reduce your pain or increase your benefit.  As a professional, not only can I do the basics for you, but I can also do the advanced things as well.  Let’s talk.”  If the prospect becomes a happy customer, then your follow up has done its job, it converted the follow-up communication into a purchase.

Remember: when you are marketing, you need to measure your Ability to Convert. When you advertise, there is almost always some way to measure the number of people who have seen your ad (if you are using advertising that you can’t measure, stop immediately.)  Take this number and compare it to the number of people who converted, that is, the number of people who went to see your magnet.

You must do the same thing at each stage.  If you don’t do this, then you’ll have no way of knowing what your influence is on your conversion.

If you’re not influencing your conversion, then it’s pretty tough to get good at marketing.

Have I ever mentioned that marketing is the only real way to grow your business significantly?

That is such an interesting question… What is marketing?

I find it so interesting because when you see it the way that I do, you see that it makes all the difference in just about everything in your life.

So, let’s review some answers to that question.

- The Cost of Customer Acquisition – The money spent for advertising and then following up with prospects. You take the amount of money you spent over the number of new customers you have as a direct result of the money you spent, and you have the bookkeeper’s definition of Marketing.

- All Communications by any part of your company to any of your company’s stake holders – your advertising, your receptionist answering the phone, the copy on your invoice, the change memo’s to your employees and your financial reports to your investors would all fall into this category.

- Being remarkable – or, as Seth Godin might say, “Doing things that are worthy of making a remark.” Providing timely quality service is expected; running down the block and around the corner to return a wallet that someone left on the counter is remarkable.

- All the ‘Touchy Feely’ stuff that everyone says I have to do – this is what my first thoughts were of telling stories, making my copy less ‘professional’ and more ‘relatable,’ smiling while I was on the phone and using ‘good’ colors.

Well, my current answer to this question includes all the above (in fact, none of the definitions above work, unless you care.)

MARKETING is The Art of Conversion

The bottom line is that the sole purpose of marketing is to Convert people, meaning, to get people to do something.

No one makes a piece of art to NOT influence the viewer. Even if the art was delivered for free, the intent is still to influence the viewer and change their life in some way.

The more clarity you have on how you want to influence people, the more effective you can make your Call to Action in your marketing.

Your Call to Action in one piece of communication might be “Buy Now!”, while the Call to Action in another piece might be, “I feel what you feel. Take this gift as my outward expression of empathy – I appreciate your positive attention.”

Now that we know what Marketing is, Part Two will show you the critical measuring points to influence your Conversion.