Asian Business Show appearance

Was invited to appear on Asia's version of CNBC on October 28th in downtown Bangkok (what a massive and beautiful city!) to discuss branding and marketing. I was on there with one of Thailand's top brand strategist and unfortunately the show's question and answer dialogue between her and the hosts were done in Thai, so I could not really rebut. And the Q&A between myself and the hosts was done in English and Thai, so it made for an interesting interview, but put me at a disadvantage when it came to feeding off her answers if I felt they were wrong.

In any event I stuck with what I believe is the CORE of all marketing and that is that before you develop any ad pieces or marketing campaigns you must FIRST ask yourself this question;

"Why would anyone do business with me" and than from their mold your entire marketing plan around the answer to that question. I told the millions of viewers that if you do that, you will SUCCEED! Period.


Look, promoting a brand is fine but let's be honest; will you prospect remember your logo two weeks later when they see it? Will they be able to remember what it stood for? What your product or service was? NO! So to spend enormous amounts of money and time on promoting your "brand" is an exercise in futility....initially. Get the MESSAGE out FIRST, make sure you can answer the question the prospect will ask themselves before they even consider doing business with you and that is... "What's In It For Me?" THEN you can slowly begin building the brand. But, develop your marketing message first and foremost and you will have laid the foundation for entrepreneurial success.

A Sale is ALWAYS Made!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT



A Sale Is ALWAYS Made: Either they will sell YOU on why they don't want to buy your piece of %#$& product.... or YOU will sell THEM on why they will die without it. Either way, the meeting ends with smiles on both faces..... or middle fingers waving in the air.



Make sure you leave with a big ^%$#^$ smile!!!!

The Power of Leverage in Getting Credible Partners

The Power of Leverage

All through our selling life we have heard the phrase, “It’s not WHAT you know, Its WHO you know”. We have heard it time and again from disgruntled colleagues who lost a sale, or heard it coming out of our own mouths to explain a deal we just couldn’t close.

Well it is true in some cases, that who you know can be much more powerful than what you know in landing a large deal, but I can tell you that when you start to sell at the CEO level, it is a lot rarer than you think.

I have found consistently, with the CEO’s and decision makers I have sat with and interviewed, that the people they did business with was based more on rapport and credibility, than anything else. They told me that the first thing they would look for when considering doing business with a certain salesperson was, “Do I like him/her?” The second thing they considered was the credibility of the salesperson and that of the company. “Who were their clients and were they people I knew and respected, and LASTLY did the company have a good reputation in what it sold?” Price and terms were always important but rapport and credibility, generally, were the key areas of the CEO’s concern, not WHO that salesperson knew or congregated with.

Now you are probably saying, “that’s great Mark, but to GET the appointment with the decision maker it is still WHO you know that gets you in the door, rather than WHAT you know. So what does an entrepreneur do when they don’t know anyone that is close enough to the decision maker to help in getting them the appointment?”


That’s a good question and one that I have heard a thousand times…literally, and my answer is this; it is easier than you think. You see, the decision-maker you are trying to see is in contact with the same people you are in contact with everyday, OR people that you could easily come in contact with if you wanted. These people are what I would call Leverage Points, areas that if used properly, could help leverage your ability to get in the door of the person you are trying to see, which I will illustrate below.


True Story: A few years back, in 2000 to be exact, I was putting together a proposal to build a $30 million boutique hotel in a rapidly expanding southeastern city in what was undoubtedly their most upscale part of town. I had a strong architect with impeccable credentials, an amazing location, a great concept and some available equity financing, but still needed a strong management partner with a reputable name, and the ability to secure debt financing for the project. I had one company in mind that fit all the credentials I was looking for but for some reason, I could not get through to the decision maker. I found myself stuck at the vice president level and wasting an inordinate amount time making presentations to people who had virtually no decision making power. The project was awesome with great potential, but at the age of 32 and no real experience in hotel development, I was not taking serious enough to move up the ladder. I had hit a roadblock in my attempt to get in front of the decision maker and what I needed now was rapport, credibility and a leverage point that could get me through.

So I got to thinking, WHO is my prospect in touch with daily or on a regular basis that has the credibility and rapport to get me through to see him. I knew that everyone else (my competitors, etc) would be using the “front door” so to speak, trying to sweet talk the receptionist or assistant in hopes of getting an appointment and if I took that route, I would be just another number. While the receptionist and/or assistant are leverage points in this example, the amount of credibility they bring to the table when proposing a business idea to their boss is limited. The boss knows and understands that they are hounded every day from people wanting a portion of their time, so they take any recommendations that may come from this leverage point very lightly. What I needed was a leverage point that had credibility from a business standpoint and a name that I could drop that would open up the decision-makers ears. The two leverage points that hit me square in the face were his accountant and attorney. So I decided on the attorney, due to the fact they would be more inclined to help in the hopes of getting some business from it, and for all intents and purposes it was a glamorous project and was sure to conjure up extensive media interest and prestige, both of which attorney’s love.

Well, I called the attorney’s office and made an appointment (thankfully the first meeting was complimentary as I was not about to pay $350.00 per hour) for the next day, stating that I wanted to talk to him, and him only, about a project I was looking to develop.

When I arrived for the meeting he took me into his spacious, corner office overlooking the city and had me sit in the big, leather chair facing his desk. As he went to close the door I quickly scanned the room for any items that I could spot which may help to build common ground for a conversation, but I found none initially.

Attorney: So, what can I help you with?

ME: Well, I am in the midst of planning a boutique hotel………(and I went into all the information behind it).

Attorney: Wow, that’s a great part of town, great location. What will the name be? Is it going to have a flag (a major chain behind it)?

ME: No name yet. And no, there will be no flag but we will have a central reservation system that caters to boutique hotels. We are very excited.

Attorney: So where can I help?

ME: Well, I wanted to speak with you about possibly handling the legal work and secondly, if you have a name or two that might have an interest on the hotel management side. I was told you represented some strong, local companies with this specialty of hotel management.

Attorney: Absolutely! First, we would welcome the chance to work with you on the legal side and we can get together later this week on exactly what the scope will be, the costs, etc. It is something that I would not be able to pinpoint in this meeting, but after I get more information from you and your group I will have a better idea. Also, you need to speak with John Smith (this was my prospect, all though not his real name for the sake of this example) at XYZ Hotel Group, this is right up their alley and they would be perfect!

ME: Yes, I thought so too and called them initially, but with something of this magnitude we did not feel comfortable just speaking with his underlings. There is too much at stake as you can see.

Attorney: Oh, of course. Tell you what, I will give him a shout and we can set up a meeting. In the meantime give him a call and introduce yourself and tell him I told you to call him. If his receptionist has any questions, have her call me, I’ll take care of it. I am confident John will love this project.


Needless to say I called John as soon as I got the chance that day and you know what? I GOT THROUGH! I was able to name drop honestly, utilizing a powerful leverage point that had credibility and rapport at the highest level. We ended up setting the meeting and 14 days later they signed on as our management partner and guaranteed 70% of the loan, or $21 million! 10 months later I sold out my portion and made a tidy profit. All it took to realize my goal was to find someone who had the leverage to get me through. If I had stuck with what everyone else was doing, trying to go through the “front door” and cozy up to the receptionist, this deal probably never would have gotten off the ground and if it did, not for quite some time.


Important Note:

You really need to think for a moment what it is you sell. Is it a large product/service with a long sales cycle and a minimum amount of prospects? If it is, you cannot just dive in and hope for the best, as there is too much at stake and very little room for error.

You need to take the time and PLAN carefully on whom the decision-maker is, WHY they would be interested in meeting with you, what the barriers to entry may be and than jot down a list of various leverage points you can use. You see, if you continually attack the most common entry point, the gatekeeper, you will wear out your welcome at some point and only make it harder to get through in the future. But by utilizing leverage points, you INCREASE your chances AND you will have an almost limitless supply with which to work with, thus not having to worry about wearing out your welcome. If one leverage point does not work out, try another, than another, until soon you are standing in front of the person you want to see.

Think about it, if your prospect continues to hear your name from people he/she respects and trusts, what do you think the odds are they will take your call in the immediate future? The odds are very, very good I might say. If you really take the time and learn how to use leverage points, you will make more money in sales than you ever dreamed of. I know I say that a lot on this book, but it is true. The information in this book could be worth millions of dollars to you if you apply what I say and have the persistence and desire to make it happen.


Leverage as a Tool

If you really think about it, the only way to make any real money in all aspects of business is through the use of leverage. In real estate, investors can use little or no money to control large portions of property. Shrewd negotiators can use leverage with respect to gaining time and/or concessions and top salespeople can use information they have gathered about competitors as leverage when negotiating price or terms with customers. Leverage is a powerful, powerful tool and can make you extremely wealthy if applied properly. Especially in prospecting new business.

Note:

Utilizing leverage in prospecting for major clients requires you to use the efforts of others when your own efforts have been exhausted. Remember that when selling at the CEO level, you need to avoid the Pack Mentality and focus your time and energy in a way that will get you in front of the decision-maker with the least effort. Using leverage points is an excellent avenue to do just that.

I hope you got an idea of what I mean by leverage points and how you can use them in your sales career. Constantly banging your head against the front door of entry is simply an exercise in futility. Sit down and really think of people your prospect knows and how you can build some connection to them, and than devise a game plan on how to leverage this relationship in a way that is able to get you in front of the person you need to see. Trust me, you will be amazed at the leverage points available to you if you just sit down and put some time and energy into it. It will end up paying you dividends you never thought possible, and propelling your sales career quicker and farther than you ever dreamed of. My leverage points got me financing in the amount of $21 million and made me a small fortune, think what it can do for you.


Do’s and Don’ts of Leverage Points


DON’T waste too much time initially trying to gain the assistant or receptionist as a leverage point. You and about a hundred other people are trying to do the same thing.

DON’T rely too much on voice mail. A lot of CEO’s have two separate mailboxes with their voice on them, and the receptionist will send you to the one she sees fit. One is heard by the CEO directly, the other by the assistant. So while you may THINK that the CEO is listening to your message, in most cases it is the assistant and you will be screened accordingly.

DON’T ask your leverage point directly if they can help you set an appointment with the prospect, but rather ask their advice on how you should go about approaching a potential client such as “Mr. Smith” (their contact and your prospect). You would ask in such a way that they would feel compelled to help you get through to the prospect, or at a minimum, offer to give a recommendation on your behalf. You are appealing to their ego and with this approach, 9 times out 10 they will want to help if only to impress you.

DON’T ask a leverage point more than twice for help. If you ask too many times they may just make the call on your behalf just to get it over with, and with about as much energy and excitement as a funeral procession. You want the leverage point to WANT to make the call, so that the prospect can HEAR or SEE the excitement in their voice and WANT to see you, and for no other reason than that.

DON’T promise a leverage point any favors for their help that you cannot deliver on. If you do, this will end up causing you much more trouble than it is worth.

DO follow up immediately to ensure a leverage point is going to do what they say they are going to do. I have seen far too many people sit back for months waiting for the introduction to no avail. The so-called leverage point would claim they knew so and so when they have no capabilities whatsoever. This can be a huge time waster, so make sure they are not blowing smoke or trying to impress you.


(To hire Mark McClure, one of the Top 5 Sales and Marketing Speakers in the World, for your next event or to speak to your companies sales force, email us info@markmcclurelive.com. )

Asian Conference

The Asian Conference on a Sufficient Economy went off without a hitch. What a crowd; from a Countess of Royalty in Germany to a Japanese Ambassador, to CEO's of two of Europes banks and everyone in between.

Gave a 15 minute speech on how money is the root of any economy, and for money to be created by any economy the TRUE catalyst is SALES.....and thus governments need to nurture this component (the entrepreneur and business community) more than any other sector, for sales is the lifeblood of ANY economy!

Got a great reception from the audience. Signed some copies of the Asean Affairs Magazine I was featured in for members of the audience, posed for pictures, signed some autographs than chatted up some of the other panelists. VERY interesting.

Spoke at length with former WBC Lightweight Champion and Hollywood actor Gary Stretch ("Alexander", "The World Trade Center" among others). Came from an orphanage out of the U.K and rose to where he is today. Lived with Mickey Rourke for some time, and when Mickey was down, trained him in boxing. Got him 10 fights where Rourke was able to make about $20 million, gain credibility and get back into the film game. Loved talking to Gary, because as a rapid boxing fan myself and not too many people to share my passion with, it was great to talk about fighters past and present, his expert take on Mayweather, Pacquio and others, who he fought, the crowds, etc. And hearing an inside scoop on Rourke was great as well.

Met David Lloyd (brother was married to tennis great Chris Evert), billionaire developer, owner of a huge chain of health clubs, former pro tennis player and overall great guy out of the U.K. Building 24 homes on a cliff in Phuket, overlooking the ocean. The smallest home is 10,000 square feet, but they average 20,000 and the minimum price is $6 million. Visited the site....breath taking! He also shared with us an art piece from a friend of his. GET THIS......his friend scuptures objects on the edge of a needle, using spider web as his mold. You have to look through binoculars to see the object and it is amazing. We saw one yesterday of a man, sitting on a horse with his sword drawn!!!! If you look at the tip of the of the needle you see a little spec, after you look through the binoculars you see it clearly. How does he do it? His friend gets his heart beat down to 40 beats per minute, and in between beats, he constructs the piece with the spider web material. Been on Oprah, Letterman, etc. The most amazing thing I have EVER seen or heard about in my life.

Met some other amazing people but the man of the hour was Swarup Roy, founder and CEO of Asean Affairs Magazine. This guy's passion and expertise of business and finance in Asia is mind boggling and now with his partnership with some of the major players in the European Union business community, the Asean Affairs brand is expanding.

We are meeting this week to put together a deal/colloboration on growing the Ruthless Entrepreneur Show brand into Asia and Europe using his media clout, and myself bringing Asean Affairs to the U.S. using my media access here (which is now significant!). BIG THINGS AHEAD FOR BOTH US. 2010 is going to be a HUGE year.

Speaking at SOLD OUT Asian Conference on The Economy

Been asked to speak today at The Asian Conference on Taking Action in A Down Economy. I have a GREAT speech ready mixed with information and humor, hope they like it. Sharing the dais with some of Asia's top business leaders in front of an audience that makes up a Who's Who of the Asian business and finance community.

Penalize Your Customer? WHY!!!!

We just had abysmal, outrageous, shitty customer service with Vietnam Airways (big surprise, when it comes to customer service in Asia, they are polite but customer service is ^$&% pathetic!) as we tried to change our flight by a couple of hours due to the fact that our VISA to enter Vietnam was going to be delayed a few hours and what did we get;


Words and phrases thrown at us like "Can't", "Penalties", "Increased Fare", "There is a problem", etc., etc., Every %&^% reason they COULDN'T help us and EVERY %$^% REASON THAT IF THEY DID, THEY WOULD PENALIZE US!!

We were in a predicament with an airline that had a shitload of empty seats already, bringing us a to a country SCREAMING for tourist revenue. All were asking to do was change our flight from 7AM to 5PM to get on the SAME flight, a flight that had even MORE empty seats than the one we were going to be on in the first place....and all they could do was talk about "penalties, penalties, penalties!!" Why......WHY......WHY...do companies have policies with "Penalties" built in for clients. WHY would you ever want to penalize your client? With competition so stiff and the cost is takes to GET A CUSTOMER in the first place, why on God's Green Earth would you ever penalize your clients!!??

Look, I can see putting something in writing with Penalty Clauses if you are a hotel that doesn't want to get stiffed for a group of rooms that cancel at the last minute, or a restaurant that makes food in advance for a large event....but for almost any other business this is suicide. You have absolutely NOTHING TO GAIN but a few dollars in the short term and I can GUARANTEE you will lose that customer in the LONG TERM. Any company that penalized me in the past for whatever reason, I would obviously pay....give them a few choice words that sometimes would make a longshoreman wince, and then I would take my business elsewhere. Not sometimes...ALWAYS! Period. The end. I would NEVER GO BACK TO THE BUSINESS AGAIN and I would make sure to tell everyone I knew.

You fight, kick, claw and battle to get clients and then when you finally get their business, to penalize them on a mistake they make during their relationship with you is assinine. Think of the goodwill you will gain that when they DO make a mistake with you and they DO need your understanding, you "waive the penalty fee" with a smile and say "I totally understand, no problem." How far will that go in comparison to the measly money you would have made on the penalty fee?

There is a reason that the Ritz Carlton is the Ritz Carlton; to them their customers are GOLD and to my knowledge they do not advertise any "penalty" clauses anywhere in their brochures or marketing collateral. They treat their customers problems on a case by case basis because every customer is different and every situation is different, therefore they are not locked into indiotic policies on how they handle a situation. They take it as it comes and use superb judgement

In closing if you have any policy in your business that penalizes a customer, threatens late fees, interest or other derogatory language that gives a negative connotation LOSE IT NOW! The revenue and goodwill you will gain from deleting verbiage far and away outweighs the miserable pennies you will gain by fighting and bitching with the customer when or if they do screw up. The LAST PERSON ON EARTH you want to penalize is your client. They are the SOLE REASON YOU ARE IN BUSINESS. Think about it

How I Set An Appointment With A FORTUNE 500 CEO

For those of you that are ready to go after the BIG FISH, or that have some big prospects you are aching to get in front of but haven't got the balls or the chutzpa to make an attempt at, I will let you in on a little technique I used several years back when trying to set an appointment with a FORTUNE 500 CEO.

Now, we all know that these type of individuals have "gatekeepers". Hell, their gatekeepers have freaking gatekeepers! Its ridiculous. Anyway, I wrote down the 100 biggest swinging dicks I wanted to go after for my business deal and several of these people were off the charts....I mean if I showed you their names, you would tell me to "quit dreaming" and become realistic. Whatever. I had faith in myself and the deal I was going to bring them. So, I bought 100 inexpensive wallets and in each one I put a coupon for a catered, one-on-one lunch with me in their office for 45 minutes to hear what I had to say. This would set me back about $100 per meeting if accepted but give me an audience with an individual that had the authority to write me a check for $50+ million in financing for one of my projects. Not a bad trade off, huh?


My response rate? 13%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me repeat that......13%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Now think of the jokers (your competition) who send out the pathetic emails, packages, cards, etc., and follow up with the inane voicemails that get deleted the minute they hear their voice? Why? Because if you are going to be "part of the pack" you will be TREATED LIKE PART OF THE PACK and no different. All you have to do is look around at your competitors and ask yourself this one question:


"Do I want to be like them?"

NO!


So if you are looking to get an edge on your competitors and set appointments with major decision makers without having to deal with gatekeepers......try Mark McClure's Wallet Approach. You can use any variation you want as far as coupons are concerned but the most effective is the one that allows you the face to face to meeting because the two ingredients to closing a sale are Rapport and Emotion..... and unless you are face to face with your prospect, you can accomplish neither.

Wallet Ideas: Movie Tickets, Sporting Events (find out who their favorite team is, go along as guest), Gift Certificate to your business.....get CREATIVE!

HAPPY HUNTING!

Want To Get Rich? Quit Following The Crowd!

Social media. Twitter, Blogging. SEO. Digg. Facebook. MySpace. On and on and on we go .......... with every Tom, Dick and Harry looking to make money off these tools as "consultants", "experts", "guru's", etc. If you are looking to get rich as a so called expert or consultant. (or ANY business venture you are launching!!). STOP what the crowd is doing and separate from the pack NOW!


I cannot count how many blogs there are of people giving tips and ideas on how to use Twitter, how to blog effectively, how to make money online doing this, or online doing that. And I can tell you that 97% of these "so called experts" are hacks and blow hards. Look, I am far from an expert on SEO and Social Media (that is why the companies I own are hiring experts to do this for me), but I can safely say that from the advice I have read from all of these people looking to. become Internet Superstars and experts on SEO and Social Media, I am as intelligent on the matter as they are. And I am NO superstar on this stuff BELIEVE ME. However, what I am a superstar on and what I do know is how to market yourself and separate from the pack (your competition). Especially if your competition is a bunch of "wannabe" guru's sitting in their $ 500 a month apartments, talking into their $ 150 camera spouting off idiotic advice (which in your case is YOUR competition). Now, do you want get rich, obtain credibility and be looked upon as the expert in your industry? Then get OFFLINE and start marketing NOW.


Take me for example:. While I have a lot of entrepreneurial ventures going on at any one time my core business is still speaking to mass audiences globally on "outside the box" sales and marketing strategies for entrepreneurs. I am in a highly saturated industry but I have a few things going for me;

1. 99.97% of my competition (sales and marketing speakers) have virtually NO EXPERIENCE. on sales and marketing, and for them. selling out venues. on a global scale like I do is impossible because ticket buyers for the most part see through their. "no experience bull shit". and secondly, no promoters in these other countries that I have talked will touch them because they are not "sellable" to the public.


2. They all use the same tools to market themselves. (like sheep, they all follow the pack). Like the worthless National Association of Speakers and Speaker Bureaus.

I use none of the above and my seminars consistently SELL OUT all over the globe and the only competition I see or hear about on a regular basis is. Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy. (who I have shared the stage with in a few countries),. Tom Peters. (another one I have shared with in The Middle East),. Robert Kiyosaki. (ditto), etc.


The other wannabe hacks and speakers in my area of expertise? I hear nothing about them! Why? Besides the fact that. they have no real world experience. to share on sales and marketing, is that they are ignorant on how to market themselves or if they do know how to market themselves and / risk any money doing so. They want to try get the word out about their business using free media outlets and in doing so .... you GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

Folks ...... if you WANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY in ANY entrepreneurial venture,. you have to be credible in the eyes of your target market and to do that they (your prospects). have to see you in marketing vehicles (newpapers, radio, TV, magazines, etc.) that are perceived to cost a lot of money and in doing so, let's them know that you are a "player". Period. You want to play in the Big Leagues ..... you have to start acting like a Big League Player.

The strategy I took to separate from the pack was very simple. I developed a reality TV pilot called. The Ruthless Entrepreneur. where I go into a company in dire straights and in need of a shot in the arm sales wise, roll up my sleeves and show them how it is done. Sort of like. Hells Kitchen meets The Apprentice! SonyBMG and Bravo. out of London came to me in 2006 to shoot this over seas and I shot the pilot for them and it was a hit, but we never pursued it any further as I had other business obligations in the States. But I loved the idea, tweaked it and tried it here in the States. Would my competition try this? HELL NO!! Why? Because they don't have the balls to invest in themselves THATS WHY! And neither does YOUR competition. We are now going back and editing the pilot a little more, and it too will be a hit on a major network in 2010!

From there I went out and developed TWO TV shows; The Mark McClure Show. which airs on Biz Television as we speak (.http://www.biztelevision.com/.) And. The Ruthless Entrepreneur Show. which airs on Biz and in December on. Oprah's Oxygen Channel. via DISH Network. Both shows talk about sales and marketing strategies for biz owners and entrepreneurs from a real world perspective. How did I do it? I put together an investment group who believed in the concept and we are now launching into the BIG TIME. Is my competition? HELL NO!!! Why? No balls, no expertise to sell to viewers and no desire to risk what little dollars they have on marketing themselves. Period!

And that is the same thing with YOUR competition. Take a look at the biggest players in your industry. The ones with the massive name recognition and credibility. You and everyone else look at them in awe, hold them to a higher standard, and perceive them to be the best. Why? Because you see their name and likeness in various media outlets other then just "online" and in doing so, they gain more credibility with customers.

Look at YouTube for crying out loud! Every hack, wannabe, and "expert" uses this outlet because it is FREE, trying like hell to promote their business, be witty and give advice. Well guess what? So is every single one of their competition and now what? Your potential client will look at you as just another hack too broke to spend money on REAL MARKETING and all credibility is lost. That's not an opinion, that is a fact. If all you are using is YouTube, Blogs, Twitter and Facebook to promote your business, at the end of the day your potential clients are going to see you as an undercaptitalized, broke entity not worth spending money on. They want ..... THEY NEED ..... to see you in other media outlets if you to gain any credibility at all and separate from the pack.


Now, before you start saying, "no Mark, it is all about quality and performance, not how much you spend on marketing or where.".

Really?

Tell that to Anthony Robbins. who spent tens of thousands of dollars early on his career "buying his way on TV" so he could create a celebrity persona and separate from the pathetic group of motivational speakers he was competing with. Did it work? That money he spent on national marketing helped create the $ 250 million a year empire he runs today.

I am another example. I was grouped in with sales and marketing speakers / "guru's" whereby 99.97% were wannabe's with almost zero talent and even less real world experience. They were the "teach because they could not do" bunch .... and these hacks were the last people I wanted to be associated with. So I followed Anthony Robbins model, bought 30 minute blocks of airtime to promote my products and advice on NATIONAL TV and the rest took care of itself. I am now booked solid all over the world, have two TV shows and am regularly featured in magazines and other periodicals in the US and abroad and the money I spent on this national marketing has paid me back 200X over!! My "so called competition"? They are still counting their pennies and focusing SOLELY on YouTube. Let'em.

Look .... I am all for SEO Marketing. As a matter of fact one of my next TV shows on The Ruthless Entrepreneur Show that will air on Oxygen in December is titled "SEO Unleashed!". On this show we will focus on outside the box SEO strategies entrepreneurs can use to propel their business. So I am a HUGE proponent of SEO. BUT ...... if you want to GET RICH and become a leader in your industry you need to start attacking the national media outlets. Develop a book / DVD program you can sell on air, and create a TWO INCOME ATTACK:.

1. Create significant cashflow from the DVD sales on TV and with this you will ...........
2. Create a "celebrity" persona that will allow you generate a high 6 figure speaking income.

You want to hit the big time,. then ATTACK THE BIG TIME! Find a niche, develop a USP, and do whatever it takes to get into the national media!!!! Yes, Internet marketing your business is one way, but thats also the way of your $ $ $ BROKE COMPETITION is trying to get themselves recognized! You get what you pay for. Credibility comes from getting into the national media stream and once you do THAT, the rest will take care of itself.

Remember this from here on out .... VERY IMPORTANT:. All of your marketing material RIGHT DOWN TO YOUR BUSINESS CARD needs to be able to answer the one question every prospect will ask themselves when they meet you ...

Why Should I Do Business With YOU!?

And if your marketing material does NOT answer that question, you can kiss that prospect good bye. Remember, their favorite radio station is WIFM ...What's In It For Me..... and when they come to YOUR station ..... which is your marketing material, make sure the station is playing their favorite tune.

"Protest" This Marketing Idea! I Dare You

I have owned a LOT of businesses from nightclubs, restaurants, Inn's, TV Production companies, minor league pro basketball franchises and everything in between, so to say I have a little experience in "outside the box" sales and marketing strategies would be an understatement. So let me share a quickie marketing idea with you.


Listen Up Down On Your Luck Storefront Owners

In 1994 I bought a bankrupt nightclub in Portland, Maine for $12,000+/-, and turned it into a $600,000 revenue machine, reselling it for 10X what I paid for it less than 9 months later. How? Simple. By injecting excitement and marketing pizzazz into the venture and designing a Unique Selling Proposition that hit my target market square in the jaw (how I turned this nightclub around is a whole other post, that is not the point of my post here). Well, to get business in the door initially I used some of your most basic ideas; from scantily clad college age bartenders (female BTW) to drink promotions and all of it seemed to work to a point. But I really wanted media attention and on the budget I had, couldn't really afford it. So, I devised a plan that would force the media to come to me and make my new nightlcub a story in and of itself. While sitting around the bar drinking one sunny, summer day with some of the patrons (not something I would recommend as a business owner, but hey....I was in my 20's and single so how can you blame me?) one of the patrons mumbled (she had a one to many)......

"Mark, I gotta tell you, your drink prices are amazing! Especially for college kids like me", she stammered. "Their practically TOO LOW! I love it. Keep it up!"

Well, that got me thinking. Yes, my prices were low but not much lower than anyone elses (she was drinking Busch beer which I practically gave away as it was terrible, but a great price magnet to draw people in.... such as good looking college girls like her who in turn brought in MORE people, and who would upgrade to more expensive beverages). So I put together about 1,000 flyers and got her and her friends to distribute them throughout her campus and they read something like this:

BOYCOTT THE PENGUIN NIGHTCLUB

on Fore Street (The Old Port) in Portland, Maine

Their DRINK PRICES Are TOO LOW!!!

This SCREAMS Unfair Competition. Speak Out NOW.

Come Protest This Tuesday Afternoon at 4PM. FREE FOOD!!

That Tuesday I had her and her friends hold picket signs for 2 hours outside my doors and we had MORE people in line then my competition down the street had in their bars combined!!! We were packed and we did 7X the revenue that night then we normally did. This "protest" put my bar on the map and we became the #1 nightclub (by FAR!!!!!!!!) in 1994. Marketing genius idea? I will have to say %$*&^ yeah!!!

So the moral of the story is this: If you own a storefront business, go ahead and organize a "protest" and watch the gawkers come out. It will get you noticed, bring people in off the streets (and cars) in droves and at that point it is up to you and your product or service to keep them coming back for more. Get NOTICED! Think outside the box.

You Need ME...I DON'T Need YOU!

"You need me, I DON'T need you", is the attitude top sales pro's need to convey to themselves when negotiating and dealing with prospects. Desparation and "dropping your pants" on price and ccncessions is what 95% of all others do in their sales and entrepreneurial careers and that is why they will always struggle.

Don't believe me? I am a perfect example. As a BUYER.


TRUE STORY:

My wife Paula and I were at Patong Beach (Phuket, Thailand) last week, walking down the street that was directly across the beach, and dreaded every second of it. Why? Because we knew that the minute we made that trek that EVERY store owner, taxi driver and anyone else that looked Thai was going to try an sell us something. Like every other person walking the "gauntlet", we had blinders on and looked forward, never making eye contact and when necessary, exploding in saracasm and anger when they got too close to me or asked me the same stupid question like

"Yo man, where you from?" Like they cared. So I would bellow back, "I am from %&$% Cambodia, why?!"

These folks were masters at what I called Sales Prevention. So desparate to make a buck that they would do anything or say anything to get your business or get your attention and in doing so only pushed you that much further away.

Well, we had walked the Gauntlet numerous times and understood just what we were getting ourselves into but this day we had a purpose. We wanted to get a price quote for a taxi to the boat pier (where we would catch our speed boat to Kho Phi Phi Island). Now mind you, the street was littered with 4 taxi's for every tourist and we had 5-6 people at a time yelling in our direction "Taxi...Taxi...Taxi...Taxi...." to the point I wanted to yell "SHUT THE %$#$ UP!!!" So guess what? We ignored them, due to their pushyness, desparation and our inability to even begin a conversation with them on price. That is until we got a little further and there sitting on a stone wall was a man without a care in the world. He just looked at us, then calmly looked passed us without saying a word. INVITING us to ask a question. So Paula asked him for the price quote and if he was available at 12 to take us to the pier. He gave us a fair price, locked down the time and that was that. He showed up on time and got us to the boat on time and closed the sale with us without having to say a thing. Why? Simple. He gave off the persona that "you need me, I don't need you. You want what I got? Let's talk."

After we "closed the deal" with him, Paula said to me; "you know why I went with him? Because he didn't get in my face. He wasn't so damn pushy."


Let that be a lesson. The harder you push a prospect and the harder you push your product and service on them, the more they will push back. That is why the Ritz Carlton, Mercedes Benz, Bentley, Rolex and other premimum brands succeed over and above their competitors. They put together a solid USP backed by a message that resonates with their target audience. "If you want the best, you can get it here. Take your time."

As a sales and marketing speaker I take that same approach, that is why I am consistently booked all over the world and my so called "competition" beg, grovel and plead for business through pathetic speaker bureaus and The National Speakers Association. I separate from this so-called "competition" with a far better product but more importantly, far better marketing. You need to start thinking the same way. Make your prospect WANT YOU more than YOU WANT THEM and you will be swimming in $$$$.

It's About The EXECUTION STUPID!

If you are going to spend the money, time and effort on a venture make sure you accomplish one of the most important tasks at hand; solid execution of a plan that will appease your most important target...YOUR %#^%$ CLIENT!

I am here in gorgeous Phuket, Thailand staying at an emmaculate, brand new boutique hotel that is literally steps away from an incredible beach and pristine, crystal clear waters. I have a nice deck that overlooks a swimming pool below, can see the ocean perfectly, and my suite has top notch, modern furniture that decorates the room and a huge bathroom with a incredible water pressure. This would be a great start to satisfying a customer and making for a very pleasant stay, until they found a way to "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory".

UNBELIEVABLE

So get this. The bathroom has a picture window facing the bedroom which is bad enough. I mean who the hell the wants to have a %$^% window looking in and out of the most private place you know of? But thats not so bad, they had shades. Fantastic! But it gets better. If that was not enough voyeurism, they put a WINDOW ON THE BATHROOM DOOR! A %&$^% window with NO DRAPES ON THE BATHROOM DOOR. WTF!!!!???? What is the purpose? How in God's name is that going to please ANYONE?? Who.....who....WHO wants a window on their bathroom door with no shade?

Now.......let's talk about the shower. Ahhhhhh, the shower. Well, it has half a glass separating the water from the rest of the bathroom so when you shower, you are trying like hell not to stand too far back so that you won't splash water on the floor. But to no avail, the water gets up on the tub (as it should) and their is no lip or barrier to stop it from seeping on the flow so you have to continually keep a towel at the edge of the tub to dry up water so it doesn't all hit the floor.

The PLANNED this. Really.

On the 5th floor is a high end Kobe steak house. So I went up the stairs and saw a green sliding door shut. No sign. No semblance of a restaurant. I slid it open and saw the waiters and cooks sitting on a counter talking to each other in the open air (roof top restaurant). They didn't notice me so I thought I would look at the menu on the stand. But that was a challenge. You see, it was night time, with limited light and the menu stand had ZERO FREAKING LIGHT! I strained my eyes until the maitre de' came running over to assist. He pulled out a little red flash point pen as my lighting and stood over me for assistance. No shit! I told him I was fine and would return later.

The place was beautiful. Amazing decor and menu (from what I could gather) but all the simple, basic.....I don't know NECESSITIES....were missing. They failed to execute in even the basic manner and BTW the place was EMPTY.

Bottom line is that the best product or service in the world is useless without keeping the proper goal in mind and that is SATISFYING THE CLIENT. Too many entrepreneurs construct their product and more importantly their marketing around what excites THEM not what excites their prospect and in doing so you are on the fast track to a successful failure.

As I have always said..."what may excite you about your product or service may not excite them. Found out what excites them UPFRONT and base your whole sales and marketing around this and you will close more deals then you ever imagined".

Mark McClure

Ruthless Marketing Secrets LAUNCHED!

So here it is. My Ruthless Marketing Secrets blog, a blog that I have been asked to produce more than a thousand times it seems. (BTW, If you want to send me an email you will see that I have used my assistants Nikky Smith's email as I do not want to just hand my email out).


Anyway still over here in Asia. At a gorgeous, beach front boutique hotel in Phuket, Thailand to be exact having just finished an amazing, SOLD OUT seminar in Bangkok on October 7th at the 5 star Landmark Hotel. The promoter Amin Rais did an amazing job and as usual, it was packed full of my innovative, INSANE marketing ideas.


For the next 2-3 weeks, as I finish up my "beach tour" of drinks and sun in Phuket and Koh Phi-Phi with my wife, we will set sail to Cambodia on the 16th than from the 19-29th to hang out in Vietnam checking out the sites, the jungles, the beaches and history. After that, it is back to Bangkok for a meeting with one of Asia's biggest beer companies for negotiations on a private speaking engagement than back to Dallas, TX to prepare for the November 17th TV shoot of 6 of the Ruthless Entrepreneur Shows that will air on Oprah Winfrey's Oxygen Channel beginning mid December!!!! The Ruthless Entrepreneur Show is taking hold in the U.S. with its presence on The Biz Television Network and now Oxygen.........I can tell that there are big things ahead in 2010 with The Ruthless Entrepreneur and Ruthless Marketing brands and I am going to unleash ideas and strategies that will blow your mind. The same ideas and strategies I am currently using to propel my TV business in addition to my many other ventures. And I will share them right here with you.



STAY TUNED HERE EACH AND EVERY WEEK AS I UNLEASH INSANE SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGIES YOU WILL BE ABLE TO USE....IN THE REAL WORLD!!