DON'T Build a Customer List - Build Relationships

Marketing 101 - Build a list of prospects and clients for the purpose of future sales and on-going income.

Wise Marketing 101 - Build a list of friends and future friends so that you can keep in touch, help them when and if then need help, and give them tangibly valuable information that will help them today. Be truly interested in their well-being - not your own.

The spirit behind the communication to your friends and future friends can be felt - even across the internet. So what's most important in using your list effectively is your heart's intention for the well-being of your friends. It doesn't really matter how skilled you are at copy writing or how smart you are. It matters how well you connect. And true connection takes a true heart. It takes a vulnerable heart - which requires far more bravery than bravado.

So stop thinking of your "list" in terms of dollar signs or "a hassle" and instead each time you send an e-mail or make an offer - imagine you're sending it to your best friend. You don't ignore your friends, you don't spam your friends, you don't dump your friends if they don't buy your service or product right now. You build a relationship with your friends.

"Some of the biggest challenges in relationships come from the fact that most people enter a relationship in order to get something. They're trying to find someone who's going to make them feel good. In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take." - Anthony Robbins

Think Of A Number Between 1 And 100.....

Because If You Don't - The Number Is ZERO

You've read the books, you've listened to countless videos, you've attended webinars and conventions and now you have the knowledge that you need to run your small business, MLM or online business. You're making the income you want and everything is just great. Right?

Maybe not so right. One of the biggest mistakes in the small business community is that they forget about the numbers. Numbers are critical to any business. But they are often the most ignored. The biggest reason that I've seen for this is that people take numbers personally. Numbers are tools - whether its the number of customers, phone calls, Twitter followers, or the amount that's in your bank account. A number is just a measurement tool that should be used for information.

If you're not making the kind of money that you want - that's great information!! It tells you to change course, to take different action - to take any action, to change your market niche, your marketing methods, your product mix, your social media. It's telling you something about business - not about your worth as a person.

But most small business owners don't want to look at the numbers. They bury their heads in the sand and pretend that they don't matter. Honestly though, like anything else important that we ignore, they scream louder and louder and LOUDER until we finally listen. Often, by then, it's too late and a crisis reaction takes place. Yikes - reacting in crisis is costly to mind, body and spirit.

Maybe you're thinking that concentrating on numbers takes the humanity out of your business. Not if you think of it positively - some examples might be:

I help 5 people a month get into better shape.

I help 10 people a month to achieve their financial goals.

I help 200 people a month to get XXX product at the best price.

Numbers critical to every business:

Monthly financial goal
Number of customers or units to achieve monthly goal
Number of leads or prospects needed to contact to attain the number of customers/units

So don't be a ZERO - think of a number.

Relevant scriptures: Proverbs 23:7, 1 Peter 2:9, Matthew 25:14-30