Today we bring you the first in a series of four special guest articles from our friend, Troy White, a Canadian business owner, newsletter publisher, seminar producer and copywriter… with commentary from us interspersed throughout.

Here’s what you can expect:

* 56 key lessons (14 lessons in each of 4 parts, divided up over the next week) that can help you invest your time wisely, earn more money, and build a sustainable business that can last for decades to come

* The ONE question that most people get wrong (and yet it’s vital to achieving your goals)

* Leveraging controversy to build a business faster

* What’s more effective for small business marketing – the shotgun approach or rifle approach?

* And Much More!

Cool, sounds great! So let’s get started! Take it away, Troy…

I looove to learn! And I hope you do too. Creating success also means developing an insatiable appetite to learn about all kinds of varied subjects – marketing being the main one for small business owners.

You know what’s truly scary?

One number I saw recently said that the average US or Canadian citizen invests only $48 PER YEAR on books. Those same people probably spend much more than that on coffee in a month.

Is caffeine more important than training your brain for success?

That is a sad statement to where people place their priorities. They think nothing of dropping $2,000 on a big screen television… but ask them to invest that in a seminar or home study course and stand back for all the excuses.

Fortunately, I love to learn… and I invest in my education.

I can say from past years, my investments in books, home study materials, newsletters, audio programs and live seminars usually runs $15,000 – $30,000 per year.

Never before have we had access to so many experts and such powerful training materials as we do now… and those who are not investing in these tools are missing out on some incredible breakthroughs.

I am going to save you some time and money though.

I have summarized some of the main points that you should all immediately start applying to your life and your business. These are just a few of the tips I have learned from marketing masters like Clayton Makepeace, Ted Nicholas, Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham and Bill Glazer.

These are tips I gladly paid big dollars to learn (and remind myself of)… and I want to pass them on to you.

From there – it is up to you.

Will you keep doing what you have always done?

Or will you make a change and profit beyond your wildest expectations?

It is entirely up to you. I want you to profit. But I will not hold your hand along the way though. If you take action on just a few of these, you will experience some powerful results… that I guarantee.

Let’s get on with it!

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1 – Ask yourself this question – “Are Your Goals Worthy of You?”

Read it and ask it again. It is the opposite of what 95% of people ask – they switch the words and ask if they are worthy of their goals.

WRONG! You need to have confidence in your self and your vision in life. Are your goals big enough and grandiose enough? Make them so.

Dream big, really really big. And then ask again – is that goal worthy of you?

2 – Start working in time chunks.

Set aside 2-4 uninterrupted hours for you projects. Most people will start a project and deal with interruptions as they come through the door, or e-mail, or phone.

WRONG! You are now a time ‘chunker’ – and people around you need to understand this is the way you now work. Get used to this way of working and you will accomplish amazing things.

3 – Start seeking the valuable lesson in everything you do, hear, experience and pass by.

No matter if the project fails or succeeds – write down what you learned from it. Every person you meet and everything you do has a lesson you can learn. It is up to you to find out what that lesson is, though. And do it before you forget.

Write it down in your journal (if you do not have a journal – go get one).

4 – Read your lesson journal – which lesson can you apply today to your next project? Or your next problem? Then do it.

Find a way to apply and use that today – do it and record your results.

5 – No matter what your business is – get your journal out and write down this question at the top of the page – “How can I personally make my clients’ lives better?”

A simple question but very powerful.

Think about it – how many companies that you deal with offline or online – apply this model? Less than 10% I bet. Most of them are out to get the sale and then move on to the next “prospect.” If they actually considered how they could help your life be better – how effective could they be?

For example – there is a company that I personally dealt with offline that sells kids’ educational products.

I spent $2,000 on their products about a year-and-a-half ago. And never heard from them again. If they had thought about how they could help me and my kids have a better life they would quickly realize that they could offer me products to help us at least monthly. I would gladly spend $100/month on my kid’s future and success. And yet I have never heard from them again.

Do you know anyone like this?

How does it apply to your business?

6 – Always have your antennae up.

Look and listen for ideas, insights, and concepts that you have never thought of. Write them down. Talk to anybody and everybody you run into. Ask them what they do, how they do it, why they do it, what could make their jobs better, their offerings better, what are their dreams and
aspirations?

7 – Ask yourself – “what don’t I know that is absolutely critical to my success?”

Then decide where you can find that information quickly.

Start writing down ideas on how you can work with people that have that knowledge. If you do not have money to pay them for their expertise – how else can you work with them? Is there any way you can trade services for services or services for products or products for products?

For a low-cost product (you just pay shipping and handling) that gets you into the game of online marketing, and arms you with the right mindset to succeed, we recommend the Maverick Business Insider Intro Package.

It was created by young self-made millionaire and highly respected marketer Yanik Silver, based on a $15,000 closed-door session, and it includes a DVD, 2 CDs, book, wall poster, mind map, and more… be sure to grab it while you can here.

8 – Start writing a book.

On whatever you are good at, or whatever you want to be good at. Start researching the industry and successful businesses in that industry. A book is one of the most important tools to building your credibility and to build on publicity for your business. The book is not necessarily one you sell – it can be a bonus for prospects or clients to show them you know what you are talking about.

9 – Find or pick a charity that you deeply believe in.

How can you help them accomplish their goals? Possibly volunteer your services or donate products they can auction off to raise funds. Donate a percentage of all revenue you receive to the charity. Find multiple ways to help them and you will quickly find opportunities knocking on
your doorstep.

10 – Start building a dream team.

These people can be people in your life now (if they are motivated and positive people) or people you would love to work with. If you do not know them now – think of ways you can give back to their interests, passions or charitable causes they are interested in. Start interviewing these people and find out what makes them tick.

11 – Create your stadium pitch.

Get some paper out and think about your product or service. Imagine you have a stadium of 50,000 people at your beck and call. You get 30 – 60 seconds in front of the audience to convince them of you and your offering. What would you say?

How could you get your point across so convincingly that they would be stupid to say no? Now consider the fact that any one of them can walk out at any point in time and do not have to listen to your pitch. Would your pitch change? What can you say to make them stay? What can you say to make them buy?

12 – Consider that there are only 3 ways you can grow your business.

You can increase the number of clients, increase the average sale price, or increase the number of times they buy in a year. Most people (90%) focus in on increasing the number of clients – and it is the least effective and the least profitable. So what can you do to increase the other 2 methods?

13 – Use a shotgun approach to marketing your business.

Think of multiple ways to promote your offering – and have them all happen at once. Very similar strategies to war – air, land, water – each of which has multiple resources and firepower coming at the target (the customer) at once. How does this apply to your offering? What types
of firepower will you use?

14 – Test all of your crazy ideas.

No matter how crazy they sound – try it out. Find out which ones work. Then optimize how effective they are. Test all variations of that idea. Find out which variation works best.

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Troy White has been involved in selling and direct marketing for almost 20 years.  His works span involvement with some of the biggest names in marketing around the world, as well as effectively helping hundreds of small businesses through his advice and products.

Success for clients is driven by Troy’s ability to clearly articulate complex messages and capabilities into business tactics that work — measured by the actual results they produce.

Despite Troy’s amazing success in the marketing field he remains very accessible and approachable.  His monthly articles are a source of inspiration to over 7,000 people, and tens of thousands read his blogs and postings weekly.

Troy lives in Calgary with his wife and twin daughters. During his off time, you will find Troy relaxing with a good book (a marketing one) in hand.

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[ Editor’s  Note ] — Now, we’re sure you’ve got a wealth of ideas swimming in your head as to how you can use these tips to increase your own bottom line.

So we’ll let you take action on them for a few days, and then we’ll give you the next 14 in the series!

Your Partners in the Quest For
Living a Life Without Limits,

(( Life Design Consultants,
Agents of Higher Learning &
Catalysts For Change  ))

Filed under: Business Development