According to marketing consultant Jay Abrahams. Jay Abraham. Getting everything you can, regardless of what you already have. A deep dive into professional sales to customers on the sales floor

In this article, I provide a translation of 50 questions that, according to Jay Abraham, only 5% of US business owners ask themselves. The remaining 95% work “as God wishes.”

The answers to these questions help you put things in order in your head and see new opportunities where you thought there were none before.

At least for me personally, these questions helped a lot. I don't see any reason why they can't help you.

So, Jay Abraham. Getting everything you can, regardless of what you already have.

(“Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You Got” By Jay Abraham)

1) What initially made me start my business (motivation, environment, incidents, etc.)?

2) When I first started, where did my clients come from (what processes, methods and actions did I use)?

3) Why did clients buy from me at the very beginning?

4) Why do clients buy from me now?

5) What was the key method of getting clients that I used to build my business?

6) Which of my marketing efforts generated the most sales/customers for me? What percentage of all sales came from these efforts?

7) Do I test various aspects of my marketing efforts to ensure they produce the best and most profitable results?

8) How connected or involved am I with clients (do I take orders, sell or follow up)?

9) What current marketing efforts have I personally undertaken today? How is this different from what I did in the beginning?

10) Where do my clients primarily come from (demographic characteristics)?

11) What is better for me: attract more new clients or get more money from existing ones, and why?

12) Who else benefits from my success besides my clients, my employees and my family?

13) How many of my suppliers and partners are interested in growing my business because it benefits them? Who are they?

14) Once I get a client for my business, who else can use it?

15) What exactly does my business do (what do I sell, how do I sell it, who do I sell it to within the industry, category or niche)? Describe as accurately and in detail as possible.

16) What is my business philosophy towards the customer?

17) How have the methods of running my business or the range of products and/or services I sell changed since I started my business?

18) What is my turnover per employee? Is it above, below or the same as the industry average?

19) What is the average lifetime value of my client (how much money does he bring me during his time with my firm)?

20) What is the most serious customer complaint about my company and how do I correct this problem?

21) What is my unique trade offer(USP)? Why do my clients buy from me, what distinguishes my product/service from competitors? Do I have a USP for each area of my business?

22) Is my USP consistently maintained across all marketing activities? If yes, how do I do it, if not, why?

23) Short description my marketing program or the entire set of marketing methods that I use. How are they interconnected?

24) Who are my biggest competitors and what do they offer that I don’t?

25) What steps am I taking to compensate for their separation? Does this help me?

26) What is the most big mistake my competitors and what am I doing to protect myself from this mistake?

27) What do my clients really want (as detailed as possible, no need to answer “quality product or service”)? How do I know this?

28) Do my clients buy only from me or from my competitors too? What steps can I take to win a larger piece of the market?

29) How big is the market potential of my niche and what percentage am I currently covering?

30) How much does it cost me to attract one client?

31) What is the main source of profit in my business and what am I doing to maintain this source?

32) What is my biggest marketing success to date (promotion, sale, advertising campaign, etc.)?

33) What is my biggest challenge in marketing today (describe in as much detail as possible, with cause and effect, both financial and personal)?

34) What are some ways I can further reduce the risk of a purchase, lower the barrier to entry, or remove barriers for my client to make it easier for them to do business with me?

35) After the first sale, do I have systematic and formalized methods of interaction with the client?

36) Is my business sufficiently supported by positive customer reviews and do I have a system for collecting them? Are they printed, handwritten, audio or video? How do I use them in my marketing?

37) Am I actively building a referral system?

38) Have I tried to revive old clients or work with those who did not buy anything?

39) Have I sent clients I couldn't convert to my competitors?

40) Do I make a consistent effort to communicate with my clients about what my company is doing to help them?

41) How do I implement up-selling in my work with clients?

42) What is better for me: making money on the first sale or counting on long-term cooperation?

43) Do I use barter?

44) What guarantees do I give to my clients and how do they differ from those of my competitors and the industry as a whole?

45) How quickly do my clients drop off (customer lifespan on average, can be expressed in time or number of sales)?

46) How do I collect contact information from my clients, both actual and potential? Am I using them in my marketing program?

47) What is my average bill and what can I do to increase it?

48) How much does the first sale to one customer cost me on average (acquisition and conversion costs)?

49) Am I using other people's lead lists? If not, where do I get their contacts for direct mail or cold calls/visits?

50) Have I sold my customer base to other companies? If so, what were the results?

-- [ Page 1 ] --

Jay Abraham

your business

out of the dead end

9 steps on the way from stagnation

to prosperity during

economic downturn

Translator: Yulia Muzalevskaya ( [email protected])

Editor: Oleg Pavlov

Proofreader: Olga Daynyak ( [email protected])

2011, Riga, Latvia

I am very glad, dear reader, that you finally have

there is an opportunity to read one of the works

by the wonderful American marketer Jay Abraham in Russian.

This is an amazing book.

It will transform your business from a struggle into an exciting journey through a world of endless opportunities to grow your company - even during an economic downturn.

The cycle of thoughts on how to increase the income and profitability of an enterprise will turn into an orderly chain. At every single moment in time, you will know exactly what your next step should be and what it will bring you.

This is a book that, in my opinion, every entrepreneur who takes himself and his business seriously should read and re-read.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction: Economic crisis? Great news!

Chapter 1. Is your business at a dead end?

Chapter 2. Are you at a dead end because you are losing to your competitors?

Chapter 3. Are you at a dead end because you don’t sell enough?

Chapter 4 Are you stymied by the unsustainable volume of your business?

Chapter 5. Stuck due to lack of the right strategy?

Chapter 6. Are you at a dead end because expenses are eating up all your profits?

Chapter 7: Stuck Because You're Still Using Ineffective Methods?

Chapter 8. Stuck because the market is crowding out your business?

Chapter 9: Are You Stymied by Mediocre Marketing?

Chapter 10. Are you at a dead end because you hope to cope alone?

Chapter 11. How to Grow and Prosper in an Economic Crisis?

CONCLUSION: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE OUT OF THE DEAD-LOCK!

– – –

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Without false modesty, I have the courage to say that this book will be your guide from failure to success - in the current post-crisis economy and in the future.

However, I cannot claim that the authorship of the entire variety of approaches, strategies and tactics described in it belongs exclusively to me. On the pages of this book you will meet ideas (deservedly recognized, of course!) of the most outstanding minds modern business. These people are not just legends in the world of marketing and sales, but also my friends, colleagues, co-authors, current and former strategic partners. “First among equals” on this list is Rich Shefren, whose brilliant thoughts are reflected in many of the chapters of my book, and without whom it (and many other successful Internet marketers) would be incomparably weaker.

In the pages of this book you will also become familiar with the ideas of Chet Holmes, with whom we have spoken together on several occasions and whose book “The Greatest Selling Machine”1 I highly recommend you read.

And also – the ideas and findings of the sales-consulting “genius” Andy Miller.

I thank Barbara Levinstein for brokering and distributing this book in foreign markets.

Special thanks to my publisher, Roger Cooper, for his faith in this book and his willingness to work tirelessly to make it a success.

Thanks to Ruth Mills for her excellent editing (she made my thoughts in the book sound more organized and concise than in real life), and to Michael Levine, who, despite taking life and me personally too seriously, helped my ideas gain strength , ringing "voice".

Thank you to Christy for asking me to write a new book for years, and to all the wonderful people who have helped, advised, mentored, and taught me over the past thirty years—bringing me under the wing of their wisdom and knowledge.

Chet Holmes “The Ultimate Sales Machine” Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org I apologize if I inadvertently forgot to include anyone in my acknowledgments: your ideas and contributions to this book have not been forgotten.

This book is intended for business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals and beginners, as well as managers. I sincerely hope that it will help your business get out of stagnation, develop and prosper - right now, in these economically difficult times, and also in the future.

INTRODUCTION

ECONOMIC CRISIS?

GREAT NEWS!

I love the economic crisis!

And so do my clients.

And you will love him after reading this book.

Despite all the troubles caused by economic turmoil (such as the recession we are experiencing today), it is during these times that you will discover that there is actually much more opportunity for growth than during periods of rapid expansion.

That's why I appreciate times like these.

A crisis is an excellent chance to wipe the noses of your competitors, to outpace them, to put them in your belt – choose the metaphor yourself. The point is that you can win with ease - if you know how to use difficult times. When everyone has left the race, the checkered flag awaits you. When everyone is looking back, you are looking forward. When everyone is afraid, you make a fortune! New opportunities and markets open up for you, deals and unexplored areas that no one sees even in favorable conditions, and even more so in times of financial battles.

My book promises you something unique. It's easy enough to point the way to prosperity when the economy is booming. I will show you how to achieve unprecedented success if the financial picture of the country and the world as a whole is painted in gloomy colors.

As I was finishing the book, stock market fluctuations had reached unprecedented levels. On one of these days, the market lost more than seven hundred points! However, on the same day, the shares of one hundred companies rose. How is it that in the worst of times, some companies thrive as never before?

And why can't you do that?

It turns out you can, and I'll show you how to achieve it.

Let me start by asking: (with all due respect) is your business at a dead end?

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org A business in a state of “stagnation” (no matter whether we are talking about an individual enterprise or a large industrial corporation) does not grow at the predicted volumes annually, quarterly, or daily. If your company is floating with the “market” current, then as soon as it “dries up”, your business will also be aground, because you do not control its fate. So in good times you don't even realize you're stuck!

Let's say a company that made $100,000 in revenue last year earns $110,000 this year. Management may claim that the business is growing, but in reality this is only a consequence of market recovery, and not an active strategic position of management. Therefore, now the company's profit, instead of 110, is only 70 thousand or even less, while competitors (using the ideas described in my book) manage to earn 250 thousand dollars.

Why do so many companies reach a dead end and get stuck?

Based on my experience, the four most common reasons for business stagnation are as follows:

1. Lack of a “growth focus” in every aspect of the business;

2. Lack of practice in measuring, observing, comparing and analyzing results;

3. Lack of a detailed strategic marketing plan with projected performance growth expectations;

and finally

4. Inability to set adequate, specific goals.

During a crisis, the weight of all these problems increases. Firstly, due to the poor economic situation, income is reduced. And secondly, the very concept of a recession, or economic downturn, literally drives people into a stupor.

They are intimidated. They don’t know what to do, so, as a rule, they do nothing or continue to use initially ineffective methods with double persistence.

But here's the good news - your competitors may not have read this book.

In fact, in difficult times like the ones we are experiencing now, it is very likely that your competitors are rushing around in a panic, trying to stay afloat, or have completely abandoned the race, leaving the majority of the market share to you.

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org The purpose of my book is to help you avoid a similar fate. Looking ahead, I’ll explain that I want to teach you to accept the recession and economic turmoil and masterfully extract profit from your problems and troubles, and even from the mistakes of your competitors. One of these mistakes is to leave the stage when things get especially difficult. But if you know how to think strategically, competently manage your company or department, attract and retain “highly profitable”

customers and take advantage of your competitors' weaknesses, you will quickly find that you can be even more successful and earn even more than during the so-called boom periods.

If your business is in a dead end, I will help you get out of it. So, by reading this book to the end, you will be able to treat the economic crisis in the same way as many successful businessmen - greeting it with the words: “Well, we’ll see!” You may not enjoy the tough times any more than the consistently good ones, but you will gain confidence because your ability to make a profit will no longer depend on the state of the economy or the actions of your competitors. Opportunities and alternatives will open up to you that you had not noticed before. And you will also have a very specific strategic plan, thanks to which your business will grow on a cosmic scale. And all this against the background of daily despair of financial observers!

As a business owner or employee, you should never be afraid of an economic crisis or recession. If the market situation is favorable, then all that any company needs is

- it's just sitting and waiting for clients to knock on the door. The “jet stream” of success carries everyone with it - forward. You don't need to know how to run a business. No need to use strategies. There is no need to offer unique benefits to customers. You don't even need to think about development! You can just go with the flow, letting everything take its course. Even those who have no ability can find themselves at the top, riding the wave of economic prosperity.

But during an economic downturn, such people seem to be paralyzed: the music has stopped, and they do not know what to do next. They retreat. They freeze... They spend more and more time on the same ineffective methods, but the incompetence previously hidden behind the huge driving force of the favorable

economy, makes itself felt. Such companies are like hang gliders: once you launch them, they can fly for hours. But as soon as they begin to be “thrown” from side to side by air currents that have changed their direction and are beyond their control, their landing becomes a spectacle not for the faint of heart.

Very few companies begin to think truly strategically during difficult times. Thanks to a growth-oriented strategy, these companies manage to capture all the new customers appearing on the market - people who have never purchased the product or service offered before or were not ready to take a step forward, and perhaps did not need this product before . Moreover, strategically oriented companies receive or, if you like, delicately “lead away” 15-20 percent of the most attractive clients of their competitors.

So, if you attract all the new customers in the market and steal away, say, 15-20 percent of the most attractive, profitable and loyal customers from a few of your competitors, you will get twice - yes, double - what you could have, even at the top of the market. In fact, even if the economy or your particular industry is at rock bottom, you can increase your profits by 60, 80, or even 100 percent while everyone around you is stagnant or out of business. If you are ready to seriously learn how to compose price offers If you master the strategy of excellence, along with other highly effective concepts that I will offer you in my book, then you will certainly achieve incredible success!

In this regard, it should be noted that each company has from twenty to fifty or more highly effective “application points” or exponential factors. These factors can exponentially increase your profits - provided you learn to recognize them and use them correctly.

They will increase the likelihood that a potential client will call you or visit your website. With their help, it will become easier for you to sell your product and complete transactions. One-time customers will turn into regular ones, and those who have not bought anything before will definitely buy something. These factors are amazing, perhaps even mind-boggling Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org simple actions that, when taken, will generate more leads, increase sales, increase profits, increase conversions, conquer new markets and discover new ways to establish and develop relationships with clients.

If there are fifty of these factors in your company, then by increasing the effectiveness of, say, ten of them, you will be ready not only to survive in difficult financial periods, but to prosper like never before. Edward Deming 2 understood the importance of such factors in the industrial world and used this knowledge to create giant corporations. Taking the same approach, I applied it to a much more important matter - generating profit for your business.

Again, despite all the troubles associated with the recession, successful, strategically oriented and proactive businessmen readily face difficult times, because they also clear the market of “mediocre” ones.

competitors who only know how to “skim the cream” from a favorable economy, while they themselves do not have the competence. That’s why I take the liberty to say that I will teach you to love the crisis. Your business can thrive like never before while everyone around you is failing. When you survive an economic downturn, you will emerge stronger, more prosperous, and ready to grow faster than you ever could have hoped or imagined.

The secret to success in your business is very simple: you just need to find the “poorly recognized” or changing needs and fill them with wisdom, empathy and understanding that no one else can identify and manifest. In short, you will solve problems that others may not even be able to formulate. These problems fall into three categories: your own, your competitors' problems, and market problems. Since time immemorial, people who can solve the biggest and most important problems have always received the main reward. It has always been so, and so it will be.

Most likely, during a recession, neither you nor your competitors can even identify a list of specific problems that need to be dealt with. And if you are not able to put them into words, what can we say about finding solutions! However, having an American scientist, statistician and consultant on quality management theory. Deming is best known for his innovative enterprise reorganization proposals, widely used in Japan and other countries, known as “lean manufacturing.”

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org With a clear understanding of what you are trying to solve, you can master the art of solving both your own problems and those of your market. And a generous reward will not keep you waiting!

From time to time, any company or entrepreneur finds the so-called “one.” For example, JetBlue airline once found out that businessmen simply die of boredom while flying. And the management decided to install separate televisions for each passenger. The idea is simple, but very effective. Or consider financial advisor and author Howard Ruff, a self-described “champion” of advice for middle-class investors. Having discovered that elite publications tended to ignore such investors, he made a fortune dispensing advice to those who were not (yet!) rich. American Express also found “the one.” She studies people's purchasing habits and designs mailings based on the most likely needs of customers.

One of the main problems that, according to my observations, exists in the market is the problem of the so-called “ambivalent uncertainty”, when the client not only doubts whether to buy from you, but whether to buy at all. This is reminiscent of a situation when a person stands in front of a cinema, studying the names of films, none of which “catches” him, and at the same time does not know at all whether he wants to watch a movie. How can you get him to buy a ticket specifically for your film, and, if successful, also popcorn and soda, as well as a DVD, a couple of months later?

The problem of “ambivalent uncertainty” arises when your potential customers still doubt whether they need your product or service, or are not entirely sure that you can solve their problems. If you can make the most of these two exponential factors in your business by eliminating the customer's hesitancy and doubt about whether they need what you offer and whether they should choose you, you will be a huge success!

And I'll show you how to achieve it.

Well, if your problem is a “stagnant” business, what needs to happen to get it out of the deadlock?

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org You analyze all the indicators of your business (not only by month and year, but also by breaking them down into categories): for example, the number of potential customers and actual sales per product, the amount of average purchase, the amount of average purchase from suppliers. Then you analyze all the relationships, consequences and deviations that “follow” from the data obtained.

Your company has organized a systematic strategic process that ensures and maintains a continuous flow of potential and primary buyers in a predictable quantity. You develop relationships with these customers who become repeat customers and purchase at predictable intervals. So, by looking at your performance today, you can accurately predict what it will look like in three, four months, or whatever time it takes. Your company's growth is concrete and predictable year after year because you are moving forward and your competitors are moving backward. While they are sending emails to clients, you are hosting webinars, using social media, Web 2.0 technologies and LinkedIn - things that were unheard of a few years ago. While they are trying in vain to attract customers with traditional advertising, you team up with groups of like-minded people who advertise your product to their members, and so on.

Year after year, your profits don't just increase incrementally—they grow exponentially. You achieve this result by using the little-exploited potential of business development, which can multiply your sales volume and profit margin. For example, the Costco company3, having studied its indicators, came to the conclusion that selling memberships brings in more profit than selling the products themselves in stores! Now they are developing advertising and marketing moves to ensure that customers regularly shop at their stores, thus maintaining the reputation of the membership. And the television show “Who Will Lose More”4 organized its own online club, for membership in which those losing weight are also required to pay an annual fee.

A network of “club” warehouse stores of the Costco Homesale company, selling discounted goods at small wholesale prices. To make purchases, a “membership” is required, that is, a certain entry fee is paid.

“The Biggest Loser” is a television reality show broadcast in more than 90 countries and filmed in 25 countries (USA, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, etc.). It's about overweight people trying to lose weight for a cash prize.

You clearly understand the entire list of problems that exist in your business, and you know that they are all surmountable. In fact, in the vast majority of cases the situation can be improved. You have learned to see potential sources of increased profit and know how to make the most of them. For example, you discovered that one category of customers is ten times more likely to make a purchase than other categories, and with the right approach, they will buy from you seventeen times more than the average customer. Or - your advertising no longer works, but you know how to organize another one - for free. If you notice that consumers are spending less, you can develop an alternative offer they can't refuse. And if corporate events and exhibitions no longer bring you a sufficient flow of clients, then you will find new channel sales, unknown to any of the competitors. Like Wayne Gretzky6, you "know in advance where the puck will end up."

You know what the “message” of your competitors is, what their advantages and differences are in the market, and you will be able to surpass them in all these indicators or successfully position yourself in contrast to them. You've figured out why some consumers choose to buy from your competitors rather than from you, and you know how to change that.

You are aware of alternative types of goods and services that your potential customers can purchase instead of those that you offer them. The list of such alternatives may include simply inaction (remember the man at the cinema). However, you can prove that the client is making the wisest decision when choosing you. You know how to create motivation and lead the client to purchase. You don't just passively possess information or theoretical knowledge about your market, but you can also profit by using it in your relationships with potential and existing clients.

Every action you take is focused on development. Every step, every investment and contact with a buyer or market is focused on the growth of your English. leverage - lever action Canadian hockey player, center forward. One of the most famous athletes of the 20th century.

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org business. Let's take the example of Kevin Trudeau, the author of the famous series of books about methods of memory training and treatment of various diseases. And in addition, they are masters of information advertising. Do you want to know the secret of his success? Trudeau first runs the ad, and only then sets the prices: first he finds out how many request calls were received for every thousand viewers who watched the ad, and then determines pricing policy, extracting maximum profit. Brilliant approach! Most people only assume that they know what a product or service will cost in the market, while Trudeau takes the unexpected—and very convincing—step of studying the market from the inside and listening to what it says.

These are just a few steps you can take to get your business off the ground, and there are many more waiting for you in the pages of my book.

Once you learn how to tap into the secret wealth that lurks in the depths of a crisis economy, you will be back on the path to unprecedented success. And I’ll tell you how to achieve this in my book!

And finally, you are probably asking yourself one more question - why should you listen to me and believe me?

My answer may seem bold to you, but the facts speak for themselves: I have increased the wealth of my clients by seven billion dollars - and this data is documented! I have twelve and a half thousand success stories to my name. About three thousand authors and experts quote me in their publications. My approach has nothing to do with “new-fangled trends”; I am not a self-proclaimed “guru” promoting an ideological theory without evidence. On the contrary - I have led more companies in different industries and countries, start-ups and manufacturing giants, to success than anyone on this planet - even in times of crisis. I've helped countless people whose despair has been replaced by dizzying possibilities, and now I want to help you too.

I'm not asking you to pay $25,000 to attend my seminar. I'm not asking you to hire me for six-figure fees or a percentage of profits. I

– – –

I just want to help you achieve the best for your business, finances, life and yourself.

This is a lifelong journey. So let's hit the road!

Chapter 1 Is your business at a dead end?

Would you like me to share some amazing statistics with you? According to the results of my research, 95% of companies, representatives of small and medium-sized businesses, including those that have just entered the market, do not achieve their goals.

A monstrous figure, isn't it?

There are a huge number of failure stories. Why is this happening?

Because most companies do not have a clear plan based on four critical aspects: product, market, migration and marketing.

Many companies do not have a clear, concrete idea of what direction their business should take. And their owners simply cannot realistically assess their current prospects. They don’t ask themselves: “What if...”, but it is with these words that the story of stunning success often begins!

Plus, they don't have a book on "How to Get Your Business Unstuck." But you have it: great news for a start!

My approach will help you “break2 out of this rut. By applying my strategy to your company, you will annually develop a comprehensive, detailed development plan for the next 12 months. This plan will be broken down by product, market, marketing, customer, month, and in some cases even by week. You will develop strategies that are ready to be implemented here and now. You will track and evaluate the results of each new strategy at least twice a month, and perhaps more often. This way, if you notice deviations from the intended course, you can actively and quickly respond, rather than sit back and wait for the situation to get out of control.

You will learn how to achieve best results. You will learn what to do and learn how to implement the strategies and tactics you have personally developed.

You'll maximize the profitability of your business by replacing non-revenue-generating activities with new concepts that you can try right now.

If the current result exceeds your forecasts, then you will begin to develop the corresponding area in depth. If, on the other hand, performance turns out to be lower than expected, you can make adjustments to your actions, adapt your strategy, or find new approaches. This book will help you take the steps necessary to plan your business reality.

What does it feel like to be stuck? You are tense... Confused... Frustrated... Days pass, but nothing happens. You spend an unimaginable amount of time trying to sort out accounting reports, employee payroll, and other unpleasant procedures. Feeling as if you are hanging over an abyss, clinging to the rock with your nails. Would you like to do effective activities, bringing maximum returns, but you are not sure what steps you should take to avoid mistakes. Perhaps you already have some ideas, but you don't know where to start or how to implement them. And even if you know this, every day brings new problems that require your immediate attention, so that you have virtually no energy left for strategic projects that can take you to the next level, “pull” your mind out of the “swamp”, in which he found himself. Income has dried up. Advertising doesn't sell. Potential clients remain the same. Profits are falling. A grim picture... "Grow or Die!" - this aphorism applies to everything. Especially when we're talking about about the vitality of business, relationships and the human mind. Business must constantly evolve. You can’t be satisfied with just “staying afloat” - you need to set yourself up for prosperity. On the pages of this book I will show you what to do first, what to do next, and what to do after that, and also

– how, where and why it should be done. This way you won't feel like you're stuck again with a bunch of "general ideas" that don't line up into a concrete plan or action.

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org You've often heard that the main investment in most people's lives is a home. In fact, 80% of your waking hours are invested and dedicated to your business. You should also put your feelings there. This is where your passion should be directed. Here your property and your well-being should be created and intelligently increased. However, most entrepreneurs don't see it that way.

By investing energy, time and money into your business, you create not just income, but real wealth. Why? Because you can sell your business at a price 5-15 times higher than the profit received - depending on the area in which you work. It's impossible to imagine anything more cost-effective! Plus, you will be free from the stress you live under and your family will love you even more!

I believe that you not only deserve the maximum return from your business - now and in the future: you should expect it - in both practical and intangible senses. Prosperity, ever-growing income, absolute confidence, high asset values - you deserve all this and other perks of success. Of course, here we are talking about material well-being, but along with it you will receive satisfaction, lack of stress, self-realization, the opportunity to lead the desired lifestyle and maintain contact with loved ones.

One of the reasons why business people can get stuck is because they lack passion for what they do and for whom they do it. Whether they have lost that enthusiasm over time or whether it never existed at all, they all focus their attention on the wrong things most of the time. They stopped following the game they were playing, and perhaps they never even knew the rules. They feel powerless to change their business or life. Igniting that passion and keeping it burning is the path to success! And I'll show you how to do it.

When times get tough, most choose the worst option: cutting costs at the expense of human and intellectual resources, which are the main assets in most companies today. This is their mistake. There are no more powerful tools in business Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org than the energy, passion, intelligence, connections and entrepreneurial spirit of those around you at work. After reading this book to the end, you will see (Chapter 10) that the principle based on the phrase “I can do it myself!” works only for your six-year-old child, but is completely unsuitable for the “dead-end” business environment of the twenty-first century.

Paradoxically, the more people feel that they are not moving, the more afraid they are of losing the status quo and changing course, despite the dubious quality and declining performance of such policies.

However, there is no better time to try to change your attitude and business principles than during an economic crisis.

You can, without risk, traditional way, try a new approach to sales, marketing or advertising, and then find that the next one is 20% more effective. But you shouldn’t stop there either – the third strategy can improve your results by 40%!

We could stop, but why? If your industry declines by 30%, you're already winning... But that's no reason to stop! You are bucking the general downward trend in the industry. You start earning more - so why rest on your laurels? I have seen how changing a strategy increased business profitability by 21 times - that's a whopping 2100%! And yet, most companies that are lucky enough to rise to the next level of success find themselves stuck again because they are content with only the result of the first step towards development. They believe that “better” is already enough, but “better” is never enough! If you continue to invest the same amount of effort and time into your business, with the same level of opportunity cost, the same potential customer walking through your door could generate 333% more profit. So what's the point of being content with only 33%?!

This is where the very increase in efficiency that I spoke about earlier begins. Even in times of crisis, when competitors close the doors of their companies, you can thrive. You will continue to grow, despite the gloomy forecasts of financial analysts. Sounds good? If you liked it, read on.

– – –

Nine “stumbling blocks” on the path to success I wrote this book to help you get your business out of a dead end. And so that you can more clearly and clearly imagine the essence of my thought, I have identified nine main obstacles on this path - let's call them “stumbling blocks.”

Thus, I have outlined the main areas in which business usually comes to a standstill - regardless of the global economic situation, and I have devoted a separate chapter to each of these nine areas. Step by step I will show you the most common mistakes, traps and misconceptions that each of these “stones” has in store for us. And most importantly, I will offer you specific solutions that you can use in your business today to achieve the desired and even enviable level of development of your business that you deserve. And also - I will teach you how to benefit from the negative environment in which business finds itself today. I'll show you how to implement everything you've learned.

So let's take a look at these nine stumbling blocks. This is just a brief overview, but read about specific ideas and solutions in the following chapters.

You are at a dead end because you are losing to your competitors.

If competitors are more successful than you, this does not mean that they offer a better product or service. They may simply be taking a more effective approach to self-positioning, marketing and sales. It could also mean that your approach isn't working.

All of these areas constantly require innovation, but most companies fail to consistently move forward in marketing, strategy, innovation and management. None of this is possible unless you have a clear picture and understanding of what is happening in your company today in each of these categories. As a result, we get what we defined in famous phrase Peter Drucker: “If business owners do not constantly work to outgrow themselves, they can rest assured that their competitors will.” However, business innovation is surprisingly easy!

So, in the second chapter of this book, we'll look at what innovation in business is and learn how many wonderful ways to implement it are available to you. We'll discuss the difference between optimization and innovation and show how few companies actually employ truly innovative strategies. When performance indicators suddenly begin to rise or, on the contrary, fall, business owners typically choose one of two actions: they either do what they were doing before more intensively, or they do it less intensively. In any case, their activities are tied to the same direction - instead of choosing something else: better, more effective, profitable, productive, rational and priority.

How to make a breakthrough? How to take controlled risks? How to look outside your industry for innovations that can be applied to your business? By answering these questions, you will get out of the impasse you find yourself in because you are losing to your competitors. After reading the first chapter, you will already be on the path of movement and development, prosperity and leadership.

You've reached a dead end because you're not selling enough.

How to turn the situation in your favor and make you sell more, more often, to more clients; in a word - how to complete more transactions - easier and faster? In the third chapter, I will introduce you to the Indiana Jones School of Business - you will see for yourself why I call it that. You will learn everything about how to turn the game from one where there is no chance of winning to one where only you know how to win constantly, easily and with endless pleasure - both from the process itself and from the final results that you are sure to you will reach.

There are many business elements that you can interchange. First, we'll talk about how to change your approach to sales, which involves training your entire sales force in consultative selling techniques. Then we'll take a look at your advertising, which is likely Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org dry, tactical (rather than strategic), and ineffective. We'll take a closer look at how seemingly small changes (like ad headlines) can bring an avalanche of new customers to your door.

We will also look at how your company is doing with its online presence, the importance of which can hardly be overestimated in the modern world, firmly entangled in the World Wide Web. Do you have a website? Does it attract the customers you want? If not, it's time to change all that!

There are many more areas in your business where changes can be incredibly beneficial and effective - for example, the way you use tools, or what your company's main "message" is. We'll look at each of these aspects and talk about how innovation can help you forget about scarcity and money.

By the time you finish Chapter 3 and complete my Indiana Jones School of Business, you'll be a master of anticipatory selling, unique selling proposition, one-up strategy, and consultative selling—and with these tools, you'll be confident that your business will never fail. at a standstill due to insufficient sales volume. Turn the game in your favor, change your sales strategy and tactics! And do you know what will happen? Your results will change too. And very quickly!

You've been stymied by unsustainable business volume

A business has unstable, unpredictable volume indicators when it lacks strategic, systematic and analytical organization. In Chapter Four, I'll share with you the concept of creating a successful "migration strategy" that will help you deepen and "broaden" your relationships with customers and those who recommend your company and its product to others.

So, let's define the terms. The migration strategy involves choosing the best target audience of potential customers in terms of quality and quantity, attracting their interest in your product, including them in the lists of regular customers, creating an offer that they cannot refuse,

and direct sale. Thus, you “relocate” them inside your sales system, moving “upward”. You should start by creating a comprehensive system for establishing relationships with customers and/or visitors to your company. This includes: telephone, website, product/service catalog, technical support, provision of information upon request and all other channels through which customers reach you.

This system may include free samples, low-cost products, additional information materials, free consultation or assistance, and other ways to establish relationships. Not only will you be able to understand who your most promising clients are and how to communicate with them, but you will also see how you can “promote” them from “just watching”

(potential buyers) to making a small purchase at first (initial buyers) and, finally, making a large purchase on a regular basis (“customers for life”). I will share with you strategies that have been successfully applied in the companies I have advised - many of them have increased profits 15 times in just a year and a half! This happens more often than you think, and often the best environment for such change is an economic downturn. I achieve these results not because I have unique abilities, but because most business owners rarely use the resources of their company and its employees to the maximum.

You are stuck because you lack the right strategy.

If you kept a diary of all your business activities during the month, you would probably find that 80% of these activities were completely unproductive and unstrategic. Most entrepreneurs do not pay enough attention to strategizing, managing and growing the company through increased productivity. They micromanage and leave macro management to the side. They just keep wasting time, money and human resources- the same way they always did it - and get the same - far from brilliant - results. They try to deal with the daily hotspots of problems tactically, by putting everything Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org into working harder and harder for the business - rather than making the business work for them.

In the fifth chapter of my book, I will help you “get” from an unattainable height this fashionable word “strategy”, which is on everyone’s lips today, but which most entrepreneurs do not really understand or apply. I will explain to you the difference between the concepts of “strategy” and “tactics”, “efficiency” and “effectiveness”, I will tell you about the real time management of a business person and about the “theory of the most effective use" I'll show you how you can honestly, quickly, and dramatically increase your performance by leveraging the 3-5 most significant activities that earn you money in your company. We will divide these tasks into 5-6 sub-processes and evaluate them in terms of skill, passion and relevance to the success of your business - today and in the future.

You are at a dead end because expenses are eating up all your profits.

How can costs “eat up” the profit of a business in a state of stagnation?

First, most companies do not track what percentage of return they are getting from their marketing investments, because if they did, they would certainly conclude that their current marketing strategy is simply a waste of money. Second, when times get tough, these companies are more likely to decide to cut back on sales and marketing costs when these are the areas that need more investment—provided the companies know how to make those investments worthwhile.

And third, management needs to adjust its valuation boundaries from the overall perspective of any operation - because if the business is going down, they simply cannot act. In this case, you need to switch to “priority” marketing, as I call it. Most companies have no idea what motivates their primary or potential customers, so the costs are either too high or too low.

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org When the economy slows down and businesses experience stagnation or decline, most entrepreneurs and managers invest more and more money in marketing without assessing the return on their current marketing investments. If you are not getting the maximum, then you are getting the minimum. One thing is obvious: if you continue to do the same thing with double persistence that did not work in good times, then you will definitely not survive the crisis! In Chapter 6 of my book, I'll teach you how to analyze every action you take with a fundamental question: “If I invest one dollar, what return will I get? And what profit can I expect in the future? Whatever you do, evaluate it in terms of investment or profit, not just expenses.

How can you shorten the process of planning and operating your company (company objectives in the short, medium and long term) to ensure not only the development, but also the viability of your business? How to get out of the “trap” of price competition, which is a scourge for companies such as chains of enterprises - fast food, for example? How to learn to use trade margins that Ritz-Carlton or Tiffany can afford? How to get larger companies as allies, use the range of other enterprises, create access to products and technologies without time and financial costs, gain a foothold in new and international markets, reduce research and development costs to zero? I will answer all these key questions in chapter six.

You've reached a dead end because you're still using ineffective methods.

Some entrepreneurs, business owners and managers are very afraid of losing the status quo. Most of them, regardless of the industry of business, have a very predictable tendency to do business in terms of generating income identical to the rest of the representatives of the same field. But everything should be different.

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org If you do the same thing as everyone else, you won't be able to stand out from the competition. You will lose your status and become consumer goods. In Chapter Seven, we'll talk about how to stop using ineffective methods and clinging to the status quo, and develop the habit of testing, researching, and evaluating more effective methods, approaches, and strategies. With my help, you will be prepared to take a step forward using innovative, effective solutions. It is a driving force in other industries. It’s just that yours may not have used it yet.

You're stuck because the market is crowding out your business.

The starting point for success is your own vision of yourself and your business, your image in your own eyes. If you see your product as a consumer item, a commodity or service, without a brand, no different from others, that is what it will turn out to be in reality: such prophecies always come true. You will do the same things as everyone else: set the same prices, sell, advertise, communicate with customers - just like everyone else. But it's like signing your own death warrant.

If you sell the same product, at the same price, and in the same way as your competitors, then you need to create additional value, otherwise the market will displace your business. Offer the client bonuses, new benefits, Better conditions and guarantees, accessible and effective technical support.

You need to stand out, make your product, your company and your business model unique, turning them into an extremely sought-after value - recommend, advise, advise, support! By doing this, you will stand out from the rest in a favorable light and distinguish yourself from companies that produce consumer goods.

In Chapter Eight, I'll show you the importance of anticipating market movements, outperforming the competition, and owning the market. Every person, including potential clients and customers - and, of course, all business people - needs to constantly feel special. And the business must also be unique

– – –

market, otherwise it will simply be swept away, forced out, turned into faceless consumer goods. One of the components of our task is to show your clients that they are special, that they are valued and respected. And I will teach you how to do it.

You've been led into a dead end by mediocre marketing.

Most entrepreneurs don't realize that what separates a mediocre business from a multimillion-dollar one is effective marketing rather than any other component. In Chapter Nine I'll show you what happens when you learn to use huge potential marketing that can increase the profitability of your business exponentially. I define “marketing” simply: it is any action whose goal is to convince the market that your company can solve consumer problems, fill gaps, meet expectations, realize opportunities and goals - in a way that no one else can do. At the same time, your consumers and potential buyers may never have even formulated these problems for themselves. But if your business can find a truly effective way to let them know about your capabilities, rapid growth provided for you.

Marketing is the foundation of almost any reputable business in any industry. Therefore, you must become a better marketer. The good news for you is that great marketers are not born - they are made.

Despite all the complexity promoted by many authors and so-called experts, rational, effective and highly profitable marketing is a surprisingly simple and logical process.

If you want to fly to the skies and let me help you, we will definitely get there! In Chapter Nine, I'll teach you how to achieve the ultimate "visual acuity" and laser-like precision in your marketing to take you to unprecedented heights. Our goal is not just to help you understand, but also to take action.

“I myself!” – these words are appropriate if they come from the mouth of a child who wants to tie his shoelaces, fasten his seat belt or throw a ball into the basket.

Children need to be encouraged to learn to take care of themselves. But when it comes to the business world, the phrase: “I can do it myself!” will bring you much more headaches than success. In Chapter Ten, I'll show you how to unlock vast new prospects for prosperity and success - for you and your business by abandoning that childish "self-confidence mantra." This illusion seriously limits your capabilities, knowledge, skills and income. You may feel like you can't afford to delegate - in fact, you can't afford to do everything yourself.

What can you achieve by working with others that you couldn't achieve on your own? At its core, entrepreneurship is the art of effectively using people, skills, assets, capital and effort. In Chapter Ten, I'll teach you how to make the most of the talents of your people so that your combined efforts can eclipse any success you've ever achieved alone, no matter how extraordinary your abilities. I'll show you how to organize your own advisory board—what Napoleon Hill called a “mastermind group.” I will teach you how to benefit from EA (“other people’s efforts”), HI (“other people’s ideas”), CNZ (“other people’s skills and knowledge”), and CRO (“other people’s resources and relationships”). And as a result, you will receive more black money - other people's money!

Take a step today to break the deadlock tomorrow

What does it mean to break the deadlock? What does it feel like when your path to success is free of all nine “stumbling blocks” that plagued your business, which are the focus of my book?

To answer this question, think about the most joyful moment of your life - a wedding, the birth of a child, a winning goal that you brought to your university team... You can experience no less excitement and joy Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org every working day . It sounds too promising, but let me explain why I take the liberty of saying this.

Firstly, your destiny will be completely in your hands. You will not be afraid of either the economic downturn or competitors. On the contrary, it will add to your enthusiasm, because difficult times are another reason to leave your competitors far behind. You will know exactly what awaits you tomorrow. Your business will work harder for you than you do for it. Strategically structured activities will generate new sources of income for you, new potential clients and customers, turning them into a systematic, continuous process.

Wherever possible, your operations will be organized into a system that generates thousands of the most active referrals, the most profitable deals and the most profitable clients. Finally, your business will become a valuable asset that everyone will want to own because it combines organized systems and processes with predictability, profitability and sustainability.

The classic model of the twentieth-century entrepreneur was the self-made man. However, success in the twenty-first century business environment requires the ability to interact creatively with others.

No one can know or be able to do absolutely everything. No one can ever completely piece together the puzzle of success alone. To continue to cultivate this idea is to be selfish for three reasons.

First, if you have a great product, service, or company, you have earned the right to participate in your market, and your success will be a byproduct of working in it. Secondly, no matter whether you are an entrepreneur or a manager, your family expects your business and career to bring you maximum satisfaction, minimum stress and become a source of ever-increasing value - for you and your loved ones. And thirdly, it is your duty to your employees, investors and shareholders to make your business the most profitable, stable and desirable choice in the minds of the consumer.

Breaking the deadlock means choosing the fastest and easiest path to change to achieve new victories. It will inspire you, expand the horizons of your capabilities... and your financial achievements!

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org It's the confidence you'll gain through a systematic approach that continually attracts new people, prospects, or customers—depending on your business model—and converts them from first-time buyers to repeat, repeat, and repeat customers. all life. This means that your company has a systematic, effective process that allows you to continuously improve your business model and increase revenue. This means that your enthusiasm for work increases exponentially. You achieve maximum productivity and collaboration in everything you do—now and in the future.

You only take a strategic approach. You know exactly what the cause-and-effect relationships are, the amount of costs and the expected results of each operation performed. You are insured against risks, because you have several sources of income. You have built an unusually strong building with a strong, unshakable foundation. You are always one step ahead of your competitors, which means you stand out and dominate against their background. You are the only viable choice for the consumer in your market segment. You better than anyone understand and clearly articulate the needs, hopes, expectations and problems of the market and offer a clear solution that customers will appreciate and want only from you. You are in complete control of everything you do and where you go. You have a specific plan of action that you strictly follow and which can be adjusted as necessary. And you also have an “exit strategy” - be it selling the business, transferring things to employees, or any other decision.

Uncertainty gave way to absolute confidence, confusion to dizzying joy.

Remember the Tin Woodman from The Wizard of Oz?

A little oil, used wisely, and he's ready to hit the Yellow Brick Road! He didn't have to go back to the workshop to start pursuing his dream: all he needed was a few drops of oil in the right place!

This is exactly what my book is about: it will show you where to go, how to develop and how to get maximum pleasure and profit from the business to which you have already devoted so much time, attention and care.

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org Each chapter will give you dozens of ideas on how to get unstuck, and I can confidently say that the concepts I share with you can be of great value to your business. And at the end of each chapter, in addition to a summary summarizing its key ideas, I will give you one specific step you can take RIGHT NOW.

Ready to break the deadlock? Then - let's go!

– – –

It makes no sense to deny: our world is cruel. And the world of business is no exception:

on the contrary, its laws are even more bestial. How to get to the top? How to make your product or service the best?

Peter Drucker is, in my opinion, the greatest business theorist of the twentieth century

– once said: “Marketing and innovation produce results, everything else is costs.” I would add another profitable aspect to this statement: strategies.

However, despite the fact that marketing, innovation and strategy “crown”

Any business venture, most entrepreneurs and company owners fail to generate a continuous stream of breakthroughs in these key areas. Ultimately, if they don't outdo themselves, their competitors undoubtedly do.

If you're losing to your competitors, it's time to make a change. In this chapter, you will learn how to accelerate your business so much that your competitors will only be left staring at you in bewilderment. All it takes is a little innovation and a killer strategy. That is, a different approach. Let's look at all this with an example.

A few years ago, two of my friends came up with the same idea at the same time, but they approached its implementation in completely different ways: one from the standpoint of short-sighted tactics, the other strategically, with a long-term orientation.

The first, Tom, was a talented copywriter who saw the potential of the then unexplored market for artificial diamonds (cubic zirconia). After spending $30,000, he ran a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times announcing the opening of his company, Beverly Hills Diamond, and its flagship product, a one-carat, $39 man-made diamond. Tom's cleverly crafted ad attracted customers who spent a total of $42,000, which, after deducting all expenses, brought Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org a net profit of $3,000. Accustomed to immediately receiving a more substantial income, Tom considered the business not profitable enough and retreated.

My second friend, Larry, did not master the art of words, but, unlike Tom, he was an excellent strategist (and this is a stronger trump card!). Larry went into the same market armed with a strategy to sell the same product, but the result was completely different. His ad was less cleverly crafted and brought in only $28,000 for Van Pliss & Tissany (Larry's challenge to Van Cleef & Arpels and Tiffany, which were not yet brands). Since the ad cost $30,000, Larry initially lost $2,000, excluding overhead costs.

However, Larry did not even think about being upset, but instead moved on to the next stage of his strategy. While Tom used ordinary cardboard boxes for packaging, Larry sent his “diamonds” in an elaborate jewelry case, which was in turn placed in a velvet bag - which cost him a fair amount on top of what he had already spent on advertising.

Larry enclosed the following letter with the “diamond”:

Thank you for purchasing our one carat gemstone. Upon opening the exquisite case, you will immediately appreciate its magnificent shine - our stones are even more beautiful in real life than in the picture.

You may find the stone a little smaller than you expected, but that is the nature of our diamonds. To achieve this amazing shine, our stone must be very dense, which is why it appears 25 percent smaller than most people expect. However, appreciating the amazing beauty of our diamonds, many customers purchase stones of five or ten carats from us in order to place them in a frame to get a beautiful piece of jewelry. Since we often encounter such requests, we have already made settings for our best stones - 5 and 10 carats. In the attached catalog you will find rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets with stones of 14-18 carats. And most importantly, thanks to the fact that we make these jewelry ourselves and in large quantities, their prices are 50 percent lower than what you would have to pay in a regular jewelry store.

We are pleased to offer you the opportunity to purchase our jewelry: we include prepaid packaging and a delivery form, and also provide you with a double credit. In addition, any purchase made from us does not impose any obligations on you for a period of thirty days from the date you receive the jewelry. If you not

– – –

If you hear enthusiastic comments from family and friends or find the same product at a lower price, you can return the stone and setting to us - without explanation.

What ended up being the difference between Tom's tactics and Larry's?

Having earned 3 thousand dollars, Tom immediately abandoned the business. Larry's strategy first brought him a $2,000 loss, and then a net profit of $25 million in just the first year of the company's existence.

That's the difference!

If you have a killer strategy and a fiery approach, you are guaranteed explosive success.

OPTIMIZATION VS INNOVATION: WHAT YOU NEED TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

As strange as it may sound, a huge percentage of entrepreneurs and business owners are more like Tom than Larry. Most of them have never seriously considered whether the approach they take to business is the best and most profitable approach available.

Why did Larry manage to earn 25 million, and Tom only made a couple thousand?

The answer is simple: Larry's innovation strategy allowed him to stand out from his competitors. As Larry developed his approach to marketing and selling his man-made diamonds, he thought much beyond the jewelry case.

The words “innovation” and “optimization” are on everyone’s lips today, but many still confuse these completely different concepts. Optimization - bringing an existing process to optimal performance in order to generate maximum profit with minimal investment. It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about time, risks or capital. To optimize your business, you first need to learn how all the processes involved in generating profit function. If the process does not work, it needs to be replaced or improved. If it works, you need to maximize its performance. This is the essence of optimization: to raise Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org the performance of a working system to the Nth power, and to correct or replace a non-working one.

Innovation, on the contrary, is not characterized by organization and predictability.

Every company must constantly improve, take controlled risks, and look for new ideas outside of its industry. With the right approach, innovation is a bold and exciting process, and the result is a whole world of possibilities at your feet. I'll teach you how to turn innovation into more than just a buzzword or vague desire.

Optimization and innovation are equally necessary to achieve success, but it is important to take turns. Let's take a moment to look at Jay Abraham's "primer course." If you invite me to work for your business, first of all, I will divide all my actions into two stages: optimization and then innovation. And here's how I'll do it.

In the first stage (optimization), I would work on increasing the productivity of your business's current processes; not because they are paragons of efficiency, but because you don't want to risk your business looking for more efficient alternatives. Every profit-generating process must be optimized. Having achieved a stable result, you can move on to the next stage - the introduction of innovations.

This is where we will need the additional income generated as a result of the first stage (optimization) - we will direct it to research new approaches in order to replace or supplement less effective ones. When you innovate, you essentially outgrow yourself.

The concepts of “innovation” and “optimization” are based on completely different principles. However, using them together, you can take your business to a whole new level.

WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T: HOW TO FIND OUT

As I noted in the first chapter, when a business veers off course (to a greater or lesser extent), companies tend to take one of two paths: continue to operate in the old ways - with more or less

– – –

efficiency. One way or another, all their actions are tied to the previous approach instead of choosing a different one (or a combination of several). This is where innovation comes into play.

The key to success involves understanding the following:

What you do can be done differently.

If you try something new, always compare it with previous results to identify a more effective approach.

If you find a better approach, apply it; if not, move on!

Over the past thirty years, I have been fortunate to observe those who have achieved success - through periods of crisis and prosperity - in a variety of industries.

Only those who provided their company with a quantitative, qualitative and continuous maximum of innovative ideas have always been at the top - be it in the field of marketing, strategy development, innovation or management. There are no exceptions to this rule.

I have dedicated my life to finding the most effective and safe ways to increase the productivity and efficiency of business processes - what I call "good leverage." Leverage, like cholesterol, can be “bad” and “good”. “Bad” cholesterol clogs blood vessels and is deadly, while “good” cholesterol can neutralize it.

In turn, bad leverage led to the collapse of the mortgage industry, which is collapsing before our eyes as I write this book. Another example of "bad"

Leverage - when a company invests in an asset. These may be equipment or employees, as well as other overhead costs that involve strict long-term commitments. The company invests without being sure that the return will at least exceed the costs, let alone the profit.

It's quite risky. Of course, if everything works, you are in no danger.

However, otherwise... I'm afraid you may end up with nothing.

I don't engage in "dangerous" leverage. Yes, I offer new approaches that multiply your results, but I always work with a safety net - wide and reliable, able to withstand any fall and reduce

– – –

the risk is almost zero. I offer innovations that give instant results. Innovation is worthless unless it brings better, more tangible benefits to the market, and it's best if you're the only one delivering those benefits.

THE POWER OF MARKETING: DON'T UNDERESTIMATE IT

So what innovative strategies can help us make leverage “good”? And how can this “good leverage” be used to leave behind all competitors in the market? The answer will be told to you by the word “market” itself – in English “marketplace”. Of course, we are talking about marketing.

Most SMBs don't do any marketing at all. And those who do this choose the most traditional methods, which, in fact, is a euphemism for the word “ineffective.” Such companies do not track performance and do not strive to improve marketing variables that could increase results exponentially. (Marketing variables are the factors that determine the strength of performance fluctuations.) Typically, they are not even aware that marketing has such capabilities. It's like buying a Jaguar with twelve cylinders and discovering that only six of them are working: you can drive it, but if you clean the others and lightly oil them, the power will double - much more efficiently and at lower cost!

Changing marketing strategy, you change your results. Even small changes can help. I know of cases where small changes in an advertisement are simply paraphrases commercial offer or eliminating risks realized by the client at the transaction stage increased profits by 21 percent. For example, instead of saying, “Buy my product,” I changed my client’s ad copy to, “Buy my product now because...”. The result is an increase in sales by 30-40 percent, and most importantly - instantly!

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org This is just one way to use marketing. I know of cases where sales quadrupled when a company changed its means of communicating with the market. And changing one word on an exhibition poster tripled traffic and quadrupled the quality of visitors, that is, the final profitability of potential clients. And one single action aimed at maintaining communication with the client can correct the situation after an unsuccessful sales offer and bring back 35 percent of clients. I've also known of cases where sales to former clients increased by 50 percent as a result of follow-up calls. Conclusion: by changing your marketing, you change its results!

Most small and medium-sized businesses have no idea how many “leverage points” they have at their disposal. In any company, in each individual process involved in making a profit, there are many such tools. Let's say your company decides to advertise in the Yellow Pages. One of the “points of leverage” is a simple change in the body text (everything that comes after the ad title). In addition, you can change the location of the advertisement on the page (horizontally and vertically or from right to left). And finally, you can swap individual elements within the ad unit itself. We already have three “leverage points” in front of us - with their help, we earned additional points even before clients started calling the ad!

What you talk about with a customer can increase the likelihood of a purchase by as much as 75 percent!

– – –

yourself, your company and/or your product as a prominent character in the market - always head and shoulders above the competition. Think of them as “grain” to grind in your “mill.”

Fifteen Ways to Position Yourself, Your Product or Company as "Superior"

1. Whatever you do for a client, do it under the motto: “At your service.” Remember that you are a client’s “trusted advisor” for life!

2. Don't be afraid to talk about what your competitors aren't talking about. Every client should hear from you what others hid from him.

3. Feel free to praise your own achievements and show your value - but only in the context of the benefits they bring to the client.

Practice: you need to praise yourself modestly and tastefully, and most importantly, sincerely and without overacting.

4. Don't hide your shortcomings. Clients are people too, just like you.

By admitting that you are imperfect, you will appear “real” and honest in their eyes.

5. Make it a habit to view every customer contact as an investment in a long-term relationship with the market. This is not a one-time show - we are talking about a new worldview.

6. Identify your weaknesses and strengths and play to your strengths.

The task seems simple, but most people don’t do it - they work against themselves, trying to “disguise” their shortcomings. Leverage is out of the question here.

– – –

7. Keep your risk under control. At the same time, always point out to clients the unnoticed risks or dangers that your market conceals, and help reduce them to a minimum or completely eliminate them.

8. Make the most of research and other data at your disposal to support your claim, highlight an advantage, or demonstrate performance.

Summarize, compare, interpret and analyze information in a way that is accessible to customers and encourages them to make a purchase.

9. Challenge rigid thinking! Offer fresh perspectives, more effective strategies or a clear development plan - and the market will follow you!

10. Constantly work to increase the value of your brand - do more, take care of customers, be involved.

11. Organize alliances and advisory councils. (We'll talk more about developing mutually beneficial strategic relationships in Chapter 10.)

– as often as possible, but always to the point. You can get them from former customers, influential people in your region, and also by collecting reviews in the press.

13. Always hire the best! Pay them decently. But - only for the result.

14. No one will turn to the “invisible”. Make yourself, your product or company recognizable. Do it

– – –

effective. Talk to to the right people. The result must be worth the effort!

15. Learn to exude true success - long before you actually achieve it. After all, it's only a matter of time!

______________________________

These fifteen points will always remind you that change must be approached in detail. The all-encompassing, poetic meaning of the word “change” will not help us. You need real, concrete steps. So think about change, not change.

Another advantage of the changes is that they contribute to faster and more efficient business development. As an analogy, let's give the following example. Let's say you decide to increase the performance of your car by adding a turbocharger and changing the wheels, because you believe that this will add power to the car and, therefore, speed. In fact, the combination of these actions will increase productivity exponentially, because new tires and increased power will add up to even greater speed.

It is by improving several processes at the same time that I have been able to help many companies achieve fantastic results in a short period of time.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS MORE SUCCESSFUL: ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Looking at this list, you might exclaim: “Fifteen points?!”

So many...Where should I start? In practice, even if you complete only three or two, or even one of them, you will already be several steps ahead of the competition. Why? Because most of them don't know how to ask the right questions.

They constantly ask themselves the wrong question: “Am I worthy of doing what I do?” And this, in turn, gives rise to a whole series of even more complex questions, for example:

Will I be able to keep this business afloat?

Will I be able to compete with such large competitors?

Will I be able to earn enough money to provide myself with a decent retirement, pay for my children’s education and be able to take a two-week vacation every year?

Will I be able to make this business truly profitable?

Instead of asking if you are worthy of this business, ask yourself if it is worthy of you.

I will give you the answer to the first question right now: “Without a doubt, you are worthy.” So start acting accordingly!

Once you realize that your time and effort can give you so much more, you will see that your business is a veritable cornucopia. So why not put everything you have into it?

For starters, this is marketing. Marketing will allow you to achieve results that are much better than those who cling to their status quo. Just don’t consider marketing an expense: marketing is always an investment. With the help of a competent marketing strategy, you can increase business profitability by as much as two hundred percent - annually. And by increasing profits, you increase the value of the business at least five times more.

To achieve this, always repeat the following mantra:

“New strategy – better result.”

Unfortunately, most small and medium-sized businesses have no strategy at all. Their approach can rather be called tactical, but not strategic. With difficulty closing another month, they

– – –

They flip through the calendar and start the next day with the hope of somehow surviving it. They are as short-sighted as Tom in the story I told you at the beginning of this chapter. They are able to see only what is happening here and now, and therefore miss all promising opportunities.

As an entrepreneur, you simply need a long-term strategy that will ensure that everything in your business flows together - from finding potential customers to closing the deal and selling again, again and again. All your actions should be aimed at developing, maintaining and improving this strategy. Success will not come to you if you say, “I should earn more this week.” Success can only be achieved by developing a long-term strategy and following it relentlessly.

Let's say if you are a dentist, your strategy might look like this: “We will find potential customers in the dental industry and guide them down a path that increases repeat sales and therefore revenue. Then we organize the process of attracting clients based on recommendations - thoughtful and systematic. We know exactly how to move forward and will control our every step. Everything we do is aimed at delivering ever-increasing results.” This is what it means to think strategically!

Most people don't realize how important strategy is. Stephen Covey, in his best-selling book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, said, “You need to start with the end in mind.” Working without a strategy is like starting to build a house with no idea how many bathrooms it will have or where the kitchen will be located. You mindlessly knock together boards in the hope that the end result will be a tolerable home. But this is how many companies operate - day after day. Let's look at another real-life example.

Many years ago, one of my clients was a brokerage firm that traded gold and silver. The owners approached the matter only tactically: they attracted clients, sold them something and began to look for new ones. I helped them get rid of this “static” thinking, replacing it with a master strategy.

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org The first step was to find the most attractive potential clients using the most effective and least expensive methods. We included them in the process of gradually becoming acquainted with our product, after which we offered to make the first investment of a modest size - on the most attractive and safest terms.

We cared about the comfort of our clients and informed them about this, inviting them to cooperate with us.

This creates trust.

We would then lead them to a second deal - higher volume and higher quality - and this was the next step in developing a long-term relationship. Our strategy was to start with gold and then move into silver, rare coins, gold stocks and other items of interest to collectors and investors. We used a systematic approach. We didn't try to "grab everything at once and run away." Our first step was intended to begin the ethical development of consistent, long-term relationships.

The second part of this stage was working on the newsletter. We offered to attend investment seminars. This happened at a time when buying Krugerrands was not yet illegal, and minters were swimming in money. We took advantage of this opportunity and made the most of it: the Krugerrand manufacturer paid us 100 percent of our advertising costs in the Wall Street Journal and the cost of sending out a million promotional letters. At the same time, we launched as many as twenty processes - each of them was an unconventional method of effectively influencing the most attractive category of buyers.

Having started to implement this strategy, we only moved forward by leaps and bounds. While our closest competitor was making $50 million, our profit was $500 million. Thanks to our strategy, we won this race - by a tenfold advantage!

EXCELLENCE STRATEGY: YOU WILL BE NOTICED

Do you seriously believe that Dr. Phil8 is the best, most qualified psychologist in America? He may not be the best, but he definitely earns more than anyone else - 20, 50 and even 100 times more than all his colleagues combined. However, the difference between the average local psychiatrist and Dr. Phil is not Dr. Phil McGraw - a popular American psychologist, host of the television show "Dr. Phil", which first aired in 2002.

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org knowledge and recommendations. The difference is in the ability to position oneself, skillful branding and the desire to make a statement. In other words, it’s a matter of “visibility” in the market.

There are literally thousands of business people who were once “nobodies” in the market, but managed to stand out from the competition and are now enjoying success that they could not even dream of before. And now - good news for you: “competitive excellence” can be learned!

An important part of beating your competitors is implementing a superior strategy that will significantly increase the value of your business in the eyes of your target audience. You must stand out and stand above the rest, creating an aura of excellence that decisively differentiates your brand from your run-of-the-mill competitors. However, superiority should not be confused with arrogance. Take a look at the most successful consultants in any field. They, as a rule, are the most highly paid and in demand precisely because they inspire much more respect.

Let's take my example as an example. own business. I position myself as a reputable marketing consultant whose performance is several orders of magnitude higher than that of the average person in the industry. This perception on the part of clients is partly due to the psychological aspect, so I maintain this image by differentiating my behavior and building relationships with clients from the competition. I control my relationships with clients, and this control becomes possible because I know exactly what goal I am leading them to.

Most people are unable to control their relationships with clients and therefore are forced to only react.

The first thing you must do is learn to see your own business as the most reliable, respected and valuable source in the market. Your perception and image instantly transforms your relationships with clients. From this day forward, you must evaluate yourself, conduct business and interact with clients in such a way that you become their only trusted partner and expert in your industry, a true market “connoisseur”.

The main thing is that you yourself must believe that you are working for the benefit of others, and that the goal of your business is to provide clients (including potential ones)

higher level of service than any competitor. Sure, you get paid for it (a reward for your efforts), but it's nothing compared to the quality of service you offer to the customer - the core element of your business. Your goal is not to get rich! Your goal is to make your client's life or business richer, provide him with security and satisfaction so that he can fully realize himself - at work or in life.

My colleague, world-renowned sales training expert Chet Holmes, has developed an ingenious and incredibly effective method for “creating excellence.” Simply indicate to the consumer what the selection criteria should be when purchasing a product or service in your industry. And then make sure that your company's product fully (or even more than) satisfies these criteria.

Many famous brands have used this tactic. Let's remember "23 tastes"

– advertising campaign"Dr. Pepper." Have you ever wondered how many ingredients there are in soda until Dr. Pepper told you that the original taste of their drink is the result of a mixture of twenty-three different flavors?

Would you refuse to drink a drink with only one flavor? I think no. In fact, many soda manufacturers also use dozens of flavors in their recipes, but releasing advertising and packaging that said “23 flavors” implied that this technology was completely inaccessible to competitors.

Only the drink "Dr. Pepper" satisfied the criterion of the most original method of preparation - by definition, "Dr. Pepper".

If for some reason you cannot be the only company that meets certain criteria, then be the first to tell the market about those criteria and your compliance with them - before your competitors do. Promote what you do, how and why, and explain how it will benefit the customer. The essence of superior marketing is to present the business process (from the moment the idea is born to the delivery of the product to the consumer) in a new, radically different plane from competitors, even if the process is actually the same. If you can be the first to openly define, describe, and inspire respect for the process, your business will immediately gain trust. Everyone else will look like just your clones, and you

– – –

gain the advantage of ownership and the status of "superiority". Let's look at another example.

Many years ago I imagined luxury store women's clothing and shoes, whose annual profits amounted to several million dollars. A pair of stilettos cost $500, and to justify the price tag, the buyer had to show the buyer how these particular shoes were different from all the others. We explained that the manufacturer must study in detail more than a hundred types of leather before finding the right one for each pair. Special dyes cost five times more than regular dyes. And thanks to the silk threads used in production, the shoes become simply dazzling - and ten times more expensive!

In fact, this is how all expensive shoes are made. The only difference was that only we discovered and explained this secret process to the buyer, thanks to which we were singled out and chosen - because in the eyes of the client we were “superior” to everyone else.

But I went even further. I talked about how buyers choose goods for our stores. I reported that they travel almost a million kilometers every year, flying to Europe, Asia and North America (especially Chicago and New York). They climb 10,000 steps, interview and carefully evaluate 80,000 suppliers - all in order to select just 112 completely unique models that will end up in our stores.

The numbers were impressive, although almost every clothing store does the same. But we stood out by outperforming and outpacing our competitors because no one had ever shared this kind of information with a client.

We've only touched the tip of the iceberg of competitive advantage, so we'll look at this strategy in detail in Chapter Eight. In the meantime, brainstorm to find The best way positioning your company as a superior source of goods or services in your industry.

Believe me, you won't regret it!

DON'T BE A SHEEP IN THE Flock

Most entrepreneurs behave like a herd of sheep. They run the business using whatever methods they have seen in their industry - and not at all

– – –

because they are optimal - it's just all they know. As an example, I offer you this story.

Several years ago I had a client who was selling software and his company was losing heavily to the competition. The competitor company had a more competent sales force, but the programs themselves contained a huge number of errors. However, despite this, they got all the clients. So, the first company contacted me, explaining the essence of the problem. “We know that our programs are better,” the owners were perplexed, “but we are clearly doing something wrong. What do we need to change?

This is my favorite question. As soon as you are internally ready to change something, the doors to a world of endless possibilities will open before you. I helped this company develop a long-term strategy in which we offered a full refund to anyone who purchased inferior software from competitors. We offered this loan in exchange for the purchase of our product and even paid extra when recalculating prices.

The reaction of consumers was not long in coming: people understood that we were counting on long-term cooperation. As a result, the company managed to regain its position in the market, while competitors were left wondering what happened.

In a “harsh” market economy, it is more important than ever to be able to defend yourself. You can't afford to lose customers to competitors. Here's the good news: everything you need to re-conquer competitive advantage, - be creative in finding new approaches (remember Larry, who packaged his artificial diamonds in a luxurious velvet bag and included an elaborate letter with them). Of course, when things are already going well, it is not so easy to start inventing alternative methods.

This is precisely why I argue that there is a ray of light in the dark realm of today's crisis: this is a great opportunity to start thinking differently.

It may be hard to believe, but over the course of recent years I have been fortunate to work with clients from 465 different industries - both directly and as a consultant; during this time I interacted in one way or another and Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org communicated with more than half a million audience of businessmen; I have contributed to the success of over 300 leading businesses and increased the wealth of over a thousand individual clients. Throughout my career, I have always closely monitored every project and kept in touch with every client - and I was able to learn something from each one. What this all means is that in my entire life, I have seen more business strategies implemented—both incredibly successful and desperately unsuccessful—than anyone living on this planet.

Unfortunately, many business owners have spent most of their working lives “cocooned” under the glass bell of their own industry, having no idea of the wealth of powerful, effective ideas swirling around them in the economy. I want to be more than just a sip for you fresh air, but rather - a powerful stream of cleansing clarification!

Probably everything you did before was, at best, unprofitable, and at worst, unprofitable. So change it! Separate yourself from the herd, otherwise you won't get far. Optimize work processes and improve non-work ones. Innovate, experiment. Develop a long-term strategy. Love marketing – sincerely and passionately. And don’t forget: your business deserves it! Seize the moment!

It's time for me to introduce you to a little-known business guru - Indiana Jones.

_______________________

Summary Marketing, innovation and strategy produce results, everything else is cost.

The first stage is optimization, or the search for the most effective and rational option: raising the performance of a working system to the Nth power, and fixing or replacing a non-working one.

Stage two is innovation: creating innovations, taking controlled risks and looking for new ideas outside the industry.

Think about change, not change.

ask if she is worthy of you.

View your business as the most trusted, respected and valuable source in the market: you work for the benefit of others, and the purpose of your business is to provide customers with a higher level of service than any of your competitors.

______________________

Change the strategy - the result will change!

Do it now: Choose one of “fifteen ways to position yourself, your product or your company as “superior” – and try it now!

– – –

Chapter 3 Are you at a dead end because you don’t sell enough?

Remember the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark? Everyone who watched it will no doubt remember this scene.

Our hero, Jones, runs through an Egyptian bazaar, trying to hide from a whole crowd of creepy guys in turbans. Indiana turns into an alley and finds himself at a dead end, where a two-meter giant is waiting for him, waving two huge Moroccan sabers. For a moment, the viewer freezes in horror, thinking that Indiana is finished.

But then Indy pulls out a gun and shoots the big man.

This is what we call “changing the game”!

This is exactly what you have to do if you find yourself stuck due to low sales. Welcome to Indiana Jones School of Business! In this chapter, I will teach you how to use a pistol - instead of desperately fighting with two-meter bruisers waving sabers.

Of course, in a figurative sense. IN real life When faced with aggressive idiots, you yourself must be able to stand up for yourself.

The Indy maneuver is exactly what you should use in business. Remember: the course of the game can be changed in an instant. Most find themselves at a dead end because they do not know how to effectively sell their products or services. Meanwhile, there are a huge number of ways to effectively sell! Depending on what you sell (product or service), to whom and how - evaluate whether your method is the most effective and efficient for informing the market about your product, motivating the consumer and convincing him to buy from you (now and in the future). If you want to sell more, it's time to play change.

Or rather, in changes.

While your competitors are fighting each other with swords, you can destroy them all with a few basic changes in key aspects that are characteristic of any business in the twenty-first century.

Who would have thought that an archeology professor and adventurer could teach us a thing or two about business too?

– – –

CHANGE YOUR APPROACH TO SALES

Let's start with the most obvious: If you're stuck because you're not selling enough, your sales staff needs to change their approach. It doesn't matter whether you sell software or lumber, or run a marketing firm or a staffing agency, the sales force's job is to sell your product or service (and do it well!).

Most companies use a standard sales team organization model. The team can work in or out of the office, over the phone or in person;

You may even be using outside personnel such as distributors, manufacturers, and sales representatives.

If your company has salespeople (and you probably do), the first thing you need to do is train them in consultative selling skills. In most companies, salesperson training is limited to familiarization with the territory and product catalog. Let me tell you: teaching is something else.

With consultative selling, you can take your product or service sales to the next level—and beyond. With this approach, the focus is on customer needs and the ability of your product or service to not only satisfy those needs, but also provide customers with greater value than nominal cost bought by them. Now the task of salespeople is not just to sell a product, regardless of whether the client needs it or not - using this dynamic approach, they act as consultants, first identifying the client's needs and only then offering a solution. In the eyes of buyers, your company will immediately stand out from its competitors - because now you become their most reliable advisor.

Consultative selling has as much in common with old school methods as day has in common with night. Just by changing your approach, you can triple, quadruple, or even quintuple your sales. Regardless of your sales staff's form of work and compensation (face-to-face contact with customers in the store or cold calling, salary or commission), your first step should be to train salespeople in consultative selling skills.

Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org But we shouldn’t stop there. All other employees who have contact with clients in one way or another must also have consultative sales skills. This group includes: secretary, service personnel, support staff, accounts receivable department - you can continue the list yourself. The bottom line is that they are all strategically important “voices” in the “chorus” of your business, determining its positioning and superiority in the eyes of the consumer.

You might think that the cost of training a sales force would be a drain on your pocket, but—and all my clients have been surprised by this fact—the cost is actually quite small. In fact, they are much smaller than the average increase in profits that can be achieved with a new sales approach within the first month or two of its implementation. As a rule, the cost of training does not exceed a few hundred, or at most a few thousand, dollars, but this one-time investment can bring you hundreds of thousands - and even millions - of dollars in profit.

Remember: your salespeople are the first in the line of attack. Running a company without sales and customer-facing employees trained in consultative selling skills is like running an airline where the pilots have never looked at the aircraft's manual.

Many people are afraid to “approach” sales, believing that it is a kind of art, something incomprehensible, a talent that a person either possesses or does not. Fortunately for us, this opinion is wrong. Consultative selling is a science.

Everyone can master it and apply it in practice. In addition, the basis of this sales method is a feeling inherent in every person from birth: empathy.

Despite the fact that I have seen the “cosmic” success of consultative sales more than once in every industry imaginable, I do not consider myself an expert in this matter. Therefore, let me paraphrase my advice good friend- one of the most brilliant sales theorists - Andy Miller. When Andy was 27, he acquired a Dutch company dealing software, made a million-dollar company out of it, and then sold it. He served on the advisory boards of four different corporations, which opened the door for Miller to universities in the United States that teach sales, a subject that did not exist at all just 15 years ago.

His appearance in the university program led to the need scientific research in the field of sales, thanks to which we are now beginning to understand what is true and what is a myth. Having access to all of these studies, Andy developed his approach at the appropriate level. If you are serious about learning his system and follow the simple instructions, you will very quickly realize that the concept of consultative selling is a completely new “game”, significantly different from the old one (and much more effective).

The consultative selling method can be used in any industry, in any country. Wherever you are, it will always be appropriate.

However, depending on the culture of the country, two aspects will still vary:

the process of building relationships with clients;

decision making process.

In some cultures, business is a micro-dictatorship, where power is concentrated in the hands of the leader; in others, the owner works for subordinates.

One way or another, the consultative selling method can be applied to any environment in which your company exists.

First, let's take a look at the marketing strategy you're currently using. The marketing approach is a critical element of a business's philosophy, especially if it is stymied by low sales. Is your marketing focused on attracting consumers (pull marketing) or promoting a product/service on the market (push marketing)? Whatever approach you use, marketing always involves one-many interactions. One company with one goal and one need interacts with many different needs - usually countless consumers forming an audience.

Selling, on the contrary, always involves one-on-one contact. The salesperson's job is to translate the overall marketing message into a specific message Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org intended for one buyer. Do you use so-called “drip marketing” by determining target audience and gradually creating a trusting relationship with her, or “inundating” potential clients with information for some time (but not constantly) - “wave marketing” - with the help of consultative selling, these efforts will bear fruit in the form of successfully completed transactions. This is the only approach that will allow you to shorten your sales cycle, increase your deal closing rate, and eliminate discounting, which will ultimately translate into increased profits and profitability.

During the purchasing process, your customers go through four stages:

1. Recognize that they have a need.

2. Decide what to do with it (at the same time, your main competitor is the status quo - that is, inaction).

3. Evaluate alternatives.

4. Choose a seller.

If another company acts as a client, this sequence will look slightly different:

1. The potential client contacts a trusted source.

2. Makes inquiries among friends.

3. Associates with recognized brands.

4. Compares offers from different sellers.

Whatever path your customers take, you need to navigate it well. You have to know it inside and out. Once you understand what the buying process consists of, you'll need to align your sales cycle with your client's buying cycle. If you can't determine what stage the buyer is in, your next move will disrupt the rhythm - and that's the beginning of disaster. Let me illustrate my point with an example.

A former client of mine was very successful in selling training courses, sending out thousands of catalogs every month. Potential clients, having familiarized themselves with the catalog, called

– – –

company and received competent advice from sellers - competent and completely inappropriate.

Customers were already ready to make a purchase and did not need advice. All they needed was to get some questions answered and enroll in the course.

When we excluded sellers from the process and began simply completing transactions with calling clients, sales tripled. Thus, the sellers turned out to be an extra link.

In other words, in order to understand the purchasing process, you need to understand what motivates customers to take practical steps in this direction. Do they have a compelling case for change? Are the reasons for this pain, fear, pleasure? Our brains are literally programmed so that the desire to avoid pain is 100 times stronger than the desire for pleasure. This means the pain of “selling” is easier. However, if your business involves security, legal services or insurance, it is obvious that the main motivating factor for the buyer will be fear.

On the other hand, pleasure can be considered as a dream, a visual image in the mind of the buyer. Many people tend to fantasize and strive to be surrounded by modern things and processes. This is also a motivation to buy. A salesperson who knows his business must be able to recognize the client’s desires. (Remember: people buy for their own reasons, not yours.)

Have you ever dealt with a company that obviously has a problem and wondered why they don't try to solve it? Often companies simply avoid their problems. Here's an example: how often do you do something when you cut yourself with a sharp edge of paper or get a small scratch? Almost never. If you have a second degree burn, you will probably use ice or aloe vera. But if you break your leg or arm, you will immediately go to the first aid center medical care. How many people do you think study advertising? medical institutions in the yellow pages before going to the emergency room? Almost no one – pain forces us to act.

A person will do anything to solve a problem of this kind.

Whether it's a broken leg or a failed corporate merger, you must be clear that pain, fear, or pleasure (in that order) Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org motivates people to action, and the magnitude of the action is directly proportional to the strength of these emotions. Remember in biology lessons they showed us how an amoeba swims up to sugar but stays away from vinegar? This principle even works at the cellular level.

The essence of sales is in relationships, which means that the one who can create the most trusting relationship with the client will get the deal. People buy from those they trust and who are close to them in spirit. In fact, this model works to your advantage because it makes it easy to determine who is really in the mood to buy and who is just shopping around looking for free information about products and market conditions. If buyers are serious, they will be happy to trust you. And if they are just asking the price, they will never talk about their problems and wishes, keeping you at a respectful distance.

I learned this from my grandfather, who raised sheep and pigs. Sheep give birth once a year and sometimes give birth to twins. When this happens, the mother chooses one lamb and discards the other. Grandfather fed these lambs and always gave them names: one of them was called Yagni. When Yagni grew up and the time came to send him to slaughter, his grandfather simply could not part with him. If sales are built on relationships, and your buyer is an honest, decent person who knows you by name, you have a chance. Otherwise, you will go to the slaughterhouse - you just don’t know about it yet.

There are many negative stereotypes about salespeople - and they need to get rid of them. If you get sick and go to the doctor, you are unlikely to play charades with him and let him guess what is wrong with you. On the contrary, you will expect your doctor to ask specific questions that will help him identify your symptoms and give you an accurate diagnosis. And only then will you decide what he suggests you agree to do in order to be cured.

This is the essence of consultative selling: to help buyers get what they need, to promote “recovery.” I always imagine myself as a “doctor” and try to help my clients, “patients”. However, if the salesperson's bland mannerisms make the customer mistrustful, he will not be able to obtain the information he needs to help the customer and offer best solution Problems. Consider the following example.

She was hoping to get advice from us on how to “match” a major competitor that was threatening to drive her company out of business. There was a lot at stake for both sides: without our help, this business most likely would have died for a long time, but if we had helped it get out, the company would have received large clients who were courted by a competitor, and we would have received appropriate compensation.

Then I took the initiative into my own hands and asked the following question: “Could you first tell me about your business and what you know about your competitor?”

My interlocutor hesitated. She in general outline outlined the situation, but made it clear that she did not want to go into details. I asked a few more similar questions: “What do you know about the service your competitor offers? What marketing techniques have you observed from him? What is your own approach to marketing?

But I again received evasive answers. Then I began to understand that my interlocutor did not want to communicate key information because she was afraid of losing control of the relationship by showing me all her cards. I could not offer any solution without having a complete understanding of the problem. Then I said: “I understand your doubts, but I cannot help your business if I do not understand its essence. You are not risking anything, but we must understand whether I can be useful to you or not.”

These simple words calmed the client, and she opened up to us. Her problem turned out to be within our area of competence, and we concluded a contract that was beneficial for both parties.

But, just like a doctor who cannot make an accurate diagnosis without complete information about the patient, we, business doctors, must have the courage to ask clients “difficult” questions:

“What is really happening to you?”, “Where does it hurt?”, “How can I help you?”

The seller must know the client’s real history, otherwise misunderstandings will occur, you will make an incorrect “diagnosis”, rush to prescribe the wrong “medicine” and make a “medical error”. If clients seek referrals without giving you all the facts, they are depriving themselves of Copyright © Jay Abraham www.abrahamschool.org the opportunity to get the most out of their transaction with you. They will not be able to get a suitable solution for their specific problem and will remain unsatisfied.

Consultative selling has three components: presentation, definition and closing (the order may vary). Let me show you how combining these components can be infinitely more effective than any other sales approach.

Let's say we have three companies:

Company number one: trading cycle - four months, deal closing rate - 90%.

Company number two: trading cycle - eight months, deal closing rate - 60%.

Company number three: trading cycle - fourteen months, deal closing rate - 2%.

What is the secret of the first company that the other two do not know about?

Company number 1 takes an approach that can be described as “Quid Pro Quo.” Using the consultative selling method, they first determine the parameters of the deal. What problem needs to be solved with this purchase? What is the client trying to achieve? Having found this out, sellers resort to a preliminary deal, securing the client’s consent to purchase their company’s product or service if they can provide everything that was agreed upon at the previous stage. And finally, the company offers the client a solution by presenting its product or service.

Meanwhile, company number two takes the traditional approach, proceeding in this order: identify, present and close the deal. And this reduces efficiency.

Well, the third company generally uses very unreliable tactics:

presentation, determination and conclusion of the transaction.

The consultative selling method allows you to make the value of a product or service exceptional for the client. Otherwise, you simply won’t be able to differentiate your product from everything else that exists on the market.

– – –

market. Your only argument will be the price, and you will be forced to offer discounts. And this is much more dangerous than you can imagine.

This example of three hypothetical companies demonstrates the clear benefits of the Quid Pro Quo model—for both you and your clients. It is also perfect for large enterprises– most professional buyers prefer this method, because it eliminates haggling and discounts and saves your time.

To use this approach successfully, there are several things to consider. Firstly, we should never forget that, in essence, we are talking about an effective sales process, which cannot be one-size-fits-all.

The goal is not to strictly follow the instructions, but to successfully close the deal. In addition, if necessary, you must be able to “retreat.” And don't be afraid to ask difficult questions. However, be prepared for the fact that clients will likely take time to give you an answer. Although silence is depressing for most people, in this case it can be very useful.

Using the Quid Pro Quo approach, you will gain a better understanding of human personality types. The duration of the process will vary - depending on individual characteristics client - and therefore it is important for you to be able to adapt to them. The questions you ask should also be based on the client's personality type.

Don’t forget about this “platinum” rule:

Treat others the way they want to be treated.

Always seek the truth of your client's needs, even if you don't like their answer. And if you don't meet the client's expectations, be prepared to admit it. This is a matter of ethics: your responsibility is to honestly communicate to the client about your capabilities or lack thereof, and most importantly, to be honest with yourself.

Now let's summarize all of the above about consultative selling into simple, effective theses.

______________________________

– – –

Things to remember when engaging in consultative selling:

You are a professional helper, not a salesperson.

Act like a doctor: gain the client's trust by demonstrating confidence in your abilities, making an accurate "diagnosis" and prescribing "treatment" - without hesitation or fear of rejection.

The focus should be on the customer, not on your sequence of actions.

There is nothing wrong with the fact that the deal may not take place.

Insist on honest and open conversation. Both you and your clients need to make their positions clear.

Communicate with the client as equals.

Play fair or quit the game.

Do not enter into unprofitable or unfair deals.

Project website, partner in Russia Jay Abraham School of Business Growth

Distance training for owners, business managers and entrepreneurs

How to increase company profits
Total optimization of the sales funnel. Jay Abraham system

“Profit-oriented business owners receive
better results than owners focused only on sales growth"

From the SOBO 2013 report by the consulting company EMyth

In any business, with all the variety of techniques and tactics, there is only

3 ways to grow your business

More clients;

More profit per sale;

More frequent sales.

And 3 key processes in business:

Attracting potential clients (Lead Generation)

Conversion from potential buyer in real (Lead Conversion)

Customer support and repeat sales

If you combine these 2 approaches, you get 5 main tasks for business growth

How to attract more potential clients
Convert potential client in real
Increase total amount one sale
Increase profits on sales
Increase sales frequency

AND 2 additional questions

How to reduce customer churn

Total sales funnel optimization program.
Jay Abraham system
provides practical, proven solutions to these key issues

The results of participants in Jay Abraham School programs in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus confirm the effectiveness of the program in practice.

Is doubling your sales important to you? Increase in the number of new clients? Loyalty to your company of those with whom you have already had the opportunity to work? I think that if you are a business owner, then the answer, a priori, will be unambiguous.

My path to this program was not directive; through books, links and videos, I became acquainted with the author and, after gaining confidence and understanding that it could be truly useful, I decided to participate in the program.

The course provides a huge amount of interesting and important information, techniques and solutions... but most likely there will be no golden key to the secret door. Everything will be extremely useful and effective only after you pass this volume through the sieve of your situations and adjust and work on it to suit your business processes, personally... Nikolay S. business owner

The program consists of 5 main modules.

1. A complete overview of the sales funnel and the LifeTime Value concept

LifeTime Value Concept

Leverage system or optimization practice

Which gives faster and more reliable business and profit growth

Marketing and business metrics as the basis for managed growth

2. How to attract more potential clients

Ideal Client Profile

Detachment from competitors and positioning

Unique selling proposition. How to formulate, how to implement

Partnerships and marketing alliances

3. How to turn a potential client into a real one

Educational and proactive marketing

Chet Holmes' 2-Step Selling Model

The 20/80 principle and migration strategy

Risk reversal principle

Gambit solutions based on LifeTime Value

4. How to increase the sale amount and profit on sale

Cross-sell and Up-Sell

DownSell

Packaging and special promotions

Practical examples and tools

5. How to increase the frequency of purchases

A simple trick that increases the likelihood of subsequent sales

Building relationships with the client. Strategy of Excellence

Repeat sales. Front-end - BackEnd

Additionally:

5. How to build dynamic marketing funnels on the Internet

5 pillars of systematic Internet marketing

8 Key Stages of Customer Engagement

Workshop on creating magnet hooks for clients on the website

1 Week. Complete sales funnel optimization. Review of methods.

Additional materials:

One Page Marketing Action Plan Template.
D. Abraham “9 drivers of business growth”
D. Abraham “Strategy of Superiority. Step by step"
D. Abraham “Strategy of Superiority. Latest edition"
D. Abraham, Paul Lemberg “The Main Question of Strategy”
Jay Abraham's checklist for developing a new strategy
Building a tree of strategies and tactics
Sales funnel calculation template

Week 2. How to attract more potential clients

Recording of the lesson + Lesson slides

Additional materials:

Forms for systematic work by partners
Jay's 8 questions for developing a USP
45+1 benefits from partnership – Jay Abraham
10 Rules for Powerful Positioning. Michael Fortin
How to attract referrals. Jay Abraham
93 systems for attracting clients based on recommendations. Jay Abraham
Exercise “Ideal Client Profile.” Sample
How to Use Headings - Jay Abraham
100 legendary titles. Modeling collection
Jay's interview with Tony Robbinson "The 6 Needs and Product Success"

Week 3 How to turn a visitor into a buyer. (Conversion)

Recording of the lesson + Lesson slides

Additional materials

Optimization Principle – Jay Abraham
Drayton Bird's sales text checklist
PADI Sales Presentation Structure Example
Sales text structure

Week 4 Increase in the amount of one sale and profit per sale

Recording of the lesson + Lesson slides

Applications

Price Elasticity of Demand
Example of a proposal from the magazine "General Director"

Week 5 Increased purchase frequency and customer retention

Recording of the lesson + Lesson slides

Applications.

Three reasons for customer departure and three return strategies. Jay Abraham
10 steps to using CRM. Drayton Bird

BONUSES 1.

Methodology and annual program (52 lessons) of weekly trainings
employees

BONUS 2.
Webinar “Hidden assets of any business. Non-obvious financial indicators that you will not see in financial statements"

BONUS 3. Webinar "How to find strong creative solutions in business and life. Jay Abraham's 7 steps" with exercises

What's included in the program	Base	Standard	Result
6 lesson recordings and slides
Additional materials for each lesson:
templates, tools, additional materials

Annual program for weekly mini-trainings in the company
(52 tasks for each week)

Chet Holmes Exercise Workbook

Participation in the Just Marketing Club	1 month	3 months	6 months

5 hour consultations on the program		✔	49 000	75 000

How the program will work

If you choose option 1, you will immediately receive all materials
for independent passage. Support and answers to questions
by email.

If you choose the 2nd or 3rd option, we will agree on it individually
Skype meeting schedule. And you receive all materials immediately.

Unobvious advantages

If your company has deputies and other managers, then everyone can
participate in the program.

One of the program participants, a business owner, wrote: “I used the materials from the 1st lesson several times to plan for the month and quarter. After the 2nd lesson, I loaded the marketing department for the month...”

In another company, a project group was created from department heads. They all took part in the program.

After 6 months after completing the program, answer the question:
- Do you use program materials?
received the answer:
- Yes, we actively use it!

Leading Golovin Pavel, partner of the Jay Abraham School in Russia

- practical experience in applying Jay Abraham's marketing concepts

Conducted training webinars for the School of Managers of magazines General and Commercial Director, users of the Internet accounting "My Business", members of the Jay Abraham Insider Club

Practical personal experience since 1992 in various business areas

06 Oct

How two simple marketing concepts can dramatically increase your profits

The Icy Hot Company manufactured and mail-ordered a pain-relieving balm for arthritis patients.

The retail cost of each jar of balm was $3.
Production and logistics costs were $0.48.
The average profit margin on the sale of goods is 50%.

Jay Abraham analyzed the customer base of this company and noticed that 35% of customers became regular customers, making an average of 6 purchases per year. That is, every third buyer spent $18 during the year.

And every first and every second customer brought $3 a year, buying one jar of balm.

Two Simple Marketing Concepts

The first marketing concept that Jay Abraham used is called customer lifetime value. To use it, you definitely need to know how much money the client will bring during his cooperation with you. How many times will he buy your products and for what amount.

The second concept concerns increasing sales through an affiliate network or creation of strategic alliances with other entrepreneurs. As a result, you get sharp results at virtually no cost.

Combining these two concepts of customer lifetime value and skyrocketing sales through an affiliate network is the framework that Jay Abraham applied to this situation.

Jay Abraham's Icy Hot Solution

1. Leave 100% of the cost of the goods to the seller.
2. + pay an additional $0.45 for each sale, which will ultimately amount to 115% commission.
3. In addition, Jay Abraham approached 1,000 radio stations, television companies and other media with an offer to sell the balm during unsold advertising times and receive 115% of the cost of the product from each sale.

The result of implementing marketing solutions

First of all, let's talk about the company's losses from the sale of each bottle of balm:

$0.48 (production costs + logistics) + $0.45 (additional payment to the seller) = $0.93

However, the affiliate program brought more than 1,000,000 new customers to Icy Hot! Of these, 350,000 bought $60 worth of goods in the first year (the same 35% of regular customers).

The company's annual turnover increased by 350,000 x $60 = $21,000,000.
With costs (paid over time) of $0.93 x 1,000,000 = $930,000
50% – profit = $10,500,000.

But that's not all!

The company was approached by distributors (themselves!), who formed a network with an annual sales volume of $4 million.

Even if we discard the saved money and talk only about “net” profit, we get $12.5 million.

Options for implementing marketing concepts

Many of you will probably say: “This is all good, of course, but my product is only bought once!” Let's consider a variant of this scheme for a product that the client buys only once in his life.

Marketing scheme for products that are sold once

The first option is suitable if you have two goods: one is cheap and the other is expensive. For example, product #1 costs $20, and for ease of calculation, let’s take the profit as 50% = $10. Product #2 costs $500, with the same 50% profit = $250.

Let's say that you analyzed your customer base and realized that 20% of those who bought product #1 also bought (at the same time or subsequently) product #2. That is, for every 1000 buyers of product #1, there are 200 purchases of product #2.

Let's say you gave product #1 to sell to an affiliate and paid him 100% commission. At the same time, sales of product #1 increased 4 times. What will you lose:

$10 (cost of product #1) x 4000 = $40,000.

However, having received the data of these clients and continuing to work with them, you can sell them product #2 (according to the conditions, 20% of clients will buy it).

$250 (profit from product #2) x 800 = $200,000.

$200,000 – $40,000 = $160,000 in additional profit!

Marketing scheme for one inexpensive product

If you only have one inexpensive product that is purchased once in a lifetime, you can also apply a similar marketing scheme.

After analyzing your customer base, find out what part of your customers also buy more expensive goods from a certain company N.

1. Enter into a partnership agreement with company N to sell a more expensive product on a commission basis.
2. Offer your product for sale to partner companies with a 100% commission.

What does this give?

3. As in the cases discussed above, you will make a profit from the sale of a more expensive product to company N. And due to more high level commissions, you not only do not lose, but also win.

A variation of this option is if you pay not 100% commission for your product, but 50% or less.

Alexander G. Busler Category: Marketing Updated: 2015-10-11

Alexander G. Busler

Entrepreneur, strategic marketing expert.
“Formally, I am engaged in consulting and personal coaching of executives. In reality, I help business owners achieve their desires and goals through the predictable and stable development of their business.”

Corporate trainings

we will train you in 18 hours

B2B sales expert

Skills training that will change your ideas about negotiations and communications in business

we will train you in 16 hours

B2C sales expert

A deep dive into professional sales to clients in trading floor

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function wp_related_posts() in /home/prozdoro/site/www/wp-content/themes/carrington-blog/single/single-default..php(205): include() #1 /home /prozdoro/site/www/wp-content/themes/carrington-blog/carrington-core/templates..php(22): cfct_single() #3 /home/prozdoro/site/www/wp-includes/template-loader .php(74): include("/home/prozdoro/....php(19): require_once("/home/prozdoro/....php(17): require("/home/prozdoro/.. .") #6 (main) thrown in /home/prozdoro/site/www/wp-content/themes/carrington-blog/single/single-default.php on line 78

home » Useful » According to marketing consultant Jay Abrahams. Jay Abraham. Getting everything you can, regardless of what you already have. A deep dive into professional sales to customers on the sales floor