Category: New Business Development

On one of my publisher loops,
an author wrote
asking for help.
He hasn’t been ‘inspired’ lately.

One of the best answers
was given by… well…
one of the most successful authors.
(Imagine that)

She told him
“Suck it up, princess.”
She explained that he isn’t a hobby writer.
He is a professional writer
and professional writers write no matter what.
It is a job.
If we don’t show up,
we don’t get paid.

She pointed out that inspiration is flakey.
If he waits for inspiration,
he could be waiting for a while.
Discipline is what divides professionals from hobbyists.

Are you a hobby entrepreneur,
waiting for divine motivation
to make that sales call,
that marketing plan,
develop that product?

Or are you a professional entrepreneur,
doing what needs to be done
regardless of how inspired you feel?

In writing seminars,
we often talk about conflicting motivations.
A heroine may wish to be independent
yet want a family.
She wants to be safe
yet longs to be loved
(i.e. expose herself to pain).

One of the most common conflicts
romance writers draw upon
is the pull/push between safe and free.

The safest people in the world
are prisoners locked up in solitary confinement.
However, they are the least free.
We can’t have total safety AND total freedom.

As entrepreneurs, we know this.
Making our own decisions is scary.
We don’t have the safety
of precedence or authority figures.
We do have more freedom.
Some of us
have carved out so much freedom for ourselves,
we’re called rebels
(i.e. Richard Branson, Rebel Billionaire).

No one is totally free or totally safe.
We fall somewhere between the two states.
However, communication is easier
when we know which a partner/prospect/family member
values more.

I always start a story too soon.
To grab readers,
writers should start a story
in a place of high conflict.
I have to cut the first page or so
of what I’ve written
to start a story in the best place.

I also always have way more back story
than I need for a story.
I know what the character’s prom was like.
I know what an established couple’s courtship entailed.

This is information
that fans/readers may find interesting
but I can’t sell.

The editor of one of my publishers’ newsletters
is looking for material.
Well… duh… I have material.
So now I send her my extra story pieces.

Everything, including words,
can be used somewhere.
What are you wasting?

AMC is launching a new series.
Most tv series are launched in September.
This series is launching October 31st.

Why?

Because the series is
The Walking Dead,
a show about zombies.

AMC is leading up to the launch
with a collection of popular horror movies.
They’ve changed their tagline from
‘Story matters here.’
To
‘Gory matters here.’
Actors from their already established shows
like Mad Men and Breaking Bad
speak during commercial breaks
about why they love zombie movies.

The support behind the launch
of The Walking Dead
is a new product developer’s dream.

Are you putting that kind of support
behind YOUR product launch?

I have a buddy who is a conference junkie.
She enjoys sitting in seminar after seminar.
Her brain is crammed full of knowledge.

The thing is…
she never applies this knowledge.
She hops to the next seminar
and saves what she has learned for ‘later.’
Later hasn’t yet come.

I’m the opposite.
I don’t go to many conferences
because sitting in seminar after seminar
is too frustrating.
I need to apply my knowledge right away
or it doesn’t add value to my life.

Darren Hardy has a great post
on the difference between learning and improving.

“It’s not what you learn;
it’s what you DO with what you learn.
Doing has to follow learning.”

Getting honest critical feedback
can often be challenging.

Jim Collins, Author of Good To Great,
has a unique method.

Yes, he gets feedback
from a large circle of people
but…
“To make sure
they don’t hold back,
he refers to them
as his “critical readers,”
and types in large letters
atop the manuscript,
“Bad First Draft.”

“That gives them the freedom to say,
‘Jim already knows it’s bad,
so let me tell him how it’s bad,’ ”
he says.”

I did that when venturing into a new genre.
I gave my story to an ‘expert’ in the genre
and said
“This doesn’t work.
Can you tell me why it doesn’t work?”

She then openly discussed
why it didn’t work.
I learned.
I applied.
I got published.

If you want brutal but real criticism,
tell your critic the product sucks.

Regular readers of Clientk
know I think focus groups only have one purpose
and that is to make executives happy.

Turns out…
Steve Jobs shares my disgust
of focus groups.

“Asked why Apple doesn’t do focus groups,
Jobs responded:
“We figure out what we want.
You can’t go out and ask people
‘what’s the next big thing?’
There’s a great quote by Henry Ford.
He said,
“If I’d have asked my customers
what they wanted,
they would have told me
‘A faster horse.'””

If you truly know your prospect,
there is no reason to hold focus groups.

I’ve posted before
about the power of three.
Offering three products within
the same brand family.
Offering good, better, best options.

Drew’s Marketing Minute
reminds marketers
“They have proven scientifically
that in most cases
(I can’t find the study
or I would be more specific)
the consumer will opt for the middle choice.

Here’s how our brains see the options:

– The lowest choice seems bare-bones.
– The highest choice seems extravagant.
– But the middle choice…
now, that’s pragmatic.
Not too little and not too much.

If you want to earn more revenue
from your existing customers
— package their choices differently.
Be sure there is an actual value difference
(both in what they get
and what they pay)
in the tiers…
but then, give them 3 options.

And stock up on whatever is lucky #2!”

Seth Godin has a great post
on needs vs demand.

“Someone might know
that they need to be more concerned
about the world,
but what they demand
is another fake reality show.”

I usually refer to this
as stated needs vs real needs.
What people say they need
and what they really need
are two different things.

Why?
Because people want to be liked.
People want to say what is expected.
People want to fit in.
These are overriding needs.

I’ve attended plenty of focus groups,
on both sides
of the two-way mirror.
Participants are smart.
They figure out the company
paying them for the focus group
and then
they tend to moderate the comments
about that company.
They don’t want to be mean or impolite.

In the group,
they’ll say that GM cars are great
and everyone should drive them.
Then in the elevator,
they’ll tell me
that they wouldn’t be seen dead
in a GM car
and they’re pieces of crap.

Look to actions first,
if you can.
Actions rarely lie.
Weigh stated needs carefully.