The MOST Dangerous Number

As with most advice shared with you as a kid, rarely do you understand what it means until later in life…

One I heard more than a few times growing up was, “Don’t put all your eggs in ONE basket.”  

As a kid, my mother used this proverb when she’d see me spending time with only one or two of the same friends. 

Or when it came to college applications, and my decision to only apply to the University of Florida as a transfer student, (as that was my dream school). 

Thankfully I got in, but what devastation I would have felt (she realized this as well) if I wouldn’t have been accepted. Waiting another semester before applying to any school would have been my only option, as I had already decided not to return to Rochester Institute of Technology. 

After college, when I started in sales, my managers would heed this same warning when it came to clients. 

ONE is dangerous. 

If you’ve ever read anything by Dan Kennedy, or had the opportunity to hear him speak, you may have heard him say this: 

“The most dangerous number in business is one.” 

He couldn’t be more right. 

Think about only having one client, one supplier, one distributor, one salesperson, one product, one marketing strategy… 

Would your business survive if you were solely dependent on that one thing and suddenly it disappeared? 

As I started my own businesses, the danger of the number “one” always remained front and center in my mind, especially when it involved direct revenue streams (marketing and sales).

I want to focus on this particular area because contrary to what you might think, (and with all the emerging marketing channels and options available out there), business owners are just NOT diversifying their marketing. 

This absolutely mystifies me. 

I talk with business owners all the time and I’m shocked every time one of them tell me they rely solely on Facebook (for example) for all their lead generation initiatives and depend on one strategy to reach all their revenue goals.

Meanwhile, I’m thinking…

Don’t they realize what’s happening as far as iOS privacy changes? 

I wonder how much their conversion rates and CPL has increased, or if they are even aware…

How many more restrictions will it take before their “sure-fire” channel and strategy come crashing down? 

Don’t get me wrong…I kind of get it. 

It was absolutely thrilling to experience that home-run winning strategy or that killer breakthrough that single-handedly propelled my business forward… 

It was tempting to invest all my energy and money in that “one” sure-fire revenue generator. 

But I would always remember the danger of the number “one”. 

Never invest all of your energy, attention, or resources in just one thing or place… 

If it disappears you’ll be left with nothing. 

Let’s take a closer look at that “one” sure-fire strategy…

 There’s no reason to stop doing it. In fact, you’d be foolish not to continue running it. 

The smart play is to cover your bases and take advantage of the new opportunities right in front of you. 

The opportunity could be to start testing another strategy. Or channel. Or vehicle in addition to what you’re already doing.   

Back in the day when I started my first business, I didn’t have a lot of money to put towards marketing. 

But what I became very disciplined at, is continually re-investing a portion of that revenue earned from the strategies that were working into different channels until I found another one that worked. 

I’d continue to do this over and over again. I got to the point of running multiple “sure-fire” campaigns at once and always having one or two “tests” running simultaneously. 

When one stopped working as well, or stopped working altogether (and trust me, one will), I would put it on the back-burner and focus on the other channels and strategies that were working. 

Always be testing.

The key is to make sure that you are never left with just one strategy or channel that you are completely dependent on. This is how to set your business up for long-term growth.    

There’s actually a name for this approach…

Integrative Marketing or Multi-Channel Marketing.  

By diversifying your marketing and integrating multiple channels into your overall approach you’ll also:  

Reach more of your target audience.

You know as well as I do… Our prospects and ideal clients aren’t just in one place. When you expand your reach, you can attract more of your target audience. 

You’ll also re-engage prospects and clients that might also be on those various new channels you develop a presence on. 

Plus, when you utilize multiple channels, you get the added advantage of leveraging them to help boost the other. It’s a great way to coordinate efforts and cross-promote. 

The key to leveraging multiple channels successfully is to first ensure they are the right channels. 

Then make sure your message is congruent and consistent across the board. 

I’m sure you can imagine just how vital these two elements come into play when you start running ads across multiple channels and platforms. 

Not sure how your ad and traffic results measure up? 

Want expert guidance on how to optimize and maximize your ad spend?

Our team manages tens of millions of our client’s ad dollars every year. 

We perform a 30+ point inspection/audit process called an Ad Audit where we identify any and all gaps from the first touch point to the last.  

Many of our clients instantly cover this audit investment just from one or two improvements we uncover for them. 

To your success, 

David

Business Nitrogen

The Mind Reading Myth

One of the greatest challenges that we struggle with as Entrepreneurs (and something I’ve had to learn a few hard lessons from over the decades) is how to effectively transfer ideas over to my team. 

All too often we have these amazing ideas that we want to execute… 

Oftentimes these amazing ideas have absolutely nothing to do with the long-term goal and strategy…They are often short-sighted and simply satisfy a need in the short-term. 

We’re running a million miles a minute, juggling multiple priorities, and most times we simply throw out our ideas with the least amount of explanation or detail and assume our team has exactly what they need to execute what we envision in our mind.   

We also assume they know where it fits into the overall picture. 

They put all their effort into giving us exactly what we communicated that we wanted. 

And then we see it. 

Our reaction of “This is not what I asked for” immediately produces a look of bewilderment and disappointment upon their faces because the LAST thing they want to do is let us down… 

Them: They just poured their heart and soul into exactly what we communicated we wanted. 

You: You become frustrated, and end up doing it yourself or starting all over again.

Time and energy is wasted. 

Disappointment is felt by everyone. 

Projects aren’t completed on time.

Eventually, you find yourself with a revolving door of team members coming and going because they simply just stop engaging. 

Why? Because they start to feel an overwhelming frustration and sense of failure. 

Then comes utter defeat and they either leave or you let them go.

Here’s one of the biggest lessons I had to learn the hard way…

Your team does NOT know exactly what you are thinking unless you clearly communicate it.  

They are not psychics. 

They are not mind-readers. 

If you find yourself in this situation more than you care to admit, it's time to start looking at how YOU communicate. 

If you find yourself continuously disappointed in what’s being produced for you, or you find yourself constantly micro-managing, or you start taking responsibility away from your team (no longer empowering them, but criticizing and devaluing them) …                         

Take a moment to really think about how you can start communicating better about what you're thinking, needing, and wanting so your team isn’t trying to fill in the blanks with what they perceive you want.  

Earlier this week I was talking with a good friend of mine (who also happens to be a fellow Entrepreneur). He wanted a “retro” video created to attract a certain target audience. The goal was to elicit a feeling of nostalgia and trigger an emotion in their heart when they saw this “old school” video. 

He explained how he really wanted something different– Something that really resonated with the target audience on an emotional level. Something that would stand apart from what everyone else out there was doing. 

After sharing his idea with his team, they said, 

“This is incredible! We got this!”

So they went on to create exactly what he asked for. It was different, it was retro, it was moving. It encompassed every element he had asked for and then some (as he sent it to me to watch). 

He then told me he told his team he was disappointed because it wasn’t at all what he asked for. His next remark was, “They missed the mark 100%”. 

From where I was standing, I told him I thought it was absolutely amazing, and I couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t completely floored by it! 

If anyone else heard the instructions he gave, and anyone else saw the results, they would have agreed it was a complete understanding of what was communicated. 

He responded with, “I’ve got to get this done in the next few days. I'm just going to have to do it myself, it wasn't what I wanted”.

The following week (days past the deadline)… 

He ended up filming his own video. A video that looked exactly like what everyone else was putting out there. 

Again…Time and energy wasted, all involved are disappointed, the project wasn’t completed on time, 

PLUS, the second video (at best) was mediocre (in my opinion). 

If this sounds all too familiar, here are a few things I’ve found that really help me (and my team):  

1. Slow down to speed up. 

After sharing ideas my team, I set time aside to brainstorm and collaborate with them. This not only results in additional clarity, it always seems to produce even better ideas, and options that I would never have thought of alone. 

2. Give examples. 

I give the team examples of what I like and what I don’t like when it comes to particular projects. Most Entrepreneurs are “visual” learners, so use this communication strategy as an opportunity to help convey what you’re thinking, and what you have in mind.  

3. Practice reflective listening.

At the bare minimum, make this a requirement. Reflective listening is when the person who is listening has the opportunity to to reiterate what they heard to ensure it’s what you meant to say. 

After you communicate your idea, ask your team to take a moment to analyze what you just conveyed. Then ask them to reflect the message back to you. Confirm that they either properly understood or not. If not, give them more explanation. 

When you exercise these effective communication tactics, I’m think you’ll find the new found confidence in all the talented people on your team.  Plus, they will feel empowered again and that’s when amazing things will happen within your team structure and within your business overall. 

To your success,

David

click funnels expert