Clarity of Purpose, Selling & Confidence

I subscribe to Dan Kennedy's marketing newsletter, and in the most recent issue, he had some great comments about the importance of clarity. The newsletter is excerpted below…

Successful Marketing Strategies: The Awesome Power Of Clarity

In your last Success Marketing Strategy email I talked about the unhelpful image called 'ladder of success'. Now I want to talk about another image … Las Vegas and its 'Awesome Power of Clarity.'

I recently spent 7 days in Las Vegas. Where construction is going on at rabid pace day and night, and I was told by one construction company owner: we cannot get enough workers; we are advertising for them nationwide and bringing them in from anywhere we can find them.

Where a client of mine bought a home for 1.2 million, had it appraised at 1.4 mill by closing, and had an offer for 1.6 million before a month was up.

Where three major conventions were all there in the space of 10 days. Where the bar at Mandalay Bay did 23-million in sales in 2003, a freestanding steakhouse not in a hotel, $21-million.

Where money is flowing like water.

Why?

Well, one reason is zero state income tax. But the other reason, I believe, is simply….

Las Vegas is the only city in America, invented, designed, engineered, developed and operated with one and only one purpose: to separate its visitors from as much of their money as possible and having them like it.

Everyone in its government, everyone in its businesses, every service person, everyone involved is clear about the mission. Every decision is made with the mission in mind. Few city or state government leaders can enunciate their goals with comparable clarity. Few business owners as well.

While in Vegas, I spoke to an audience that everyone would consider a "tough crowd". An audience totally unaccustomed to any speaker selling to them from the platform. An audience never before "pitched" on $1,000.00+ products – in fact, the prior speakers had $15.00 books and $20.00 CD sets.

An audience I had my own doubts about. But with fewer than 150 buying entities (300 people) in the audience, I sold $37,000.00. Frankly I can't name 5 other speakers who might have done as well. I believe the reason is my firm clarity about why I'm there [to sell].

And every day, when I get out of bed, I am very clear about why, about what I intend to accomplish that day. It's my observation a lot of people lack this clarity – about their business, their day ahead. And I wonder just how "clear" you are.

In your next Success Marketing Strategy email that will be arriving in just a few days, I want to talk to you about the very make-up and personality of the hugely successful entrepreneur.

Dedicated To Multiplying Your Income,

Dan Kennedy

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Dan Kennedy has significantly influenced my beliefs about sales, entrepreneurship, and marketing. His articles on Why and How To Sell Your Way Through Life" and "Don't Let Your Business Own You" should be required reading for any business owner or entrepreneur. Segments are excerpted below…

THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT SALES YOU'LL EVER MAKE

"I believe the most important sale you'll ever make in your life is selling yourself on selling. You must decide to master selling, to enjoy selling, and to sell. The day you commit to a life of selling can be the day that turns your life around. When you start viewing your activities in the context of making sales, you'll get much more done, much faster, and much more effectively."

[My comments: I believe most people have negative associations with selling. Yet ironically, we're all "selling," on an everyday basis, even though we may not label it as such. The mother who convinces her child to clean up his room is selling. The guy who asks a girl out to dinner is selling. The job hunter who submits a resume & cover letter is selling. The car buyer who negotiates a better deal is selling. Any time you persuade someone (indirectly or directly) to do something (even if it's *not* taking action), you're selling.]

"The second most important sale is selling you on you. Do you really believe you have what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur? How you feel about yourself and how you see yourself (self-image) combine to regulate what you permit yourself to do and be, much like the thermostat on the wall regulates temperature. No one can outperform his or her own self-esteem or self-image."

[In my opinion, self-image determines, to a large extent, the quality of our lives. It determines how we respond to criticism, how we handle failure, and how we respond when other people disappoint us. The best book I've read on self-image and how it affects results, both in your business and personal life, is Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. Highly recommended.]

HOW TO BRIDGE THE CONFIDENCE CHASM

"For new entrepreneurs, and sometimes for experienced entrepreneurs, there can be a wide gap between the capabilities a person thinks he or she has and the capabilities he or she perceives necessary for the tasks ahead. Facing that chasm can be as intimidating as standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon and contemplating Evel Knieval's motorcycle leap.

"It has consistently been my experience that people underestimate themselves and overestimate what's necessary for the success they seek. The millionaire entrepreneurs that I know are not much smarter or more knowledgeable than the average person on the street, nor are they gifted or somehow pre-ordained for exceptional achievement. In many cases, they're not as smart as most people — believe me, I've met some pretty dumb rich people. Just about anybody could do what they do, it's just that few will do what they do.

Dan Kennedy's Eternal Truth #8

"The willingness to do whatever it takes is infinitely more important than knowing everything there is to know about how to do it."