Why you won’t succeed in your own business

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A client of mine paid me $25,000 to advise him for a year. And I’m a marketer, right? It’s what I’ve done since I was 18 years old.

So he was basically paying me to show him how to market himself. And I made it very clear from the start too what he was paying for.

Well that year passed. And then another year. I still took his phone calls and told him exactly what to do. Then a 3^rd year. But you know what?  After 3 years, he was no further towards his target income than when he started.

Shame, right?

Absolutely.

He had all the good intentions. Had the plan too. Knew exactly what to do in order to make it happen. He even knew why he wasn’t succeeding. After a while he was able to diagnose his issue better than I was.

And wait for it – he was okay with it.

Yes, totally okay with paying me $25,000 and still being no further ahead.

Can you imagine investing this much money and getting no return?

Well guess what? He hasn’t been the only client of mine to do this. I teach people all over the world. I have clients who pay me $2,500 right up to $25,000. And you would be shocked at how many just don’t do exactly as I say (remember, they’re paying me for my opinion).

Even crazier, they seek me out. They track me down in order to pay me this money. And at the end they’re raving fans of mine.

But … raving fans or not, they’re still no further ahead.

Now, why does this happen?

It isn’t a hard problem to solve. There’s a clear reason why this issue happens. And I wish it were different, but it’s actually out of my hands.

You see, I’ve had people stare me right in the eyes and assure me that “they are ready.” That they’ll “do whatever I ask.”  In fact, you can’t pay me these amounts of money until you say these things to me.

But you know what? For some, it still isn’t enough.

Inside their brain something is dominating them – the excitement of getting ready to succeed.

The whole idea of succeeding is wildly exciting. The plans; the dream; the things you’ll do after you achieve your goal.

But then… reality kicks in. And you find out that you actually have to attend to the details of succeeding. Yes, the details. You have to attend to the details of succeeding.

And often, those details aren't very exciting. In fact, they’re usually downright boring.

It’s like, if your favourite world champion golfer didn't attend to the details of hitting a golf ball over and over again (hitting 500 golf balls in the morning and 500 in the afternoon… EVERY day), he or she wouldn't get to hold up the trophy at the end of the competitions.

The same goes for your favourite tennis player; your favourite football player; even your favourite rock star. I’m talking about people who get massive results and are champions in their field.

It’s the people who can get themselves to attend to the details, which also get to bask in the glory of success.

Note, I’ve been saying to “attend” to the details. Not “get excited about attending to the details.”

And this is what a lot of people do. They get excited about starting an internet business. They get energised about speaking on stage. Or they get pumped about the idea of being self-employed.

But unless you actually attend to the details of making that happen, it isn’t ever going to happen. And you’ll find yourself going round and round in circles year after year.

Might you know anyone who this happens to?

Maybe … personally!

If so, then when it comes to having a successful online business your question might be:

“Brett, what ARE the details I should be attending to?”

Why I’m glad you asked, because this is the perfect question. With this one question I can give you the answer quickly and easily.

The answer is the following (and this goes for ANY business):

There are only 2 details you should be focusing on:

1)    Your product

2)    Your marketing

And that’s it. Everything you need to do comes under those banners (oh and if you’re wondering about where something like accounting fits in, well it doesn’t. That’s your accountant’s job. Got it? If you’re wondering about outsourcing, then that’s your product, okay?)

Let’s move on.

Because at this point there’s something else I need to tell you in regards to how much TIME you spend on each of these 2 things.

It’s not a 50/50 split between your product and your marketing. No, no, no, no.

And once I tell you the right split, your life will never be the same again. Now, that may sound like a bit of an overstatement. But let me assure you that this is one of the secrets of my success.

I was able to take myself from a $35,000 a year job to my own multi-million dollar company by understanding what I’m about to tell you.

I remember that the people in my life at the time (friends and family etc) were all earning more money than me. So I used to focus on replicating what they were doing – working harder, staying longer hours in the office, getting a second job, climbing the company ladder, and blah blah blah, you know the rest.

Which means, the product (when you work in a job then your product is your job.)

And that was the wrong thing to do.

Because ultimately, those same people were all still working for a living. They were on more money than me. But still not in charge of their lives. Still not able to retire any day they wanted. Still not able to call their own shots.

So, really, not the sort of people I should have been modelling.

And when I realised this, it changed how I looked at the whole picture of “succeeding” and having the life of my dreams.

It’s all about your focus. And in my role these days what I see is the majority of people focusing on is the PRODUCT. Most people think if they could just create the right product, they’d succeed. If only their product was better… faster… had more features… had more benefits.

Nope.

It’s a very rare case where the product is the reason behind a person’s success.

The product is critical. It’s what people get after they pay you their money. Without a great product, your business dies a quick death.

But I have many, many students who focus so hard on their product, and then wonder why they’re not getting ahead.

And so they keep trying to improve the product.  They add new stuff to it. They take stuff out of it.

However, this is NOT the problem.

You can spend as long as you like on the product, and the probability of it helping you succeed is very low.

Remember, the technology behind playing MP3 files (that is, music files) from a teeny, tiny thumb drive was around for 8 years prior to Apple bringing out the Ipod.

Yes, 8 years!  The whole industry knew about it. Then one company – Apple – saw how they could market this technology.

And it forever changed how you and I listen to music.

It’s nearly ALL about the marketing. In fact, the amount of focus you spend on “product” and “marketing” should be this:

• 20% on your product

• 80% on your marketing

This is what makes the difference. As you can see, most of your focus should be on your marketing. And if you don’t know how to market, then 80% of your time should be spent on learning marketing.

It’s the one skill you should become fanatical about learning. And if you don’t want to learn marketing, then either hire someone to be that person or don’t go into business. Simple as that.

The close friends I have who are ultra-successful, are all excellent marketers. And ultimately, they couldn’t care less what the product is that they sell (as long as it’s good). They all know that the main thing is the marketing.

And if they feel that they can’t market that product (which means if they can’t find a significant competitive advantage between it and other products, they don’t proceed).

Once they do decide to proceed, then 80% of their time is focused on the marketing. Meaning, WHAT to say, HOW to say it, WHERE to say it, and WHO to say it to.

This is the secret behind business success.

McDonald’s doesn’t make the best burger. But it sells more than any other.

Nike doesn’t make the best sports shoe. But it sells more than any other.

Toyota doesn’t make the best car in the world. But it sells more than any other.

Let me ask you this…

Have you ever tasted yoghurt in the USA? It’s incredibly sweet. In fact, if you’re not used to it, that first taste is a bit of a shock to the system. American’s really love their sugar.

Well back in 1997 a Turkish dairy farmer by the name of Hamdi Ulukaya emigrated to the USA. And when he tasted some of the American yoghurts, he screwed up his face and thought to himself:

“Would the USA be open to a different type of yoghurt?” (that is, the tart kind that you may be aware of, but which most American’s were not.)

At this point, he got excited about getting ready to succeed. And just like your normal human being, he thought and he thought about it. It took him till 2005 to finally launch his product idea.

He purchased an unused Kraft yoghurt factory in economically depressed New York, and started cranking out his new ‘tart-style’ yoghurt. The company he started is called, “Chobani” (“Greek for shepherd”).

All his advisors said the product wouldn’t work. But remember, it’s not about the product, it’s always about the marketing.

So guess what? Hamdi didn’t have a big budget. But he is a massive user of social media (which means, he’s a marketer – social media simply allows you to get the word out about your product). And only recently he stepped up his marketing – becoming a sponsor of the 2012 Olympics.

How has he fared?

Hamdi’s company now controls 17% of the overall yoghurt market in the USA.

Sales of Chobani’s yoghurt have increased by 400% since 2009 (Source: Jim Motavalli, Success January 2013).

Literally just days ago Chobani opened the largest yoghurt manufacturing factory in the world in Twin Falls, Idaho.

The notion that Americans wouldn’t take to tart yoghurt was completely wrong. It now makes up for 25% of the market. And now of course, the big companies are rushing to catch up on the trend.

Will they catch him?  Only if they can market (it’s not about the product remember!).

And lastly, his yoghurt was released here in Australia too in 2012. How is Hamdi’s marketing here in Oz?  At this moment you can go to his website and download discount coupons to buy his yoghurt from Woolworths – no-one else is doing this.

Oh, and that client of mine who was still floundering after 3 years? What was his focus for that entire time?

Need I tell you?  You already know the answer right?

Good, now all you need to do is work out where your focus needs to be too.

 

Warmly,

Brett McFall

 

 

© 2013 Brett McFall.