Marketing Brain Cleanse Hot Seats

Watch John Carlton & Stan Dahl perform “Marketing Brain Cleanse Hot Seats” on attendees biggest problems.  Small business owners and entrepreneurs shell out $10,000 for a full-on consult with us and $15,000 / year to be part of our Platinum MasterMind Group.

This isn’t a game. This is real, hard-core, live Hot Seat-style consulting, performed without a net on the stage…

… so you can see how it’s done by the best in the biz.

There are 3 Hot Seats on this video:

Robert Stanley’s product is called Internet Street Fighter.  He teaches online marketers how to sell/fulfil online marketing services for local businesses.

His current model depends on launches and he wants to develop something more evergreen.  He wants to try direct mail.

There is a great discussion of many aspects of direct mail marketing, from some of the best in the business.  They talk about how to convert an email list to a direct mail list, what to look out for when hiring a list broker, and whether direct mail is useful when your market is online marketers.

The experts in the audience don’t sell their advice (they just use it to make millions for their clients) so there is stuff here you won’t find anywhere else…

Sean Hart sells stand-alone space heaters for homes.  He had been using magazine/newspaper ads and direct mail very successfully but that is not working as well now, and he wants some more suggestions.

They make several suggestions about how he could improve his current advertising program, how he could use his call center for sales detective work, and a different offline advertising medium he should try.

Robert Gibson suggests a novel way he can use AARP and its advertisers to reach more of the 50+ crowd…

Wayne Godwin runs a successful chain of veterinary clinics.   He is getting about 100 new patients a month, where the industry average is about 20.  He is concerned that the name…Val-U-Vet…gives the impression that it is a cheap service.  In fact, the chain is of upscale clinics.

They use the hot seat for branding advice and give him several options, including renaming the business, creating a sister company with a more upscale-sounding name, and doing nothing.  They also critique his website:  www.valuvet.com (no longer a live site).

They come to an interesting conclusion…

Robert Stanley: Internet Street Fighter- teaches online marketing

Currently does launches.

He has a membership site with 500 members.

Looking for an evergreen model

Niche: He teaches internet marketers how to help offline businesses.

Can he go into direct mailing?

John: Yes. First thing is to get someone who knows something about direct mail to help him.

He has tried to generate a dmlist from his current email list.

John: SRDS has all the direct mail and email marketing lists.

Harlan: What he is doing is different from what John is talkin gabout. John would get a hot dm list and mail it.

The list Robert is using is non-responders, which John says is a big mistake. Rather than trying to sell to people who don’t want to buy from him, he should get a responsive buyers list and mail to that.

8:15: John gives a great analogy from that dating market.

John: List brokers are not terribly honest. If you are a newbie, they will send you a very hot list so you think it is great. Then when you buy the list you will get a colder list.

Robert Gibson: Remember that mailing a list is very expensive. Try calling them on the phone first and try to sell. Get their objections.

He needs to identify his good buyers and find more people like them.

Ben Morris: He has looked at launch opt inlists and only about 10% will ever buy.

He also may want to change the name to something more presentable to an offline audience.

John: The list is most important.

Robert: Find your best people and get a letter that works with them before spending money on a list.

19:00 Robert explains the process behind direct mail.

They try to impress upon him the imporance of being prepared and learning what he needs to know before spending a lot of money.

Jim Curley: It takes years to become an experienced direct marketer. It is important to test a list before using it.

john: When direct mail works it is awesome.

Jim: A certain percentage of even a hot email list will not buy.

Summary of action items”

Rename the product, refine the offer

Test direct mail with his buyers list first

Get the mailing to work before renting a list.

24:43 Stan discusses who his market should be, and the best way to proceed.

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Sean Hart: Pressing problem: Has had good success with space ads and direct mail, infomercials. Business is stagnant and he is relying on dealers for his profit. His current methods aren’t working well enough.

Ben Morris: Is everything currently print? Yes. Has he tried radio? It is the cheapest CPM of all the offline media. He should get on some of the more popular newstalk and sportstalk programs.

How to find more resellers: Ben: That is a business-to-business play. Mail people with different SIC codes and find our qhixh EW RHW most responsive.

31:25 They suggest several things he can do, but he is already doing most of them.

John: You have to go to a war room, list out all the things that are working, figure out how to do more of that and brainstorm new ideas. Who does he need to emulate 9not necessarily in his industry)

He goes on to suggest a lot of things Sean can do to find a better customer profile and how to sell in an economic downturn.

35:34 Robert Gibson makes a great suggestion about how to use AARP to build his business. Not what you would normally think of.

Harlan: Did some keyword searching. 22,000 people/ month search for Amish Heaters. He would explore more online marketing solutions.

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Blaine: Owns a chain of veterinary clinics called “Val-u-Vet”. His clinics are successful but he thinks the name is turning off wealthier prospects.

He wants to focus on the name.

Nita: Val-u-vet doesn’t portray a quality experience.

John: he should knock himself off first. Don’t kill val-u-vet. Buy the space next door and have “Golden vet” or something that will speak to wealthier pet owners.

Or, keep val-u-vet He can try having a DBA under val-u-vet.

First, he should test to see if the name is what is bringing people in.

Robert Gibson: His website is a turn-off. There is no sense that hey care about pets. It is very cold.

John: Find out who his visitors are. Determine what would keep them coming in and add on to bring more people in

He has to speak to the trauma of the pet owners and tell them how he is the best alternative. They want to make a decision quickly.

He should start by opening one clinic with the new concept but keep val-u-vet.

His site www.valuvet.com now redirects to a site (www.valuvetshots.com) for a mobile vaccination clinic. I don’t know if it is hes or not, but it is in Florida and he is inFlorida, too.

1. Watch the segments and write down the top 3 tips that apply to yourself and your marketing.
2. Rank them in order by how they will affect your revenue (most impact at the top)
3. Take the top tip and develop the steps you need to apply it to your own marketing.
4. Start with the first step and take action.
5. Rinse and repeat with the other steps.
6. Go back and watch the videos and repeat the steps with the next suggestions.

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