GenuineChris.com

Freelancer Sales Vid: What to do W Random Facebook Adds

chris — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:01:44 +0000

Just something I decided to do with the hordes of people that add me.

I wouldn’t do it if I added them.

This post originally came from the Freelance Sales Blog GenuineChris.com If you're reading it elsewhere, this is NOT the cannon. Go ahead and read http://ftherapybook.com sometime.

Freelancer Sales Vid: What to do W Random Facebook Adds

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What I Sell For A Living

chris — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:26:04 +0000

There are lots of fit and finish details to clean up all around everything that I do. This is to be expected. But, I’m winnowing down the list of things to sell…things that help small businesses.

#1: I have to get off the $2,000 “non productized” project crack pipe. I sell a lot of $2,000 projects by bundling my services in such a way that it’s a no brainer. That, and the promises of extra stuff are killing me because those things take Chris-bandwidth, not just bandwidth in general.

#2: I have to open channels for all the things that I routinely sell. Right now, the cusotmer experience is often subject to the caprices of my moods, and I can do BETTER without doing more work. I want the customer experience to be uniformly superior.I It has yet to be.

#3. Here’s what I’m selling nowadays. Sites are going up in roughly the order that you see, then I will go through and add all the fit and finish I need en masse.

Small Business Blogs: $797
Personal Broadcast Tower: $497
Search Engine Superfuel: $475
Home Page Sales Machine: $897
Video Customer Finder: $797
Online Treasure Map: $899
Email Customer Harvester: $599

And #4: This is what a Product Is & When It’s “Done” this keeps me moving and knowing when stuff is done:

1. Clear Definition to customer in Flat Rate

2. Bullet Points

3. Intake Process:

a. Welcome and profuse thanks

b. Give something free and unexpected

c. Tell what happens next and when

d. Tell how to get help.

e. Reassure that right choice was made

f. “As Promised” reminders

g. Delivery of product

h. Internal Survey.

i. Survey

j. 30 Day Call

k. 90 Day Call

4. Sales Letter

5. Sales Video

6. 3 Video Testimonials From People That Don’t Appear Elsewhere.

7. Opt IN/Autoresponder List

8. Stand alone website

9. Bible

10. Paypal Product ID/DAP ID

11. Video Based Training

12. Feedback loop for us (internal)

So, away we go.

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F#@% The Next Level: If You Like It, Put a Zero On It!

chris — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:43:39 +0000

I hear people talking about “getting to the next level,” or “taking it to the next level.” I hear this all the time, on Twitter, on line and everywhere else.

But what does that even mean? What does “the next level” mean for most people, who–if they are like me–are walking a razor thin edge between prosperity and bankruptcy. What’s the “next level” then? What is the next level for someone who’s working like a dog and barely paying the bills?

What I’m really asking, is this: the “next level” implies incremental improvement. And it’s limiting. It compares you not with what you could be but with what you are. Yes, it allows for improvement. But if you only think in terms of where you’ve been, you don’t see how rich things can be, how much potential is in us, and what can get done.

So I’m saying it: F#@% the next level. Hard. And without remorse. It’s your problem, and it’s the limiting factor in your life. Being content or complacent with “just a little better,” is the reason that I haven’t become what I am going to become.

The “next level” is self congratulatory. It begets complacency when you look not at what you are about to be but what you have been. I look at my IRS debt–debt that should be gone by now–and I think “man it’s not as bad as it USED to be.”

“I’m not nearly as fat as I used to be.”

“I’m not the asshole I used to be.”

“My customer service doesn’t suck as much as it used to.”

All of this improvement is nice, but it doesn’t get to the right question: are you as good as you can be? Are you holding yourself accountable to the right standard? Are you free to improve as fast as you can?

Or is comparing yourself to yourself limiting you?

If You Like It, Put A Zero On It!

Each quarter this year was about 15% better than the last quarter for me. My business grew solidly–in fact monthly revenue is double what it was last year. I became more diverse, doing product sales (http://flatratewebjobs.com/blog-setup) as well as some consulting, as well as everything else.

Because I was getting myself out of debt and losing a few pounds (mostly in the 1st quarter), I was proud of what I was doing. Patting myself on the back. Giving myself an “attaboy”.

But I was blind and stupid and limiting myself by what I’ve already done. By only imagining being *slightly* better, I didn’t have a high enough standard.

I had–at best–shoddy customer service.

I had half hearted sales and marketing efforts because at some level I wasn’t happy with my customer experience.

Getting “one level” better at any of this would still have been bad. Part of it was the mindf@#% that comes with being in debt, and seriously, more of my mental capacity is free now that I don’t constantly think and rethink how I can pay my bills. But “one level better” would limit me to still being BAD at the things that I’m bad at. Didn’t help. Being 10x better at customer service, at accounting and other things were needed for me to be “good”.

Now, I know, I know Marcus Buckingham and play to your strengths and all that s#!%. I know, that’s where you’re supposed to go. And I agree. But, it doesn’t excuse you from acquiring baseline competence in all aspects of business, does it?

No, it doesn’t. I don’t have to be a master accountant, but baseline competence is the ticket to enter any business world.

It’s time to make everything 10x better. It’s time to start from scratch.

How good could something you make be? What goal would be ideal? Just “making a living,” or representing a standard of excellence and service so high that the world rushes to pay you?

Ten times better. Ten times more revenue. Ten times better service.

That opens the mind up a little bit. How can I get ten times better than I am to day. How Do I put a zero on it?

How do I go from the 90th to 99th percentile.

How do I go from the 99th to the 99.9th?

How do I be the best in the world?

I’m gonna focus on that in the next few posts.

How I will “put a zero on it.” on everything I do. Go from “meh” to “how do I hire that guy?”

Better, just flat better, at everything.

This post originally came from the Freelance Sales Blog GenuineChris.com If you're reading it elsewhere, this is NOT the cannon. Go ahead and read http://ftherapybook.com sometime.

F#@% The Next Level: If You Like It, Put a Zero On It!

The E-Myth: Regurgitated. (A Michael Gerber Hit Piece)

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Express Yourself in Your Buiness: ProActive Customer Service

chris — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:50:02 +0000

Right now, I know that I’m on the cusp of getting huge. I’ve spent this year building my skills in deliberate anonymity. I’ve worked hard to get good and to help. I’ve dug myself 2/3 of the way out of the IRS hellhole that I put myself in in my 20’s. I’ve lost 25# so far, with another 10-15# to go this year

One of the things that changed what I was able to do was the notion that I saw my business as an expression of myself, and my standards. Not just a job I did for other people, but really and truly a way to impart my will on the world. This is how a business should be run. This is what should happen. My addiction to transactions hasn’t subsided all at once, but the big pieces are in place.

I will have a complete expression of what I can do, how I think business should be run and how my customers should be treated very soon. Working with a growing and excellent web team has meant so much to me. I’ve got coverage for what I’m weak at and the things that I did wrong are done right. The velocity of the business I can handle now has increased by an order of magnitude, at least.

I couldn’t be more happy about the direction I’m in.

It’s me. Every detail of what I’m crafting is planned out. I’ve created a 11 step customer experience that I’m expressing using Digital Access Pass. DAP has been wonderful–a membership site software experience that we can jury rig into a CRM. We’re going to refine this process as time goes by.

On Delivery: Welcome and Thank Them. . An instant thanks with a link to a video page celebrating and telling them where to get help if they need it.
On Delivery: Give something away for free that’s related, instantly. Lots of us content producers have stuff that’s half done that is valuable but hasn’t been finished. Finish it, put a bow on it, and then give it to the ppl. that buy from us FOR FREE. Tell ‘em it’s an EXTRA, and don’ advertise it on the outside. They will LOVE the fact that they are getting more than they asked for.
On Delivery: Tell ‘em What Happens Next & When It Happens: Predictability is paramount in this business. We tell people what happens next, and how many hours or days away that is, and they don’t get anxious and wonder “where’s my deal.” They are ALWAYS aware of the next step and the deadline for it.
On Delivery: Tell ‘em how to get help & access all support: Stuff goes wrong, telling people how to get problems solved is vital so customers feel in charge. Have an ‘emergency’ channel (private cell phone) along with a “regular” channel.
1 Day Out: Reassure that they made the right choice and share process stories and testimonials. This part of the equation is hard. But, people get buyer’s remorse. Within a day, share some more testimonials and case study notes.
In Process: “As Promised” attached to EVERY Message. We deliver blogs and do some light “consulting” and implementation. We are now telling people that we’re keeping our promises. It does 2 things: holds us accountable to keeping FUTURE promises.
Obsess over On Time Delivery: This is where I personally was weakest. The people I delivered on time left me testimonials. The people that didn’t were unhappy, (rightly so). Having people backing me up has been killer.
After Delivery INTERNAL Survey: Look for places to improve and streamline. Are there steps that we can remove? Are there redundancies? Can we proactively improve the experience for customers?
10 days out: Have a Survey That You SEnd: I am held accountable now because I have customer service survey. You can make one in Google Docs, or you can use Cforms. I myself want to learn how I can improve, get really good. I want to raise the bar myself as fast as possible.
30 day call: A phone call 30 days out to make sure everything is good and everything has been delivered is in my process. Not to drum up more business (but that never hurts), really to take care of and honor people.
90 Day Call: Doing a call 90 days after the fact is the next important thing. Do this, and you’ll be happy.

Bottom line is this: my business represents who I am and the standards I uphold. When I was a mess, it was a mess. Now that I’m hustling like hell to make everything I touch uh-mazing, the business is improving rapidly. I will be stopping to “productize” everything I do before I sell it.

What follows is one of my favorite songs.

This post originally came from the Freelance Sales Blog GenuineChris.com If you're reading it elsewhere, this is NOT the cannon. Go ahead and read http://ftherapybook.com sometime.

Express Yourself in Your Buiness: ProActive Customer Service

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My Goals Were Too Low

chris — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:27:08 +0000

It was utterly crippling and incapacitating having IRS issues. Having a staggering-debt-as-big-as-a-house that I carried with me crushed me. Kept me selling real estate even though I hated it, and put me in a box doing things I never really wanted to be doing.

It also kept me from thinking straight, and made me set my sights too low. I was worried about this week, this day, paying my way out of the debt…it made me focus on me, and me and me. Not what I can build, make and e.

I was thinking too much about how the hell can I pay these brutal assholes off. Not enough about how I can build a business. And when you’re interacting with people, and the teeth of the hyrda are upon you…

…and you’re thinking only about how you need to shovel $1200 into the gaping maw of the 3rd head…this week…you become limited in what you can do. You think not about them but about you. I’ve been shoveling money at this problem for 20 months, and until about January, I was blind to any “future” i was just trying to survive. All I could see was right now. (I even called my company Right Right Now, instead of something sensible.)

Everything then was about me, right now, paying my bills. And through hard work, late nights & early mornings, I got a handle on the debt. Six figures became 5, and it’s now down to about $20k. Hard work made that happen, and moving into a tiny hovel despite the fact that my family was growing.

Now that it’s not insurmountable anymore, now that I can see the end of the debt, having cut down 4/5ths of it, and having learned to prosper, I’m seeing what I can build and do. I’m starting to think big again.

…the last time I “thought big” I was 27 and in Real Estate. I was starting to separate from the crowd (For those that don’t know, even in BOOM TIMES, 80% of Realtors failed, so that’s not saying much). I was about to be really big…but I didn’t care. “Lady, it’s the damned living room, you either like it or you don’t, I’m not gonna sell it to you…” I hated that profession, I see its need and some of its value.

Debt Crushes Big Thoughts

Paying debt crushes big dreams. Being chained to it, even a little, hurts. I’ve had a cash crunch mindset because of this thing since I got really serious about paying it off last year. My dreams and flickerthougths came back a little bit at a time. Not all at once. As the debt stopped dictating everything, I started daring to dream a little bit more.

And now? The debt isn’t gone, but I realized that I was thinking small…too small. This week instead of what I can contribute.

So, I’m deliberately thinking bigger.

Instead of survival, contribution, buidling things that help.

Some kind of Maslow hierarchy at work.

Debt is Bondage.

When you’re in the throes of IRS drama and all you can afford is a well intentioned but cut rate lawyer, it consumes thoughts. “How do I get the $X to pay Y by Z” is 60 or more percent of your thought…and that’s not a way to live. That’s a way to die a rapid death, to descend into a horrific existance. My goals weren’t anything other than reptilian survival. Now?

I want to make it so that EVERYONE has the tools and knowledge to serve others by connecting online. I want to make EVERY small business have intelligent inbound marketing.

And I want to do more.

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Why I Hate People That Claim To Hate Chris Brogan For Attention

chris — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:52:23 +0000

So Chris Brogan lives in my twitter stream. I assume he’s a real guy, he took the time to leave a comment once, and he thanked me for commenting on his blog during the grand Thesis Vs. Headway debate of 2009.

He seems like a decent enough fellow, but I don’t know him really well. I know he’s killing it, and I also know that he’s unfailingly polite to people that are polite to him. Maybe that’s a clue. But I’ve seen a few pot shots at Brogan, at Brian Clark, and other people. With the exception of Misguided Ma.tt insinuating that Brian is evil, none of the potshots about these people ever come from anyone near that level. Hell, I even made one too when Sonia had her briliant 3rd tribe piece.

Some dude named Adam apparently had too much of an ego to handle the fact that Brogan didn’t need to rebut every insipid point he brought up. No, Chris has boundaries and ignores people, rightly so. I do the same thing, and I’m sure my 400 messages a day are 1/100th the opportunities that Brogan gets.

So, I decided that I hate Adam’s tactic. I don’t know if he’s a decent dude that has redeeming qualities or not. But to make a linkbate post “Why I Hate Chris Brogan,” and then say 5 words in, “I don’t hate Chris Brogan,” makes me think he’s a slithering two faced salamander that will say anything to get eyeballs on him. I hate that sort of tactic. He’s pouting, mostly, because Brogan didn’t fawn all over every single word. And he wants attention. And CB took the bait.

I think that, in my lifetime, this is as much as I’ve ever thought about Chris Brogan. I read most of Trust Agent, bought it when it came out. Dug the message, and was bummed by the publishing industry. Trust agents great message, but Chris had to pad it to fit within what’s conventionally considered a book. Unless you’re Klosterman, when you write non fiction, less is more.

So, yeah. I hate people that claim to hate Chris Brogan for attention. Especially when I don’t know the dude well enough to have formed an opinion.

So some over the transom advice, Adam Kimec, find a way to build something cool that gets and is worthy of attention.

Like this:

or like this:

Or like this Conversion Killer Checklist

Or even like this.

But seriously? Don’t say you hate someone when you’re just piqued that they are doing better. Do better than Chris, push him. Try and leave him in the dust through the work you do, not the feelings that you have.

This post originally came from the Freelance Sales Blog GenuineChris.com If you're reading it elsewhere, this is NOT the cannon. Go ahead and read http://ftherapybook.com sometime.

Why I Hate People That Claim To Hate Chris Brogan For Attention

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4 Spots Left At My Low Price

chris — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:53:14 +0000

Since many of my readers are not on the Aweber lists that I maintain, I thought I’d send this out to you now so my BLOG readers could deal with this.

4 Spots Left: Get it While It’s Cheap

Dear…

I sent out the announcement of my grand opening yesterday, and the creation of “Flat Rate Web Jobs.” A few people wanted me to hold the price till Monday. I can’t. What I’m doing is a great deal at $1,000, and I know it.

I’m not going to go through phases of “opening new spots,” or “squeezing people in.” My goal here is to test my system. To see where it needs to be fixed, and improved so I can market it like CRAZY in about a week.

Who wouldn’t want a beautiful blog site, hosting, and hours and hours training on how to use it for $497?

(And yes, we’re still offering our “no dirty looks, money back guarantee”)

Go ahead and click here to buy:

http://flatratewebjobs.com/getablog

I look forward to working with you.

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Redbox Proof Your Business: What NOT to Do To Customers

chris — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:27:46 +0000

Hollywood is PISSED. They HATE Redbox. Why? Because they have the BALLS to be customers. They rent out movies to the customers at a buck a pop, and DARE to offer convenience to people. Hollywood HATES that. Warner Brothers hates Redbox so much that they even decided to sue Netflix for good measure.

If you’re in the Midwest like me, you’ve seen redboxes popping up everywhere: kiosks at seemingly every gas station, Kroger, where you can rent DVDs and Video games. Put your credit card in, mess with a touch screen (that is badly designed), and you get a movie for a buck. You don’t return it for a week? No biggie, you bought it. Simple, done.

Google does the opposite. They built a search business so cool, and allowed people to build businesses alongside it. Hell, they embraced it. Embraced the innovation, embraced Internet marketers, and are thrilled to write big-ass-checks to people.

Redbox basically says: “how ’bout a movie rental, maybe a video game with that gas fill up.” Cool. They buy the damn movies to rent out to people, so it all works. The studios have a big customer in Redbox.

The movie studios treat their customers badly. Been to a movie lately? Besides the overpriced concessions, you go in and are hypermonetized the entire time that you’re there. From when you show up to when you leave, you’re talked at and sold to. When I was a kid, I used to remember fondly going to the Piqua Twin Cinemas with my father, and talking before the start of movies like Ghostbusters or even The Untouchables. There was an event like silence in a partially darkened theater.

Now I gotta watch damn disrupting ads for dentists and “the coke side of life.” It keeps me and my ADD addled self out of the theaters unless there is an event like movie. Hollywood drives me out of being a customer because they make the experience positively horrible. I’ll go see the Dark Knight. I’ll go to the dollar theater sometimes. But a regular first run movie? It’s gotta be great, or it’s gotta be Pixar.

They made the experience of being a customer so horrid, and are somehow aghast when someone does it better. Think Blockbuster isn’t scared? They’ve gotta be. Go to rent a flick from Blockbuster. Sure, sure we get good selection. But you wait in a line a mile long that is deliberately slowed so you buy candy and magazines (at movie theater prices). You pay $4 bucks, feel screwed over. Redbox just gives you the damn movie. And they are beating down Blockbuster.

So, with that said, how do you redbox proof your business? How do you make it so that some nimble competitor can’t give you more:

Be methodology neutral: if you’re in business providing widgets or knowledge, let the customer say how they want it. Hourly, subscription fees, whatever, all on the table. Don’t be obsessed with people doing
Honor Your People: Hollywood and Starbucks lost their way when they monetized their traffic and started selling crap to people that were there for coffee or movies. Be nice, respect the intent of the customer.
Embrace Partners that Distribute For you: Hollywood should be thrilled to have someone buying their content, and should make it really easy for them to do so and make money. So should you. Anyone that’s a potential partner should be honored. You should help them, high five them and invest in their success. (And even imitate them).
Always get feedback, always make it easier: Blue ocean stuff here. Get customer feedback, collect data. When are customers happy?
Focus on EASY TRANSACTIONS: How easy is it for a customer to do business with you? Focus on making it “dead simple.” Keep the experience brief, and don’t add clutter or “tack on sales” Be the best at say, selling coffee. Forget CDs and stuffed animals. Or subordinate that to selling coffee and having a quiet “third place”.

What if Hollywood had said, “Kiosks? Cool. Let’s make some. Oh, and let’s make ‘em REALLY good. let’s charge $2 bucks, but let’s give MORE value for $2 bucks.”

[Unrelated [Note: This is the last post for a couple of weeks here GenuineChris.Com. I'm going to do a new home page that helps people figure me out and where I fit in. I'm focusing all of my stuff on two channels, and will be building up http://FlatRateWebJobs.Com as my new business identity. I'll have more in a bit. If anyone wants to guest post, please let me know so my 250 readers aren't left in the lurch]]

This post originally came from the Freelance Sales Blog GenuineChris.com If you're reading it elsewhere, this is NOT the cannon. Go ahead and read http://ftherapybook.com sometime.

Redbox Proof Your Business: What NOT to Do To Customers

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Growing Up in Piqua, OH

chris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:11:10 +0000

I grew up in Piqua, OH.

A town of 21,000 people, something of a factory town without a factory. I don’t go back often–I have been back once since Jack was born despite living 70 miles away.

I grew up in Piqua, an average town, smack dab in the middle of it. There were 3 major areas–at least in my perception–of the town.

There was “up the hill,” up Park avenue, high street, to the west of our town. These were the “desirables,” the nice houses, where the doctors, dentists and non-failed insurance salesmen lived. I’d guess that most of the houses were built in the 60’s, had probably 2300+ square feet, and backed to nice things like lakes and ravines.

There was “shawnee” which my mom taught me was undesirable. I don’t know why, but it was on the bank of the Great Miami River, it was more or less working class (calling anything in Piqua other than working class is a reach). The people there worked various factory jobs, and I’d guess it was cheaper to live there than it would be to live elsewhere in town. It wasn’t the cheapest area, and it wasn’t a trailer park. It was good, working class families.

I lived in between these areas. The “north end,” or oldest part of the town. I grew up, all my life in an old house on Broadway, which my parents sold (prompting this little indulgence on my blog). The “north end” had a mix of ritzy houses built around the turn of the century, and smaller houses, like ours. I think the lots were 45 feet wide or so, making for tight neighbors, and in the summertimes, you could hear kitchen conversatoin if the neighbors had their windows opened.

My mother, being image conscious, kept our windows closed and our voices low. Because what if the neighbors heard?

I had this perception of the kids that had gone to Washington Elementary that they were somehow a half notch above me, not just socioechonomically, but genetically, intrinsically. Something about the “up the hill” people and the easy idylic lives they led. I was average, in every way: My dad was an English teacher at the community college, my mom was a nurse in Dayton, OH at St. Elizabeths and then at the nearby mental hospital.

What’s funny is by both American standards and especially by world standards, I grew up with privelages. My parents–for whatever faults they have–both loved me. I had my own room, I went to private school. But there was a lunatic entitlementality: I wanted to go up the hill, I wanted to go to the catholic school, I felt (and, to be sure, at times, was) socially outcast.

It makes me wonder, though, what am I missing out on by wondering what’s up the hill…today? I’m sure that there is something I’m doing wrong, some grass is greener fallacy that I’m making. Some envy of a life that’s no better, just different from today.

Saying GoodBye With Style.

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What’s in a Name? Not Much, Only Anti-Marketing

chris — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:23:13 +0000

Right Right Now.

Guerrilla.ME.

New Market Survival Guide.

Confusing names. None of them tells people what I do for a living. None of ‘em answers a question. And, nobody could spell Guerrilla. Those were the things that I was trying to call my business for a long time. Those were the names of my company. And none of ‘em say a damn thing about what I do for a living, none of ‘em say anything or even resemble what I was making my living doing.

I paid for design and logos. For what?

I was dead wrong naming my company this stuff. Guerrilla.ME was clever, seemed an ‘aha moment.’ But the thing is, nobody can spell ‘guerrilla’ “Gue–two ‘r’s and” the .ME domain confuses the buhjeezus out of people. And I don’t have the pull or desire to brand something. Personal branding is worthless, anyway.

Nobody knew what I did, I’d have to explain it, and that causes a tiny bit of anxiety. Anxiety = resistance. People–in this economy especially-have their guard up. Trolls are everywhere, and people who have been burned before…would be confused. A few people resonated with the Guerrilla stuff, but the fact is this: that was a stolen idea, a copyright of someone else. Not the way I want to play.

…

So I figured out how I want to do business: No bullshit. No hassle. No haggle. Products & services on a “take it or leave it,” basis that have insane value. Real tools that real businesses can use, understand and profit from.