I’ve taught marketing for more years than I care to remember. The biggest challenge is getting students to understand how marketing works. What is it? Why do you need it? How do you get the biggest return?

To answer these questions, I came up with a simple image that works wonders: YOUR money is in THEIR pocket. Do you want it to stay there… or do you want to get the funds into YOUR pocket?

Bingo!

Light bulbs start going on around the class room as one student after another “gets it.”

Of course they want to get their money out of that pocket. We’re ALL clear on that. The discussion then shifts to how to get it out… and how to do it FAAAST!

The Pivotal Role Of The Offer

“Try this,” I say to the class: walk up to someone on the street and ask them for $50. Will you get it? Unlikely. Instead be prepared for dirty looks and worse. “Asking,” I say, “ain’t getting.” The students nod their heads knowingly. They’ve been there… done that.

“Ok,” I say. You guys get this. Then why don’t these folks, at which I show them one marketing communication after another (Yellow Pages ad, brochure, direct mail letter, etc.) where supposedly savvy business people spent good money doing nothing more than saying “Here we are, here’s what we have.”

“That,” I say “is not marketing. It’s just telling… not selling.” If you want to make MONEY… YOU must motivate people to part with the bucks.

Offers Get People To Move

What gets people to buy is offers, offers, and more offers… saying, in effect, I’m prepared to give you

* this

* and this

* and this

IF and ONLY IF you take action now to get what I’m selling.

“What,” I ask the class, “is more likely to get you to respond: just saying here I am, here’s what I do.” OR saying

“I’ll give you one hour free for every three hours of my service you book.”

All knowing, the students say “people will act faster if you give them MORE.” Now it’s my turn to nod sagely. “Bingo,” sez I.

Brain storm offers all the time… because you will need an offer EVERY day you want to empty prospects’ pockets and move that money

I ask the students what days they want to profit in their businesses. They look quizzical: “Well, EVERY day,” they say.

Another “Bingo” from me.

“So, if you want to make money EVERY day… then when do you need to make offers?”

ANOTHER “Aha!” moment for my budding marketing masters. The idea is beginning to sink in that EVERY day you want to move money from your prospects’ pockets is a day you must make offers.

“Make offers,” I say, “every day you want to make money.” And I write “Money means daily offers” on the chalk board.

Open A “Swipe File”

Where can you find marketing intelligence, great offers that produce the bucks? In the marketing communications of people who live or die by marketing. And where do you find these? Everywhere!

If you want to move money from other people’s pockets into yours, start collecting and studying marketing communications. Open a “swipe file,” and pop in marketing communications that work. Make this a daily endeavor. When you see ads that work for others, adapt the copy for your profitable use.

Don’t Stop!

Marketing is like breathing. Stop doing it and you die. Finish any day by selecting the offer you’ll use tomorrow. Start each day by reviewing how well yesterday’s offer pulled. Note these results for future reference; winning ads should be repeated; ads that wilted must die.

One more thing: see marketing as a great game, a game that takes everything you’ve got. Embrace it! Enjoy it! If you don’t, your money will stay in THEIR pocket and that’s just not acceptable!

Author Bio: Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., http://www.worldprofit.com where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant’s live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! For details on Dr. Lant’s 18 best

Category: Business Management
Keywords: marketing,money,earning,business