Have you seen The Most Interesting Man in the World?

I’m referring to the TV commercials for Dos Equis beer. They star a rugged-looking, silver-haired man who is always surrounded by beautiful women.

In one version of the commercial, he arm-wrestles a Third World general and releases a grizzly bear from a trap. In another, the narrator relates that even his enemies list him as their emergency contact and that the police often question him just because they find him interesting.

If you are a student of advertising, you know this is a knockoff of David Ogilvy’s famous ad campaign: The Man in the Hathaway Shirt.

If you don’t know the history of this ad, you should.

In Brief: It was 1951. Ellerton Jette, a shirt maker from Waterville, Maine wanted to grow his little business into a national brand, but he didn’t have much money. He had heard about the advertising prowess of David Ogilvy. So he booked a meeting with him.

“I have an advertising budget of only $30,000,” he told Ogilvy. “And I know that’s much less than you normally work with. But I believe you can make me into a big client of yours if you take on the job.”

If he’d stopped there, Ogilvy would have thrown him out of the office. But then he said something that sold the great salesman.

He said, “If you do take on the job, Mr. Ogilvy, I promise you this. No matter how big my company gets, I will never fire you. And I will never change a word of your copy.”

There is a big lesson here. So let’s stop for a moment and talk about it.

What Ellerton Jette did was a little bit of genius, in my opinion. In two short sentences, he changed the mind of one of the most powerful men in the world of advertising. At the same moment, he made himself a very rich man.

Not a week goes by when I don’t get a letter from a complete stranger who sees me as his David Ogilvy. They are direct and to the point. “I know I can get rich if you help me, Mr. Masterson,” they say. “So how about it?”

What makes them think I have the time, if not the inclination, to help them? It never even occurs to them to offer me something in return for what they are asking.

Jette’s $30,000 budget might have put $3,000 in Ogilvy’s pocket. Though it was a paltry sum then and a mere pittance now, at least it was something. But what really cinched the deal was the two promises Jette made.

Going into the meeting, Jette knew he had one chance to forge a relationship with Ogilvy. He somehow understood that Ogilvy, as successful as he was, had two big problems. He worried that his biggest clients would walk away from him. And he hated it when his clients screwed with his copy. So, instead of thinking only of his own goals, Jette took the time to figure out how he could offer Ogilvy something that would be of immense value to him. (This, by the way, is one of many lessons you will learn when you read my Special Theory of Automatic Wealth.)

When Jette made his two promises, Ogilvy realized that he was talking to a businessman who would eventually become a partner. He could see that Jette was a man of good faith who would let Ogilvy be in charge of his marketing. And that he would reward Ogilvy with a lifetime of loyalty.

Now, let’s get back to the story of the Hathaway shirt ad…

After accepting Jette’s offer, Ogilvy spent days doing in-depth research on Jette’s client base. He came up with dozens of ideas. The one he settled on was a campaign built around the image of a distinguished man in a romantic location dressed in a Hathaway shirt. He selected a model that looked like William Faulkner and booked the first photo shoot.

On the way to the shoot, he passed a five and ten cent store where he bought a few cheap eye patches. At the shoot, he asked the model to wear an eye patch for a few shots.

The moment he saw the photos with the eye patch, he knew.

The Man in the Hathaway Shirt campaign was an instant success. The ads were carried in papers around the country, and were mentioned editorially in Time, Life, and Fortune. Before long, hosts of imitators appeared. Other companies ran ads featuring eye patches on babies, dogs… even cows. A cartoon in The New Yorker shows three men looking into the display window of a shirt store. In the second panel, they are coming out of the store, with eye patches on.

And the copy was brilliant. Here’s the first line of the first ad:

“The melancholy disciples of Thorstein Veblen would have despised this shirt.”

Grabbing the prospect’s attention with an entertaining story or idea or photo is essential for any sort of advertising campaign. But you have to do more than that. You have to sell the product. And to do that, you must link the initial sentiment created in the headline with the final emotion needed to close the sale at the end.

If you’re ready to start your own business, Mary Ellen Tribby gives the core ideas in her step-by-step guide.

Spend Most of Your Time on What You Know Best

You may be used to working as part of a team. Somebody does the graphics. Somebody writes promotional copy. Somebody else develops the marketing plan. But when you’re solo, you’re in charge of everything.

Some tasks you can just ditch. And some you can delegate. Establish your priorities. Should you spend time on the phone with your website hosting provider? No, you should delegate that. Should you spend time on content and offers geared toward your market, which you know better than anyone else? Yes.)

Make Technology Your Friend

You may be used to letting others handle the “tech” stuff in your workplace. But when you’re running your own business, you’re the tech guy. And, as MaryEllen discovered, it turns out much of it is pretty easy. For things you can’t figure out, take a class. If it’s really complicated, hire a freelancer.

You don’t have to know everything. But you need to know enough so you’re not at the mercy of your outsourced help. You don’t want to be overcharged or told something is impossible when they just don’t want to do it.

Don’t Ask for Favors, Ask for Advice

At meeting with the mega-successful entrepreneur Richard Branson, MaryEllen was invited to talk about her business. Instead of asking for help, she simply explained what her venture was about and asked for suggestions. Richard offered his support. And, already, his charitable organization, Virgin United, has been in touch with her.

You don’t have to know Richard Branson to take advantage of this approach. Just think about it. If you’re constantly asking people for favors… how long will they feel like granting them?

Create a Network You Can Brag About

Get the best people in your industry in your network. Not people you’ve only met once or see once a year. I’m talking about people you can call at any time. People who will do anything for you. (Of course, you have to be willing to do anything for them, too.)

When you’re starting out, you probably won’t be in touch with industry giants. But you can still make great contacts. Start with likeminded people who are as focused as you are on growing their businesses. As your businesses grow, you will be able to help each other.

Create Accountability Partners

You are 65 percent more likely to accomplish your goals if you have someone watching over your shoulder. As MaryEllen pointed out, it probably has a lot to do with not wanting to admit to not doing what you said you would do. That fear keeps you motivated.

So set up a time to speak with a colleague or business partner once a week. Talk to each other about what you’ve been doing with your businesses. Call them out if they’ve been slacking. Ask them to do the same for you.

Understand Your Market Intimately

One of the first things MaryEllen did was research her market and her competitors. Using keyword research tools from Google, she found that 43 million people a month search terms related to “working moms.” She visited every site in the organic results and pay-per-click ads.

She looked in depth at their site layouts, sales letters, offers, products, and marketing strategies. She figured out what other companies were doing right. And what they were doing wrong. (For example, many didn’t have sign-up boxes on their home pages to build their e-mail lists.)

Work on Your Business Every Day

You can’t just work on the weekends. You have to do something every single day to advance your business. If it’s important to you, you’ll do it. Get up extra early if you have to.

If you want to sell supplements online, for example, you could start researching which products are hot right now. You could contact some suppliers. Buy a domain name. Build your website.

Learn, Understand, and Strive to Master Direct-Response Marketing

Direct marketing is the key to online success. An e-commerce site like Amazon may work. But you’re not Amazon. You can’t wait for customers to find your site. You must reach out to them, get their contact information, and start building relationships that lead to sales.

Don’t Fall Victim to the Biggest Entrepreneurial Curse

Four projects halfway done yields ZERO revenue. One project 100 percent finished brings cash in the door.

Focus on one thing at a time — the one most important thing — and complete it before you start another project.

Ready, Fire, Aim

You have an idea for a business — and six to nine months later, you’re still working on getting your site together. And you’re still working on your marketing copy. Know this: Everything doesn’t have to be perfect before you launch.

As MaryEllen pointed out, most of what you learn about business comes from doing it. You’ll find out what people will buy and for how much. You’ll discover the best way to reach your customers and build your list.

Turning Someday Into Payday

These days, MaryEllen is working toward her dream: to start her own online business aimed at working mothers. And she’ll help kids in need at the same time. Her venture will allow her to work from home, spend time with her family, and make enough money to live the lifestyle she wants to live.

After years of putting off her dream until “someday”… it’s finally happening.

What are you doing to make your “dream” business a reality?

Maybe you’re waiting ’til after the holidays… or for the kids to get a little older… or for that big project at work to be finished… or for the economy to pick up again.

If that’s the case, now’s the time for a little MaryEllen-style tough love: Those are just excuses. Sure, they are real obstacles — but they’re still excuses. And you can always find more of them if you want to.

Stop trying to come up with rationalizations for not taking action. The truth is, now is always the best time to start a business.

Step-By-Step Guide To Starting a Small Business

1. Are You the Entrepreneurial Type?
2. Small Business FAQ
3. Introduction
4. Deciding What You Want To Do
5. Viability Of Your Idea
6. New Learning
7. Writing a Business Plan
8. Financing Your Business
9. Effective Partnering
10. Mentors and Resources
11. Business Structure
12. Licenses, Regulations and Permits
13. Small Business Insurance
14. Employment Issues
15. Hiring/Managing/Firing Employees
16. Accounting System/Internal Controls
17. Implement Your Marketing Plan/Selling Product
18. Creating Your Product
19. Refining Your Marketing Plan
20. Modifying Your Product, Creating New Products
21. Reevaluating Your Company
22. Growing Your Company
23. Contemplating Your Exit Strategy
24. Further Small Business Resources

Source: “Ready. Fire. Aim” by Michael Masterson
Small-Business-Book

Is your business idea viable?

Take a look to this checklist for every entrepreneur, the essential acid test to determine the viability of any new business you’re considering:
1. Inventory Cost Relative to Capital On-Hand, and Inventory Rotation
2. Margins
3. Start-Up and Promotional Expense Relative to Capital On-Hand:
4. Compatibility with Push Marketing and Customer Funnel Strategy:
5. Competition
6. Uniqueness of product

The, rate each category from 1 (low) to 4 (high).
* Between 19 and 24, there’s an excellent chance you could be the next entrepreneurial legend – a Richard Branson in the making!
* Between 13 and 18, look for new wrinkles that would allow you to assign a higher score in one or more of these categories.
* Between 4 and 12, your business idea needs intensive care. Either find ways to improve its score in EVERY category or simply walk away.

What would be the perfect business?
* Inventory cost is next to nothing …
* Instead of margins of 50% or less, keep between 90% and 100% of every revenue dollar earned …
* Instead of having to spend five or even six figures creating a huge website and catalog, the start-up expenses should be next to nothing …
* The new model might be 100% compatible with the push marketing/customer funnel model and also take advantage of search engine optimization to pull prospects and customers to the company.
* And have zero competitors and products that are absolutely unique – the only place in the world you can get them is from this company.

Does this business exist? This could be the Information Business like selling: E-books, courses, videos and maybe even live workshops to people who want to maintain, build and customize their own business.

This kind of mistake is amazingly common, because nine out of 10 Internet marketers don’t know the first thing about the science of direct marketing.

The wonderful thing about direct marketing is that you can precisely measure response and predict — with statistical certainty — the outcome of your future efforts.

The Internet has made testing much easier and quicker. And that is one reason why Internet marketing is perfect for direct-response marketers.

But the Internet is also the reason why there is so much ignorance out there about how our business really works.

And that is why, if you don’t truly know the game, your business is in jeopardy.

The Illusion of Temporary Success
The Internet was such a hot medium for nearly a decade that almost anybody who stuck their hand into the World Wide Web bowl came out with a golden apple.

A Challenging New World
Gone are the days of easy pickings.
The bubble was huge. And now it is rapidly deflating.
Response rates are crashing Refunds are rising. Bad debt is soaring. Sell-through values are plummeting.

Problem is, everybody and his mother-in-law have gotten into Internet marketing. They learned how to knock off successful Internet businesses by taking courses proffered by those young “experts.” And Google (and a thousand companies that service Google) made the process easier by providing them with hundreds of tools for monitoring their competitors.

But what they learned were “outside” tricks and techniques that have nothing to do with the valuable “inside” knowledge necessary for long-term success — knowledge that can’t be gained by using the plethora of Google tools out there and the latest gimmicks touted by upstarts who never bothered to learn the fundamentals of direct marketing.

Those young whippersnappers don’t know the fundamentals. And what they don’t know, they can’t teach. As a result, their “students” have no idea of what really matters: how to build a strong relationship with your customers so they come back to buy from you again and again.

What You Need to Know Now!
To be successful from now on, you will have to develop expertise in direct marketing. And that means mastering the following skills:

* Statistically valid testing
* Creating “irresistible” offers
* Structuring price, term, refund, and premium tests
* Determining the true lifetime value of every new customer
* Calculating “allowable acquisition costs”
* Measuring responsiveness by media source
* Figuring the “doubling date” or “half-life” of new offers
* Creating “gauntlet” and “pummel” programs for new customers
* Purging unproductive prospects
* Discovering your “optimal selling strategy”
* Brainstorming for the “Aha!” idea
* Understanding the “architecture of persuasion”
* Using the “four-legged stool”
* Implementing the Rule of One
* Using archetypal leads
* Designing effective “peer reviews”
* Efficiently managing the “CUB” procedure

If you don’t have these skills — or if your key people don’t have them — consider your business to be in trouble. The market is tough now, and it will be much tougher as every month passes.

Source: ETR 28/09/09

If you are working for somebody else now, you can use it to become your company’s most valuable employee. And within six months, here’s what you can expect:

* Your income will increase dramatically.
* Your job satisfaction will skyrocket. (You’ll love coming to work!)
* Opportunities for career advancement will start flowing to you.
* Your boss and coworkers will start treating you as someone special — with admiration and respect.
* Your sense of job security will soar, knowing that you will never, ever be fired.

If you are a business owner, you can give this article to your employees and expect to see at least one of them quickly begin to work at a much higher level.

Imagine how great it will be when you don’t have to be the only person who:

* Comes up with all the marketing ideas
* Keeps a concerned eye on expenses
* Makes all the important deals
* Keeps the vendors honest
* Really, really cares about the bottom line

How does that sound?

Okay. Let me tell you about Uncle Al.

“Show up. Do your job. Keep your nose clean.” Those were the rules that Al Perot, owner of The Maple Avenue Deli, laid down at 6:00 a.m. the first Saturday I worked for him.

At 15, I had little use for maxims — and less for those delivered before I was fully awake. But Al’s three rules, as I kept learning later in my life, were a formula for wealth, health, and happiness.

I ignored them at first because I didn’t truly understand them. But when I finally realized what he meant, my career caught fire.

Uncle Al, as we called him, was an interesting guy — a blue-collar Renaissance man. He read widely. He was a connoisseur of classical music. He coached football. And he mentored his teenage employees.

I was one of his proteges for a summer in 1965. And during that short period of time, I am quite sure I heard Uncle Al repeat his rules no fewer than two dozen times.

“Show up. Do your job. Keep your nose clean.”

So simple. Three imperative sentences — the first consisting of two words, the second three words, the third four.

As an author of self-improvement books, I have contemplated many prescriptions for successful living — from the Ten Commandments to The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People. But I never found one as simple as Uncle Al’s.

Simple, but hardly simple-minded.

I think of his rules now as individually sealed little packages — each one containing a lifetime’s worth of wisdom.

Show up. Woody Allen famously said “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” But Woody didn’t mean just drag your body to work at the appointed time — and neither did Uncle Al.

Do your job. Lots of people consider a good workday to be one where they do as little challenging work as possible. The more idle or fun or lazy time they can get paid for, the better. This belief is amazingly widespread. It is a big part of union mythology, a big part of executive mythology … and even a big part of the Internet business world.

Keep your nose clean. Most people take this to mean “Stay out of trouble.” But Uncle Al was too smart to think you can achieve greatness by avoiding conflict or staying on the beaten path.

Let me show you what Uncle Al’s three rules really mean. To illustrate, I will introduce you to RM, a woman who came to work for one of my clients just three years ago.

Show Up

I remember the day I met her. Her boss, my client, introduced me to her. She stood up, shook my hand, and greeted me with a big smile. “I’ve read all your books,” she said. “I’m a big fan.”

I’ve talked about the power of flattery before. It doesn’t matter whether it’s intended or accidental. So long as it is delivered with enthusiasm, it always works. It works because nobody can get enough of it. Okay, maybe Brad Pitt gets tired of it. But for the rest of us, enough is never really enough.

When you meet someone who has the power to affect your career trajectory, you have a one-time opportunity. Instead of trying to impress the individual by acting smart or smart-alecky, a genuine smile and a sincere compliment will work wonders. The more specific the compliment, the more powerful it will be.

I once met a distinguished Ezra Pound scholar — Hugh Kenner. He gave a lecture at Catholic University, where I was enrolled in a very competitive graduate program. After his speech, I walked up to him with a copy of his most recent book and asked him to sign it. I told him I had read every one of his books, and I mentioned a specific idea from one of them to prove my point.

He was immediately interested in me. We spent a good 10 minutes talking. Correct that. We spent that time talking about him. He talked. I admired what he said.

The next day, the chairman of the English department called me into his office. “What in God’s name did you say to Hugh Kenner?” he asked.

“Why?” I said.

“Because he said you were the most intelligent graduate student he had ever met.”

This is a true story. During that brief conversation with Hugh Kenner I told him I had read all his books, and I cited the one example. Other than that, all I said was, “Yes, I see what you mean. Yes, I never thought of that!”

This is all basic stuff for anyone who has read Dale Carnegie’s classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. (If you haven’t read it, buy a copy today.) It’s all about the power of focusing your attention on the person you are communicating with.

If RM hasn’t read Dale Carnegie, she is Dale Carnegie reincarnated. Because she showed up at that first meeting with a full understanding of Carnegie’s secret of influencing people: Win the friendship first. And every time I have met her since then, she has taken the time to prove to me that she appreciates everything I have to say to her. By making a friend of me, she has gotten all my best ideas and best wishes. At every stage of her career, I have done my best to move her forward.

And don’t think for a moment that I am the only one. RM has this effect on everyone she meets.

But that’s only part of what RM knows about “showing up.” It also means preparing yourself for every important interaction.

Before RM comes to a business meeting, she knows exactly what is expected of her. She has the facts. She’s done her homework. When she speaks, it is clear to everyone that she knows what she’s talking about.

She also makes a great personal presentation. She is always well groomed and well dressed. She is always energetic and cheerful. When problems are discussed, she never gets discouraged. She is the “can do” woman. That has a very positive effect on the people who work with her — her coworkers, her employees, and her bosses.

If you want to become your company’s most valuable employee, you must start by adopting RM’s happy-to-be-here attitude toward work. I know more than a few employees as capable and intelligent as RM, but none that brings so much to the table. In fact, I am thinking of firing a potential superstar right now because she thinks that showing up means just showing up and being smart.

Being smart doesn’t cut it. When you show up, show up the way RM does!

Do Your Job

When RM does a job, she never does what she is asked to do. People who do what they are asked to do are “B” employees. Reliable. Conscientious. Keepers.

But when the boss is thinking of promoting an employee to a responsible position, the last person he wants is someone who is reliable, conscientious, and a keeper. The best jobs are given to people who do more than they are asked. Upward mobility in any organization worth working for is about astonishing the boss. Satisfying him won’t get you anywhere.

In Automatic Wealth for Grads … and Anyone Else Just Starting Out, I put it this way:

“So long as your work performance is ordinary, you can’t expect anything more than an ordinary salary. But if you change your work habits and contribute substantially more than your fellow workers, you can rightly expect to be paid substantially more than they are getting.”

You may be thinking, “My boss is so demanding … I can never satisfy the son of a bitch. How the hell am I going to astonish him?”

But the truth is you can. Demanding businesspeople are dissatisfied with 99 percent of their employees because they have set their standards too high. They want everyone who works for them to be a superstar. That is impossible and self-defeating. But it doesn’t mean you can’t astonish these people. All you have to do is work harder and smarter and with more enthusiasm than anyone else.

You can do it. You really can. It’s just a matter of deciding you should.

And why should you? Because even if your boss is Mephistopheles in an Armani suit, he notices his superstar employees and becomes dependent on them. If you become a superstar, he may not praise you … but he will never let you go. And when you ask for a promotion or raise … he’ll give it to you. Trust me.

RM understands that. She also understands that doing your job is about paying attention to the big picture. And the big picture in any business is focused on two goals:

* Providing exceptional value to your customers.
* Realizing long-term profits from your relationship with them.

Every time RM has been given a challenge, she’s planned her strategy according to those two goals. She would never produce a product unless she was convinced it would be genuinely valuable to the company’s customer base. And she always makes sure the marketing plan she’s working with is one that will produce long-term profits.

Keep Your Nose Clean

RM made her way from a beginning employee making less than $30,000 to a partner in the business making six figures. She did it in less than three years. And she did it by following Uncle Al’s first two rules.

Yes. If you really show up and you really do your job — like RM — you will be really successful. There is absolutely no doubt about that.

So what need is there for another rule?

And such a rule! Keep your nose clean?

Well, it’s not an accident that this rule comes last. Because you can understand it only after you have fully understood the first two.

In fact, I only began to figure it out about 10 years ago, more than 20 years after Uncle Al died.

Briefly, here’s what I think …

Keeping your nose clean is about attending to the small details that make for a more mannerly and considerate life. Keeping your nose clean means taking care of those small details, even if you have achieved great success while ignoring them.

One example: In the information marketing world — ETR’s world — good spelling, punctuation, and grammar will have no impact on your success. So long as you are a master of using the English language to persuade people to buy what you’re selling … it doesn’t matter how you butcher it to achieve your goals.

Time and again I’ve seen mailings go out with terrible mistakes, even on headlines. And never once did I see it have any impact on sales.

If your core ideas are good and your will is good — i.e., you provide exceptional value — your customers will be more than happy to forgive you for making small blunders along the way. If they even notice them. Which they probably won’t.

So the reason you want to keep your nose clean can’t be to achieve more success, right? Right.

Why, then, would you worry about it at all?

You want to keep your nose clean because, in the long run, your career is much less about achieving the status symbols of success — wealth and its trophies — than it is about being spiritually healthy and feeling proud of yourself.

That, it turns out, can be achieved only by keeping your nose clean.

If you think I’m talking out of my butt, don’t fret about it. Just keep working on the first two rules. When you are young and strong and wanting to become rich and powerful, it’s enough to show up and do your job.

But just keep this third rule in mind. And I promise you — after you have achieved everything else, you will say to yourself one day, “You know, Michael Masterson was right about Uncle Al’s third rule. I’m going to start wiping the snot from my nose.”

Source: ETR by Michael Masterson