Commentary

What is Dangerous Tactics?

By Christian

Since I’ve begun this blog somewhat recently, I’ve had some questions:

Why did I start a new site?
Why did I pick the name “Dangerous Tactics”?
What is my thing with ninjas?

I started this site, because I wanted to do a total, complete overhaul of my last site Next level blogger. I’d been wanting to make some changes, and I just decided it would be fun to do a new name along with all the other changes. You know, let’s see just how much I can confuse everyone 🙂

I picked “Dangerous Tactics”, because I think it’s a fun name, and it speaks to the nature of the content here. What’s so dangerous about this site? I think an informed and focused small business owner is dangerous indeed. Someone who truly knows what they want to accomplish and KNOWS how to get it done. Such a person is a true ninja. You better find your own niche, because you have NO chance of beating them at what they do. Every successful business owner is a sponge when it comes to learning new tactics to grow their business, but unfortunately not all tactics are created equal. There are different kinds:

Trendy Tactics
Spammy Tactics
Lazy Tactics
Money-Wasting Tactics
Dangerous Tactics

Given the choices available, I chose to go with #5.

With regards to ninjas, I just dig em. Don’t you? I mean, ninjas are stealthy, effective and dangerously dangerous. What more can you ask for?

Should I set up a Facebook business page?

By Christian

There’s been a streak of marketing lately from people selling Facebook marketing courses, and as a results I’ve had some questions about whether or not it’s smart to have a Facebook business page (they used to be called ‘fanpages’).

Facebook is becoming a business platform more than a social network. It’s angled heavily for business now, which is fine in principle, but their execution sucks.

Currently, Facebook presents fantastic opportunities for business owners right now, but I’m not going to have any part of it.

Why? Because it’s scammy. I do see a lot of great opportunities on FB right now, but the way they’re approaching their business is a short game, and that’s not how I roll. It’s also not what I recommend to clients I think every business owner should look at Facebook carefully right now, because we’re watching a disaster in the making.

It’s marketing with a social media skin. Facebook is monetizing their user base, which is fine. But they’re using covert tactics, and making their user accounts very accessible to marketing messages, and most users don’t understand this.

Do you want to reach a LOT of people with your message? If so, then on the surface it may seem like Facebook is a great way to do it.
Do you want your users to actually trust and accept your marketing? If so, then you need to be very careful with how you proceed to market yourself on Facebook.

For example, did you know that when you click the ‘like’ button for one of your favorite businesses, gurus or celebrities, you’re also automatically signing up for their email list? What’s wrong with this? Three things:

Are you asked if you want to receive email from them? No.
Are you asked to confirm your email subscription? No. You’re just automatically on their email list now.
Is there an opt-out link or any clear way to get off an email list once your on? Again…that would be a ‘no’.

This is the OPPOSITE of permission-based marketing, which is what social media marketing is SUPPOSED to be all about. This is just one of many, many examples. It causes users’ inboxes to get flooded with marketing messages they didn’t anticipate, and most users don’t know how to get off the email list.

Check this out…as a marketer, I can go in and create a new group on Facebook for free. Then I can add you to that group without reference to you…completely without your permission or even your knowledge. And you will then start to get email from that group. Again…automatically. And if you don’t want the email, it’s then up to you to figure out where the email is even coming from, and it’s up to you to figure out how to get off the list. Sounds great, huh?

Again, it’s a short term marketing opportunity for business owners. I have no inherent fight with anyone who uses Facebook for marketing. Why? Because there are many ways to do it ethically. But you really need to learn the platform, and you need to respect your users, or you WILL end up alienating them. In fact, Facebook encourages it.

When you take a massive network like this, and you flip it around without people’s knowledge and turn it into a marketing platform which presents itself as a social network, you’re asking for trouble. Is Facebook still free for personal accounts? Yes. Does Facebook have every right to monetize it’s platform? Of course. My criticism of Facebook is not that they’re monetizing. My criticism is that they’re doing it in a really sketchy way, and their user base WILL retaliate.

An explanation for why my blog sucks

By Christian

I feel I owe you an apology. I make lots of mistakes on this blog. I don’t SEO most of the posts. I only put pictures up on some of them. I don’t even have comments turned on for God’s sake. I’m such a loser. I want to apologize 🙂

Here’s the thing: it’s not my goal to build big traffic here. I’m writing this blog for you. Yes, I’m quite serious…I’m talking to YOU. There really is quite a good chance that you and I have emailed a bit, talked on Twitter or even met at a conference. I write this blog for a small niche audience…my audience.

This isn’t a big blog. It’s my business blog, and I run a small consulting and publishing business. Why spend time optimizing my content when I could just be working with you guys one on one or coming out with a new product to help you take things to the next level?

I know we work on cool stuff like SEO, image optimization, driving traffic, etc…in our consulting sessions. And I practice very little of that here on my own blog. You may have noticed that. I think it’s crucial to focus. Know from the outset what you want your blog to achieve, and then go for it.

What am I going for on DangerousTactics? Well, I’m going for you. Mission accomplished 🙂

For god’s sake be deliberate

By Christian

Dear fellow ninja bloggers. You’re awesome for taking up blogging. It’s such a fantastic tool for marketing your business. But let’s not forget that it’s just a tool. Having a tool does not get you results. Any tool must be wielded with skill in order to get a meaningful result.

I see too many boring blogs out there. Don’t do that. You are not a boring person. You’re a business owner! You have mad skills and so much to share with your customers and clients. Your people like working with you. Share your personality on your blog.

Be yourself. In doing so, you will differentiate yourself. You will stand out. You will have more fun, and by having fun, your blog will become better.

I’m writing this post, because I just got a message from a reader saying that he’s been blogging for “quite a while now” and he gets “NOTHING” out of it. His blogging hasn’t done anything meaningful for his business as far as he can tell, and I know for a FACT that he’s not the only one out there who feels like that.

Do you feel like that? Do you question whether or not your blog is worth your time?

I’ve been doing this for 12 years now. Let me give it to you straight. Here’s the bottom line:

If your blog is not getting the results you’re looking for, there is an identifiable and correctable cause for that. In other words…it’s fixable! Did you know that? Did you know that it is an absolute FACT that you can and will get the results you’re looking for if you stick with it and make the necessary tweaks to your approach?

It’s a fact. Stick with it. Email me questions. I answer them, you know! That’s why I’m here. Yes, I charge for one-on-one stuff, and I sell products, etc. I also do massive amounts of stuff for free. Why? Because you’re awesome; we’re all in this together, and I owe you. A certain percentage of you will always buy stuff from me, and that is why it’s my duty to do whatever I can to help you get the results you need from your web marketing.

Do you feel like you’re not sure what to do to take things to the next level? Fire me an email or hit me up on Twitter. Let’s get you where you want to go.

The benefit of starting with nothing

By Christian

In my consulting business, I work with a lot of real estate professionals. That’s probably not too much of a surprise, because Dangerous Tactics is about how to make more sales, and Realtors definitely are in a sales-based business, correct? One of the biggest concerns I hear from new agents is the concern of income. Basically, “how long is it going to take before I start making money?”

We all need an income of some sort, so this seems like a reasonable question. But as I argue so often, I think this is the wrong question to ask. Don’t ask how long it will be before you start making money, because if that’s your question it means your focus is on making a sale. That’s the wrong focus.

The right focus

If your focus isn’t supposed to be on making sales, then where the heck is it supposed to be? Is that question on your mind? I hope so, because THAT is the right question 🙂

The best place to focus is on the client. What do THEY need? How can you best help them? What’s in THEIR best interest? If your focus is not on them, then you are not serving them, and if you’re not serving them, do you know what path you’re on? You’re on the path to becoming a high pressure salesperson…or a broke salesperson. I’d wager neither one appeals to you, right? So let’s work to correct that.

The best salespeople and highest-producing business owners don’t care if they make the sale. This might sound counter-intuitive, so if you’re inclined to argue with me, then I encourage you to spend a while talking with top producers and successful business owners like I have for many years. I’m confident that after a short while you’ll see exactly what I mean.

So if you legitimately need to make a sale, how the heck are you supposed to not care if you make the sale?

This is the big secret to high production and a lot of success in your business. Of course you need to pay bills, and that will always be the case. So this means that you need to get good at what you do. Education, training and coaching are the constant companions of every successful business owner and sales professional. This is no coincidence.

You need to get good at making more sales, but as you already know people don’t like high pressure salespeople, and they rarely buy from them. So if you legitimately need to make a sale, how the heck are you supposed to not care if you make the sale? This is an issue a lot of people struggle with, so I want you to stick with me. If you read this post and apply it to your business (this is completely applicable to anyone who wants to sell more of their stuff, not just Realtors), then you will be on the road to making a lot more sales. I guarantee it.

How to not care about money

You know how a bank will only give money to people who don’t really need it? It’s a funny situation, but the same principle applies to making more sales in your business. If you are desperate for a sale, it quickly becomes very difficult to make a sale, because customers know your focus is on yourself, not them. See the trouble? It really is essential to not care about money if you want to truly grow your business and start making more sales. So how do you do it?

There are two ways:

Have money in the bank
Spend some time in the trenches and learn that not having money really isn’t something to be afraid of

Clearly this may seem like a difficult choice, and for many people it is. That’s why top producing business owners and salespeople earn a high income…they don’t really need the money.

Points to be argued

Of course this is an easy thing to argue. You can cite the existence of self-interested and corrupt business owners. You could point out that this is an easy thing for me to say, because I’m so uber-successful, etc. I understand 🙂 But here’s the thing…it’s not my rule. The world gives money to people who don’t really need it, just like banks give money to people who don’t really need it.

Why is this the case? Because if you’re trying to make sales, your motivation is going to shine through every time, and people’s bullshit detectors are on high alert. Importantly, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a business like real estate where you’re working face to face with clients or if you’re in a marketing-based business where you rarely see your customers face-to-face.

Many business owners think they can hide behind their sales copy. Because they’re not physically face-to-face with their buyers, they convince themselves they’re not in sales. We like to call ourselves “marketers”, because we don’t want to think of ourselves as sleazy high pressure salespeople. But the fact is everyone is in sales, and your motivation is what matters, not your method of delivery of your sales messages.

You can do personal one-on-one sales demos, webinars, or you can write sales copy that will be read by thousands of people at a time…it’s all the same. If your motivation is to truly and earnestly help the customer, the customer will know it, and trust will begin to form. You will be on the path to earning some serious business if you stick with it. If on the other hand your motivation is to make money, pay your bills and get your balance sheet straightened out…the customer will know that too.

Which one do YOU think will earn you more sales?

The benefit of starting with nothing

When I first began my sales career 12 years or so back, I had nothing. I had a part time job at a restaurant and was making about $5k per year. Yeah, I was pimpin 🙂 My wife and I had basically nothing but each other, and I learned something really important during that time. It wasn’t a dark time. It was awesome. It was simple. No it wasn’t a rich lifestyle. I drove a Geo Metro, man! But we had everything we needed, and we got by.

…as soon as I took that attitude, my sales started coming in as fast as I could handle them.

The essential lesson was that even if I lost everything today, I know for a fact I would be OK. I also know for a fact that I could rebuild things very quickly, because I know what to do now to get results. How do I know that NOT making the sale is OK? Because I’ve done it. I’ve been totally, completely broke, and while it’s not my ideal situation, it’s really not that bad.

That’s the benefit of starting with nothing. You can focus on your clients without worrying about whether you make a sale or not, because you know that the absolute worst thing that can happen is that you won’t make money, and if that happens…so what? Ironically…and this is the killer point of this whole post…as soon as I took that attitude, my sales started coming in as fast as I could handle them. I started winning awards, all-expense-paid vacations and earning more money than I’d ever made before.

Do I recommend starting with nothing? Not necessarily. You can always do option 1. Have money in the bank. At least that way you have something to fall back on, and it allows you to maintain focus on what matters…the client. But if you can’t do that, you always have option 2, and it might be the best way to go. With money in the bank, you can still lose it and might eventually have to face being broke.

But if you start with nothing, you have the opportunity to learn that being broke and being poor are two completely different things, and if you learn that lesson then nobody can take that from you, and nothing…nothing can stop you.

Why Doing What You Love Isn’t Enough

By Christian

There’s something I call the “do what you love culture”, and Gary Vaynerchuk is at the helm. I’ve read pretty much all of Gary’s stuff, and I agree with him. Like many, I’m inspired by his energy, and I wish I was as dynamic and good-looking as him 🙂

If you’re not familiar with Gary V, he sells wine…lots of it, and his marketing base is his video wine blog. While other wine companies spend millions on advertising, he runs a blog…and he kills it. He’s changing the industry from the inside out, and the world is taking note of him in a big way.

The reason Gary attracts so much attention is because he has a clear vision, and that type of thing is contagious. His vision is larger than just his wine business. I think the guy actually wants to change the world, and I give him props for that. His basic idea is that it’s essential to do what you love. When you love your business, you do what it takes to get the job done. It’s simple really. The bottom line is that running a business takes a lot of work, and when you have passion, you stick with it, because it’s not really work, it’s a labor of love.

But there’s a key element missing from this sentiment that is rarely addressed..

The fact is that Gary…and everyone who runs a successful company…has a lot of support. Of course this fact isn’t hidden, and I’m certain Gary would be the first to admit he hasn’t accomplished everything he has on his own. The problem is that it’s rarely brought up. Gary has help. You need help as well. We all do.

So while you’re asking yourself “what do I love?”, ask yourself also “who else do I need on board with this also?” and “what do THEY love?” and “how can we make this all work together, so everyone’s mission is accomplished?”

I humbly submit that being successful in business is not about following your passion. Not at all. It’s about helping others follow theirs. Start there, and you’ll begin to realize that what you need is support, not passion. Passion without a solid foundation is a flash in the pan. Build your network. Build your team. Enable them to live their dreams, and in turn they will enable you to live yours.