Going From $25 Million to $100M -– Our Method Revealed (or at least part of it so I don’’t violate confidentiality)

Summary: Yesterday, I was chatting to the Chief Operating Officer for a client that does about $25 million per year. We were chatting about the latest round of testing that we're doing on the video sales letters... checked out pages... email funnels and so on. Our goal is to take the company to $100 million. So, as we were talking, I was pleasantly satisfied with the testing results because they were going up and up. The future looks very bright. BUT... As sharp as this COO is (along with me not being too shabby in the marketing arena) there were a lot of questions neither of us had the answer to. And so I started thinking about how common this is in marketing. In fact, I remember a quote by Warren Buffett... "I'd rather be approximately right than precisely wrong." As marketers, we like to think testing is an exact process. That we can define A/B split tests (and even multivariate tests) to attain precise outcomes. And sometimes it's true. But often it's B.S. Often marketers (like myself and this COO) have no idea why something happens. We have no idea about the consequences of a certain decision. We have no idea how the market will react to a particular offer. THE LESSON Here's a truism about marketing... and probably about life in general: The less someone knows about something, the more vocal they are in their opinion. So, beware of an "expert" on ANY subject who professes to know the answer to every dilemma that ails you. Especially in the area of your marketing. Marketing is NOT an exact science... Here's a metaphor to convey my point... Recently I purchased a bow and arrow. Not like the kind you see in Robin Hood. But the kind used by professional archers. It's a beauty. When I first started firing it, I was way off target. That's partly because I need to ramp up my skill set. But it's also because the sights were off. So, for the first few dozens shots, I had to re-align the sights. The process... 1. I'd mark my distance (say 10 metres from target) 2. I'd shoot 3. I'd mark how far off target I was and then re-align my sights 4. I'd shoot again 5. I'd mark how far off target I was and then re-align my sights yet again I kept doing this at the 10-metre mark until I consistently flirted with the bulls eye. Then I'd repeat the process at 20 metres from the target. Then 30 metres from target. And so on. Until I knew that any divergence off-target was due to my own lacking skill and little to do with the bow and arrow. Marketing is the same. It's a process of hit and miss. Hit. And. Miss. Of slowly and gradually and consistently zeroing in on target. So that, once you're consistent in your results, it's a matter of upping the stakes. This is where growth comes in. You buy new traffic sources. You spend more on marketing. You try different ideas. (This is akin to moving from 10 metres to 20 metres). Of course, just like shooting the bow and arrow, you go "off target". Some ideas work and some do not. That's normal. And it's not a problem. In fact, all that remains is the following question... "How quickly can you realign your business at the higher level?" Because companies that realign the fastest - and use this feedback - dominate their industry. My best advice... ... use the feedback from your arrows veering off target. REGISTRATIONS CLOSED Registrations for the Instant Sales Roundtable are now closed. If you were planning on joining us, I'm sorry to say you missed the boat. I don't have any official dates on when the next one will be. But if you've been watching the emails about it and thought to yourself "maybe one day I'll do it" then jump into our VIP notification list. Just email Sophy at sophym@marketingbump.com Don't worry: it won't obligate you to attend.