TDW #011: The 7 Brutal Marketing Truths Every Entrepreneur Needs To Hear

“Better the wounds of a friend than the kisses of an enemy.”

I come in peace!

Lots of entrepreneurs stay busy with marketing:

• Tweeting tweets
• Sending emails
• Shooting video
• Spinning out new offers

But when the busy-ness doesn’t lead to more results, burnout is the only outcome. I don’t need you to be busy. I need you to win.

There are blind spots for any business that, if left unchecked, will permanently hold you back.

So let’s get real.

Here they are…

The 7 brutal marketing truths preventing you from making more money (and how to fix them).

—

A. You can’t identify your ideal prospect.

Who do you serve? 

The answer cannot be 'everyone.' You must decide. The more specific, the better.

It can feel scary to pick. But you must. It’s mission-critical for your long-term success.

A roadtrip can't start without a destination.

Marketing can't happen without a person in mind.

How to fix it:

• Pick a real person you’ve worked with before
• Someone with a first name and last name
• This person should be someone who’s paid you money in the past
• Forget niches and all that other stuff–tailor your marketing to this one person

B. Working in your business is costing you business.

I need you to be captain of your ship. Not pulling levers and pushing buttons down in the galley.

You'll make 10x better decisions when you frequently and methodically look at the big picture of your biz.

But you can’t do that if you’re busy with other people’s jobs.

Don't sacrifice $100 to save $1.

How to fix it:

• Look at your schedule from last week–where did you spend your time?
• Separate your tasks into three buckets: Do, Delegate, Delete
• Do: these are tasks that you–and only you–can do
• Delegate: give these tasks to someone else; if you don’t have employees, hire a virtual assistant
• Delete: get rid of these tasks completely
• Now use the time you saved from delegating and deleting to look at the big picture of your business

C. Your numbers are a mess.

This one's a biggie. You must know your marketing numbers. What it takes to move someone from complete stranger to buyer.

Knowing your numbers allows you to see where the choke points are.

For instance, I once had a client who had a killer open rate on their emails. Click through rates were awesome as well. But we couldn’t figure out why no one was buying. (Like, literally no one.)

So we started measuring button clicks on their landing pages. And wouldn’t you know it? The links didn’t work.

Fixed the links. Sales ensued. Everyone was happy.

Now, this seems like a super obvious solution, right? And it is. But even missing one measurement in the buyer’s journey will cost you sales.

How to fix it:

If you don't know where to start, here are the basics (in order):

• impressions (eyeballs)
• leads (hand-raises)
• calls (qualified convos)
• conversions (yes's)

D. You’re selling features, not benefits.

These are brutal truths, right?

Here's a big one: no one cares about the cool bells and whistles of your offer. They do not care how long you’ve been in business, what your values are (or aren’t), or how passionate you are.

If no one has told you that before, I’m sorry. This one stings. And it took me forever to figure out.

Your audience cares about how your offer helps them prevent pain or actualize pleasure. So we need to optimize for that. 

How to fix it:

• List out your audience’s pain points
• Then list out the solution to each one of their pain points
• Now, connect the dots between the solutions you came up with and your offer
• Never talk about your offer, ever again, without referencing how you ease their pain

E. You’re waiting for people to find you.

Do. Not. Wait. Ever.

The marketing gas pedal needs to be pressed to the floor every damn day.

No "we have tons of referrals."

No "our great product just markets itself."

Just, no.

You must never let up—even when you're tired.

How to fix it: Go. 

F. Your time horizon is too short.

Marketing—even great marketing—takes time.

Needing an immediate return is a sign of desperation (usually caused by a lack of marketing).

You plant a seed.

You water it.

And eventually… the flower blooms.

Marketing is like nature.

You can’t control the outcome. But you can control the process. Detach from the outcome. Attach to the process.

How to fix it:

• Start before you think you need to (this keeps you from getting desperate)
• Establish metrics to track so you can see if you’re moving towards your preferred outcome
• Give yourself time
• Remove the pressure

G. You’re selling something no one wants.

I once heard Michael Hyatt say, "good marketing makes a bad product fail faster." The market (i.e. your ideal prospect) is never wrong. So do a gut check.

You don't want to be committed to selling an offer that no one's interested in.

Final Words

These truths are what I wish someone would have shared with me. Lessons learned the hard way. I’ve made every mistake in the book – I want you to profit from my mistakes.

I hope one or two of these have jarred something loose. Pay attention to what stuck out to you on the list. Start there. You’ll do great.

Hope that helps!

Justin