Top 15 Biggest Marketing Mistakes

From time to time we hear about people making HUMONGOUS marketing blunders.

According to one of my mentors, Jay Abraham, there are 15 marketing mistakes that should be avoided at all costs.

This article is aimed to:

• Share the top 15 Biggest Marketing Mistakes
• Provide simple actions you can take to avoid them

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While I've fallen victim to a few of these, I know millions of others have suffered the same fate as me...

...Lack of results.

So, the secrets in this post are the guideposts I use everyday to stay out of the weeds and always create decent marketing.

And here's the 1 thing I can assure you of...

"Avoiding These 15 Marketing Mistakes Is The Key To Making Money Every Week And Is Attainable By Resetting Your Habits"

Yes. This post is about making money. This post is also about saving money.

So if those items are attractive to you, and you're wanting to avoiding unnecessary efforts, and you'd like to cut through the clutter to save some time in your marketing journey, then take 2 minutes and read EVERY word of this article.

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WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

About 3 years ago, Monster and I came to a point where we needed to make a change.

We had been online and CRUSHING it as affiliate marketers, and we had just made our first 7 figures online, but we were wanting to step on the gas pedal to help others achieve the same results as us.

And being entrepreneurial, we had a choice.

We could have decided to stay in the affiliate space and become true Jedi masters at it, or we could jump to the next shiny object (building our own software company).

Mistakenly, we chose the latter and decided to build a software company.

And while we worked our asses off to build a really good software company, we were also playing the affiliate game at the same time.

Result?

Both of them ended up being mediocre.

Well, you and I both know that mediocre isn't where the money's at, right?

So our choice hurt.

There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears we put into the software.

And luckily, because we had Russell Brunson as our direct head marketing coach and Alex Charfen as our direct business and systems coach, we were able to achieve a small level of success in both.

But, it's not anything to write home about, you know?

So, what's in it for you?

Hard lessons that we've struggled through and learned that you don't have to repeat.

Now, you may be thinking, "I know better than that. I wouldn't leave the opportunity in front of me if it's working."

Well, that's what I thought.

And, my ego helped me develop an overly optimistic attitude that we could handle doing both at the same time.

That's when we entered an 18 month long journey down "BURNOUT ALLEY".

Not a fun place.

And I don't recommend anyone go there.

(If you're currently in BURNOUT ALLEY, lemme know - I have some wonderful resources for you.)

So, after spending well over $1 million dollars to build out our software company, here's a couple things I learned the hard way bundled in with the teachings directly from Jay Abraham. (If you don't know him, just look him up and you'll see why he's one of my direct mentors.)

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The Top 15 Biggest Marketing Mistakes To Avoid...

1. Reading Less..

• Huge mistake. Most of us think once we get out of school we're "FREE". When in fact, that's when the best part of the journey begins. Unfortunately, most stop reading. Statistics show that Americans have an average reading level of Grade 4. That's horrible. Reading allows room for growth. It helps creativity. It informs.
• PRO-TIP: Most people freak out at the idea of reading because they think they have to finish an entire book. Not true. The fastest way to read well is to pick up a book that you're interested in, open it, and read until the first idea fills your mind. Close the book, and implement the action into your world. Doing this everyday will allow you to propel your career forward in a manner that everyone will be crazy jealous about.

2. Putting Your Blinders On...

• We're not the Budweiser Clydesdale Horses... We don't scare that easily. Putting your blinders on and coming up with your own ideas on what to sell will leave you in a bad place.
• PRO-TIP: Spend more time shopping. Note the conduct, personalities, and actions of retailers and service companies. Keep a notebook in your pocket for jotting down ideas and observations.

3. Not Asking For Input...

• As Einstein put it, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” He wasn't wrong about his theories of the universe, and he's not wrong about gaining knowledge.
• PRO-TIP: Ask your customers questions. Go out in the field and spend time speaking with your prospects and clients. Find out what they really want -- and what their major sales objections are.

4. Failing To Test Your Own Systems...

• It's heartbreaking to hear from a prospective client, "Hey Sean, I went to purchase your software, but the checkout link doesn't work. I don't think your program is legit. I'm not going to buy from you anymore." This happened a few times before I realized it could be avoided if I simply tested the client journey for my own process.
• PRO-TIP: Order something from your own company under an assumed name and see how the process goes and how you're treated by staff (if you have staff). Complain about the purchase and see how your problem is handled. Even the best make mistakes. The true champions are the ones that respond the best to problems.

5. Ignoring Your Team...

• Ignoring your team is just a dumb thing to do. Please read the book by Dale Carnegie, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." to understand why.
• PRO-TIP: Let your employees share their observations and opinions with you, and pay close attention to what they say. Do what you can to implement needed changes especially if it impacts clients. Caution!!! DO NOT let them share personal baggage and drama. You're there to run a business not be a counselor.

6. It's "One Way" or the Highway...

• Chris always says, "You wanna go fast, go alone. You wanna go far, go together." Putting blinders on and doing it your "One WAY", may get you a quick buck, but the energy, resources, and time drain to keep running as a lone wolf will kill you.
• PRO-TIP: Encourage your marketing people, sales manager, ad people, etc. to try a lot of new ideas, concepts, approaches, offers, and packages. Eliminate the fear of criticism so they'r not intimidated, rather encouraged. Be sure all your people know your basic advertising and marketing philosophies and have constant communication with them on this. Coddle people who come up with money makers!

7. Skipping The Time It Takes To Show You Care...

• Without gratitude and praise organizations don't flourish. If you skip the time necessary to show your appreciation to both internal team, prospects, and clients, the connection will disappear and you're churn rate will increase.
• PRO-TIP: Acknowledge your staff, your clients, and your team. Service the heck out of everyone - o holes barred. Follow up on inquiries. Follow up on delayed orders. Follow up on problems. Follow up on every sale. The more you show up and give credit, the more value you bring to the party! (and the more money you'll make!)

8. Being Selfish With Your Awareness...

• Have you ever heard that saying, "You can't see the forest through the trees." It's hard work to be shaping your building in the forest and not keeping your 'airplane goggles on'. There are others in your world, selling to the same people, with a similar product/service to yours. That's a great thing! It means there's a market. It also means, you can use them for market research. Increase awareness!
• PRO-TIP: Keep a notebook with you. Whenever you observe a powerful technique that captures your attention, make a note. Jot down the concept, approach, language, sales pitch, etc. that caught your attention and copy cat the concept in your business. This will allow you to collapse time frames!

9. Failing To Test Your Messaging...

• A lot of clients we work with write a single advertising message, or build a blog post with a single idea, and then wipe their hands and claim they're done. This typically leads to disaster because the way you're conveying your message may not resonate with your perfect client resulting in lost sales. Test everything you use for advertising and marketing!
• PRO-TIP: Test as many concepts as possible. Test your promises. Test the various platforms (LinkedIN, FB, IG, etc) with your same message to see if you get a different result. Test your packaging. Test commercials. Test your sales approach. Test different sales scripts. The more you test, the more likely you are to find trends and patterns that will work indefinitely for your business and will help put more money in your bank account.

10. Focusing On Improving Weaknesses...

• A lot of coaches say, "Forget your strengths for a minute - you're already good at those. Let's focus on your weaknesses." What they don't understand is that your weaknesses are your weaknesses because it doesn't bring you joy to work on them. It's not your fault. Doing this is painful, and I've seen it move our clients from an idea they like and wanna build around to a total failure, misery, and a dark path. Find a lane you're REALLY GOOD AT. Then go deep. Outsource all the other stuff. This is what specialists do - and they bank a ton of coins into their accounts.
• PRO-TIP: Remember this: most marketers spend far too much time, effort, and money trying to revive or salvage products that are in trouble or are not viable. Keep your eye on the product that is making money and focus on how to make it even more successful.

11. Barking Louder Than You Bite...

• Claims will get you in trouble. Health claims, money claims, and any claim must be followed up with delivery of a result that matches the claim. Barking loudly about how good you are at using a tool like marketing or selling instead of staying focused on getting people the results and transformation will cause you to fail.
• PRO-TIP: Good advertising, good sales letters, good sales pitches and good marketing successfully sells products or services without drawing attention to the method in which they are using for success. Don't brag about how good a sales pro you are. Don't brag about how good a marketer you are. Just use your knowledge to make an impact in other peoples lives by getting them involved with your product/service.

12. Being Boring...

• Should go without saying. If you're boring, people will get bored of you. Don't be that guy!
• PRO-TIP: Be compelling! Stand out. Think about the ads, sales letters, or sales pitches that compelled you to buy. If they are these items are compelling, it will cause your prospect to become involved in the journey and forget it's a sales pitch!

13. Sticking In The Weeds...

• It's content, not form. Don't get stuck on having the perfect form. When I was running the chapter of AMA (American Marketing Association) for my college we had a saying... "First we will be best, then we will be first." I mistakenly applied this to my form, not my concepts. Don't make the same mistake I did. Keep focused on your concepts being strong and the weeds will trim themselves! :)
• PRO-TIP: Focus your attention and effort on developing great concepts. A great concept will transcend mediocre copy writing or marketing where great copy and marketing will NOT transcend a bad concept. Start with the biggest, most believable, embraceable, and honest promise possible.

14. Using Un-Proven And Un-Tested Theory...

• A lot of ignorant marketers believe prospective buyers aren't interested in learning all the facts they can about a product or service they're contemplating buying. They're wrong. Don't do this!
• PRO-TIP: Give them the facts. Let's be real for a second. Most people buy things because it solves a need (helps you move away from pain). There are a few people that will buy into your ideas and un-tested methods (buy because they're moving toward pleasure), but those people won't be the ones that stick around for a long time.

15. Don't Kill A Golden Goose.

• Guilty! We killed one. And it hurt. And it cost us millions. If something's working, keep doing it.
• PRO-TIP: It's like what my dad always told me... "Don't fix it if it ain't broke." #Truth.

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Hope these help guide you into closing more deals more often!

Go. ?? Fight. ?? Win. ??

-sean ??

Ps... Don't forget... If you want to eliminate frustration, stop wasting time, and quit burning unnecessary energy on your high ticket sales outreach, I encourage you to join our Sales Ascenders Inner Circle. It's a Facebook Group where I share proven outbound sales automation strategies, attraction marketing for high ticket sales, neuro-science of high ticket sales, body language breakdowns, copy writing for high ticket sales, and a whole bunch more. Come join our family.

Click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SalesAscendersInnerCircle/