Recently, I had the opportunity to work with Dustin Mathews for a very special VIP day.

If you don’t know Dustin, he’s gained huge success helping entrepreneurs and investors across the nation get ridiculous amounts of cash to grow their real estate investment businesses.  You can learn more about him at:  http://www.businesscreditinfusion.com.

Please click on the video below to hear about the great work we shared.

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Mass marketing refers to treatment of the market as a homogenous group and offering the same marketing mix to all customers. Mass marketing allows economies of scale to be realized through mass production, mass distribution, and mass communication. The drawback of mass marketing is that customer needs and preferences differ and the same offering is unlikely to be viewed as optimal by all customers. If firms ignored the differing customer needs, another firm likely would enter the market with a product that serves a specific group, and the incumbent firms would lose those customers.

Mass marketing is not the best approach for small businesses for a variety of reasons.  Here’s what you need to consider when approaching your marketing plan:

1. Mass marketing is not targeted to the people most likely to buy what small businesses sell.
2. Mass marketing rarely creates quick sales.
3. Mass marketing can be expensive and suck up your resources.
4. Mass marketing is difficult to design to appeal to a target market.

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The number #1 mistake I see businesses make with their marketing – the vital step the often skip – is failing to properly research and define their ideal target market.  They often launch a product or service offering without actually seeing if their customer values what they are offering.  Doing your due diligence can mean the difference between success and failure, and it doesn’t have to cost a penny. Networking, online research, informal focus groups and other do-it-yourself methods can do the trick.

Here are the 7 steps you need to take to define your ideal target market:

Step 1: Acquire a Thorough Understanding of the Affluent Mindset, Attitudes, Beliefs and Values

Step 2: Research the Market

Step 3: Define Your Ideal Client

Step 4: Segment Your Market

Step 5: Conduct a Competitive Analysis

Step 6: Identify Powerful Niche

Step 7: Create Your Ideal Client Profile

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The first step to putting together a strategic marketing plan is to thoroughly understand your market space and your ideal target client.  This includes acquiring a thorough understanding of the affluent mindset (Attitudes, Beliefs and Values), defining the demographic and psychographic qualities of your ideal client and understanding who else is serving your clients.

Whether you are starting a business or launching a new product line, it is a little like buying a car:

You need to do some research before taking the plunge. First, figure out if there’s demand for your product or service. Do a competitive analysis. And ultimately, create a plan to differentiate your offering.

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Many of my clients come to me once they find a Joint Venter partner and want to know what they should do next.  Once you agree to embark on a venture, there are many marketing activities you can engage in to exploit the relationship and bring a highly desirable bundled offering to your combined base of followers.  Here are some ideas:

• Write a referral letter introducing your partner to your clients and recommending their service and vice versa.
• A simple idea would be exchanging text links or banners with other related web sites or ad swapping as suggested in the eZine section.
• Exchange testimonials or endorsements for each other’s products or services.
• Combine your products or services together with another business into one big package.  You could split the profits.
• Host a teleseminar with another business.  Include each other’s promotional material on the web site.
• Hold a live event together and invite both of your client databases.

Now here is your mission:  find ideal joint venture partner TODAY and determine the results you desire create. Next, design your plan accordingly and set your intention for success. Get ready for a mutually-beneficial business endeavor–the sky’s the limit!

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Beyond the obvious benefits like: an increased chance of beating your competition, increased sales and profits, time and money savings, the receipt of valuable referrals, and increased market share, there are implicit rewards to Joint Venture partnerships as well. By finding a partner who compliments your business offering, you have the potential to harness incredible barrowed equity—fortifying your brand beyond what you are each able to accomplish independently. This in turn adds VALUE, a key ingredient for the affluent customer. Remember, the affluent are time crunched. They want services and products that offer a huge amount of value and a level of convenience to their hectic lives.

The point being here is this: Apart you are strong but together you are POWERFUL. By connecting with a strong strategic partner, the groundwork is laid to create a service offering or marketing opportunity far more powerful and desirable to your wealthy clients than almost anything you can bring to market on your own.

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What if I told you there was a really, really easy way to increase your chances of beating your competition, increasing your sales and profits, saving time and money, getting valuable referrals, and increasing your market share AND this method requires very little investment other than what you are likely already spending on marketing.

You’d probably respond by saying, “Sign me up,” right?

One of the smartest ways to grow your business with affluent clients is through strategic joint ventures. A joint venture is two or more businesses joining together under a contractual agreement to conduct a specific business enterprise with both parties sharing profits and losses.

The venture is for one specific project only, rather than for a continuing business relationship as in a strategic alliance.

Here’s the first step you need to know to get started:  put together a list of your top 10 ideal partners then consider how a JV could fit into your business plan in 2010!

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Business owners tell me every day that the way they generate the most new business is through referral marketing. And with the affluent, there is no marketing weapon powerful.  Yet these same business owners don’t seem to grasp the power of this statement. Few if any businesses harness the true power of referrals by making the receiving of systematic referrals a cornerstone of their marketing efforts.

Referrals are essential because:

1. Referrals are credible right from the start. When a trusted friend tells you about a business you transfer that trust to this company…even if you’ve never heard of them before.  I see this every day.
2. Research has proven that people who are referred to a business tend to spend more money.  Your affluent clients will refer other who are highly qualified and not just tire kickers or price shoppers.  That is why…It only takes one!
3. Referrals are very cost-effective. In some cases free or a fraction of what you might pay in marketing investments.

This is especially true for service businesses.  Good relationships and client referrals are worth their weight in platinum, especially when you are dealing with affluent clients.   Unfortunately, the company sells itself short and overlooks one of the most effective ways to generate new clients.

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In this transitioning economy where many entrepreneurs relied on mass online marketing methods, most are starting to see their revenues plummet.  The reason is simple!  Marketing is not intended to do sales. Without marketing you would not have prospects or leads to follow up with, but yet without a good sales technique and strategy your closing rate may depress you.  Here are 2 more steps to get started mastering sales to the affluent:

Prepare your database – Database sounds like a big and scary word doesn’t it? It’s really not. A database is just the place where you keep track of who, why and when you are going to call people. The best thing is that you don’t even have to know anything about technology to have one. Just use the tools that came with your computer, or sign up for one online, or buy a basic package. It’s not rocket science and anyone can do it.

Prepare your scripts including being prepared to overcome objections – It is often a misunderstanding that people think they need some sort of elaborate script. Simple scripts are always best. You are not the only person calling so you need to be quick and to the point. Step back for a moment and think about the people who call you… how does a lengthy presentation script feel on your end of the phone? Do you even listen or just wait until the end and say politely “I’m not interested.”

Scripts need three basic ingredients:

1. Who are you
2. Why are you calling
3. What is the action you want them to take

Yes, it is really that simple.

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The one area I find that most entrepreneurs are falling down is sales.  There are a lot of reasons for this, but the number one is fear of selling.  Over the next several days, I will post a series outlining my Sales Mastery for Marketing to MillionairesÔ Blueprint System, which can help you master selling to the affluent.  Here are the first two steps to get started:

Step 1:  Be clear on your ideal affluent client profile – A strong sales foundation starts with a strong ideal client profile. Otherwise, you will waste both dollars and time trying to grow your business. In section one of the Marketing to Millionaires™ Blueprint System we provided to you a complete system and templates to identify your ideal affluent client.  Make sure you have done that work, PRIOR to calling anyone.

Step 2:  Schedule consistent time daily or weekly to sell - Nothing is more important when it comes to selling than to manage your time. The most successful sales people set a dedicated time each day (or week) to make the calls. They schedule it on their calendar like any other high value appointment.  Many inexperienced salespeople avoid this discipline to their own demise.

Now it is up to you. To obtain and keep clients in this market, businesses need to get “back to basics.” And there’s nothing more basic than your client: no client, no business.

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