Clarification of Answer by
taxmama-ga
on
04 Oct 2002 07:52 PDT
Dear bby,
Thanks for your response.
If you read back through my answer, I did my best to give you
not only books and material you can buy, but links to a great
deal of the free information on the websites of each of these
people.
For each topic or area, doing a search on the Web will bring
thousands of results. Sometimes, hundreds of thousands.
That's why you wanted a Google Researcher to narrow it down.
I make it my business to know who the best people are in the
industries that impact my own business and that of my clients
and my readers. That covers areas like taxation, marketing,
branding, public relations, Internet development and publishing.
Having over 20 years in these fields, I've been able to weed out
the hype and get to know some of the best people.
And yes, I do know each one of these people. Either I have worked
with them personally, or over the web. That's not to say there are
not other excellent people in each field. In fact, I could tell you
about many more people. But, do you want to spend your time reading
about the people, or getting your product to market? Believe me, you
can get totally lost in time reading about all these people and all
their online work. It's fascinating and delightful.
As to Rob's advice. First, let me say that, under the terms of the
Google Research contract, I can't promote my own business, or even
point you to it. So, I can't show you specifics. But let me tell you
what I have learned from him and his book.
1) Develop an identity, a persona. There are many similar products or
services on the market. As long as my product is price-sensitive,
people
will come and go as competitors prices fluctuate. If, instead, I
develop
client loyalty based on qualitative factors, they'll stay firm,
regardless
of price. This has proven true. And I have more clients than I can
handle.
(I do this Google Research thing instead of playing computer
games...this
is more fun than solitaire or video poker.)
2) By understanding my target market, and positioning my
product/service,
I can raise my price without losing business. (That's a little
sensitive
with existing clients, true.) But it works, without question for new
clients.
You're starting a new product. You can price it really low and sell
millions of
units. Or you can price it higher, sell hundreds of thousands and make
more
money. My goal is to have fewer clients, but to earn more. That's
working
fine. I was able to build my practice to the point where I have just
sold off
a chunk of it, and will still earn more than I did before.
3) Establish a high-quality image. Look at BMW - people are thrilled
to
brag about how high the price tag was, rather than how low. How you
package, present and promote your product will determine how people
perceive
you. They'll pay a lot more for a slickly packaged product than
plain-wrap.
In my case, despite spending most of my time barefoot and casual, the
work-
product I present to my clients is superlative. I command high
consulting
fees and 5-digit speaking fees. Rob's advice helped me reach those
places.
He's got a great deal of free information in his archives. So you
don't
need to buy the book to get the quality of his advice. (I get nothing
out of it. He won't even know I referred you.) To have him do this for
you would cost thousands of dollars. Yet, the book is less than the
price of
dinner for two. Much more filling.
But, if you do by it, that little paperback, with it's exercises, will
become your business bible. You'll be carrying it around and marking
it
up. It won't take you long to read. And it's probably a good idea to
just read it through quickly first. Then, go back through and follow
the instructions, step-by-step.
You're going to find everything you need to focus on making your
product
a success in the first place, instead of having to do damage control
later.
Incidentally, he has a free community you are welcome to join and to
get
a feel for the quality of people he attracts - FrankelBiz
http://www.frankelbiz.com/fbintro.html
It's a hard-core networking community. You need something. You post
it.
Have something to announce - post it. People do help each other and
buy
from one another.
So, yes, bby, I can recommend his book wholeheartedly for what
you're trying to do. I promise you that you will not be sorry.
Your TaxMama-ga
