You have worked your butt off trying to get everything ready for your BIG launch, and now it’s go time! Now, the time has finally come for you to transition into the final phase of product/service to customer/client, and you are ready. This is where advertising/marketing comes in! Advertising/marketing is the means by which you position and communicate your products and/or services in a way so that potential customers will find, want, or recognize a need for what you have to offer. The key to good advertising is identifying your potential customers and your target market. We have come up with 15 ways to get everyone buzzing about your new business, and while there are definitely more ways to do this, these will work very well for your business launch.
These 15 advertising/marketing guide will assist you in determining when, where, what, and how to advertise and market your business. Of course you do not have to use them all at once. Try using them over time, and subsequently based on the result (or non result) you get, choose the forms of advertising that work best for your business. Also, in your communications through whichever methods you choose, maintain a clear and consistent message as well as a consistent company image – branding. Here are our 15 ways to let your ideal customers know you have launched your new business and it’s time for them to perform for your bank account:
1. Word-of-Mouth
Shout it from the roof top! Word-of-mouth advertising is not going anywhere. In fact, it is one of the best advertising method for new and small businesses, because: a) it is free, b) sincere, c) believable, and d) unsolicited. Be sure the “word” is favorable by building up a good reputation. Be professional, meet deadlines, keep appointments, and do not accept more work than you can deliver. Good business practices and friendliness will enhance your business and make people want to return – in addition to referring you to others. Building a reputation takes time however, so you will need to use other forms of advertising as well.
2. Business Cards
Whip out those beautiful, presentable business cards and let it rain! A professionally printed card is an asset to any business. Include your name, business name, address, phone number, social media links, products or services you provide, and an attractive logo – if you have one. Give cards to interested people you meet. They may not buy your product or service now, but may refer someone to you at a later time. So make an impression in that initial connection; something that they will take away and remember about you, such as “very professional”, “easy-going and sincere”, and/or “very personable.”
3. Letterhead and Envelopes
Let the communications begin! Printed letterheads used to be a must, but in today’s digital world has far less need. However, you should still have a small supply of stationery on hand; for a proposal, thank you letter, or any of many other uses. Also, you may want to send out a few letters along with your brochures to select officials who have the ability to impact your business positively, letting them know you are open for business, and welcome their feedback. Letterhead stationery is often necessary when purchasing materials and equipment from wholesalers and suppliers for your business as well. Letter heads are way more professional looking than no letterhead at all, and when done right, they can improve the perspective of your business.
4. Brochures
A brochure can be small, inexpensive, and attractive. Get advice from a printer. You may want to hire a graphic designer to help with the layout of artwork, text, and lettering. The level of sophistication in the design of your brochure is directly related to; who your customers and potential customers are, the industries they are in, and the positions your contacts hold. And although professional and polished should be the goal, it is worthless without substance, so spend time getting the text right – clearly and succinctly expressing what you do, how you do it, and why they should buy from you.
5. Direct Mail
Mailing brochures or letters to businesses or individuals is a great way to make potential customers aware of your business; especially when you’re just starting out. Periodical updates and notices throughout the year can also serve to remind them that you’re still there. Mailing can be expensive and should be weighed with the other options when you decide on your advertising campaign, but since you are a new launch, you want to use as many options as possible. Again while technology has provided other options, direct mail still hold value based on who your customers are, and how they prefer to be reached. Also, consider providing a prepaid response card in your direct mail, which would provide you with some insight as to: a) whether that customer likes to receive direct mail, b) whether they found it informative, and c) whether they have comments or suggestions. A grand idea if you can afford to, is to include a souvenir in your direct mail to them – such as a pen with your logo. This will no doubt increase your chances of getting a reply from them. So don’t discount this option in your initial launch phase. If nothing else, you could gain valuable feedback from those response cards you sent. Yes, we have technology and the good ole Internet, but there is nothing better than giving your potential customers something tangible to hold.
6. Bulletin Boards
Post professional-looking brochures, flyer’s, or business cards on public bulletin boards in restaurants, grocery stores, laundromats, apartment complexes, schools, or anywhere visible to your target market. It’s old school but still work in certain local regions. We know! We have used it and it works!
7. Newspapers
Contact local editors and tell them about your new service or product. An editor may want to do a feature story, especially about your grand opening. An article can be free advertising and may be more effective than a large, paid Ad. Be sure to thank the editor if he or she runs the story. Getting space in a newspaper may be easier if you can tie into the activities of a charitable organization, or a community activity. Include a black-and-white picture and news release.
8. Classified Ads
Placing Ads in local newspapers and shoppers guides are appropriate for many businesses. You’d be very surprised by who still reads these, many times passing along what they have seen to family members and friends. This will cost a bit of money, but you should also have an option of 1/4 page, 1/2 page etc. instead of a full page Ad. If you are a local brick and mortar business, try to work out a cost with them so you do not have to miss out on what could be your biggest opportunity to make a huge splash – a bigger impact.
9. Portfolio
Of course if you’re just launching you would not have past projects to use for a portfolio; however, we are listing it here because it is one of the most valuable and vital tool in a business owners’ arsenal, and we want you to start building your portfolio as soon as you’ve signed up your first clients. You could also think about a giveaway, where a few customers receive a different good or service you provide in exchange for a review, and also so you’ll have that to start building your portfolio. Be sure to put some effort into building a collection of your best work. You may want to include a resume and list the advantages or special features of your business. Include those letters/reviews from satisfied customers, and be prepared to suggest those past customers as references. In addition to your website, you can also setup your portfolio on your social media sites using several different features.
10. Shows or Displays
Displaying some of your work in a public library or bank may be appropriate depending on your type of business. Along with your display, be sure to also have business cards available for people to take as well. Ensure the display is secure so you do not lose valuable merchandise.
11. Other Businesses
It is never too early to begin aligning with businesses that complement yours. Seek out to make those strategic alliances and work at advertising in their business and vice versa. Cooperative advertising usually benefits both businesses – immensely.
12. Directories
There are countless directories online to choose from, but the ones that matter most are the ones your customers use. If you don’t know, ask people who fit your ideal customer type, what their favorite search engine is, and how they find businesses they need. You may also find the top directories have a spot for the customer to review your company. Welcome it, and use the service to your advantage by asking your customers to review you. Believe it or not this will help you to trend higher on the search engines, and don’t forget to link your website to that directory page. Many times these directories will allow you to post a picture. If you don’t have a storefront then post your logo and make sure your information stays current.
13. Local Radio and Television Stations
This can be quite intimidating especially if you’re introverted and haven’t done any interviews before, but it is definitely an avenue you want to take advantage of. You can leave this for a later date, and use smaller platforms in the meantime such as Podcasts that align with your business niche. Some radio stations have local talk shows where you can be on air instead of on television – out of view, while still getting your business out there. When you are ready, call up the directors to see if they are interested in discussing your business, or a topic relative to your business industry. You can also purchase radio or television Ad time, which can prove expensive, but worth researching to know the pricing in your area – especially when it can be tied into some news feature or special event. There are many radio stations out there — especially now that there are web-based stations — so do your homework and position yourself effectively.
14. Local Organizations
Joining local organizations such as your Chamber of Commerce, provide a good opportunity to network and make valuable contacts. People like doing business with people they know! By participating in community activities, you increase the visibility of yourself, and subsequently your business. Remember, you are your business! Back then you could have a storefront with employees and no one even knowing who the business owner is – unless they do some research, and they did well! Today though, if you are not Google, Microsoft, Ford, or one of those big companies, you have to get yourself out there not just representing your business but being your business. We are in the age of Know. Like. Trust. Do business with. – in that order.
15. Networking
A network is a collection of acquaintances and business peers you depend on for information, services, support, and access. Network relationships are based on mutual and professional respect for the other’s ability to help when needed – as needed. There are many networking groups in most cities, but you will need a modest budget to attend their events to network effectively. Not every networking group is as valuable as another, so you need to do some homework to see what community is best for you. Learn as much as you can about potential customer habits, what types of events they attend. You may also want to craft a rich elevator pitch that represents your business and defines your products/services in 30 seconds or less. Also, always be on the lookout for collaborative partners where a mutually beneficial relationship can be forged to provide you both with value-added services for your respective customers. Remember that conducting research can pay-off immensely.
Having huge amounts of debt can wreak havoc on our emotions and even wreck our relationships. It can feel like eternal servitude being obligated to pay out large portions of our monthly income for pleasures we have already enjoyed, trapped as puppets in a very calculated zero-sum game of financial chess that leaves us as mere pawns on the playing field. Yes, having huge debt is serious business!
So how can we get out of debt and remain debt free? Let’s first take a look at why the majority of us get in debt in the first place.
Debt is, for the most part, accumulated by impulsive behavior. When we have those I-need-to-have-it-now moments in life that serve to balloon us out of our circumference of affordability, we often do not think about the consequences of our impulsive action, and are usually only keyed in to the pleasure we will be getting from whatever we are entering into debt for. So money in those instances to us is merely a tool in our virtually endless quest to constantly gain pleasure – at whatever cost. This uncontrollable behavior stems from deep down within our psychic apparatus – the Id, Ego, and Superego, which is the driver of the thing we call our minds. So the first thing we have to do to combat this persuasion from our psychic apparatus, is to learn to create some awareness to this interaction so as to override it.
What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience? ~ Adam Smith
Here are 5 Steps for Getting Out of Debt & Staying Out of Debt
Step 1. – Analyze your Debt
The first step to getting out of debt is to make an analysis of your debt. You cannot get out of debt without first understanding how much and what kind of debt you have. We know many of you have a vague idea of what you owe and to whom; however, in order to know exactly what you are getting ready to tackle, and the options available to you, you must write down all your debt and the corresponding parties you owe. Facing debt is not an easy task! We here at MBB know how difficult it can be to face the music of your debt load, but we also know that it must be done if you are serious about ridding yourself of debt for good. Many of us weren’t always debt free! And the biggest problem most of us faced, was that we did not want to look at our debt situation. We did not want to face it! We would rather turn a blind eye, cause we’re too afraid to see just how much debt we’ve racked up. It’s frightening – we know! However, if you cannot analyze and understand your debt, then there is absolutely no way you can rid yourself of those debts and emerge debt free. An analysis must be done!
So, if you’ve not been keeping track of your debt, gather all your bills for the past 12 months and get to a table so you can start organizing and tallying the numbers. Organize your bills in date format, with the most recent on top. Now, you are ready to organize and tally your numbers. We recommend you use an accounting software such as QuickBooks, Mint, or FreshBooks to do this, or at the very least a Spreadsheet, because they make it so much easier to edit, make changes, calculate, and store in an organized way. If you do not have any of these, do not allow that to hinder your progress. Get a sheet of paper, turn it in a landscape position (or rectangular) and at the top of page, write a main heading “My Current Debt to Date – (input the date you are doing this)”. Next, create 4 columns below the main heading with 4 headings: 1) Creditor’s Name, 2) Amount Owing to Date, 3) Fixed Interest Rate 4) Average Variable Interest Rate. Use the last bill from each creditor to fill in each column and rows. Then tally the total of column 2 – Amount Owing to Date and write that figure down at bottom of column 2 below the last used row. Be sure to include and calculate all of your debts – from credit cards, to car loans, personal loans, student loans, mortgage, insurance, and everything else. Now that is what you owe to date, with the exception of the missing interest that may be accumulating on a daily basis. Each debt terms will most likely be different, likewise the interest rates – some may be fixed and some variable. Now you want to calculate the interest rate you’ve been paying per month for each variable interest debt. To do this, find the average interest by adding all the interest for each month of the creditor and dividing that total by the number of months. You want to tackle the highest-interest rate cards first, as well as the variable interest debt in order to wipe those out as quickly as possible.
Step 2. Create a Budget
A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. ~ Dave Ramsey
Now that you have analyzed your debt, it’s time to create a budget, or adjust the one you currently have. There is no way you’re going to pay off your debt without making some adjustment to your spending and sacrificing some things. So, in this new or newly adjusted budget you will leave those things in place that cannot be carved such as your rent/mortgage/insurance and any other fixed payments you have. Then decide on what you want to cut back on in terms of using less electric/water/gas/phone etc., and possibly spending less on cosmetics/clothing/entertainment/traveling. The one thing we recommend is that you do not cut back on the quality of foods you eat. If you usually eat out a lot, you may want to start preparing your own meals at home, but you must insist on enjoying the same quality of healthy foods so you do not compromise your health. The last thing you need as you go through this transitioning from debt trapped to debt free, is a medical bill. We here at MBB do not believe in lowering our standard of living; we believe in elevating our monetary strategies and increasing our finances to meet our standard of living instead. However, drastic times demand drastic measures, and working to get out of debt that can be so crippling, warrants this deviation.
Step 3. Bargain With Your Creditors
Call up your creditors, and seek out a bargain. Many creditors will be happy to make a deal with delinquent debtors. They will be happy to get back a portion of the monies owed to them and close out old debts, rather than lose the entire sum of money. Some creditors you just can’t bargain with, but most will welcome your call and attempt to resolve your debt situation, and be more than willing to cut your debt – astronomically.
Step 4. Set a DEBT FREE Goal
Now that you understand your debt and has bargained with your creditors, it’s time to set a debt-free goal, which means you cannot continue to keep up with the Joneses (and the Kardashians). Depending on how badly you want to get out of debt, your situation will now be different. The way you go about doing what you do in living your life, will have to change as getting out of debt takes precedence. If you are truly ready and committed to becoming debt free, then you will make the drastic changes necessary to achieve that goal. Be realistic and specific about your debt free goal. Don’t make it so drastic that you won’t have food – healthy foods, as you go through this process. If you know you are only able to put $1000 each month towards this goal, do not lay out a plan for $2000 or even $1500 per month. Put the $1000 down as what you will pay out. It may take a bit longer, but you will not feel too strapped and possibly jeopardize your health in the process. You want to come out debt free but still healthy and whole at the end of it all. Also, be specific about a deadline. Based on how much you owe and how much you can pay out each month, divide them to see how many months it will take. Keep that month as your goal deadline. Now, you may be able to pay out more some months than others, depending on your situation – if you have a side hustle or run a business – but even when you do that (and by all means do that), you want to keep the $1000 each month as your realistic amount on your paperwork. There is hardly any better feeling than completing your mission and achieving your goal way before the time you have set.
Step 5. Increase Your Income
There are so many ways to increase your income, and based on your individual situation – whether you’re working a 9-5 or running your own business – technology and the Internet make it possible and easier for anyone to uplevel their finances. If you are working a 9-5, consider using a part of your skillset to bring in money on the side. You can do this by creating a course to sell, which will bring you passive income as we so highly recommend, or you can write a book about a topic that you know a lot about that you know is in demand. You can also use any of these 7 Income streams that can truly uplevel your net worth. If you are a service business owner, you can choose to package and position your services, or an aspect of what you do in course format, so that you too can take advantage of some passive income. If you are product based, you may want to rethink your marketing strategies, and reposition your products so a wider market can access your products. If you are not using social media marketing, you may want to take a look at it, as it is one of the most effective marketing tool in today’s technologically advanced world. Increasing your income or money inflow should always be on your agenda. Money can never be too much!
BONUS TIP: Use a software to keep a record of your income and expenses. There are many free software on the market to date, such as Mint.com and Wave.com. This will give you a clear precise picture of where your money is coming from and most importantly, where it is going. This way you can analyze and cut back on your outflow – where necessary, and work at improving your money inflow. These software will allow you to see a complete snapshot of your monthly money flow, so you can quickly nip the unnecessary expenses in their bud, and work at increasing your income.
If you are a startup business owner or an aspiring entrepreneur, it is inevitable that you will need an elevator pitch to tell people about your business – in as little as thirty (30) seconds. Yes, thirty seconds isn’t a lot of time but that’s all you will have to sell your business to prospects or investors in a concise, yet compelling way.
Convincing the right person at the right time can make all the difference for your startup; which is why it pays to master the punchy summary.
While it may be short, an elevator pitch is by no means small. Crammed into that thirty (30) seconds is an explanation of what your business is, what makes it unique, and what it hopes to achieve. On top of this, an elevator pitch needs to capture someone’s interest and ensure it is sustained long after you have left.
Because of the sheer amount of information covered in such short timeframe, an elevator pitch can be harder to write than even the most lengthy and detailed business plan. But because of how often it will be used, it’s crucial to get it right.
Here are three (3) questions to ask yourself to ensure you end up with a rich elevator pitch:
1) What Problem Does My Business Solve?
There is a problem-solving angle for all businesses.
Your business must be framed as the solution to a problem. Even if that problem doesn’t come readily to mind, keep thinking – there is a problem-solving angle for all businesses. Once you’ve identified the problem your business solves, find a way to present it in a relatable manner that can be quickly and easily grasped.
Your audience needs to walk away from your elevator pitch believing your business leaves the world a better place. There must be something at stake and something to be gained to make your business seem valuable and memorable.
2) Who Is Having This Problem?
You need to get specific about who is having the problem your business currently solves, and incorporate it into your pitch. Is it a community problem? Is it domestic? Is it for women? Men? Children? Pets? Is it schools? churches? Is it other businesses?
3) Why Should They Choose To Do Business With Me?
In the same way it is important to present a problem to be solved, it is equally necessary to explain why your business is the ideal place to solve it. If this connection isn’t made, your audience will be left wondering why your competitors cannot do it, or why they can’t do it themselves.
Make your pitch pop with richness and be a precise representation of your business.
Identify your unique features and what makes them efficient and effective, explaining clearly and concisely how they solve the problem. At the same time, touch on the shortcomings of other existing approaches to the problem and why yours is different and better.
Make your pitch pop with richness and be a precise representation of your business. They need to be excited about you and your business in order for your elevator pitch to stick, so go for the rousing and inspiring. Where possible, use narratives that engage people on a deeper level. Avoid anything negative – keep it constructive, affirmative and optimistic to create lasting positive associations. Ensure your language serves your audience. Edit and cut the dry jargon that slows speech down, and instead use natural, plain English. Don’t get bogged down by boring nouns but draw on punchy verbs that convey action and results. Meet your audience halfway and make it easy for them to understand, remember and care about your business and what it does.
Dean Graziosi is an accomplished man but it didn’t just happen by happenstance. Dean knew what he wanted and worked very hard and smart at accomplishing it. He solidified his why very early on and set out to formulate and activate his how. He sought out mentors – others who were successful the way he wanted to be successful and began emulating and putting their methods into practice while adding his personal touches to the processes.
How Did Dean Graziosi, A Poor Dyslexic Kid With No College Degree Build A Multi-Million Dollar Real Estate Empire From The Ground Up?
Dean Graziosi didn’t do particularly well in high school. Now, it wasn’t because he wasn’t working hard. In fact, he was working harder than most. It’s that he wasn’t working hard on what you imagine an average 16 or 17 year old to be working on. No homework, no tests, no after school programs, no study groups… Instead, he was working on… cars. Lots of cars.
Dean woke up every morning at 5:30am to put a few hours of work in at the shop before school. And when he got out of school he would hurry on over back to work. He didn’t do this because he was in love with fixing cars. He did it because his family was poor, and his parents needed his help to make ends meet. According to Joe, “I watched my dad work his ass off to make twenty or thirty grand a year, always struggling, always out of money. We moved around a lot, always getting kicked out of places for lack of rent. We lived in a large bathroom for a whole six months because it was the only place we could have heat from our little electric heater. We literally ate out of garden for a year straight one year”.
From all of Dean’s experiences growing up, he picked up a simple life goal, and that is “My dad works hard, kills himself with work, and we still can’t eat dinner. That’s not working out for me. That’s not going to be me.” Dean moved 20 times before the age of 19. When asked why, he says, “My parents were really good at getting married. They just weren’t really good at staying married. So my parents got married and divorced a lot. Nine times in total between the two of them.”
All the divorcing and moving was related to money problems. According to Dean, “Money was always a huge issue. I watched my mom work three jobs to make 90 bucks a week, and she was never around. I can’t even remember all the different times we got evicted. I even used to make my mom drop me off a block from school in her old beat up, barely-running Impala because I didn’t want to get made fun of.” During this time, Dean watched all his friends get ready for college. He didn’t even consider college. In his own words, “I didn’t think there was an option for me to go to college. My family didn’t have money. I was horrible in school. I had dyslexia. I couldn’t read well. I was always in special reading. I felt dumb. I felt inferior in class. And looking back, I realize I was being judged by an outdated scorecard. Teachers didn’t give me the opportunity to listen to books. Now I practically listen to one book per day. My parents weren’t the type that said, ‘Yes, you’re going to college.’”
However, as he and his friends graduated high school, and his friends who went to college were stressing out about which pre-law class they should take (for law careers most of them didn’t even want), Dean was learning the ins and outs of the auto business – buying and selling used cars. As important as learning the auto business was, Dean was slowly learning about sales. He noticed that, the less he talked, the more he sold. As he declared to us, “I would listen, and I’d ask a couple of questions, and then I’d let them talk. I realized I could sell a lot better with my ears than I could with my mouth. People will buy from you or learn from you or adore you when they feel understood, not when they understand you. I noticed how many guys in the auto business would only talk about who they were, how great they were, their qualifications, why you should buy from them, before even asking one question. I would watch that and think, ‘Wow, that’s exactly the kind of person I’m repelled from.’ So I’d do the opposite. When people would come on the lot, I’d ask a lot about them, their family and what their needs were. Then, with that information, I would literally push people away from certain cars. I would say, ‘After what you told me, that’s not the car for you. Your kids aren’t going to fit in the back, and it’s rough on the back roads.’ And all of a sudden, this transparency built a relationship.”
What Secret Did Dean Discover That The Few Rich People From His Hometown Knew?
Dean was determined to escape the poverty he had experienced growing up, and to help his parents stop working so hard as well. He was in full hustle mode! He looked around, and he noticed that the only people in his little town who were rich were the two guys who were into real estate. As he recalled, “I remember the two most successful Italian guys in my town. I mean, I myself am Italian. I grew up in this little town in upstate New York and I thought everybody was Italian. It was just a town full of Italian people. But both these men had money, they seemed happier than everybody else in town, they drove the only Mercedes in town and they were both into real estate. That made me think real estate was the answer. But I didn’t have money. When I found out that those two did everything they did without using any of their own money, that did it for me. I had to figure out how this game worked. I asked them about their business, and how they got started, and they gave me some solid pointers.”
Upon hearing what they told him, Dean was determined to use his hard earned sales skills to convince someone to sell him a rental property with no money down. According to Dean, “I was just young and dumb and hungry, trying to get away from my past, trying to gain control of my life, and I just went after it. I said, ‘If they can do it, why can’t I?’ I was an eighteen-year-old kid, knocking on doors of places for sale. I got rejected enough times, until finally I found an old, empty apartment building with 9 units in it that was so run down that nobody wanted it. I convinced the owner I could fix it up — based on my mechanical skills, and he was willing to give me a shot to see if I could walk my talk. I took contractual ownership for six months. That was the deal. ‘I’ll work on this house, I’ll make it amazing, and in six months I’ll close on it, or you’re going to get the property back, with an improved house’. Everyone told me I was crazy. But I said, ‘I have no other option, and I’m betting on me. I’m not betting on anyone else. I went to work. I cleaned up the outside of the building. I got my friends to help me. I told them I’d pay them later on. I bartered with people. I was cutting firewood and providing cords of wood for a guy who was putting my sheet rock up. I fixed the guy’s car who was doing my plumbing. I did all this barter stuff and I fixed this old apartment up. By the time the six months came, I went to a bank and it was appraised for $200,000. I only had to borrow $65,000. They gave me 100% of the money! Then I finished all the apartments. That was the foundation of everything. I used the cash flow from that building to buy another one, and then another one, and that was the start of my real estate career.”
By the time he was in his early twenties, with the wealth he was generating, he had saved his Dad’s business and, as a budding manager, had his father working for him on the used car lot. There was so much deception in the used car business among his competitors, so Dean saw a way to help customers. He created a video called, “How to Buy a Used Car Without Getting Ripped Off.” It showed his customers all the scams, deceptions and frauds his competitors were using, so the buyers could protect themselves. It also positioned Dean as an honest used car dealer, which is very rare. Customers loved it, and this got the spark in Dean’s mind about selling information, rather than physical products. As he recalled intuitively, “I thought, ‘Wow, rather than selling a car to one or two people a day, let me help tens of thousands of people make better decisions.” There was just one problem, he didn’t know how to get his information out to the masses. This was long before the internet.
How Did Tony Robbins’ Informercial Change Everything For Dean?
Late one night, Dean saw an infomercial that changed his life. Yes, an infomercial changed his life! It was a Tony Robbins infomercial, and no, it didn’t change his life because of the content in the infomercial – though he loves Tony’s material and has gone on to become great friends with him. It changed his life because it gave him the idea of making his own infomercial — about buying and selling cars. According to Dean, “I typed out this whole course on how people can wholesale cars without a license, and create their own car dealership. I transcribed a Tony Robbins infomercial, ported over the basic structure to a car-dealing infomercial, and sold the course for $59. That’s what started my information business. I failed miserably for the first year, but through time, effort and energy I scaled that up and made a viable company.”
Based on the success of his first auto-related course, Dean decided to make his first real estate investing info-product, the type of product he’s now famous for. According to Dean, “My first real estate course aligned with how I got into real estate. It was called ‘Think a Little Different’. It was all about finding the deals that no one else wanted, like the one that helped me get my start. I’d found a house that had an extra lot attached to it, and the leverage of the lot helped me do it. I found a house on a large property that all the neighbors were fighting over, but no one could cut the check for the whole thing. Everyone was fighting, and they didn’t want it subdivided with a bunch of houses built on it. So I went in, bought the property, and sold little pieces to all the neighbors. I spent $180,000 for the property and I ended up selling about $300,000 of pieces to the neighbors. Once all the fighting between the neighbors was cleaned up, I sold the middle part, with the house on it, for half a million. Because I didn’t have any money starting out, my philosophy was, I had to think differently. That’s what the course was about.”
Dean was starting to have success in his real estate investing, but his success was limited by it all being dependent on him. As he explained, “Everything relied on me. If I wasn’t doing deals, if I wasn’t doing the plumbing, if I wasn’t cleaning, if I wasn’t painting, I wasn’t making money. I realized, the more you could create a system to do anything, it’s replicable. I wanted to create a replicable system so I could look at the numbers and say, ‘That’s a winner.’ And then I could plug it into a system so it would get renovated, and I could plug it into a sales system, and when that was all done, there was money left over. The more replicable and scalable I could make it, the more I could write in my books and my courses to teach my students how to replicate what I’d done.”
Tony Robbins continued to inspire Dean in making his infomercials and building his real estate education business. According to Dean, “If Tony didn’t get my hundred bucks from an infomercial, I don’t think I’d be where I am today. Because I saw that if he could get me — who was a broke kid when I first saw his infomercial — to send him money for education, I could get people to send me money for education as well, in a totally different field. Now he’s one of my dearest friends. We talk every single week. We have businesses together. We travel together. We do all kinds of great stuff.”
Dean says, for many years, he was supporting his infomercial business with cars and real estate. According to Dean, “I was losing five grand a week in my infomercial education business, so I’d have to go make it with real estate and cars. Finally, we got some momentum, and like any business, like any entrepreneurial journey, it was ups and downs. But I learned along the way, and gained wisdom, and got better on camera, better at selling, created better courses, and we just evolved and I never stopped investing. I never stopped listening to my students. I never stopped trying to enter the conversations going on in the mind of my prospects. I tried to sell them what they wanted and supplied them what they needed, and we just kept evolving.”
One of Dean’s biggest breakthroughs in the infomercial business came when he watched a Larry King interview. King was interviewing the pastor and author Joel Osteen, and he asked Osteen a very provocative question. As Dean explained, “Joel was on there talking about his new book at the time. And Larry said, ‘I’m a Jew. I don’t believe in Jesus. Am I going to hell?’ It was riveting — the open dialogue like that. It was one of those moments where my breath went away. And I remember thinking at that moment, ‘Oh, my God. If Joel was selling his book on the Larry King show, direct to the consumer I would buy it right this second! I can do that.’ It gave me this epiphany, and I was obsessed. I built the Larry King set. I bought the Larry King microphone. It’s still sitting in my studio.
Dean continues, “I hired somebody to do a real interview, for my book ‘Be a Real Estate Millionaire’. No teleprompter. No script. I told the guy, ‘I want to do a Larry King style interview.’ I was the first one to ever do it with a book. And he said, ‘Well, where are the questions? What do you want me to say?’ It was 2007. The economy was crashing. The real estate market was going to hell in a hand basket. Foreclosures were going through the roof. I said, ‘Hey. I’m a real estate guy telling people how to make money in the worst market possible. You ask me any question you want, and try to prove that I don’t know what I’m talking about…’
According to Dean, “It was my own interview, and I was nervous. I had cotton-mouth. The guy’s like, ‘Why now? The economy’s crashing. Everything’s foreclosed.’ I said, ‘This is the time everybody runs away. The people who run towards are the ones who are going to come out ahead.’ I just riffed on this. And instead of a big, long call to action in an infomercial—‘ But wait, there’s more, and you’ll get this’ I just said, ‘Hey, I wrote this book called ‘Be A Real Estate Millionaire’ to tell you how to profit on the way down. If you want it, just call the number at the bottom of the screen and get it.’ That was the extent of the call to action.”
That book sold over a million copies! “During that time,” Dean continues, “most of my competitors in that space went out of business and crashed. And our business quadrupled in size, and put me on the path to being the number one real estate educator on the planet.”
When Dean was asked, “What would you say was your particular insight that allowed you to thrive and to help your clients and your customers ride this tsunami wave that was crashing everywhere?
His reply was, “People always taught ‘buy low, sell high.’ Go to the bank, borrow the money, get a home equity line of credit, borrow from your family, buy the house, fix it, and flip it for a profit. But none of that works on the way down. That’s how you go broke on the way down. That’s why there were so many foreclosures on the way down. It’s why so many people got hurt. They bought at the peak thinking it was just going to go up forever. And I was just really transparent. I said, ‘buying and holding does not work on the way down. Because you spend $300,000 for a house that’s now worth $150,000, with the same rent the whole way. So, on the whole way down, where all my competitors were talking about, ‘No money down,’ and ‘fix and flips,’ and ‘there’s $80,000 on every fix and flip you do,’ I was saying, ‘Hell no! Don’t do any of that! Here’s what you should do. On the way down, cash buyers—landlords-are still buying deals.’ On the way down, I bought about 2,000 individual houses, during the crash.”
He continues, “That’s when I really let wholesaling be known to the world. I said, ‘Find a deal, lock it up below the market, and then find the cash buyers that are landlords that know the value. They know how to rehab it. Just hand that deal off, and make two, three, four grand in the middle. This isn’t about getting rich overnight. It’s about doing a couple deals a month that get you momentum to be in the real estate market. People just love that transparent message of ‘Don’t do that. You’ll be screwed.’ When everybody else was talking about fix-and-flips. That kind of counter-intuitive or against-tradition message just nailed it. People had great success, and we went to a whole new level.”
Why Did Dean Pivot From Teaching Real Estate Success To ALL Success?
While Dean’s company went on to become the number one real estate educator in the world, through Dean’s books and live events, Dean noticed that many people bought his materials and didn’t do anything with them. According to Dean, “It made me obsessed on personal growth for the last 10 years, more than anything else, because you could give many people a business on how to profitably sell $10 bills for $5. And they’d still fail. Because of what goes on between their ears, what goes on with their beliefs, what goes on when they hit their first obstacle. I’ve just become a massive student of what makes people move forward, and makes people stop. I’ve been doing a weekly video called ‘My Weekly Wisdom’ for almost 10 years now. And I really just dialed in, obsessing with reading and studying about this question: Take two people who both have the same exact knowledge. Why does one thrive and one struggle? That has been an obsession of mine for many years now.”
In the last few years, Dean has pivoted towards teaching people about success in general. According to Dean, “I wanted to go upstream because I can give people the capabilities for real estate, but if they don’t take action, then they’re like, ‘Yeah, I bought Dean’s stuff. It doesn’t work.’ So, how do I get inside their head? When I went upstream, I realized, it’s all about habits. The habits we do form the lives we have. And I just dug deep for years on what the habits are that make successful people tick. That’s been my passion and my journey. Transforming from just the real estate guy to now, the success guy.”
In keeping with that shift, Dean launched his latest book, Millionaire Success Habits. It just passed over 350,000 copies sold. Originally, however, he got resistance from friends for wanting to use the word “habits” in the title. “Dear friends who were successful said, ‘No, don’t name anything habits. Nobody wants to change a habit. Make it the Millionaire Success Secrets, or the Millionaire Success Magic. But I refused to do that. I knew that people were ready. People are sick of the ads, ‘Get rich in five minutes, lose 100 pounds in two seconds.’ Especially millennials right now. People are always saying, ‘Millennials are this, millennials are that.’ Actually, millennials are people that just see the truth and smell bullshit. And I think they just want the real deal. They want people to tell them like it is.”
Dean is still on fire. He has come a long way from a broke kid working in his dad’s auto-shop to help the family, and knocking on doors to find a broke-down rental apartment to renovate. According to Dean, “We have multiple success courses. I have a monthly live training that I do called Dean’s Inner Circle, all on success. I have a high level Organized Brilliance Mastermind, which is $25,000 a year for real estate investors. That one’s been sold out. So, we’re having a lot of fun helping people get to the next level, especially people who are smart enough to see: you can learn through your own trial and error, or you can learn through other people’s trial and error, and pay for speed. It’s been a fun journey.”
What Is One Of Dean’s Greatest Accomplishments That Hits Closest To Home?
Since Dean’s family struggled even to have food when he was a kid, he has become passionate about supporting “Feeding America”, a charity that Tony Robbins is involved with. For someone whose family struggled with barely having enough money to buy food when he was a kid, this is one of the accomplishments that feels most meaningful to Dean.
To find out more about Dean, check out his YouTube videos. Here’s one:
