Know- Like - Trust: The 'Holy Trinity' Of Successful Personal Trainer Marketing Part 1

Know- Like - Trust: The 'Holy Trinity' Of Successful Personal Trainer Marketing Part 1
Doesn´t marketing just drive you crazy sometimes?

It seems that every single week a new marketing program
goes on sale promising us that, once bought and utilised,
we´ll be able to attract more clients and earn more
money than we ever dreamed possible and that this time,
this one time, we´ll hit the jackpot and succeed where
we´ve failed so many times before.

They all tell us that they have THE ANSWER and yet each and
every marketing program has a different answer than the
last.

Some tell us that 'the money´s in the list´ and
urge us to put all of our time, money and effort into
building the greatest list possible if we´re serious
about becoming truly successful.

Others tell us that marketing is all about sales and
closing techniques and that we need to become expert
'closers´ in order to become successful, whilst others
still tell us that our ability to reap a bumper crop relies
upon our copywriting skills, our free reports and
downloads, our 'viral infections´, permission
marketing or search engine optimisation.

Now, whilst each of these approaches can and do provide
successful marketing approaches (in the short term at
least), they´re not really a viable way to create long
term business success.

In fact, each of these techniques in and of themselves is
pretty useless when used indiscriminately as most people
tend to do.

I´m sure you´re aware of people who´ve spent
ages (along with a small fortune) on Search Engine
Optimisation either to find that their web traffic
didn´t increase or, even if it did, it didn´t
convert into new business income?

Likewise, you probably know people who´ve created free
download after free download and grown fairly decent sized
lists only to find that whenever they tried to sell to them
that half of them unsubscribed and the other half sent
'hate mail´ to the effect of "I didn´t sign up to
be sold to. Do it again and I´ll unsubscribe" or
simply not bothering to take action at all, right?

The net result is the same. No new sales, no increased
revenue and no return on investment for all the time, money
and effort it took to put these promotions together.

Yep, I´ve been there too and, although it´s
rather embarrassing to admit, I still go there on rare
occasions when a product or service I´m promoting
flops.

It´s frustrating isn´t it?

After all, you bought the ebooks, listened to the audios
and took all of the actions that the experts told you to
take and yet... well... nothing!

No great marketing success, no return on investment and
certainly not that ever elusive passive income we´re
always promised on the marketing guru´s sales pages.

What gives?

Are we being sold a crock or is marketing success truly
attainable for all of us or just the lucky few?

These are questions I used to ask myself a lot in the early
days when most of my marketing attempts seemed to fail or,
at least, not create the success I´d been hoping for.

In my search for an answer I read literally thousands of
articles and books from some of the world´s most
successful business and marketing experts and found that
whilst they each had their own unique slant on what it took
to create marketing success and whilst they each operated
different proprietary systems, they all had at their core
identical principles that drove them.

In effect, they all said that in order to attract people
into doing business with you or your company they have to
KNOW, LIKE AND TRUST you.

That´s all!

Sounds pretty simple right?

Yet when I analysed all of the marketing campaigns that
I´d done that had been a flop, I noticed that despite
having great copy, tons of bonuses and, seemingly, all of
the right techniques in place, I had somehow violated the
KNOW-Like-Trust 'rule´ and, in doing so, condemned my
product launch to failure.

Conversely, every single success I´ve had has had
KNOW-Like-Trust at its core.

Now, for all that KNOW-Like-Trust sounds pretty obvious,
it´s clearly not. If it were then we´d all be
using it and our marketing would be super-successful and,
clearly, that´s not the case.

So, let´s look at KNOW-Like-Trust and try to learn how
to use marketing´s 'secret weapon´ in your own
marketing shall we?

We´ll start with KNOW.

It stands to reason that in order to do business with you
and, ultimately, buy your products and services, that your
prospects have to KNOW that you exist. Yet, despite this
glaringly obvious fact, few fitness professionals dedicate
any time at all to getting known, opting instead for the
'If I build it they will come´ method of marketing
favoured by the unsuccessful masses.

So they build their websites, they write their free reports
and they create their opt-in newsletters and... well...
no-one comes or, if they do, in such small numbers that it
barely matters.

This approach is 180 degrees out of phase with the methods
of the super-successful marketers who put their efforts
into first finding out who will come and then build their
products and services to match the demand that´s
already there.

A big difference right?

But how do they do find out?

Simple. They Get KNOWN!

They create articles in their area of expertise and post
them to e-zine directories and blogs as well as on their
own websites.

They find subject-specific forums and newsgroups and become
active members who provide great information to red-hot
prospects WITHOUT TRYING TO SELL ANYTHING.

They send out regular press releases to both the paper and
e-press, positioning themselves as someone with something
worth writing about.

They do public talks and seminars for members of the public
interested in their field and load them with so much great
information that people remember, use and share it with
others to great effect.

They offer to write or interview for other professionals in
the same field (or interview other pro´s themselves)
in order to spread their name as far and wide as possible.

The long and the short of it is that the 'Get KNOWN´
phase is NOT about selling in any way, shape or form.
Rather, as the title suggests, it´s about putting
yourself on the map and, crucially, in front of an audience
who will tell YOU what they want to buy rather than the
other way around.

Now, before you dismiss the KNOW phase because of its
simplicity, ask yourself how much of this you´re
currently doing.

You may be surprised with just how little you´re
actually doing to Get KNOWN!

Ok, we´ll assume that you´re now well on the road
to getting KNOWN, but don´t think that you´re
home and dry yet.

End of part 1

----------------------------------------------------
Dax Moy is a performance coach with studios in and around
London.
Voted one of the UK's leading fitness experts and a regular
contributor to numerous TV & radio shows and magazines, Dax
now runs the worl'd most successful Personal Training
Academy where he teaches others to achieve similar success.
Visit http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com for more
articles like this

Network Marketing Online - 5 Misconceptions That May Be Holding You Back

Network Marketing Online - 5 Misconceptions That May Be Holding You Back
When I was in college (a while back, but who's counting?),
I had two ways to communicate with the folks back home.

I could write a letter, walk across the campus to drop it
in the mailbox, and then wait a week to hear back from them.

Or on the weekend I could collect a bunch of loose change
and stand in line to use the one and only pay phone in my
dormitory - during the week it was way too expensive.

My friends and I took all this for granted.

But look what we take for granted now! Sending a letter to
someone on the other side of the world in a matter of
seconds. Transmitting the identical document to hundreds of
people at the same time with just a few mouse clicks.
Retrieving data on any subject imaginable without budging
from our desk chairs. Sharing home videos and music
instantly with almost anyone, anywhere. Interfacing with
potentially millions of people on a daily basis.

The Internet is the most powerful and versatile
communications tool in the history of the human race. It's
totally transforming the way companies do business.

I say all this to convince you beyond a doubt that you want
to take your network marketing business online. You NEED
your own Website to generate an ongoing stream of
enthusiastic, pre-qualified prospects.

So what's stopping you from building your own site? Here
are five common myths that deter many people.

1. IT'S GOING TO COST ME AN ARM AND A LEG.

We've all heard of someone who paid a professional
thousands of dollars to build a site for them. Most people
just don't have that kind of money to invest when they're
starting out.

But there IS another option that will cost you a tiny
fraction of that: Build it yourself. (No, no. Stop
laughing.)

And that brings up the next misconception.

2. THERE'S NO WAY I CAN BUILD A WEBSITE MYSELF - I HAVE NO
COMPUTER SKILLS.

This is what I used to think, too. Then I discovered
dozens of Web hosting services that make it a snap for
small businesses to do it themselves.

It's no longer necessary to know computer programming or
html code. If you can send emails, surf the Internet, and
type letters in your word processing program, you can build
a Website.

I did it -- so can you.

3. I'D HAVE TO SPEND A MOUNTAIN OF MONEY ON ADVERTISING IF
I WANTED TO GET ANY VISITORS.

This is another misconception I used to believe, as well. I
was stuck in old-school thinking.

But I'm happy to report that there are many effective ways
to promote a Website that don't cost a dime, and some of
them will give you even better results than traditional
advertising.

4. MY COMPANY PROVIDES ME WITH A FREE WEBSITE - I DON'T
NEED MY OWN INDEPENDENT SITE.

If you're thinking this way, I have a question for you:

How many other distributors have sites just like yours?
Probably a few thousand, right? These are called
"replicated sites," and search engines will totally ignore
them because they clog up their systems.

It's fine if you want to send people to your replicated
site for information about your company or products, but it
will not generate any new leads for you. And leads are the
lifeblood of your business.

5. I CAN'T HAVE MY OWN SITE - MY COMPANY WON'T ALLOW IT.

Most network marketing companies do restrict what their
distributors can and cannot say about them, which is
understandable. This may include bans on personal websites
that pitch the company or its products or services.

But this doesn't have to be a problem for you.

There are still many ways you can use a Website to generate
leads without mentioning your particular company or brand
name. In fact, your site will be even more effective if
you do it this way.

Why? Think about your own preferences. Which would you
rather visit - a site that tries to sell you something or a
site that simply gives you lots of useful information about
a problem you're trying to solve?

Which site owner are you more likely to trust and want to
connect with? Who are you going to perceive as the expert?

Here's an example: Suppose your company sells non-toxic
cleaning products. Your site might offer cleaning tips to
get housework done faster, scientific reports on the
dangers of common commercial cleaners, and your own
personal story of why you got interested in non-toxic
cleaning products. Just don't mention your company or any
of its brand names.

You'll attract like-minded people and develop a
relationship of trust with them. And without a doubt, some
of your readers will turn into customers or business
partners.

So what are you waiting for? Jump in and start building.
The World Wide Web awaits you.

----------------------------------------------------
Liz Monte is the author of "Basic Training: The 21st
Century Approach to Network Marketing," designed to teach
network marketers the fundamentals of Internet marketing.
Study it for free on her Website (which she built with her
own two hands).
http://www.WiseNetworkMarketer.com/basics.html .

Problems Caused by Irresistible Forces: Causes and Solutions

Problems Caused by Irresistible Forces: Causes and Solutions
How can you deal with a world that's not too predictable?
Let's look at an example.

The toy business is full of hits and misses. Even worse,
one year's top toy usually fades into the background in the
next year.

Witness then the wonder of Barbie's durability, having been
a top toy and head of a top line of related dolls and
merchandise for many years. Although all toy makers would
like to create long-term toys, only a few have succeeded in
overcoming the irresistible force of the changing tastes of
children to create an on-going success such as Barbie and
her doll friends.

You can learn how to overcome the behavior in your
organization that keeps you from creating the kind of
continuing irresistible growth that Mattel has enjoyed with
Barbie. Irresistible forces are unstoppable events and
factors that shape our opportunities and challenges.

In a physical sense, these include things we cannot change
like the tides, winds, and powerful storms. In a human
sense, they include the emotional patterns that almost all
of us follow, such as feeling sad at the loss of a loved
one or elated by winning.

In an organizational sense, irresistible forces include
difficulties in communicating in a foreign language, lack
of knowledge among new employees about how your
organization does things, and conflicts of interest among
those who are looking out for themselves ahead of
customers' needs.

In businesses, irresistible forces include trends in the
development of technology, globalization, shifts in buying
power of consumers in local markets, and ever more
demanding customers. Interestingly, each enterprise is
subject to the irresistible forces in different ways. No
one prescription will suffice for all, as a result.

Irresistible forces can be started by us in some cases such
as when we encourage a new fad, but we usually have little
impact on them after they begin. Irresistible forces are
so powerful and so important to use as resources for
success, that you must avoid either opposing or being
buffeted by these forces.

Bad thinking habits, or stalls, of individuals in
organizational settings are the primary reason that
enterprises fall victim to irresistible forces, rather than
turning them into powerful allies and tools for faster,
more profitable growth.

The dangers from and opportunities provided by irresistible
forces are growing and will probably continue to do so in
the future. Evidence of this pattern is the rapidly
decreasing amount of time it takes for a start-up
organization to reach a billion dollars in revenues (as
measured in constant buying power). Once this task required
decades (without acquisitions). Now companies can do it in
months by making good use a rapidly growing means of
communication, the Internet. Within a few decades, the same
will be accomplished in days, or even possibly in hours.

Therefore, overcoming irresistible force stalls is one of
the most important management skills needed for
ascertaining the opportunities and responding positively to
them now and in the future in a timely way. Even an
organization that starts out in perfect alignment with
irresistible forces will need to be agile in adapting to
changes in those forces and the arrival of new forces over
time. You need to learn how to identify the most common
and dangerous stalls vis-à-vis irresistible forces.
You also need to develop skill in quickly eliminating these
stalls by changing your thinking habits through the use of
new questions, so that you and your enterprise can not only
survive, but enjoy irresistible growth.

You will probably find that overcoming stalled thinking
about irresistible forces will be easiest to understand and
apply if you focus first on one important area where
irresistible forces are proving to be head winds (retarding
your growth) or crosswinds (pushing you off target from
where you want to go) for your organization.

Then you can apply these ideas with a second irresistible
force issue in mind. And then you should continue on from
there in working on other issues until this way of dealing
with irresistible forces becomes a new habit for you.

Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved

----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an
Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The
Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for
accomplishing 20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .