How to do Offline Marketing Without Selling Your Soul

This is an important topic.

Providing a genuinely valuable service and going out of your
way to make sure your clients make more profits from your
service then they pay you in fees should help to build your
soul rather than sell it.

It also helps if you only work with businesses you feel okay
with (I don't help tobacconists for example. In fact there are
quite a few business types I have no interest in helping).

The great thing about this business model is you can do it
on your own terms.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

I agree Andrew. To me its just as important to pick businesses that I feel add value to other people's lives as it is to pick ones that have a marketing budget. I've been watching some guru videos lately (Jay Abraham, Brian Tracy, etc.) and one thing that really hit home is that you don't have to compromise your integrity to make a living. The key is to focus on adding value to your clients' lives.

Pete, you're right it does apply to everything you do in life but since this is an offline forum, I thought it best to tie it in. Plus there is so much dishonesty when it comes to selling and such a temptation to say things that just aren't true that its really easy to fall into that trap.

WOW! Phenomenal post. (It's phenomenal because I agree with it. Let's be honest here :rolleyes: )

The late Jim Rohn once said something like "You get large sums of money after you prove you can be trusted with large sums of money"

Yeah, I lean a little left of most of you, but the idea that evil people run major corporations is just a myth. Who would work for someone they know is evil? Lex Luthor is not real.

I had an in-law ask me once (my being the only business owner in the family) "Companies rip people off. Are you one of the ones that rip people off?"

My reply "If someone treats you badly, how many more times will you buy from them?'

Her "None"

Me "Precisely. That's why you treat everyone well, and never try to take advantage of them...because the vast majority of my money comes from repeat customers."

I know a few things from watching TV shows and movies;
Salespeople are always..always slime.
People who own large companies are, for some unknown reason, always bent on destroying the world.
Smart people are always shown (at the end of the movie) that intelligence is evil, and emotion is good.
All aliens (from space) are emotionless, and are shown the wisdom of love.
If a nice person gets a ton of money, the right thing to do is throw it in the street.
Homeless people are always nice.
Teenagers are always smarter than their parents. And are better at solving crimes.
Dogs can talk, and nobody thinks it's odd.

OK, I'm winding down now, but Dan, very nice couple of thought you had there.

I find it interesting that someone says "Don't lie" and we all have something to say about it (Including me).

As though it were a controversial thing to say. Notice, of course that I was the first one to declare that I didn't lie all that much. A very daring declaration indeed.

"Don't punch old people in the nose". That's it, I'm taking that stand. I think punching old people is wrong. Say what you will, I still think there are better ways of dealing with older people than punching them in the nose.

Claude "The Rebel" Whitacre

I actually did laugh out loud... fantastic

Actually no, not necessarily...

I have a fairly large stake in a very well known Food Processing Company - and if you are a regular consumer of any frozen foods, you'd be shocked to find out what it is that you are actually putting in your mouth.

Companies lie to their consumers each and everyday, which is why industries such as Marketing & Advertising are a vital necessity. I mean, people don't just come out and say - '''well hey, you know those jackets we shipped you last week with the "Chinchilla lining" - it was actually a less honorable alternative - Cocker Spaniel fur.. and yes, you just increased our profit tenfold. thanks'''.. No, people don't just do that.

A good Ad Agency (such as mine) can make a piss poor product sell as if it were the cure to full blown scurvy... But yes, this is life and money 'does' make the World go round - and you'd be naive to think that people aren't going to extreme lengths just to line their pockets.

Woah... Well, actually you'd be surprised..

Take the Real Estate industry for example. It is riddled with scams, lies and bold faced fabrications. People get taken - without knowing it - each and every day.

My rental properties get leased out for 'quadruple' the amount they are worth, why? - so that the company that manages them can get a little something to wet their beaks with at the end of each month. But hey, I constantly have tenants and no empty apartments - so should I now feel bad that I am making nearly three times what I should be out of these properties? my answer: 'Are the tenants complaining' - No!

Look at Donald Trump... He openly admits to scamming world leaders such as Gadhafi after renting him a piece of land...Gadhafi paid more, in one night, than that piece of land was worth for two years.. and just to sprinkle some extra salt in the wounds, Trump didn't even allow him to use the land... Did he feel bad about it - No!

People who are at a prominent level, have to do a lot of dirt to get there... PERIOD! Which is why the average man remains mediocre. He isn't willing to learn the Law, and then learn it's loop holes... But to even have the motivation to do all of that, you need to actually experience what it is like to do business with some of these people - 'THEN', after witnessing the sheer savagery of these corporations, you'll gain a firm understanding that the phrase "Dog eat Dog World" is no joke.

- Adrian

Competence and Information Overload

Tom,

Sorry you have heart issues.

My Dad did too. He had open heart surgery for the blockages at what was supposed to be the top hospital in the area for that type of issue. The cardiologist on that team had a superb reputation in the field and was recommended by my Dad's person physician of
35 years.

A year later, he had a huge emergency episode and was - out of necessity - taken to another hospital and needed open heart again. We interviewed the team at the first hospital and the team at the second hospital for this second open heart. The team at the second hospital was so far advanced over the team at the first hospital that it was scary. Literally scary.

The first team literally had no knowledge of the electronic device (defibrilator implant) my Dad needed. The cardiologist and surgeon on the team at the second hospital were just far more impressive and competent than their couterparts at the first hospital. The second hospital also had a man on board who was an MD and had a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and helped this team be state of the art and up to date.

It was obvious that the first team had been resting on their laurels and had not kept up with new technology and research.

So, keeping in mind that I'm just a marketing guy and business manager, if you were my brother, I'd strongly suggest that you get second or third opinions - including from naturopathic doctors - about your condition and medication and diet... And, make sure they all know what you are doing so you don't take any mis-steps, or have a toxic or fatal mix of medications.

And, KEEP THE SAME PHARMACIST IN THE LOOP, because knowing drug impacts and interactions are what they are really trained to do. A friend of mine died at age 49 because without telling the other, she went to two different doctors for the same thing -and took different prescriptions and the interaction was fatal.

Dan

-----------------------------------------------

My addition to this interesting thread is that competence, or lack therof, and not deception is certainly a factor for any business. While not a good thing, one can be less competent than another, but not be intentionally deceptive in their marketing or selling.

And, because all fields change, keeping up or not is another factor. It's possible for a business to do what they do and not be INTENTIONALLY deceptive, but also not be up to date on everything, or able to offer all solutions.

I just interviewed a very competent DRUPAL coder for a project and I don't hold it against him, but his view of WordPress was likely valid 5 years ago. He is a one man operation and his solution is about $2000 higher than the WP proposals and he is probably keeping busy enough in his DRUPAL world and I don't expect him to go forth and become a WP expert as well. (Maybe partner if he wants to expand his business.) WP will be just fine for this project and budget.