Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

There are only three problems that you, as a small business owner, entrepreneur or professional service provider, are ever going to be in a position to solve.

You may sell the world’s greatest widgets… You may have patented the most efficient doo-dad your industry has ever seen… Your flagship service may be the most effective on the planet with the only 100% bulletproof guarantee in the business…

Hard truth:

• None of your prospects has a widget problem
• None of your prospects has a doo-dad deficiency
• None of your prospects stay up at night searching for a bulletproof guaranteed service

Let’s reframe your sales conversations as a delicate balancing act of investigating your prospect’s most important priorities and connecting your product or service to solving those specific problems or advancing those specific goals.

For the executives and decision-makers you’re selling to, at any given moment in time, their priorities might fall into one of three categories: Solving people problems, process problems, or profit problems. Which of these 63 sales triggers do you use the most? (Please use the COMMENTS area below to chime in...)

People Problems

People problems come in all shapes and sizes, but here’s a starter list so you can probe them more intelligently during your next sales conversation with a prospect:

1. Recruiting top talent

2. Retention of top talent

3. Employee engagement

4. Recognition and reward

5. Staff utilization

6. Leadership

7. Teamwork

8. Communication

9. Coaching

10. Collaboration

11. Succession

12. Silos and turf wars

13. Gossip, gab and the grapevine

14. Delegation

15. Micromanagement

16. Perfectionism

17. Negativity

18. Entitlement

19. Arrogance

20. Complacency

Process Problems

Process problems show up as inefficiencies, gaps, missed opportunities, too much wasted time or effort, too many steps, too much waste, too much bureaucracy or paperwork or too many layers between customer and company.

There were entire industries built around business process innovation and a handful of fads from the 1950’s to the 1990’s didn’t help – the total quality movement, business process re-engineering, outsourcing, insourcing, rightsizing, you name it.

Let’s cut to the chase and catalog a brief list of potential sources of process problems that you may want to discuss with your prospect in order to get their attention focused on the desired impact of your products or services.

1. Accounting

2. Billing

3. Call Centers

4. Contracting

5. Customer Service

6. Delivery

7. Distribution

8. Engineering

9. Facility management

10. Finance

11. Information Systems

12. Innovation

13. Inventory management

14. Manufacturing

15. Marketing

16. Operations

17. Payroll

18. Product development

19. Regulatory compliance

20. Research and development

21. Sales

22. Strategic planning

23. Workforce diversity

Profit Problems

Profit problems come in many shapes and sizes.

What’s important is that when you are marketing and selling your products and services that you do NOT overlook this vitally important problem that is NEVER far from the mind of any serious prospect.

Often placed at the end of a chain reaction of internal and external variables (where your products and services come into play), when you talk about solving your customers’ profitability problems, the outcomes almost always end up with YOU using the following “so that” phrases:

1. So that you sell more…

2. So that you sell more often…

3. So that you sell at full price…

4. So that you avoid discounting…

5. So that you open new markets…

6. So that you expand your product line…

7. So that you cut costs…

8. So that you manufacture and distribute more efficiently…

9. So that you speed up time to market…

10. So that you cross-sell…

11. So that you up-sell…

12. So that you open new channels…

13. So that you raise prices…

14. So that you boost your margins…

15. So that your per unit cost goes down…

16. So that you franchise…

17. So that you license…

18. So that your stock price goes up…

19. So that your revenues increase...

20. So that you conserve more cash…

Use these 63 checkpoints and you’ll be better equipped to isolate your prospect’s real issues - and you’ll more quickly identify the “problem behind the problem” and position your products and services in the context of solving the root cause of your prospect’s current challenges.

Do THAT and your sales conversations will become more successful in the short term and much more profitable in the long term.

___________

Want hundreds more marketing, sales, and business development ideas, templates, and tools? Buy the Do It! Marketing book and get over $747 in business-building bonuses. You'll also get a kickass marketing book that might be exactly what you've been looking for to take your business from average to awesome. Buy the book now then grab your bonuses from this link.
You can thank me later. Rock on! 

Disclosure: I never badmouth anyone in public. EVER. Even if they deeply and richly deserve it. And I’m not about to start now, even though this story may send chills down your spine. All names have been removed to protect the goofy.

First, check out this exchange (via Facebook message) between me and a successful international keynote speaker with whom I am friendly (and who earns in excess of $20,000 per speech):

• HIM: hey you do ongoing coaching type programs, right? 
  like you get clients that pay you X per month or year for telephone time or something else?
  im asking because i was approached recently by a CEO who wants me to do executive coaching/mentoring for him.  do you have some sort of outline i could follow please? i havent structured a deal like this before

• David Newman
  I do marketing coaching, not “executive coaching” but many of my clients DO - usual structure is 2-3 phone meetings per month with email access to you in between and for CEOs I wouldn't charge less than $5k per month. 7500-10k per month if the meetings are in person. Normally you'd lock them in for a 6- or 12-month commitment.
  That's all you need to know to close the deal. Boom - you owe me a Pepsi.

• HIM: lol thanks. but what do they get for their money ? in terms of time commitments etc and i dont have any formal program structured. or is it pretty informal? they call and you just shoot the shit?

• David Newman
  If the content of the expertise you're trying to sell isn't in line with what the CEO needs or expects, you're toast - you can't just charge for something and "wing it" - don't mean to be harsh, bro - but are you playing to your strengths here??

• HIM: he approached me, not the other way around
  he was in my audience recently and came over to me and said he wants to hire me to be his executive coach
  so i certainly havent promised him anything i cant deliver
  but i dont have a bunch of papers and programs and checklists or any formal program, because this is not something i normally do.

I’ll stop there simply to spare you the pain and embarrassment of more.

What’s wrong with this picture? I could go on and on but I promised myself this would be a short post.

PLUS I want to hear from YOU in the Comments section below about your reactions and advice in avoiding this type of train wreck.

Here’s my 6 cents on what is dangerous and crazy about this exchange:

1. Someone who can deliver a killer keynote speech (regardless of fee level) does NOT automatically qualify as an executive coach. Totally different skill set. It’s like hiring a virtuoso pianist to build a custom stereo - yes, they both make music. But the similarity ends there.
    
2. “Do you have some sort of outline I could follow?” Imagine this question coming from a jet fighter pilot, a brain surgeon, or a trial attorney. There is no outline -- it’s a skill set that takes YEARS of study, serious expertise, and deep experience. You don’t “follow an outline.”
    
3. “I don’t have any formal program structured.” Here’s your first clue, Sherlock Holmes - if you don’t have a formal program for what you’re trying to sell, then you have no business selling it. Holy cow, do I really have to spell this out? Shouldn’t this just FEEL wrong? Apparently not...
    
4. “They call and you just shoot the shit?” Umm, no. I just gave my friend some pricing guidance that a high-level executive coaching program is at least $5,000 per month. And he asks me if that money goes toward “shooting the shit”? Seriously? (Maybe I should reconsider going into the executive coaching business after all.) Meanwhile - there are serious, committed, high-value executive coaches that just read this and their foreheads are about to explode. And I don’t blame them.
    
5. “But Dad - HE started it!” OK, that’s not exactly what he said. It was “he approached me, not the other way around” as if THIS makes it OK to charge money for a service that my friend is neither qualified nor prepared to offer. But wait. we’re not quite done - it gets worse...
    
6. “I don’t have a bunch of papers and programs and checklists or any formal program, because this is not something I normally do.” Again, let’s transplant this statement to a different profession - forensic accounting, cancer research, or defusing bombs. You’d probably want each of these professionals to show up with more than “a bunch of papers and checklists” to fulfill their responsibilities, correct? And you might even be more nervous to learn that “this is not something they normally do.” The lesson? THEN DON’T DO IT!!!

Not to brag, but I’ve presented over 600 marketing keynotes, seminars, and strategic work sessions since 1992. I’m certainly not a $20,000 speaker like my friend, but I’m pretty damn good at what I do in front of a group.

I’ve also served as a marketing coach and marketing mentor to nearly 400 executives and entrepreneurs both individually and in my group programs since 2002. I’m pretty awesome at that.

(By the way, if all this seems too bragalicious for your personal taste, I would challenge you that if you don’t understand what YOU are truly GREAT at, you’re going to have a hard time getting clients to pay you premium fees that reflect your value.)

Bonus question: As a marketing coach, do I have a “bunch of papers and programs and checklists”? As a matter of fact, I DO. But guess what? It’s not those that MAKE me a marketing coach. They simply make my clients BETTER clients - and more successful, too.  

What do you think of speakers who offer coaching "just because"?

Please use the COMMENTS area below to chime in with your advice, insights, and experiences on both sides of this equation - as the speaker or coach AND as the client who may have had a “disconnect” experience with a professional who was GREAT in one delivery mode and surprisingly disappointing in another?

Many of my marketing mentor clients want to boost their online presence - in the words of my pal Henry DeVries, they want “more blogs, more buzz, and more business.”

So how - exactly - do you generate more buzz around your online platform?

One of the easiest ways is to host conversations and dialogue on your blog by proactively inviting your readers, subscribers, and visitors to leave comments.

There are two paths to doing this - and one is a whole lot more effective than the other. But either one is better than doing nothing at all. More on that in a moment...

How to Generate a Ton More Blog Comments in 10 Seconds

Approach #1: Ask! (General)

End each of your blog posts with an invitation to comment. Don’t just ask “What do you think?” - you have to be more explicit and TELL people to use the comment feature on your blog - and then tell them what to do to get there.

Example #1:

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on these ideas and join the conversation...  

Approach #2: Ask! (Specific)

One of my favorite clients, Integrity-Based Leadership expert Richard Melancon, recommends taking this one step further. Rather than asking broadly for comments at the end of your blog posts, Richard is a fan of asking very specific questions directly related to the content of the blog ideas you just shared.  

Example #2:

For my recent post, “I’ve Quit and Here’s Why” I took Richard’s advice and used the following at the end of the post:

What have YOU changed up in the last 3-6 months to STOP doing what doesn't matter and start DOING more of what matters most? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your specific changes and how they've freed up more time or made you more money...

Example #3:

On my previous post, “17 Keys to a Great Sale and a Great Date,” I used this:

What do you think? What parallels do you see between dating and selling? How have your best sales conversations unfolded? Please share your advice, insights, and experiences in the COMMENTS area below...

Big difference, right?

There’s no right and wrong here - you may want to try both approaches and see which one generates more comments, more dialogue, and more good conversation with your fans, followers, and readers. The proof is in the pudding.

As for me... well, you can see what I’ve decided to do below.

What do you think about inviting blog comments in a general way or a specific way? Have you gotten better results with one or the other? Please share your own blog commenting philosophy in the COMMENTS area below and...

I’ve quit.

Yup - done, finished, over.

“Quit what?” you ask?

I’ve quit blogging.

OK, that’s not quite true...

But I’ve quit blogging daily.

It was an experiment.

And it worked.

And it didn’t.

Here’s the deal - for most of last year, this website averaged between 5,000-6,000 visits per month. Not great, but not terrible either.

At the beginning of this year, I committed to an experiment - namely blogging every weekday.

Yup, 5 posts a week. Week in and week out. I stuck to the schedule and didn’t miss a day in 26 weeks. 6 full months.

The result?

It worked great.

Almost immediately (OK, it took 8 weeks, but that’s close enough) my web traffic went from an average of 5,000-6,000 visits up to an average of 10,000-11,000 visits. One month, we even generated 15,000 visits - triple the old number. I'll explain that "we" later in this post...

My opt-in rate doubled (for everything - my free ebook, blog subscriptions, my free teleseminars.)

My SEO went up - I moved from page 2 and page 3 of Google results for certain keywords to page 1.

The second result?

I found out what really worked to drive more traffic, more leads, and more business.

And it wasn’t the blog...

It was three things:

1. My new book. Specifically, the marketing plan for my book, which turned out to also become the marketing plan for the website and the marketing plan for my speaking and mentoring programs. Woo hoo - who'd a thunk it?

Lesson: If you “lean in” and commit to the marketing for ONE flagship product, service, or program like I did with my book - you will start to generate momentum that carries over into everything else that you are doing.

2. Email marketing. Plain and simple, the more marketing emails I sent, the more web visits I got. Accident? No, of course not. Most of my emails contained links back to the website for the latest blog posts, the occasional teleseminar invitation or a new program announcement.

Lesson: The more email you send that contains high-value content, advice, insights, and recommendations (aka email that’s too good to delete), the more stickiness you’ll generate for your fans and followers. 

3. FLOP - Namely, “Featuring and Leveraging Other People.” I wrote about this concept in detail here and it has also been a tremendous driver of new traffic and new friendships, new clients, and new projects. Inbound FLOP is me shining the spotlight on others. And outbound FLOP is me participating in other people’s book launches, surveys, guest blogging, and so on.

Lesson: It’s not all about YOU. It IS all about how YOU can serve and promote other experts in your field who have a complementary skill set, message, or service offering. Welcome to the new collaborative economy. They win when you win. And you win when they win.

Sooooo... I’m still blogging.

But I’ve scaled down to once or twice a week.

And I’ve scaled UP the other activities listed above.

Because that’s what generates results.

What have YOU changed up in the last 3-6 months to STOP doing what doesn't matter and start DOING more of what matters most? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your specific changes and how they've freed up more time or made you more money... 

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

What's the difference between a professional practice (or company or trade association) that feeds on the bottom vs. YOUR business model which should aim to serve the top of your market? 

Here are 17 things to consider:

1. High fees are paid by clients and customers who are doing well, not those who are struggling

2. Referrals come from those who are proud of the fees they pay you, not ashamed to be low-balling their way through business

3. High-end clients tend to be believers - low-end clients tend to be skeptics

4. Top clients are easier to please because they have a partner mindframe whereas low-end clients are almost impossible to please because they have a peddler mindframe

5. Paying higher fees also means that your top-of-market clients pay you higher respect, pay your advice more attention, and invest more resources in their implementation of your ideas

6. There is always a way to raise your game, boost your value prop, and charge higher fees. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have $500,000 sports cars or $35,000 watches

7. There’s no profit in a business model that challenges other poverty-mindset entrepreneurs in a race to the bottom

8. You can always design a “lower-level entry point” to a high-end offering (Example: the $125 Tiffany bracelet.) However, it is almost impossible to “level up” from commodity status. In other words, Wal-Mart would have a tough time attracting high-end jewelry buyers

9. Are you attracting referrals to goofballs or people who don’t see the value of what you offer? Like attracts like. It’s very possible your current clients and customers simply don’t travel in the right circles  

10. If you’ve heard yourself say, “My clients won’t pay any more than they’re already paying” or “I can’t raise my prices because I’ll price myself out of the market” - then you may need a. Better clients, b. A new market, or c. Both!

11. High-end clients expect great work. It is energizing, engaging and fun for you and your team to rise to that challenge

12. Low-end clients expect perfect work. Even though they have no idea what they want, change what they want based on whims, and are a moving target of conflicted priorities. It is demoralizing, exhausting, and depressing for you and your team to put up with these micro-managing, neurotic control freaks

13. High-end clients value relationships and once they’re in with you, they’ll come back for more. Why? Because if they switch, they would essentially be admitting to themselves that they overpaid or made a wrong decision, which is more expensive to their ego than to their pocketbook. Bottom line: High-end clients always look for reasons to stay

14. Low-end clients only care about transactions. The next coupon or email or offer will lure them away for the next bargain. They’re forever playing “Let’s Make a Deal” and the fact that they bought from you once REDUCES the chance they’ll buy from you again. Bottom line: Low-end clients always look for reasons to leave

15. High-end clients will approach you with new ideas, ask for more innovative services, help you develop new products and programs that they WANT to buy and that people at their same level would value. They generate their own product- and idea-generating R&D department to help your business grow.

16. Low-end clients will pressure you to give less, offer “lite” versions, and generally dumb-down and dilute your core offerings to match their small thinking and tiny budgets. Don’t fall for it.

17. Companies that serve low-end clients are dependent on massive numbers of small transactions from one-time buyers and price shoppers. Companies that serve high-end clients thrive on small numbers of much larger, deeper, richer, and longer-lasting relationships with clients, customers, and friends who stay longer, buy more, come back more often, and refer like crazy.

So it’s your call - serve the top or serve the bottom.

Just be careful what you wish for and understand what you’re targeting -- and what you’re in for when you hit it!

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on these ideas and join the conversation... 

Ready to have fun, get smart marketing ideas, and put money in your pocket?   

Welcome to another edition of...

The Do It! Marketing podcast

In this episode, my guest is author, podcaster extraordinaire and professional speaker Craig Price. (Follow @Price_Points and @RealityCheckPod on Twitter.)

Craig talks with me about the power of podcasting AND how conferences and conventions can use podcasting to build buzz, excitement, and grow attendance - even on a shoestring budget.

Listen in and then share YOUR advice, insights and recommendations in the COMMENTS area below... 

I asked one of my favorite marketing coaching clients, "How's your DIP?"

She responded, "Dip? We're talking party recipes now?"

"No, no - remember the acronym I shared with you last time? DIP stands for Dollars In Play." She remembered.

Then she asked me to hang on as she shuffled through some notes and papers.

"Where are you looking for these numbers?" And she said that she keeps a scratch pad by her keyboard and has a more detailed tracking document that she updates every couple of weeks on her computer. 

"Oh my goodness, there's your problem right there. You have to keep this info right in front of your face all day long." 

REALLY in front of your face. My suggestion - make a poster using something as simple as a piece of flipchart paper and two different size Post-It notes: the Jumbo size and the smaller 3x3 square size.  

Here's what a DIP (Dollars in Play) wall chart looks like: 

Here's how it works:

1. Two categories: one called "In Play" and the other one for less serious prospects ("Jokers") You can see in the photo above, I've had a little fun and made a silly cartoon joker card. These are folks who are in my pipeline but (in my estimation) less serious, less committed, and less capable of making the financial commitment to hire me.

2. Post your prospects' full names, the service/product/program you discussed with them, the dollar value, and the source. For example, Jane Doe came from a referral from Frank. We have not talked yet, so there's no dollar value. Nat Cole came from Linkedin and we talked about a $1500 1-on-1 marketing consulting package.  Sam Smith is hiring me for a $6500 speech in October. (All prospect names have been changed for the purposes of this blog post and photo - could you tell?)

3. Real time updates. Sometimes I'll even grab my pad of 3x3 Post-Its and write someone's name down WHILE I'm on the phone with them, walk over to the wall chart and stick their name on it. Can't tell you how satisfying this physical act can be. 

4. Fluid movement. Don't be afraid to upgrade a joker to the serious column and don't be afraid to take a (formerly) serious prospect and move them into the Joker column. The factors to consider are their commitment level based on email and phone communication, their level of responsiveness, and how rapidly you are moving them from point to point in your sales process.   

5. Reminders rule. If you see someone on your chart whom you have not spoken with or heard from in a few weeks, you probably need to get back in touch. Ideally, you never have a prospect who is just "floating" out there without a firm decision call on their calendar. But it happens. The chart reminds you to close those loops and corral your prospecting mustangs back onto your sales ranch.  

6. Relentless removal. Remember the old sales adage, "Some will. Some won't. Who cares? Next!" That's the point of the chart. Up or out. If you're not going to buy, I'm going to cut you loose and throw you back in the ocean. The SECOND most fun you'll have with this chart (after slapping a brand new prospect's name onto the chart) is grabbing a prospect who said no - or who has disappeared on you despite your best efforts to hold them to their commitments - and RIP their name off the chart and tear it into tiny little pieces and chuck it in the trash.  

7. Do the math. Feel the power. The point of tracking your sales pipeline in this manner is so that you have a real-time sense of "Dollars in Play." Every so often, you should glance over at your chart and add up the numbers that you see in the "In Play" column ONLY. (Don't add the jokers because that's why they're in the joker column - instead, do everything you can to move your jokers into the "In play" column or remove them altogether!)

In the photo above, you would have a "Dollars in Play" number of $21,000. For prospects who are considering mutliple options (for example, Mindy Kaling is holding a proposal with a $7500 option and a $2500 option), you should count the higher number.

Two reasons: 1.) It sets your internal expectation in that direction which will enhance your confidence in your subsequent conversations with Mindy. A confident seller creates confident buyers. So it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. 2.) It builds your capacity for marketing optimism, which every entrepreneur needs. Plus if you're going to be relentless in removing people (See Rule #6 above), you might as well be relentlessly optimistic about the folks who earn and keep a place in your active sales pipeline.  

Now, are YOU ready for some DIP?

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation... 

1. How can we offer a risk-free trial of our product/service?
2. What would make our work more fun?
3. Which of YOUR talents and capabilities would you like to use more of?
4. How can we do better in generating inbound leads?
5. What should we be doing more of?
6. What should we be doing less of?
7. How can we be more valuable to our clients?
8. What's the smartest decision we made in the last 3 months? 
9. What's the dumbest decision we made in the last 3 months?
10. Where are we hitting it out of the park?
11. Where are we missing the mark and need to raise our game?
12. How do we know the metrics we're tracking are the right metrics? Do we need to add, change or delete some key success factors? 
13. What are the DNA markers of a 2-year client? 5-year client? 10-year client?
14. What extra services could we offer in a super-premium version of our core product/service? 
15. What "lite" services could we offer in an entry-level version of our core product/service?
16. Do we have enough staff, capacity, and bandwidth to handle bigger, better projects? If not, how quickly can we scale with outsourcing, partnering, or subcontracting?
17. What can we simplify, eliminate, delegate, or outsource?
18. How can we work with prospects who are ahead of the curve in our area of expertise? (Advanced level program)
19. How can we work with prospects who are behind the curve in our area of expertise? (Quickstart program)
20. Are we doing too much marketing and not enough selling? 
21. Are we doing too much selling and not enough marketing? 
22. How are we making our prospects smarter - even if they DON'T buy from us? 
23. Are we articulating clearly and concisely our level of expertise, experience and empathy with our target market? 
24. Are we articulating clearly and concisely the exact types of heartaches, headaches, pains, problems, challenges and gaps that we can fix? 
25. Are we investing in thought leadership marketing strategies like speaking, publishing, and social media to elevate our expertise and stand out from the crowd? 
26. How can we zig where the competition zags? 
27. How can we show - not tell - our clients that we offer products and services that are BFS (better, faster, smarter)?
28. How can we offer depth with variety? 
29. What can we do to encourage our favorite customers to serve as our most effective salesforce?
30. How can we provide indisputable points of proof that what we do works, is cost-effective, and is better than any competitor or alternative (customer testimonials, industry recognition, videos, demonstrations, references, case studies, expert endorsements)
31. What else can we do to qualify the right prospects, disqualify the wrong prospects, and get our sales process to be shorter, sharper, and more streamlined? 
32. When we win business, do we know (exactly) why? When we lose business, do we know (exactly) why? Where has this data been captured and how are you using it to improve your odds with every new prospect day by day and week by week?
33. Have you shared this post with three people whose business might benefit? Have you bought this book that comes with over $747 of marketing bonuses? Have you noticed there are more than 33 questions in this list? <Smile>.  

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

1. Sometimes, visuals can stand alone:

2. Use font sizes to help you make your point:

3. Use screen shots and visually focus your audience on key ideas:

4. Use arresting, unusual graphics, not the same old tired clip art:

5. It's OK to use graphs if you summarize the A-ha insight they provide:

6. Sometimes it helps to SHOW and TELL on the same slide:

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation... 

1. There's no good time. Now is the time.
   What are you waiting for?
2. Put out your best material. For free. 
   Do you want to be SHARED or SCARED? 
3. YOU may be your biggest obstacle.
   What would happen if you got out of the way? 
4. Stop STARTING things and get more into DOING.
   What can you do today - right now?
5. A few may wish to see you fail. A lot more are rooting for your success.
   Where is your attention?
6. Forget the word vision.
   Better: What do you SEE in your future?
7. You're aiming too low.
   How can you elevate your sights, your fees, and your value?
8. Stop blaming others. It's ALL your fault.
   Move on - what's next?
9. A bend in the road is never the end - unless you fail to turn.
   Where do you need to turn? 
10. It's not what you think it is. And it's bigger than you think it is.
    Why not embrace that? 
11. There are no silver bullets, secret sauces, or magic beans.
    Now what's your plan? 

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation...