I had a bit of a heated conversation the other day with my financial advisor who is also a good friend of mine.

It went something like this:

Me – did you get started on your website yet?

Friend – No

Me – Why?

Friend – I don’t think it’ll will work.

Me – What?

Friend - I don’t think it will work…I don’t see any other financial advisors doing it.

Me – So if no other financial advisors are doing it…it means that it doesn’t work?

Friend – I don’t know of anyone doing it…look at so and so’s website and this guys website…they spent $1000s of dollars and nothing.

And the conversation went on for another 10 minutes or so.

I found it very odd and weird that a highly educated person such as my friend could not see the benefits of internet marketing as part of his overall marketing strategy.  The Website…that didn’t deliver is an objection that I will be able to address with my friend in another conversation or post.

Now don’t get me wrong….I don’t believe that internet marketing is the end all be all in terms of the over-riding factor to success….especially in the field of financial planning.  And for the record, I’m not saying my financial advisor is a failure…he does very well at his business.  But failure can take many forms…like health, wealth and happiness.

Having said this, almost every successful person I know is somewhat pressed for time.  How do you get more time?  Systems.  For example, in a pizza restaurant what can make more pizzas? a single deck oven or a conveyor oven? – Conveyor….more capacity equals more pizzas that can be sold which equals more sales.  While we are all given the same parameters in terms of time…24 hours in a day.  It’s how we use those precious minutes that determine the difference between success and failure.

Now the question at hand… Can Internet Marketing Help a One Man Operation or Small Business?

Let me ask you this:

If I could show you or develop a time saving solution/system that (I could list many):

• helps you warm up your leads by delivering them your value proposition,
• helps you get positioned as an authority figure to encourage your prospects to do business with you,
• helps you build relationships with existing customers and prospects,
• helps you to build a following or a community of fans,
• helps your clients refer business to you

And the end result would be among a list of many:

• more time for you and your family,
• deeper and longer lasting client relationships,
• increased capacity that leads to more opportunities for sales resulting in more income….WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED? I thought so.
  

What do Don Trahan and CJ Goecks know about Internet Marketing?  Based on the emails I get from these guys…quite a bit.  They have one upped the late night golf infomercial guru AJ Bonar by using the power of internet marketing to autopilot sales.  If you follow a couple of tips that I am about to identify you too could be cashing in on autopilot income.

Who are these guys?

Don Trahan – Peak Performance Golf Swing

PGA Master Professional Don Trahan, known as the “Swing Surgeon,” has been ranked by Golf Magazine as one of the “50 Best Teachers” in America. He is the author of the popular instruction book, “Golf, Plain and Simple,” the “Peak Performance Golf Swing” and numerous articles about the golf swing in major golf publications. He is a former teaching editor for Golf Magazine and creator of numerous training aids.

However, for Don, his greatest distinctions by far is the “student” who is now a member of the PGA Tour. DJ Trahan and Don’s son, winner of two Tour events, is positioned to be one of the Tour leaders.

CJ Goecks – Perfect Connection Golf Swing

Goeck is a Certified PGA Golf Professional and is also ranked as a Golf Digest Top 20 Golf Instructor.  PGA Touring Professional Nathan Green won the RBC Canadian Open using Goecks’ Perfect Connection Golf Swing.

So what are these guys selling?  Most people would probably answer golf lessons…but that’s the easy answer.  You would be surprised at how many people get this fundamental question incorrect.  Ask a Dentist, Chiropractor, Real Estate Agent, Pizza Store, Car Dealer what they sell and the majority of them will say clean teeth, skeletal adjustments, houses, pizza and cars – ALL WRONG! What they are missing is a VALUE PROPOSITION…what are their customers buying from them?

In our golf pro examples, we see that the Peak Performance Golf Swing is promoting the end to inconsistent golf – a common problem among many golfers.  The Perfect Connection Golf Swing is promoting a pain-free body friendly golf swing – which for many golfers pain can create all kinds of problems in the quest for a consistent golf swing.  Are you noticing a trend here…they are providing a solution to a problem.  You see…most people buy to satisfy something.  It could be vanity, security, pain relief, worry, pleasure, convenience etc.  In our mini case study, both Pros are promoting a better golf swing but they are each catering to a specific niche of people looking to improve their golf swing.

How are these guys using the power of the internet to achieve their sales? LEVERAGE

They are using the power of leverage to earn greater sales.  HOW?

• They created a video series and DVD instructional series which allows them to teach more students than humanly possible using the traditional approach,
• They use an email auto-responder series to deliver engaging video content to help foster a trusting relationship by delivering value up front with their prospects,
• They use the power of Social Media like Facebook and Twitter to extend their reach, build credibility and increase traffic,
• They use the power of PPC advertising to generate maximum ROI on their advertising dollars,

Are they making money?  While I do not have direct access to their bank accounts I would say – there is a very strong chance that they are both doing very well with their sales.  Using some basic research tools such as Alexa.com and iSpionage.com you can see that both sites get a steady stream of traffic .  I did a recent search at iSpionage (a site that tracks PPC campaigns) for PerfectConnectionGolfSwing (PCGS).  It revealed that in the month of October PCGS spent roughly $377-$603 on pay-per-click advertising.  As a result, they received 402-487 click throughs to their site.  Assuming a 5% close rate and using the lowest click-through number of 402 – sales could be estimated at $67 x 20.1 = $1347.  Subtracting the PPC cost of $603 results in a profit of $743.  Having said this, there’s still the cost of producing the DVDs and the actual video production costs to consider – but I’m willing to bet that they’ve made enough sales to cover those costs.

The point is, with all the up front cost and efforts already invested both of these guys will be able to reap ongoing returns on their initial investment of time and money for years to come.

So what are you waiting for?  Who’s problem can you solve today?