Marketing Simplified: How I Built a Seven-Figure Business and How You Can Too

By Danny Decker

Marketing is a mystery for most business owners - but it doesn't have to be. In this book, I'll show you the exact steps that I used to build a million-dollar business, from scratch, in a highly competitive industry. And more importantly, I'll show you how to do the same. Marketing is the
key to growing your business, and by the time you're done with this book, you'll have your roadmap for success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Nov 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781483493206

Book preview

MARKETING

SIMPLIFIED

How I Built a Seven-Figure Business

And How You Can Too

DANNY DECKER

Copyright © 2018 Danny Decker.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-9319-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-9320-6 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 11/7/2018

Mandatory Introduction

Because Marketing Shouldn’t Be a Mystery!

Don’t skip this introduction!

I’m going to tell you a bit about my background, what to expect from this book, and most importantly how you can get the most value out of your time spent reading it.

In 2012, I started a business in a spare bedroom of a tiny apartment in Miami, Florida. My business partner, Marc, and I had no clients, no experience, no resources, and no idea what we were doing.

Fast forward to 2016, and we crossed the seven-figure revenue mark for the first time. In 2017, we grew by another 30%.

We work in an awesome office, now in Charlotte, NC; we have a great team, 11 full-timers and counting; and we get to work with clients all across the country. I’m free from the day-to-day operations of the business and I have the ability to spend my time however I like - hanging out with my family, playing sports, and working on projects like this book.

In a span of five years, my life changed dramatically. And keep in mind, when we started the business, we had very little going for us. No resources, no experience running a business, no clients. Even worse, we didn’t have a unique business concept. We launched as a marketing company targeting small businesses - offering services like website design, graphic design, and social media marketing. There was literally nothing unique about it.

So how did we get here?

1. We hustled.

2. We learned from some really smart people - people who had been there, done that.

3. And we built a marketing system that attracted new clients consistently and affordably.

I’m going to assume that you’re willing to hustle. And that you’re willing to learn.

So this book is written to help you with the hardest part of growing your business, the part that many business owners never figure out: how to build a marketing system that fuels your growth.

If I could do it, you can do it too.

Here’s the thing - marketing doesn’t have to be a mystery. In fact, it’s much more science than art. There are simple concepts that you have to understand and systematically apply. If you do this, you’re going to be successful.

That’s the point of this book, and that’s the purpose of my podcast - which you can find on iTunes or at MarketingSimplifiedPodcast.com.

So here’s what you need to know about this book.

1. You won’t find any academic theory here. Everything I’m going to share in this book, I learned firsthand, or observed firsthand. There’s no shortage of experts with opinions out there. I’m going to stay away from opinions and instead share my experience with you. You might find some controversial ideas or some concepts that seem to contradict popular wisdom. I’m not going to apologize for that. I’m going to tell you what’s worked for me, and what hasn’t. And you can do whatever you like with that information.

2. No matter what type of business you run, this book is for you. One of the most important lessons that I was fortunate to learn early is that but my business is different is a dangerous excuse. Business is business. Every business is the same at a fundamental level. We all need to create leads or send shoppers to our store. We all need to convert those prospective clients/customers into actual clients and customers. We all need to serve our clients and keep them happy. And we need to do all of this while turning a profit. So regardless of industry or the size of your business, I can guarantee you that you’ll get value out of this book. It may require some thought and creativity to translate these ideas into your business, but it’s 100% worth the effort.

3. This book is guaranteed to make you money. If you approach this with an open mind, and you’re committed to applying what you learn, I personally guarantee you that you’ll find numerous opportunities to improve your marketing and therefore make more money with your business. But you have to be willing to do the work of application. If you’re someone who loves to read, this is often the biggest challenge. It’s something I struggle with too. Reading a book is great, but if you aren’t taking notes and applying what you’ve learned, you’re severely limiting the positive impact of your learning. My suggestion: read this book with a notepad handy or a note-taking app open on your smartphone. When you see something that you like, and that you think makes sense for your business, jot it down or add it to your to-do list to act on later.

4. By all means, steal and apply everything you learn here. The entire point of this book is to help you take your marketing to the next level and make more money. So if you see a concept or an idea that works for you, please steal it and apply it in your business! If it works as-is, great. If you have to modify it to fit your business model, great. Honestly, almost nothing that worked in our marketing was an original idea. I’ve learned from hundreds of authors, speakers, and fellow business owners. I’m always on the lookout for ideas that I can swipe and deploy to make my businesses work better. I hope you’ll do the same with this book.

Part One

YOUR

MARKETING

MINDSET

What is Marketing?

Let’s start at the beginning. What is marketing, and how does it fit in with the rest of your business?

There are five basic components of every business.

Marketing generates new leads or prospects.

Sales converts those prospects into buyers, users, customers, or clients.

Operations delivers the product or service to your customers.

People power and oversee the systems that make the business run.

Financial Controls ensure that you’re doing all of the above and making a profit in the process.

There’s a reason that marketing comes first. It all starts with marketing. Without marketing, you don’t have prospective clients to sell to, and you don’t have users for your product or service. Until you figure this out, you’ll always struggle to grow.

Once you do figure it out, the possibilities are endless. And you’ll have plenty of resources to devote to perfecting the rest of your business operation.

So here’s the deal:

The sole purpose of marketing is to generate qualified leads for your business.

Now, that might sound like an oversimplification. Isn’t marketing also supposed to generate awareness? Create media exposure? Create buzz for your business?

Sure - but those are all secondary objectives.

Awareness, media exposure, and buzz won’t pay the bills. Leads - prospective clients, customers, and users - that can be converted into paying clients, are the only thing that ultimately matters.

The word qualified is important to understand. A qualified lead is someone who has both the desire and the ability to purchase your product or services. They need to be able to afford it. Depending on your business model, leads may need to be located in a specific geographic area. They may need to be of a certain age, gender, income level, political leaning, etc.

In my business, Spotlight Branding, we refer to a lead as someone who has raised their hand and indicated that they’d like to schedule a consultation with our sales team. In order for them to be a qualified lead, they need to be a lawyer. They must own or manage their own law firm. They need to be located in the United States or Canada. And they need to have the ability to pay for our services.

Leads present themselves in many different ways. At Spotlight Branding, we drive a sizeable percentage of leads through ads run on Facebook. We also generate many leads at trade shows and other events that we sponsor, which typically includes setting up a booth or table and talking to prospects face-to-face. We consistently generate leads through referrals from existing clients. We generate leads through a podcast, The Law Firm Marketing Minute, that I co-host with my partner Marc. We get leads through our website, including direct phone calls or Contact Us form submissions.

But it doesn’t matter where the lead comes from - the criteria is the same. If they can’t afford our services or they aren’t a good fit as defined above, they’re not a qualified lead.

And the success or failure of our marketing is determined solely by the amount