It was the spring of 2007.

The real estate industry was self-imploding, and you could smell the fear.

My mortgage business of twenty years was dying on the vine.

I got involved in Internet marketing as a way to supplement my income - and I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting the results that I was expecting.

The results I should have been getting.

I mean, I was doing everything right. Exactly like the “gurus” told me.

Stuff like...

... reading the recommended books like Action Selling and The Ultimate Sales Letter.

... forcing myself to check my emails only twice a day.

... tweeting and posting Facebook updates religiously.

... submitting articles and press releases.

... shooting daily 90 second videos and uploading them to YouTube.

... creating new landing pages with videos and optin boxes with arrows.

... emailing my list promoting affiliate products.

... attending seminars and buying the “fail-proof” products that the presenters were hawking.

If I wasn’t so darn stubborn, I’d have tossed in the towel. Call me stupid, but it’s just not in my nature to lose. I’d been successful in two different careers. So what was I doing wrong?

Call it my ‘aha moment’ or just call it “using my brain” but the light suddenly dawned.

What if I were to run my Internet business like I did my two other businesses?

I immediately made some key changes:

#1 I WROTE OUT A PROJECTED BUSINESS PLAN

Where I wanted to be in 3 months, 6 months, a year, 5 years. If you don’t know where you’re going, how in heck are you ever going to get there?

#2 I KEPT TRACK OF ALL EXPENSES

A budget was set for marketing, educational resources, outsourcing. No more buying every new gadget and “guaranteed-to-work” course that came out and then two months later forgetting that I even bought it.

#3 I ADDED LEAD SOURCE TRACKING TO EVERY ONLINE AND OFFLINE CAMPAIGN

I NEVER would have run an add campaign for my mortgage company without being able to track its results!

#4 I EVALUATED THE RESULTS

If they didn’t prove profitable, I’d tweak one variable at a time and retest. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Until I got the ROI (return on investment) I wanted.

#5 I PICKED UP THE PHONE AND TALKED TO PEOPLE

Yeah, the Internet is a fantastic space to gather tons of leads, but in the end people didn’t buy our services because of the fantastic benefits. They bought me.

They trusted me to lead them where they wanted to be. I spent my days exactly like I did in my previous careers in the investment and mortgage industries - listening to their fears and concerns. Building relationships.

Going back to my roots and becoming once again the strategic entrepreneur that I had been was the turning point. Passing up every opportunity that came along and staying focused on my primary business kept me on track.

As as a result, Barron Marketing was born.

So what can you take from all this?

• Work smarter not harder. Doing more (aka 'busy work') is not necessarily better. Religiously listing more tasks on your to-do list just for the insane satisfaction of checking them all off just won’t necessarily make your business profitable.
• Be strategic. Having a business plan means figuring out the least amount you personally have to do to be successful.
• Write down your fiscal goals for your business. Then keep breaking it down to how much you need to earn each week to make those goals and determine what needs to happen to make that happen.
• Make connections offline. I found that if I had five productive conversations a day, that was ultimately what I need to get the results needed to meet my goals.

If you're not where you want to be...get started by requesting a free automation consultation with one of our business strategists.

Seize the day!

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