Test and grow rich.
Doesn't have quite the same ring as 'Think And Grow Rich' does it?
"Testing" isn't a very sexy topic - but it will be when you it makes you a boatload of moolah!
Why? Because testing variables in direct mail campaigns, phone scripts, sales presentations, and landing pages requires discipline, diligence and patience...in other works WORK.
To get it right, you can only test one variable at a time. This means that if you change a headline, you can't change anything else. Plus you have to make sure all other variables remain the same - like the mailing day if you're doing direct mail OR...
The stock market taking a nose dive or the next political scandal surfacing or a hurricane hitting - all distractions that will affect the amount and the focus of search activity on the Internet
Frankly, most business people will just not go through the detailed steps required to test. And in some cases where you're running a quick one-time campaign, it may not be worth the time it takes to test and tweak.
But let's assume you're working on something you intend to use over and over and over again with high ROI value so that it's worth real effort to fine-tune it...
I have some tips for you that will bring BIG results:
Huh? In Dan Kennedy's 'The Ultimate Sales Letter' he talks about the steps to take after writing a sales letter but before you actually mail it. He's already done the testing for you - you just follow the steps.
Which is the fastest way to test and get to a reasonable conclusion. Let's assume you have a postcard (or an online landing page) and you want to leave everything the same but test four different headlines, and you have 4,000 similar addresses (physical or email) to mail to. You evenly divide the list without bias among the headlines being tested.
A "control" is a marketing strategy that already works well and you're using it on a continuing basis - maybe it's a series of letters you mail every month. You have been using it long enough to know what it produces. You have a "known" to measure against. Now you can start trying to improve that control, ideally one step or variable at a time.
This is what I did in my mortgage business. I ran a 3-piece direct mail campaign and continually tested it against itself. It made me millions.
If I'm trying to beat a control, here are the "hot" variables I'll look at closely, to see if there's room for improvement:
By the way, small and easily testable things DO sometimes make very big differences.
Obviously, you can't test if you can't, won't, or don't collect accurate data. You have to code every offer and track where every ounce of business comes from. If you have employees who are lax about this, you have to educate them about the importance, discipline them if they mess up, and ultimately fire 'em if they refuse to do as you direct them.
I admit that there are times I fly by the seat of my pants in my business more than I should, but I can't fire me 🙂
Bu I can assure you this: our clients with the best profits and incomes possess the best data about where their business comes from.
All highly successful entrepreneurs view everything they do as testing. They do NOT see things as either "success" or "failure" like ordinary people do.
Successful business owners fully expect to go through any number of tests and tweaks that don't pan out before walking away with a winner.
They don't get discouraged and throw up their hands in failure. They know that persistence will produce huge results.
They take action.
Seize the day!
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Image Attribution: Harald Hoyer from Schwerin, Germany (Do NOT Compare!Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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