There are times in a person’s life when you meet someone who you know will have a lasting impact on your life. People who are so switched on and, more importantly, open to sharing their knowledge with others that you realise they will be responsible for a huge shift in your own life’s purpose or treasure (as it’s referred to in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist). One such person for myself, is Joshua D Boxer, a successful Marketing Consultant and Internet Marketer who in the last 6 months has literally hit the Internet Marketing world by storm after releasing no less than three highly successful products on the back of running a profitable Marketing Company which offers services to the Medical and Hospitality industries to name but a few.

I had the good fortune to meet Joshua at the Sep ’11 Webinar Summit held by Joel Peterson in Salt Lake City and he was all too happy to shoot the breeze with me as we talked about the differences between Yanks, Poms and Kiwis between stories of consulting gigs which went horribly wrong and plans to expand our portfolios over the next 12 months.

Since then, I’ve continued to stay in touch and follow him as he’s steadily continued to build his portfolio of ‘painless’ branded products, created to ease the workload of fellow online and offline marketers. I’ve also talked him into revealing some of his most valuable secrets which have (till now) only ever been available by purchasing his products. So take notes, turn off your phone and listen carefully because you may be very close to learning the same secret Joshua used to begin doubling his income.

Right click here to download

What you’ll learn in this interview:

• How Joshua D Boxer went from Mortgage Broker to Making Money Online
• Why Joshua gets consistent results through Direct Mail Marketing.
• How to harness the power of niche specialization.
• How moving from Service Provider to Product Creator/Teacher changed Joshua’s life.
• What are the fundamental SEO aspects of a profitable website.
• Joshua shares his Top 3 Killer Mailing Tips.
• How Joshua makes more money with less clients.

Relevant Links (will open in new window)

Joshua’s Products

• Painless Prospects

Joshua D Boxer’s Blog

Learning any language I wanted has always been a passion of mine. I had the opportunity to pursue this with a short stint in Shanghai after my wife and I got married but my conversational Mandarin was less than conversational and I’ve always wanted to finish speaking Mandarin. This is why the chance to interview Irish Polyglot, Benny Lewis, last year on the shores of the Philippines, was too good to pass up!

Benny has become renowned in the Travel and Language niche as the go-to guy for learning languages as he’s traveled to many countries learning upwards of 9 languages by my last count. He has spoken at a couple well known conferences, one of them being TEDx (an independent offshoot of TED) and his insights have motivated and empowered many to take their passive aspirations for learning languages and turn them into proactive action. I myself can attest to this after choosing to get off my ass and resume learning Mandarin again (with the aid of a friendly Chinese Neighbor who was a Mandarin teacher back in Beijing).

The other aspect that makes Benny incredibly unique from past interviewees is the fact he’s made his polyglot pursuit all about the experience, completely disinterested in chasing the dollar and pitching for profit. Does that mean he lives on the streets and pan-handles? HELL NO! What it means is he follows his passion for learning languages and helping others, and the rest is made available to him. If you think I’m waffling, then listen to the interview where Benny puts me straight about how RSS subscribers and email lists mean absolutely nothing to him and why they should mean equally as much to everyone else too!

Right click here to download

What you’ll learn in this interview:

• Benny’s story on becoming a polyglot.
• Benny’s unconventional approach to learning a language and why it’s  something 9 out of 10 people will never do.
• Why its important to be a smart marketer
• The one thing responsible for people failing to attract a strong following.
• Why Benny’s first product was a ‘Guide’ and not yet another eBook?
• Why Benny can’t stand cheese… (and it’s not what you think)…
• A cool trick for traveling overseas on a shoestring budget and how it will actually accelerate your language learning curve.
• What Benny’s #1 Tip is for learning any language you want!

Relevant Links (will open in new window)

Fluent in 3 Months Blog

Benny on Facebook

Language Hacking Guide

Ever since I set up this website, one of the primary focuses of it has been to instigate change. Change in myself, change in my circumstance and change in how I impact other people for the better.

Now, this has meant that I haven’t always erred on the side of caution when it came to setting goals for myself. This is evident from the fairly audacious 2010 New Year Resolutions. Amongst them were goals to start several businesses, have an active lifestyle and dedicate a lot of my time to building priceless moments with my family and friends. One of the more audacious of these goals has been listed below:

When I set this goal, I had spent a great deal of time listening to the audio book, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill as well as studying the online training material from the Continuity Summit by Ryan Lee, hence the reason David Frey is mentioned as one of my imaginary mastermind group members.

To be honest, he was a huge inspiration for me, driving me to invest more of my time in things I love to do with people I love to do them with. His motto of “making the main thing, the main thing” really stuck with me and my opinion of him has been reinforced at every turn when I would reach out and he would willingly give of his time and advice to help me.

Click here to read my “Making The Main Thing, The Main Thing”

But if I’m being honest, it wasn’t until yesterday that I realised how crucial that 2009 goal would turn out to be for my life. To put it in perspective, I live in New Zealand, arguably the nearest country to Antarctica within the southern hemisphere and to say that I wanted to shake hands with any of my imaginary mastermind group would require considerable amount of capital and effort on my part, easily costing upwards of $7000 for the sake of a single visit.

So to clarify, it’s no small jump over the ditch to knock on a neighbour’s door. Of course, I say that with a smile in light of the following video of David doing a presentation at Joel Patterson’s webinar summit in Salt Lake City, Utah two months ago. Here you see David talking about one of his high-ticket products and how he was prepared to give it away. Watch to find out what happens…

To say that that moment was incredible would be an understatement. And that’s despite the fact that I’d completely forgotten about the goal I’d set in 2010. But seriously, the chance to shake hands with David and introduce myself as Josh Roa from New Zealand was just fantastic. Of course, I was writing off the high of that experience several weeks after getting back to New Zealand but now I find myself even more related knowing that what some might call an unrealistic goal I’d set in 2010, was accomplished before the end of 2011.

So if ever I had any doubts about setting goals, no matter how unrealistic, there is no doubt in my mind now that if I continue to walk in the direction of that goal, it is only time that stands in my way and make no mistake, though I may have started this blog as an “80-Day Millionaire” challenge, I’m certainly here to stay.

For those interested in a bonus audio recording of the man who taught this exact principle of setting goals and leaving them to realize themselves, click the link below to listen to J Earl Shaoff.

How To Become A Millionaire by J Earl Shoaff

So given this 3 month-late epiphany has been so eye-opening for me, can you recall an unrealistic goal set several months or years ago and how its realized itself without you knowing it? Share what it was and how you felt about the accomplishment, as it just now dawns on you and you too experience the joy and excitement I felt!

To your continued success,

Josh

ps. The other guy in the video is a wartime vet and friend of mine, Shaka Greene, who I kicked it with when I was in the USA. This guy is incredible when you get to talk to him and has some great strategies for building up local leads for your business. I recommend anyone interested with connecting with him and learning more about his story get their stalk on via Facebook – I promise it’ll be one of the best friendships you form – has been for me!

For the last three years, I’ve invested a serious amount of time (ask my wife) in testing many web tools as I walked the blogging and internet marketing path and it’s led me to finding a select number of blogging tools and internet marketing services that have really helped me to grow my personal brand and consulting business.

Some of these range from finding the best registrar for a new domain to getting a press release written for the launch of a new website. I’d be lying if I told you that I’d lost a bit of money and time after buying a service or tool only to learn later on that it was poorly supported or just didn’t fit my needs. Thankfully, you don’t have to bear the same burden as I’ve created a list of tools and services I currently use and am confident in recommending.

Below I’ve listed just 7 of these tools and recommend that if you want to see the complete list of over 40 blogger tools and internet marketing services, click on the link at the bottom of the page to check them all out.

7 Internet Marketing & Blogging Tools I Use Every Week

1. WordPress - Perfect platform for blogging and given I regularly post content on my blogs at least one a week, there’s no doubt that it should be the first one listed.
2. Bluehost - There isn’t a week that doesn’t go by where I don’t need to monitor, change or upload a site, email account or file present on the server, making Bluehost the logical send choice. he fact that it has cPanel takes a lot of the pain away, allowing me to create directories, install websites and edit files without relying solely on doing so via FTP.
3. Thesis Theme - If I didn’t have Thesis, I would be heavily reliant on a programmer to make incremental changes to my many sites. Having the flexibility to make simple changes like the size and placement of a menu, main content column and sidebar is the reason I moved to Thesis. It’s an added bonus that it is already optimised for Google, Yahoo and Bing and the proof is in the pudding with JoshRoa.com ranking for several powerful keywords like Internet Millionaires.
4. Google Analytics – Though one of the carnal weaknesses of many first-time bloggers, G Analytics has more value than serving as an ego boost for the less-disciplined (of which I had a premium membership to). In fact, once you understand the greater of applications of Google Analytics on your site, it’s often the case that you find it easier to look at your blog or site as less of a hobby and more of a business. This is evident by the fact that you can set up Goals which will track your KPI (Key Performance Indicator) allowing you to make improvements along the way. Awesome powerful tool once you get to know it!
5. Aweber - It took me some time to fully appreciate having an email marketing service but once I’d set up a few accounts and queued autorespeonders for each, I began to better appreciate the power of Aweber. I like the fact that it’s simple to creat a new list, customise optin messages and send timed or normal email out to a list. Over the next few weeks, I’m also looking to expand what I’ve currently done so that I can provide exclusive content to those that are on my list.
6. Jing – This software has never put me wrong. It’s FREE, it’s fast and friggin simple to use! If you need to record your screen for a walkthrough or tutorial to workers or clients, Jing is perfect. You can also capture images and edit them later which makes it really easy for me to communicate any bugs or issues I run into when managing a client project. Highly recommended!
7. TeamViewer – When I started working with a laptop and desktop pc, I often ran into issues with leaving cetain files on the other computer. TeamViewer helped out by letting me log onto either computer and access files, check on automated tasks (like article submission) or queue downloads while I’m away. Then, when I got my android TeamViewer app…well let’s just say, I’ve never looked back!

Now these are just 7 of over 40 bogging tools and internet marketing services I use for myself and my business and if you’re interested in seeing the other things I personally use, click on the link below.

Blogging Tools and Internet marketing Services

Also, if you know of other tools and services that you would swear by, leave the name and a description of the service in the comments below.

One fatal flaw many first-time business owners have is working in their business as opposed to on it. And this is the flaw that continues to undo many would-be business owners who turn back to a full time job for someone else, doing something other than what they know and love.

I know because I’ve been one of those business owners who was ignorant to the business of growing a business. This cost me dearly in the past but thank fully didn’t continue once I met John Jonas, a man who has served as an inspiring mentor for me.

It was through John that I learned about becoming a manager as opposed to the person who required managing. Thanks to John, I was able to set up systems which freed me up to focus on more important things like sales and strategy and he is going to share some incredible stories and advice on freeing yourself up to do that which matters most to you.

For some it might be spending more time with family. Others, it might be focusing on other projects or giving back to the community. Whatever it is, John has some sound tips on freeing yourself up to live the life you’ve always wanted without it costing you the earth.

Right click here to download mp3

What You’ll Learn In This Interview:

• How John’s strategy frees him up to work no more than 17-hours a week
• Hiring full-time Virtual Assistants vs. Hiring Contractors
• How ReplaceMyself.com helps you to grow your business
• The benefits of hiring a Filipino employee
• How to get on a FREE Webinar where John show’s you the right way to use a full-time employee
• John’s #1 Outsourcing Tip that is guaranteed to help you grow your business!

Relevant Links (will open in new window)

Watch John’s FREE ReplaceMyself.com Webinar
Find your 1st employee for $250/month on OnlineJobs.ph

John’s Blog – JonasBlog.com
John on Twitter
John’s Official Fan Page

4 Hour Workweek
The E-Myth Revisited
Getting Things Done
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
How To Be Invisible

Learning How to Become a Millionaire involves researching a variety of different business models to determine the best method to arrive at a goal. Each approach involves a different strategy. Review the business models of millionaires who managed to reach their goal at an early age.

1. How To Be a Millionaire with Social Networking

Millionaire Name: Mark Elliot Zuckerberg

Project Example: Facebook is a prime example of How to Become a Millionaire. Facebook was created by Zuckerberg along with his peers and roommates, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. Zuckerberg was voted one of the World’s Most Influential People in 2008 thanks to this popular social networking site. Zuckerberg makes becoming a millionaire appear easy. Aspiring millionaires may review his model to identify ways to become a millionaire.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 25 Years Old

Current Worth: $700 million

2. How To Be a Millionaire through Internet Marketing

Millionaire Name: Chad Hurley

Example: YouTube impressed the world with its unique marketing strategy that allows people to communicate and share video through the World Wide Web. The company was sold October 2006 to Google for $1.65 billion. Mr. Hurley made Business 2.0’s list for 50 People Who Matter Now. His success certainly demonstrates that he knows at least one route to becoming a millionaire. Study his examples to learn how to be a millionaire and achieve success financially.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 33 Years of Age

Current Worth: $300 Million

3. How To Be a Millionaire with Gaming

Millionaire Name: John Vechey

Project Example: PopCap Games is game developer based out of Seattle, Washington and employs over 180 people. PopCap is best known for Bejeweled and has sold more than 25 million units. PopCap games are available for PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, iPod Classic, iPhone Touch, Web, PC and Mac. Vechey’s business model can help others learn how to become a millionaire in the gaming industry.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 30 Years Old

Current Worth: $60 Million

4. How To Be a Millionaire with Software

Millionaire Name: Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross

Project Example: Mozilla Firefox is an free and open source web browser. In 2009, Firefox possessed 22.98 percent of the market share of web browsers. This browser is the second most popular browser behind Internet Explorer. The latest browser version includes private browsing, tabbed browsing, live bookmarking, location-aware browsing and numerous other features. People searching for ways to become a millionaire should review his business model and determine his strategy of how to be a millionaire.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 24 Years Old

Current Worth: $120 Million

5. How To Be a Millionaire with Hosting

Millionaire Name: Andrew Michael

Example: Fasthosts Internet Hosting Services is based out of Gloucester, England. The founder started the business at the age of 17, and by 2002, the company was listed as the second fastest growing technology company in the United Kingdom. By 2005, the company managed to earn five million pounds in profit. Fasthosts was sold to United Internet for 61.5 million pounds. Andrew Michael remained the CEO until 2009. To learn how to become a millionaire without actually maintaining control of the company, Andrew Michael provides the perfect example. Becoming a millionaire seems effortless after reviewing their paths to success.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 31 Years Old

Current Worth: $110 Million

Millionaire Name: Alexander Levin

Project Example: ImageShack was the fourth fastest growing web brand in July 2006. In 2007, ImageShack United States managed to score an Alexa ranking in the top 40s. They produce revenue for the company by advertising their free image hosting website. This company was proof that there are many ways to become a millionaire. ImageShack captured the public’s attention with its image hosting website. Access to the images and the advertising surrounding the website showed people one of many ways to become a millionaire. Who says that becoming a millionaire cannot happen in a short period of time?

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 25 Years Old

Current Worth: $56 Million

6. Become a Millionaire Through Real Estate Investments

Millionaire Name: Donald Trump

Project Example: Trump made his first million after his dad purchased a building called the Swifton Village for $5.7 million. He remodeled the building and attained a 100 percent occupancy by 1972. During this year, he sold the Swifton Village for $6.75 million for 1972. Trump’s profit was $1.05 million. Donald Trump is a well known example of how becoming a millionaire can be easy with help from friends.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 26

Current Worth: $2.7 billion

7. Become a Millionaire Through Investments

Millionaire Name: Warren Buffet

Project Example: Warren Buffet made his millions through investments and partnerships. By 1962, he had managed to earn $7.178 million because of investments, but only $1.025 million belonged to Warren Buffet. He attained capital by borrowing $10,000 from each of his doctor friends to invest. He became the world’s richest man in 2008. By 2011, he was only the third richest man. Warren Buffet made becoming a millionaire look easy through his numerous investments and partnerships.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 32

Current Worth: $39 billion

8. How to Become a Millionaire with Furniture

Millionaire Name: Sean Belnick

Project Example: BizChair.com is an Internet retailer run by an Emory graduate. The Internet retailer provides office furniture to its clients. The business is ranked number 242 in the Internet Retailer Guide and is based out of Canton, Georgia. In 2006, the business sold $24.1 million in merchandise, and by 2010, the company sales reached $58 million. BizChair.com currently has 75 employees and hopes to expand to 100 employees. This is yet another example of how to make a million with the Internet.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 20

Current Worth: $42 million

9. How to Become a Millionaire by Blogging

Millionaire Name: Ryan Block

Project Example: This gadget and consumer electronics blog informs readers of the latest product introduction on the market. The editorial content is one of the best in the online and frequently, ranks in the “Technorati Top 100.” The online community was also featured in TIME magazine for being one of the best blogs of 2010. Study Block’s path to millionaire status before starting your Internet business.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 25

Current Worth: $20 million

10. Ways to Become a Millionaire by Promoting Online Dating

Millionaire Name: Markus Frind

Project Example: Plenty of Fish is a free Internet dating site that rivals competitors such as Match.com and eHarmony by offering its services for free. Frind works in approximately 10 hours per week and most of the business runs on autopilot. At its inception, he hired three individuals for customer service. The business has low overhead expenses and increases revenue through advertisements. Frind’s lifestyle and path to millionaire status is ideal.

Age At The Time of Millionaire Status: 29

Current Worth: $10 million

Conclusion

Pursuits of How to Become a Millionaire will be evident through reading the successes of these young entrepreneurs. For more information on ways to become a millionaire, read the details of their success stories to determine how your business can be modeled after proven millionaire businesses.

If you think there are proven models that haven’t been mentioned here, tell us about them and if there are enough like-minded people, we’ll update this Top 10 list with your vote!

For many, the thought of being $1.5M in debt might be enough to send you looking for the nearest roof to jump off – and not just because of the money. The shame, guilt, thought of failure, all of these would break a person down unless they knew how to deal with such a setback and such a man is exactly who we’ll be hearing from in this interview.

Dave Sheahan has gone from being on the very top to crawling from the very bottom and he’s learned several secrets that will help anyone interested in building both a better body and a better bank account too.

Right click here to download mp3

What You’ll Learn In This Interview:

• The dangers of rapid growth within your business
• 7 Steps to Success when placed in a seemingly insurmountable situation
• Dave’s #1 Tip to building momentum when faced with a difficult day
• Dave’s formula for succeeding at Social Media (and magic ratio that works every time)
• 4 steps to becoming an author and why a book is your best business card

Relevant Links (will open in new window)

6 Weeks to a Cover Model Body

Dave’s Facebook Fan Page

Dave’s Website

Dave Sheahan’s Home Workout System

Dave Sheahan’s My Body and Mind for Life Program

Dave Sheahan’s ‘The Young and The Ageless’ Bootcamp

Imagine being one of the key players in the building of a company that would grow to be the largest eCommerce entity in the country and sell for more than $750 million. For Michael “MOD” O’Donnell, Head of Operations at Trade Me, there was no imagination necessary. From the formative years of Trade Me, helping after-hours to create what would later become the Trade Me Motors Division, to today, where he manages 90 employees tasked with protecting its 2.8M members, MOD has picked up a few pearls of wisdom over the years.

Now, if you’re anything like me, than you’re dying to learn what these pearls are and how to apply them in your own business so it’s only fitting that we go to one of the key deal-makers of Trade Me and ask him the questions which relate best to growing a business online and building oneself as an authority in your market.

Right click here to download mp3

What You’ll Learn In This Interview:

• How he became a key decision maker at Trade Me
• The thought process used to ensure the team stayed customer-centric
• Three types of businesses which attempt integrated marketing and why you don’t want to be the first two!
• The #1 Tip you need to remember in order to succeed in any type of business both online and off!

Relevant Links (will open in new window)

MOD’s Twitter Profile

Trade Me: The Inside Story

This interview is really going to hit home with small businesses struggling to find the best way of approaching larger, more established companies in a bid to JV or integrate your marketing with theirs. If you have an example of doing something similar, share your experience in a paragraph or more for others to see and learn from. Leave your name in the comment box so we can all either sing your praises or toast to a worthy attempt!

Imagine building a business with more than 1.2 million members (or customers) paying $89 a year. Imagine that same business being seen as the ‘people’s champ’ or authority within your industry.

Well, if you’ve ever considered creating an exceptional company but always wondered what the secret sauce was, you need to read this and see how a fledgling car club grew to become one of the most recognised brands in New Zealand.

From small beginnings as the Auckland Automobile Association, first motoring association established in New Zealand in 1903, to an incorporated society that as of 2008 had more than 1.2 million members nationwide, the New Zealand Automobile Association has done pretty well for itself.

One reason why the New Zealand Automobile Association (also known as the AA) has been so successful is its move to add more Motoring services to its existing offering, following its merge in the ‘80s. This was done through joint ventures, business partnerships and franchises in the ‘90s and saw the proliferation of several well known services:

• 24/7 Road-Side Assistance
• Vehicle Testing
• Driver Training

Product and service expansion wasn’t just within Road and Motoring Services either. The AA also fingers in the Tourism, Insurance and Finance pies. This included offering everything from comprehensive car insurance to AA branded street and tourist signs across New Zealand. The benefits for the AA were that it helped to not only increase brand awareness to future members but also its service offering to current members. This made it harder for competition to enter the market with similar products.

If that wasn’t enough, the AA is also a major contributor to the Bi-Annual ENERGYWISE Rally and the mastermind behind the Annual AA Motoring Excellence Awards. This has seen the AA become an Authority figure or spokesperson for the average motorist and a weighty one at that when it comes to Motoring affairs, respective to both government and industry.

As history tells us, this is why the AA was such a key strategic partner for Internet giant Trade Me and its Motoring Division. But brand strength alone was never going to be enough. The offering of a relevant complimentary product or service to its online auctions, however, was and that product was the AA Pre-Purchase Vehicle Inspection Report.

What Is A Pre-Purchase Vehicle Inspection Report?

According to Stella Stocks, General Manager of Motoring Services, the AA Pre-Purchase Vehicle Inspection is a mechanical inspection for people looking to buy vehicles. Some of the differences between this inspection report and other products available on the market are that it is:

• Electronically completed and delivered instantly via email
• Accompanied by a phone call from the qualified mechanic who completed the report.
• Inspected either on-location or at an AA Station

Stocks believes that completing every report on a digital platform ensures both consistency and efficiency. This doesn’t, however, detract from the need for a customer to speak one-on-one with the mechanic and raise any further queries not addressed within the report itself. Coupling these two benefits with the fact that an inspection can be carried out on-site without the need to go into a service station and you have a very strong USP or Unique Selling Proposition.

Stocks had this to add when asked about other factors that benefit AA customers, “Other factors include our brand integrity and only hiring fully qualified mechanics. They are regularly trained and must have industry experience.”

Automobile Authority partners up with Web Authority

Now Stocks, herself, is no stranger to a little ‘industry experience’. As General Manager of Motoring Services, her portfolio includes Vehicle Inspection, Servicing, Repair and Testing, in addition to Technical Advice, and the AA Driving School. In fact, Stella negotiated the AA/Trade Me partnership, first with Sam Morgan in mid 2000 before dealing mainly with Mike O’Donnell, then Head of Operations at Trade Me.

These negotiations took place from 2000-2002 and, for AA at least, were a direct response to a market change where more people were prepared to buy vehicles ‘sight unseen’. This means buying a vehicle online without actually viewing it themselves. Stella is of no delusions that Trade Me was a direct proponent of this shift, effectively turning average car owners into ‘Online Dealers’. This made it crucial that AA get in early to solidify its position for Trade Me members.

This had a profound impact on the Car Dealer industry as well with owners now seeing greater convenience in selling their own vehicles on a platform that was simple to use and easy on the wallet. As a result, Trade Me would deal a significant blow to the Car Dealer market dropping its market share of Annual Used Car Sales from 70% in the early 2000’s to 23% at the time of this article.

What Is The Next Trend Just Over The Horizon?

A new trend that has developed in recent years is that vehicle inspection report customers are now requesting more information. While AA endeavours to provide a greater amount of detail, there is visible demand for more. “The bottom line with customers is that they want you to tell them whether they should buy the car or not. Now that’s not our job so it’s how we can structure our reports to give them as much information as possible”, says Stocks.

This shows us that people are more willing to rely on the reports as a key indicator on whether a vehicle should be purchased. This provides added opportunity if AA can increase awareness of its Pre-Purchase Vehicle Inspection Report product, nationwide.

How This Changes The Way You Do Business?

I’ve spent a great deal time talking about AA and why it was a great choice for Trade Me in finding an Automotive Authority who could increase the value of Trade Me’s own service offering. When you boil it all down though, it comes down to two important points:

1. AA is an, if not the, Authority in its industry.
2. AA had an open-minded approach to Joint Ventures and Business Partnerships.

If either one of these truths were lacking, its certain that AA would’ve lost big time, adding themselves to the Trade Me ‘Shame On You’ List. The most well known of these companies was Telecom. In the early years after being told by Trade Me’s Director that its value was ‘$10 million’, the Xtra head laughed Sam Morgan out of the room. Only a few years later, Telecom’s chief financial officer, Marko Bogievski, would offer $50 million for the company. Sam recalls “I laughed them out of the room. That felt good. Damn good.”

AA could’ve looked at Trade Me as something to be feared but they knew the market was changing and saw the value in partnering up early on. The rest is well, history. The moral of the story is that there are better opportunities for those who bring value to the market place. This should act as a measuring stick for companies struggling to compete in today’s market where most businesses only know how to compete on price. Becoming an authority and forging powerful partnerships will be the difference between your business struggling, day to day, in never-ending price wars and enjoying the freedom offered in a market that always favours those who work smarter, not harder.

The only question left to answer is whether you are prepared to do the work necessary to become an authority in your market and build powerful business relationships. Leave a comment to say what industry you’re in and how you’ve positioned your business to be different from the rest.

If you think you’re business is the exception to this rule then why, in 1-2 sentences, would such a focus never work for you?

Over the next two weeks, I’ll drill deeper into these two keys for building a stronger business, so subscribe to my feed to be notified as soon as it’s live.

When it comes to “conversating”, there are people who move you and people who don’t.

Simply put – Jacob, the author of Living On Purpose: An Uncommon Guide To Finding, Living and Rocking your Life’s Purpose, defines the latter:

 

He immerses himself in a space that for many, exists between dream  and dreary.

He thrives in the landscapes we’d painted for ourselves as children only to have them washed away by the rain of reality.

But most importantly, he is living proof of a life lived with purpose.

Here are three of but many gems you’ll want to listen to in the space of this 23 minute exclusive:

• The Truth About How Happiness Works (it’s not what you think)
• What killer question I put to Jacob that gives him the shivers…
• How we are all programed for approval and how you may have been doing it all wrong!
• BONUS: The greatest risk, should you ignore the last tip mentioned in this interview

To find out more about living a Life of Purpose, The Sensophy Way, click here

When news spreads of a local website selling for 0.7 billion dollars after operating for fewer than 10 years, people tend to stand up and take notice. The mark of a true success story though, is the rate at which word-of-mouth spreads the news from family to family, friend to friend.

One might wonder as to why people would be so keen to talk up the success of a website they have no vested interest in. The answer, however, is surprisingly simple and deceptively effective. It is a tactic that every great business uses to acquire and connect with its customer base. The tactic is known as Integrated Marketing and the biggest example of this is the relationship between Trade Me and the New Zealand Automobile Association.

Setting The Scene

It wasn’t 11 years ago that people were beginning to familiarise themselves with Trade Me, a fledgling website which provided a service for buying and selling items online. It was relatively easy to use and, initially, completely free of charge. Fast forward to 2006 and at the time of selling for NZ$700 million, Trade Me was receiving roughly 450,000 unique browsers each day, representing more than 70% of the domestic web traffic within New Zealand. The irony of this story is there was more to Trade Me and its marketing strategy than simply word-of-mouth referrals and slow natural growth…

Trade Me & AA

While in its early stages, Trade Me saw the need to gain extra leverage with its auctions. Some people were comfortable with the site but others were weary of its validity as well as its security when it came to providing user information. The decision was made by Sam Morgan (Founder) and Mike ‘MOD’ O’Donnell to approach the Automobile Association with an Integrated Marketing proposal, which would grow to be a long term business partnership that still stands at the time of this writing.

What Trade Me stood to gain from this business partnership was improved awareness of its own brand via the reputation of one of the most established motor vehicle organisations in the country. AA benefited from this arrangement by receiving exclusive rights to market to people seeking services they offered, one example being Pre Purchase Vehicle Inspection Reports. AA also gained greater brand awareness by being the only visible choice for such a product when people looked at car auction after car auction.

The benefit is obvious:

• Trade Me increases its own reputation as a secure, reliable online marketplace
• AA gain greater market presence and an increased likelihood of selling its product to customers.

What’s In It For Me?

Now, sometimes its all too much to hear about a huge company that was hugely successful but on speaking with Craig Jordan, The (then) Head of Business Partners as well as the Motors Division, about this piece, he had this advice for small businesses looking to Joint Venture or find Integrated Marketing opportunities with other companies:

1. Recognize that brand matters – without it, you’re a nobody
2. Online expertise – select a partner who is an expert in a complimentary field to yours
3. Be flexible – flexibility is vital when partnering up with other businesses and it goes both ways
4. Ability to take care of customers – without them (not unlike branding), you’re a nobody

The irony of this case study is that what Trade Me and AA did was help each other out. No more, no less and it was done in a manner that didn’t encroach on the other parties business.

A Florist might attempt to steal customers from the Candy Shop next door, naively thinking that a customer could only purchase from one store or the other. The Integrated Marketing or JV approach would be to up-sell a customer from your product to the other stores by way of loyalty cards, event promotions or bundles. You might sacrifice a little in margin but the end result is a far easier conversion from a paying customer as opposed to a non-paying prospect.

Lifting The Veil To Integrated Marketing & Joint Ventures

To conclude, Integrated Marketing is present wherever you look, the Happy Meal with a movie toy or the Website designer who also provides business cards. The fact that so many companies look for lateral partners in their market, as opposed to whinging about vertical competitors proves that  ‘Intergrated Marketing’ or JVing as  is a great tactic every entrepreneur and small business owner should master.

Now, of course, AA is not the only company that partnered up with Trade Me so it’d only be fair that I include further case studies over the next few weeks..

Can you think of other examples where companies have partnered up in a way to strengthen their own sales proposition? Do you have examples of what you’ve done to increase the value of a service or product you offer as well? Leave a comment below and let’s see how many we can come up with!