The Dream 100 – How To Profit During COVID-19

There are a lot of confusing messages out there right now when it comes to how to market your business in a COVID-19 environment. Small Business Stacey lays out one simple, low-cost marketing strategy, that will help guarantee you to survive and thrive during the COVID-19 economy.  #ASmallBizLife #WhereMarketingMeetTechnology

Episode Transcript

Marketing during COVID … I bet you’re wondering what you should be doing. When it comes to marketing during COVID-19, I want you to go small. Going small brings big results. You’ve heard me say it before. I’ve been through 9/11. I pivoted, profited, and prospered. I’ve been through 2008. I pivoted, profited, and prospered.

Welcome, COVID-19. Now my coffee smoothie business is closed. No worries. I’m ready to punch this damn virus in the gut, because there is one thing that I’ve learned from going through all of that crap. When you don’t have money, you figure it out or you die. I’m going to say it again. When you don’t have money, you figure it out or you die. That’s really harsh to say, but if you’re in my mastermind group, you’re here because you appreciate a little bit of tough love, when and if it’s necessary.

I can tell you with absolute certainty that those who continue marketing will be the winners, and I know that you get that. So how do you keep your marketing in action without a mushy cushy marketing budget? You go small. You focus on the number 100, your Dream 100. The Dream 100 is a concept that was first introduced by Chet Holmes in his book, The Ultimate Sales Machine. In it, he describes how he was able to double the ad sales of a magazine three years in a row using a technique that he called the Dream 100 effort.

He did some research about his prospective advertisers and realized that 167 companies bought 95% of the advertising in the top four magazines in their market. Yet none of those companies was advertising with his magazine at the time. Not one. So he was starting from zero. Yet, by the end of the third year, all 167 companies were buying ads in his magazine.

How did he do it? He built a list of his Dream 100 clients, and he built relationships with them. He’d just call, but he didn’t just call them up and say, “Hey, baby, want to buy my stuff? Want to buy an ad in my magazine?” What do you think that they would have said if he had done that? You already know the answer.

So let me share what the Dream 100 is not, and then I’ll share what it is and how you can use it to get your marketing into action. The Dream 100 campaign is not about spamming. If you just pick 100 random people who you want to be your next customer, client, or patient, this ain’t going to work for you. This is about curating a list of your perfect dream clients or partners. It’s about getting crystal clear on your who. Pull out a copy of my book, Small Business Marketing Made EZ, and reread the chapter about A in the Action Marketing System, getting attention.

Then fill out the customer avatar worksheet. You need to know more about this person than they know about themselves. Look at your current database. Who are your best clients? What do you love about them? What is the similarity between the top 20% of your clients? Back in 2008, when I looked at my data, it clearly showed my best and most profitable customers were those who were asking for catering. Light bulb moment. That pivoted and changed my business from $500,000 in debt to a seven-figure profitable business. You likely already have a list. Use it to figure out who you want to do business with, why that is, and then build your Dream 100 criteria around it.

The Dream 100 campaign, it’s not about proposing on the first date, especially in a COVID world. You can’t send out one email and say, “Hey, want to work with me?” Your goal is to build a relationship. Trust. I’ll share an inside secret with you about what I’m doing in my business. I’m in the process of creating my Dream 100 client list, and I’m reaching out to them by sending a personalized video. I’m doing three of these every week.

I just started this last week, and guess what the response rate is so far? 100%. Every single person who got a personalized video from me has responded back. I’m building relationships, I’m helping, I’m serving, and when the time is right, I will invite them to become a client. When they need marketing support, who do you think they’re going to beg to work with? I’m planting the seeds in my garden now. I encourage you to do the same.

The Dream 100 is not about pestering or annoying people. You want to implement a multimedia, multitouch approach so that they’re seeing you everywhere. It’s about truly building a relationship so that people are pleased when they see your name in their email inbox, your posts on social media, or your name on their caller ID. In other words, this isn’t about a shortcut. It’s about building real relationships with real people, and there’s no way to spoof that or fast-track it. It takes time and effort, and that’s why so many people won’t do it. But you’re not one of them. You’re smarter than they are. You’re committed to getting your marketing into action.

Here’s the thing. Right now, you probably have more time than money, so why not leverage what you do have? Use that time to go small. Focus on just 100 relationships and doing it with one-to-one outreach, small things, personalized video, handwritten notes, emails, sharing content you think they’d be interested in, tagging them on social, sharing maybe a funny meme or something that made you think of them. There’s a saying, small hinges open big doors, and that’s exactly what this Dream 100 campaign is.

Here’s how you can put this into action, pun intended, right away.

1. Number one, have the right mindset. Know with absolute certainty that you can and will pivot, profit, and prosper. You’re in the right place to get that support and keep your mind positive.
2. Two, treat your Dream 100 efforts as a marketing campaign. Block out time on your calendar to focus on it and map out what needs to be done.
3. Three, dream big. You’re going to find that people will fall into sort of an A, a B, or a C list. Shoot for the moon and focus your time and efforts on the A-listers. These are your hyper buyers. Just a few more of these is all you need.
4. Number four, leverage the Small Biz Mastermind Facebook group. Post what you’re doing in there, ask for feedback, have the group hold you accountable.

You’re going to love what going small, AKA focusing on your Dream 100, will do to bring you big results in your marketing. I can’t wait to hear your success stories.