How much should I invest in myself or my business? First off – you should have money to market your business and / or yourself.

Do you have a sales budget aka how much revenue do you expect to make this year? What’s your salary? What’s your expected commission?

Good. You have that number. Now – at a bare minimum – take 2% of that number. There’s your marketing budget. It would be best to have 10%, but let’s start with 2%. The same goes when trying to figure out how much to invest in yourself.

Oh you don’t invest in yourself? START!

Read a book, invest in a course, invest in a gym membership, a magazine subscription…do it.

So you have a budget now. What do you do with it? Whether it’s $500 or $500,000 find as many things as possible that you can own.

What do I mean?

Marketing dollars are often spent throwing money at this thing, and that thing. IT’S BETTER TO OWN SOMETHING! Take your $100, print some sales letters (here are some of my personal B2B examples) or brochures you did up in Word, and deliver them to every single apartment in the complex beside your business (or to every house on a street located near your business). Then do it again a week or two later. You need to hit as many people over the head with your message. The tricky part is ensuring the message MATTERS TO THEM. More on that here…

(Remember – I don’t give a shit about you, until you can do something for me. Whether it’s nourish me, allow me to keep extra jingle in my jeans, or help me out in some way, shape or form.)

You need to do this repeatedly. SOOOO many of you try something out once, don’t see results, and then say, “Well, that didn’t work.” Of course it didn’t work. Repetition Repetition Repetition.

Remember how you were taught in school? It probably went something like this… At the beginning of the class (or semester) your teacher would tell you what they were going to teach you, then teach you it, then review what they taught you. Repetition Repetition Repetition.

This is how our brains have been programmed since kindergarten, so start using the philosophy in your marketing. Find something you can own. Then repeat repeat repeat.

It sometimes takes me 12 – 15 contacts until I make a sale. I repeat, repeat, repeat my process. And you know what, when I call, walk into an appointment or see one of my prospects at an event…they immediately KNOW WHO I AM. It should be the same way with you and your business.

If you’re buying radio ads (for example), and you don’t have money to throw around like the ‘big guys’, again find something you can own. Maybe it’s an hour every Monday over the next few weeks. Maybe it’s an entire week. Whatever it is, find something you can own, then repeat repeat repeat.

1) Find money or find time to focus on marketing
2) Find something you can own
3) Repeat Repeat Repeat

Tell me ONE marketing opportunity you have at the moment (print, direct mail, radio, tv, social media, whatever…) and leave it in the comments below. I’ll tell you how to EXPLOIT that opportunity with repetition. I’ve purchased nearly every type of media, and used as many media channels as possible to further the brands, and people I work with (including myself). For being a loyal reader it’s the least I can do.

Love you,

Jordan ‘The Guy With The Bow Tie’ Rycroft

Ps. If you didn’t catch this further up the page – check out my personal one pagers I hand out or leave after a presentation.