Ray Edwards Show

What if your marketing worked like a machine – automatic, tireless, regardless of whether you show up today or not, and with predictable results? Today's podcast shows you how. In this week's podcast episode: How to market like a machine. A “move it to the top of the stack” book recommendation. Is it okay for Christians to be rich? Tip Of The Week Move this book to the top of your reading stack. Work the System by Sam Carpenter. We must study the mechanical minutia of our tasks if we are to excel. This means observing: looking down and analyzing the sub-systems of our lives…to see our selves as mechanical devices that can be made to be super-efficient. The next step is to spend the majority of our time perfecting each of our sub-systems, one by one. Here’s a happy thought: Study and then perfect your systems as a main focus and you’ll find yourself in select company and therefore flying faster and higher than a huge percentage of the competition. Make More. Work Less. Lots of people work hard to become expert at what they do, but what great heights will be achieved by becoming expert at a flawed process? Sam Carpenter Spiritual Foundations Is it okay for Christians to be rich? But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 Feature Segment: How to Market Like a Machine No business can survive without a systematic approach to marketing. “Systematic” means well-defined, carefully followed procedures that produce predictable results. A true Marketing System consists of the following things: predictable processes that produce large quantities of good prospects, clients, and customers for your business. Your marketing system must provide these prospects efficiently (without a lot of hands-on work from you) and affordably (as in, it costs less to get a customer than the revenue that customer produces). Violate any one of these rules and you're in trouble, one step away from the Taco Delmar Phenomena. Here are the components of a good Marketing System: 1. Product Success Formula: TG + CDP/HAS(YCS )+ THM + WTS 2. Media that is efficient, affordable, they already use 3. A compelling message 4. An irresistable free offer 5. Multi-step automated short-term follow up systems 6. Multi-step long term follow up 7. Tested conversion process Special Announcements I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. It is nearly sold out.  Get a ticket while you can! I was written up by Eric T Wagner on Forbes.com this week. You can check out the article here. My new book is nearly ready – more to come! Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 How strong is your marketing system? Share your ideas and tactics below in the comments.  

I recently wrote here on the blog about some new productivity “tweaks” with which I have been experimenting. Today's podcast is a report on the results. In this week's podcast episode: A “field report” on my latest productivity experiments. An alternative to mindmaps. How to get free of those “guilty feelings”. Stu McLaren on hiring the right people. Tip Of The Week Not into mind mapping, but wish there was an easy way to outline your ideas? You have got to try Workflowy. It was made for the purpose. Spiritual Foundations Are you plagued by feelings of guilt, about regrets over what you should have done in a certain situation? Don't be… There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 When Jesus came and paid the price for sin, that included all of our sins. Past, present, and future. That means is far as he is concerned, we have nothing to regret. A “guilty conscience” is not the work of our father in heaven, but is the work of the enemy-the devil. See Hebrews 9:14. Lifestyle Business Stu McLaren has wisdom to share on the subject of hiring-and on not being cheap. Feature Segment: Results of My Productivity Experiments Recently, I wrote on my blog a post about a new plan for improved productivity in 2013. I thought it might be useful to share the results so far. Works and all. Here are the plans I wrote about, and a report on my observations Productivity Philosophy.  If you are not familiar with the GTD philosophy, I encourage you to read David Allen's seminal work on stress-free productivity. A great augmentation to the GTD material is one of my favorite new podcasts and websites, Erik Fisher's “Beyond the To-Do List”. At this point, I would give myself a “brown belt” when it comes to GTD. My biggest challenge is keeping my inboxes to zero, and limiting those inboxes to the smallest number possible. Planning. In keeping with my adherence to GTD, my planning is fairly simple. I have a weekly review session on Fridays, during which I collect all the inputs that have accumulated over the past week, and one by one clear them from my inbox.  So far I've done a pretty good job of keeping on top of my weekly reviews. I'd say I am at about 90% on this one. Disciplined Tracking.  For business activities, I am developing a dashboard for my company in Excel to keep track of key metrics. Frankly, I've gotten so caught up in looking for the perfect dashboard, I haven't really started using one yet. That will change within the next three days, as I am forcing myself to pick some kind of tracking system. Even if it is  3 x 5 cards. Productivity Tools. In the past, I have been a “tool junkie”. I have actually managed to not look at any new productivity tools since the beginning of the year. That may not sound like a big deal to you, but it's a big deal to me. Boundaries. This year, I am resolved to stick to my regimen of only answering email once a day, and the same for phone calls. I also intend to be “off the grid” three days a week for both email and phone calls. Still my biggest challenge. My name is Ray Edwards, and I am a recovering “yes man”. Guarding My Heart and Mind. Toxic thoughts and emotions destroy us. Toxic thinking limits our potential for accomplishment. Toxic emotions limit our potential for happiness and fulfillment. In the new year, I will not allow negative thinking, language, images, or emotions to pierce the boundary of my sight or hearing. While I have improved in this area, I still have work today. Have watched a couple of things on television that, in retrospect, were a bit dark and cynical and viewpoint. It isn't possible to watch things like this and walk away unaffected. Task Batching. I perform best when I batch similar tasks together and do them all at once. This is going pretty well for me, because it is exit become a habit of mine over the last few years. Focus Blocks. “Focus blocks” are clearly defined blocks of time that I use to focus on one single task.  I can tell you this. It seems that making a declaration about a new habit is a surefire way to become a lightning rod for challenges and resistance to that habit. Digital Fasting. I am a digital junkie. I love Facebook, Twitter, Google+, email, RSS feeds… you get the idea. That's why it's important to me to completely unplug frequently. My goal is to be completely free of email, voice mail, and Internet consumption… 100% free… at least one day a week. I have done pretty well, but frankly no where near 100%. This Sunday, I'm shooting for 100%. Sabbath. One day each week, my intention is to be at complete rest. Same answer as the previous section. The Positive No. I mentioned earlier that it is difficult for me to say “no” to people. This year, my default response to every request made of me will be, at least initially, “no”. I had a few chances to practice this, but I still wouldn't counted as one of my core disciplines. Yet. Income Producing Activity Hours. I have identified the activities which are most likely to result in producing revenue for my company: speaking, writing, marketing and advertising, and creating new material or trainings. There are a few other income-producing activities, such as networking, sales calls, and developing JV relationships. I am creating carefully protected and intricately planned “focus blocks” for these activities. These are among the first activities to be scheduled in my calendar. This one has worked out surprisingly well so far. Writing Time. This is in my top tier of income producing activities. It is also in my top tier of spiritually fulfilling activities. Therefore, this is one of my very highest priorities, and will be one of my most protected assets in the new year. 30 Day Challenges. I love new ideas, and I love trying them out. So much so, that I have tended, in the past, to try out many different ideas in a single week. Therefore, in the new year, each month I plan to adopt one “30 Day Challenge”. A single new habit, activity, or discipline. I will post each month's 30 day challenge publicly, and at the end of the 30 days report on my experience. . Hardest one of all for me to keep. My Challenge this month was to journal daily. We're on day 16 of the month, and I've written in my journal four days My plan going forward is to become more disciplined about my new habits, and not to simply give up. That's the mistake I think most people make when it comes to resolutions, or adopting any new discipline. Special Announcements I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. It is nearly sold out. The purpose of the conference: to help you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It’s being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Wilkerson are speaking. I’m also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there’s not a single speaker I’m not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can! I was written up by Eric T Wagner on Forbes.com this week. You can check out the article here. Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 What Are you doing to be more productive in the new year? And how are your New Year's resolutions coming along? Share your ideas and tactics below in the comments.  

Ever have a day where you feel like you just didn't get anything done? Now imagine getting entire day's work done in two hours. Sound impossible? You won't feel that way after you listen to today's podcast. In this week's podcast episode: How to do a days work in two hours. A counterintuitive marketing book recommendation. How (and why) it's possible to achieve effortless success. Stu McLaren on the importance of being intentional. And a few surprises, too… Tip Of The Week This week I have a rather counterintuitive book recommendation. One of the best marketing books I've ever read (twice now) is Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Church. Spiritual Foundations As new creations in Christ, we are supposed to be “at rest”. Our life is not supposed to be about striving and working hard, but about receiving. Yes, I am saying that God will do a lot more for us than we could ever do for ourselves. And that he actually wants it to be that way. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest… Hebrews 4:9-11 This is a promise from God, and it echoes the Old Testament story of the promised land. In ancient Israel, there was an actual land that the people were given as a promise from God.This land was, in God's own words, to include houses that had already been built, vineyards that had already been planted, and wells that had already been dug. Everything was already done for the children of Israel. As believers under the provisions of the new covenant, our “promised land” is to simply rest in what Christ accomplished for us at the cross. In the passage from Hebrews, we learned that God desires that we would enjoy His rest. That we would be blessed, provided for, and healed as we receive from him. Through no efforts of our own. Lifestyle Business Stu McLaren shares his thoughts on the importance of being intentional. Feature Segment: How to Get a Day's Work Done In 2 Hours Here's the overall checklist for doing a days work in two hours. There are 3 phases to this method: Plan, Prepare, Perform. For a detailed explanation… listen to the podcast! Plan Make your “List of Three”, “Fantastic Five”, and your “Weird Time List”. Prepare Wake up one hour earlier. Have a quiet time. Perform Work on your “List of Three” before you do anything else. Use the “F.I.T.” Method. Take a 10 minute break, and move immediately to the “Fantastic Five”. Now take a 30 minute break, and go about your day as usual. Relax. Use your “Weird Time List” to “grout your day”. Special Announcements I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. It is nearly sold out. The purpose of the conference: to help you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It’s being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Wilkerson are speaking. I’m also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there’s not a single speaker I’m not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can! Our exclusive Las Vegas workshop is more than half-full. If you're interested in participating, you will need to contact my office immediately. Tomorrow I will make a special announcement about a brand-new event. Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher. Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 What tips can you offer that would help get an entire day's work done in just two hours? Share your ideas and tactics below in the comments.  

Today I want to share five weird tactics that, when used correctly, almost guarantee more success. In this week's podcast episode: The five weird tactics. The power of the uncommon conversation. My first book recommendation of the new year. That’s all coming up… Tip Of The Week For refreshing, unusual, and inspiring look at the writing life I recommend Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Spiritual Foundations Speaking plainly is a shocking and radical way of communicating. Jesus said you should “let your yes mean yes, and your no me no.”  Speaking the truth so plainly is disarming and incredibly persuasive. Try it. Feature Segment: 5 Weird Tactics Make The New Year Your Best Year Ever Do less. Say no. Stop multitasking. Stop setting goals. Pray Special Announcements I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. If you do business online, you MUST attend this conference that helps you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It’s being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Wilkerson are speaking. I’m also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there’s not a single speaker I’m not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can! Our exclusive Las Vegas workshop is more than half-full. If you're interested in participating, you will need to contact my office immediately. Next week I will make a special announcement about a brand-new event. Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can find the podcast on Stitcher by clicking the logo: Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

If your business is struggling right now, or you need more cash flow, you might think it's ridiculous for me to say there's something better than new customers. But there is, and that's what we'll cover in this week's interview with Jim Palmer. In this weeks podcast episode: Jim Palmer shows us explains what is better than new customers. Stu McLaren: “You should start spying on people”. How to achieve effortless success. That’s all coming up… Tip Of The Week I have long been recommended to you a program called Evernote. Recently, a new version of this software has been released. They have succeeded in making a great thing even better. The main features of Evernote that I like: Capture anything – save your ideas, things you like, things you hear, and things you see. Access it anywhere -Evernote works with nearly every computer, phone and mobile device out there. Find things fast. Search by keyword, tag or even printed and handwritten text inside images. Lifestyle Business With Stu McLaren Stu McLaren explains why he has been spying on people. Spiritual Foundations God's plan for you and your business is not that you work so hard that you make yourself sick, destroy your mental health, and wreck your family. His kind of success is effortless, and he has already done the work when he died on the cross: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:2–3 This doesn't mean that you simply sit on the couch and wait for things to fall into your lap. It does mean that as you work, you can be relaxed and free from anxiety and fear. He has already provided every blessing you need in life. So how do you get those blessings? It's simple: believe, and rest on the Lord's promises. You might pray something like this: “Lord, I rest in the work that you have done on my behalf, and I thank you that you are already making good things happen for me. So I will stop all my stressing, struggling, and attempts to control circumstances in order to get what I want. I'm simply receiving what you've already provided.” Feature Segment: Interview With Jim Palmer There is something that is better than new customers-and you might be surprised to discover what it is. That's just one of the nuggets we will reveal in this interview with Jim Palmer. Listen to the podcast audio for the entire interview. And be prepared to take notes! Listener Questions Only one listener question this week, this one from Todd Liles of Service Excellence Training. Todd wants to know how he can get his podcast listed in iTunes. Special Announcements I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. If you do business online, you MUST attend this conference that helps you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It’s being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Wilkerson are speaking. I’m also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there’s not a single speaker I’m not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can! Our exclusive Las Vegas workshop is more than half-full. If you're interested in participating, you will need to contact my office immediately. My next podcast will be on the topic of “How to Make the New Year Your Best Year Ever”. If you have a question about that, please leave me a voicemail message. This is a good way for you to promote your own website, because I will be happy to link to your site in return for you asking a question. Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can find the podcast on Stitcher by clicking the logo: Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

When it seems the economy around you is in turmoil and chaos, is it still possible to thrive? If so, how do you do that? In this weeks podcast episode we will cover: The results of “asking the listeners”. Changes you can expect in the podcast. Stu McLaren: “Doing the work up front”. Is God the source of evil? Plus, “How to Thrive In a Turbulent Economy” That’s all coming up on today’s episode… Tip Of The Week A couple of episodes ago, I advised you to ask your customers what they really want. I proposed using a survey-which is exactly what I did. Here are the results of my survey about how you think I could improve this show. The suggestions were: Add more listener participation and questions. Change the ending music to match the beginning music. Share  concrete copywriting tactics. Get more specific about dollars. Make the show tighter. Those are the top suggestions we are implementing, starting with this episode. I hope you like what you hear. Lifestyle Business With Stu McLaren Stu McLaren explains why it's worth doing the work up front, and doing it well. Spiritual Foundations Recently, I inadvertently started a bit of a tiff on Facebook. I posted the following: If you think you are sick because God has some purpose in it… reconsider. Sickness does not come from God. According to John 10:10, evil is the work of the enemy, who “comes only to steal and kill and destroy”. Jesus, on the other hand, comes so that we “may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). He also came to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). It's simple. God is good. The enemy is bad. Good things come from God, and evil things do not. It's helpful if we keep the difference in mind – it'll help us not attribute the work of the enemy to God! The reason this is important, is because when Jesus rose from the grave and conquered sin and death, he ushered in a new and better covenant for all of us who follow him. We no longer live under fear of punishment, for Jesus has taken the punishment on our behalf. He has covered us in his grace-literally, “unmerited favor.” God does not send evil into your life-not to teach you a lesson, not to improve your character, and certainly not to punish you. If you follow Jesus, you believe in him, you confessed to measure Lord and Savior… you are unpunishable. Feature Segment: How to Thrive In a Turbulent Economy Yes, there is chaos in the marketplace. The economy can be described as turbulent.  But that doesn't matter. There is no reason for you, my entrepreneurial friend, to fear the storm. Bedrock principles will keep you on course. Here are seven keys to thriving even in a turbulent economy… Faith. You will receive what you believe. Carefully guard where you are placing your faith. It makes a difference. Foundations. Most people crumble when their core values are challenged-because they never made those values a conscious decision.  Most of us simply inherit our values and beliefs from our family and friends. Make yours a choice. Don't just know what you believe, know why you believe it. Family. After your connection to your Creator, the most important link to your ultimate success is your family. Even if you have no family, as it is traditionally understood. I explain what to do if you don't have any family living, or none that you are connected with, in the podcast audio. So make sure you listen to the show itself. Friends. How you relate to friends-even how you define that word-is of vital importance to how effective you will be in the world. Especially in the world of business. Focus. What you focus on expands. If your constant focus is on the negativity and the chaos of the environment around you, expect to see more of the same. Take responsibility for what goes on inside your head. Finances. Business is a game won (or lost) by the numbers. The rules are simple: make money, save money, spend as little as possible. Fun. Make it a goal to be more joyful than all of your companions. Joy is magnetic, and draws people to you. It has the added benefit of drawing cheerful people to you, helping eliminate the “Eeyore Factor” from your life. Listener Questions Martin Hurley Jeff Davis Beaumont Miles Jim Siverts Special Announcements I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. If you do business online, you MUST attend this conference that helps you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It’s being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Wilkerson are speaking. I’m also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there’s not a single speaker I’m not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can! Our exclusive Las Vegas workshop is more than half-full. If you're interested in participating, you will need to contact my office immediately. My next podcast will be on the topic of “How to Make the New Year Your Best Year Ever”. If you have a question about that, please leave me a voicemail message. This is a good way for you to promote your own website, because I will be happy to link to your site in return for you asking a question. Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can find the podcast on Stitcher by clicking the logo: Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

There is no need for you to struggle for many years before enjoying success. While it sometimes happens that way, that is not a requirement. Nor is it necessarily a sign of worthiness. In this weeks podcast episode we will cover: How to speed up your iPhone, and boost its battery life, without spending a dime. And, best of all, it only takes about 15 minutes. Stu McLaren: pay me now, or pay me later? December 21st, the Mayan calendar, the “Breaking of the World”… and you! Plus, “How To Succeed Faster “ That’s all coming up on today’s episode… Tip Of The Week Michael Hyatt published a great blog post on how to speed up your sluggish iPhone. These three simple actions will not only speed up your phone, but also appear to boost battery life. Check it out. Lifestyle Business With Stu McLaren Stu McLaren explores the differences between maximizing transactional value, versus maximizing recurring transactions. Sounds boring, but isn't. Spiritual Foundations Entrepreneurs have a divine call and an important role in repairing “The Breaking of the World”.  Never apologize for your love of business, and your relentless pursuit of excellence. These are qualities planted within your DNA by God. Own who you are. The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. Proverbs 11:26 Feature Segment: How To Succeed Faster Success does not have to be a slow process. The speed with which we attain our goals has more to do with what happens inside our head, than with what happens in our external circumstances. This episode is all about how to speed up the success process. Here are nine ways you can accelerate your success. Know exactly what your “success destination” looks like. Reverse engineer the path to success. Model those who have done what you wish to do. Avoid the inevitable attractive distractions. Measure your progress in writing. Be accountable to someone. Get a coach-or coaches. Recalibrate on a regular schedule. Consciously select what you are not going to do. Special Announcements I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. If you do business online, you MUST attend this conference that helps you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It’s being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Wilkerson are speaking. I’m also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there’s not a single speaker I’m not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can! Our exclusive Las Vegas workshop is half-full. If you're interested in participating, you will need to contact my office immediately. My next podcast will be on the topic of “How To Thrive In A Turbulent Economy”. If you have a question about that, please leave me a voicemail message. This is a good way for you to promote your own website, because I will be happy to link to your site in return for you asking a question. Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can find the podcast on Stitcher by clicking the logo: Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

Today, I share how to get better clients who pay you more money for your products and services. At one point in my career, I would take on as many as six simultaneous projects, and work as much as 80 to 100 hours a week. That is simply crazy. There is a better way, and in this episode I’ll show it to you.. Other points of interest in this weeks episode: How to read your customers minds, and know exactly what they want. Are you living a life that just “happens to you”? Or are you happening to life? Stu McLaren gives us the answer. In our spiritual foundations segment, will answer the question: does God care even about my small problems, like the pimple on the end of my nose? How could he have time for our tiny little problems? That’s all coming up on today’s episode… so fasten your seatbelt… and let’s roll. Tip Of The Week One of the best ways to find out what your audience wants from you is to ask them. I suggest using a tool like Survey Monkey for this purpose. In fact, I'm going to demonstrate this suggestion in practice, by asking you how I can improve this podcast. Click here to take the survey Lifestyle Business With Stu McLaren Stu McLaren challenges us, by asking: are you living a life you designed, or are you living a life that happens by accident? Spiritual Foundations My blood pressure used to go up every time my phone rang. Why is this person (any person) calling me? Don't they know how busy I am? I’ve got news for you… that attitude is a sickness. Jesus is the perfect model of what a human being led by the Spirit looks like. How they walk and talk and interact with other people. And Jesus always had time. He still does. Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them… Matthew 19:13–14 I am not sharing this to judge anybody for feeling busy or stressed out. But it strikes me as remarkable that the Son of God always has time for us. He is infinitely available. We don’t have to wait in line. There is a mindset that exists that I call the “poor little me” mindset. This is the line of thinking that leads you to say things like, “God is too busy, and this is only important to poor little me.” This kind of thinking is focused on your own self-worth, or lack of it. But the truth is, God is infinite. He is instantly available to everyone of us-and he is interested in every detail of our lives. Scripture tells us that he even numbers the hairs on our head. Imagine that. Whatever might be troubling you right now, it is not too big, and not too small, for Jesus. Nothing is impossible for him. And he has an infinite amount of time just for you Ask him for help. Open your heart and let all your emotions out. He’s big. He can take it. Approach him just like a little child approaching your father-the perfect father, the one without the shortcomings that earthly fathers have-and ask your daddy for what you need. He’s ready to give it to you. Feature Segment: How To Get Better Clients Who Pay More As I mentioned earlier, when I was beginning to build my freelance business I took on too many clients and worked too many hours. This is chiefly because I was not selective about who my clients were, and did not think through how much they were paying me. This key mistake took its toll. It affected my health, my attitude, and even my family relationships. What’s worse, many of the clients I took on during this time were… well… jerks. It seemed that some of them existed only to torture freelancers. These days, my business is totally different. I work well under 40 hours most weeks. .. and I make a lot more money. I enjoy every hour that I do work. And I simply don’t tolerate cheap or annoying clients anymore. One  of the annoying variety occasionally does slip through under the radar, but once I detect them, I am very quick to chase them back across the border. I have 9 suggestions that will help you attract and secure higher-quality clients, who pay you much higher fees than you currently receive. You may be surprised to learn this is easier than it sounds. Suggestion 1: Decide in advance what you want your business and life to look like. Suggestion 2:  Reverse engineer what kind of clients you need to make that happen. Suggestion 3: Define your criteria of what constitutes a good client – in writing. Suggestion 4: Identify the qualities that are evident in a bad client. Suggestion 5: Commit yourself to never again except a bad client. Suggestion 6: Develop a client screening process. Suggestion 7: Script everything at first. Suggestion 8: Confront with love and boldness; use brave communication. Suggestion 9: Kill the monsters while they’re little. Special Announcements I will be making an appearance onstage at James Malinchak’s “Big Money Speaker Bootcamp” December 6-9 in LA. I’m super-excited about this event! I don’t know if you saw ABC’s hit TV show, “Secret Millionaire”…  James was featured on the show. At the Boot Camp, he shares his strategies and tips on how to become a Big Money Speaker. I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. If you do business online, you MUST attend this conference that helps you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It’s being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Wilkerson are speaking. I’m also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, Ken Davis, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there’s not a single speaker I’m not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can! I am getting tremendous feedback about the “Big Idea, Big Plan” teleseminar I hosted last week with my “mystery guest”. Replay recording available for a short time. My next podcast will be on the topic of “How To Thrive In A Turbulent Economy”. If you have a question about that, please leave me a voicemail message. This is a good way for you to promote your own website, because I will be happy to link to your site in return for you asking a question. Episode Resources Here are links to resources  mentioned during this episode: Tool: Survey Monkey Stu McLaren's personal blog Wishlist Member Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can find the podcast on Stitcher by clicking the logo: Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

If you are tired of struggling to make sales… if it seems your business exists just to blindly run from one promotion to another… if every month you feel like you have to reinvent the wheel to bring in revenue… you're going to love today's podcast! Today, I'm going to give you a quick method to create a marketing plan for the entire year of 2013. The best part is, this is going to be so simple you can fit your entire marketing plan on a single page. Which means, you'll actually do it! Here's the menu for today's episode: A book recommendation that will change the way you learn, and the way you eat. Why you can expect God to provide open doors, new opportunities, and the resources to overcome whatever challenges you may be facing. My quick and easy method for laying out your promotion and marketing calendar for the coming year… boosting your sales and profits, and slashing the amount of work and stress in your life. And I will share a few special announcements. Tip Of The Week Tim Ferris released his new book, The 4-Hour Chef, this past week, and once again made publishing industry. This time, it was because his book was effectively “banned” from most physical bookstores. Tim turned adversity into opportunity, and launched a formidable bookselling campaign like nothing I've ever seen. In the podcast, I discuss the details of this… plus the merits of the book itself. Spiritual Foundations Does God send misfortune to his children (you and me) so we can “learn a lesson”? Or is it appropriate for us to expect good things from our heavenly father? Is God really on our side? What is the proper response when we face trials, and while we are waiting for God's answer? Here is a clue… in the book of Job, at the point where Job had lost everything (his family, his fortune, and his health), Job refused to blame God for his misfortune. The Lord's anger was kindled against Job's friends, who all seemed determined to convince Job that God had allowed or brought these misfortunes upon him. God honored Job's request for his friends to be forgiven. And notice what the text says next: “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, WHEN HE HAD PRAYED FOR HIS FRIENDS. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:10 Don't allow seeming lack in your own situation to prevent you from providing God's abundance to others. Brokering God's supernatural provision for others releases a grace to receive your own. It's worth noting that this demonstration of lavish Grace took place in the old covenant, and according to the Bible we live now under a much better covenant. How To Create A One-Page Marketing Plan The current business environment is not an excuse for under-performing revenue. There are businesses that are doing quite well, thank you very much. So using words like “it's the economy” amounts to little more than pathetic excuse-making. If you are experiencing a downturn in revenue, the answer is-do something different! A good place to start, especially at this time of the year, is with a fresh marketing plan. Here's how to create one quickly and easily… in a way that is almost guaranteed to boost your revenue. First, consider why you need a marketing plan at all. It's really quite simple: no plan, no real destination. What we want to focus on is coming up with the “minimum effective dose”. We're not trying to write the”War and Peace” of marketing plans. Here's how were going to do this: go get a calendar, and a list of holidays taking place in 2013. Listen carefully to the instructions I give you in the podcast itself, and within about an hour, you will have a better marketing plan for the coming year than 90% of business people in America. Think about this: what will happen if you actually carry this exercise out? Special Announcements I will be making an appearance onstage at James Malinchak's “Big Money Speaker Bootcamp” December 6-9 in LA. I'm super-excited about this event! I don't know if you saw ABC's hit TV show, “Secret Millionaire”…  James was featured on the show. At the Boot Camp, he shares his strategies and tips on how to become a Big Money Speaker. I'm attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. If you do business online, you MUST attend this conference that helps you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It's being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Owensby Wilkerson are speaking. I'm also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, Ken Davis, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there's not a single speaker I'm not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can! Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can find the podcast on Stitcher by clicking the logo: Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 Question: How far in advance do you plan your marketing, and how do you do it? Leave your tips in the comments below.  

In today's podcast, I am spending a lot of time answering one of the most common questions I receive: “Ray, what online business tools or software do you use to run your Internet based business?” I'll go into detail about what online business tools I use, why I chose them, and also be very candid about whether I would make the same choice if I were starting over again today. Specifically, in this episode we will cover the following: I will share my new favorite iPad app, which is a notetaking app with a twist. In Spiritual Foundations, will discuss God's will to heal in all areas of your life. I will go in-depth on the subject of online business tools. I'll get specific, and name names. Stu McLaren shares exactly how frustrations can be the source of million-dollar business ideas. And I will share a few special announcements. Tip Of The Week Some of my own Paper doodles. This week's tip is for another iPad app. This one is called simply Paper. What makes it different from the app I reviewed last week? Paper is more than a notetaking app. It is really intended for artists. It works and feels like, well… paper. Hence the name. Check it out. Spiritual Foundations God's nature is to heal you in every way: “…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38 Don't fall for the lie that says God made you sick to “teach you something”. That's not who He is! The Best Online Business Tools In the course of running an online business, there are many tools and applications to choose from. I use a lot of different tools in my own business, and I am frequently asked for recommendations about what the best tools to use might be. I am going to supply some very specific answers, and share some of the tools that I use most in my own business. Before I do, however, I want to make a couple of things very clear. First of all, it is rarely the case that the lack of a tool creates the lack of success. In my experience, successful people are successful despite not having the “right tools”. This may sound counter-intuitive. I am not saying that it's wrong to have the best tools available to get the job done. That would be ridiculous. What I am saying is this: if you are using your search for the “perfect tools” as an excuse not to act, you will almost certainly encounter disappointment. Perhaps outright failure. There is no such thing as a “perfect tool”. It's better to start with what you have, from where you are, and do the best job possible. That is what being an entrepreneur is all about. Creating value out of the available resources. The second thing you should be aware of is that I do receive a commission for recommending most of the tools listed here. If that bothers you, feel free to disregard my advice. However, I will say this: I do not recommend any tool that I have not used myself, or that I do not feel will help you. Here is my list of recommended tools, software, and websites. These have helped me build a successful online business, and I believe they can help you do the same. What I'm Using Now… And Most WordPress.org – This is what I recommend almost everyone use to build their website. It's about more than just “blogging”, it is a rocksolid architecture for constructing any website. There is a reason why so many Fortune 500 companies choose to build their website on the WordPress framework. Plus, because of the ability to apply different “themes” to your WordPress site, you can change the look and feel of your website with the touch of a button (or, in this case, the click of a mouse). Just make sure you are running the self hosted version of WordPress, which will be found that WordPress.org. You don't want to build your website on WordPress.com, because you lose a certain amount of control, and also it just looks less professional. DIYthemes.com – This is the company that sells the thesis WordPress theme. Devotees of thesis are almost fanatical in their enthusiasm for this very solid, lightning fast, SEO optimized WordPress theme. While it is very powerful, and very sophisticated, it also comes with a bit of a steeper learning curve than other WordPress themes. But if you are looking for a rock solid framework for your website, this is the place for you. StudioPress.com – The folks at StudioPress are producing some of the most elegant and beautiful WordPress themes available today. They all work with the Genesis framework, which means your WordPress site will be running on a solid foundation that is optimized to get you search engine love. This is a great option for short-cutting the design phase of your website-these things look great right out of the box. InfusionSoft.com – We just switched! This is a very robust and powerful CRM (or customer relationship management) software system, including email followup, direct mail, shopping cart functionality, and more. Infusion allows you to do some very sophisticated marketing, using behavior-based rules, analytics, and automation sequences. If you have a business that is doing $1 million or more in revenue per year, you might well want to consider using this system. It is not cheap, and there is a learning curve to get the most out of it, but it is well worth both of these costs. PayPal – This is the easiest and best way to start taking payments online. PayPal is an established, trusted payment processor, thanks mostly to their very close association with eBay. It's easy to set up an account, and you have direct access to the money as soon as someone pays you. This is where I recommend you start when you're ready to start taking payments online. iPowerPay.com -At some point, you're going to need a real, honest to goodness merchant account. This is an account that lets you take credit cards directly as a means of payment for your products and services. The customer pays using their credit card, and the money is automatically deposited in your bank account a couple days later. The problem is, it's not exactly easy to get a true merchant account for online business. Especially if you're just starting out. This company is the company I use for my own merchant account. It's very inexpensive to get started, and they have a 98% approval rate for all applications (sometimes it feels like other companies have a 98% rejection rate!). These folks truly understand the business of Internet marketing, so you'll never have to feel like you're forced to explain your business to someone who just doesn't “get it”. Highly recommended. BlueHost – This is the place to start when you initially build your website. You will not outgrow this quickly in all likelihood. Even if you experience huge success with your new website, blue host can accommodate your growth a long way down the road. Their prices are excellent (starting at about 7 bucks a month), and their service is just as good. This is where I recommend all beginners start for their web hosting-and more than a few “seasoned veterans” should be able to do quite well with an account at blue host. Opt-in Skin – This is a WordPress plug-in that allows you to design beautiful and response-enhancing opt-in forms for your WordPress powered site. It has many built-in features, including the ability to split test different designs see which will get the most registrations. I've been using it for a while now, and the only criticism I have is that it runs a little slowly when you're trying to design and generate a new form. That, however, is a small price to pay for what this plug-in will do. Scribe Content – This plug-in helps me optimize my blog posts and site content for better placement in the search engines. This is really the only SEO work that I do on my site. Evernote – My absolute favorite app that defies description – but I’ll try: your new omnipresent, universal, non-corporeal notebook. Yep, can’t describe it. Try it. You’ll understand. LastPass  – The last password you will ever need. Remember a single password, and access all of your accounts and sites. DropBox – This vital service allows me to synchronize the folder on my computer with an identical folder in the cloud. What this means is, I can have access to my files anywhere I can access the Internet. I can also share with others. Indispensable tool! Backblaze – This automated backup service makes a complete up-to-the-minute backup of my computer “in the cloud”. That means even if my computer catches on fire and burns to ashes, I can still duplicate it at the click of a button later. Screenflow – I use this tool to make a screen cast recordings that are responsible for so much of my revenue. For instance, when I make sales videos for my own products, I knew Screenflow. When I create the products themselves, I used Screenflow to create the content. And when I am paid to create sales videos for clients, this is the tool that I use. ByWord – A simple, distraction free writing environment that I love. I learned about this gem from Michael Hyatt. Word – I wish it were not so, but sometimes you just have to have Microsoft Word to get the job done. Usually, the “have to” part is because someone else is using it and thus I am forced to use it also. Pages – In my opinion, a much better word processing and page layout program than Microsoft Word. Lean, sleek, and easy-to-use, everyone should just switch now. So I can stop using that other program altogether. OmniFocus – Hands-down the best implementation of GTD I've ever seen in software. I use this every single day. Synthesis – I'm not currently using synthesis WordPress hosting, but I'm very close to making the move. It's mostly a matter of time for me. Their hosting is designed and optimized for WordPress sites. Meaning you get better security, fewer crashes and other problems, and speed. All very important. GetNoticed! WordPress Theme – I am looking forward to testing Michael Hyatt's upcoming WordPress theme. Based on the design of his own popular website, this team is optimized for experts, authors, thought leaders, life coaches, and others who wish to build an online platform for themselves. The theme has not yet been released, but you can sign up to get notified when it is by clicking here. WishlistMember – Plugin that turns WordPress sites into recurring revenue! Online Business Tools I Don't Use, But Do Recommend Here are a few recommendations for services that I don't currently use in my business, but that I have tested and believed to be very useful. In some cases, I am using these tools and services on behalf of clients. In all cases, I believe these to be of the utmost quality and worth your consideration. SquareSpace.com – Until very recently the only platform are recommended for building a website was WordPress. That was until I gave square space a try. While there are many website building services available these days, this is the only one that I would recommend as a way to build your platform website. Their hosting is incredibly sophisticated, and you will probably never outgrow it. It's virtually impossible for you to generate enough traffic to bring one of their websites down. Their built-in design templates will make your site look like a million bucks. Their drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to design your website yourself. If using WordPress intimidates you, and if you don't need to build sophisticated paid membership site, this is worth considering. Not to mention it is very reasonably priced. BigCommerce.com – If I were starting my business again from scratch today, it is very likely that this is the shopping cart system that I would use. But this service is much more than merely a shopping cart, as they offer help with all phases of building a profitable website. If you take full advantage of everything they have to offer, you will end up spending more than a few dollars, but they do very good work. Highly recommended. AWeber – There are many options to choose from for building your e-mail list, delivering messages to them, and tracking the results of your e-mail marketing. This is my top recommendation for anyone just getting started out. These guys take all the hard stuff and do it for you, in the background. They make sure you stay off the spam lists, and they make sure your e-mail gets delivered. They're also relatively inexpensive. You can get started for about 20 bucks a month. 1 ShoppingCart – This is the shopping cart system that I have used for taking online orders and automating product delivery since about 2004. Not only is it a shopping cart, it also features integrated e-mail marketing functions, handles shipping, taxes, and a lot more. This system is relied on by many online marketers, and the folks who own it have worked hard to keep updating it with the features we need to run our businesses. Highly recommended. Woothemes.com – WordPress themes that are stunning to look at, attractive to search engines, and completely easy-to-use. I've worked with a lot of websites that are built using themes from this company, and this is my number one recommendation for you if you are just starting out. I also highly recommend these themes to you even if you're a seasoned pro. MarketSamurai – For doing market research, and finding those profitable keywords for your website to focus on, this is the software you need. It runs on all computers (Mac, PC, and even Linux) and while it is simple to use, it is also very powerful. The Lifestyle Business Segment Stu McLaren returns as our “lifestyle business correspondent”, and this week Stu is sharing his thoughts on how frustration can be the source of million-dollar product ideas. Special Announcements I will be making an appearance onstage at James Malinchak's “Big Money Speaker Bootcamp” December 6-9 in LA. I'm super-excited about this event! I don't know if you saw ABC's hit TV show, “Secret Millionaire”…  James was featured on the show. At the Boot Camp, he shares his strategies and tips on how to become a Big Money Speaker. I'm attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. If you do business online, you MUST attend this conference that helps you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It's being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Owensby Wilkerson are speaking. I'm also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, Ken Davis, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there's not a single speaker I'm not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can! Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability. Your Feedback Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email. And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can find the podcast on Stitcher by clicking the logo: Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 Question: What online business tools could you not live without in your business? Leave your tips in the comments below.