So you want to explore new markets. Maybe vertically, maybe horizontally. Each of these represents "outside the box" thinking in that they direct you away from existing relationships. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Claude Hopkins is a name you should know but don't. As the first and greatest copywriter of all time, he is almost single-handedly responsible for creating the modern advertising industry. The original Mad Man Albert Lasker discovered him through his ground-breaking Schlitz beer ad.
Feel free to look into the details of that famous advertisement, but it was the process Hopkins used that will prove most valuable to you.
When Hopkins toured the Schlitz brewery, company management couldn't wait to show off all the bells and whistles of their new technology. Sound familiar? The ad man, however, was fascinated with the simple mechanical dishwasher. When he asked about it, his hosts scoffed at the question. "Oh, that. Everyone's got one of those."
Christopher Carosa, CTFA, is chief contributing editor for FiduciaryNews.com, a leading provider of essential news and information, blunt commentary and practical examples for ERISA/401(k) fiduciaries, individual trustees and professional fiduciaries.
The genius of Hopkins was he realized the customer didn't know every brewery cleaned their bottles the same way. His Schlitz ad revealed this steam cleaning method for the first time. Hopkins ad copy proclaimed that steam cleaning made Schlitz the "purest" of beers. Beer drinkers bought the idea and then proceeded to buy mass quantities of Schlitz beer.
Hopkins' "inside the box" thinking isn't limited to advertising. You can do the same thing in your own business.
Here's a simple example:
Let's say your business focuses on retirement plan participants. That's a good steady business, but you might be experiencing a plateau in growth since everyone and his brother wants in on this lucrative market. What's worse is that with MEPs coming down the pike as early as next year, competition will only intensify.
So you want to explore new markets. Maybe vertically, by focusing on a single type of employer. Maybe horizontally, by expanding your service among all high-net-worth individuals.
Each of these represents "outside the box" thinking in that they direct you away from existing relationships.
But what if you think "inside the box"? That implies you concentrate on your existing relationships and discover a way to broaden your service to them. In this manner, you're not prospecting new territory, you're mining deeper into what you already have.
Here's one way to do this:
No doubt a sizable portion of your relationships have children approaching their teen years, when they can start working in earnest. What if you dug deeper into those relationships and offered yourself as a Child IRA expert?
Chances are, no one else has laid claim to this unearthed vein of growth, because the accounts are so small. If you place yourself as the first to fill this void, you'll anchor yourself deeper into that relationship by showing parents their teenagers can become millionaires before they graduate from high school.
How? If they contribute the maximum into a Child IRA from age 13 until high school graduation, that $30,000 will grow to $2.5 million by the time they retire at age 70.
What parent wouldn't want that for their child?
And you'll be the hero just because you took the time to think inside the box.
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Christopher Carosa
Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).
