Questionnaire

Business Profile Questionnaire

If you are in the process of becoming a client of Jay’s, I strongly recommend you fill-out this comprehensive questionnaire in advance of your initial session. Jay will personally review the finalized document so he fully grasps your overall business situation and priority needs before counseling you. The online form conveniently saves as you go. Simply click “submit” when you reach the end and it will automatically be sent to my inbox.

Step 1 of 16

Name(Required)

First Last

Title(Required)

Phone(Required)

Email(Required)

Type of business(Required)

Gross Revenues(Required)

Number of employees(Required)

Products / services offered(Required)

Market served(Required)

What ‘buying influencer’ do you target within that market(Required)

Website / Social Media Site(s)(Required)

Introduction

This questionnaire is a multi-purpose resource. Not only will it give me a comprehensive overview with which to begin to understand your company, it will also almost certainly give you cause to think about areas of your business that you have not previously had reason or awareness to think about. I would like to suggest that you view it as a ‘living document’, a resource to be periodically reviewed and updated. Not all areas / questions will apply to all businesses. I suggest you address the sections and questions pertaining to your business and don’t allow yourself to become ‘stuck’ on any given question. Where necessary / appropriate, you might enlist the aid of key company personnel to provide the data / answers required.

What people, books, and life factors have influenced and impacted you in your career?(Required)

Describe the specific trainings, interests, and hobbies you have. What do you do when you're not at the office? Why?(Required)

Describe your family. Are you married? Are you divorced? How many children do you have?(Required)

Are you an active member of your community? Describe.(Required)

Do you take regular time off / vacations to rest and recharge? Describe.(Required)

Professional Background

Describe your current position. (Role, title etc.)(Required)

How long have you owned or been with your company?(Required)

Describe your background – what did you do before you started, bought or came into this business?(Required)

Describe exactly who the owner or owners are.(Required)

Share what you know about the primary goals of the owner.(Required)

What is the operating philosophy that the business has been built on?(Required)

Do you have your client’s best interests at heart in everything that you do? Does every member of your team reflect your core values and preeminent attitude in every interaction with your clients? How do you incorporate that philosophy into every touchpoint of the client experience?(Required)

Is the business internally financed? Bank financed? Are there outside investors?(Required)

My business vision for my company is...(Required)

What do you want from your business? What is your strategic goal? Is it: Lifestyle? Rapid Expansion? ‘Exit’? Acquisition? Elaborate.(Required)

Explain in which areas your time is being spent. Where should it be spent?(Required)

What is your management structure?(Required)

What initially got you started in your business? (What motivation, occurrence, etc.?)(Required)

How have your methods for doing business, or the product(s) or service line(s) you market, changed since the inception of your business?(Required)

Have you ever acquired any other business products or services?(Required)

If yes, when? What were they? How did they perform? What was the basis of their acquisition? e.g. cash(Required)

If you could buy another business that would benefit your company, what kind would it be? The same business? A complimentary business? (Something people buy before, during or after.) A competitor? An alternative business?(Required)

What ‘competitive business’ intelligence sourcing do you have? How do you monitor your competition? Do you know what your competition does in the various different aspects of business? If so, how are you monitoring it?(Required)

What one thing, more than anything else, do you want to accomplish in your business before you exit or move on?(Required)

If you had a magic wand that could do anything, would you rather attract more new clients, or gather more money from your existing clients? Why?(Required)

What is your long-term strategy? Do you want to own one business forever? Do you want to set it up for someone else to run it for you? Do you want to sell it? Or do you just want to make money and then stop? Elaborate.(Required)

If you had as much money as you wanted, what would you do to improve your product or service and what impact would that have on your clients? Describe / illustrate priority of actions.(Required)

Where do you see your industry in five years?(Required)

What is your vision for your business for the next(Required)

6 Months

1 Year

3-5 Years

10 Years

What is your biggest opportunity to achieve this vision?(Required)

What is your greatest strength? Is it consistent with this opportunity?(Required)

What is your greatest problem or weakness in achieving this vision? What's the solution?(Required)

Corporate Profile

Describe your marketplace / geographic client-base. Is it: Local? Regional? National? International?(Required)

Would you classify your activities as Business to Business or Business to Consumer – or both? Explain as appropriate.(Required)

List your gross sales and approximate profits (pre-tax) over the last five years.(Required)

Indicate all costs of sales.(Required)

Describe – in detail – what your business does.(Required)

Products and services you sell and how you sell them?

Describe – in detail – what your business does. (continued)(Required)

Who do you sell to by industry?

Describe – in detail – what your business does. (continued)(Required)

Commercial category or specific niche?

What are your year-to-date sales levels?(Required)

Where does most of your business come from?(Required)

Product or service

Category of client

Geography

Who has the highest propensity of buying from you?

What is your business philosophy as it relates to your clients?(Required)

When was the last time you introduced a new product or service to your market (both existing clients and prospects)?(Required)

How well did it work? What was the reason?

In a nutshell, what is your company's competitive strategy?(Required)

Do you think there is any link between your corporate strategy and success? (Yes or No)(Required)

If yes, what is it?

Do you have a strategy of pricing? Or is it just done arbitrarily and tactically? (Yes or No)(Required)

What is the power structure / basic infrastructure?

Do you think your people's performance and compensation should be linked to your strategy? Explain.(Required)

What is the power structure / basic infrastructure?(Required)

Is it hands on? Hands off? Explain.

What is the power structure / basic infrastructure? (continued)(Required)

Who runs things?

What is the power structure / basic infrastructure? (continued)(Required)

What kind of turf or political environment you are dealing with?

What is the power structure / basic infrastructure? (continued)(Required)

Who are the decision makers? (For example: "I own the business but I'm never there, and I defer to my manager.")

Who is going to be our operative? (The operative needs to be enrolled in this process.)(Required)

Explain, realistically, how much more business you can add without having to add any more people, equipment, service or space.(Required)

To grow beyond that point, what incremental increases are required in each category?(Required)

Company Infrastructure Diagram

Please provide a visual diagram of your current organizational structure with a drawing or digital rendition by attaching the file here. If you don’t have one in digital format, please draw the diagram on a separate sheet of paper and send it as a separate email attachment. It should have several boxes with: Name, Title, and brief Job Function of each Employee, Investor, Advisor, Coach, Consultant, Independent Contractor etc. that is currently involved in your organization. Be sure to include all departments, i.e. Operations, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Legal, Research & Development, I.T., Business Development, Human Resources, Technology, Product Development, Virtual Assistants etc…

File

Drop files here or

Max. file size: 200 MB.

Describe your company in one sentence, but from a different angle than question #1.(Required)

How do you explain your company to someone outside your industry (i.e. at a party)? Keep it as simple as possible.(Required)

How do you explain your company to someone in the industry (i.e. to a potential buyer or client)? This is the "company pitch," NOT the product pitch.(Required)

Client Base

Exactly what kind of data do you have on them? (Include everything you know about your clients: names, addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, types of businesses, location, what and when they have bought from you, how you attracted them, the last date of contact with them, etc. If your business relationship is such that it warrants, do you have birthdays, spouse’s & children’s names?)(Required)

How many active clients / buyers do you have?(Required)

How many "dream" clients are there (the 20% who drive 80% of your sales)?(Required)

What does it cost you to acquire a new client? If you have many different sources & types, please explain by each category. (e.g. if you ran an advertisement that costs $1,000 and you attained two new clients it would be $500.)(Required)

What's the "lifetime value" of your typical client? (By category.) (i.e. how much revenue will they generate for you over the entire period they do business with your company?)(Required)

What are the average sales and profits generated from a new client in the first year? (By category, if appropriate.) How is that information useful in your overall marketing strategy?(Required)

Explain where all your business is coming from (demographics / sources, media, distribution channels), versus where all your time is being spent.(Required)

What is your biggest and best source of new business?(Required)

Are you doing everything possible to secure this business? If not, why not?(Required)

As a percentage, how much of your business comes from referrals?(Required)

Go through all 30 of the standard options in the "Three Ways to Grow a Business" model (See Attachment 1 - "30 Standard Options.") and tell us what you do. For example, do you have a referral program? If the answer is no, explain why not. If the answer is yes, describe how it works, what you do. Include all the details.(Required)

Sales Force

Where does most of your business come from?(Required)

Describe Your Sales Force

Do you have inside sales people?

Who does what?

Where does most of your business come from? (continued)(Required)

How they are paid?

What are their average income levels?

Have you tried different types of compensation programs? If so, was there an effect on sales?

If you have a lot of different sales people, indicate the variance of performance, from best to worst.(Required)

What the best excels at and what the worst excels at?

If you have a lot of different sales people, indicate the variance of performance, from best to worst. (continued)(Required)

• What their strengths and weaknesses are and where they’re utilized.

What is your average order amount per transaction, category or source, and what are the steps you can take to increase it?(Required)

What are your sales (gross and net income) per salesperson – per period? Is that above, below, or equal to your industry average and what are the steps you are taking (or going to take) to improve?(Required)

What are the standards / criteria for hiring salespeople?(Required)

How much professional sales training have you personally had?(Required)

What type of training do you offer your salespeople (both junior and senior)? Identify Trainer, Program, Method / Technique(Required)

What other training do you offer? (i.e. Product training, Account management training, or Time management training)?(Required)

How is it offered (Internally, Externally, etc.)?(Required)

How often is training provided?(Required)

How often is re-training provided?(Required)

What is the turnover rate for salespeople?(Required)

Describe the typical sales cycle to close a sale (i.e. from generating the lead through to a close)(Required)

How many contacts / ‘touches’ does it take to close a sale?

Describe the typical sales cycle to close a sale (i.e. from generating the lead through to a close) (continued)(Required)

How many different people do you usually meet with to close a sale?

Describe the length of cycle from initial contact to close?(Required)

What are the most frequent objections you hear?(Required)

How do you / your people best overcome them?(Required)

If you target 10 prospects, how many will you close? (Provide the closing ratio.)(Required)

How do your closing ratios fare against that of competitors?(Required)

As a percentage, with how many clients are you dealing directly with the top decision maker?(Required)

List three things you could do to strengthen your relationship with the top decision maker:(Required)

What are the top three reasons that a prospect would do nothing at the end of the sales cycle?(Required)

What do you do with the prospects you don't close?(Required)

What do you do with past inactive clients / buyers?(Required)

Do you utilize another form of direct sales (i.e. independent sales reps, dealers, manufacturer's reps)? If you do, have you ever compared the results to an inside or outside sales force?(Required)

What has your prospecting approach been?(Required)

What prospect data do you have (i.e. lists, etc.)?(Required)

Do you go to trade shows? What do you do, and how do you show / exhibit? What is your preparatory approach? What promotions do you do in conjunction with trade shows?(Required)

Summarize your selling presentation.(Required)

Write out your sales proposition ("pitch").(Required)

If there's a basic premise that you use, describe exactly what it is.(Required)

What kind of ongoing sales management do you have?(Required)

Do you have a defined, designated person as a sales manager?

What kind of ongoing sales management do you have? (continued)(Required)

Describe her / his duties and objectives. How do they coincide and fit with the overall marketing strategy?

What kind of ongoing sales management do you have? (continued)(Required)

Do your sales people manage themselves?

How much time per week do you personally devote to sales activities or your salespeople?(Required)

How many unsold prospects do you have? How many inactive past clients / buyers?(Required)

If so, what are they? If not, should there be?

How much time per week do you personally devote to sales activities or your salespeople?(Required)

What sales functions did you perform when you started your business?(Required)

Do you (the business) do anything at the point of sale to increase the order? Explain(Required)

Do you add on other products or future products or services (up sell)? Explain(Required)

If so, what are they?

How long does it take you to fill an order after you receive it? If you improved, would it have a dramatic effect on your sales?(Required)

Is "buyer's remorse" a current problem in your business? If so, how do you overcome it?(Required)

Do your clients feel your Customer Service department is prompt and courteous? Explain.(Required)

What type of training do you offer your service personnel?(Required)

Marketing

What are your target markets and how did you determine this?(Required)

What is your market(s) potential (universe)? How did you determine this? What is your current share of that market?(Required)

Does your business market locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally?(Required)

What changes are required to satisfy the projected outcomes of your business?(Required)

Describe the company's marketing philosophy.(Required)

Do you have a written marketing plan that you adhere to? If so, explain it.(Required)

Is the plan based on a fixed budget number (e.g. $5,000 per month for Google AdWords / Facebook ads)? Is it a variable percentage of sales?(Required)

Do you have a marketing budget? (Yes or No)(Required)

Do you have a marketing budget? (continued)(Required)

What is it? What is it based on?

Do you have a marketing budget? (continued)(Required)

How is it allocated?

Do you understand maximum allowable cost factor as it relates to the lifetime value / marginal net worth of a client? Describe.(Required)

Do you have a marketing budget? (continued)(Required)

How has it been used in the past?

I know the difference between strategy and tactics. (Yes or No)(Required)

If "yes", define your understanding of the two below... "Strategy means...." "Tactics are..."

I have an overriding business strategy driving all my business activities – specifically, all of my marketing activities. (Yes or No)(Required)

I have an overriding business strategy driving all my business activities – specifically, all of my marketing activities. (continued)(Required)

My business strategy is:

I have an overriding business strategy driving all my business activities – specifically, all of my marketing activities. (continued)(Required)

My master marketing strategy (which is different from my general business strategy) is:

I have an overriding business strategy driving all my business activities – specifically, all of my marketing activities. (continued)(Required)

My marketing strategy has _____ different elements pillars or Foundational "pylons" supporting it. (See my description of ‘Power Parthenon’) They are (please list general categories)

My marketing strategy is based on the following key strategic / tactical objectives(Required)

Describe every successful advertising, selling or marketing program you have engaged in for the last three years.(Required)

Of these, how many have you continued?

Describe every successful advertising, selling or marketing program you have engaged in for the last three years. (continued)(Required)

How many were a "one shot" promotion?

How many different applications do you have of every marketing tactic you use? (i.e. 22 different referral generating approaches / methods.) List below.(Required)

Do you know the difference between an approach / method or system---and a strategy? (Yes or No)(Required)

If "yes," please describe and define both in your own words

What books or people have influenced your strategic thinking?(Required)

Name

Author

Subject

What are the biggest insights, realizations, directions / concepts you got from the above?(Required)

What are the biggest insights, realizations, directions / concepts you got from the above?

If you have a marketing strategy plan in place explain how each / all of your marketing tactics integrate and combine to deploy or execute your main / overall strategic objective.(Required)

Do you have a systematic back-end (selling your own or others' products to existing clients)? Describe how it works.(Required)

Do you use direct response marketing concepts (those designed to induce an immediate and measurable response)?(Required)

• If not, Why not?

How much of your time each month do you devote to marketing?(Required)

Do you use creative advertising, marketing, or advisory services? (continued)(Required)

If so, who do you use?

How much time will you devote in the future?(Required)

Do you have a marketing director? If so, describe her / his primary responsibilities and duties?(Required)

Do you use creative advertising, marketing, or advisory services?(Required)

If so, who do you use?

Do you use creative advertising, marketing, or advisory services? (continued)(Required)

Describe what they do.

Do you use creative advertising, marketing, or advisory services? (continued)(Required)

What do you pay them?

Do you use creative advertising, marketing, or advisory services? (continued)(Required)

What did you learn?

Do you use creative advertising, marketing, or advisory services? (continued)(Required)

What have their contributions been, and how have you used these contributions?

Do you analyze anyone else's marketing strategy? (Yes or No)(Required)

If yes, who?

Do you analyze anyone else's marketing strategy? (continued)(Required)

What did you learn?

Do you analyze anyone else's marketing strategy? (continued)(Required)

How did you use it?

What's the most revolutionary marketing strategy you've ever seen a company use? What is the best one you have ever used?(Required)

Do you regularly plan your marketing strategy and execution, or are they just reactive on your part? (Yes or No)(Required)

What do you think marketing strategy REALLY is?(Required)

Do you think you're having trouble with your business or marketing strategy? (Yes or No)(Required)

Do you think you're having trouble with your business or marketing strategy? (continued)(Required)

If so, where would that be?

Do you think you're having trouble with your business or marketing strategy? (continued)(Required)

How?

Do you think you're having trouble with your business or marketing strategy? (continued)(Required)

Why?

Do you have a separate sales strategy that's distinguishable from how you market? (Yes or No)(Required)

If "yes", briefly describe

Do you have a unified marketing strategy that controls and integrates all the tactics you deploy? (Yes or No)(Required)

Do you have a brand driven business? (Yes or No) If yes, what does your brand stand for?(Required)

What's your Social Media marketing strategy, in a nutshell?(Required)

What competitive forces do you think most shape YOUR marketing strategy?(Required)

Do you have a winning business strategy you follow? (Yes or No)(Required)

If “yes”, what is it briefly?

How do you communicate your marketing strategy to the people who work for you?(Required)

Whose business strategy do you most admire? Why?(Required)

Is client lifetime value (marginal net worth) reshaping your marketing strategy? (Yes or No) Explain(Required)

If so, how?

Describe below, the most advanced marketing concepts or tools you currently use to sell more products to more people?(Required)

Who is the most masterful business or marketing strategist you've ever known? How did he / she best apply their strategic genius? Describe their biggest strategic "coup."(Required)

Do you have a profitable business / marketing strategy for the internet? (Yes or No)(Required)

If yes, describe briefly below and share performance details.

How do you explain your marketing strategy to someone outside your industry (i.e. at a party)? Keep it as simple as possible.(Required)

Now describe your marketing game plan in one sentence.(Required)

Describe the different marketing tactics you successfully use.(Required)

What do you think the Strategic benefits of each tactic are?(Required)

What are the ‘advantages’ you offer that motivate people to choose your company / product or service (i.e. your USP)? Describe briefly.(Required)

What sequential marketing (if any) does a prospective client get when initial contact is made vs. when they buy your product / service?(Required)

What marketing efforts / activities do you want to be doing right now that you are not? Why?(Required)

Describe your competition and any effective marketing strategy or tactic they use that you don't.(Required)

Do you have a long-term written marketing game plan? (Yes or No) If yes, how often do you review it?(Required)

If yes, include a written copy as an attachment with this questionnaire & tell us how you do accomplish your marketing goals?

Briefly describe the complete strategic marketing cycle, from...(Required)

Generating the lead.

Briefly describe the complete strategic marketing cycle, from... (continued)(Required)

Through to closing the sale.

Briefly describe the complete strategic marketing cycle, from... (continued)(Required)

To requesting repurchase.

Briefly describe the complete strategic marketing cycle, from... (continued)(Required)

And all follow-up referral generating that you do.

How do you currently prospect for / generate new first-time buyers?(Required)

What frequency of communication do you have with your prospects and active or inactive clients / buyers? Describe.(Required)

What forms of communication do you employ (call, visit, letter, etc.)?(Required)

What tactics do you use to overcome frequently posed objections?(Required)

What is your strategy for reclaiming windfall profits from prospects you don't sell or close?(Required)

Describe five of your most formidable competitors and their marketing approaches.(Required)

What are the top two reasons that you lose business to the competition?(Required)

How much follow-up do you do with a client – AFTER they buy?(Required)

With a prospect if they don't purchase?

How much follow-up do you do with a client – AFTER they buy? (continued)(Required)

And with a client AFTER they buy

Do you ask for referrals? (Yes or No)(Required)

How? How often?

List three things you could do to strengthen your marketing effectiveness now.(Required)

List the materials, products, programs of mine you've been exposed to. Plus, how often?(Required)

How well have you studied and honestly applied each one?(Required)

What's holding you back from doing more and better consistent marketing?(Required)

What would make your current marketing strategy more effective?(Required)

Do you know what the highest and best performingmarketing approaches you have available are? (Yes or No)(Required)

How they are best used?

Do you continuously repeat successful marketing, sales generating activities on a systematic, scheduled basis? (Yes or No) If not, why not?(Required)

How often do you send clients interesting information that is not about your product, but could be relevant to them or their business?(Required)

If often, provide examples of what you include

Do you or your people contact every active and inactive client at least once every 3-6 months? (Yes or No) If no, why not?(Required)

Do you know what your client attrition rate is? (Yes or No)(Required)

If so, do you have a plan in place to reduce or eliminate? List perspective.

Where does most of your business come from? (Products or services, types of client and geography industry.)(Required)

If so, do you have a plan in place to reduce or eliminate? List perspective.

Do you have a segmented database?(Required)

If so, describe all the ways you use it for ongoing marketing purposes.

Do you have your database segmented by category, products, geography, etc.? (Yes or No)(Required)

How often do you follow-up with each category of buyer prospect? Every day, week, month or year?(Required)

How often is your company in touch with clients as a corporate initiative? (Not something that depends on the mood or skills of an individual rep!)(Required)

Do you use advertising tactically or strategically? (Yes or No)(Required)

Give Examples.

Do you use my “Three Ways to Grow a Business” model? (Yes or No) See attachment 1(Required)

If so, describe each category of what you do.

Do you have regularly scheduled methods of communication? (i.e. e-mail, newsletter, monthly update letter, etc.) (Yes or No) If no, why not?(Required)

How do clients perceive your company among everyone else in the industry?(Required)

How do clients perceive your products / services, sales people, and marketing?(Required)

How do your competitors see your marketing? Describe their perspective.(Required)

What-strategic alliances, if any, do you have, or have you ever had, in place?(Required)

How did they fare? How did they affect your business?

Who stands to gain more than you if you grow? (i.e. people / businesses who have products or services that are purchased after your products or services are purchased, or concurrently purchased with the product / service, etc.)(Required)

What are this year’s strategic goals?(Required)

Explain where all your marketing effort, time and money is being spent versus where it should be spent.(Required)

How much of your business comes from referrals?(Required)

How much of your business comes from advertising?(Required)

How much of your business comes from direct sales?(Required)

Describe your marketing positioning.(Required)

What's your Marketing structure?(Required)

Do you have an adequate supply of client testimonials, and is there a system in place for their capture?(Required)

Are they written or digital, and how are they (or will they be) used in your marketing?(Required)

How many inactive past buyers do you have?(Required)

Have you ever tried to reactivate your former clients and non-converted prospects? Explain.(Required)

Have you ever tried selling or ‘joint-venturing’ a list of your non-converted prospects to your competitors? Explain.(Required)

Do you make consistent efforts to communicate with and educate your clients about what your company is doing to help them?(Required)

How formal, informal, or systematic is the process?(Required)

Do you ever barter your products, services, or assets with other companies in exchange for their products, services or assets? If yes, describe briefly.(Required)

If not, do you see barter possibilities in the future? Explain

Do you use bonuses in all your sales / marketing propositions?(Required)

How has it affected the response?(Required)

What is Your Risk Reversal?(Required)

Do you use risk-reversal in your marketing propositions? Explain its effectiveness.(Required)

What kind of guarantee or warranty do you give your clients?(Required)

How does it compare with your competitors or with the industry at large?(Required)

How do you capture the names, email addresses, mailing addresses, and phone numbers of all your clients and prospects?(Required)

How do you use each of them in your marketing programs?(Required)

In what other ways have you obtained your existing clients?(Required)

Rank your methods from best to worst. (i.e. website / digital media, spot advertisements, direct mail, direct sales, telemarketing, etc.).

What is your selling season, if any?(Required)

Are you actively looking to sell other complimentary products or services during the slower periods? If so, how do they interrelate?(Required)

How loyal are your clients?(Required)

Is that normal, high, or low relative to your industry?

How loyal are your clients? (continued)(Required)

What is the reason?

How loyal are your clients? (continued)(Required)

How can it be improved?

What need do you fill in the client's mind? Are they the same?(Required)

Do you provide incentive bonuses to your employees for creating new and better marketing methods for your company? Explain.(Required)

When you first started, how did you attract your first clients? (i.e. what process, method or action did you use?)(Required)

Why did clients originally buy from you?(Required)

Why do clients buy from you now?(Required)

What has been your biggest marketing success to date? (i.e. a specific promotion, advertising campaign, telemarketing script, etc.)(Required)

Are you still using it or a version of it?

If you had as much money as you wanted, what would you do to improve your marketing? (i.e. what is your biggest marketing problem or challenge today?)(Required)

Do you have a PR effort?(Required)

If so, what does it consist of?

Do you have a PR effort? (continued)(Required)

How often do you do it?

Do you have a PR effort? (continued)(Required)

How well does it work?

Do you have a PR effort? (continued)(Required)

What benefits have you received?

Who is responsible for PR?(Required)

Do you have a brochure / media kit?(Required)

If so, how is it utilized?

Internet Marketing

What percentage of your sales are generated by online activities vs ‘traditional marketing’?(Required)

Do you have a written Internet Marketing Strategy? If yes, describe. If no, why not?(Required)

Are you GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliant? What steps have you taken – or will you be taking – to become so?(Required)

List all elements you are currently using for Internet Marketing. e.g. – website, emails, Social Media etc.(Required)

How do you currently handle / implement SEM (search engine marketing) SEO (search engine optimization)?(Required)

How do you monitor the effectiveness of your SEM, SEO, PPC activities?(Required)

Describe how your company stays current with the ever-changing technology, platforms, marketplace of Internet Marketing.(Required)

Does your website contain a ‘History’ section that includes a compelling story (in narrative form) about the founding / history of your company? If not, why not?(Required)

Do you keep your clients current with your activities by means of a blog or similar narrative format? If not, why not?(Required)

Do your marketing activities include Blogs, Webinars, Special Interest Groups? Describe.(Required)

Do you have an affiliate marketing program? If not, why not?(Required)

Describe your affiliate marketing program, including its share of your overall revenues.(Required)

Do you sell on Amazon? If yes, describe the types and level of Amazon marketing activities involved.(Required)

Is your website designed / maintained internally / externally?(Required)

Who is responsible for ensuring that it is up to date?(Required)

Social Media Marketing

What percentage of your sales are Social Media generated?(Required)

What is your overall SM marketing strategy? How much of your content is paid vs organic?(Required)

Do you have a Social Media (Marketing) Manager / Department? Describe how they keep your company current with the ever-changing platforms and client communication preferences.(Required)

Is your content produced ‘in-house’ or subcontracted to an outside production facility? Who provides the creative input?(Required)

Is your company active on YouTube? Describe.(Required)

Is your YouTube content produced ‘in-house’ or subcontracted to an outside production facility? Who provides the creative input?(Required)

Do you have formal audit / monitoring tools in place to monitor & verify response and conversion results and alert you to marketplace changes?(Required)

Do you do regular testing to see how the different platforms (and different content) might perform? If yes, describe. If no, why not?(Required)

Do you use ‘influencers’? Should you be using influencers?(Required)

Describe your influencer marketing program, including its share of your overall business revenue.(Required)

Space Advertising

What is your advertising philosophy?(Required)

What influenced or forged your thoughts on this?(Required)

Do you apply this philosophy to your ads?(Required)

If so, how does that happen?

Do you use direct response advertising (ads that cause a client to take action), as opposed to "image" advertising?(Required)

If yes, please describe the essence of the offer or proposition you typically make. If no, why is that?

Are your ads working?(Required)

How do you know?

Do you use two-step advertising (i.e. step one generates qualified leads, step two converts those leads to clients)?(Required)

If so, describe your steps.

What is your conversion ratio? (i.e. out of every "x" leads, you get "y" clients or sales.)(Required)

What are the different techniques you have used to improve your ratio?(Required)

What is your advertising cost per sale? (i.e. when you run an ad that costs $1,000, you generate $x of sales.)(Required)

Do you use a conversion kit (a package of follow-up materials) to convert prospects to sales?(Required)

If so, describe your kit. If not, describe the steps you take to convert a prospect.

Does your conversion kit contain a sales letter which:(Required)

Educates the reader about the rest of the material?

Does your conversion kit contain a sales letter which: (continued)(Required)

Educates the reader about your company?

Does your conversion kit contain a sales letter which: (continued)(Required)

Names what problems your company can solve for them?

Do you test the different aspects of your advertising?(Required)

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Offer?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Copy?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Headline?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Price?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Size?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Illustrations?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Publication Position?

Yes/No

Details

E-mail / Direct Mail

How much prospecting mail do you drop each month?(Required)

To whom? Why?

Describe your e-mail efforts.(Required)

Type, Frequency, Objective, Results

Do you use a list broker?(Required)

If not, where do you get your names from?

Do you use a list broker? (continued)(Required)

Are there non-competing companies who sell complimentary products / services that you could approach? (e.g. a carpet cleaner approaching a carpeting company.)

Do you test the different aspects of your mailings?(Required)

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Copy?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Offer?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Price?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Media?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

List?

Yes/No

Details

If so, what do you test?(Required)

Headline?

Yes/No

Details

What is the return on investment for your mailings?(Required)

How do you think it could be improved?(Required)

How often do you mail to your own list of clients?(Required)

Is your mail informational? Do you solicit additional sales from them?

Do you rent out your client and / or prospect lists? Explain.(Required)

Have you ever used telemarketing as a follow-up to an email or direct mailing(Required)

If yes, what is its effectiveness? If no, why haven't you?

Strategic Partners

What strategic alliances do you currently have?(Required)

What strategic alliances did you have in the past?(Required)

How did they fare? How did they affect your business?

Who (which businesses) stands to gain more than you if you grow? (i.e. Companies whose products / services are purchased after your products / services are purchased. Companies whose products / services are concurrently purchased with your product / service?)(Required)

Who are your suppliers or other providers of products or services that benefit massively when you are successful?(Required)

What products or services do people normally buy prior to, in conjunction with, and right after your product is purchased?(Required)

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Indicate every unique aspect of either the performance of, the construction of, the buying of, or the rendering of your product. (I'm looking for unique selling proposition points)(Required)

List what your product / service brings to a client or client.(Required)

Provide a very specific, measurable, and detailed explanation of the following(Required)

Results

Provide a very specific, measurable, and detailed explanation of the following(Required)

Advantages

Provide a very specific, measurable, and detailed explanation of the following(Required)

Benefits

Provide a very specific, measurable, and detailed explanation of the following(Required)

Protections

Provide a very specific, measurable, and detailed explanation of the following(Required)

Enhancements

Provide a very specific, measurable, and detailed explanation of the following(Required)

Prestige factors

What do you believe your single most competitive advantage is?(Required)

What are you most proud of about your business, product or service?(Required)

What problem does your product or service solve for the client?(Required)

Describe your client's needs and the positive results your product / service provides.(Required)

Give a specific assessment of the transactional implication your product or service has in the end-user's life. (i.e. If / because someone has your product or service, they save $400 a month forever on electricity… tell me about that. If you're a real estate person and you put someone in a greater lifestyle, and get them a house that can appreciate in value… I want to know all about that.)(Required)

List All Factors

What is your Unique Selling Proposition or USP?(Required)

Why do your clients buy from you?(Required)

What is it about your product and / or service that distinguishes you from your competition? (You may have more than one for different product / service lines or segments of your business.)(Required)

Why must a prospect buy your product or service?(Required)

What would make it irresistible?

What do your clients really want? (Be specific. Don't just answer, “A quality product or service.”)(Required)

How do you know?

What products / services do clients want that you do not offer?(Required)

Is your USP a consistent theme in all of your marketing and sales efforts?(Required)

If yes, explain how? If no, explain why not.

Competition Profile

Describe your competition. (Use criteria in the previous section & rate each on a scale from 1-10)(Required)

Competitor's Name

Product

Sales Ability

Marketing Ability

Marketing Ability 2

Describe your company. (Use criteria in the previous section & rate each on a scale from 1-10)(Required)

Your Company Name

Product

Sales Ability

Marketing Ability

Marketing Ability 2

Describe all you know about your competitors(Required)

Where are the top 3 located?

Describe all you know about your competitors (continued)(Required)

What do they do best?

Describe all you know about your competitors (continued)(Required)

What do they do worst?

Describe all you know about your competitors (continued)(Required)

How do you specifically fill that void?

Describe, as much as possible, your competitors(Required)

Selling Approaches

Describe, as much as possible, your competitors (continued)(Required)

Selling Strategies

Describe, as much as possible, your competitors(Required)

Infrastructure

What steps do you take to offset their advantage(Required)

Are they working? If not, what needs to be changed?

What do they offer that you do not?(Required)

What are the top three reasons that you lose business to a competitor?(Required)

Reason 1

What are the top three reasons that you lose business to a competitor?(Required)

Reason 2

What are the top three reasons that you lose business to a competitor?(Required)

Reason 3

Do you buy from your competitors to keep track of what they're doing right and wrong – sales approach, products quality, delivery, customer-service etc.?(Required)

Explain how these insights have helped you refine and better focus your overall business strategy

What is the biggest client complaint about your industry? How does your company address this problem?(Required)

Why do clients buy from you?(Required)

Do they buy from you exclusively?(Required)

Do they also patronize your competitors?(Required)

What steps can you take to get the main portion of their business?(Required)

Do you actively seek information from experts in your field and other fields related to yours? Explain.(Required)

Attachment 1

30 Standard Options (From “Three Ways to Grow a Business” Model) 1. METHODS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF CLIENTS OR CLIENTS The number of clients can be increased by: A. Increasing the lead or inquiry generation. B. Increasing the client retention rate. C. Increasing the conversion from inquiry to sale. A. Increase your lead or inquiry generation through: - Referral systems. - Acquiring clients at break-even up front and making a profit on the "back-end". - Guaranteeing purchases through risk-reversal. - Host-beneficiary relationships. - Advertising. - Using email / direct mail. - Using telemarketing. - Running special events or information nights. - Acquiring qualified lists that more effectively target your prospect. - Developing a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). - Increasing the perceived value of your product / service through better client education. - Using public relations. B. Increase your client retention rate by: - Delivering higher-than-expected levels of service. - Communicating frequently with your clients to nurture them. C. Increase your conversion from inquiry to sale by: - Increasing sales skill levels of your staff. - Qualifying leads up front. - Making irresistible offers. - Educating your clients by giving them the "reasons why." 2. METHODS TO INCREASE THE AVERAGE TRANSACTION AMOUNT Increase the average transaction value by focusing on: - Improving your team's selling techniques to effectively up-sell and cross-sell. - Using point-of-sale promotions. - Packaging complementary products and services together. - Increasing your pricing, and hence, your margins. - Changing the profile of your products or services to be more "up market". - Offering greater / larger units of purchase. 3. METHODS TO INCREASE YOUR TRANSACTION FREQUENCY Increase transaction frequency by focusing on: - Developing a back-end of products that you can go back to your clients with. - Communicating personally with your clients (by telephone, letter, email, social media, etc.) to maintain a positive relationship. - Endorsing other people's products to your client base. - Running special events, such as "closed door sales", limited pre-releases, etc. - Programming clients. - Price inducements for frequency.

How Do You and Your Business Stack Up?

Self-Diagnostic Assessment Test

Dear Business Owner:
/ A lot of people fixate on the abstract concept of trying to work "on" their business, instead of "in" it. I'm a more direct and logical thinker: I've always tried to figure out how to get a business to work harder for its owner than he or she worked for it. A simple difference perhaps. But a major difference, nonetheless.
With my driving thought always being how many ways I can help get your business working harder and better for you – I've created an 87-question, self-diagnostic assessment test called "How Do You And Your Business Stack Up?" It asks some very straightforward, (yet highly revealing) questions designed to instantly detect whether or not your business could – and should – be working harder and more profitably for you. And if so, precisely where you have the most room for improvement.
It's the perfect grounding and preparatory orientation to help you gain maximum insight, benefit and value out of the time we'll be working together.
I invite you to sit down right now and go through the 87 questions on this test – the answers and their business / financial implications to you will be self-evident. Once you've completed all 87 questions, see where you stand (see the self-diagnostic interpretation section at the end).
It's a shame to see promising businesses under-perform their capability to deliver more income, certainty, profits and wealth to their owners – if it's easily achievable. Frequently, merely shifting the marketing you do, the strategy you follow and / or the money-making system you implement can double, re-double and even re-double again – the income and profits your business delivers to you. I created this self-diagnostic assessment test to see whether or not your business could be – and should be – delivering more ‘pay-off’ for you.
In conclusion, I look forward to spending quality time with you during our business building activities.

Jay L. Abraham

P.S. Here now are the 87 questions to answer. Be candid with yourself – since you alone will know the exact answers and their profit implications.

How many different selling methods do you currently do / use?(Required)

One

Two to Four

Five or More

How many new potential selling methods have you tested in the last 12 months?(Required)

None

One

Two to Four

Five or more

Do you have a keen handle on all your marginal net worth factors for all three ways to grow clients and for each segment of separate product lines you market?(Required)

No

A Few

Most

All

How many formalized, referral generating systems do you have working right now that everyone in your enterprise with Buyer Contacts uses and follows?(Required)

None

One

Two to Four

Six or more

Is your business being marketed tactically or strategically?(Required)

Tactically

Strategically

Do you have a powerful USP that comes across to the market you target as being the only viable solution to a problem they have that you alone verbalized for them or an opportunity you alone identified?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you know what your attrition rate is and why they stop buying from you?(Required)

No

Partially

Yes, in both casess

Do you have attrition reduction or client conservation programs in place to minimize inactive buyers?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you have comprehensive databases of your prospects and buyers that identifies everything from names, contact numbers, type of buying, what they buy, what they didn't buy, where they originated from, quantities of past purchases, etc.(Required)

No

Partial

Yes on all issues

Do you actively use all the data above to target different categories of prospects / buyers in different ways for different products or services?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you know exactly where all (or at least most) of your business is coming from and how to stimulate more people from those specific sources to purchase from you?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you know where your biggest source of untapped new business is and how to ultimately mine it?(Required)

No

Yes

Does at least 25% of your business currently come from referrals?(Required)

No

Yes

Is the average number of referrals you get every month going up or down? Growing or dropping?(Required)

Down / Dropping

Up / Growing

Do you have a reliable system of collecting and creating client testimonials and success stories?(Required)

No

Yes

If "yes," how many client testimonials and success stories do you have?(Required)

One to Five

Six to Ten

Eleven to Twenty

Twenty One or More

Do you effectively and powerfully use your testimonials in all the marketing, advertising and sales efforts you do?(Required)

No

Sometimes

Yes, always

Do you have respected people in your field, market, industry who unheedingly endorse you and your company?(Required)

No

Yes

How many endorsements do you have?(Required)

None

One to Three

Four to Nine

Ten or more

Do you have a continuous system approach program actively in place to continually secure more prominent endorsements?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you have any strategic alliances / host-beneficiary relationships actively in place right now?(Required)

No

Yes

How many strategic alliances / host-beneficiary relationships are you currently doing promotions with right now?(Required)

Zero

One

Two to Five

Six to to Ten

Ten or more

Are you adding host-beneficiary endorsements (i.e., complementary businesses, publications, associations) to your marketing mix every quarter?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you repeatedly test headlines or their equivalent (i.e., email subject lines, opening sentence of your presentations, phone-in sales calls, telemarketing scripts, greetings at trade shows, etc.)?(Required)

No

Yes

How many different headlines / subject lines or the equivalent have you successfully tested in the last 12 months?(Required)

Zero

One

Two to Nine

Ten to Twenty

Twenty One or More

Do you have a systematic, ongoing follow-up system you follow and put into action for every prospect and first-time buyer you acquire?(Required)

No

Yes

How often do you follow up to past buyers / clients by phone, mail, e-mail or in-person?(Required)

Never

Once every six months

Once a quarter

More often

Do you know your allowable cost of acquiring a new prospect and / or client and if "yes," do you invest up to that amount in your marketing efforts to acquire new buyers?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you have a progressive backend; meaning, you keep logically either reselling clients ongoing quantities of your basic products / services or you keep adding new additional backend products or services to the sales cycle.(Required)

No

Yes

If yes, how many different progressive, backend products do you offer?(Required)

One to Two

Two to Nine

Ten or More

Do you spend more of your time on marketing or managing?(Required)

Never

Once every six months

Once a quarter

More

Do you believe Peter Drucker's quote that marketing and innovation are the two things that create clients and profits; everything else is an expense?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you use risk-reversal to close sales and differentiate your business from your competitors?(Required)

No

Yes

If yes, how many different ways have you tested reversing the risk?(Required)

None

One

Two to Four

Five or More

How many of these key marketing factors do you regularly test?(Required)

None

Just Headlines

Headlines, Offers

Headlines, Offers and Guaranteed Risk-Reversals

Do you offer bonuses (either tangible or intangible) as an incentive to purchase your product or service now?(Required)

No

Yes

How much of a difference have your tests made on either your results / response / profit?(Required)

Less than 10% improvement

11-30%

31-50%

51-99%

100% (double) or Higher

Do you do PR / media relationships / blog / radio / newspaper / magazine interviews?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you use the results of these activities in excerpts or reproductions as part of your marketing?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you write articles, special reports or a book(s) you use for promotional positioning?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you have a prime prospect list or lists you market to by either e-mail, direct mail, telemarketing, catalog or sales personnel?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you know what your return on investment is for Lead / Prospect Generating, Lead Generating and Sales Conversion and / or Reselling Buyers?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you have a continuous way to build a growing prospect / client e-mail list?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you use risk-reversal to close sales and differentiate your business from your competitors?(Required)

No

Yes

How often do you send quality e-mails out that provide a benefit to your clients and / or prospects?(Required)

Never

Infrequently

Quarterly

Monthly or More

Are your e-mails, educational/contact-based and not merely self-serving?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you have a direct-response formatted website that is built around my marketing principles?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you do effective (meaning successful at both attracting and then converting) search engine optimization that builds more prospects, buyers, business?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you have a Power Parthenon of different marketing activities in place where prospects / clients / revenues flow in from multiple profit pillars / streams? If yes, how many pillars are in your Power Parthenon?(Required)

Zero

Two

Three to Five

Six to Eight

Nine or More

Do you have a target prospect list of strategic partners – i.e., companies that either already have a strong relationship with the same people you want to sell – or new, competitive organizations that have more to gain then even you do by seeing you sell your product / service to more people / companies.(Required)

No

Yes

If "yes," how many prospective, new "strategic partner" companies (with complete contact data) are there on that list?(Required)

Zero

One to Give

Six to Ten

Eleven to Twenty

Twenty One to Fifty

Fifty One and Over

Have you – and all your people – who have contact with your prospects / buyers had formalized strategic consultative / advisory sales training?(Required)

No

Yes

If yes, how often do you retrain and advance their skills in this all-important revenue-generating factor?(Required)

Never again

Yearly or Longer

Every Six Months

Monthly

How many competitive advantages have you created for your business?(Required)

None

One

Two to Five

Six or More

Do you have successful ways to acquire new clients / buyers at a ‘break-even’ and then makes your real profit on the backend?(Required)

No

Yes

How many different approaches do you use?(Required)

None

One

Two to Five

Six to Ten

Eleven or More

Do you regularly-educate and update your prospects and clients?(Required)

No

Yes

How many prospect lists have you located and use that better target your best defined prospects?(Required)

None

One

Two to Five

Six to Ten

Eleven or More

Do you really think your marketing makes irresistible offers to your prospects?(Required)

No

Yes

How many ways can you come up with right now to strengthen the appeal, attractiveness, effectiveness of your sales, advertising, promotional offers and propositions?(Required)

None

One

Two to Five

Six to Ten

More than Ten

How many more complementary (up-sell / cross-sell) products / services do you currently add to your sales proposition?(Required)

None

One

Two to Five

Six or More

Do you offer buyers greater / larger units / quality product to increase the size of each sale?(Required)

No

Yes

If "no," how many possibilities can you come up with right now for doing this?(Required)

None

One

Two to Five

Six or More

Do you endorse or do joint ventures with other companies to sell THEIR products / service to YOUR buyers and prospects?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you hold, run, or do special events such as seminars, new-product introductions, end-of-year promotions, close-out promotion, private-sales, meet -the management events, meet-the-manufacturer events, meet-the-creator type events, etc.?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you ethically (but effectively) prepare buyers from their very first purchasing experience with you to keep coming back to purchase over and over again?(Required)

No

Yes

Do YOU personally talk to your buyers, prospects, and clients regularly to learn what they want and then build a relationship with them?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you regularly shop / buy from your competitors to see what they do differently or are doing that your company doesn't do?(Required)

No

Yes

here are between 15 and 30 key impact or leverage points that can positively increase your business' sales / profit performance. How many have you identified?(Required)

None

One to Five

Six to Ten

Eleven to Twenty

Over Twenty

Do you have a written marketing strategy and tactical implementation plan you continuously apply and follow?(Required)

No

Yes

If "yes," do you regularly monitor and measure results and performance of every element of that plan and adjust, replace, improve areas or activities whenever performance drops or does not exceed specific targeted benchmarks you've established?(Required)

No

Sometimes

Yes, always

Do you have a complete e-mail marketing strategy you constantly adhere to, implement and follow?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you study the success approaches other companies use that can be adapted and adopted by you?(Required)

No

Yes

If "yes," do you regularly (at least once a quarter or more) pick approaches you want to try out and then actually test them to see if they perform better than the approach(es) you are currently using?(Required)

No

Yes

Do your marketing, sales approaches and advertising activities focus on benefits or features?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you know the top five reasons why prospects don't buy from you?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you have a compelling and persuasive way to overcome each of those five objections or resistance points?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you really know what your business ideology is and can you explain it in a paragraph or less?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you know all of the marketing assets (both tangible and intangible) your business has available to it?(Required)

No

Yes

Have you identified all the different revenue-generating activities your business is engaged in doing so you can start improving and maximizing each one?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you use risk-reversal to close sales and differentiate your business from your competitors?(Required)

No

Yes

How often do you invest time, effort and committed focus to learn better ways to improve the sales, marketing, profit and / or competitive performance of your business?(Required)

Never

Once a year

Twice a year

Constantly

How much of my “Three Ways to Grow a Business” model and its 32 key revenue drivers are you currently applying?(Required)

None

Very little

About one-third

Most

Are you effectively applying the strategy of Pre-Eminence to all your sales, marketing, promotional and prospect / client communication?(Required)

No

Sometimes

Yes, always

Do you really know – and can you clearly verbalize – what your business' biggest marketing problem is?(Required)

No

Unsure

Yes, absolutely

Do you know the biggest untapped sales or marketing opportunity your business has available to it and can you state it clearly?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you know in which areas of your marketing your business is weak, poor or ineffectual, i.e., prospecting follow-up, converting, re-selling, referrals, etc.?(Required)

No

Yes

Do you know where your business' biggest growth or profit opportunity lies?(Required)

No

Yes