About the Book

Not to be confused with Weber’s, the BBQ manufacturer, Webers which is on Highway 11 on the way into the popular area of Ontario’s cottage country known as The Muskokas, is not much more than a hamburger stand.

While it may be small, on weekends in the summer, it is not unusual for this tiny little take-out-only charbroiled burger restaurant to have 100 or more people lined up out the door and well down its long parking lot!

Do they sell fancy burgers? I think not, but let’s see what you think.

You can only order ketchup, mustard, relish, pickle, tomato slices and cheese slices on a white bread bun. Never mind chipotle, sautéed onions or guacamole; Webers don’t even offer whole wheat buns (at least, not the last time I was there, decades after they started).

If I remember correctly, they also don’t have offer lettuce as a topping or an ever-popular choice, bacon burgers. 

If you think I am trying to disparage Webers, you are wrong. I recognize a true success story when I see one.

So, let me show you how Webers proved you did not have to have a fancy product to become the marketing success story described on their website as an “Ontario landmark!”

It began in 1963 in a small building with glass on three sides and no seats. This family-run burger stand still has no inside seating, so they never tore down the original building when it became a landmark. Smart!

The feelings you will get today when you go there are the same as when you first went because they remained the same.

Though I had passed by as a kid with my parents, I first became aware of Webers in my early twenties, often stopping there on my travels north.

On my canoe trips and visits to friends’ cottages, I always noticed the line-up if I didn’t stop!

I’ve watched the popularity of this place grow over the years and often wondered with my sales and marketing brain why fancy burger places in and amongst the Skyscrapers in downtown Toronto never reached the same popularity as Webers.

The answer? Is it simplicity?

Was the key the acquisition of three CN rail cars in 1987 that were converted into an in-house “meat packing facility” and doubled as something kids climb on or parents used as a backdrop for photo ops? I didn’t hurt, but Webers was already wildly popular by then.

So, what is the answer? Location is one thing, but they have many roadside competitors, including the normal franchise locations, like Tim Hortons and Harveys.

I believe that familiarity and getting the same burger every time are a part of why. But putting your finger on exactly why is not easy. 

The one thing that is not tough to understand is the product is not fancy. And they still have people lined up out the door to the parking lot on any given summer weekend, proving that offering the best product is not the key to success!

Highway 69 and 35, the other two arteries into Muskoka’s cottage country, have nothing with the same popularity as Webers. 

Is it speed? They are not as fast as Mcdonald’s, and partly because of the line-up. It’s not fancy. And there are many competitors on the same road.

It is, however, familiar.

Whatever you think the keys are to Webers insane success, I can assure you that it is not excellent service or great food. And that means you can focus on improved marketing rather than seeking better quality.

Yes, poor service and poor quality will kill business. But decent quality and service will grow an impressive company or sales.

What is the key to matching Webers success in your business (without opening a burger stand)? One phrase; excellent marketing.

Advertising doesn’t work!?!

If you talk to other entrepreneurs, and you should, it won’t be long until you meet one convinced that their view on marketing is immutable. Invariably they will say with conviction, “That doesn’t work!“

The question is, how do entrepreneurs think there is no way that marketing or at least advertising works for them or their industry? Sadly, the hard way!

They tried and failed, usually repeatedly. And that means they lost money on what master marketers call “trial and error.”

Now, when they spoke the words “that doesn’t work,” if they were chatting with a great marketing guru, like Smiling Steve, and he acted rudely, which is out of character, he could reply, “Well, not the way you’ve done it!“

Of course, he wouldn’t say that because it is unkind, but you get the point. What, then, can an entrepreneur do with an expectation that they will build their business consistently, even when in an economic recession?

Great question. Ready for the answer?

If you run ads and expect to recoup your outlay by getting new clients, customers, patients, fans or followers to pay for them in what we call the front end, you most likely will lose money on your ad campaign unless your offer is ‘high ticket‘ or a higher selling price.

This is why some entrepreneurs transition into high-ticket training or other services and products so that their ads don’t lose money. If only they knew a little bit about marketing!

Their belief in “that doesn’t work” is correct, and all we could say in reply is, “not the way you do it!“

However, there is another way, which is known to master marketers as the back-end.

What is marketing?

Marketing includes advertising, but if ads are to be effective, you must know other ways to profit than just the front end. In plain English, if all you do is advertise without understanding marketing techniques, you will probably lose money.

What kills advertising as an option for many entrepreneurs is the “lead time” between speaking to a prospect and making a sale. The return is known, and ads continue while the entrepreneur only knows the number of leads generated.

Believing an ad campaign will become profitable is crazy when marketing results are predictable when done right.

A long lead time with a limited advertising budget is asking for problems, and like every failed marketing model, it exposes a common flaw; acting on faith without knowing where the real money is made!

Acquiring a customer without making a profit is okay only if you know how money is made from the list, which is called back-end marketing.

The eBook spells this out. In addition, you also receive many ongoing case studies of the people Smiling Steve consults with for years after you download the book. And within those case studies are gems that will make you money too.

An introduction to great marketing

The question most entrepreneurs never ask themselves is, “Who else sells to our customers?” However, we cannot blame them for not realizing this question is critical to their marketing. 

For example, if you build lists of other entrepreneurs, would anyone like to save money on their marketing by gaining limited access to your customers? I know I would, and that works in several ways.

If someone came to me and said you could have three times as many prospective clients for the same money you spend on marketing right now, I would be all ears.

“How can you offer me that exactly?”

There are many ways to do this, but let’s give you one example of how it works and how it doesn’t.

How not to advertise

Assume you can handle the deliverables of setting up five new clients a month, with the cost to acquire a new client being $1000 each. If you make a net profit of $500 a month after the initial set-up period but lose $200 in the first month and only make $200 in the 2nd month, how far would you get with $6,000?

After one month, you would have acquired five new clients for $5000 and lost $1000 in setting up those new clients, a typical business scenario. After month two, you only earned $1000 and did yet have enough to add another new client ($1200 total).

You can’t advertise in month two unless you invest more in this campaign!

After three months, you will have made $1000 in month two and $2500 in month three, a total of $3500. Unless you invest more in this campaign, you only have enough to add two new clients (three would be $3600). Slow going!

So, you add two and are left with ($3600-$2400) $1200 from your initial $6000. Month four adds $2500 or a total of $3700, enough to add 3 more clients, which leaves $100. In month 5, you now have $3000 more or $3100 and can add two more clients. And so it goes, slowly.

Without going into more detail, and if none of those new customers quits you, it will talk forever to double your existing business!

Now you know why you will hear other entrepreneurs say:

“That doesn’t work!”

Learn a new marketing concept.

In the scenario above, you fielded twenty-five inbound sales calls to get a new client, and you thought the prospects who didn’t buy were worthless. Is that correct? 

No!

Five new clients in month one generated 125 prospects total, of which five bought, which left 120 unconverted prospects. Are they valuable? Yes, they are.

If an outlay of $5000 were needed to generate 125 prospects, each prospect would cost $40. Is that how much your competition paid too?

Is this an underutilized asset? Hmm ..

Let’s assume those 120 prospects wanted what you offered but did not want it for your requested price. Do you know a competitor offering a similar service or product at a discounted price? 

Supposing there is someone who does not offer the same level or quality of service but sells at half your price. Would some of the 240 buy the service they wanted if they could get it for 50% of what you asked? Sure.

They would consider it a bargain even though the value was different.

There are many examples of this. For instance:

If you offer a virtual trainer service and after you pay your trainers, you earn a net profit of $50 a month from each new client, and your goal is to amass 2,000 clients, but your ad budget only allows for you to add a few new clients every month, you will never earn the big bucks, will you?

However, if the discounted virtual trainer who competes with you gets ten new clients from the 120 prospects who did not buy your higher-value service and pays you a third of your budget, your competitor would save two-thirds of their advertising outlay. They are happy, and your ad budget is now one-third larger!

Can we repeat this? Yes. And, at that rate, three businesses that buy your unconverted leads from you pay for your entire ad campaign. You can now advertise for free!

That is just one concept you will learn from reading this book.

The examples you read are oversimplified (to keep this web page shorter), but the concepts are the same. Even more importantly, a ten-year-old could comprehend the book, so it does not teach anything highly technical or complex. 

One day you will be able to say this to other entrepreneurs:

You don’t understand marketing, but I do!

For your own sake, read the book. Then the free follow-up emails containing case studies will open your eyes to real-world stuff like the Free Lotto Club.

You will also receive a free membership to Allied Entrepreneurs with the eBook. This means you will not only learn how simple marketing can be but will also have access to other entrepreneurs who need your unconverted leads!

Then you will finally be in control of your marketing, which means you can scale your business predictably without risk!

Get the book below, and do not worry; we do not sell or share personal information. 

You will receive follow-up emails with marketing case studies. And, if you get tired of reading about success, you can opt out of these emails at any time.