Good morning friends… One of the ways we’ve been getting practical and helping folks grow their business revenue is through the internet. I’ve been relying on David Johnson of Epiphany Marketing for our internet marketing expertise for the last year and the difference has been quite substantial. Our site use to get a few hundred unique visits per week. Now we are in the five figure range each week, and we’re ramping up for quite a bit more in the near future. I’ve asked David to share a few posts with you to give you some practical help. Hope you enjoy!

How to Drive Off Your Customers

Too busy at work?  More than enough revenue?  Here are some ways you can keep those pesky customers and prospects away…

 

#1: Make Sure Your Marketing is All About You
After all… people who want to spend money with you want to understand how your products & services benefit them, so if you focus on you, your company’s history, your features, etc., you’ll be sure to keep people from bugging you.  Whatever you do, don’t use pictures of the people most likely to actually buy from you, and avoid connecting their needs and wants to aspects of your business most likely to appeal to them.  Instead, just subtly communicate the notion that you’re in business for your own benefit and that you really aren’t interested in customers.  They’ll smell this a mile away and bug someone else instead.

#2: Ignore the Web
If your website hasn’t changed since the Clinton Administration, you’re on the right track here.  Even better: no web presence at all!  If you must have a website, make sure it doesn’t show up in any search engines… and whatever you do: don’t add fresh new content on a regular basis!  You should convey to visitors that you might already be out of business just by the aged look of your site.  To support this notion, hire a neighbor’s kid to build it — especially if he/she has no design experience whatsoever.  Websites that have that “we don’t care” feel do wonders at keeping people away.  If you’re still having response from your site, just bury the information that your customers want to find and add some contact forms to your site that do nothing and go nowhere.  If you can get them to generate an error message, it’s even more fun!

#3:  Keep Your Marketing Efforts Unfocused
If people have a clear idea of who you are and what you’re all about, they’re much more likely to pester you.  So, make sure that there’s no unifying theme to your marketing.  Buy ads at random, and always let whoever who sold you the ad design it for you.  This way, all of your ads will come out looking different from each other.  Make sure that your marketing doesn’t target any one type of customer, and stick with the “shotgun” approach.  Otherwise, your marketing might actually connect with someone, and then they’ll show up or call, expecting service from you.

I hope these tips are helpful for you.  We’ll continue this on another blog entry soon.  And… Michael and I will be holding another marketing teleseminar next week!  If you’re already busy enough and don’t want any new customers, don’t join us!  It could be dangerous!!

Michael here… watch your inbox on Monday morning for dates/times for next week’s event!

Hello Friend,

I know that you, if you’re like the vast majority of my faithful readers, are involved in the marketplace and are interested in becoming the very best that you can be at what you do.  I am personally committed — even called — to help you succeed and to provide the very best equipping, training, motivation, and inspiration you need to help you do that.

I also recognize that that calling is much bigger than me.  And over the years God has allowed me to build up some strong relationships with other people who have similar callings but whose expertise and experience are in different areas than my own.

Here’s the Exciting Part…

I want you to know that I’ve been working with my team and we have made a renewed commitment to be the very best source of information, training, and access to resources for your business and your calling to the marketplace as a believer.  We’re going to be stepping things up and increasing the quality and scope of what we offer to you.

But… (and this is absolutely critical) we want you to be involved!  Over the next few weeks, you’re going to have the opportunity to help provide some direction about where things go.  I know that you want to take your business and your success to the next level, and I believe that together you, my team and I can create that result.  So… be on the lookout for this exciting opportunity and be thinking about what you would need to help get you there.  I am very excited about where all of this is going… and I want you to be involved!

Also… watch your inbox tomorrow for a special guest blog entry from someone who is with us on this journey.

Blessings,

Michael

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear not…” Exodus 14:13-14

In our last blog we began the discussion about fear. (My thanks to all of you for posting your faith-building remarks and stories!) Before God would deliver Israel from Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea, he instructed them to get out of fear. Fear not! That would seem like a tall order because if ever a people had justification to be afraid, it would be them. The night before, every Egyptian family lost their firstborn son. They had endured nine other plagues from the Hebrew God and now the perceived perpetrators, the Hebrews — who had been their slaves as long as anyone could remember (400 years) — had left town with their families and with a bunch of the Egyptian gold, silver and jewels. After a night of intense grief and reflection, they were more than ready to exact their revenge on these defenseless, huddled masses and get their stuff back too!

The Hebrews, well aware of their plight and backed up against the Red Sea with no way of escape could hear the mightiest army on earth racing toward them with swords drawn and blood lust in their eyes. Yet the first thing God told them was, “Fear not.” Before we go any further, let me ask you, what have you been afraid of? How does it stack up against what the Hebrews were afraid of? I’m just asking. This isn’t to say that you don’t have plenty of natural reason to experience fear. It’s to make the point that God delivered them from a very large fear without breaking a sweat and He will do no less for you.

But the first thing you must do is obey His command and, “Fear not!” You see, fear and faith are very similar. Fear believes a negative outcome is imminent while faith believes a positive outcome is in store. Faith comes by hearing the report from God. (Rom 10:17) Fear comes by hearing the report from the spirits of darkness. Faith hears (Gal 3:2, 5) and fear hears. It boils down to who, or what, are you going to tune into?

God is always transmitting His report, His perspective, His answers. But if we are in fear, it means we are tuned into the wrong station — hearing the wrong message from the wrong source — and we can’t hear Him. We must turn the dial over to the faith station, so to speak. We must tune into the report God is giving. If we are in fear, it is evidence that we are tuned into the wrong source and therefore will miss the instruction, the wisdom, the hope that He is transmitting on the faith station.

Think of it this way: suppose there is a category five hurricane bearing down on your town in which there are two radio stations. One is telling the people they are all doomed and the other is directing them to strong area shelters. One station produces fear while the other gives confidence or faith. The one you listen to determines your outcome. When we are in fear, it’s time to change the station. It’s time to change the input we are receiving. We need to adjust our receiver to the Word of God, both the written (logos) and the freshly spoken (rhema). We hold the tuner in our hands and God expects us to tune into His station so we can get the right information and experience the result He has in mind. So, how does one actually go about tuning in to the faith station? What does that look like to you? Please share your thoughts with the community.

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever. The LORD shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:13-14

This, of course, is from the most dramatic deliverance in human history, yet it applies to all of us in any situation in which we find ourselves needing God’s intervention. I want to draw your attention to a couple of things here. First of all, was the simple yet important statement God begins their deliverance with… “FEAR NOT!” To begin the process of deliverance, God instructs the Israelites to first of all quit being in fear.

One summer as a teenager on three different occasions I saved someone from drowning. One was a baby floating face down in a pool but no one noticed but me. The second was a child, but the third and most memorable was an adult who couldn’t swim. He had gotten into the deep end of the pool and when he realized he was over his head, fear took over and he began flailing and screaming for help, and he began to sink.

I swam quickly over to him and began to pull him over to the side of the pool, but something happened I was unprepared for… His abject, uncontrollable fear caused him to grab me and use my body to keep him afloat, nearly drowning me. With great difficulty, I was still able to keep his head above water and get him to the side, but it was his fear, not the water, that almost drowned him.

Fear can make you lose rational sense. It can also make you completely miss God’s voice, His leading and/or His deliverance. The first thing you must deal with when you need God’s deliverance is fear. Your fear. And according to God, it is within our ability to take responsibility for and to control our fear. We will deal with this subject in the coming days, but today I want to ask you to share with the group how you have overcome fear in the past. It might just be a lifesaver to another reader. Thank you.

“and the children of Israel went out with defiance.” Ex 14:8

Not that their defiance lasted very long. In a matter of hours when Pharaoh’s army came after them they were greatly afraid, cried out to God and blamed Moses. Their tough defiant talk — when challenged — turned to fear and tears. Israel had a lot to learn, but this was just the beginning.

It seems their defiance and determination lasted only as long as things were going their way. Their oppressors were freeing them and loading them down with silver and gold and precious stones. They probably felt a sense of entitlement that the Egyptians owed them this and in one sense they did. But when Pharaoh’s army approached, they lost their nerve. They doubted their decision. They regretted their choice. They looked for someone to blame.

How many times have you taken a stand, made a decision to get out of debt, start a new business, save up some money, lose weight etc., only to retreat from that position when challenged? If you are going to attempt something worthwhile, expect to be challenged. That comes with the territory. Quit doubting. Don’t look for someone or something (like a tough economy) to blame.

You have the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwelling in you! You can do this! There is a new breed of Christian arising and you can be numbered among them. They are intent on taking their Promised Land. They are ready to face down the giants and step into their destiny. Care to join them?

“And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were greatly afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? why have you dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell you in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” Ex 14:10-12

They had spent their entire life living under an oppressive regime, one that had ordered their midwives to kill all newborn males. For the next forty years, they complained and yearned for the good old days back in Egypt when they ate fish and leeks and other vegetables. They seemed to forget the fact that they were also slaves and were brutally treated.

It seems so strange to us that this oppressed people would prefer to go back to Egypt instead of seizing their new opportunities in the Promised Land. As a result of their unbelief, everyone over the age of twenty perished in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb. Only the young could go in to the new thing.

When I visited some former Soviet bloc countries a few years back, I marveled at the fact that just like the Israelites of old, so many of the older folks yearned for the good old days when communism was in force and everyone had a job working for the government (slavery) but they had enough food to live on. Now that they were transitioning to a free market economy they had to become productive to enjoy the benefits of freedom and they were unwilling to do so. Not true with the young people - while the older ones who yearn for communism wither and die in the land, the young people are rising up and entering their promised land.

Nowhere is this is more evident to me than in Ukraine with Pastor Sunday’s church. Young people are rising up to seize the new and are quickly prospering. 200 new millionaires in the last 18 months in that church alone! I met some of them and they have a heart for their nation and for impacting the world! Money is only a tool to that end. It is not the only tool, but it is a very helpful tool. If you haven’t heard Friday’s podcast on this topic, I urge you to check it out now and consider subscribing to it too. We will be sharing details on that program to help you do similar things.

Have a great week!

I am bursting with things to share with you over the next few weeks as I get more clarity on specifics but I want you to know that my meeting with Pastor Sunday Adelaja from the Ukraine went very well. This man is bent on transforming the culture and that is exactly what is happening. We can do the same thing here! One of the ways they are doing that is through their business club which is producing millionaires faster than Harvard, at a fraction of the investment! And these young millionaires are using their new wealth and influence to head up outreach ministries to the youth culture reaching tens, even hundreds of thousands of young people.

The other day we made available for free the hour-plus interview we did with Pastor Adelaja. There were no strings attached. It cost us thousands of dollars of resources to make that possible but we wanted to help a lot of folks. We heard from Europe to the Philippines and of course here in the USA how powerful this teleseminar was. Now we are offering it where you can choose the purchase price - even free if necessary. Click here for details.

I also want to give you a quick, last minute heads up to tune in via the internet to a live radio program I am doing in the Southwest Florida area. If you want to listen live, you can click here for live streaming. It requires Windows Media Player I believe. This is a secular radio station reaching a diverse audience. The topic will be the 7 Wealth Secrets of the Rainforest - How to Transform Scarcity into Abundance! My segment begins at 4:05 pm Eastern Time today, April 24^th (check that time in your time zone here).

Greetings my dear friends…

Today I want to make a special request of you. A man who many of us have been enriched by for decades, Zig Ziglar is going in for a procedure to remove water from his head that has been affecting balance and short term memory since his fall down a flight of stairs nearly a year ago.

His son Tom and I have been in communication about Zig’s procedure and I told him we would ask our subscribers to be praying for him today. You can read the details of what is going with Zig today and again on Friday here. My request is that you would join me in praying for him throughout the day.

Also, Pastor Sunday Adelaja will meeting with several members of the US Senate in Washington before he flies to Dallas for the Synergize conference, where we will be meeting with him. Please pray for him that God will put His words on Pastor Sunday’s lips and that the senators have ears to hear the sound God intends for them.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s teleseminar with Pastor Sunday. It will be life changing for many of you. We are offering one time only for free but I would ask that you kindly post your feedback on the blog so others will hear your perspective on the message.

Blessings,

Michael

Today’s message is a guest entry from David G. Johnson of Epiphany Marketing, LLC.

Folks, today I participated in one of the most amazing conversations of my entire life.

Michael asked me if I would jot you a quick note to tell you about it and also to invite you to hear the recording at no charge.

First of all, you’ll recall from Michael’s recent messages that Pastor Sunday Adelaja has established something called Club 1000 in Ukraine. Its stated purpose is to produce — from his congregation — 1000 millionaires within 10 years. They thought it would take from 2-5 years on average to turn someone into a millionaire.

Well… things didn’t go according to plan.

Pastor Sunday told us the story of a 21-year-old girl who, in just over a year, has gone from making a few hundred dollars per month to millionaire status! She’s now making over $50,000 per month, and what’s interesting is that she still only actually lives on $300 per month! In fact, she just bought her first car last week!

Friends, what Pastor Sunday is doing is pouring into these people in Club 1000. But he has also put some things in place that are mechanisms that actually produce accelerated results in the people that are participating. You need to hear what Pastor Sunday shared with us about what they are doing and what he and others are teaching his people.

Michael and I were so blown away by this conversation that we decided to make it available to you right away. You can hear the conversation on a teleseminar next Tuesday, April 22nd at 1PM US Eastern time. It is being presented by ChristianBusinessDaily.com and would normally only be available to members, but we’ve arranged for you to get a free pass to attend this event.

Sign up right away using this link to get your free pass.

You’ll want to try to make it to this event. There will not be anything for sale. Pastor Sunday isn’t promoting a product. (I can assure you that you’re going to want to read his book, Church Shift, but that won’t even be available for purchase. You might out to grab it from your local Christian bookstore or from Amazon.com as soon as you can).

However, this 1-hour event will afterward only be available to ChristianBusinessDaily.com Gold & Platinum Insider Members or by purchasing the recording. So… this is your one chance to hear it absolutely free if you’re not a member of that website.

Click here to get your free pass.

This is quite frankly a paradigm-shattering conversation that Michael and I both believe is very important for those in the Body of Christ who are interested in advancing the Kingdom of God. Please don’t miss it.

Blessings,

David G. Johnson

“For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17

I was greatly heartened by the overwhelming response from Tuesday’s blog. You all gave me great hope that perhaps there is a body of people who do want to impact the culture through the strategic takeover of cultural mind molders that shape the destiny of a generation. We have a growing community of brothers and sisters from Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Africa, Central & South America, etc who are using this site as a way of connecting, supporting and even challenging each other. The posts many of you contribute not only help each other but give life back to me and I am grateful that you take the time to stay in touch and share your perspective!

I spoke Tuesday night to a group of business-minded entrepreneurs in Greensboro, NC and it was terrific! What a great bunch of people! Special thanks to those who drove up from neighboring states to join us. It was wonderful to meet you!

Like many of you, there were several who were struggling to figure out how they could get out of the difficult financial straits they are in. The main emphasis of my talk Tuesday night was on perspective — how you see and interpret the circumstances you find yourself in and how you see yourself. If you see yourself as a grasshopper or a pauper, that is what you will be. That is, at least, how you will live.

We first have to get a firm grip on who we are and what we are which helps us discern a little more on “why” we are. We are children of the King, but that doesn’t mean we are supposed to be spoiled rich kids. Rather we are to be trained to rule and reign with Him. Do you have any concept of what that means? Our King owns everything and I believe He wants us to learn how to manage (steward) some of those things. It’s not that He needs help. It’s that we do! We need to grow up and mature.

Acquiring and managing resources involves risk and training and reward. In the process we grow up. And even better, we grow in our relationship with Him as He trains us to manage the planet and rule and reign in life. Business is a context for relationship. What a shame for those God prepared and gifted for sharing in the joy and privilege of managing the planet, who shun that responsibility because they want to do something they consider to be “spiritual.” Let me tell you, it takes a great deal of spiritual maturity to acquire and manage wealth without being mastered by it. Jesus said it would be difficult (Mat 19:23) I look forward to growing together with you all.