Rich Schefren

Rich Schefren is one of my business heroes, and in this 4-minute video, he reveals how your perceptions of your business may be damaging its chances of success.

Rich Schefren is one of my business heroes, and in this 11-minute video, he gives you his best four strategies for getting online customers quickly.

Rich Schefren is one of my business heroes, and in this 15-minute video, he explains what you can learn from and copy from Agora.

In case you don’t recognise the name, Agora is a hugely successful online publisher in the financial and lifestyle markets. It was founded by Bill Bonner and Rich has been an advisor for them for more than 10 years.

Rich Schefren is one of my business heroes, and in this 13-minute video, he gives you his thoughts on how to write a good sales letter.

Copywriting is a very big subject and there is a lot on this website about copywriting. See this video from Rich – who isn’t a copywriter but has worked with some of the very best – as a high-level introduction to the art or a reminder of the key issues.

Rich Schefren is one of my business heroes, and in this 10-minute video, he talks about how you can use the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to identify what’s holding you back from the success you want. The video is an extract from a much longer video.

I’m a big fan of the theory of constraints – and have been since I read the book called The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt in about 1990.

More than ten years ago, Rich produced an expensive information product based on the Theory of Constraints called the Guided Profit System. In particular, this focused on the TOC Thinking Processes.

Rich Schefren is one of my business heroes, and in this 20-minute video, he answers some questions on marketing, starting off with interruptions to grab attention.

I want to tell you about an idea I learnt from one of my mentors, Rich Schefren.

It’s called your Core Concept and it has the power to differentiate you in the minds of your potential customers and clients.

The Core Concept is the big idea which is used throughout your marketing and goes deep into your products and services. It’s an idea that gets your prospects excited because you’ve helped them understand their problems in a new way.

Instead of tackling the symptoms and effects of the problem or problems, you’ve helped them to see the cause of their difficulties in a way that makes sense to their minds and emotions.

My Core Concept is about how differentiating your business is the solution to many of the problems which business owners suffer from – low sales and profits, difficulty explaining what you do and a lack of purpose and vision. Quite simply it’s tough running a me-too business but it’s fun owning a business designed to provide great value to  a special group of customers.

I want to talk more about Rich Schefren‘s Core Concept and especially the one that made his name in his first classic report, the Internet Business Manifesto.

The big idea or Core Concept is…

“Opportunity Seekers struggle and fail while Strategic Entrepreneurs succeed massively”

Simple isn’t it?

But it’s also very profound.

There’s a huge problem in Internet marketing where punters buy “magic buttons” for get-rich-quick schemes from greedy gurus.

To be fair, that may not be what they are selling – there are some excellent training programs out there packed with great information if people do the work – but people want the silver bullet.

When they realise that the first opportunity is going to involve that terrible four-letter word… WORK… they decide it’s not for them. By then there’s another magic solution being promoted, and they jump on that.

And keep repeating the cycle because they want big money with little time and effort.

If only life was that simple.

Sure you can learn from the experts but you still have to make stuff happen yourself.

Anyway the Internet Business Manifesto was a big wake-up call to Internet marketers in this opportunity seeking mindset.

It highlights the craziness of what they are up to and it promotes the Business Growth System from Rich Schefren.

Rich Schefren goes into the Core Concept in one of his reports from the Founders Club – “The Single Element Critical To Your Marketing Success: How To Leverage A Core Concept To Go From Mediocrity To Millions.”

In this special report, he goes into detail of how the Core Concept works focusing on the Internet Business Manifesto.

The Core Concept doesn’t just apply to reports.

You can see the same ideas incorporated in the webinar used to promote the Business Growth System. Learning the idea is useful but the big bucks come from taking the idea and applying it in your business.

Do it right and you’ll blaze away from your competitors. No longer are you a provider of general services with many alternatives. Instead, you are positioned as the person who has redefined their issues uniquely and as such, you have the only solution.

I’m still working on my Core Concept and how I can frame it in a way that shows many of the fundamental business issues come back to the issue of business design and creating a unique, differentiated solution.

You can see the tie up and why I am so excited by the Core Concept idea.

If you are going to write an information report and you want it to create demand for your product or service – or if you’re going to create a video presentation – the time you spend understanding the Core Concept and developing your own will make a big difference to your success.

Many people have information reports – but it’s rare that any focus on such strong ideas that they create million-dollar selling products. That’s what Rich Schefren has done time after time.

You don’t have to be an Internet marketer to benefit. It will work just as well for professional services where you still need to demonstrate that you have a unique perspective.

It’s what will differentiate your business and attract clients.

Many businesses have famous stories of how they began on their way to creating something significant – it’s called an origin story.

Think of one of the hottest brands in the world, Apple and you’ve probably heard a story of how Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the first personal computers in their parent’s garage.

Or what about Fedex?

That started as a school project to create a business plan – and founder Fred Smith reputedly even got a low grade for his efforts. That teacher must feel as foolish as the A&R men who rejected The Beatles.

We like to hear and read stories. It’s why we read novels, watch films and follow the soaps on TV.

And to understand the “now”, we like to know the past and that’s why origin stories are gripping.

The Core Myth

Internet guru Rich Schefren has extended the origin story into a concept he calls “The Core Myth” (not to be confused with the Core Concept for positioning products.)

I call it differentiation by who and why.

Basically your Core Myth is your business story – from the beginning all the way through to the present day. It gives your stakeholders – and especially your customers and employees – a stronger more powerful reason to believe in and commit to your business.

Your Core Myth is inspiring because it covers your big reason for existence – your differentiation by why.

And it’s not just about making you rich.

Neither your customers nor employees care about putting an extra nought or two on your bank balance. Or about you having a fancy car and living in a posh house.

They want to believe that you have a bigger cause which inspires you. Which gives you passion to do what you do.

Your Core Myth goes further than that.

It tells about the struggles you had to achieve what you’ve done.

How you’ve overcome obstacles – sometimes things that would have stopped a lesser man or woman in their tracks.

The Core Myth creates an emotional bond between you and your customers, prospective customers and employees.

It tells the story of who you really are.

It builds understanding and empathy.

And admiration for your achievements.

Most importantly it makes you stand out.

Different from your competitors who either don’t have a Core Myth or haven’t shared it.

It tells of your values.

What’s important to you and what people can rely on from your business.

Learning More About The Core Myth

Rich Schefren goes into great detail on the Core Myth in one of the reports available from the Founders Club. It’s 96 pages long and billed as…

“The Single Story That Sets Your Business Apart: How to leverage a core myth to rally your team, attract and retain more customers, build a powerful brand and grow free”.

It does take some reading because Rich goes into so much detail on how to build your Core Myth and how to tell the story.

My Overall Thoughts On The Core Myth

The Core Myth is a concept I like very much.

Done well, it will differentiate your business along the who and why dimensions.

We may differ on how long it should be.

The impression I get from Rich is that your Core Myth is long and detailed.

That may be where you start but I think you should have different versions of your story.

The same fundamental truths but in different lengths as you vary the level of detail and descriptive passages. I have to admit to being one of those readers who skip over the boring stuff to get to the action when I read novels and even giving up part way through if I don’t get gripped.

I’ve also read enough business books that were 200 plus pages long with a powerful concept that would have made a great 15 page white paper.

People are different and the more you cater for their preferences the better.

The Core Myth is a very interesting way of communicating your business in a way that it’s seen as different – dramatic, exciting and with a compelling purpose.

It builds on the idea that your business can be different and special because you are unique. No one else has the exact same experiences, values and motivations as you do.

My Core Myth goes back to my times as a trainee accountant when I saw nice people with their own businesses earning much less profit than you’d expect. You see much of what you see if is a front – an illusion – created to impress. But doing their accounts meant that the business owners couldn’t hide the reality from me.

I also saw nice people with great little businesses which were making excellent profits.

I became fascinated by what made the difference.

Often it wasn’t down to hard work.

Most small business owners work incredibly long, hard hours that would make unionised employees walk out on strike… and especially when the rate of pay is so low.

My purpose is to make a difference for the nice people who own businesses. Not the ones who are out to scam or con naive customers but those who take pride in what they do and want to do right by their customers.

The full title of this report turned into a book by Rich Schefren is

Internet Business Manifesto: A Big Business Was Just A Small Business That Did The Right Things. A Wealthy Business Owner Was An Opportunity Seeker Who Became An Entrepreneur

In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of 3 Stars. I need to explain.

Here is my review.

How much? That’s ridiculous

It was hard rating this legendary report on Internet marketing at the 3 stars level but let me explain my rating.

1 Star for anyone trying to charge £396 for a printed version of this promotional report. It was available online for free for 10 or more years as a PDF. It’s not worth it at these prices.

5 Stars for the original impact the report had on Internet marketers in general and on me in particular.

Back in the mid 2000s, Internet marketing was often promoted as an easy way to make big money. Thinking back, this was strange when there seemed to be new, essential to know techniques coming out every few weeks. [continue reading…]