Dan Lok

Managing Remote Employees: Challenges, Tools and Best Practices For Productivity

June 12, 2020 by Dan Lok Leave a Comment

Are you facing challenges with managing remote employees?

Whether you’ve had a remote workforce for years or you had to adjust to COVID-19 lockdowns – managing remote employees comes with challenges.

If you were forced to switch your company structure fast and have people work from home, you are facing unforeseen challenges. But, a remote team also comes with great possibilities and potential.

Experts argue that remote work is an inevitable future. As more and more businesses go online, remote jobs become more attainable.

From 2003 to 2018, remote work has grown by 140% – nearly 10x faster than the rest of the workforce. And this is before current trends are taken into consideration. After the lockdowns, even more people will keep working remotely.

Since the demand for remote employees is already on the rise, why not look into the possibilities right away? Boarding the trend early gives you an edge.

What’s more, a remote team is pandemic-proof. Dan Lok runs his business almost exclusively online. Because of that, his business was able to run smoothly when the states initiated lockdowns.

While other businesses were struggling, Dan Lok’s team was able to go on. Learn from his example and start managing remote employees today, to ensure safety in case something like this should ever happen again.

Find our top tips on managing remote employees below.

Common Challenges Of Managing Remote Employees

Two most common challenges for managing remote workers are communication and false expectations.

Communication with remote workers is a balancing act. You want them to be able to communicate with you and the team, despite the absence of physical proximity.

In an office, it’s easy to bump into each other or have a watercooler chat moment. Remote workers, however, are on their own. So, feeling connected to the whole team can be a challenge.

At the same time, you also don’t want to overburden them with emails and daily huddles. Too much emphasis on communication can actually lower the productivity of your remote employees. Emails easily take precedence over tasks, and video chats break the workflow.

That’s the difficulty of balancing communication while managing a remote team: you don’t want them to feel closed off, but you also don’t want to endanger their productivity.

Wrong Expectations Towards Remote Employees

The second challenge you might face are misplaced expectations. Expecting too much or the wrong thing can lower the productivity of your employees.

For one part, you don’t want to expect your remote team to work the same way a physical team would. Don’t expect them to strictly work from 9 to 5.

Remote work is so great because it lets your employees work at their desired time. If they know they are most productive at night, let them work at night. As long as they meet due dates and criteria you agreed on, there is no problem with that.

The second challenging expectation many remote workers face is maintaining availability. Flexible hours are easy to mistake for constant availability. But remote employees need rest, just like the regular staff.

Stay away from micromanaging your remote teams. Micromanaging makes employees feel watched, and can lower their productivity.

This is especially true for employees required to log into systems that track their work time. Time spent working is not the best indicator of productivity.

If you can, stay away from tracking time at all. Trust your team that they put in the necessary work. Instead, create KPIs which allow you to track their performance. KPIs can be independent of the time they put in.

In fact, most remote employees are trustworthy and work an average of four hours more per week when compared to the regular workforce.

Key Performance Indicators

Key performance indicators (KPIs) allow you and your employees to track success. The KPIs are either set by you or by the team together. Either way, they make sure everybody knows what they have to do.

KPIs should be measurable and enable your employees to see if they are on track with their work. It makes the work performance of your employees more trackable.

If a person repeatedly can’t fulfill their KPIs, it might be worth talking with them. If a person often succeeds in terms of KPIs, think about promoting them.

Hiring Process And Payment Procedures

You can avoid potential challenges if you have an effective hiring process in place. When you hire employees, it’s a good idea to check if they qualify for remote work.

This aptitude depends on their natural talents and strengths. Great remote workers are usually a bit more introverted. They are also detail-oriented and able to take action independently.

Of course, extroverts can work remotely too, but you need to ensure their social wellbeing. If they need people around them to be happy, remote work might leave them unsatisfied.

So, when you are hiring, make sure to consider these factors. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to hire for a part-time position first, and put employees on a testing phase. That way you both can test if your work relationship is fruitful.

Another factor that can remove many challenges early is pay. Many business owners would think that remote employees are cheaper, and they are usually right.

What you want to do, however, is pay them more than the industry standard. If you do that, they will be more productive because their motivation and satisfaction increase. Happy employees work harder.

Distractions At Home

One final obstacle when it comes to managing remote employees can be a distracting environment. This is especially important to think about if this person is working from home for the first time.

Your employees should have a designated office space. That way they keep their productivity up while working from home. This space should be free of distractions (for example no TV in the room).

If they have other people in their household, that should also be considered. Do their housemates understand that work from home is still work? Do they tend to interrupt your employee?

Ask about their environment early on and see if you avoid similar obstacles.

Some employees might enjoy working from a coffee shop or outside. That is okay, but they should have a place to work without distractions.

Communication Tools

Now that you are aware of some of the most common obstacles for managing remote employees, let’s consider communication tools. These include apps and management systems that allow you to manage remote teams more efficiently.

Communication tools help with streamlining communication or optimizing workflows. Here are some you should know.

For video communication, the most popular tools are Zoom or Skype. Skype is completely free. If you have some budget to invest you might prefer Zoom, as it’s a more complete solution for businesses.

Zoom allows you to record meetings, share your screen, and much more. It’s the perfect tool to bring some face-to-face communication into your team.

For text messages, Slack is extremely popular with businesses. Slack allows you to create a channel for your company, as well as several sub-channels.

If your team is large, you can create these sub-channels for each subteam. Avoid the whole team getting spammed with unnecessary messages.

Text messages are usually faster than email; email communication alone might slow the whole workflow down.

Project Management Tools

While most business owners are aware of communication tools, project management software and extras often get overlooked.

Without the tools that support the workflow, the productivity decreases. People don’t know what they are supposed to do, or where the project stands.

Let’s assume, for example, you’d run a video and filmmaking business. You need people who specialize in film, graphic design, copywriting, and much more.

If there is no workflow or process in place, the editor doesn’t know when to edit the next video; the person who films might have no idea where to upload the video and what should happen next.

Tools like Asana, Basecamp, ClickUp, or Float help you maintain a clear and streamlined process. Everything is happening in one place and your employees know where to check for their next tasks.

One simple tool like that can have an immense impact on the productivity of your workforce.

Tools For Collaboration

Finally, you want to make sure that the tools you use allow your employees to collaborate. Creating team collaboration can be challenging when managing remote employees. They might all end up working independently of one another.

But, when employees cooperate, it can lead to new creative ideas. For a remote team, tools like google documents that allow several people to work on one document or sheet can be helpful.

Whatever you choose, make sure it’s a tool that allows live editing, so that actual teamwork can take place.

Best Practices

Now you’ve gained insight into common challenges and useful tools for managing remote employees. But what are some of the best practices that you and your remote team can learn from?

Follow these practices to naturally avoid challenges and setbacks, while also ensuring the productive wellbeing of your employees.

Unhappy remote teams burn out fast, work unproductively, and cost money. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a look at systems and ideas proven to work.

Business Culture And Vision

The root of a successful remote team is your business culture. Every company or business has a certain culture. But culture doesn’t happen by accident: it is shaped by you, as the leader, and each team member.

To manage remote employees successfully, you want a culture of ownership and accountability. If every team member is aware of their responsibility and holds themselves accountable, there is no need for you to micromanage.

This is what creates trust. When the management is too controlling, employees feel discouraged and less creative.

Successful businesses treat their employees with trust and care, and not like a commodity.

As we mentioned before, give your remote workers the chance to work on their terms. Don’t enforce a certain time frame when they can’t be productive during those times.

Great business culture is clear and based on integrity. The leader holds others accountable but is also accountable themselves. Share on X

Creating a positive and nourishing culture with remote workers is usually easy. That’s because remote teams are often happier, more satisfied, and tend to love what they do.

What’s more, you also want to communicate your business vision clearly. Your employees should know why they are doing what they are asked to do. Best case scenario – their personal goals are aligned with your overall goal for the company.

Recurring And Structured Meetings

We already touched on the challenges of remote communication. A great way to streamline communication is to have recurring video meetings.

Some businesses choose to meet weekly or bi-weekly; some even choose daily meetings. If you decide to have daily meetings, however, keep them short to protect your employees’ time.

Weekly or bi-weekly meetings usually work best. Some companies also go for monthly calls, but that period might be too extended and negatively affect productivity.

You also want your video meetings to follow a structure. Chaotic meetings lower productivity. If you can’t come up with a structure yourself, use proven formulas: Level 10 meeting, for example.

Besides team meeting, it’s a good idea to have quarterly one-on-one meetings. These meetings are great as they deepen communication with each employee and allow you and to review if they are performing well.

Are they meeting your expectations as well as their own goals? If any issues occur, these can also be discussed in the quarterly meetings.

Communication Timeframes

We said it makes sense to let your employees design their own work schedule. What you want to have, however, are certain touchpoints that everyone has to meet.

For example, everyone has to attend a weekly meeting. Or, everyone is required to respond to text messages within 24 hours.

Communicate what makes sense for you and your business to your remote employees, and make your expectations clear.

It’s also a good idea to instruct them on which communication channel to use for what. In what cases do you expect them to use text messages? For what instances should they use email? Are they allowed to send you a private message?

There are no formal rules; just make sure to tell your employees upfront about how you want things to run.

Goals And Career Chances

It’s a common trap to treat remote workers like freelancers. If they are part of your team, treat them like employees. Give them chances to further their careers and pursue their personal goals.

Don’t make them feel like they are stuck with their position forever. Have one-on-one calls every year or half a year and discuss how they are doing. What are their goals for their next year and how can the team help.

Treat your employees with respect and make them happy. That way you have a loyal team. Loyal employees are invaluable because fluctuations in your team cost you a lot of money.

You lose time and money when you have to hire new employees and train them. You still want to hire new people when needed; new employees also bring in fresh ideas. But, avoid a culture that pushes people to leave frequently.

Teambuilding

Creating a strong team is especially hard for businesses that run remotely. As we mentioned before, in a physical office space, people naturally bump into each other and communicate.

That’s why some workplaces like to offer their remote employees an open chat. In that chat, they can talk about anything they want, aside from work. It’s a great way to replace the usual small talk which would take place in an office.

If you plan to have a remote team long-term, consider yearly team meetings. Just two or three days together a year can be beneficial for the whole team.

Align Your Workflow With The Dragon 100 Habits Checklist

Now, there is a lot to keep in mind when it comes to managing remote employees. But what if we told you there is a way to make managing your team clearer and more transparent?

Through his advisory board Dragon 100, Dan Lok is coaching other business owners on how to scale up. Even if you aren’t a part of Dragon 100, you can access the Dragon 100 Habits Checklist.

The checklist allows you to have clarity from all employees. Align your team from senior executives to junior members. Get Access To Your Guide Today.

Strategic Scaling and High-Stakes Acquisitions: How To Make The Best Decisions In Competitive Transactions

June 11, 2020 by Dan Lok

If you’ve been in business for some time, you most likely know about strategic scaling. By way of deals and acquisitions, it allows you to add valuable businesses to your portfolio. This is a very effective business strategy, and one of the best ways to generate wealth.

Most people have a firm perspective on business. They think it’s about dressing up in suits, holding meetings in cushy conference rooms, or shaking hands after months of harsh negotiations. All of this is true. However, most people do not realize that not all business is done this way.

In reality, only a few people in the business world know what it’s really like. Most have never found themselves analyzed from head to toe by another business person, or at a meeting aimed at exploiting their weaknesses. The old saying “business is war” is very true in these scenarios. If you’re looking to use strategic scaling to acquire businesses, you better get used to it.

Not all business deals are smooth. Many business people understand that sometimes they have to be mean. If you’re looking to get the best deal possible, there are many factors that come into play. These include intimidation, leverage, debating, and psychological warfare – all of which are not for the faint of heart. If you’re looking to build an empire, you’ll need to know how to use every tool at your disposal.

Here’s an in-depth look at strategic scaling, and what occurs behind the scenes during high stakes acquisitions.

Creating A Business vs. Buying A Business

Most young entrepreneurs dream of starting their own business and imagine themselves as a one-man team. Over time, that one man team grows into a 10-men organization and, eventually, into a worldwide corporation.

Many people believe starting a business is the key to becoming rich. But not many people realize there is another way to create wealth: one without the negatives that come with starting a business. These negatives include factors such as a high failure rate, low starting capital, and time constraints.

Many experienced business people prefer to buy pre-established businesses. In fact, this is the primary goal behind DanLokAcquisitions.com. It’s one of the many organizations in the Dan Lok brand that focuses solely on acquiring existing businesses.

Acquisitions is one principle behind strategic scaling. It shelters you from the risks of building a business from scratch. By buying businesses already proven to succeed, you can generate wealth much faster.

Let’s say you notice tons of customers every time you pass by your local bubble tea shop. Over the last 3 years, the business has only gotten better.

A passionate entrepreneur would see this and think of opening their own bubble tea shop. They realize there is a high demand for bubble tea and aim to compete with their local bubble tea shop for market share.

A smart entrepreneur, however, would not go through that hassle. They would simply buy over the shop.

The Shortcut To Wealth Few People Know About

Buying a business is much more efficient than starting one. A well-established bubble tea shop already has a customer base and a team of well-trained employees. Their bubble tea drinks have already been proven to be popular with the market, and there is solid evidence of positive cash flow every single month.

This is why acquiring already established businesses is the core foundation of strategic scaling. Buying a business means acquiring a source of cash flow. You are using money to take over an asset that will continually generate more money for you; the more businesses you acquire, the higher the cash flow.

If you had heard the phrase “the rich get richer”, you now understand why. Rich people use their assets to create more wealth. They also understand that time is the most valuable asset, and know it is more efficient to buy a business rather than to spend years building one.

Take, for example, billionaire Richard Branson. He owns over 400 companies and is valued at over $4.84 billion. Despite the massive net worth, he still acquires businesses to this day.

How To Buy Businesses With No Money Down

Here’s a question: what do most people do when they cannot afford something? They make excuses and complain that they “can’t afford it”. They have a poor mindset that prevents them from seeing other ways. Instead of finding those ways, they allow money to hinder their goals and dreams.

You don’t have to be rich in order to generate wealth. In fact, it’s possible to buy a business with no money down. This is possible by using a debt-driven model. Instead of buying a business with cash, you do so through debt.

For example, let’s say you know the CEO of a company. He is 80 years old, has no children, and is interested in selling his business. He wants $300,000 for the business. The business generates $50,000 a year.

One way to acquire this business is to use $300,000 of your own money. Another method is through debt. It is likely you will not have enough cash, and this is where your ability to make deals comes into play. Here’s one way you can do so:

Talk with the business owner and come to an agreement
Get the business owner to show you their accounting books – this includes assets, expenses, accounts receivable etc.
Bring this information to a bank
The bank will look at the paperwork and tell you how much money they can loan you
Go back to the business owner and work out a deal

How To Use Your Brain To Make Money

Now let’s assume the bank is willing to loan you $200,000, and you need to come up with another $100,000 to make the deal happen. There are many ways to do this. One way is to use what is called a leveraged buyout.

Speak with the business owner and draw up a contract. The contract states that they will transfer ownership of the business to you. In exchange, you will use the profits from the business to pay them back. This payment can be made over 1, 5 or even 10 years.

If the business owner agrees to these terms, then congratulations. You have acquired a business using no money down. Instead, you leveraged the bank’s money and the profits from the business. You acquired a business that generates $50,000 for $0. Most importantly, you used none of your own money to make this happen.

In this example, you leveraged the assets and cash flow of the business to buy out the business. Other methods of acquiring a business with no money down are notes of interest, percentage of revenue, and using equity from other assets that you own. There are many ways to make deals happen. Use your creativity to come up with solutions that work for you.

A Poor Mindset vs. A Rich Mindset

Having a poor mindset is dangerous. People with a poor mindset would read this article, say “$300,000 for a business?! I can’t afford that!” and leave it there. They would not think of other possible ways to seal the deal.

Rich people understand that it is not about having money, but about being resourceful. Some of the most successful people today started with no money in their pocket, yet they managed to become multi-millionaires and billionaires. This is because they are resourceful. They used their brains to put assets together and make things happen.

Having a lot of money does not make you rich. Having the skills to create a lot of money is what makes you rich. This is because you can lose your wealth, but not your skills. As long as you know how to make more money, you will never be poor.

Therefore, if you want to use strategic scaling in your business, you need to know how to put together deals. You need to train your resourcefulness skill to create opportunities.

The Art of Closing, Negotiation And Deal Making

What is the most important trait when it comes to strategic scaling? It’s not who you know, and it’s not how much money you have. Strategic scaling is about how well you can close, negotiate, and create deals.

In theory, strategic scaling using a debt-driven model looks easy. In practice, it is very difficult. This is because human beings are complex creatures. In order to make deals happen, you need to know how to communicate with business owners.

For example, let’s say you are negotiating with a business owner and the price they had set is too high for your liking. What can you do to convince them to lower their price? How can you use leverage to shift the deal in your favor? If you are a High Ticket Closer, you may have some ideas.

You always want the best business deal for yourself. Strategic scaling is about effectively scaling your business and net worth. This involves using influence to ensure business terms are to your advantage. The most efficient way to ensure this is to use leverage.

People with leverage have dominance over people with less leverage. In other words, just as humans gained advantages over animals by creating leveraged tools, similarly, humans who use these tools of leverage have more power over humans… Share on X

How To Use Leverage To Create Favorable Terms of Agreement

Leverage is about taking advantage of opportunities to create favorable conditions for yourself. Here’s an example of how to use leverage.

Let’s say you approach a business owner and ask if they are selling. You spend the next few weeks negotiating and talking about the deal. At the end of the month, both of you are unsatisfied with the terms. The business owner wants $100,000 for their business. However, you aren’t willing to go above $60,000.

How would you use leverage in this example? How could you shift the deal in your favor? The key is to observe the situation from every perspective. Having awareness of your environment is one of the most important factors when it comes to winning a war. This also holds true in business.

One of the biggest reasons business owner’s sell out is because they are tired. They have been running their business for years, and cannot do it for much longer. Unless they sell the business, they are stuck with it.

In most cases, there are not a lot of buyers on the market. Business owners do not publicize their willingness to sell; they don’t run ads or do marketing. This gives you the chance to present yourself as the only serious investor, and assert your terms. Are they willing to say no, and risk losing their one and only potential buyer?

A Strategic Scaling ‘Hack’ To Making Deals Happen Smoothly

One way to use leverage in business is by using time and appealing to logic. But, if you’re looking to use strategic scaling in your business, you’ll want to appeal to emotions.

A business owner choosing to sell their business tells you a few things. Firstly, their children are not interested in taking over, for whatever reason: they may be spoiled, may not have the acumen to run the business, or simply want to pursue another path. Whatever the reason may be, these are all things you can use as leverage.

However, going up to a business owner and being direct is not going to work. If you say “you should sell your business to me because I know your kids are deadbeats who don’t know how to run a company,” you are going to meet heavy resistance. Instead, put yourself in their shoes.

You’re a business owner close to retirement. Your kids don’t want to take over the business that took years, energy, and money to build. You want to pass down your legacy, but your children do not want anything to do with it.

Suddenly a young, passionate entrepreneur comes up to you and says that they are interested in taking over your business. They want to take on your legacy, embrace what you’ve built and improved upon it. How would you feel in that moment? You would most likely be touched.

This is one method to appeal to a business owner’s emotions: show them that you are a younger version of themselves. Show them that you are similar. Appeal to their emotions, and they will be much more open to your advances.

Change how your prospect perceives you, and it will make all the difference. Share on X

Why Smaller Fish Win In The World of Acquisitions

When it comes to strategic scaling, smaller is better. The smaller your team is, the fitter you are for acquisitions. This is because larger corporations have a bad reputation.

A lot of big companies are public companies, which means that shareholders influence their decisions. As a result, big companies only have one goal in mind: to maximize revenue at any cost.

Some corporations buy smaller companies and end up destroying them. They don’t care who built the business, about the employees or about nostalgia. Their only goal is to generate more money. As a result, many businesses they buy over lose their identity.

Employees get laid off and replaced. They cut costs and lower the quality of the products or services. The name of the business gets changed and absorbed by the brand.

The business owner spends decades building their legacy. But in less than a week, everything gets destroyed. One reason why many business owners do not like to sell out to big corporations is because of these reasons. They know what would happen if they did, and they do not like it.

Compare that to a smaller organization that isn’t interested in maximizing revenue. Someone willing to take over what exists and build on it isn’t going to turn a legacy into another cash cow. They’re going to treat it with respect.

If you were a business owner, who are you more likely to sell out to – someone who reminds you of yourself at a young age, or a group of money-hungry executives looking for the next opportunity?

Bigger is not always better; a small fish can swim much faster than a larger one. Share on X

Are You On The Path To 7, 8 or 9 Figures?

Strategic scaling is one of the best ways to increase wealth. Acquiring existing businesses allows you to avoid many pitfalls. You don’t need to spend resources growing a business from scratch; you can buy over an already established business. This allows you to leverage existing businesses and create additional sources of cash flow.

Acquiring many businesses is one way to create a successful portfolio. However, most entrepreneurs struggle to get past a certain mark. They know they need to strategically scale their business, but lack the knowledge to do so. They might not know how to close. Or they may be terrible at negotiating. This prevents them from becoming successful.

This is why having a plan is important. A plan allows you to measure your performance and make sure you are on the right track. When you can see your weaknesses, you can overcome them. A business leader with no weaknesses is a force to be reckoned with. If you want a checklist that 8-figure companies use to keep themselves on track, get your copy of the Dragon 100™ checklist here.

Email Subject Lines That Get Opened: 20 Of The Best Examples

June 2, 2020 by Dan Lok

Being an email copywriter who specializes in email marketing, means being able to write email subject lines that get opened. You see, the subject line is the first thing people read whenever they get an email. In fact, research shows that 35% of email recipients open emails based on the subject line alone.

If you’ve spent hours crafting the perfect sales email, but your subject line doesn’t grab their attention, you’ve just wasted hours of your time. In order to get your clients results from email marketing campaigns, it’s crucial to understand the kind of subject lines that get opened.

Based on our own email list and past campaigns that have been most successful, here are some of the best examples of subject lines that get opened.

1. Humor

“I accidentally fell into the toilet”

“Eagle steals man’s hat”

Email subject lines that contain humor are one of the top types of subject lines that get opened.

People love humor. Most of the news and headlines you see today are about negative mishaps and filled with doom and gloom. When you send an email with a humorous subject line, it immediately stands out from every other negative email that they’re constantly spammed by on a daily basis. And when you stand out from everyone else, you have people’s attention.

You could tell a joke, or describe a funny event that recently happened. As long as there’s lighthearted humor in the subject line, your readers will be curious to find out more.

2. Numbers and Statistics

“Top 20 Subject Lines That Get Opened”

“15 Foods To Help You Lose Weight”

Using lists and numbers is another extremely popular type of subject lines that get opened.

Naturally, humans do not like to leave things undone. Our preferred behavior is to finish one task, and then move on to do the next. Having to leave a task in the middle of it makes us feel very uncomfortable. That’s why if you’ve ever been interrupted while in the middle of something, you get irritated or frustrated, because you now have to stop and put your focus on the person talking to you.

Numbers signify that there is something the reader can look forward to. You are making the reader a promise ahead of time as to what they can expect, such as 10 different ways to do something.

Once your reader decides to read the first item on the list, they are already committing themselves to finish the entire thing. As they go through the list one by one, the thought that there are still 5 or 3 more items they haven’t read about, will constantly be in the back of their mind. Until they finish the list, they will not feel comfortable leaving the page.

On our YouTube channel, statistics show that our YouTube videos with numbers in them – such as 10 Closing Tactics That Make Prospects Say Yes or 15 Ways to Write Sales Copy That Sells perform much better than videos that do not have numbers.

So, if you want to increase your email open rates, use numbers in your subject lines.

3. Shock

“Trump declares war on Iran”

“A global recession has finally arrived”

Humans are naturally curious creatures. We like to explore the unknown, and when presented with an opportunity to do so, it is very tempting for us to listen to our natural instincts.

When you use shock or surprise in a subject line, you are tapping into that curiosity that all humans have. That’s why news headlines use shocking headlines such as BREAKING NEWS to get your attention and make you want to know what’s going on.

A subject line that makes the reader go WHAT?! is an example of one that uses shock. Make your reader open their eyes in disbelief, and your readers will find it irresistible to open the email.

4. The Real Secret To [Blank]

Human beings are naturally curious and we want to know secrets.

We often feel that there is something we ought to know in order to avoid making mistakes that we make.

Now “secret” is a word that might be a bit overused in marketing. But this subject line actually plays on that – it shows the real secret, no just any secret.

Here are a few examples:

“The Real Secret to Fat Burning”

“The Real Secret to a Perfect Wedding”

Curiosity combined with the need to be “in the know” will get this email opened. Make sure that what you write in this type of emails is also realistic so that you earn and keep the trust of your readers.

5. The Fastest Way to [Blank]

Now, if you could choose – would you pick a slow or a fast way to do something or get somewhere? Do you want something fast or slow?

We live in a world of instant gratification. We are conditioned to be impatient, and we do not want to wait for anything.

So if you offer a method for getting a desired outcome or goal faster – you will grab your reader’s attention.

“The Fastest Way to Start Your Business”

“The Fastest Way to Make 10K a Month”

Do you see it? – Instant results.

What makes this subject line effective is that it makes a very specific promise. But you have to make sure that you remain realistic. You always have to focus on making a credible and believable promise.

If you say something outrageous such as “The Fastest Way to Make Million Dollars Overnight” – you will lose trust because that is not a realistic promise. People will not take you seriously after that.

Underpromise and your email will overdeliver in this case. If you make them a promise that readers read and think “I can do better than that” then you challenged them with your email and they will continue reading your emails.

6. Here’s a Shortcut for [Blank]

So just as we would choose fast if we had to pick between fast and slow, between easy and hard we would want easy. Right? Everyone wants to find easier ways to get things done and achieve things.

So this subject line implies that you have yet another solution for your reader. Can you see how simple and yet powerful this subject line really is?

“Here’s a Shortcut for…

…Achieving the Most in the Least Time”

…The Best Marketing Strategy”

When you use this type of a subject line, and if your offer can get your prospect an instant gratification, then you will increase your sales. This could be a software offer or a course offer – anything they can click right away and get immediately.

7. One-Word Subject Lines

If you’re struggling with coming up with subject lines that get opened, and you can’t think of a good one, use a one-word subject line.

At first glance, you may think this would never work. But in practice, it works very well because it’s a pattern interrupt. The fact that it’s just one word, makes it stand out. Most email subject lines are lengthy, have some cheesy joke or something that arouses their curiosity.

But a one-word subject line has none of that. In fact, it has NOTHING, except that one word. Because it’s so simple, that’s why it works. Your reader will look at it, become confused, and be curious to open it.

The best way to write a one-word subject line is with a greeting. Greet the reader with a subject line such as Hey, to let them know the email is intended for them. Some other good one-worded subject lines are questions, which we will get into later.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. - Steve Jobs Share on X

8. FREE Anything

“FREE stuff inside”

“Do you want a FREE sofa?”

People love free stuff. When you put the word free into the subject line, your reader is immediately going to feel there is something in it for them.

Remember: Everyone on this planet is tuned into the radio station WIIFM – What’s In It For Me? If you cater to their desire to have something to gain, you will get their attention.

The word free implies there is something for them to gain at no cost. There are no strings attached. No hidden fees. Nothing that would make them suspect you want something from them. When someone has everything to gain and nothing to lose, they are going to be interested in your offer.

Using a subject line with the word free is best used when you want to offer a free sample or gift. One of the biggest problems copywriters make, is that they use the word ‘free’ to bait the reader into clicking, only for them to realize they have to make a purchase. If you use ‘free’ as clickbait, your readers will lose trust in you in the future. You may get results in the moment, but using ‘free’ as clickbait will only hurt long term customer relationships.

With any method you use, be sure you understand the consequences and intended actions that method will result in. Don’t sacrifice short term gains if it means long term losses. You will lose more in the long run.

9. How To Survive [Blank]

One of the subject lines that would get attention is the one that indicates some kind of solution to a problem that your reader might have. So the idea is that your question implies useful information that might help them resolve an issue or relieve some kind of pain.

As human beings, we often avoid discomfort. We often need to make adjustments.

If your email indicates some kind of solution to discomfort and pain the chances are – it will be open.

For example:

“How to Survive…

…a Financial Crisis”

…a Bankruptcy”

…a Heart Attack”

These are all subject lines that make people curious and indicate some sort of solution. People want to learn and these types of emails can give the reader a satisfaction of learning or doing something new.

10. Limited Time Offers

“Flash Sale Ends at Midnight”

“Limited-Time Winter Blowout Sale”

Humans naturally like to procrastinate. When there is no deadline, there is no urgency. And if there is no urgency, there is no reason to take action immediately. Instead, we will delay something for as long as possible.

If you want to get results from your emails as a copywriter, put a time-sensitive offer into the copy to get your readers to take action immediately. A sale that lasts for only 2 days will get a lot more attention than a sale that lasts for a month. To your readers, they’ll read it and think “I still have time, there’s no reason for me to buy just yet.”

The problem is that over the next 30 days, your readers are going to forget all about the sale. They’ll go on with their daily lives, and hear of other sales that are going on as well. When they encounter one that only lasts for a few days, they’ll forget all about yours, because they’ve already spent all of their money.

11. Celebrities

“Warren Buffett’s best investing secrets”

“Elon Musk’s new space rocket”

People love to know about the latest news about celebrities. Ask yourself, do you know anyone who always keeps themselves up to date about the hottest celebrity gossip?

Humans are naturally drawn to others who are successful or have a following. It is a sign that they are important, and as people, we want to associate ourselves with important figures.

Celebrities draw a lot of attention because of their status. If you want to generate a lot of attention, use a well-known person’s name in the subject line to get the reader’s attention.

12. How I [Blank]

Chances are when your subscribers sign up for your emails, they value your opinions, experiences, stories…

So, if you start your emails with this – you will give them the impression that you’re about to share something important and personal with them.

“How I Grew My…

…Youtube Channel”

…Found My Soulmate Online”

…Permanently Removed Headache”

The key with this type of email is to be as personal as possible. Be vulnerable. Open up about difficult times and make a connection with your reader. Show them that you understand where they’re at.

These emails use the power of story to connect with the reader. If you create a story that provokes an emotional reaction, you will be able to bond with your reader and engage them directly.

For more ideas, watch the video below.

13. Best or Worst

“The Best Foods To Eat In 2020”

“The Worst Sales Tactics You Are Using”

No one pays attention to mediocrity. As humans, we pay the most attention to things at extreme spectrums – such as the best or worst of things.

That’s why news outlets and media always focus on first place winners. You see magazines and articles talking about who won Gold at the Olympics, but never anything about who came second place. We are not wired to pay attention to the losers – we aspire to become the winners and as a result pay attention to them the most.

Use words that imply extremes such as best, worst, greatest, amazing, and terrible to get your reader’s attention.

14. About Your [Blank]

This type of subject line is one of our favorites. It generates a lot of curiosity.

When your readers read a subject like that they wonder – do you know something I don’t know?

“About Your…

…Diet”

…Business”

…Spouse…”

You see how this would make someone want to read on?

15. Hot News

“The Outcome of Trump’s Impeachment”

“Presidential 2020 Candidates”

Any kind of events that have recently taken place are another good example of subject lines that get opened.

People are naturally curious about what’s happening around the world. They may not be impacted by it directly, but they still want to keep themselves in the loop.

Just like people like to keep themselves up to date with the latest celebrity gossip, people want to know what’s going on in the world. Take advantage of the latest news and events to make your readers click.

16. Valuable Advice

“Top Superfoods You Should Eat”

“Why You Shouldn’t Bathe Naked”

What kind of person gives advice? Someone who is an expert on that topic, who has in-depth knowledge on what to do.

As humans, we listen to those with authority. We perceive them as someone who knows more than we do, and give them our attention even though it may not be true. Subject lines that give the reader advice influence them to think of the email content as important.

Giving advice is also another way of catering to the reader’s desire of what’s in it for them. You are giving them free, valuable advice they can implement in their lives. And everyone loves free stuff.

17. Get Niche

“Best Sales Techniques For Life Coaches”

“Top 10 Asian Entrepreneurs Of 2025”

When you state a niche, you are catering to a very specific audience. And if your audience falls into that niche, you make your reader feel special, as if the email was written for them. Making your reader feel special implies there is exclusivity – something that only a handful of people will have access to. We value things that are exclusive, and by making your reader feel exclusive, they will feel valued.

For example, if you are a coach in the fitness niche, which subject line would you respond more strongly to?

“Biggest Mistakes Fitness Coaches Make”

“Biggest Mistakes Coaches Make”

The more specific you are with your audience, the more likely you will get their attention. Know your audience, and you know exactly what will succeed.

18. Familiarity

“Long time no see”

“It’s been a while”

Have you ever received an email from someone you didn’t know? What was your first reaction?

An email inbox is a very personal thing, something that people don’t like anyone getting into. That’s why we hate spam mail and advertisements, because they are a nuisance and people we wouldn’t give our email address to in the first place.

If you want to get the attention of your reader, make the subject line feel personal. Use their name in the subject line, or write the subject in a way that implies you know each other. Familiarity will make people lower their guard, which means clicking on your email instead of hitting delete.

19. Emojis

“Hello :)”

“$$ The Best Way To Make A 6-Figure Income From Home $$”

Another example of email subject lines that get opened are ones that contain emojis.

Emojis are so effective, because they help to clarify the message that is being said. For example, compare these two subject lines:

“Only For You :)”

“Only For You”

In this example, the subject line without an emoji gives the reader no context. By putting a simple emoji such as a heart or smiley face, you are conveying a certain emotion to the reader. When your readers know the emotion behind a message, they are much more likely to resonate with it.

Most emails don’t use emojis in the subject line. By inserting some emojis from time to time, you’ll immediately stand out from everyone else.

20. The Biggest Mistake [Blank] Make

The idea behind this subject line is to focus on the negative to help people avoid unwanted outcomes. So what is the trick? Well, people do not like making mistakes and facing consequences.

What makes this subject line so powerful is that it doesn’t talk about just any mistake. This subject line is about the biggest mistake. This is the type of mistake that everyone tries to avoid at any cost.

“The Biggest Mistake…

…Husbands Make”

….Car Buyers Make”

…Writers Make”

How The Right Email Subject Lines Can Make You a 6-Figure Income

Now, if you wish to write perfect emails with the right subject lines – you could have access to all these subject lines plus two hundred thirteen subject line templates.

You could simply fill in the blanks and immediately use in your email and all your marketing.

You can find all these templates on Instant Scripts. This is the ultimate shortcut software that automates the process of writing great copy for you. Click here, and check it out now.

Dos and Don’ts When Approaching A Possible Joint Venture Partner

May 30, 2020 by Dan Lok

Did you know that you could take your business to the next level if you find a joint venture partner? A joint venture is a mutually-beneficial partnership agreement between two or more individuals. In a joint venture, two or more parties will start a business together, collaborate on a project, or do business together. This type of partnership typically involves shared ownership and shared profits, as the joint venture partners will pool their resources, share the expenses, and share the risks.

If approached the right way, a joint venture can be a very smart business decision. In fact, businesses who are in competition with each other often join forces and start a joint venture. Entrepreneurs don’t always need to have the mentality that they should crush their competition. Why? Because many of you could actually profit from your competition by forming an alliance and collaborating on a joint venture.

You can profit from your competition if you pool your resources and start a successful joint venture. Share on X

Competitors often join up with each other if they lack certain resources or skills that their competitor has. For example, imagine that one business has a strong distribution capacity, which a similar business lacks. The other similar business, however, has a much stronger social media following and more connections to influencers. If they work together, they could both profit more than they would working alone.

A joint venture doesn’t have to be with a competitor, however. In general, joint ventures are wise to consider, as you can acquire valuable shared resources without the risk of excessive capital being required. In this article, we’ll go over a few examples of joint venture partnerships before we discuss the “dos” and “don’ts” to remember when approaching a possible joint venture partner.

Examples of Joint Venture Partnerships

Were you aware of the fact that the popular streaming application “HULU” was the result of a joint venture? NBC Universal Television Group (Comcast) and Disney ABC Television Group (The Walt Disney Company) joined forces to create “HULU”. It turned out to be a major success.

Doritos chips collaborated in a joint venture with Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment when the film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was released. In a brilliant marketing collaboration, Doritos created the world’s largest Dorito (“dinosaur-sized”) and fans could bid in an auction to win it, or enter to win online. For equal media exposure for both partners, fans had to tweet #JurassicDoritos to be eligible to enter for a chance to win. The winning bid’s proceeds went to the American Red Cross to help those affected by volcanic disasters in Hawaii, where many scenes of Jurassic World were filmed. In this joint venture, specially marked bags of Doritos chips had the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom packaging which came with special codes to win prizes.

Those are just a couple of examples of big joint ventures that were very successful.

As far as small businesses go, there are many types of joint ventures. Two struggling small businesses could pool their resources in a joint venture and both make a nice profit from the venture. It’s crucial, however, to understand the “dos” and “don’ts” first.

The “Don’ts” When Approaching a Joint Venture Partner

If you’re thinking of approaching a possible joint venture partner with an idea, what should you avoid doing? There are certain things you should never do. Below is a list of “don’ts” to remember when you’re approaching a joint venture partner.

Don’t Approach Someone Prior To Establishing Your Relationship With Them

Never approach a possible joint venture partner prior to establishing a relationship with them. It’s not wise to suggest that someone do something for you (or with you) if you haven’t yet built a relationship with that person. Even if a joint venture could potentially make them a lot of money, you should still form a relationship with them before you approach them with your idea.

If this person doesn’t know you, why should they trust you, or do a deal with you? Why should they even read your email?

This is why you should never approach a joint venture partner with your idea on your first meeting, or upon first contact with them. You haven’t done anything yet to earn their trust or respect. You don’t yet deserve their attention or consideration.

For example, imagine that a public speaker who is a successful businessman gets approached by a random member of the audience after their presentation. Keep in mind, the speaker doesn’t know this audience member at all. The stranger asks them, “Would you be interested in a joint venture?”

The stranger may as well have said, “I know you don’t know me at all, but how about you just trust me and do a deal with me?”

That sounds ridiculous, right? Well it is ridiculous, as well as inappropriate.

An appropriate question the stranger could have instead asked, is “Could I possibly take you out for lunch?” The better approach is to start with lunch, and maybe even have a few lunches with them before bringing up your idea of a joint venture. Build the relationship first, and earn their trust. Be patient, and propose the joint venture when the time is right.

Don’t Overshare Details of How the Partnership Benefits You

When you’re discussing a possible joint venture with someone, don’t overshare details regarding how the partnership will benefit you.

It’s better to focus the conversation on the mutual benefits of the joint venture.

If you speak too much about the personal benefits for you, it’s possible your potential joint venture partner will feel used, or be turned off from doing the deal.

Don’t Approach Them With a Distrusting Attitude

Never approach a possible joint venture partner with a negative or distrusting attitude. This type of attitude is an instant repellent, as nobody wants to do business or collaborate with someone negative. And, people are more likely to trust someone that gives them their trust. So if you don’t seem to be very trusting, they probably won’t trust you, either.

Don’t Expect an Immediate Answer

Let’s say you’ve met with your potential joint venture partner a few times, and during your last meeting, you finally approached them with your partnership idea. It’s important that you don’t expect an immediate answer.

If you follow up with them a mere 24 hours later, asking them if they’ve made a decision, this will only turn them off and make them not want to partner with you.

It’s best to give them space, and allow them some time to think it over. It’s inappropriate to rush them, as it’s in bad form to expect or demand an immediate answer.

After approaching a possible joint venture partner with a proposal, you should not follow up for at least one week. Even if you don’t hear from them after a couple of days, don’t get tempted to reach out. If you don’t hear from them for one week, at that point it’s reasonable to reach out to them.

This requires patience, but that patience is the respectful and professional way to go about this.

The “Dos” When Approaching a Joint Venture Partner

Now that you know what not to do when approaching a possible partner, what are some things you should do? When you’re considering a joint venture, there are some things you should remember to do, to ensure your venture is successful. Below is a list of “dos” to keep in mind when you’re approaching a possible joint venture partner.

Do Your Research

It’s crucial to do your research before approaching someone about a joint venture, for many reasons. For one thing, your research will help you figure out where their business is falling short, and how a partnership with you could benefit them. Since a joint venture should be mutually beneficial, you’ll have to figure out which assets you bring to the table that they don’t currently have.

Research also helps ensure you’re prepared for your meeting with them. The goal is to impress them, and earn their trust. Being familiar with them and their company helps you accomplish this goal.

Get Their Attention Before You Approach Them

Have a possible joint venture partner in mind? Target acquired? A clever approach is to get their attention before you approach them. You can do this in many different ways. For example, you could become their client, first, or attend a few of their workshops. If you’ve been buying tickets to attend their seminars or workshops, they’ll respect this. This strategy is also a great way to build the relationship, which as you recall, you must do before you approach them with a joint venture proposal.

You can also get their attention by showing them that you’re a fan, by buying their product, taking a photo with it, and posting a positive review online. Imagine the person you want to partner with has an upcoming book signing for their new book. You can buy their book, get a photo with their product, post the photo on social media, and tag them. Now, you’ll have their attention, and you won’t be a complete stranger in their eyes.

Approach Someone With Complementary Resources

A strategic approach includes approaching someone with complementary resources to yours. The parties involved in a joint venture ideally should have complementary resources.

Resources can range from services, skills, and products to business assets, social media followers and customer lists. All of these resources can be leveraged to reduce costs.

As long as you trust each other and you have an appropriate contract drawn up, you’ll feel comfortable sharing these resources with each other. Do you have access to certain valuable resources that your potential partner doesn’t have, and vice versa? If so, pooling your resources cuts costs and increases the likelihood that your venture will be successful.

Complementary resources are resources that enhance each other, and are stronger together than they are apart.

Choose Someone You Connect Well With

It’s important to choose a potential joint venture partner carefully. Choose someone you vibe well with, who has similar core values. It’s best if your joint venture partner is someone you get along with, so it’s important that the two of you have compatible personalities.

You’ll want to choose someone you vibe well with and connect with. When you go out for lunch, do you smile, laugh, and get along well? Do you listen to each other? Some people aren’t compatible with each other, and that’s another reason it’s so important to build a relationship with them prior to pitching them. You need to see if you work well together.

Build Rapport and Earn Their Trust

The most ideal scenario is that your possible joint venture partner trusts you before you approach them with your proposal. Their business and their reputation matters to them, so they can’t risk their business or reputation on someone they don’t know and don’t trust.

Earning their trust is especially important if sharing valuable resources is required for the joint venture. For example, if sharing customer lists is required, trust is pertinent, since a customer list is the most valuable asset a business has.

Interact With Them on Social Media

While you’re building a relationship with your potential joint venture partner, you should try to regularly engage with them on social media. The key is to interact with them on social media often enough to maintain your relationship, but not so frequently that you look like a stalker.

This means that perhaps every couple of days, you’ll like and comment on one of their social media posts. You’ll regularly comment something supportive and positive, while you build your relationship with them. This will help your possible joint venture partner feel more familiar with you, and more comfortable with you.

Leverage Your Most Valuable Assets

Earlier, we mentioned how a customer list is the most valuable asset a business has, but there are many other valuable assets you can leverage to entice a possible joint venture partner.

If you’ve done your research, you’ll know which assets they don’t have, and which resources are lacking. If you have assets or resources that they can benefit from, make sure to leverage those assets to make your proposal more enticing.

Personalize Your Pitch

When it’s time to propose a joint venture, you should always personalize your pitch. Perhaps you’re pitching your joint venture proposal via email, after a few lunches and dinners and after establishing a relationship with them. Or, perhaps you’re pitching in person, once you feel you’ve earned their trust and have a good rapport going.

If you customize your pitch to suit the person you're pitching, you'll have a better chance of closing them. Share on X

Whether you’re pitching via email or in person, always personalize your approach. In emails, keep it personal. Do not use a template. Template emails that are clearly copy-and-pasted with a name switched out, will not work, as it will be obvious it’s a template email. It’s better to write a personalized email, as it demonstrates effort, thought, and care. In person, your pitch will be better if you incorporate personal details about them and their business into your pitch.

If you customize your pitch to the person you’re pitching to, you have a better chance of closing the deal.

Ask For References or Testimonials

Remember that you’re not the only one trying to impress your possible joint venture partner. They should be able to impress you, as well, and make you feel comfortable about the idea of working together. In other words, they need to earn your trust as well. It goes both ways.

So, don’t neglect to ask them for references or testimonials before you sign any sort of agreement with them.

Set Expectations

When a joint venture is being discussed, before contracts are signed, you should set expectations with each other. This includes the investment required (the expense) and the potential upside (the return), as well as the potential downside (the risk).

It’s possible that compromises will need to be made, before both parties feel comfortable signing a deal. It’s best to get this part of the process over with before the venture begins, to avoid running into misunderstandings or problems later on.

Who Should You Do a Joint Venture With?

At this point, you’ve learned what you should and shouldn’t do when approaching a possible joint venture partner. You’ve probably also gained some insight as to what type of person you should partner with.

To summarize, you should partner with someone who has complementary resources and has assets they bring to the table that you’re lacking. You should also make sure to partner with someone you’re compatible with, and get along well with. Always partner with someone you trust, and remember to do your research on this person and check their references.

You now know what type of partner is ideal, but what if you lack the connections to meet a potential joint venture partner? What if you want to find someone to collaborate with, but you don’t know how to meet them?

Need Help Finding The Right Joint Venture Partner?

Do you need help meeting a potential joint venture partner? And do you need trusted and strategic advisers to help you figure out the best way to approach a joint venture partnership? Perhaps you’re ready to take your business to the next level, and you know a joint venture will help you succeed, but you lack the connections to find the right partner.

Dan Lok has now formed the world’s most exclusive advisory board for ambitious and distinguished entrepreneurs who are committed to reaching next-level success.

Dragon 100™ is an exclusive group of 100 A-players who are serious about their success. If you’re accepted as a member of Dragon 100™, you will get a rare opportunity to network with other elite entrepreneurs and learn from Dan Lok himself. This is a great way to network with other A-players who could potentially be your next joint venture partner.

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level and join an elite group of A-players, click here to apply to be a Dragon 100™ member.

Want To Scale Your Business For International Expansion?

May 23, 2020 by Dan Lok

Are you looking to join those at the top of the business pyramid? Is it time to finally ascend your company to the next level? Are you ready for international expansion? The biggest players in business are those that cater to the global market. If you want to play at their level, you need to scale your business for international expansion.

If you are scaling your business, you have to be aware of what else you need to consider. The person you are now is the person who managed to bring the company to where it is today. But if you want to expand your business to the next level and beyond, you can’t stick to being the same person you are now. You need to think like an international business owner. It’s time to evolve. You need to upgrade your knowledge, your skills and your mindset.

Scaling your business brings on many unknowns. Knowing what things you still have to learn in order to get where you want to go, is critical to achieving success. These are factors such as different target audiences, needs, desires, and the jargon that they use.

On top of understanding your target audience’s desires, you also need a strong team to help you scale. This means knowing how to find people that are just as passionate and driven as you are. The more ‘A players’ you have in your company, the faster you can scale your business. Finding team members that you can trust and delegate tasks to on your behalf will give you a competitive advantage over everyone else.

If you’re looking to expand into different markets, there’s a lot to consider. Here are our best tips on how to scale your business for international expansion:

The International Market is Composed of Many Diverse Regions

One of the biggest mistakes CEO’s make is generalizing the international market. This means thinking that your audience’s needs and interests in one country will be the same as another. Before you decide to scale your business for international expansion, you must first focus on the local market.

The international market is segregated based on region. These regions consist of geographic areas such as Canada, the US, India, China, Japan, Russia, and Europe. Each of these regions has their own set of cultural differences that make them unique. As a result, they also have their own customs, needs and dislikes that differ from other regions.

To efficiently scale your company for international expansion, you need to look at each of these regions as their own separate marketplace. This means doing in-depth research to understand everything there is to know about a certain region. Once you get a better understanding of the marketplace that resides in that region, you can begin to scale your company for that specific region.

This means tailoring your product towards that specific region’s needs. Just because your product performed well in one region, does not mean the same for another. This is because the needs of the European marketplace for example, differ heavily from the needs of the Chinese market. There are differences in these two countries based on a variety of factors – such as language, culture, geographic location and ethnicity.

If you want to take your company to the next level, you need to understand and be aware of these differences. Knowing these differences allows you to tailor your product to that specific region for maximum results.

You Don’t Have Just One Target Audience, You Have Multiple Audiences

In order to customize your product to a particular region’s taste and interests, you need to familiarize yourself with their culture. Know their customs, traditions, and the ‘lingo’ that they use. This is where doing your research beforehand becomes critical.

For example, let’s say your company sells Mac and Cheese, and is based in the US. The ad that you’re running has a Caucasian family sitting together at the dining table. Everyone is laughing, talking about their day, and enjoying their dinner of Mac and Cheese.

Based on statistics, this ad has performed well and the demand for your Mac and Cheese is growing year after year. Now let’s say you want to expand your company and begin targeting the marketplace in China. Do you think you will see much success if you run the same type of ads in this new region? Most likely the answer is no.

This is because your US based ads target a different niche audience. In China, the majority of people that live there are of Asian ethnicity, not Caucasian. Immediately, your ad will be a turn off to the Chinese marketplace, because they cannot relate to it.

As well, most Chinese people prefer to eat rice for dinner, instead of pasta like macaroni. As a result, there is less demand for your product and you will be competing with well established rice companies for market share.

Lastly, the primary language of China is Mandarin. If your ad is running in English, only a small percentage of people will be able to understand what is going on.

This example illustrates how a different region has many factors to account for. If you don’t focus on localizing your product to that region, you will not gather much interest due to cultural differences.

Focus on Localizing Before You Go International

The same holds true for all international regions. Each country has its own differences and particular niche audience. If you want to succeed internationally, you need to account for all these factors.

The way you market your product will determine its success. Details such as the packaging, the words you use, the images, the colors and what you stand for, all impact how consumers will view your product and brand. Especially when it comes to entering a new marketplace.

This means if you’re looking to scale your company for international expansion, you need to localize your offering. You need to customize your product to that region, and account for all the little factors that will affect how well it succeeds. Being aware of these differences when entering a new region will allow you to scale your company quicker and overcome resistance.

Besides having different needs, different regions also have different business practices. These are things such as different business laws, paperwork requirements, and processes you have to go through. As a result, you may have to make numerous changes to how you market your product or brand before it’s considered acceptable.

Achieving legal business compliance in a region like Germany comes with many strict requirements and paperwork to be handled. This process may take weeks or even months before you’re given the green light. If you’re looking to expand your company for international expansion, make sure you have additional resources prepared for when unexpected situations arise.

You don’t want to hype your audience up for a big product launch, only to realize it’ll be delayed by two weeks. Do your research beforehand and be aware of how all these minor things can impact your business.

Behind Every Great Company is an Even Greater Team

Creating a business that is local and successful is a challenge. Finding the right team members to help you scale that business to the international market is exponentially more difficult. If you’re looking to scale your business for international expansion, you’ll need a strong team to support your vision.

The difference between a good company and a great company is the team standing behind it. In order to scale your company internationally, you need reliable team members who can ensure things run smoothly. As you’ll be entering new and uncharted territory, success will depend on whether or not your team members possess certain traits.

These are traits such as ownership, accountability, being a team player and being results driven. Unlike 9-5 employees who are only interested in a paycheck, you want to look for people who can become a valuable asset to your company. Who have an entrepreneurial drive to achieve great things and set new standards.

You want people who are always striving to improve and become a better version of themselves every single day. Because those traits will translate over to the kind of work they will do to help grow the company. Setup your business structure so that your employees are rewarded for their efforts. Make them aware that the more results they can produce for the company, the more they’ll be financially rewarded.

If you’re looking to scale your company for international expansion, you’ll want the best ‘A players’ you can find. The more of these types of people you have in your company, the more you’ll grow.

How To Scale Your Company For International Expansion

There are many ways you can scale your company for international expansion. However you choose to do it, you need to be sure your team is on the same page.

This is why finding good team members is important. If you’re looking to take on the world, you need people who you can trust to delegate tasks to. As the CEO, the last thing you want to do is waste your time completing trivial tasks. Your role is to be the visionary that will lead the company to success. That means you need to be aware of your time and how you spend it.

When you have a team of people you can trust, you can spend your time doing the important things in your company. These are things such as deciding on a new product launch, building connections with other affluent business people, or planning out next month’s marketing strategy. Any other task that can be delegated should be left to your team members to handle.

For example, when Google wanted to expand their international presence, they sent small teams from their headquarters to new regions. These teams were then responsible for growing a local team in that region. And as time went on, these smaller teams grew larger and larger as the company’s presence in that region grew as well.

By delegating tasks to your team, you can efficiently scale your company for international expansion. This means looking at the resources you have, and planning out the best way to utilize them. The better your team members are, the more resources you’ll have available.

A resourceful person will always make opportunity fit his or her needs.” – Napoleon Hill

Utilize Influencer Marketing To Reach A Greater Audience

The more people you know, the more likely you are to become successful. This is why many companies look to influencer marketing when breaking into a new region.

Influencer’s offer many benefits to companies and brands. Firstly, the influencer already has a large audience of followers. This is valuable to a company because it means they don’t have to spend time building up an audience base. By contacting the influencer directly and getting them to promote their product, they can reach a larger group of people.

Secondly, influencer’s have celebrity status. Because many people look up to and may even aspire to become just like them, they hang onto their every word. As a result, the influencer has a lot of power when it comes to influencing an audience to take action. In fact, research shows that 49% of consumers base their purchases based on influencer recommendations.

This is why big companies like Nike and Adidas utilize celebrities like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods to endorse their products. They understand the influence these people have over the general masses. And they know that by tapping into the connections these celebrities have, they can channel that influence toward their own product.

Lastly, the influencer has familiarity with both the region and the people there. This allows them to overcome cultural differences, language barriers, and increase the chances your product will stand out.

Leveraging an influencer’s existing audience base is a good way to promote your brand to a new market. Utilizing an influencer and getting them to endorse your brand or product is another great method to scaling your company for international expansion.

Leverage Business Connections and Your Personal Network

If you’re looking to scale your business, you’ve most likely been in business for quite some time. During that time, you should have met a few trustworthy business contacts. If you’re looking to break into a new international region, get in touch with your old business contacts.

Look at your network of people you know. Make a list of the people who have connections or do business in regions that you want to break into. Then, set up a meeting with them and let them know your plans. In many cases, your business contacts operate in a certain geographic location. As a result, they will know more about that region than you do.

Leverage their experience and knowledge to help you enter the market for that region. Even if they don’t know much about a certain country or city, chances are they know someone who does. This allows you to quickly familiarize yourself with the business practices and cultural differences of a region. They can act as your local business tour guide, providing you with valuable information about what opportunities to pursue and which ones to avoid. In exchange, you can give them some form of compensation for all their help.

This is similar to using influencer marketing to enter a foreign market. But instead of leveraging their audience base and followers, you are leveraging their knowledge and experience. This is also a great way to open up the door for other business opportunities down the road. One successful business deal often leads to another, and if you both have something to gain, it’s a win-win situation.

Don’t be afraid to call up old business contacts. As long as there’s something in it for them, they’re more than glad to provide you with their expertise.

Learn How to Expand Your Company into an International Empire

Scaling your company for international expansion is not that simple. Whenever you are entering a new marketplace, you need to be aware of your target audience’s needs. This means accounting for things such as the culture, language, traditions, customs, processes, ethnicity and restrictions.

Without a good understanding of the differences between each region, you will not be able to attract and influence your audience. A marketing ad aimed at targeting the Western demographic in North America, will not have the same effect if presented in the East. This is due to things such as cultural sensitivity and a different style of doing things. What may seem intriguing and even clever in one region, may be insensitive or even controversial in another.

Having a good understanding of your target audience is crucial for international expansion. Regardless if your business is online or in person, you’ll want to do your research beforehand to increase your odds of success. One method to do this, is to find someone who knows that region well and leverage their experience and knowledge. They can offer you a perspective that others might miss, because they live there or have done business in the region for many years.

If you’re an online coach struggling to scale your business, the High Ticket Influencer™️ program may be for you. Inside, you’ll get an in-depth look at the systems and strategies you can use to scale your business to 6-7+ figures fast. You’ll receive a marketplace-proven roadmap on how to go from $0 to $1M/month in less than 8 months by doing what no one else does. If you want to learn more, click here now.

How To Expand Your Business Into New Markets

May 19, 2020 by Dan Lok Leave a Comment

Do you want to know how to expand your business into new markets? The current global economic crisis has been forcing many business owners to think creatively.

If you’re losing money because your current market is on lockdown, then you probably want to find ways to expand your business.

For many small, local businesses, it’s especially important to get into online markets and shift to online operations. If your business has been relying on physical stores, you need to learn how to go from brick and mortar to click-and-order. In other words, you need to educate yourself on the best practices for running an online business.

As a business owner, you are constantly challenged to expand, branch out, and test new ideas. But now more than ever, you need ideas that work and get you cash flow fast.

Expanding your business into new markets is probably one of the best ways to stay afloat in times of crisis. So, below are our best tips for how to expand your business:

How To Expand Your Business Step-by-Step

If the economy was good, you could simply go out and test your ideas. But that’s not possible right now.

Now is the time to be a bit more careful with your business decisions and plan before you act. For those who know how to seize it, there is an opportunity in a crisis.

Before you act, map out your plan strategically and diligently.

Step 1: What Are Your Possibilities?

First, you want to look at your possibilities. Do you want to break into a new market with a product or service you already have? Or do you have a new product and want to get it known in other markets?

Do you want to stay in the same market sector, but address a new customer sector, for example going from business to customer (B2C) to business to business (B2B)?

Expanding your business into new markets can also mean changing the way you deliver your product or service, for example, an online download instead of an in-person cashier.

Step 2: Market Research

Do market research. This is important, so you don’t want to skip this step.

Even if you can make educated guesses about your market, still take the time to look into this. Research what your market cares about. What problems do they have? How can you help solve those problems?

When you ask how to expand your business into new markets, you are actually asking how can you expand into new markets successfully.

You could easily go out there, start an online campaign to market to a new audience, and see if somebody buys. But that’s a very risky approach. Why? Because you have no idea if your strategy will resonate with your new market.

That’s why research is so important. Imagine if your research uncovers that your desired new market responds well to do it yourself services. But you wanted to offer a done for you service.

If you do research in advance you can adjust accordingly. If you don’t do any research, you’ll still come to the same conclusion but lose money and time on the way.

Step 3: Make a Decision

Now you know your options and you know your market. So, it’s time to make a decision. Do you want to enter this market or would you rather look into a different one?

It can happen that you made assumptions about a good market to expand into but after your research, you realize it’s not what you envisioned.

If you decide that it’s not your desired market, go back to step one. If you decide to proceed, go to step 4.

Step 4: Strategize to Expand Your Business Into Another Market

Now it’s time to plan out your strategy. How will you introduce your product? How will people find you? How do you position yourself?

Do you have to adjust to a certain culture? Do you have to change or tweak your messaging?

The clearer your plan is the better. Don’t leave anything to chance, but also be flexible enough to pivot if needed.

Enter a New Market with Existing Products

Now that you are clear on your step-by-step plan, let’s take a deeper look at your possibilities when it comes to how to expand your business.

The first possibility you have is taking a product or service you already have, and marketing it in a new way. This could be as simple as changing from a local business to an online business model.

Let’s assume you are selling shoes. You were selling shoes at your local brick and mortar store. But because of the lockdown, you want to open an online shop.

The product (the shoes) doesn’t change. You are still selling the same shoes. All you change is the way you market the product, and the way you deliver it.

Still, there are some pointers to keep in mind. If we stick with our shoe sales example, you’ll realize that buying shoes online isn’t the same as buying them in a local store. Your clients can’t try them on. People might order your shoes, but send them back because they don’t fit.

This is only one example, but you can generally expect new challenges with any new market you break into. If it were easy to expand into a new market then you’d already have done it.

Tweak Your Product

In some cases, you can still use a product or service you already have, but you need to tweak it.

Picture yourself selling marketing coaching sessions for entrepreneurs. Usually, you offer face-to-face meetings for your coaching, in person.

Now, if you want to get into the online market, you’ll likely shift to video coaching sessions. But, you could also record your training sessions and make it a complete online video training.

Pre-recording coaching sessions is great, because it requires no extra time from you once the product is in place. It’s a perfect way to scale your business without burning yourself out with too much work. Essentially, you can sell your recordings an infinite number of times.

Making some changes to an existing product or service is also easier than creating a completely new one. So, this strategy is one of the fastest ways when it comes to how to expand your business.

Expand With a Completely New Product

Some markets might be lucrative to break into, but they are completely different from what you’ve done so far. In such a case, you might have to create a completely new product.

A perfect example of this is when you go from B2B to B2C or vice-versa. Both markets have different needs, different pain points and different ways to do business.

What could that look like? For example, maybe you run a beverage company. In the B2C sector, you sell drinks to consumers. In the B2B sector, it could be about selling drink vending machines to corporations or becoming a vendor for supermarkets.

Do you see how selling drinks to individuals or selling vending machines to a business are very different business models? It’s a completely new product with different messaging and a different price point.

But even if you stay in B2B or B2C, you can still break into a new market with a new product. If you sell shoes, maybe you want to go to handbags.

If you sell coaching sessions, maybe you want to write a book and address a whole new market that way.

Expand Your Social Media Network

Do you know why Dan Lok is active on every major social media platform and market in every possible way? Because every sales channel attracts slightly different people.

Most businesses stick to one or two social media platforms. Maybe they use Facebook and Instagram often, but never post on YouTube. However, if you limit your social media channels too much, there will be certain market sectors you’ll never address.

And that’s exactly why expanding your social media efforts is a great way how to expand your business.

Expand Your Delivery Options

Your forms of delivery and delivery options might have to change, too. Uber Eats or similar delivery services are a perfect example. Until recently, part of the market was completely opposed to ordering food. They would cook at home or go to a restaurant.

Now with the lockdowns, more people are giving food delivery a try, and finding that it’s not so bad after all. Many restaurants switched to delivery so they would survive the crisis.

So, expanding your delivery options opens up lots of new possibilities.

A New Consumer Market

Wondering how to expand your business into new markets? Another way to look at it is your consumer market.

Maybe you are marketing to a certain age group, gender, or location? Expand your market by going wider.

Your product or service is solving a certain problem for a certain group of people. So, you can find a similar audience with similar problems and expand that way.

Another possibility is to go deeper into your existing market. Have a look at your existing clients. Do they have a need for a new product from you?

Let’s assume you are selling a three month business coaching program. Maybe your clients are doing great after your coaching, and now they want to tackle bigger problems with your help. You could offer them a six month or a year-long program.

If you sell shoes, your clients might be interested in getting shoelaces, socks, or other accessories from you, too. Maybe people are doing more walking, now, and more people want to buy walking shoes. You might have to adjust your inventory accordingly.

Don’t think in the category of products, think in terms of needs and problems your clients might have, and you’ll see potential to expand.

Relationships and The Human Element

Now, how to expand your business into new markets is also a question of location. For example, if your market is in America, you could expand to Europe or Asia.

This might not be as easy because you have to pay a lot of attention to cultural differences. What works great in one part of the world might be frowned upon in another corner of the planet.

However, you also don’t want to go into analysis paralysis. If you’ve done your research, sometimes the best thing you can do is just start. Try, and see if your model works. You can always make adjustments later.

The customer is a marketing genius. If something doesn’t work, they’ll let you know by not buying. That’s why marketing heavily relies on testing. You won’t know what really works until you tried it.

The customer is always the marketing genius. If it doesn't work, they don't buy. Share on X

If you want to expand your market across cultures, it’s especially important to form relationships. Talk to your customers. What problems are they facing? What do they wish they had? In other words, what demand is already there and can be solved by you?

The human element is important in any market. People buy people. Building a relationship with your audience will always give you a competitive advantage.

Acquire Another Business

Business acquisition is a very advanced way of how to expand your business. To make this work, you need knowledge and capital. But if you make it work, it’s one of the fastest ways to expand into a new market.

Acquiring a business or merging with one can virtually double your business size overnight. It holds immense possibilities.

But, you have to do intense research, negotiate, and really think it through. It’s not a decision you make lightheartedly. If you run a small business, other options might be better for you.

How To Analyse A Market

After evaluating your options you might wonder: how do I actually research my target market? There are many ways to conduct market research, so here are some pointers.

Customers

Have a look at your customers. Find out their needs, pain points, and struggles. How does your offer help them?

Most businesses would focus on the client’s demographics like age, gender, and location. It’s important but do you know what else to look at? Almost more important than demographics are your client’s psychographics.

What’s that? Psychographics are wishes, needs, and preferences your customers might have. What are they interested in? Whom do they already buy from? What keeps them awake at night?

Looking at psychographics allows you to really understand your customers.

Competitors

Looking at your competitors is such a great way to better understand your market. Why? Because success leaves clues.

What is already working for your competitors? What can you emulate? There is no shame in doing something similar if there’s already a demand for it.

However, you also want to look at the reviews your competitors receive. What’s missing? What do people wish for or what do they criticize? Maybe there is something you can do better than your competition. That’s your competitive advantage.

Usually, it’s easier to get into a market where there is already some competition. Breaking into a completely new market is harder.

Market Size And Possible Barriers

You also want to look at your target market from a high-level view. This includes questions like:

How big is the market? How specialized?
Is it a growing market or is it contracting?
How competitive is it?

The answers to these questions will have great effects on your strategy. If a market is very competitive then you probably have to be more specialized. If the market is very big, you might want to find a niche.

It’s also a good idea to look at possible barriers to entry beforehand. What could stop you or slow you down? Typical barriers to entry are high costs. Some barriers are natural, others are imposed by the government.

For example, the government might collect a special tax for beverages that contain alcohol. It’s impossible to know this beforehand. It’s a barrier imposed by the government.

Natural barriers can look completely different. Maybe your business requires a huge warehouse. You can’t build it anywhere you want as there are natural obstacles like rivers or forests.

Environmental Factors

Finally, it’s important to note that no market exists in a vacuum. The market’s environment has a great influence.

Environmental factors include government regulations, technical developments, and cultural factors. Analyze them early on so you can expand your business successfully.

Find out which environmental factors could be dangerous for your business and which you can leverage for your success.

Even a change in a different market sector could affect your target market. Keeping an eye on these aspects as not only important at the beginning but pretty much all the time.

Even if you’ve been in a market for 30 years, you want to keep adapting to technological changes for example. If you can’t keep up your business runs at the risk of becoming irrelevant.

Ready For Next-Level Business Advice?

How to expand your business into new markets is a question of knowledge and skill. What if you could learn a lot more about business and marketing from Dan Lok himself?

And what if we told you that right now, you can get his 14 best training packages and save 57%? If your business is struggling right now because of the crisis, learning from someone who has done it all before is invaluable.

Dan Lok has been in business for over 20 years, and this isn’t the first recession he’s seeing. The Ultimate Training Collection includes everything he used to build a global empire. Discover The Ultimate Training Collection here.