The highly entertaining Donald Trump’s search for an
apprentice turned into a hit reality TV show captured
attention of millions of Americans and week after week
delivered great insights into leadership, business and
marketing savvy.

In one of the episodes Trump challenged the two opposing
teams of apprentice wannabes (Apex and Mosaic) to put
together a bridal gown sale.

Each team had to contact vendors, secure inventory, and
most importantly, attract qualified prospects to generate
the maximum profits. And here is the kicker – they had just
24 hours to do it.

(For more details read the blow-by-blow outline of this
episode.)

Mosaic moved very quickly. They…

1. Zeroed in on a specific strategy: give other bridal
shops’ opportunity to sell their discontinued designs at
drastically discounted prices.

2. Formulated a marketing plan: sent 23,000 highly targeted
email announcements to brides-to-be for a cost of $1,000

3. Divided and delegated the tasks and got busy
implementing their plan.

As a result of a clear and attractive offer Mosaic easily
attracted local bridal shops eager to get rid of their
discontinued lines.

Meanwhile Apex jumped right into chasing potential vendors
and – without a clear and enticing marketing message –
endured one rejection after another.

Discouraged, they almost gave up before stumbling onto a
helpful local bridal shop owner who managed to point them
in the “right direction”.

But just as they had no plan to attract vendors to their
gown sale, Apex didn’t give any thought as to who their
target market was and where they could easily and quickly
find large groups of prospects.

Their marketing strategy of handing out fliers at Grand
Central and Penn Station (in New York) was unfocused and
unnecessarily tied up team members’ most precious asset –
time.

The results?

Mosaic attracted a city-block-long line or eager-to-buy
prospects and generated $12,788.94 in profits in one day!
Apex brought in only a handful of buyers and a measly
$1,060.47.

Wow! By following solid marketing principles Mosaic beat
their opponents by generating almost 12 times as much
profits as Apex. So what were their marketing secrets?
Well, here they are:

1. THINK STRATIGICALLY!
Before you get busy peddling make sure your boat is pointed
in the right direction. Take time to formulate your
strategy and outline a specific action plan and you’ll save
time, energy and money, and create the desired results a
whole lot faster!

2. Focus on a SPECIFIC TARGET MARKET!
If you remember nothing else from this article – remember
this one thing – to be successful you must focus your
marketing efforts!

3. Find a “HIVE OF HUNGRY PROSPECTS”!
Hundreds of thousands of disinterested passers-by at the
Penn Station can’t even compare to the power of a targeted
email blast to 23,000 brides hunting for the best deal on
their wedding gown. To quickly penetrate your niche find
centers of influence and large networks of your potential
clients and get your message in front of them.

4. Evaluate PRICE vs. COST!
One of most damaging marketing mistakes is deciding which
promotional tools and media to use based on price alone.
Even though Mosaic chose a seemingly pricey promotion,
ultimately it proved to be less costly based on the repose
and results it created.

5. Profit from CO-OPETITION!
If you choose your target market carefully there is more
business out there than you can possibly handle. Don’t fear
your competitors – find a way to profit from their
business.

Well, there you have it. Go back and read these five points
several times. Consider for a moment what implementing
these ideas might look like in your business. Make these
principles the basis of your business and soon you too will
be making money out of thin air – I guarantee it!

Author's Bio: 

© 2007-2008 Marketing Mentors. All Rights Reserved. The
author, Adam Urbanski, teaches service professionals and
business owners how to develop proven marketing strategies
to attract more clients, increase sales and profits. His
website offers more how-to articles and free tips to create
a winning marketing action plan at
www.themarketingmentors.com