So you want to explore newmarkets. Maybe vertically, maybe horizontally. Each of theserepresents "outside the box" thinking in that they direct you awayfrom existing relationships. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Claude Hopkins is a name you should know but don't. As the firstand greatest copywriter of all time, he is almost single-handedlyresponsible for creating the modern advertising industry. Theoriginal Mad Man Albert Lasker discovered him through hisground-breaking Schlitz beer ad.

Feel free to look into the details of that famousadvertisement, but it was the process Hopkins used that will provemost valuable to you.

When Hopkins toured the Schlitz brewery, company managementcouldn't wait to show off all the bells and whistles of their newtechnology. Sound familiar? The ad man, however, was fascinatedwith the simple mechanical dishwasher. When he asked about it, hishosts scoffed at the question. "Oh, that. Everyone's got one ofthose."

Christopher Carosa,CTFA, is chief contributing editor for FiduciaryNews.com, a leadingprovider of essential news and information, blunt commentary andpractical examples for ERISA/401(k) fiduciaries, individualtrustees and professional fiduciaries.

Related: 100 sales & marketing tips: 2020edition

The genius of Hopkins was he realized the customer didn't knowevery brewery cleaned their bottles the same way. His Schlitz adrevealed this steam cleaning method for the first time. Hopkins adcopy proclaimed that steam cleaning made Schlitz the "purest" ofbeers. Beer drinkers bought the idea and then proceeded to buy massquantities of Schlitz beer.

Hopkins' "inside the box" thinking isn't limited to advertising.You can do the same thing in your own business.

Here's a simple example:

Let's say your business focuses on retirement plan participants.That's a good steady business, but you might be experiencing aplateau in growth since everyone and his brother wants in on thislucrative market. What's worse is that with MEPs coming down thepike as early as next year, competition will only intensify.

So you want to explore new markets. Maybe vertically, byfocusing on a single type of employer. Maybe horizontally, byexpanding your service among all high-net-worth individuals.

Each of these represents "outside the box" thinking in that theydirect you away from existing relationships.

But what if you think "inside the box"? That implies youconcentrate on your existing relationships and discover a way tobroaden your service to them. In this manner, you're notprospecting new territory, you're mining deeper into what youalready have.

Here's one way to do this:

No doubt a sizable portion of your relationships have childrenapproaching their teen years, when they can start working inearnest. What if you dug deeper into those relationships andoffered yourself as a Child IRA expert?

Chances are, no one else has laid claim to this unearthed veinof growth, because the accounts are so small. If you place yourselfas the first to fill this void, you'll anchor yourself deeper intothat relationship by showing parents their teenagers can becomemillionaires before they graduate from high school.

How? If they contribute the maximum into a Child IRA from age 13until high school graduation, that $30,000 will grow to $2.5million by the time they retire at age 70.

What parent wouldn't want that for their child?

And you'll be the hero just because you took the time to thinkinside the box.

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