They are hard.
Never mastered them.
Probably never will.
Wait...
p.s. Notice how nobody's ever been called "SHORT-winded"?
What do you think? Use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on writing shorter, punchier blog posts. What's hard about it? What approaches do you use?
Tags: marketing concept, thought leadership marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, marketing coaching, copy writing, small business marketing expert, marketing consultant, content marketing, business blogging, small business marketing coach
David speaks about personalized gifts, and it's probably not what you think!
As a speaker, consultant, thought-leading executive or entrepreneur, you may have heard about the importance of building an audience for your work... Sounds great.
But it's nowhere as important as developing a market for your expertise.Here are 17 vital differences between a market and an audience.
You can spend YEARS attracting and serving an audience that is NOT your market. And that's just sad, painful, and frustrating.
These are as pernicious as they are deceptive.
WHICH of these has been holding you back - confusing you - or set you to wondering how come you're not making more money?
Let's go down the list...
and finally - most important of all - read this next one as often as you need to...
17. An audience will HEAR you - A market will PAY you (well, often, and gladly)
Expert marketers not only build an audience - they develop a market for their value, ideas, products, services, and programs.
Want to apply for your Speaker Strategy Call to see how you can IMPLEMENT some of these concepts right away? Apply for your call here.
Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, consulting firm marketing, thought leadership marketing, marketing professional services, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, marketing for trainers, marketing professional services firms, marketing coaching, expert marketing, professional speaker marketing, motivational speaker marketing, marketing consultant, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, thought leadership, inbound marketing, professional services selling, lead generation, recognized authority, market vs. audience
The ad above first appeared in Business Week in 1958 – 56 years ago!
The moral of the ad’s story was relevant then and it is even more relevant today: establish expertise and build relationships before you try to sell.
The good news is that experts win on value and generalists die on price.
The bad news is that we live in far more cynical times than the sellers of the 1950’s; but more good news is that YOU have so many more tools available to help you address the problem.
If you're investing in "Expert Marketing" (it goes by several other names like inbound marketing, thought-leadership marketing, and content marketing)... then you've probably asked yourself:
By the time you're done reading this article/ rant/ manifesto, you'll see exactly why - AND you'll be able to ask (and answer) much better questions for your business right away.
Asking when expert marketing will lead to a sale is like filling up your car's gas tank and asking, "Why aren't we there yet?"
Answer: Because filling your car with gas is a NECESSARY but NOT SUFFICIENT step to getting you to your destination (a new customer or client).
Do you have a chance of arriving now that your gas tank is full? You bet.
Did you have a chance of getting there with your tank on empty? No way.
Let's move on...
Insight #1 You need to sell the same way that YOU buy.
Look at your email spam or bulk email folder. Yes, you. Yes, right now. I'll wait...
tap... tap... tap... tap... You're back. Excellent.
Did you see that spam email from the toner cartridge company? Did you catch the pitch from the SEO firm that filled out your website's "contact us" form? Did you respond to that great deal on vacation cruises? NO?
OK now pop over to your paper mail pile on your desk. Did you check out the latest "triple play" offer from Comcast (or whatever hellacious Cable Satan runs in your neck of the woods)? How about that compelling cell phone offer from Verizon? The Wall Street Journal subscription offer under that postcard? Or how about that postcard - you know, the one from the home heating oil company? NO?
When's the last time you gave your credit card number over to a cold caller who interrupted your family dinner? NEVER??
I'm shocked...
Because you seem pretty excited about YOUR cold calls - and sending out YOUR spam - YOUR offers - YOUR postcards - YOUR sales messages.
The problem with doing it this way? In four words...
Zero. Value. For. Prospects.
And hello? YOU don't BUY this way. What in the world makes you think your prospects DO?
Look once more at the ad above - and answer one simple question:
Question #1: What VALUE have I ADDED to my prospect's world in order to EARN the RIGHT to INVITE them to a conversation and OFFER my solutions to their urgent, pervasive, expensive problems?
Insight #2 Referrals are great - but they are neither deaf, dumb, nor blind
Next, you'll say that you don't NEED "expert marketing" because 99% of your business is repeat and referral business and it's always been that way and you don't see how this "newfangled marketing" is going to move the needle in closing more sales.
Do you seriously think that referrals don't check you out online before picking up the phone?
What messages are you sending to your valued referrals with...
a. Your outdated website (articles from 2008 are outdated, friends. And from 2003 even more so. And design aesthetic from 1997 most of all.)
b. Your sporadically updated blog that you leave dormant for 2 (or 4 or 6) months at a clip.
c. Your abandoned Twitter account you set up because someone said "you had to" and that now has 37 followers while your competitors have 3,000 (or a whole lot more.)
d. Your sketchy, bare bones LinkedIn profile that has 300 connections but only 2 recommendations (From 2005. From people with the same last name as you.)
e. Your "glory days" articles and TV clips and PR placements from 20 (yes I'm serious), 10, or even 5 years ago. Nothing screams "has-been" like old media.
Make no mistake: Getting repeat and referral business is great. But don't kid yourself that this absolves you from having a top-notch web presence, social media platform, and body of knowledge that is ultra-current, super-relevant, and obviously abundant.
In fact, you are leaving yourself open for EMBARRASSMENT if your advocates hear back from their referrals and find themselves in the awkward position of having to DEFEND you to them because your web presence has fallen behind and now casts your professional expertise into doubt.
Question #2: Does my overall web presence REASSURE and REINFORCE the referrals I earn with the most current, credible and relevant expert marketing messages, positioning, content, resources, and value that will make my advocates LOOK BETTER - not worse - for referring me?
Insight #3 Expert Marketing is a 4-layer enchilada (aka You don't get to eat the delicious golden-brown cheese without first layering on the meat!!)
The first layer - at the core of the matter - is your Reputation. Your work. Your track record. If you stop there, you'll have a VERY hard time attracting NEW leads and prospects to your doorstep. "My work should speak for itself" is what a lot of very smart people say - smart people who have a hard time making their mortgage payments.
The second layer is Amplification. Ways to make your "expert signal" stronger. Enter social media marketing, niche PR, article marketing, blogging, keyword research and search engine optimization. This is the key to spreading your ideas and broadcasting your expertise.
The third layer is Leverage. This is where you begin to capitalize on your "expert marketing" assets such as articles, blogs, videos, podcasts, interviews, white papers, special reports, book excerpts, and other value-first marketing tools. You can now reach out to high-probability prospects both individually (on LinkedIn for example) and collectively (on your blog for example). This is where your job becomes putting the right bait on the right hooks in the right lakes to catch the right fish.
The fourth layer is Gravity. Just like Jim Collins talks about the "flywheel" concept in Good to Great (it takes a long time to get it spinning but then is very hard to stop because of the power of momentum) - this is where you start to see payoffs. More leads, better prospects, bigger opportunities, more conversations, higher profile alliances, more invitations to speak, publish, guest post, contribute, teach, and (drum roll please...) more invitations to do great work at premium fees for great clients who NOW know you, like you, and trust you enough to hand over 5- and 6-figure checks because their level of confidence in your expertise is pretty damn close to 100%.
Question #3: Do you want to make more sales to strangers? (Good luck with that). Or do you really want more people to recognize, respect, and request YOU by name when they have a need, project, or problem that they instantly see has "your name written all over it"? If that's your goal, then expert marketing is for you.
Re-read the McGraw-Hill ad above and let's do a 21st century spin on it together...
So here's the ultimate (and most important) question for YOU:
The answer is as simple as it is obvious: you can't. Just like you can't drive your car from Denver to Sheboygan just by filling up your gas tank. You need to get behind the wheel, plan your route, use your GPS, add more fuel along the way (and probably some beef jerky and Sno-Balls and root beer) AND put in the hours and the miles to get you to your destination.
Nobody -- and I mean N-O-B-O-D-Y -- hires speakers, consultants or professional services firms sight unseen. You wouldn't. I wouldn't either.
And the facts prove out that today's buyers are just like YOU and ME.
Expert marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. And as any marathoner will tell you - the best (and only) way to run a marathon is one mile at a time.
What do you think? Please post YOUR COMMENTS below and...
Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, thought leadership marketing, professional services marketing, marketing expert, marketing for trainers, expert marketing, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, content marketing, inbound marketing, professional services selling, lead generation
In honor of all the hard working business owners working day-in and day-out to grow, hire and create opportunities, our team is excited to relaunch our small business influencer list in support of National Small Business Week.
Social media tools have created an endless source of people who share ideas through articles, videos, webinars, podcasts, etc. and while there’s so much great information, there’s also a plethora of “noise.” This year, we’ve worked with the team from Little Bird to update our list of influencers that is designed to help business owners cut through the noise to hear directly from a select few expects who not only provide useful information, but also engage with the business community.
One change this year is that we’ve updated our approach to organize the influencers into six categories. Look through the categories, determine where you want to improve your knowledge, and start following and engaging with those experts:
And if you simply want to see the latest from all these great influencers, we’ve added them all to a twitter list here: Small Business Influencer List.
The business journalists list is led by Anita Campbell, who scored the highest on our complete list of influentials. All of the following business journalists regularly vet many of the events, tools and strategies geared toward business owners. If you only want to dip your toes into following business influencers, then our team would recommend you start with the following list of business journalists.
Anita Campbell is the CEO of Small Business Trends and Biz Sugar, two online publications for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Campbell is a Forbes Top Influential Woman for Entrepreneurs. Follow Campbell for great content, webinars, tips and more.
Rieva Lesonsky is the CEO and founder of GrowBiz Media, a custom content & media company that helps national marketers reach small business owners and helps entrepreneurs start and grow their companies. She is a small business advocate, journalist, and best-selling author. Follow her for content, webinars and engagement.
Steve Strauss is a Senior USA Today small business columnist & spokesperson. He hosts small business podcasts and is the creator of The Self Employed, a small business publication. Strauss is active in Twitter chats and webinars and is also the author of Planet Entrepreneur. Follow him for content, engagement, and more.
Gene Marks is a CPA and business owner who writes every day on small business public policy for the Washington Post and weekly for Forbes, Inc. and the Huffington Post. Follow him for original and shared content.
Carol Roth is a national media personality, recovering investment banker, investor, speaker and author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Entrepreneur Equation. She is currently an on-air contributor for the national cable television station CNBC. Her multimedia commentary covers business and the economy, current events, politics and pop culture topics.
Donna Fenn is an internationally recognized author and journalist who has been writing about entrepreneurship and small business trends for more than 25 years. She is the author of two books: Upstarts! How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business, and Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack. Follow her for content, engagement and tips.
Rhonda Abrams is a USA Today columnist and the author of America’s bestselling Business Plan book, as well as 19 books for entrepreneurs. She is a popular speaker and a top small business influencer. Follow her for content on growing a business, engagement and more.
From general startup advice, to active small business chats, to setting up business plans (and more!), this group of influencers has a lot to offer business owners who are looking for ideas and advice on how to successfully launch their companies!
Martin Zwilling is a veteran startup mentor, executive, blogger, author, tech professional, and angel investor. He’s been published on Forbes, Gust, HBR, Huffington Post, and more. He is also the founder and CEO of Startup Professionals Inc., which provides products and services to help startup founders find necessary resources, mentoring, and expertise. Follow him for original and shared content.
Melinda Emerson is known as the Small Biz Lady. She’s Forbes #1 Influential Woman for Entrepreneurs, the host of the popular Twitter #SmallBizChat and the author of “Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months.” Emerson specializes in start-ups, social media and reinventing businesses. Follow her for content, free webinars, insightful Twitter chats and more.
Gail Gardner helps connect providers to those seeking services; she mentors bloggers and is a brand advocate for small businesses. She is the founder of GrowMap, which provides multiple customized routes to generating more business, sales, leads, or visitors for Web sites and businesses. Follow her for content, advice, advocacy and more.
Jim Blasingame is an award-winning host of The Small Business Advocate® Show, a small business expert, speaker and author of The Age of the Customer®. Follow him for content, tips, engagement and more.
Tim Berry is the founder of Palo Alto Software and a business planning expert. He is an entrepreneur and blogger who believes in lean business planning and has written several books on planning. Follow him for advice, engagement and content.
Already made it through the startup stage and ready for serious growth? This group of influencers is ready to engage with tips, ideas and strategies for small-to-medium business (SMB) owners!
Brian Moran helps entrepreneurs and marketers navigate the small-to-midsize business marketplace. Follow him for news, content and engagement.
Barbara Weltman is a small business advocate, author, tax law specialist, and publisher of Big Ideas for Small Business® and Idea of the Day®. Follow her for content, engagement and more.
Barry Moltz is a small business owner, speaker and author of five books. He hosts his own radio show, Business Insanity Talk Radio on AM560, and writes regularly for the American Express Open Forum and other online and offline periodicals. Barry specializes in getting small businesses “unstuck” and growing again. Follow him for advice, news, content and more.
Matthew Toren is a writer at Entrepreneur, a best-selling small business author and serial entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder of Young Entrepreneur and many other useful sites. Follow him for content, quotes, engagement and more.
Laurie McCabe is an IT analyst and the Co-founder of SMB Group. She’s passionate about helping SMBs and entrepreneurs apply technology solutions to grow their businesses. Follow her for SMB news and content.
Doug and Polly White are writers for Entrepreneur magazine, small business experts, serial entrepreneurs, best-selling/award-winning authors, and speakers. Follow them for content and advice.
Evan Carmichael is an entrepreneur who aims to help other entrepreneurs. At 19, he built, then sold a biotech software company and by 22, he was a venture capitalist helping raise $500 thousand to $15 million. He now runs EvanCarmichael.com, a popular website for entrepreneurs. Follow him for business content and inspiration.
Alyssa Gregory is a small business collaborator, entrepreneur, writer and founder of Small Business Bonfire, a social, educational and collaborative community for entrepreneurs that provides tips, tools, advice and resources. Follow her for original and shared content and engagement.
Kelly Scanlon is the publisher of Thinking Bigger Business Media, Inc., which provides resources to help businesses grow. Follow her for entrepreneurial and business content.
Laurel Delaney is the founder of GlobeTrade, which helps entrepreneurs and small businesses expand their businesses internationally. She is also an author, speaker, educator, blogger and columnist with more than 25 years of experience in global business. Follow her for global business news and advice.
Rebecca Quinn provides assessment, strategy, and implementation of business planning, operations, marketing and social media for businesses. Follow her for strategy advice and information.
Some of the most prominent influencers within the SMB space specialize in helping business owners understand how they can successfully launch marketing campaigns. Tweet This If you’re looking for inspiration to help improve your business marketing, this is a great list of business marketing experts worth paying attention to!
Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer for Marketingprofs, an online site that offers real-world advice. She’s a 15-year veteran of creating and managing digital content, and was the co-founder of ClickZ.com, one of the first sources of interactive marketing news and commentary. Follow her for information on marketing, business and more.
David Newman is the founder of Do It! Marketing®, and specializes in working with speakers, authors, consultants, and independent professionals who want to attract, engage, and win more clients. Follow him for marketing content and advice.
Rick Ross is the founder of Rick Ross Innovation, which helps businesses with innovation, technology and leadership, digital strategy and implementation, web, mobile and enterprise application development, by applying a people-centric approach. Follow him for content on innovation, IT and Leadership.
Ivana Taylor is the founder of DIYMarketers.com. She has spent nearly thirty years in manufacturing companies, running marketing departments and making companies the obvious choice for their ideal customer. Follow her for small business marketing advice, the best tools, tips and strategies for overwhelmed, cash, strapped small business owners.
Joe Pulizzi is the founder of Content Marketing Institute, the leading education and training organization for content marketing, which hosts the largest in-person content marketing event in the world, Content Marketing World. Follow him for updates on Content Marketing World, advice, and of course, content.
Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communication firm. She also is the founder of the professional development site for PR and marketing pros, Spin Sucks Pro, and co-author of Marketing In the Round. Follow her for marketing content.
Kent Huffman is a B2B and B2C marketing and branding executive, C-suite analyst and advisor, change agent, customer experience advocate, and published author. He is also the CMO of Chief Outsiders, which provides part-time Chief Marketing Officers to growing and mid-sized companies. Follow him for marketing content and advice.
Gail Goodman is the CEO of Constant Contact, a small business advocate and the author of Engagement Marketing: How Small Business Wins in a Socially Connected World. Follow her for marketing and small business content.
Michael Brenner is the Head of Strategy for the leading content marketing platform, NewsCred. Previously, he held marketing leadership positions at SAP as VP of Global Marketing and Content Strategy and Head of Digital Marketing for SAP Americas. He also runs the blog B2B Marketing Insider. Follow him for marketing and business content.
Beyond general marketing advice, many business owners are curious how they can make the most of their social media campaigns. On this list of social media marketing influencers, you’ll find Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging, and of course, Twitter experts that are always ready to engage with top-notch ideas and strategies for making the most of your limited time!
Mari Smith is a social media thought leader and marketing expert. She and her team work with forward-thinking, socially conscious companies to help grow their businesses through the power of social media, integrated with all forms of online marketing. Follow her for social media and marketing content.
Jeff Bullas is a social media marketing strategist and speaker. He is one of Forbes Top 50 social media influencers and his Twitter feed is one of Huffington Post’s Top 100 business Twitter accounts. Follow him for original and shared content.
Pam Moore is the CEO of The Marketing Nutz, a conversion optimization agency that helps businesses inspire, connect and achieve results, as well as Social Zoom Factor, home of podcasts hosted by Moore. She is a Forbes Top 10 social media influencer, consultant and speaker. Follow her for content, statistics, advice, podcasts and more.
Ted Rubin is a leading social marketing strategist, keynote speaker, brand evangelist and acting CMO of Brand Innovators, a content site where brand marketers come to learn, share and connect. Follow Rubin for marketing content and tips.
Glen Gilmore is the author of Social Media Law for Business and contributing author to Strategic Digital Marketing. He is recognized as a top influencer in social business, content marketing, wearables, and the internet of things. He has provided customized training to members of the Fortune 500. Follow him for social media and marketing content.
Sean Gardner is a keynote speaker, digital marketing consultant and author of The Road to Social Media Success. He has been profiled in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc., Glamour Magazine, and American Genius for his personal branding tips and marketing expertise. Follow him for social media and marketing content.
Jay Baer is a New York Times best-selling author, global keynote speaker, and digital media entrepreneur. He’s also the President of Convince and Convert, a strategy consulting firm. Follow him for digital marketing content and tips.
Shashi Bellamkonda is the CMO of Surefire Social, a small business speaker & columnist, a digital marketing leader and a professor at Georgetown University. Follow him for business and marketing content.
Bryan Kramer is a social business strategist and CEO of PureMatter, where he’s led his agency to consistent growth over the last 10 years earning a spot as one of Silicon Valley’s fastest growing private companies by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Follow him for marketing content, chats and more.
Deborah Shane is the founder of the Deborah Shane Tool Box, which offers small business solutions, insightful consulting, interactive training events, dynamic motivational speaking, content marketing and social media strategy. Follow her for tweets on careers, branding and social media, plus learn about the podcast she hosts.
Of course, some of the business influencers that made the list refuse to be classified so easily. In this great list of experts, you’ll find people who specialize in business technology, franchising, book publishing, and financing opportunities.
Ramon Ray is the founder and publisher of Smart Hustle Magazine. He authored the best-selling The Facebook Guide to Small Business Marketing, is a celebrated speaker, small business event organizer, publisher of SmallBizTechnology.com and serves as small business evangelist for Infusionsoft. Follow him for content and engagement.
Joel Libava is known as The Franchise King® and his blog has over 1,500 posts on franchise ownership advice. Libava is also the author of “Become A Franchise Owner.” Follow him for everything you need to know about buying and owning a franchise.
Stephanie Chandler is the author, publisher and founder of the Non-fiction Authors Association, a blogger for Forbes and a professionally trained speaker. She speaks about content marketing, internet marketing, small business growth strategies, and publishing. Follow her for content, tips and teleseminars.
Karlene S. Robinson is the author of the bestselling book Spank The Bank, an alternative financing expert and a small business advocate. Follow her for content around funding and small business.
Hanna Hasl-Kelchner is a lawyer who created an in-house training curriculum that evolved into an MBA level course taught at Duke University and the University of Virginia, and finally into the ground breaking book The Business Guide to Legal Literacy: What Every Manager Should Know About the Law. Follow her for consulting, business and legal content.
Pamela Slim is an award-winning author, speaker and business consultant who has been an entrepreneur for eighteen years. A former Director of Training and Development at Barclays Global Investors, she spent 10 years as a consultant to companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Charles Schwab and Cisco Systems. Follow her for content and updates on where she’ll be speaking next.
Tai Goodwin is a business growth strategist for coaches, consultants, and speakers. Her specialty is creating online courses, products and coaching programs. Follow her for marketing and business content.
Tom Gazaway is the founder and President of LenCred. Tom is widely known as the country’s foremost expert in unsecured lending solutions for small business owners. Follow him for news on funding, business and more.
Similar to previous years (our previous methodology is described in detail in this post), we began our process by evaluating the influence of an individual based on who their fellow influencers were following. With the help of Little Bird’s algorithm, we added a discount to people that are influential but are not active within the business Twitter community, i.e. people like Richard Branson and Bill Gates. While people like Richard and Bill are often being followed by hundreds of influential people within the small business community, they rarely, if ever, engage, making them less than ideal people if you’re the type of business owner who is seriously looking to use social media to engage with an active community.
And, if you are interested in ramping up your twitter knowledge from all of these folks, we’ve made it as easy as following this list: Small Business Influencer List.
There are four things that you need to focus on in your professional service marketing, four levels if you will.
The four levels are strategy, tactics, initiatives and action steps.So let's unpack this for your business...
Let's talk about level one, strategy.
A strategy is a big picture area of your business.
It could be a marketing-focused strategy. It could be a sales-focused strategy. It could be a financial strategy.
Let’s say you come across someone who tells you Twitter is an amazing marketing platform and you’re really missing out if your business is not on Twitter.
He's using it and it fits his business beautifully, of course and you respect this person and you admire their successful business. And now you’re thinking, "Oh man, it's all about Twitter Twitter, Twitter. This guy built his business on Twitter, so I can probably build my business on Twitter."
Well, all right, let's back that up and analyze that as far as the four levels of marketing.
Internet marketing is the strategy. Internet marketing is the big umbrella over Twitter. So you ask yourself, to what extent am I going to use an Internet marketing strategy in the sales and marketing and business development aspect of my business?
Internet marketing is the strategy.
The set of tactics under that would be social media. There's a lot going on via the internet, folks, that's not social media.
For example, search engine optimization, your website, the structure of your web presence, blogging, email marketing, dozens of internet marketing strategies. Social media happens to be one bucket under that, so social media is the tactic.
An initiative would be "I'm going to start using Twitter." This is level three now.
I'm going to start using Twitter. I'm going to start understanding it. I might read a book. I might go to some websites, I’m going to grab a copy of Twitter 101 or Using Twitter for business, all those fabulous resources that are out there for free. I'm going to become educated on that -- on that initiative.
Now, the action step - here's level four, the action step always takes the form of verb, noun, date.
Those are action steps. And the action step can also go on your calendar.
So this approach really takes it down to "What am I doing today?"
What's on my priority to-do list today? Not what's on my to-do list because your to-do list could be 50 things, but what are my top three most important things that I need to do based on the strategies I've selected, based on the tactics that I’ve chosen, based on the initiatives that I've designed, what are the action steps to put on my calendar and get it done?
So let’s follow this through with a complete example -- let's say I'm in the insurance business. (I'm not but let's say YOU are!)
You're selling into the insurance marketplace, insurance companies and insurance agents, general agents, insurance associations, insurance publications, and you’re looking to become a dominant resource in that world.
Your action step would be "I want to follow 300 insurance industry folks on Twitter by April 13th." That's your action step.
Does that fit into an initiative? Yes. The initiative is aggressively grow my Twitter following targeted to the insurance industry.
Does that fall in to a tactic? Yes, it does. It falls in to the social media tactic or set of tactics.
Does that fall under a strategy that I decided to use? Yes, it falls in to my internet marketing strategy.
So right there, just unpacking those four levels, you've got some "A-ha" moments, some insights you can use to start to filter and sort all of your old ideas, old notes, all of those conference sessions that you may have gone to, all of those tactics and tools and light bulb moments, all those nuggets and sound bites that you may have swirling around in your head or on your “someday, maybe list.”
If you start to sort them in to these four levels; strategy, tactic, initiative and action step – you’ll get a much clearer blueprint for ALL your marketing going forward this month, next month and next year!
Grab your FREE copy of the Strategic Marketing eBook.
Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!
Tags: consultant marketing, consulting firm marketing, thought leadership marketing, business coaching, marketing professional services, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, marketing professional services firms, marketing coach, marketing for consultants, business coach
Mike is a 30-year speaking veteran, specializing in education who pivoted to business. Listen to his story above.
Highlights:
"I've talked to 2.5 million people but I was always hunting my next wabbit"
"Increased my business ten-fold"
"I had to drill down to become a real problem-solver"
"I closed a $75K/year 3-year contract"
"I was on the fence - what would my wife say?"
"I'm getting $6,500 consistently"
"All in, I'm at $300,000 of new revenue"
"Wish I found you 10 years ago"
At Do It! Marketing, we help speakers, consultants, and experts to simplify their speaking-driven business, boost their impact and increase their income by $15K-$25K per month (or more) faster than they ever thought possible.
If that’s something you’re interested in, reach out and schedule a free speaker strategy call with our team at www.doitmarketing.com/call
On the call, we'll help you get total clarity on the business model, speaking model, and revenue model you really want, how to create it by reaching the exact clients and audiences who matter, and how to fix what's not working right now with your positioning, packaging, marketing, prospecting, outreach, and sales so that you improve your results FAST.
Go to www.doitmarketing.com/call and we'll craft a plan to help you speak more profitably.
Making Million’s with Tele-Seminars, Webinars and Content Marketing with David Newman of Do It Marketing – Part 1
Today’s guest David is the author of DO IT! Marketing: 77 Instant-Action Ideas to Boost Sales, Maximize Profits and Crush Your Competition.
David works with executives and entrepreneurs who want to position themselves as thought-leaders and generate MORE leads, BETTER prospects and BIGGER sales.
David’s worked with a number of Fortune 500 companies; directly helped over 300 speakers, authors, executives and entrepreneurs raise their game and deliver their highest value. And who knows how many entrepreneurs and solo-preneurs have been assisted through David’s books, talks and videos.
If your looking to generate leads, make more sales and get bigger sales, get ready to take some notes, because my man David dropped an amazing interview!
Book Chapter:
Why Your Business Needs To F.L.O.P (Feature & Leverage Other People On Your Site).
Core Message:
This is all about getting lot’s of experts featuring their stories, advice and tips on your site.
You do this in the form of interviews, guest blog posts, guest videos and other forms of content.
This gives you an unlimited number of ways to provide value to your community.
Your community is not sick of hearing from you. They just need diversity of stories to get the message in multiple ways.
This of course also helps you get your message out even more.
Magic Power’s:
David makes a really mean Gin and Tonic 🙂
Copy listening, this is the art of listening to your clients needs, wants, desires, questions and so forth.
Then you replay in your mind the what you’ve picked up through conversations, social media, during product launches and write to those wants, needs and questions in your copy.
This is the fastest way to write copy that connects.
Listener Mastery:
Tele-seminars or webinars, you want to run a 5 minute intro telling people that they’re in the right place and details of the event, what you’ll cover, etc.
20 minutes of your very best content (covering 3 to 4 chunks of content in most cases is plenty).
Then 5 minutes more to deliver you offer.
Finally a further 5 minutes to take questions and stack some bonuses to make people take action.
David covered an amazing amount of content on tele-summits, tele-seminars and webinars that you should seriously listen to right through. It’s million dollar income content!
See the original podcast show notes page here at Authority Factory.
The Challenge
Too often, professional services firms:
The Opportunity
Independent research with over 700 professional services firms proves that the #1 source of new business is “Making warm calls to existing clients” – and #2 and #3 are “Speaking at conferences and trade shows” and “Running our own seminars and events” yet if yours is like the majority of firms, you haven’t yet cracked the code on how to make this work for YOUR people to attract YOUR clients.
More research shows that 52-72% of B2B professional services BUYERS are willing to switch to new service providers across a spectrum of specialties. (Wellesley Hills Group, What’s Working in Lead Generation professional services market study)
Meaning: You’re always ONE good presentation away from closing new business.
The Payoff
Speakers, consultants and authors can often do a MUCH better job in the following areas:
• Design and deliver a client-magnet presentation
• Generate leads without being salesy
• Use Before-During-After marketing to stay top of mind
• Maximize profits on a shoestring marketing budget
• Generate more leads, better prospects and bigger sales using irresistible offers and high-integrity techniques
...and in my experience working with clients like this, it does NOT take a huge amount of work; small, targeted shifts in your packaging, promotion, messaging, and followup makes all the difference (which we nail down for you in this program) and then the floodgates open for your speaking success!
Last Word: Marketing Skills vs. Presentation Skills
A decent presentation built for marketing and sales results will outperform a brilliant presentation built for a “standing ovation” or praise from your local Toastmaster’s club or high marks from a presentation skills coach.
Bottom line: I don’t care if you become a great speaker. I do very much care that you become a good speaker who consistently generates more leads, better prospects, and bigger sales each time you present in front of a roomful of potential buyers.
What do you think? Fire off some thoughts, comments, or questions in the COMMENTS section below. Let's talk about this one...
Tags: professional services marketing, speaker sales training, speaker marketing, do it marketing, professional services selling, speaker marketing coach, sales training for speakers
Guest post by Charlie Poznek
When I first started my online business, I had no idea what a business coach was, let alone why I needed one. I was much more concerned with the technical aspects of building a website, launching a podcast, and figuring out what social media was all about.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that hiring a business coach would’ve saved me hours each week, and not just when it came to learning to format my Twitter profile.
I learned that a business coach is crucial to speeding up the learning curve, connecting with your target market, and avoiding expensive mistakes that new online business owners tend to make. In essence, hiring a coach will get you in the game faster, keep you there longer, and let you focus on building your brand and connecting with customers.
So how do you find the business coach of your dreams?
1. Clarify your values
What matters most to you in your business, and as a human being? For me, giving back is a huge part of why I do what I do. When looking for a coach, it was important to me to work with someone who shared that value. I didn’t care if they were the most well-respected business coach in the world; if their values didn’t match mine, I didn’t want to work with them.
Your values don’t necessarily have to be personal or moral in nature - they might include your working style, or what’s most important to you in a professional relationship.
For example, do you value someone who gives it to you straight, or someone who is more nurturing? Are you a go-with-the-flow type of person, or do you prefer to have everything planned out?
Figure out which values are most important to you in a working relationship before beginning your search for the perfect coach or mentor.
2. Set expectations
What do you expect to get out of working with a business coach?
Would you like a coach who…
Start to think about your expectations of the relationship, including how much time you want to spend working with your coach and what you expect them to teach you. Some people may want a good listener, while others may want to be told exactly what to do and how to do it. What’s your preference?
You should also consider how you want to work with your coach:
Would you prefer…
If you’d rather be face to face than on the phone, look for a local coach who can meet with you in person. If you’re busy with a full time job and can barely squeeze in a weekly webinar, find a coach who can work around your schedule.
You should also clearly state the goal of working with a coach. How will you know if the coaching relationship has been successful?
Make a list of exactly what you want help with, and what you want to achieve. You might want something as basic as help setting up your website, or something as esoteric as defining the feeling of your brand. Get specific so you can find the perfect person to deliver what you need.
3. Create a budget
You can spend $25 on a business coach or $25,000. What’s your budget?
Keep in mind that the most expensive mentor in the world doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the best mentor in the world.
Many business coaches offer monthly packages that include weekly phone calls and email support. Generally speaking, one-on-one coaching will be more expensive than group coaching, but you’ll receive less attention.
An experienced, well-known business coach might charge upwards of $500/hour for his or her time. If you fall in love with a coach and find out their price point is too high, don’t give up right away. Contact them first to see if they have a payment plan or a program that’s within your price range.
4. Schedule an interview
Once you’ve found someone who shares your values, meets your expectations, and falls within your budget, it’s time to set up an interview.
If the business coach you’re interested in is highly successful, you may feel intimidated and fall into what I like to call the “pick me!” mentality. Remember that there has to be chemistry on both sides in order for a relationship to work. If this coach is recommended by everyone but you get a bad vibe from them, it’s not worth the investment.
Prepare a list of questions for your interview, and be sure to take note of how you feel during the interview. Do you feel listened to? Does the coach seem confident that they can help you?
A good business coach will be extremely interested in hearing all the details of where you are now and where you want to go - without those details, he or she has no way of knowing if the coaching relationship will be a good fit.
Finally, make sure that you like the person you’re about to hire. They may have all the knowledge and expertise in the world, but if you dread spending an hour on the phone with them, you’ll be wasting your money.
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Charlie Poznek is the Founder and CEO of The Boomer Business Owner with Charlie Poznek, a podcast that helps Baby Boomers create a spectacular life through successfully starting and running an online business.
Have you ever hired a business coach? What was your experience like? Use the COMMENTS area below and join the conversation!Tags: marketing speaker, business coaching, trusted advisor marketing, entrepreneurship, marketing coaching, selling professional services, small business coach, marketing coach, do it marketing, sales and marketing, business strategy, business coach
