Ya dig?
Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on packing maximum VALUE into minimum WORDS...
Tags: marketing speaker, consulting firm marketing, thought leadership marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing professional services firms, marketing strategist, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, content marketing, brand strategy
This video is one of my all-time favorites.
And if you're an entrepreneur, you'll immediately see why:
Have a great weekend - and then next week, get back to the business of changing the world!
Tags: marketing for speakers, thought leadership marketing, trusted advisor marketing, entrepreneurship, small business marketing expert, small business coach, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, small business marketing speaker, doitmarketing, small business marketing coach, business coach
Here are my Top Five Business Books of the Week - but these are not just any old business books.
They are...
Fire starters...
Game changers...
Show stoppers...
Books that will transform the way you think about your work, about your business, and - yes - about your life.
Get your amazon shopping cart ready for some racing stripes - here we go:
- Be the Best at What Matters Most: The Only Strategy You will Ever Need by Joe Calloway
- Create Distinction: What to Do When Great Isn't Good Enough to Grow Your Business by Scott McKain
- Fred 2.0: New Ideas on How to Keep Delivering Extraordinary Results by Mark Sanborn
- Running the Gauntlet: Essential Business Lessons to Lead, Drive Change, and Grow Profits by Jeffrey W. Hayzlett and Jim Eber
- People Buy You: The Real Secret to what Matters Most in Business by Jeb Blount
Tags: marketing for speakers, thought leadership marketing, business coaching, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, entrepreneurship, coaching, professional speaker marketing, marketing consultant, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, business book review, best business books, business strategy, public speaker marketing
You hate cold calling, yeah, yeah, I know BUT...
Truth is, nothing beats having a voice-to-voice conversation with a real prospect. And when you reach prospects, you have less than 30 seconds to interest and engage them. Make a mistake and there are no second chances.
You need to have a solid, proven plan to engage your prospects by phone and consistently win them over so that more sales happen.
Join me as I interview Wendy Weiss, the "Queen of Cold Calling," for this empowering call where you will get specific answers to:
- Why cold call at all? Is it old-fashioned? Does it even work?
- Haven’t e-mail and social media replaced cold calling?
- How do I know whom to call?
- What should I say?
- What is a good generic script?
- How can I convince prospects to speak with me without giving them the feeling I’m trying to ‘sell’ them something?
- How do I deal with voicemail? Should I leave a message?
- Why doesn’t anyone ever call me back?
- And a whole lot more...
We'll have room on the teleseminar line for 100 people so take 10 seconds to register now so you don't miss out.
Tags: marketing for speakers, consultant marketing, thought leadership marketing, keynote speaker, business coaching, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, sales rejection, sales prospecting, marketing coaching, marketing coach, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, sales and marketing, lead generation
Awesome video - wanted you to experience this for yourself:
Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing speaker, business coaching, marketing expert, marketing coaching, professional speaker marketing, marketing coach, success tips, speaker marketing, marketing for authors, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, success, business strategy, business coach, becoming an expert
If you'd like to do better in your business... this post is for you.
If you're down in the dumps - no money, no clients, no prospects, no hope... this post is for you.
If you're doing great - and not sure exactly why or how long this "lucky streak" will last - this post is DEFINITELY for you...
There's a dirty word in business, especially among authors, speakers, and experts who, above all, feel that they should serve as shining examples of personal success and professional prosperity.
That word is shame.
It's easy to feel shame when your business is doing poorly. I'm not saying that it's RIGHT - but it sure is easy.
And yes, it's painful, negative, and unpleasant to feel shame. But perhaps there's an upside to that because it makes you feel uncomfortable to feel unsuccessful.
At least THAT part makes sense.
There's another kind of shame that is more pernicious, dangerous and much more common than you might think.
It's the shame of success.
It's when you juuuuust start to break through... when your business juuuuust starts to take off... when the money juuuuust starts to flow abundantly.
You're not only paying your bills, you're paying off debt (credit cards, home equity line, etc.), you're building up your savings, your rainy day fund is healthy, you're paying yourself regularly, you are even... GASP... putting away some nice money for retirement and/or your kids' college fund.
The it hits you... The Shame of Success. It's a little voice in your head.
You know what I'm talking about. I'll bet you even know what it's saying to you. Things like:
- This won't last - it's just a lucky streak...
- You're one step away from being broke again...
- Don't count your eggs before they hatch...
- You're not that good...
- You're not that smart...
- You can't even handle this much client work
- You're going to blow through all this cash and be back at Square 1...
- Your clients will find you out...
- Your friends won't like your new level of success...
- Better not tell anyone about this success, they'll be jealous...
- They'll think you're lying...
- They'll think you're bragging...
- They'll feel bad that they're not doing as well as you...
And on, and on, and on.
Please... stop the madness. Kill that voice. Catch yourself every time you hear it and tell it to go take a hike. Refocus. Recenter.
Remember once and for all - there is no shame in your success.
If you have REAL friends, they'll celebrate with you.
If you have friends who don't... guess what? They're not your real friends.
If misery loves company, it has company enough.
And it's time you quit that company.
You know who REALLY loves company?
- Passion loves company
- Achievers love company
- Winners love company
- Success loves company
There are already way too many people and circumstances that make you feel weak, unworthy, and unsuccessful... they do NOT need your help!
FACT: You TOTALLY deserve to be successful.
FACT: This is ABSOLUTELY your time to crush it.
FACT: YOU ROCK so hard, you don't even know it.
FACT: You are insanely GREAT.
FACT: You ARE fabulously successful - so KEEP GOING!!!
In the immortal words of the great Zig Ziglar, "I'll see you at the top!"
What do you think? Please leave a COMMENT below and let's hear YOUR advice, insights and recommendations on how not to get bushwhacked by the "shame of success."
Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing concept, thought leadership marketing, passion, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, marketing coaching, success tips, marketing consultant, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing
Happy Friday.
A day worth celebrating with a free gift for you - a copy of the best book I never wrote: The Fortune Cookie Business Book.
Click here to download your copy right here, right now.
Enjoy - and thank you for being a reader of this blog and a supporter of my work.
(Psst... Want a hardcopy version? That can be arranged here.)
Comments? Questions? Want to share what YOUR favorite Chinese meal is? (Mine is listed on page 187)... then please use the COMMENTS area below and...
Tags: marketing for speakers, consultant marketing, marketing concept, thought leadership marketing, freebies, marketing professional services, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing professional services firms, marketing coaching, professional speaker marketing, marketing ideas, marketing coach, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, public speaker marketing
Today, you're getting a hot and juicy marketing interview that I did for my pal Craig Price, host of the terrific podcast series, Reality Check.
Click here to listen in.
Criticisms, scathing remarks, bitter complaints? Awesome - Craig loves to get those.
Comments, kudos, or congratulations? Leave THOSE in the COMMENTS section below and let's hear from YOU...
Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, thought leadership marketing, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, marketing coaching, professional speaker, professional speaker marketing, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing
Closing effectively is all about answering this question: "What can you do to minimize the risk to the prospect of buying your product or service?"
Look at all the products out on the market that offer risk-free, money back guarantees. Do you offer guarantees, warrantees, refunds, free trials or make-ups?
In today’s “do more with less” business environment, many economic decision-makers have a new top priority – and it’s NOT “Making the very best choice.”
It is “Not making a mistake that will cost me my job.”
If you can reassure someone with this mindset that buying from you is smart and safe and risk-free, you will automatically close more sales.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- How can I provide a free version of my product or service?
- What can I learn from the auto industry’s new trend of “the 24-hour test drive”?
- What does the buyer have to lose if they buy from me?
- What do they have to gain?
- How can I ensure the buyer’s success – not just their satisfaction?
- How can I employ the concept of risk-reversal – meaning that the risk is all on my side if they don’t achieve success?
When most sales training programs talk about overcoming objections, they usually don’t discuss the real objections that are in most buyers’ minds. These are things like:
- "I don’t trust you"
- "I don’t believe this will get the results you say it will"
- "This sounds too good to be true"
- "If this works, I would have heard of this solution already"
- "Who says so besides you?"
You should understand (and expect) that people probably will not trust you in the beginning of the sales process.
They have been sold stuff all their lives “against their will.”
They bought the steak knives, the late-night infomercial real estate program, the Girl Scout cookies, the raffle ticket, or the used car and regretted it later. (OK maybe not the cookies.) Trust has to be earned over time.
To address these aspects of buyer resistance, you can use a battery of smart sales tools.
You may be using some of these already, but the more you pile on, the more effective they will be.
Start to collect, document, and use:
- Client testimonials (letters are good; audio and video are even better)
- Awards and industry recognition of your product/service
- Press clippings and articles mentioning you or your clients using your product/service
- Objective, fact-based side-by-side comparisons with competing products/services
- Cost analyses and comparisons between using your product/service, using the competition, doing it themselves, and doing nothing
All of these items will help you reduce risk, build credibility, and pave the way for closing more sales - even to your toughest prospects!
Tags: Marketing speaker, marketing coach, close more sales, marketing for speakers, marketing for authors, professional services marketing, selling professional services
What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on these ideas and join the conversation...
Tags: marketing for speakers, thought leadership marketing, marketing professional services, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, sales rejection, sales prospecting, marketing consultant, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, sales and marketing
Email.
We all get too much.
We all spend too much time writing, replying, sorting and processing.
Here's one tactic that will help you - in some cases, immensely.
It's a simple three-word email.
You'll get it in a moment...
First, more about the problem... Face it: Sometimes you get caught up in replying to emails that do not need a reply.
You leave open loops.
You're not sure if NOT replying would seem rude.
And sometimes you're replying to a reply, confirming a confirmation or thanking someone for a thank you.
This type of email is totally unnecessary.
And, as you know, the best way to cut down on the number of emails you RECEIVE is to first cut down on the number of emails that you SEND.
The second best way is to adopt an email template that clearly indicates you acknowledge the other person's reply and that you do NOT need further communication about it.
Here's the three-word email I suggest you begin to use...
"Awesome - perfect - thank you."
This email note does a few things for you:
1. Makes it clear the message was received
2. Gives thanks
3. Makes it clear that no further response is needed WITHOUT being curt, short, or rude.
My acronym for this email is A-P-T: Awesome - Perfect - Thank you
Try it and see if you begin to see a more streamlined email inbox with less back and forth, less wasted time, and less "email for the sake of email."
Rock on - and leave a COMMENT below to share your success stories using this APT email...
Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing success, thought leadership marketing, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, email marketing, professional speaker marketing, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, sales and marketing, marketing tips
