Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

Unless you're brand new to me and this blog... you know that my new Do It! Marketing book is about to be released. 

You may also know that we hit Amazon #1 bestseller status not once - but TWICE already - and the book isn't even out yet. 

What you may not know is that I had help. Amazing help from amazing people. Gurus and friends and colleagues and people I consider my personal and professional heroes. 

Some helped a little. Some helped a lot. Some helped WAY above and beyond my wildest dreams... 

If you're interested in marketing success, business success, and life success - well, there are a lot of so-called experts out there.

Many are called. Few are chosen.

I've made the choosing easy for you...

Here are 37 super-smart, generous, prolific, sometimes contrarian, and always fascinating people worth following...

p.s. The best thing about them - none of them would CALL themselves a "guru" - they simply consider themselves lucky to be sharing their insights with others who can benefit.

Here they are in no particular order (although each of them is truly #1)

1. Jay Baer - http://www.convinceandconvert.com
2. Stephanie Chandler - http://www.stephaniechandler.com
3. Corey Perlman - http://www.ebootcamp.com
4. Melinda Emerson - http://succeedasyourownboss.com
5. Chris Murray - http://www.chrismurrayeditor.com
6. Henry DeVries - http://www.marketingwithabook.com
7. C. J. Hayden - http://www.getclientsnow.com 
8. Scott Ginsberg - http://hellomynameisscott.com
9. Dan Janal - http://www.prleadsplus.com
10. Art Sobczak - http://businessbyphone.com
11. Mary Foley - http://maryfoley.com
12. Gene Marks - http://genemarks.com
13. Viveka Von Rosen - http://linkedintobusiness.com
14. Brian Tracy - http://briantracy.com
15. Geoff Ramm - http://www.geofframm.com 
16. John Jantsch - http://www.ducttapemarketing.com
17. Joe Calloway - http://joecalloway.com
18. Jay Conrad Levinson - http://www.gmarketing.com
19. Jim Meisenheimer - http://www.meisenheimer.com
20. Mark Sanborn - http://www.marksanborn.com
21. Marshall Goldsmith - http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com
22. David A. Fields - http://www.davidafields.com
23. Pamela Slim - http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com
24. Mark Hunter - http://thesaleshunter.com
25. Bob Bly - http://www.bly.com
26. Sean Carroll - http://www.seancarrollspeaker.com
27. Bob Burg - http://www.burg.com
28. Jeffrey Hayzlett - http://hayzlett.com
29. Sam Richter - http://samrichter.com
30. Howard Lewinter - http://www.talkbusinesswithhoward.com
31. Stephen Lahey - http://smallbusinesstalent.com
32. Jose Palomino - http://www.valueprop.com
33. Karyn Greenstreet - http://www.passionforbusiness.com
34. Avish Parashar - http://www.dinghappens.com
35. Michael Dalton Johnson - http://www.salesdog.com
36. Greg Williams - http://www.themasternegotiator.com
37. Marnie Swedberg - http://www.marniesfriends.com

Bookmark this blog post - stay connected with these people - implement their big ideas - and you WILL profit, prosper, and succeed.

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on the people who have made the biggest impact on YOUR professional success...

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.

Avish Parashar has just released a new book titled, "Say Yes, And!" and he has a great special offer for people who buy the book by midnight tonight, Feb. 28.  

The book takes a fundamental principle from improv comedy - saying "yes, and" instead of "yes, but" - and shows you how that one simple idea can help you improve your career, your business, your relationships, and your life.  

As a special promotion, if you buy the book today, February 28th, you'll get access to over $200 in free gifts, including PDF versions of two of Avish's other books and over 8 hours of MP3 recordings of some of Avish's most popular audio programs. That's over $200 in gifts in return for buying a $12.95 book.  

To get the book and the free gifts, visit http://www.SayYesAnd.com

p.s. Here's my review from amazon.com:

First I have to tell you - I'm a business book junkie. I read 'em all. Big ones, little ones, famous ones, and hidden gems. All topics including sales, marketing, leadership, strategy, the how-to, the what-to, and the why-to kind.

And this books stands out.

Plain and simple, Avish Parashar packages essential wisdom, insights, and practical advice into a small concentrated form factor.

But don't be fooled - this is life-changing stuff.

One small turn in what you think and what you say CAN and WILL make a huge impact. Example after example pours out of this book and will soon spark ideas and memories in your own mind of times you took charge and created success - and other times when you chose the "Yes but" path and created your own obstacles, limits, and barriers.

Whether you are a business owner, corporate executive, sales professional, association executive, or non-profit leader, this book is for YOU. Filled with immediately actionable insights and concrete take-aways, this little book may trigger the biggest and best changes your team, your organization, and your results will ever experience.

Tell you what - STOP reading Amazon reviews of this great little book, say "YES AND I'll buy it right now." In fact, you may want to buy three - one for yourself, one for your boss, and one for the significant other in your life. Yes (and) the ideas in this book work as powerfully at home as they do at work!!

Marketing Mix: Book Review of "PAID TO SPEAK" published by the National Speakers Association

PAID TO SPEAK is a virtual MBA in the business of speaking. From marketing to positioning to product development to platform skills, it's ALL in here. Well-organized, tightly edited, and with a logical flow from one part of the business to another, PAID TO SPEAK is also unique in that it tells it like it is. No sugar-coating. And no trying to fleece opportunity-seekers into believing the speaking business is a fast, easy, and glamorous way to make money. [It is NONE of the three!] 

Speaking professionally today is about thought-leadership, adding value to corporate, association, and entrepreneurial sectors, and understanding all the different ways that audiences and buyers want to access, use, and deploy your expertise. The book spans a wide range of business models, distribution methods, and revenue models. As it should - to reflect the current reality of many successful speakers (very few of whom have business models that look anything alike!) 

The key value in buying a copy of PAID TO SPEAK, dog-earing it, highlighting it, and taking notes in the margins... is that you will emerge from the experience with a wealth of information, some clear decisions to make, and a game plan to put it all together in a style and manner that suits your personality, your strengths, and your preferences. This is no "one size fits all" template for "THE" way to become successful. There are MANY paths up the mountain - and PAID TO SPEAK should be your personal handbook, guide, and reference to get you there miles ahead of the competition! 

Today's marketing concept for you is simple - check this out:

Your marketing and sales process should be easy, effortless, and enjoyable.

Period. End of sentence.

If it is not - and if you're attracting difficult, high-maintenance or non-enjoyable prospects - here's another marketing concept for you:

If the dating doesn't go well, it won't get better once you're married.

As the great business sage, Donald Trump, once said:

"Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't do."

Amen, brother Trump!

5 Signs that Your Prospect is Giving You Too Much Bullsh*t

1. Agreeing to sign on and then backing off at the last minute or the next day to ask for references, birth certificates, blood tests, or guarantees.

2. Bargaining. Namely, asking for a price reduction with no corresponding reduction in services, terms, value, or relationship. (Asking for a price concession "just because" is a classic form of prospect bullsh*t!)

3. Undervaluing your services, track record, and expertise. "I could do this myself, I just don't have time..." or "We've outsourced this to several vendors and have never been happy..." (Run, my friend, run!)

4. Telling you upfront, "We're notoriously difficult to work with / a control freak / a perfectionist / highly demanding - but don't take it personally." (This means they've been fired by other service providers in the past and they're prepping you for the same eventuality while playing BOTH sides of good cop / bad cop. Nice!)

5. Using terms of false affection like "Big Guy'" and "My dear" or false compliments like "You are a great salesperson!" (Obviously, if you were a great salesperson, you would not be wasting your time with this narcissistic sociopath nightmare client from hell, would you?)

As poet Maya Angelou has so eloquently said, "When someone SHOWS you who they are, believe them."

Finally, a cautionary (and VERY funny) video to illustrate the point about Prospect Bullsh*t and how it looks in everyday life:

Grab your FREE copy of the Strategic Marketing eBook.

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

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!

Every day here at Do It! Marketing HQ, we work hard to make sure the clients we love are extremely happy with our work and our results. At the same time, we work hard to keep OUT clients who will make us nuts, sap our energy, or for whom it will be impossible to do our best work.

In this spirit, here is today's marketing concept: Your Client GPS tool (Goofball Prevention Screening)

A client may well prove to be a Goofball if they…

1. Lack high standards of excellence – Good enough is good enough…
2. Don’t care about increasing their knowledge – Not committed to becoming valuable resources to their own clients and customers…
3. Refuse to work hard and commit to their own success – Lack persistence and are unwilling to try new things to achieve results…
4. Think they already know everything – And are unwilling to accept help in expanding their skills, expertise, or capabilities…
5. Resist investing in themselves and their business – They fail to understand that this is the best investment of all…
6. Operate from a mindset of fear and scarcity – They can’t make good decisions long-term because they are so risk-averse in the short term…
7. Won’t (or can’t) pay their bills – Their lack of financial responsibility spills over onto others in the form of late payment, non-payment, and endless excuses…
8. Exude negative energy – Negative self-talk, pessimism and cynicism repel new opportunities, new partners, and new ideas (all vital to success)…
9. Can’t commit to mutually supportive relationships – In business and in life, the most successful people don’t make it alone…

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

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!

1. I'm scared to...

2. They won't let me...

3. It sounds too simple...

4. It sounds too complicated...

5. I'll never find the time to...

6. Sounds crazy...

7. I've never done anything like that before...

8. I've done that a bunch of times...

9. It'll turn everybody off...

10. I don't know how...

11. That's not the way we do things around here...

12. It's too expensive...

13. It's too far-fetched...

14. I need another 6 months to test it...

15. I need to be 100% sure...

16. It's not perfect yet...

17. People will say I'm foolish...

18. People will say I'm crazy...

19. I would never buy something like this myself...

20. I don't know...

21. I'm not ready...

22. I'm not smart enough...

23. I don't have the right degrees and certifications...

24. What's the exit strategy?

25. The competition is already way ahead of us...

26. We can't just pick up and start...

27. The other guys are bigger...

28. The other guys have more money...

29. The other guys are so well-connected...

30. It'll never work...

31. Maybe next year...

Which one(s) of these scare YOU the most? Please use the comments area below to share your SCARIEST source of fear, uncertainty and doubt... so we can overcome them TOGETHER!

Want to blow past all these scary excuses and tackle your most important marketing, sales and business growth TO-DO items all in a single, super-focused day? Check out DO IT DAYS and join us for the next one.

As a speaker marketing expert and head honcho of an inbound marketing agency serving speakers, consultants, and thought-leading professionals, I often find myself with prospects who want to get involved in social media but - sadly - do not understand the intent, ideas, or influence factors that make social media an effective tactic in their overall marketing arsenal.

How can I put this? Ummm... well, they're idiots.

Relax... IDIOT is an acronym that stands for the 5 key misconceptions, faulty assumptions, and pillars of goofy thinking that prevent most thought-leading professionals (YOU perhaps??) from generating maximum results from your social media efforts.

Namely...

I: I, Me, My syndrome

D: Dumb it down

I: Information without invitation

O: Over-selling

T: Today vs. tomorrow focus

Let's take a look at each of these in a bit more detail:

I: I, Me, My syndrome. No, your social media postings do NOT need to be all about YOU. In fact, if all you talk about is YOU - your company, your book, your blog, your brand, your articles, your resources, your tools, your programs, your products, your services... people will ignore you, tune you out, and dismiss you for the self-centered idiot that you are. (Please remember - idiot is an acronym used throughout this post.)

Experts promote other experts. Experts are not insecure about shining the spotlight on others. Experts are curators and pointers-out-of-cool-things. Experts post book reviews BY other experts FOR yet other experts' books.

As long as YOU can be counted on to share interesting, relevant, valuable, sometimes even edgy content, guide your followers to the "good stuff" online, and position yourself as a reliable sherpa in your expertise, you'll get PLENTY of attention, love, and respect. Even MORE SO if you're not a mental weakling who is focused only on hyping your own crap.

Grow up. Step up. Be a real expert and learn once and for all - it's not about YOU.

D: Dumb it down This mistake comes from the fear that if you give away your VERY BEST ideas, strategies, tools, tactics, insights and other secret sauce (yes, the stuff you get paid BIG BUCKS for with your paying clients!) that you will somehow diminish the demand for your paid products and services.

So you "dumb it down." You post that second-rate article. You remove some detail from that tip sheet because you want people to buy your consulting services and not do it themselves. You post the video that only has 3 of your 10 key ideas because heck, if you gave all 10 ideas, they'd never hire you to keynote at the big industry conference - you've already "spilled the candy in the lobby."

Yep - you guessed it: You're an idiot.

The reality is - it works 180 degrees the other way. The ONLY way folks are going to pay you the big bucks is if they have a FIRSTHAND experience of your genius - if they feel it, taste it, touch it, and fully experience it. ONLY THEN will they want more. ONLY THEN will they share it with their colleagues. ONLY THEN will they call their boss over to look at your website or email them your link.

Do you want to be SHARED - or do you want to be SCARED? Your call - but you already know which answer will make you more money. Unless you're an idiot. 

I: Information without invitation  Social media sites are not a dumping ground for your old, outdated, crappy content from books you wrote in the 1980s or articles that you could never get published.

Even rock-solid, current, highly relevant information is NECESSARY but NOT SUFFICIENT to fuel your thought leadership platform and build your empire as an expert.

Here's a secret - the internet actually does NOT need more information posted on it. Not from you. Not from me. Not from anyone.

An effective social media campaign will share information of standalone value and then INVITE a two-way (or 5-way or 17-way) conversation around that information.

Ask questions, seek engagement, invite involvement. 

Offer value, seek opinions, spark conversation - and ask the most powerful question in sales AND leadership AND relationships: "What do you think?"

O: Over-selling One particularly idiotic individual told me that he wanted ALL his Facebook posts to have a hyperlink. Every. Single. One.

Hyperlink to where, you ask?

To HIS online store, HIS products, HIS books on amazon, HIS speaking page, HIS consulting page, HIS services overview. He said, "If you're not linking every Facebook post to a selling opportunity, you're just putting a lot of dead-end junk on Facebook and you'll never make any money." 

Wow - this guy is a WORLD-CLASS idiot.

Social media is not about posting "here's how to buy my crap" - it's not about creating an extra dozen or so sales pages for your products, services or programs.

If your goals are: Sell on Twitter. Sell on Facebook. Sell on LinkedIn. Sell on YouTube...

Your results will be: Unfollow. Unfriend. Unlink. Unsubscribe. You're done. Buh-bye. Idiot.

Lesson 1 for you to share with your idiots: Content comes before commerce.

Lesson 2 for you to share with your idiots: First you earn their attention. THEN you earn their money.

T: Today vs. tomorrow focus The final mistake is to think of social media in the same way that you might think of outbound sales activity.

Think about it: Cold calls. Email blasts. Direct mail. Do those things and the natural question to ask is - OK, how much did we sell?

You made 100 dials, you connected with 20 humans, you had 14 conversations, you qualified 5 serious prospects and then how much did you SELL TODAY?

You sent 10,000 postcards. Requests came back for 300 quotes. So how many widgets did you SELL TODAY?

Social media doesn't work that way. Social media is... well, social. It's about relationships and trust. Relationships and trust don't have an ON/OFF switch - they develop over time.

Transactions happen today from relationships you built last week, last month, and last year. The benefit of that - and the reason it's worth the "wait" is that social media gives you a permanent asset - TRUST.

Blog entries are forever. They continue to sell your expertise, your company, and your value day after day, week after week, year after year. LinkedIn recommendations are forever. People that wrote glowingly of you in 2002 are still "selling" for you and your reputation TODAY.

A voice mail? BEEP - gone. An email? ZAP - gone. A face to face meeting? DONE - bye. Those happen today and they're gone today. 

Sure, you have to sell today. You have to make your quota today. You have to feed your family today. But social media marketing helps you ensure that what you create ONCE today works and lasts and brings customers and clients to you for many years to come...

Not because you SOLD them like an IDIOT -- but because you built the trust and relationships that HELPED THEM BUY today, tomorrow and beyond!

==========
So... what do YOU think?

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

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!

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I've seen firsthand that there are three kinds of service business owners and independent professionals - which one are YOU?

1. You may have NO thought-leadership products and wish you did (audios, ebooks, high-value binders,client-pulling premium special reports, etc)...

2. You may have a published book through which you're selling your life's work for $20 a pop and you realize that's not smart professionally or financially...

3. You may have a mix of professionally published and self-published work both electronic and hardcopy but you want a NEW high-value information product that better reflects your current niche, expertise, or opens up an entirely NEW market for your services...and you want it FAST!

Good news...The NEW Product Development Toolkit 8-week group coaching program kicks off on May 10 and you're among the first to hear the details...

http://www.ProductDevelopmentToolkit.com

Somehow, some way, you want to grow your business so you get:

• MORE Leads
• MORE Clients
• MORE Consulting Work
• MORE Professional Services Engagements
• MORE Profits
• MORE Passive Income
• and 100-300% MORE Revenue...

Which will in turn, help you generate:

• MORE Cashflow
• MORE Control
• MORE Products and Services
• MORE Subscribers
• MORE Time Off
• MORE Leverage
• and dramatically MORE Freedom...

Just like YOU, I know what that feels like!

And as a marketing speaker, marketing coach,and former VP of Product Development for a $5 million revenue infopublishing company, I want to show YOU how to enhance your cashflow, grow your client base, and increase your leverage by helping YOU create your NEXT information product FAST.

http://www.ProductDevelopmentToolkit.com

The Product Development Toolkit is perfect for:

1. Experts who have finally realized that givingaway all their information in $20 books iskeeping them broke;

2. Executives fed up with the rat race, who want to start a business built on their personal orprofessional experience and expertise;

3. Professional speakers who are stuck in thebroken business model of chasing after a different audience for speeches every week;

4. Consultants who are stuck in the trading-hours-for-money trap;

5. Independent professionals who want to build their practice, establish their brand, and break away from the pack of "Same-o, Lame-o" competitors.

You'll get a customized product CREATION *and* product MARKETING toolkit that FITS, WORKS and LASTS... and you're also getting the help and support you need over time to IMPLEMENT it to create RESULTS.

Details and application information is onlinefor you here...

http://www.ProductDevelopmentToolkit.com

I look forward to hearing from you if you're one ofthe FEW smart, brave, and committed entrepreneurs who want more leverage, more momentum, more clients, and more fun in your professional services business...Not someday - but right now.

SPECIAL DEAL: As a reader of this blog, you're also getting a $100 discount on Dan Janal's Guaranteed Press Release Service where he will make sure your press release appears on at least 40 media sites with links pointing back to your site -- or its free! Normal price: $795. Your special price: Only $695.  For info, go to www.PressReleaseSender.com and put "David Newman" in the "referrer" box and you'll be mailed a check for $100 for your discount.

Not sure about sending a press release? Get Dan's free report on "How to Get Guaranteed Publicity with Press Releases" at http://www.pressreleasesender.com

What better way to position yourself as a thought leader than to have 40 or more high-traffic media sites SHOWCASE your expertise?

Hope you'll take advantage of BOTH of these opportunities to significantly boost your thought leadership platform!

"Nearly all rich and powerful people are not notably talented, educated, charming, or good-looking. They become rich and powerful by wanting to be rich and powerful."
-- Paul Arden

How’s that for a goal? Imagine this:

“Billy, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Billy: “Rich and powerful!”

Isn’t that great? What is wrong with that answer?

Nothing, NOTHING, NOTHING! Or as my mother says, “There’s nothing wrong with making a lot of money, you know.” (Thanks, Mom.)

Paul Arden gets it. On the cover of his book It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be, he has the subtitle “The world’s best-selling book by Paul Arden.”

That’s what we’re talking about!

===
David Newman is a marketing speaker and marketing coach who works with professionals who want to do a better job of marketing so they get more leads, better prospects, and bigger sales.