Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

5 Big Shifts You Need to Make for High-Fee Success

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After working with over 500 consultants, speakers, coaches, authors, and service professionals, I found 5 big shifts for mindset and skillset improvement are vital to the success of folks who are ready to make the leap to a high-fee business model.

We’ll dig into the details behind all of this to get you ready to rock in the world of high-fee programs during this special masterclass but here are some gold nuggets and things for you to think about before then...

1. The first mindset shift is around money.

Here’s the sound bite: What’s expensive to YOU is not expensive to others.

YOU are not your client.

You need to understand that if you’re someone who drives a Toyota, there are people buying Ferraris.

If you live in a $500,000 house, you can have prospects who live in a $5 million house.

You have to get out of your own way when it comes to charging premium dollars for your premium programs.

"I could never charge that much" is a nonsensical statement. What you really mean when you say that is you would never pay that much – and that’s what’s killing your business right now and keeping you stuck in low-fee hell.

You need to charge what will attract the right kinds of prospects and will REPEL the wrong kinds of prospects.

2. The second mindset shift is that making a lot of money in your business is hard, complicated and overwhelming.

I’m here to tell you it can be easy, effortless, and enjoyable.

You don’t need dozens of moving parts and emails and websites and landing pages and technology and a hundred marketing jobs to do every day.

Making crazy money can be crazy simple.

I know this because I’ve done it both ways.

The hard way AND the easy way.

Many of my clients have done it both ways and guess what? The easy way is better.

High-fee simplicity ROCKS and the more you simplify, the more you will boost your focus, momentum, and results.

3. The third mindset shift is around the way you deal with distractions.

Let’s say you join the High Fee Mastery program that we’ll talk about later.

You start to build some momentum – you begin to see the light on how much leverage you can build into your business – and you even start to implement the first few steps of the program and you might even begin to see early results.

Then – BOOM – it happens.

You let yourself get distracted.

Shiny object syndrome.

A new opportunity.

A new offer from some internet guru takes you off track.

You feel you have to buy this new software or spend a lot of time engaged in this new social network that’s going to be the next Facebook.

But here’s the thing: every time you get distracted like that, it diminishes your chances of generating the high-fee success you deserve.

Success comes to those who focus relentlessly on one or two primary high-fee strategies and give them all they’ve got – day in, day out, rain or shine, happy or sad, feel like it or not.

You need to become a high-fee focus ninja and train yourself to immediately deflect and dismiss ALL distractions that keep you from making the kind of money you know you can make with some discipline and focus and depth.

Stop being a guppy skimming the surface and become the shark who swims in deep water and never takes his eye off the prize.

4. The fourth shift is mastering high-fee sales conversations.

Getting much better at them. And being way more comfortable qualifying (and disqualifying) so you focus like a laser beam on the exact prospects who you want to serve, who you can really help, and who will gladly pay for your high-fee programs. 

And learning to reframe a sales conversation as an enrollment conversation.

Not even enrolling people in your programs but enrolling people in the execution and realization of their desired outcomes and results.

And that is much, much easier.

Nobody wants your program – everybody wants their specific outcomes and results. More on that during the masterclass.

5. The fifth and last shift – knowing in your bones that the higher the fees you charge, the more commitment you’ll get from your clients.

This is true in your 1-on-1 programs like coaching and mentoring and it’s also true in your high-fee group coaching programs and it's true for your high-fee consulting services and also for your high-fee mastermind/elite access programs.

The higher the fee, the higher the commitment, the higher the commitment, the greater the level of client execution.

And the great the level of client execution, the better results your clients will experience.

So it actually SERVES your client better to charge premium fees because it leads to greater action and better results.

Unconditionally and across the board, I’ve seen this play out in dozens and dozens of different coaching, consulting, and professional service businesses.

Ready to get serious about your high-fee success?

Join me for this zero-cost advanced training and let's get your high-fee business model up and running and generating serious cash flow for you in the next 60-90 days.

Ka-BOOM!!! 

 

Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, business coaching, sell more coaching, marketing for consultants, sales training for coaches, high-fee success, mastermind programs

17 Reasons You’re Not Making Money

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Had a terrific marketing mentor call with a new client who has made MILES of progress in the short time since we started working together.

During our last conversation, I praised his action-orientation, and the great progress he’s made in recent weeks. He acknowledged how much better he felt about his marketing, positioning, and programs.

But then he asked me a powerful question - “David, if I’ve made this much progress, why am I not making more money?”

I gave him my initial responses (it's still early in the game, not enough prospecting activity, no consistent sales process) but since then I’ve developed many more reasons that speakers, authors, coaches, and consultants aren’t making the money that they know they could and SHOULD be making.

Here are the top 17 reasons YOU might not be making the money you want and deserve. Do a quick self-check with the ones that resonate the most with YOU:

  1. You’re great at delivering your product or service but you’re terrible at marketing and sales
  2. You’re not getting the right kind of marketing or sales help in time – or at all!
  3. You’re not delegating or hiring part-time help to take care of the “intelligent gruntwork.”
  4. You don’t have a business plan/goal/vision/destination in mind, including failure to plan for failure!
  5. You have no differentiation – you’re trying to market me too, “Same-o Lame-o” boring stuff
  6. You don’t take yourself seriously (indicated by homemade business cards, freebie website, trying to cut every corner, etc.)
  7. You over-invest in these same things – fancy business cards, $25,000 website, overly expensive and overly broad advertising, and you think that’s enough
  8. You lack obvious expertise and you ignore thought leadership in your marketing mix
  9. You’re a mass generalist not an expert specialist – you try to be all things to all people
  10. You don’t develop alliances – Stop trying to succeed alone. Joint venture, build alliances, or use strategic partners
  11. You’re not connecting with prospects on their most relevant, urgent, and expensive issues
  12. You don’t have a defined sales process and find yourself winging it almost every time
  13. Your proactive outbound prospecting plan consists of sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring. (Not good!)
  14. You’re forgetting that we live in the Attention Economy - first you must earn your prospects’ attention and only THEN will you have a chance to earn their money
  15. You’re relying too much on one marketing channel (email, social media, direct mail, networking) and your prospects are starting to see you as an annoying pest, not a welcome guest
  16. You’re not adding enough tangible sources of excellence to your marketing mix - in other words, you’re failing to create marketing materials that are too good to throw away!
  17. You underestimate the amount of time and/or money it will take to grow your business successfully. Remember, not all things are going to work the first time. Or the tenth. Plan for experimentation, testing, and thousands of small adjustments along the way

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do it marketing manifesto free download

p.s. Want to make sure your business is focused on what matters most to maximize your influence AND income?

Download your copy of the Do It! Marketing Manifesto for free right here.

Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, thought leadership marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, marketing for trainers, sales prospecting, marketing for consultants, sales and marketing, speaker marketing expert

How to Generate End-of-year Revenue NOW

 

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These don’t need a lot of explanation on my part - especially because you’re getting “copy and paste”-ready emails you can quickly adapt to your specific situation and then hit send!

The first email template is more appropriate for your corporate prospects.

And the second email template is more appropriate for your small business /entrepreneur prospects.

In both cases, the approach and the mantra is “Invest 2018 Dollars for Your 2019 Success” (in fact, that would be a pretty good subject line for a standalone email blast if you wanted to "go big" with this idea).

Here's your template for your personalized 1-on-1 emails to corporate folks:

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Subject: Peter - Invest 2018 dollars for your 2019 success

Peter,

Wow - time flies! Wanted to follow up with you from our meeting back in September. Thank you so much for your kind words about my book and how relevant those ideas are to your team.

AND - here's the crazy idea: I know it's end-of-year crunch time but if you have some "use it or lose it" budget money left over for the US division, would it make sense to order Do It! Marketing books for everyone? Depending on how much I can help you spend that budget (Ha!), we can also talk about presenting customized seminars for your team.

Again - wacky idea. But I didn't want to let November and December slip away without reconnecting and asking you. What do you think?

-- David

[signature block]

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And now for your small business and entrepreneur clients and prospects:

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Subject: Steve - possible icing on the cake?

Steve,

Thank you for connecting with me a few months back about the possibility of doing some work together.

I generally don't give tax advice... scratch that - I NEVER give tax advice... but this is the time of year that my clients, both old and new, tend to start working with me OR renew their marketing program because:

Tax savings - Offset 2018 income OR add business deductions to lower overall taxes due. Let Uncle Sam chip in to help you grow your business.

Credit card or loyalty points - Want to keep that hotel status? Are you just a few thousand points shy of getting bonus airline miles or the next level up on your favorite credit card loyalty program? Invest now and crank up the points so you maximize your benefits.

So if you've been on the fence about our possible collaborations, this is the time to consider one of the following programs:

1. Speaker Profit Formula Mentoring Program

2. Do It! Marketing Platinum Mastermind Program

To see if one of these is a fit for you, please email me -- OR let's set up a time to talk by following this link. (link to your scheduling software - I use ScheduleOnce)

Looking forward to discussing what YOU are up to and how we can make your business more focused, more profitable, and more fun in 2019 and beyond.

-- David

[signature block]

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Send a dozen of these emails starting right now - and then please DO let me know how many thousands of dollars in 2018 revenue you’re able to add to your bottom line over the next 30 days.

p.s. If YOU yourself are in one of the above situations (i.e. considering working with ME either as your marketing speaker or your marketing coach), these reasons are just as valid for YOU to get in touch with me over the next 30 days as they are for YOUR clients and prospects to get in touch with YOU. Click here to book a call with our team.

Just sayin’...

Now get behind that computer and DO IT!!!

Want more big ideas and bold moves to help you grow your business? Grab this now...
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Grab your FREE copy of the Do It! Marketing Manifesto

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

Are you a DO IT freak? Awesome!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!


Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, sales prospecting, marketing for consultants, marketing tip

7 Quick Truths of Business Coaching

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1. Most business coaching isn’t really “coaching” - it’s much more 1-on-1 consulting or training or mentoring. The traditional coaching model assumes that the client has the answers  - the coach shows up only with questions. In most business situations in which you as a speaker, author, consultant, or independent professional would be asked for “coaching” - what the prospect is really asking for is 1-on-1 access to you for both questions AND answers

2. Setting up a coaching or 1-on-1 mentoring profit center can be fast, easy and lucrative - When I started adding 1-on-1 marketing coaching services to my offerings back in 2003, I was working hourly (huge mistake). Even then, I would make between $500-$1500 per month per client. And it took me zero prep because clients were paying to tap into knowledge and expertise that I already had! Today I sell three sessions for $2,500 and 90 days for $8,500. Crazy, right?

3. Coaching is a commodity and most coaches are broke - While this is true (sadly), that doesn’t mean that you can’t break the mold. And also remember that this fact is about traditional life coaching or success coaching - NOT business coaching. According to surveys by the International Coach Federation (ICF), the median annual income for coaches is $29,100. That means that HALF of all coaches make even LESS than that! So obviously, this is NOT the private coaching model that I am recommending to you. Instead…   

4. Adding “private coaching” (really 1-on-1 consulting/mentoring) to your business model can vastly increase your earning potential as a speaker, consultant, author, and high-fee expert. Before I started my marketing coaching practice, my sole source of revenue was speaking and training. Clients and audiences would ask me, “What’s next?” and my answer was limited to “What’s the next seminar or training class you need?” Today, the answer is a scalable, high-profit series of private coaching programs. For each of the past 6 years, I’ve generated over $200,000 in private coaching income. That’s over a million dollars during that time - and that’s in addition to my other revenue streams.  

5. You do NOT need to be a certified coach and work through hundreds of hours of training to offer 1-on-1 private coaching programs - All you need is a well-packaged program, a systematic and repeatable process, and some structure for how you want to deliver value in a highly-personalized 1-on-1 relationship with your very best clients who will happily pay premium fees for direct access to you and the expertise you already have.  

6. People WANT to take you home. If you’re a successful speaker, consultant, author, or high-fee expert, buying private coaching from you can be a huge ego-boost for high-achieving executives and entrepreneurs. If your private coaching program is systematized, well-marketed, and well-documented - it will be extremely well-received by clients. Yet so many folks can't quite crack the code of how to add private 1-on-1 coaching to their professional practice…

7. It’s both easier - and harder - than it looks. Read this post for a cautionary tale about a completely unethical and incompetent way to offer private coaching programs. That is NOT the path I recommend. Rather, you need to sit back and strategically decide how to create, promote and profit from private coaching programs you can build around the expertise you ALREADY have. If you want some fast-track help to make the planning, implementation, and monetization way easier, faster, and more profitable, book a free strategy call with one of our coaches.

p.s. Want to apply for your Speaker Strategy Call to see how you can USE some of these ideas right away? Apply for your call here.

 

Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, thought leadership marketing, marketing professional services, trusted advisor marketing, marketing for trainers, marketing coaching, selling professional services, professional speaker marketing, marketing coach, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing

The Top Marketing Must Do!

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You should have been here - in my office - 5 minutes ago.

This whiteboard was FULL - and I mean jam-packed - with ideas, notes, bullets, to-dos, action items, brainstorms, and some jottings about the "next big thing" for our professional speaking and inbound marketing firm.

Perhaps you have a similar whiteboard in your office. Or a wall filled with post-it notes. Or plaques and awards on your bookcase. Or other visual reminders of where your company has been and all that you have accomplished.

Tremendously exciting. Truly.

The only problem: it was tremendously exciting in your past. With every day, every week, every month - hell, every hour - that you do not ACT on those ideas, they start to turn on you.

They are no longer motivators - they are pacifiers that remind you how great you WERE. What you imagined would BE. And what - for better or worse - didn't quite turn out the way you envisioned last week, last month or last year.

In my case, my office whiteboard was holding onto ideas and initiatives from 6 months ago. Yikes! Totally useless to me today. EXCEPT it made me feel good about how gosh darn smart I am and what big plans I have/had (NOT!)

When Steve Jobs came back as interim CEO of Apple in 1997, he had every award, plaque, and completed project plan removed from the walls and hallways of Apple. He did not want any visual reminders of the past. All he wanted his teams to see was their future.

NEW plans, CURRENT prototypes, and UPCOMING projects were all over Apple's hallways, offices, and conference rooms. Everything was future-focused and kept rigorously up to date.

What do you need to erase from your whiteboard? Which awards should you put away? Which of your accolades are keeping you stuck in the past?

Put that stuff away.

Look to your CURRENT future. In the words of Steve Jobs - it will help you "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." And it will help you achieve your NEXT level of "insanely great."

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 speaker, marketing strategy, marketing success, marketing for coaches, professional services marketing, small business coach, motivational speaker, leadership, professional speaker marketing, marketing coach, marketing strategist, motivational speaker marketing, speaker marketing, small business marketing, thought leadership, small business marketing speaker

Marketing Coach Tip: 3 Secrets to Smarter Prospecting on LinkedIn

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LinkedIn is the new cold call. Perhaps this sounds familiar to you... 

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I continually study the field, read a ton of books, and attend seminars and workshops from my fellow marketing enthusiasts.

And I'd like to respectfully disagree with that analogy.

LinkedIn is way better, smarter, faster, and more effective than a cold call. In fact, I'd slant the analogy a different way altogether:

LinkedIn is the new email with a red velvet rope around it, a priority seal, and a much more attractive return address envelope!

First let's explore those three points and then you'll see an example of LinkedIn in action PLUS here are some sample social media scripts you can use that have gotten awesome results for our clients in our marketing mastermind and private mentoring programs. 

3 Reasons LinkedIn Beats Email

1. Red Velvet Rope - This is a term popularized in the marketing arena by Michael Port. It means there's an exclusive, members-only feel to your marketing. It's not for everyone - and not everyone qualifies. You need to be "in the club." When you reach out to a fellow Group member on LinkedIn, you both are in the club and there's a strong element of peer-to-peer belonging that encourages community, communication, and responsiveness. Can't say that about a cold call or a plain old email!

2. Priority Seal - Most executives and business owners feel overwhelmed by email. When they're not tackling the email monster (click here if you'd like to master your email!), they are wall-to-wall with meetings, phone calls, and their daily dose of dealing with crises. LinkedIn messages DO trigger an email notification but you have the choice of responding via email or via LinkedIn -- and LinkedIn messages (for most of us) are few and far between so they give the impression of being more important, more filtered, and more personally relevant. Think of it as a FedEx envelope arriving in your daily mail. Sure, you can ignore it - you can toss it - you might not get to it for a few days. But chances are greater that you will because of curiosity - a basic trait of human nature.

3. More Attractive Return Address Envelope - LinkedIn messages tend to be shorter than emails - and a shorter note merits a shorter response. You've just given your prospects, clients, and connections a huge "out" because they do NOT need - and probably would not even consider - sending you a long, involved response. If you send a short, succinct note to reconnect with a past client - they'll respond with a short, succinct note and you'll probably use LinkedIn to make plans to connect in a longer format offline (phone call, lunch, coffee, in-person meeting). Yours will be a fast, easy and appealing note to respond to - so your chances of getting a prompt response just went up considerably!

LinkedIn in Action and Results

This story was submitted by my motivational speaker colleague Jim Clemmer to the excellent SpeakerNetNews:

Using LinkedIn to (Re)Connect and Build Business — Jim Clemmer

I have been using LinkedIn to reconnect with old contacts and to connect with anyone signing up for my newsletter. I do this with the LinkedIn for Outlook utility showing if anyone sending me an email (or completing any website form that is emailed to me) has a LinkedIn account. As my connection numbers build, more website visitors, book readers, and subscribers are now asking to connect with me. We’ve also done a few email blasts to our database asking for connections to those who have LinkedIn accounts. Over the last two years we can directly trace a few hundred thousand dollars in speaking/workshop or long term/ongoing consulting fees that started with these (re)connections.

3 LinkedIn Secrets from Jim's Success:

1. As my friend and Speaker Hall of Fame member Dr. Alan Zimmerman likes to say, "your business comes from your business." (He's a guy who enjoys a 92% repeat and referral rate from his client base so he's walking that talk.) Note that Jim Clemmer is also generating his success not ONLY from new connections - but from RE-connections. Try it for yourself and see what conversations you can generate with the folks who already know you, love you, and have given you money in the past.

2. You gotta ask for the connection. Note that Jim's strategy also involved email blasts to his list proactively asking them to connect on LinkedIn. And not just once - but several times over the past 2 years. Remember to make your social media scripts appealing, relevant, and NOT focused on you - but focused on the value you'd like to deliver to your connections.

3. It takes time and there are both direct and indirect benefits. Notice that Jim said, "over the last two years" - not the last 2 weeks or 2 months. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Notice also that he said he could DIRECTLY trace several hundred thousand dollars of new business. That's great - and in addition, Jim has likely generated that much money or more INDIRECTLY, meaning that people didn't hire him FROM LinkedIn but BECAUSE they saw something he contributed, received a connection update, or otherwise "bumped into" Jim's name, content, ideas, website, blog or network - and were prompted to engage with him.

doitmarketing email out of office message


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Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing speaker, marketing strategy, marketing success, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, social media, linkedin, email marketing, entrepreneurship, motivational speaker, marketing strategist, motivational speaker marketing, speaker marketing, small business marketing, thought leadership, small business marketing speaker, marketing tip, social media marketing, social media scripts, networking, public speaker marketing

Imagine Yourself (Lucky 13)

LUCKY13

  • Imagine you're focused
  • Imagine it's working 
  • Imagine you've mastered marketing
  • Imagine you truly enjoy selling 
  • Imagine clients must qualify for you 
  • Imagine you're worth premium fees
  • Imagine you have unlimited prospects
  • Imagine money flowing easily to you
  • Imagine punching people in the face with value 
  • Imagine your money worries fading away
  • Imagine a clear game plan that you execute on daily
  • Imagine your business doubling, then tripling
  • Imagine working only when you want 
  • Imagine doing only work you want to do and delegating or outsourcing everything else
  • Imagine you are #1
  • Imagine you're a rock star in your industry 
  • Imagine you're booked solid 
  • Imagine you have your pick of high-profit projects
  • Imagine moving from five figures to six figures - or from six figures to multiple six figures on your way to seven!
  • Imagine speaking to hundreds of people regularly 
  • Imagine partnering with other experts whom you look up to as role models and now are lucky enough to call friends
  • Imagine generating thousands of web visitors 
  • Imagine building a huge tribe of loyal followers, fans, and subscribers 
  • Imagine doing this all in 13 days, 13 weeks, 13 months, or if you're really slow and silly (like me) 13 years 
  • You can do it

p.s. I know you can
Because I did
Starting 13 years ago today
Knowing what I know now, I'm confident YOU can do much (or all) of this in the next 13 months 

Do your future self a favor: 
Start.
Right.
Now.

Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, thought leadership marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing coaching, success tips, marketing consultant, marketing for consultants

Marketing Coach: 10 Strategies for Crushing It in 2015 and Beyond

marketing plan new year planning small businessIf you want to make the next 12 months more successful, more profitable, and more productive than the last 12 months, these ten strategies are for you.

By the way, this list isn’t just for a new calendar year – you can revisit this list at any time and create a real turning point in your business if you’re willing to reboot, reinvigorate, and reimagine your business success.

  1. List the three most important objectives for your business over the next year. These should be critical “big picture” accomplishments that will lead to profits and future achievement.
  2. For each objective listed above, identify your responsibility in achieving the objective. WHAT will you do? HOW will you do it? WHEN will you do it?
  3. Be crystal clear in separating strategies (how and why items) from tactics (what and when items) and use “Verb-noun-date” format to create specific action steps and put them on your calendar.
  4. Don’t think of the year as a whole. Break it down to monthly metrics and put quarterly goal-planning reviews on your calendar so you can adjust the dials on your plan, measure results, and take a strategic look at your marketing, sales, and business development activities every 90 days while keeping a close eye on results (profits, clients, projects, revenue) every 30 days.
  5. Don’t go it alone. Remember, lone wolves starve to death. Think of partners, allies, referral sources, influencers and joint venture partners who can help you leapfrog over obstacles and who are a great supplement and complement to your own products and services. Contact them and build (or grow) your relationship with them so you can collaborate more closely – starting right now.
  6. Write down a list of professional development goals for the next 12 months. What do you want to learn, do, or become as a business owner? Go to conferences? Gain additional certifications or professional designations? Speak more? Get more articles published? Be specific and put these activities on your calendar so you make sure they happen.
  7. Write down a list of personal goals for the next 12 months. What do you want to accomplish for yourself and how would you like to grow personally? Spend more time with your partner? Stay connected with your kids as they grow up and/or pursue their college or post-college adventures? Dig deeper into a special hobby or sport? Drop 10 pounds? Run a 5K? More golf? More vacation time? Where? When? With whom? Map it out to make it happen!
  8. Don’t get distracted. Shiny object syndrome has a powerful pull on most entrepreneurs and business owners. Stay focused on the big picture goals you set in Step 1 above – and then relentlessly ask yourself for every new idea, initiative or project, “Does this support one of my three goals? If so, how?” And don’t let yourself off the hook as easily as you might have done in the past. If it’s a no, it’s a no. Metaphorically speaking, stop opening up hot dog stands in the parking lot and redouble your efforts to make your gourmet restaurant thrive!
  9. Live out of your calendar, not your inbox. Plan your day – what MUST get done and WHEN? Chunk your day down into blocks and assign specific tasks to those blocks – Phone calls, emails, client tasks, whatever it is YOU want to do that will move you closer to your GOALS. Keep that calendar under your nose. All day. Make it your default screen. Hide, minimize or (gasp) close your email until “check email” pops up on your calendar.
  10. Breathe. Relax. You got this. Any time you’re creating an inflection point in your business, it can be scary. You’re letting go of the old – letting go of what no longer works or what no longer serves you well. And you’re embracing the new – the untried, the uncomfortable, perhaps even what seems risky. But the biggest risks of all are stagnation, arrogance, or complacency. Remember: a bend in the road is never a dead end… unless you fail to turn.
Marketing coach 10 strategies for new year planning

Ready to rock your 2015?

Grab your free copy of the Do It! Marketing Manifesto and get ready to go, go, GO!!!

Smart marketing is all about helping you generate MORE leads, BETTER prospects, and BIGGER sales. That also happens to be the purpose of this cheeky, powerful little manifesto. Grab yours here

Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing speaker, marketing for coaches, thought leadership marketing, marketing professional services, trusted advisor marketing, marketing professional services firms, small business marketing, marketing for consultants

Marketing Coach: How to never feel cheated about referrals

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Too many small and solo business owners get bent out of shape about referrals - they don’t get enough, or they give too many that go unappreciated, or they expect payment without ever asking for payment or making their expectations clear.

It’s just a mess.
So to help YOU avoid disappointment on both sides of the equation, here’s a template you can borrow - adapt - steal - whenever someone GIVES YOU a referral:

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Susan,

Thank you so much for the referral to Paul - I appreciate you.

Will keep you posted as to what develops.

Thinking optimistically - assuming Paul signs on as a client - how do you like to handle referrals financially speaking?

I'm happy to give some referral partners a 10% thank-you gift (for working with folks like Paul, the typical fee is XXXX so 10% is YYY) - some other folks just prefer a nice dinner out via a gift card - and some folks who refer business to me insist on nothing more than good karma and reciprocation when appropriate.

Just let me know and then we can bust the doors down for Paul!!

-- David

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On the other hand, when GIVING a referral, and if that referral shows up at your referral partner’s door, this version of the same note might help you STOP feeling like a martyr and set clear expectations from the get-go that you DO like to be compensated while asking your referral partner what arrangement would make them comfortable:

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Susan,

I’m so glad Paul ended up connecting with you and that you two discussed the possibility of working together. Please do keep me posted as to what develops.

Thinking optimistically - assuming Paul signs on as a client - how do you like to handle referrals financially speaking?

Some of my referral partners share a 10% cash referral fee - some other folks underwrite a nice dinner out via a gift card - and others show their appreciation in other ways (services, discounts, lavish gift baskets, etc).

Just let me know how you like to operate and that will open the door for even more introductions to great folks like Paul in the future.

I appreciate you.

-- David

 

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: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, client references, referral blurb, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, referral marketing, referrals, business strategy, professional services selling

BOO! 17 things that should scare the heck out of you

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Halloween can be a scary time.

In honor of this sugar-filled yet frightful holiday, here are 17 things that should scare the heck out of YOU and any small business owner, entrepreneur, or independent professional...

  1. Prospects who lie. And they all lie all the time.
  2. Business partnerships. No, no, noooooo!!! Don’t do it. EVER.
  3. Arrogance
  4. Complacency
  5. Inertia (Yours and your prospects and clients too)
  6. Not having a sales process - or not sticking to the one you have
  7. Nightmare clients from hell
  8. Tire-kickers, price shoppers, and broke-ass losers
  9. Social media overload
  10. Making payroll every two weeks - even if it’s only paying yourself
  11. Hiring, firing, and everything in between
  12. Prospects who ask for free consulting
  13. Not hiring a great IP attorney to protect your brand/ logo/ trademarks
  14. Waking up in a cold sweat realizing your REAL job is sales
  15. Prospects seeing your products, services, and programs as a commodity
  16. Not outsourcing and delegating everything you possibly can
  17. Collecting great marketing ideas - but never implementing them (Aaarghhhhh!!)

What would YOU add to this list?

Please leave a comment below and let's discuss...

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Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, thought leadership marketing, coach marketing, teleseminar marketing, teleseminar selling, trusted advisor marketing, marketing for trainers, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, do it marketing, lead generation