Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

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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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.

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.

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...

Some of my friends and clients are surprised that as the marketing coach and "marketing guru," I still invest in other people's courses, programs, and seminars.

Well, stop being surprised.

Truth is, all the top experts in any field are continually learning, developing, and studying the brilliance of others.

I've had folks take MY courses who were incredibly successful, 7-figure+ consultants, speakers, and entrepreneurs.

Why? Not because I knew "more" than they did - but I did have some specialized knowledge, strategies, expertise and experience that they lacked. As top-performing (and top-earning) experts, they recognized the gap - and wanted to fill it. Thus, they signed up to work with me, either 1-on-1 or through one of my online group trainings.

Which brings me back to the main story - why I spent $1,000 when I could've (maybe) gotten the same info from a $20 book.

Here's what I mean...

A few weeks ago, I signed up for Amy Porterfield's Facebook Profits Lab. It is an amazing program - and no, I'm not an affiliate and there's no link and I don't want you to sign up for anything. The program has two levels - $397 for the basic course and $997 for the VIP level where you get access to Amy and her team and get some very cool bonus materials.

The kicker?

Amy co-authored a $20 book - Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies - that contains much, if not all, of the same information.

I could've just bought that, right? Well... No actually.

Here are 6 reasons I invested with Amy and spent $980 more than I "had" to...

1. Social media and digital marketing (Facebook especially) changes by the week. Any book is going to be instantly outdated upon publication.
2. I loved the way Amy ran the (huge) marketing campaign to fill her course. She won me over not only with what she was teaching, but what she was DOING to get me to buy.
3. The free content Amy provided during her launch was nothing short of top-notch. Detailed, specific, actionable, and valuable. I could've just consumed the free content and learned a ton. Ironically, that's why I bought. Don't lose the impact of this point. If your free content is a "Happy Meal" in itself, it makes people MORE hungry (not less) for your full 7-course gourmet experience.
4. Part of what Amy offered (and part of what I've always offered in every one of my group training programs) is to not only TEACH you, but to SHOW you what she does in her own business with the exact same strategies you're learning. This "preach only what you practice" approach is sadly rare in our business. Most gurus only scratch the surface and almost never reveal what's REALLY working for them right now, in today's market, with today's technology, tools, and platforms. Amy shows you. I show you. That's worth gold right there.
5. Community is huge. Part of Amy's program (and again, this is something I've done since 2008) is to connect her students with each other. This provides a learning environment that is so much more motivating, actionable, and collaborative. Back in the day, I used Yahoo Groups to provide a private forum and "online hangout" for the participants in my programs. Then in later years, moved to Linkedin, and most recently started using Private Facebook Groups which works best of all. Part of why I invested at the $997 VIP level with Amy was her "VIP Only" Facebook group with personal access to Amy and her team plus all the other VIP level members. The idea is to connect your community so they can ask and answer questions of each other, share success stories, ask for feedback, get advice, insights and recommendations from you and from others, and build a sense of shared momentum. In one of my group programs earlier this year, we had over 100 pieces of completed work posted in our collaborative forum. Seeing other's progress motivated people and it just built up to a point where everyone was crushing it. Yay!! That's the point, right?
6. You need to sell the way you buy. I could not, in good conscience, ask YOU to invest with me if I refuse to invest in myself. This one is multi-layered - but just think about it... Imagine if I asked you to spend money to learn from me BUT I don't spend money to learn from others. What a huge psychological disconnect that would be! Of course I believe in my heart and soul that you should invest with me to learn something valuable, profitable, and immediately actionable like speaker marketing, book marketing, or how to run profitable coaching programs. Why? Because I invest in myself all the time to learn more about new things that are outside of my expertise like podcasting, Facebook advertising, and joint venture marketing. If you don't buy because you believe - you'll never be able to sell because you believe... and that's where your sales success DNA (core beliefs, mindset, skill set) lives!!

Download this FREE Do It! Marketing Manifesto, where you'll discover the four levels of marketing and how to use each.

GET IT HERE

Old is the New "NEW" - meaning, when it comes to marketing, everything old is profitable again! 

If you've been doing business (online or not) since the 1990's, today's marketing landscape should be eerily familiar... 

Check out these "retro" tactics - they're BACK and BIGGER and BETTER than ever... 

1. Online advertising - Google AdWords was the Granddaddy of them all... Remember when you could just buy some banner ads and the leads would pour in? (Yah, me neither. It was ALWAYS more complicated than that!!) Modern update: Advertising on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter (and yes, Google of course) is creating a whole new online ad boom - just like the good old days!

Why? Because they're proven, they work (if you know what you're doing), and they can make you a LOT of money. 

2. Pop-up ads and pop-up offers - long the scourge of the Internet, pop-ups (and pop-under, pop-over, PopTart and every other sneaky variation) were rampant in the 1990's and early 2000's. Until the pop-up blocker industry came along, made millions of dollars, wiped the evil pop-up off the face of the earth... until today when pop-ups are back, bigger and better than ever.

Why? Because they're proven, they work (if you know what you're doing), and they can make you a LOT of money. 

3. Teleseminars - 10 years ago, you couldn't spit without hitting some business guru offering free teleseminars to showcase his or her products, services, or programs. Or offering paid teleseminars to generate a lot of revenue quickly. Fast forward to today, yes we have webinars, Google Hangouts, and virtual training - but guess what? Old school teleseminars are back, bigger than ever.

Why? Because they're proven, they work (if you know what you're doing), and they can make you a LOT of money. 

p.s. I don't know much about online advertising or pop-ups, but you can grab a boatload of actionable information on teleseminars (both Teleseminars as Marketing - and Teleseminars as Revenue) in this free "Teleseminar Domination" video series. Enjoy!

Click below to grab your FREE videos...

Dan Janal featured in the 2014 Do It! Marketing Master Class Series

Here's where you'll get some of the smartest marketing advice from top marketers and entrepreneurs who share their best success secrets via in-depth interrogation-style interviews with yours truly... 

Next up is... 

Dan Janal - Publicity Expert

Dan Janal knows how to get business owners and entrepreneurs the media coverage they deserve to promote their services, products, and expertise. As the owner of PRLeads.com and PressReleaseSender.com, Dan is a publicity veteran, award-winning journalist, and the author of one of the very first internet marketing books (from 1994!) Dan is probably the only person who created 8 different businesses that each generate $100,000 a year by using 8 different business models!

Download this Master Class (mp3) now. 

Share this with your pals, link to it from your own blog, tell 17 friends, go nuts and have fun! 

Please leave a comment below with your own experiences or questions about maximizing publicity and the media to generate more awareness, more leads, and more business...

Welcome to the 2014 Do It! Marketing Master Class Series

Here's where you'll get some of the smartest marketing advice from top marketers and entrepreneurs who share their best success secrets via in-depth interrogation-style interviews with yours truly... 

First on the tee is... 

Charlie Poznek - Podcasting Expert

Charlie Poznek is a seasoned entrepreneur and founder of The Boomer Business Owner podcast. If you want to build influential relationships, grow your audience, increase your website traffic, and raise your business profile in front of the prospects who matter most, podcasting can be one of the smartest ways to do it. Charlie shows you how.

Download this Master Class (mp3) now. 

Share this with your pals, link to it from your own blog, tell 17 friends, go nuts and have fun! 

Please leave a comment below with your own experiences or questions about podcasting as a marketing strategy...

Here's a training module (it's #1 out of 3 available FREE here) on why and how YOU can create, promote and profit from private coaching programs built around the expertise you ALREADY have - whether you consider yourself a "coach" or NOT!

To get the rest of this FREE "Private Coaching Success" video series, click here.

Shazam!!

Please post your comments and questions below. Hit the "Like" button above so that you get notified via Facebook when I post more videos.

I hate to embarrass people in public. Even if they deeply and richly deserve it. And I’m not about to start now, even though this story about an otherwise respected professional who wanted to start a private coaching program (for all the wrong reasons and with zero preparation) may send chills down your spine. All names have been removed to protect the goofy.

By the way, if you want to cut to the chase and find out how to do this right from the get-go, check out my new FREE video training series "Private Coaching Success" - grab some popcorn and go here. 

Back to our story... It all began with this exchange (via Facebook message) between me and a successful international keynote speaker with whom I am friendly (and who earns in excess of $20,000 per speech):

• HIM: hey you do ongoing coaching type programs, right? 
  like you get clients that pay you X per month or year for telephone time or something else?
  im asking because i was approached recently by a CEO who wants me to do executive coaching/mentoring for him.  do you have some sort of outline i could follow please? i havent structured a deal like this before

• David Newman
  I do marketing coaching, not “executive coaching” but many of my clients DO - usual structure is 2-3 phone meetings per month with email access to you in between and for CEOs I wouldn't charge less than $5k per month. 7500-10k per month if the meetings are in person. Normally you'd lock them in for a 6- or 12-month commitment.
  That's all you need to know to close the deal. Boom - you owe me a Pepsi.

• HIM: lol thanks. but what do they get for their money ? in terms of time commitments etc and i dont have any formal program structured. or is it pretty informal? they call and you just shoot the shit?

• David Newman
  If the content of the expertise you're trying to sell isn't in line with what the CEO needs or expects, you're toast - you can't just charge for something and "wing it" - don't mean to be harsh, bro - but are you playing to your strengths here??

• HIM: he approached me, not the other way around
  he was in my audience recently and came over to me and said he wants to hire me to be his executive coach
  so i certainly havent promised him anything i cant deliver
  but i dont have a bunch of papers and programs and checklists or any formal program, because this is not something i normally do.

I’ll stop there simply to spare you the pain and embarrassment of more.

What’s wrong with this picture? I could go on and on but I promised myself this would be a short post.

PLUS I want to hear from YOU in the Comments section below about your reactions and advice in avoiding this type of train wreck.

Here’s my 6 cents on what is dangerous and crazy about this exchange:

1. Someone who can deliver a killer keynote speech (regardless of fee level) does NOT automatically qualify as an executive coach. Totally different skill set. It’s like hiring a virtuoso pianist to build a custom stereo - yes, they both make music. But the similarity ends there.
    
2. “Do you have some sort of outline I could follow?” Imagine this question coming from a jet fighter pilot, a brain surgeon, or a trial attorney. There is no outline -- it’s a skill set that is a combination of serious expertise plus deep experience. You don’t “follow an outline.”
    
3. “I don’t have any formal program structured.” Here’s your first clue, Sherlock Holmes - if you don’t have a formal program for what you’re trying to sell, then you have no business selling it. Holy cow, do I really have to spell this out? Shouldn’t this just FEEL wrong? Apparently not...
    
4. “They call and you just shoot the shit?” Umm, no. I just gave my friend some pricing guidance that a high-level executive coaching program is at least $5,000 per month. And he asks me if that money goes toward “shooting the shit”? Seriously? Meanwhile - there are serious, committed, high-value executive coaches that just read this and their foreheads are about to explode. And I don’t blame them.
    
5. “But Dad - HE started it!” OK, that’s not exactly what he said. It was “he approached me, not the other way around” as if THIS makes it OK to charge money for a service that my friend is neither qualified nor prepared to offer. But wait. we’re not quite done - it gets worse...
    
6. “I don’t have a bunch of papers and programs and checklists or any formal program, because this is not something I normally do.” Again, let’s transplant this statement to a different profession - forensic accounting, cancer research, or defusing bombs. You’d probably want each of these professionals to show up with more than “a bunch of papers and checklists” to fulfill their responsibilities, correct? And you might even be more nervous to learn that “this is not something they normally do.” The lesson? THEN DON’T DO IT!!!

Tell you what - if you'd rather do this faster, smarter and better - then check out my FREE video training series "Private Coaching Success" - you can grab it right here.  

You'll be very glad you did. I guarantee it. 

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. 

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... 

1. An audience listens - A market pays attention
2. An audience wants entertainment - A market wants to solve problems
3. An audience values an experience - A market values expertise
4. An audience wants to watch - A market wants to act
5. An audience wants information - A market wants implementation
6. An audience reacts - A market responds
7. An audience wants their questions answered - A market wants their answers questioned
8. An audience wants you to be popular - A market wants you to be right
9. An audience asks “What can you do?” - A market asks “What’s next?” and “What else?”
10. An audience says, “Great show!” - A market says, “Great job!”
11. An audience tells their friends - A market tells their boss
12. An audience buys your book - A market reads your book
13. An audience likes your ideas - A market implements your ideas
14. An audience wants your autograph - A market wants to give you their signature
15. An audience applauds - A market refers
16. An audience says, “Thank you” - A market says, “Thank goodness!”

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.