Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

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...

Once or twice a month, I get interviewed, featured or quoted by other experts, the news media, or my mom. (Hi Mom!) 

How can you do the same?

You won't get coverage from my mom but you WILL get major media from PRLeads.com like I do. Try it - it's your best deal for public relations bar none.

But that's not the point of this post.

The point of this post is... Balls.

Nerve.

Moxie.

Stepping up and asking for what you want. 

Just like my new friend Damian Niolet did when he asked me for an interview.

Damian could easily have succumbed to negative self-talk like "Oh, this David Newman character is a big deal and he'll never agree to an interview. I'm just a guy studying marketing who has a meager 50 Twitter followers. He's not going to waste his time talking to me..." and so on. 

Good news for Damian - he did not sabotage himself with any such nonsense. 

He asked. I said yes. We did an interview that totally kicked ass and - frankly - was a hell of a lot better than anything I've given to The New York Times, Philadelphia Business Journal (Hi Craig!) or FastCompany.com.

Here's the interview.

Listen online or grab a copy to download. 

Why is this interview valuable to you?

First, because Damian prepared thoughtful questions I've never been asked before. (Like the ethical code of marketing? Or how marketing affects our society? Wow... nice!) So the content will help you market smarter and generate more leads, better prospects and bigger sales. 

Secondly, this interview shows you how YOU may want to use interviewing as a marketing strategy yourself. Either purely for research OR to build relationships with your prospects and colleagues OR as a content development strategy to enrich your blog and establish yourself as an authority in your field. 

For your reference - and to make it easier to follow along if you listen in - here is the list of 15 questions Damian prepared for our conversation...

See if YOU can develop a list of smart, detailed and occasionally surprising questions like these for YOUR next interview: 

1. Can you provide a brief overview of your experience, to include education?  (Leading up to your marketing experience, unless you knew from the start you wanted to work in marketing, in which case you can speak to your experience working for other marketing firms)
2. What drove you to enter the world of marketing? (Your passion for marketing; Leading up to starting Do It! Marketing)
3. What drove you to start up Do It! Marketing? (Why and when)
4. What was the most difficult part of the start-up process? (How)
5. Did you have a marketing strategy from the start?  How did it evolve?
6. What is your view/opinion of how marketing has changed in the last 15-20 years?
7. Has social networking always been a big part of your strategy? (Dependent on when Do It! Marketing was founded)
8. What is the very first bit of advice you’d give to a client to get them started?
9. What is the very most important bit of advice you’d give to a client for whom you are building a marketing strategy?
10. What would you say to those who suggest that using social networks in a passive mode (as a conversation tool only) is time wasted because it does not necessarily focus on leads?
11. Is there a medium, other than social networks, you believe to be invaluable?
12. What company do you believe exemplifies marketing at its best?
13. Is there an ethical code within marketing?  Is this code debatable? 
14. The manner in which marketing is practice undoubtedly influences society at large.  Do you believe the marketing practices in America over the last 50+ years have had a positive or negative impact on society?
15. What will marketing look like in the future?  Are there near-term changes we can expect?  Is there another revolution on the distant horizon?

Catch up with the rest of Damian's blog and keep your eye on this guy. He's gonna do BIG things. 

p.s. We still have a few open spaces for the Simple Marketing Success 10-Week Virtual Bootcamp experience. The program is open by application only. Let me know you're interested (email or call me 610.716.5984) and I'll forward you the application materials and program guidelines right away. We start the program September 26, 2012.

911 means emergency response.

The sooner, the better.

You get there quick or the patient dies. 

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I encourage my clients and seminar participants to UP the urgency of their marketing and sales response times. 

Why? 

Well... Do you know the lead follow-up time that maximizes your sales for online leads that come through your website or email? Or your leads/prospect inquiries that come in by phone?

Do you think it's: 

a. 48 hours

b. 24 hours

c. 8 hours

d. 1 hour

e. 15 minutes

f. Whenever we get around to it - they can wait

Research from MarketingProfs and Hubspot proves that the lead follow-up time that maximizes sales is e. within 15 minutes!

What does that mean to you, your marketing efforts, your sales team, and your own personal schedule as a business owner or entrepreneur?

Simple - when it comes to responding to leads, the mantra is "Now or never."

Bad news: Your leads won't wait - they're SEEKING a solution NOW. You are not the only service provider they are calling. Not by a long shot.

Good news: A lead converted to a prospect FAST (meaning you had a conversation within 15 minutes of first contact) is much more likely to stop looking. Once they connect with a real live human being who conveys the fact that they understand the situation AND they are in a position to help... the frenzied dialing and emailing stops. All the previous unanswered calls, emails, and web forms go by the wayside and YOU HAVE YOUR SHOT. 

So don't blow it. Don't be tempted to start waxing poetic about how great your product, your service, your program and your people are. STOP.

A conversation that is mostly listening on your end is much more likely to build trust and rapport on their end. 

But the point is speed. Why? Because responsiveness in the sales process equates to responsiveness in the business relationship.

The bottom line is that your leads CANNOT wait.

Your prospects won't wait.

Think of your own buying behavior. You leave a message - you keep dialing. Someone answers, and you're problem is 80% solved and it's THAT salesperson who gets the chance to win your business. 

The only exception to the 911 rule is a publicity lead. When a reporter calls, it's NOT a 911...

It's a FIVE ALARM fire in your pants.

So if 911 is emergency response, putting the fire out in your pants would be a critical right-now drop-what-you're doing this second response. Reporters' deadlines are expressed in hours, sometimes minutes. They have sources coming at them all day, every day. If a reporter wants to feature or include you in their story - RUN, don't walk to the nearest phone or internet connection and get them what they need. Otherwise, you're toast.

And you looked so good in those pants, too. A real shame.  

Remember - whether it's prospects calling you to do business or journalists responding to a press release or interview request, speed KILLS (the competition!)

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!

Independent research with over 700 professional services firms proves that the #1 source of business is “Making warm calls to existing clients” – no surprise there.

But the #1 source for generating NEW clients is “Speaking at conferences, seminars and trade shows.” (Wellesley Hills Group, Trends in Professional Services Lead Generation Report)

So if you want to win NEW business from NEW clients, speaking is your most direct path to that goal.

Yet if yours is like the majority of firms, you haven’t yet cracked the code on how to put all the pieces together to make speaking pay off for YOUR partners, YOUR executives and YOUR team to consistently attract YOUR best prospects and clients.

By the time you're done reading this post, you will understand how to unleash the power of 3PR in your firm's business development efforts, including the #1 strategy - speaking.

Question: As a professional services firm principal, managing director, CEO, partner, or practice leader... Is this you?

• "We often get beat up on price because we have no credibility with prospects who've never heard of us before"
• "I'm constantly asked for new marketing tools, brochures and presentations but nothing seems to help"
• "How do I know which marketing strategies and tools will help us close more sales?"
• "There has to be a more systematic way we can market our services"
• "There are so many new ways to reach buyers these days; should we be using social media, blogs, podcasts, video? And do any of those even work in our industry?"

If any of the above statements sound familiar then it makes sense for you to explore the power of 3PR -- Personalized Professional Public Relations. 

3PR is a combination of strategies, tactics and tools designed to help you and your professional services firm accomplish one or more of these seven key business objectives:

1. New Lead Generation
2. Building Credibility and Brand Preference
3. Connecting with Media & Industry Analysts
4. Opportunities to Engage Your Top Talent
5. Management Development
6. Thought-Leading Content Creation
7. Contribution to Your Professional Community

Let's unpack specifically what we mean by 3PR - Personalized Professional Public Relations: 

• Personalized: Your firm is made up of individuals. Each member of your team has specific strengths, capabilities, preferences and personalities that can be leveraged in marketing, positioning, and amplifying the messages your firm wants to impress on your prospects, your clients and your influencers in your target markets.
• Professional: 3PR has one goal - professional exposure for your firm's expertise, products, services, and value proposition. Many professional services firm partners and practice leaders shy away from the spotlight of 3PR saying, "It's not about me." While this is true, it certainly IS about YOU providing value, expertise and guidance to help your target market succeed. 
• Public: Your team may be top-notch with proven expertise that generates amazing results for your clients. However, if you don't make your expertise public, you will suffer what many small and midsized firm principals describe in frustration as "Best Kept Secret Syndrome." 3PR puts your expertise in front of prospects -- exactly where it belongs if you want to generate new business more easily and more often.
• Relations: Stop thinking in terms of "closing the sale" and focus rather on building relationships with your audiences, readers, followers and fans. The content that you share in a typical 3PR campaign is useful, valuable, actionable, specific and insightful. Do this consistently and you'll build trust, likeability and a reputation for excellence. So when a need arises, you and your firm will be on speed dial and your prospects will consider it a serious mistake to hire anyone else. 

As a marketing coach, clients often ask me about getting featured and quoted in the media. 

My short answer is simple: Subscribe to PR Leads (at $99/month, it's the best money you can spend on PR, bar none.)

Second question clients ask is, "How do I get the journalist to email me or circle back with me once the article is published or posted online?"

The short answer is - forget it. Journalists need you as a source and then they move on to their next assignment, hardly ever looking back, much less following up with egomaniacal entrepreneurs who drool over seeing their name in print (or electrons).

So you can chase these poor reporters and the only thing you'll do is ensure they NEVER use you as a source EVER again.

OR you can offer to help them.

Here's the template:

===

Mike,

Wanted to circle back with you to see where things landed with your fabulous story.

Is it live online or could you send me a copy?

Let me know anything else I can do to promote, tweet, link to, and share your work.

Thanks!

-- David 

===

Guess what? This gets a response. 

Every. Single. Time.

Use it - share it - and please use the COMMENTS area below to share your experiences leveraging PR to help you grow your business. 

p.s. Want some expert help to get you started on article marketing and PR? This program might be exactly what you've been looking for. 

The ad above first appeared in Business Week in 1958 – yes that’s right over 50 years ago! The moral of the ad’s story was relevant then and it is even more relevant today: build relationships before you sell.

The bad news is that we live in far more cynical times than the sellers of the 1950’s; the good news is that YOU have so many more tools available to help you address the problem.

If you're investing in "Trusted Advisor Marketing" (it goes by several other names like inbound marketing, thought leadership marketing, and content marketing)... then you've probably asked yourself: 

How (and when) will this generate a sale?

And that is the completely WRONG question to ask.

By the time you're done reading this article/ rant/ manifesto, you'll see exactly why - AND you'll be able to ask (and answer) much better questions for your business right away. 

We interrupt with a brief metaphor... Asking when trusted advisor marketing will lead to a sale is like filling up your car's gas tank and asking, "Why aren't we there yet?" 

Answer: Because filling your car with gas is a NECESSARY but NOT SUFFICIENT step to getting you to your destination (a new customer or client).

Do you have a chance of arriving now that your gas tank is full? You bet.

Did you have a chance of getting there with your tank on empty? No way. 

Let's move on... 

Insight #1 You need to sell the same way that YOU buy.

Look at your email spam or bulk email folder. Yes, you. Yes, right now. I'll wait... 

tap... tap... tap... tap... You're back. Excellent.

Did you see that spam email from the toner cartridge company? Did you catch the pitch from the SEO firm that filled out your website's "contact us" form? Did you respond to that great deal on vacation cruises? NO? 

OK now pop over to your paper mail pile on your desk. Did you check out the latest "triple play" offer from Comcast (or whatever hellacious Cable Satan runs in your neck of the woods)? How about that compelling cell phone offer from Verizon? The Wall Street Journal subscription offer under that postcard? Or how about that postcard - you know, the one from the home heating oil company? NO? 

When's the last time you gave your credit card number over to a cold caller who interrupted your family dinner? NEVER??

I'm shocked...

Because you seem pretty excited about YOUR cold calls - and sending out YOUR spam - YOUR offers - YOUR postcards - YOUR sales messages.

The problem with doing it this way? In four words...

Zero. Value. For. Prospects.

And hello? YOU don't BUY this way. What in the world makes you think your prospects DO?

Look once more at the ad above - and answer one simple question: 

Question #1: What VALUE have I ADDED to my prospect's world in order to EARN the RIGHT to INVITE them to a conversation and OFFER my solutions to their urgent, pervasive, expensive problems?

Insight #2 Referrals are great - but they are neither deaf, dumb, nor blind

The next thing you're going to tell me is that you don't NEED "trusted advisor marketing" because 99% of your business is repeat and referral business and it's always been that way and you don't see how this "newfangled marketing" is going to move the needle in closing more sales.

Do you seriously think that referrals don't check you out online before picking up the phone?

What messages are you sending to your valued referrals with...

a. Your outdated website (articles from 2008 are outdated, friends. And from 2003 even more so. And design aesthetic from 1997 most of all.)

b. Your sporadically updated blog that you leave dormant for 2 (or 4 or 6) months at a clip.

c. Your abandoned Twitter account you set up because someone said "you had to" and that now has 17 followers while your competitors have 3,000 (or a whole lot more.) 

d. Your sketchy, bare bones LinkedIn profile that has 300 connections but only 2 recommendations (From 2005. From people with the same last name as you.)

e. Your "glory days" articles and TV clips and PR placements from 20 (yes I'm serious), 10, or even 5 years ago. Nothing screams "has-been" like old media.  

Make no mistake: Getting repeat and referral business is great. But don't kid yourself that this absolves you from having a top-notch web presence, social media platform, and body of knowledge that is ultra-current, super-relevant, and obviously abundant.

In fact, you are leaving yourself open for EMBARRASSMENT if your advocates hear back from their referrals and find themselves in the awkward position of having to DEFEND you to them because your web presence has fallen behind and now casts your professional expertise into doubt.

Question #2: Does my overall web presence REASSURE and REINFORCE the referrals I earn with the most current, credible and relevant marketing messages, positioning, content, resources, and value that will make my advocates LOOK BETTER - not worse - for referring me? 

Insight #3 Trusted Advisor Marketing is a 4-layer enchilada (aka You don't get to eat the delicious golden-brown cheese without first layering on the meat!!)

The first layer - at the core of the matter - is your Reputation. Your work. Your track record. If you stop there, you'll have a VERY hard time attracting NEW leads and prospects to your doorstep. "My work should speak for itself" is what a lot of very smart people say - smart people who have a hard time making their mortgage payments.  

The second layer is Amplification. Ways to make your "signal" stronger. Enter social media marketing, niche PR, article marketing, blogging, keyword research and search engine optimization. This is the key to spreading your ideas and broadcasting your expertise.

The third layer is Leverage. This is where you begin to capitalize on your "trusted advisor" assets such as articles, blogs, videos, podcasts, interviews, white papers, special reports, book excerpts, and other value-first marketing tools. You can now reach out to high-probability prospects both individually (on LinkedIn for example) and collectively (on your blog for example). This is where your job becomes putting the right bait on the right hooks in the right lakes to catch the right fish.  

The fourth layer is Gravity. Just like Jim Collins talks about the "flywheel" concept in Good to Great (it takes a long time to get it spinning but then is very hard to stop because of the power of momentum) - this is where you start to see payoffs. More leads, better prospects, bigger opportunities, more conversations, higher profile alliances, more invitations to speak, publish, guest post, contribute, teach, and (drum roll please...) more invitations to do great work at premium fees for great clients who NOW know you, like you, and trust you enough to hand over 5- and 6-figure checks because their level of confidence in your expertise is pretty damn close to 100%.

Question #3: Do you want to make more sales to strangers? (Good luck with that). Or do you really want more people to recognize, respect, and request YOU by name when they have a need, project, or problem that they instantly see has "your name written all over it"? If that's your goal, then trusted advisor marketing is for you. 

Re-read the McGraw-Hill ad above and let's do a 21st century spin on it together...

• I don't know who you are.
• I don't read your blog. 
• I don't subscribe to your newsletter.
• I don't see your name in my industry's publications.
• I don't hear my peers spreading your ideas.
• I don't come across your content in Google searches.
• I don't connect your solutions to my problems. 
• I don't feel the gravity of your credibility or credentials.
• I don't have any tangible way to gauge your expertise or experience.
• Now -- what was it you wanted to sell me? 

So here's the ultimate (and most important) question for YOU: 

How can you realistically expect to SELL anything by NOT setting the necessary pre-conditions for ANY sale with Trusted Advisor Marketing?

The answer is as simple as it is obvious: you can't. Just like you can't drive your car from Denver to Sheboygan just by filling up your gas tank. You need to get behind the wheel, plan your route, use your GPS, add more fuel along the way (and probably some beef jerky and Sno-Balls and root beer) AND put in the hours and the miles to get you to your destination.  

Nobody -- and I mean N-O-B-O-D-Y -- hires speakers, consultants or professional services firms sight unseen. You wouldn't. I wouldn't either.

And the facts prove out that today's buyers are just like YOU and ME. 

Trusted Advisor marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. And as any marathoner will tell you - the best (and only) way to run a marathon is one mile at a time. 

What do you think? Please post YOUR COMMENTS below and... 

Guest post by Steve Markman

Marketing mix: Your marketing and PR efforts should be in the forefront of your organization, given today's competitive climate and the uncertain economy. Standing out from the crowd, regardless of your organization's industry, is a huge challenge. How can you meet this challenge?

Many organizations have recognized the value of holding seminars at which their executives make presentations. The problem with these seminars is that, more often than not, the attendees are existing customers, clients or individuals who are already familiar with the firm.

Companies need to expose their expertise to prospective customers and clients. What is a proven method of accomplishing this objective? By speaking at public forums - at conferences, seminars and forums held by independent event organizations, associations, professional and industry trade groups, and academic institutions and think tanks - enormous exposure is created.

There is much evidence in the field of professional services marketing that speaking in public forums often results in new business, by providing increased awareness of your company in general and specific subject areas in particular, to an audience of your potential customers or clients. Presentations about industry trends or "how-to" talks can make a large impact on your audience.

Speaking opportunities for consulting firm principals, corporate executives and entrepreneurs represent a strong marketing, public relations, and business development tool for the following reasons:

    1.    Attendees get to learn about your firm's expertise firsthand and can interact directly with your speaker immediately before or after the presentation. An attendee asking for a business card can be the first step to obtaining a new client. The press in attendance also present opportunities for added exposure. 


    2.    Gaining increased visibility in vertical/industry sectors or broad-based areas that your firm has determined is in need of greater exposure. This can be an established line of business where your firm speaks from a position of strength and is known as a "go-to" firm for a particular area. Conversely, presentations can cover an area that is just getting off the ground or at an early stage in its development and needs some fast exposure to let your potential customers know about your newly offered products or services. 


    3.    Your company gains "advertising" by having its name and your executive speaker's name published in the agenda of thousands of brochures and promotional announcements mailed or e-mailed by event organizers.

What should your professional services firm be doing to get your executives and managers out on the speaking circuit? Take the following eight steps:

    1.    Decide which product or service area(s) your firm should be targeting for increased visibility. Make sure that you have executives in those areas committed to the idea of making public presentations. Some will resist the idea of taking time away from other business activities so make sure that you have their full support. 


    2.    Get the right speaker on board. Proposed speakers should be experienced executives and, preferably, experienced speakers. Small-to medium-sized organizations should nominate their CEO or other senior executive. Large organizations can also nominate staff at the director or manager level, depending on the criteria of the speaking opportunity. 


    3.    Speak to the right audience. Thoroughly research the events for which representatives of your firm can be proposed as speakers, as solo presenters or as panelists. There are so many events taking place on so many topics, frequently simultaneously, that you'll need to choose diligently in order to maximize the time and expense associated with speaking. Identify speaking engagements whose audience represents the customers and industries your organization wants to reach.


    4.    Develop a proactive speaker placement program. It's fine to evaluate unsolicited speaking opportunities. However, having someone dedicated to the task who will aggressively identify opportunities, develop relationships with event organizers and write and submit speaker proposals, should lead to an increase in the frequency of speaking engagements and thus increased visibility for the executives participating and the firm as a whole. 


    5.    Decide on the geographic area to target for speaking engagements - locally, regionally, nationally or even internationally. There are thousands of speaking opportunities held worldwide every year. 


    6.    Create high-impact presentations. Audiences want to get actionable information they can take back to their organizations. They don't want to hear that your firm is the leading firm in this or that subject area. A solid, informative presentation that covers applications or technologies and is not product or company specific will create instant credibility and obviate the need for a "sales pitch." A presentation that turns out to be a sales pitch will ensure low evaluations by the audience and a one-way ticket home from the conference organizer. The speaker who gives a sales pitch is duly noted and rarely invited back, oftentimes tainting the entire company in the eyes of the event organizer. 


    7.    Learn the process for submitting a speaker proposal to the event organizer - follow the format established by the organizer for writing a presentation abstract, submitting bios and speaker expertise, previous speaking experience information, and, of course, meeting the proposal deadline date. Make sure you tailor the abstract and the bio to each speaking opportunity so that they fit the objectives of the audience. 


    8.    Follow up continuously and persistently with the event organizer to help your company stay above the noise, since you will often be competing with several other companies for the same speaking slot.

By developing an effective speaker placement program for your organization, you will have taken a big step in meeting your marketing, PR, and business development objectives.

=====

Steve Markman is President of Markman Speaker Management (MSM) a Needham, Mass.- based speaker placement and conference development firm established in 1994.

Today's marketing concept is another stunningly simple one.

When it comes to your public relations or article marketing strategy...

Write What They Want to Publish - Don't Try to Publish What You Want to Write

If you're trying to put your expertise in the spotlight, don't go to the marketplace with a fixed number or pre-written articles and say "OK, where can we get these puppies printed?" When you're brand new, that might be enough - but once you're a truly up-and-coming though-leader, you start to need to pay close attention to:

1. Editorial guidelines (follow 'em)
2. Functional requirements such as word length (make overworked editors lives easier)
3. Editorial calendars with themes and topics (don't make editors stretch too far)
4. Current trends (be relevant and up-to-date)
5. Today's headlines and top stories (be timely so you ride the wave of attention)

It's the old marketing mantra of "Find a need and fill it" - but when it comes to niche PR, association publications, trade magazines and industry journals, we too often lose sight of the fact that editors are buyers and our content is our product.

Tailor, customize, and work hard to meet the demand and you will be published over and over and over again. Because you're writing what they want to publish.

What do you think? Leave a comment below to share your article marketing or niche PR success story, tip, or question. Eager to hear from YOU:

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, the question often arises about how to deliver persuasive speech topics effectively. 

This week, we lost one of the great journalists of our time, Andy Rooney. As a side note, there is a strong case to be made that Andy Rooney was the very first video blogger - and certainly the first man to produce viral videos. You can see some examples here and here and a CBS-produced retrospective here. 

So as you're crafting your next persuasive speech topic, here are seven lessons from Andy Rooney to inspire your preparation and increase your effectiveness...

1. Start strong - don't waste a lot of time in the wind-up. Begin like a good courtroom lawyer and come out swinging with no doubt as to your position and perspective.

2. Use specific examples we can all relate to. Model your favorite stand-up comedian: "Don't you hate it when..." "How come that every time you..." or "The thing that makes me crazy about ABC is XYZ." Specificity sells your ideas - and in the case of comedians, it also adds humor.

3. Go negative when it makes sense. And it almost always makes sense. Yes, when it comes to marketing and persuasion, some people will tell you to plant yourself firmly in the world of aspirations, dreams and goals. I disagree - the sound bite is "If you're going to sell fire extinguishers, first show the fire." Sell their problem - then you can sell your solution.

4. Don't be afraid to share your opinions on the facts, not just the facts. Yes data is important - but it's emotion that sells. Andy Rooney always had plenty of emotion behind his comments - and he often tapped into yours. Spark an emotional reaction and you'll quickly separate your supporters from your detractors. And when you're trying to persuade, it's the middle of the road where you find the roadkill. 

5. Don't let the critics get you down. As I always say to my audiences as a marketing speaker, "if you don't risk turning some people off, you'll never turn anybody on." If you are working on a persuasive speech topic that is selling an emotionally charged idea or one that requires your audience (prospects, colleagues, boss) to take a leap of faith, you will have to deal with critics, skeptics, haters and even some saboteurs. Take it all in stride and understand what my friend, motivational speaker Marvin LeBlanc likes to say - "You ain't nobody 'til somebody hates you."

6. Charm will go a long way. Even at his most ornery moments, Andy Rooney always had a twinkle in his eye. Yes, he could be sarcastic, negative, nasty even... but although he took his subject matter seriously, he never took himself too seriously. And his good-natured charm showed through his most acidic banter, sarcasm, and negativity. It set a unique contrast. It was effective for him and it might be effective for you.

7. Share your passions. Persuasive speech topics are nothing without the persuasion - so once you've made your case, don't be afraid to go positive in a strong way and share what you love, what you believe in, and what you want your audience to believe in. One of the greatest examples from Andy Rooney is this piece in honor of newspapers.

Andy's obituary in today's New York Times concluded like this:

Mr. Rooney frequently said he considered himself “one of the least important producers on television” because his specialty was light pieces. “I just wish insignificance had more stature,” he once said.

But he put things in perspective in his 1,097th and last regularly scheduled “60 Minutes” appearance.

“I’ve done a lot of complaining here,” he said then, “but of all the things I’ve complained about, I can’t complain about my life.”

Thanks, Andy - for showing us how to persuade, how to spread your ideas, and how to have a great time doing it.

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!