Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

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

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 Master Class: Christina Daves on PR for Anyone

MASTER CLASS 2014Welcome 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... 

My special guest this week... 

Alyson LexChristina Daves - PR and Media Expert

Christina Daves is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and run four successful companies over the past 20 years. With no resources remaining when she launched her latest venture, CastMedic Designs, Christina taught herself everything she could about generating her own publicity. Since launching in 2012, she has appeared in over 200 media outlets including national and local television and publications generating over six figures in sales. As a result of her PR success, she created PR for Anyone® to help other small business owners learn how to do what she did to have similar success.

Christina is also the author of the bestselling book, PR for Anyone™ - 100+ Affordable Ways to Easily Create Buzz for Your Business.

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 business-boosting PR strategies, getting more media coverage, or anything else we talked about (including how to use PR to directly get more leads, sales, and customers!)

short blog posts

Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, thought leadership marketing, trusted advisor marketing, speaker marketing, small business marketing, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, pr, publicity, christina daves, marketing master class

77 ideas to boost sales (30 gifts, 300 leads, plus an award!)

YOUR Birthday Gifts + Leads

My book's birthday is today and YOU get the gifts... 

  

If you order the book today, you will get over $747 in business-building bonuses and you'll also get a terrific book jam-packed with savvy marketing, sales and business development strategies, tactics and tools.

 

To check out the 30 bonuses you'll get immediately when you buy today, visit:

http://doitmarketing.com/book-bonus (The 2nd bonus is 300 free sales leads!)

 

The book has sold over 10,000 copies and earned overwhelmingly positive reviews. On June 4, 2014 (yesterday!!) the book won "best marketing book" in the 2014 Small Business Book Awards.

 

Here's what SmallBizTrends had to say about it:

 

The Practical Marketing Smack-Around That's Been Missing in Your Business: This is an ideal book for anyone remotely responsible for sales and marketing. Do It! Marketing will give your marketing a real workout - but the only thing you'll be moaning about is what to do with all the new customers you have.

 

Here are just a few other people's opinions...

 

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"Do It! Marketing has cracked the code on marketing success. And the code is simple - there is no code! Rather, David shows you step-by-step how to own the marketing process and get results. No matter what got you here, this book will get you there."

-- Marshall Goldsmith, Author of "MOJO" and "What Got You Here Won't Get You There"

 

 

"Wow! This is a terrific book - loaded with practical, proven and often surprising methods and techniques to dramatically increase your sales."

-- Brian Tracy, Author of "High Performance Selling"

 

 

 

"Packed with a gazillion smart ideas you can use immediately to supercharge your marketing. But beyond all those great ideas, Do It! Marketing shares key concepts and simple systems that will bring you more business with much less struggle."

-- C.J. Hayden, Author of "Get Clients Now!"

 

 

"Do It! Marketing is for every business owner, entrepreneur and executive who wants more focus, more momentum, more clients and more business. As David says, 'only action creates results.' Acting on the ideas in this book will help your business - and career - run the gauntlet, grow and thrive."

-- Jeffrey Hayzlett, global business celebrity and host of Bloomberg Television's #1 rated show, "The C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett"

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When you order today, you'll get more than $747 in instant-access bonus material from some of America's TOP business experts. Everything is waiting for you here:

http://doitmarketing.com/book-bonus 

 

Plus you'll also get 300 free sales leads via our partners at SalesDog and LeadFerret when you buy the book today

 

Grab your copy from amazon NOW and you'll thank me later. After you make your purchase, visit this link to claim your 30 bonuses and 300 sales leads. 

 

p.s. Happy Birthday - you don't look a day older!

Tags: marketing speaker, marketing strategy, thought leadership marketing, top sales and marketing awards, marketing coach, small business marketing, marketing mix, doit marketing, do it marketing, best marketing book

Sales Speaker Mark Hunter Interview

sales speaker Mark HunterYou're about to meet one of my favorite people and a super-smart sales guru... My sales speaker pal, Mark Hunter.

Pull up a chair, grab a coffee and join us as we talk about High Profit Selling and the secrets of how YOU can sell smarter. 

Good selling is all about GETTING clients and great selling is all about GETTING profits, so it makes perfect sense that Mark is an expert in both!

Get ready to take some notes on how Mark's brilliant ideas apply to YOUR business...

Get "real deal" insights on sales that will blow the competition away. See how many valuable nuggets YOU can implement in your business - right NOW!

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let's discuss...

77 lessons for success in marketing, business, life

Tags: marketing speaker, thought leadership marketing, marketing professional services, professional services marketing, marketing professional services firms, sales prospecting, selling professional services, marketing strategist, small business marketing, sales and marketing, top sales and marketing book

Marketing Coach: 101 Really Good Ideas for 2014

101 Really Good Ideas

Maybe 2014 will be the year that you…

  1. Start thinking bigger

  2. Ask for help (partners, affiliates, advocates, allies, clients)

  3. Stop playing small

  4. Give up your victim mindset

  5. Learn to sell smarter

  6. Invest in yourself

  7. Stop whining

  8. Be of service to more people, whether they buy or not

  9. Listen more deeply

  10. Stop competing and start collaborating

  11. Let go and move on

  12. Get smart about your money (earning, saving, spending, investing)

  13. Embrace the unknown

  14. Scale your business

  15. Don't sweat the small stuff

  16. Give more of your time to your best clients

  17. Amplify your voice

  18. Sharpen your vision

  19. Multiply your impact

  20. Get off the hamster wheel

  21. Leverage more 

  22. Labor less (simplify, eliminate, delegate, outsource)

  23. Serve a wider audience

  24. Dig deeper

  25. Write more

  26. Stress less

  27. Spend more time with family

  28. Get off the email crack

  29. Manage your day smarter

  30. Take 100% ownership of marketing, sales, and business development

  31. Stop pitching and start solving

  32. Make more videos

  33. Build a community around your expertise

  34. Trash your self-limiting beliefs

  35. Buy this book

  36. Get serious, get help, or get out

  37. Upgrade your marketing materials

  38. Stop tolerating bullshit in all areas of your life

  39. Embrace healthy habits (food, exercise, sleep)

  40. Aspire to be bigger, better, smarter, kinder

  41. Show up

  42. Step up

  43. Stop doing work you’ve outgrown

  44. Stop serving clients who no longer fit

  45. Raise your sights

  46. Raise your fees

  47. Seek out better, smarter, more successful friends

  48. Seek out better, smarter, more successful clients

  49. Quit doing stupid shit (yes, you!)

  50. Free your imagination

  51. Sing your song

  52. Make your mark

  53. Write your book

  54. Launch that thing you’ve been dreaming of

  55. Rediscover your passion

  56. Unleash your enthusiasm

  57. Get the hell off Facebook

  58. Mentor someone who needs your wisdom

  59. Reframe your losses

  60. Remember your wins

  61. Write down your goals

  62. Live out of your calendar, not your inbox

  63. Set your GPS for greatness

  64. Go for bigger fish

  65. Use better bait

  66. Bag the elephant

  67. Be more tenacious

  68. Focus like a laser

  69. Stop distracting yourself

  70. Get more results by doing less marketing

  71. Develop a “marketing magnet” speech

  72. Identify target-rich audiences

  73. Deploy irresistible offers

  74. Master your “enrollment conversation”

  75. Start doing social media right

  76. Become more comfortable being uncomfortable

  77. If you’re not scared, you're probably not up to anything interesting

  78. Go to more conferences

  79. Cross-pollinate your best ideas

  80. Join a mastermind group

  81. Read more for pleasure

  82. Read more for business

  83. Collect smart friends

  84. Feature and leverage other people

  85. Keep a notebook to capture your best ideas

  86. Start your podcast

  87. Interview other experts

  88. Interview your prospects and clients

  89. Serve on a non-profit board

  90. Do something artsy (music, painting, dance, theater)

  91. Upgrade your wardrobe

  92. Buy that new car (PDF)

  93. Give more generously

  94. Stop judgment and embrace openness (mind, heart, spirit)

  95. Apologize even (especially?) when you don’t need to

  96. Be more humble

  97. Punch people in the face with value

  98. Become genuinely interested in others

  99. Ask more and better questions

  100. Make more lists

  101. Send more cookies

  102. Be more grateful

  103. Always over-deliver

  104. Yes, this is item #104 out of 101

  105. Always say please and thank you

  106. Please share this post

  107. Thank you for being awesome


Tags: marketing for speakers, thought leadership marketing, professional services marketing, professional speaker marketing, small business marketing, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, do it marketing, small business marketing speaker, doitmarketing, small business marketing coach

9 Key Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

9 key traits entrepreneurial successEntrepreneurs who START a business typically exhibit these traits:

  1. Independent - they want to be their own boss.
  2. Self-Reliant - they want to know they're 100% responsible for their own results
  3. Hard-working - they're not afraid of hard work, long hours, and the toughest boss they'll ever have (see #1 above!)

Entrepreneurs who SUCCEED in business typically exhibit these traits:

  1. Dream big but dream focused. They want to create something that is substantial and that makes a real contribution. But they are also focused enough and disciplined enough to distinguish between opportunities and distractions.
  2. Lifelong student. They're willing to learn, experiment and try new things. They regularly challenge their own assumptions and explore outside their comfort zone.
  3. Willing to ask for help, delegate, and outsource. Most entrepreneurs are better at helping than being helped. But if you’re not willing to ask for help or delegate to others, you severely limit your growth.
  4. Will break through obstacles. Entrepreneurs always get stuck. Whether in dire straits financially, facing a tough new competitor, or dealing with internal headaches, the entrepreneurial journey is almost always turbulent. Successful entrepreneurs expect this and have learned to "secure their own oxygen mask before assisting others."
  5. Resilient. They face disappointment with courage. And more important, they bounce back. Again and again and again. And again!!
  6. Have patience. Things rarely work out for entrepreneurs as quickly as they'd like. Successful entrepreneurs have come to understand that sometimes the "shortcut" is the long way.
What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS section below to share your own advice, insights, and recommendations on what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur... 
9 key traits successful entrepreneur

Tags: marketing concept, thought leadership marketing, trusted advisor marketing, entrepreneurship, marketing coaching, small business marketing expert, small business coach, professional speaker marketing, marketing coach, motivational speaker marketing, success tips, small business marketing, do it marketing, small business marketing speaker, sales and marketing

WIIFM is dead. Long live WNOR

new radio station wnorFor a very long time, you couldn’t sit through any marketing seminar or sales training without some moron blathering on about the radio station WIIFM - “What’s In It For Me?” as if this was cutting edge information that you had never heard before.

Well, we’re changing the station, folks… because the only radio station your prospects care about today is WNOR:

  • Wants

  • Needs

  • Outcomes

  • Results

Let’s dig into each one of these individually so that YOU can begin broadcasting your marketing and sales messages on this channel to get more leads, attract better prospects, and close bigger sales.

Wants. Wants are desires. These are aspirational, positive things that your prospect is attracted to. Examples include more time, more money, more hair, more sex, more happiness, more cupcakes… you get the idea. In order to enter the conversation already happening in your prospect’s mind, it is vitally important that you speak prospect language about prospect wants. NOT industry jargon. NOT marketing-speak. Plain English. Put another way: this is where your prospects want to go.

Needs. Needs are problems and challenges that your prospect is looking to solve. Needs are generally articulated as pains, hassles, heartaches, headaches, and gaps. When there is a need, it is calling out for something. A fix, a missing puzzle piece, or a solution. Put another way, these are your prospects’ obstacles and roadblocks that need to be removed in order for them to achieve their wants.

Outcomes. Outcomes live on the other side of your prospect buying your product or service. Once they buy, use, install, or consume what you’re selling, their condition improves. Outcome statements are phrased in terms of boosting the positive (teamwork, innovation, productivity, profitability, etc) and reducing the negative (complaints, defects, returns, injuries, wasted time, wasted money, inefficiencies, etc.)

Results. Results are the emotional benefits of achieving the outcomes. Another way to put this is that results are the “ultimate destination” or payoff that stems from the outcomes. The pivotal phrases you can use to frame results are: “so that you feel...” - “so you restore...” “so you regain...” - “so you can relax about…”

Here’s a complete example from my work with small business owners and independent professionals who want to grow their business.

Use this as a "fill-in-the-blank" model - Remove MY language and plug in YOUR language that corresponds to YOUR specific product/service/value in ways that YOUR prospects will recognize, respect, and resonate with.

Wants:

Perhaps we’re a good fit to work together if you want to:

  • Get laser-focused on getting more clients in less time and with less struggle
  • Raise your fees and start working with more profitable clients
  • Build a perpetual marketing plan that fits your particular strengths, personality and preferences
  • Make small shifts in your positioning and promotion that will open the floodgates to more revenues  

Needs:

As a small business owner, independent professional, or entrepreneur do you…

  • Get stuck when trying to figure out how to attract more clients and generate more revenue…
  • Feel overwhelmed by the vast number of marketing options you could be doing to grow your business…
  • Regret being burned by so-called marketing "gurus" that promised a quick fix…
  • Suffer disappointment when investing in marketing solutions that seem to work for "everyone else..."
  • Fear that your business is sliding back to where you were 2-3 years ago rather than leaping ahead…
  • Find increased resistance today from clients and prospects about pricing…
  • Have more prospects saying "No" to you and lose sales that you used to close easily
  • Feel like you're banging your head against a wall - which gives you a giant marketing headache...

Outcomes:

Here are just some of your skills and abilities that will improve as a result of this program:

  • Experience Marketing Detox: Stop poisoning your business with short-term "flavor of the month" initiatives and commit to a plan that works and lasts
  • Discover why results DON'T come from "quick fix" schemes or outdated "best practices"
  • STOP losing deals on price and confidently step into "Premium Positioning" while also raising your closing ratio and boosting your referrals
  • Analyze the types of marketing activities that fit your unique personality, strengths, and preferences
  • Build (or rebuild) a detailed marketing "blueprint" with hand-selected marketing activities and tasks that you'll actually enjoy doing
  • Increase perceived value so you're considered a partner - not a "peddler"
  • Tailor a questioning plan and set specific goals for every phase of your marketing and sales process
  • Gain powerful insights into your prospect's problems, obstacles, and challenges -- and create "indisputable points of proof" that you can solve them
  • Anticipate buyer behavior to prevent fence-sitting and endless stalling
  • Implement a Perpetual Marketing Plan that brings results daily
  • Use "inbound marketing" strategies to attract clients and customers to your expertise, regardless of price and regardless of your competitive environment
  • Do what needs to be done (finally!) to create a permanent foundation for your entrepreneurial success

Results:

Results you can expect after this program:

  • You'll consistently attract a much higher caliber of client
  • You'll clearly articulate your premium pricing - and never cave on price again
  • You'll feel focused on what matters most and make significant progress daily
  • You'll be positioned as an expert
  • You'll feel extremely confident
  • You'll concisely convey exactly how your business helps your clients
  • You'll trust yourself more than ever
  • You'll have a razor sharp profile of the ideal clients you want to serve - and you'll know exactly where to find them
  • You'll do ONLY marketing tasks that you find easy, effortless, and enjoyable
  • You'll feel inspired, supported, and motivated to take action
  • You'll know how to leverage your time and intellectual property

Your turn - how can you use the above WNOR model to restructure your marketing messages, web copy, sales letters, or other collateral so that they resonate 100% with your best prospects, customers and clients?

Please use the comments area below to share your advice, insights, and recommendations on using WNOR messaging in YOUR marketing and sales process.

WNOR

Tags: marketing speaker, marketing success, marketing concept, thought leadership marketing, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, selling professional services, small business coach, marketing strategist, marketing consultant, small business marketing, doit marketing, do it marketing, marketing tip

Marketing Coach: No Guarantee of Success

no guarantees 480There's a nice group of folks coming together for the next "Simple Marketing Success" 10-week group coaching program that begins October 8. 

In fact, you have about 24 hours to catch Early Bird pricing that expires tomorrow (9/21). 

I'm talking with a lot of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and independent professionals about the program.

Some are a great fit for the program and will benefit hugely. 

Some are not. I will almost always catch these people during the application process and weed them out.

This is one such story... 

This entrepreneur emailed me the following question: 


Hi David,

I hope you are having a great weekend!  After some debate, here's the verdict: I want to take the course, I believe, you see, I'd make a great student - but money is an issue for the household if you know what I mean.

So here's a question: Would you feel comfortable giving us a 100% satisfaction guarantee? If at the end of 10 weeks I have not been able to get a solid booking(s) to at least cover the cost of the program, then you'd give us a full refund. But if I have been able to get a solid booking(s) at the end of the 10-week period, then we call it a major success and both parties are happy, including my wife. Can we do that?


I won't bore you with pointing out the half-dozen red flags with this prospect. You can probably see them all for yourself. 

This post is about guaranteeing YOUR consulting, coaching, or training outcomes. 

My policy - I don't do it.

And neither should YOU. 

Here's what I replied to this fellow:


Pat,

If you're looking for some kind of guarantee, the problem is that I can only guarantee MY program.

I can't guarantee YOUR results. 

Here's what I guarantee:

  • I'll lead 10 weekly calls
  • You'll get 10 weekly assignments
  • You'll get digital audio downloads of 10 calls
  • You'll get word-for-word transcripts of 10 calls
  • You'll get 280+ pages of tested small business marketing strategies, tools, templates, and ideas
  • The ideas and tactics you'll get have been proven with over 300 entrepreneurs, small business owners and independent professionals
  • I'll be available for UNLIMITED email support and respond to you within 1 business day, usually much sooner
  • You'll get TWO 30-minute private 1-on-1 calls with me which you can use for any purpose
  • You'll get full access to the online Group/Forum website for asking questions, seeking feedback, and posting responses and assignments
Here's what I cannot guarantee:
  • I can't guarantee you'll be on the calls
  • I can't guarantee you'll listen to the recordings
  • I can't guarantee you'll do your weekly assignments
  • I can't guarantee you'll read the transcripts
  • I can't guarantee you'll read the book
  • I can't guarantee you'll implement a single strategy or tactic
  • I can't guarantee you'll email me when you need help or guidance
  • I can't guarantee you'll set up your 2 private coaching calls
  • I can't guarantee you'll follow my advice
  • I can't guarantee you'll participate in the online forum
  • I can't guarantee you'll work hard (or at all) to make this program WORK for you

And I'm not in the business of "convincing" people with feel-good guarantees.

I don't work with hundreds of people at a clip. I work with a very small, very dedicated group of entrepreneurs, business owners and independent professionals who are committed to their own success and want to accelerate its timetable and expand its scope.  

If that's you, then terrific. Let's do this thing.

If not, no hard feelings.


What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on using guarantees in YOUR coaching, consulting, training or professional services business. And if you use a written guarantee, feel free to post the link and a quick plug for your services, too!

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