Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

Guest post by Charlie Poznek 

When I first started my online business, I had no idea what a business coach was, let alone why I needed one.  I was much more concerned with the technical aspects of building a website, launching a podcast, and figuring out what social media was all about.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that hiring a business coach would’ve saved me hours each week, and not just when it came to learning to format my Twitter profile.  

I learned that a business coach is crucial to speeding up the learning curve, connecting with your target market, and avoiding expensive mistakes that new online business owners tend to make.  In essence, hiring a coach will get you in the game faster, keep you there longer, and let you focus on building your brand and connecting with customers.

So how do you find the business coach of your dreams?

1. Clarify your values

What matters most to you in your business, and as a human being? For me, giving back is a huge part of why I do what I do.  When looking for a coach, it was important to me to work with someone who shared that value.  I didn’t care if they were the most well-respected business coach in the world; if their values didn’t match mine, I didn’t want to work with them.

Your values don’t necessarily have to be personal or moral in nature - they might include your working style, or what’s most important to you in a professional relationship.  

For example, do you value someone who gives it to you straight, or someone who is more nurturing?  Are you a go-with-the-flow type of person, or do you prefer to have everything planned out?

Figure out which values are most important to you in a working relationship before beginning your search for the perfect coach or mentor.

2. Set expectations 

What do you expect to get out of working with a business coach?

Would you like a coach who…

• will answer frantic phone calls in the middle of the night?
• meets with you for hours at a time?
• conducts sessions strictly over Skype?
• follows up with you even after you’ve completed your sessions?

Start to think about your expectations of the relationship, including how much time you want to spend working with your coach and what you expect them to teach you.  Some people may want a good listener, while others may want to be told exactly what to do and how to do it. What’s your preference?

You should also consider how you want to work with your coach:

Would you prefer…

• One-on-one power sessions?
• Mastermind groups?
• Live webinars?
• Weekly phone calls?

If you’d rather be face to face than on the phone, look for a local coach who can meet with you in person.  If you’re busy with a full time job and can barely squeeze in a weekly webinar, find a coach who can work around your schedule.

You should also clearly state the goal of working with a coach.  How will you know if the coaching relationship has been successful?  

Make a list of exactly what you want help with, and what you want to achieve.  You might want something as basic as help setting up your website, or something as esoteric as defining the feeling of your brand.  Get specific so you can find the perfect person to deliver what you need.

3. Create a budget

You can spend $25 on a business coach or $25,000.  What’s your budget?

Keep in mind that the most expensive mentor in the world doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the best mentor in the world.  

Many business coaches offer monthly packages that include weekly phone calls and email support.  Generally speaking, one-on-one coaching will be more expensive than group coaching, but you’ll receive less attention.  

An experienced, well-known business coach might charge upwards of $500/hour for his or her time.  If you fall in love with a coach and find out their price point is too high, don’t give up right away. Contact them first to see if they have a payment plan or a program that’s within your price range.

4. Schedule an interview

Once you’ve found someone who shares your values, meets your expectations, and falls within your budget, it’s time to set up an interview.

If the business coach you’re interested in is highly successful, you may feel intimidated and fall into what I like to call the “pick me!” mentality. Remember that there has to be chemistry on both sides in order for a relationship to work.  If this coach is recommended by everyone but you get a bad vibe from them, it’s not worth the investment.  

Prepare a list of questions for your interview, and be sure to take note of how you feel during the interview.  Do you feel listened to? Does the coach seem confident that they can help you?  

A good business coach will be extremely interested in hearing all the details of where you are now and where you want to go - without those details, he or she has no way of knowing if the coaching relationship will be a good fit.

Finally, make sure that you like the person you’re about to hire.  They may have all the knowledge and expertise in the world, but if you dread spending an hour on the phone with them, you’ll be wasting your money.

_______

Charlie Poznek is the Founder and CEO of The Boomer Business Owner with Charlie Poznek, a podcast that helps Baby Boomers create a spectacular life through successfully starting and running an online business.

It all started with this passionate rant...

If I see one more idiot posting about "millionaire speaker" bootcamps or info-marketing mega-courses, or moronic pitches to "work less and make more" I'm going to pop an artery because these are complete B.S.!!

You want the secret to work less and make more?

Great - here it is in three words: DELIVER. MASSIVE. VALUE.

Maybe four more words would help: WORK. YOUR. BUTT. OFF.

In addition to my main speaking and consulting work, I've made a very nice secondary income since 2008 in group coaching programs. 

HOWEVER - let's not sugar-coat things, either: they are a tremendous amount of WORK. Preparation, planning, building the modules, marketing the programs, filling the classes.  

And no, these aren't the $97 per month automated type of programs with canned emails and videos.

These are personally led by me in real time with real interaction and they carry a premium price tag and they are extremely well-received.  

I can say with pinpoint accuracy that between 2008 and 2010, I ran...

• The Speaker Marketing Toolkit program 12 times since 2008 ($144,000)
• The Product Development Tookit 3 times ($28,800)
• The Speaker Profit Blueprint 3 times ($23,100)
• The 30-day SpeakerLiftoff program 5 times ($37,375)
• The Do It! Marketing Accelerator 8 people at $277/month ($6,648)
• The inaugural 2014 Book Marketing Workshop had 12 people at $777 ($9,324) 

So if you truly want to leverage your time, talent, content, expertise, and experience...

You must learn to create, market and sell group coaching programs.

They're a great supplement and complement to your main business as a speaker, author, coach, consultant, or independent professional.

There is no magic bullet. There is no "millionaire fairy"... Get to work and you'll get these results.

p.s. Ready to go behind the scenes and do this for your own business? If so, then this might be exactly what you've been looking for. 

Guest post by Ford R. Myers
President, Career Potential, LLC

People who are seriously considering engaging the services of a professional coach or consultant usually ask many questions about what the advisor “will do or should do” in order to make the coaching relationship work for the client. This is certainly reasonable and understandable.

However, there are also several “prerequisites” or standards that the client must meet for the engagement to produce optimum results.

Unfortunately, these criteria are rarely discussed during the “contracting process” between consultant and client.

There are at least six behaviors and attitudes which clients need to embrace to help make any coaching engagement successful:

1. Treat the consulting relationship as a real priority in your life (fully-invested; not an “afterthought” or a distraction)
2. Be coachable (open-minded, trusting, non-defensive, willing to go a bit outside of your comfort zone, flexible, committed to the process)
3. Show-up for appointments (in-person, via phone, on Skype)
4. Do your “homework” promptly (written exercises, reading, research)
5. Be 100% honest with your coach (candid, vulnerable, “real,” sincere, direct, unguarded)
6. Hold to your commitments and be “self-accountable” (with the support and structure of your coach)

In my work as an Executive Career Coach, I make it clear (either explicitly or implicitly) to prospective clients that “this is a two-way street.” Of course, I commit 100% to doing my part to the best of my ability.

But the client also has a vital role to play in the consulting relationship, with important commitments and responsibilities (listed above).

Discussing these items candidly before getting started in a new coaching engagement has proven to be a productive exercise, and it has been mutually beneficial.

Such a conversation “screens out” prospective clients who are not a good fit for my programs; it empowers clients to take full responsibility for their part of the work; it sets clear expectations and eliminates incorrect assumptions; and it allows me to hold my clients accountable when they inevitably experience resistance or avoidance during the coaching process. In other words, this dialogue clears the way for clients to achieve their goals more efficiently and productively – which makes everybody happy!

What do you think? Leave a comment below and...

Welcome to our carefully chosen list of thought leadership marketing tools. We use these tools here at Do It! Marketing World HQ and highly recommend them to our clients and partners.

Good news: Many of these tools are free. A few are not. Almost all come with a risk-free "try before you buy" option to make sure you love them as much as we do. Please note that if you decide to make a purchase, I may (and probably will) receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you, and in fact, MOST of these links contain special discounts, free trials, or bonuses only available through these links.

With that said, please dig in and take full advantage of these hand-selected resources. They will help your business thrive, scale and grow -- just as they have helped ours!

Email Marketing: ConstantContact | Aweber | PopupDomination

Shopping Cart: KickstartCart | Infusionsoft

Social Media: Tweetadder

Online Audio/E-learning: AudioAcrobat | JigsawBox | Ruzuku

Graphics: Pixabay | ReciteThis | PicMonkey | MyECoverMaker

Webinar/Screen Sharing: Screenr | StealthSeminar | AnyMeeting

Ecommerce: PayPal | Clickbank | Infusionsoft

Landing Pages: LeadPages | Unbounce | LaunchRock

Website Builder: Strikingly

1. Whatever it is you're working on - it's NOT what you think it is
2. And it's BIGGER than you think it is
3. Your job is not to work alone - lone wolves starve to death
4. Your job is to build containers for collaboration
5. You need three groups of people... 
6. You need your posse (partners, colleagues, team)
7. You need your tribe (followers, fans, customers, clients)
8. You need your dream team (advisors, coaches, mentors)
9. And you must avoid one group at all costs... 
10. Keep away from the herd (sheep, lemmings, tire kickers, goofballs)
11. "Yes" is almost never a good first answer
12. Focus like a maniac on what matters most
13. Turn off email - Yes, really
14. Live out of your calendar, not your inbox
15. Be kinder than you need to be
16. Let go to move faster
17. Stop letting fear make your decisions for you
18. Learn to love the verb DECIDE... 
19. Make more decisions
20. Make faster decisions
21. 90% of your decisions can always be changed later
22. The magic word to get most anything you want: ASK!
23. Charge premium fees...
24. Good clients will follow
25. Bad clients will fall away
26. Stop asking for permission...
27. Why? Because you already have it
28. You don't need to see the whole staircase - just the first step
29. Action eliminates fear
30. Overdeliver like crazy
31. It's better to have a capacity problem than a sales problem
32. Customer loyalty goes both ways
33. The saddest referral is one that was earned but never given (See #22)
34. If it doesn't matter to your customer, it doesn't matter
35. Forget features and benefits
36. Focus exclusively on outcomes, results, and payoffs
37. Learn to speak prospect language about prospect problems
38. If you want to sell fire extinguishers, first show the fire
39. If you don't risk turning some people off, you'll never turn anybody on
40. Diversify while still specializing
41. If you can prove what you do works, you win
42. People never argue against their own opinions, data, and feelings
43. When selling an idea, show up with a bucket, not a microphone
44. There is no "sales gene"...
45. Everyone can sell once they find their own voice 
46. Marketing comes down to four words: Offer value, Invite engagement
47. Imagine that it's easy
48. Good things come to those who bust their ass and never give up
49. Your success day in and day out, year in and year out depends on two things... 
50. How fast you're willing to learn (relearn, unlearn)
51. How much you're willing to grow (personally, professionally, emotionally)
52. Every prospect qualifies - they just might not qualify for YOU
53. If the first version of your product/service isn't embarrassing, you waited too long to launch it
54. Happy people are that way because they want to be
55. Miserable people are that way because they want to be
56. Please secure your own mask before assisting others
57. If you're a great starter, learn to finish
58. Are you willing to do what you have to do so you get to do what you want to do?
59. If you ain't got people skills, I don't care how smart you are - you're dead
60. Stop acting like a numbnutz and your life will improve
61. Different isn't better
62. Better is better
63. Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened
64. Get out of the office - yes you - yes right now. That's where life happens
65. Happiness is to have family that you treat like friends and friends that you treat like family
66. Everyone needs allies, advocates, brothers, sisters, and co-conspirators in mischief and merry-making
67. Getting what you want is easy - Deciding what you want is the hard part
68. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, writers gotta write, dancers gotta dance... 
69. So what are you waiting for? 
70. Don't carry home-made business cards...
71. Don't build a free template website...
72. Professionals use professional tools
73. Get serious, get help, or get out
74. If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy - remember that
75. Once a day, do something brave
76. Once a day, do something kind
77. Once a day, do something smart

___________

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!

Entrepreneurs 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.

These rules were originally tweeted by Emma Coates, Pixar’s Story Artist.

Look them over and see how many of them apply to YOUR story - specifically, your marketing story that you're trying to articulate (first, for yourself and then for your prospects, clients, and customers!)

Number 9 on the list - "When you’re stuck, make a list of what wouldn’t happen next" – is a great one. So is number 12 - "Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself."

Use the COMMENTS section below to share your favorites and how they impact YOUR thinking about YOUR marketing, sales, and business development success.

1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
2. You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
3. Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
8. Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
9. When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
10. Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
13. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
14. Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
16. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
17. No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
22. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

For 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.

1. Be more courageous.
2. Stop prospecting blind.
3. Tune your radar.
4. Listen more deeply.
5. Action creates traction.
6. Try new things.
7. Hang in there. 
8. Get better daily.
9. Begin with enthusiasm. 
10. Finish with flair.
11. Celebrate small wins.
12. Eliminate wasted steps.
13. Aim higher sooner.
14. Never stop learning.
15. Give, give, give. 
16. Plant seeds relentlessly.
17. Stop wasting time.
18. Hound dogs bark.
19. Alpha dogs buy. 
20. Value + Time = Trust.
21. Do your homework.
22. Bring home bacon.
23. Seek higher ground.
24. Stop the crazy.
25. Start the money.
26. Give awesome gifts.
27. Keep it real.
28. Start fresh today.
29. Be the hero. 
30. Write that letter. 
31. Prove your case. 
32. Trust the process.
33. Seize the day.
34. Solve prospect problems.
35. Make others shine.
36. Ask better questions.
37. Think WAY bigger.
38. Focus your energies.
39. Now beats later.
40. Let's play nice. 
41. Zig don't zag.
42. Never sell alone. 
43. Stay the course.
44. Don't get distracted.
45. Always ask "Why?"
46. Amp it up!
47. How doesn't matter.
48. Invite and engage.
49. You're already there. 
50. Enjoy the ride.
51. Fascinate to dominate.
52. Write it down. 
53. Keep on truckin'!
54. Love your clients.
55. Ask for help.
56. Never give up.
57. Make prospects friends.
58. Sharpen your edge.
59. Bang it out.
60. Serve to sell.
61. Speak your mind.
62. Expand your circles.
63. Love your numbers.
64. Consider crazy alternatives.
65. Not so fast. 
66. Go for no. 
67. Blow 'em away.
68. Make miracles happen.
69. Stretch your possibilities.
70. Kill your ego.
71. It's about them.
72. Speak their language.
73. Earn their respect.
74. Don't shy away.
75. Give more generously.
76. Don't be scared.
77. Buy this book.
78. Freshen it up. 
79. Redirect dumb questions.
80. Anticipate common roadblocks.
81. Full color proposals.
82. Pictures trump words.
83. Thank your heroes.
84. Respond, don't react.
85. Invest in yourself.
86. Seek the truth.
87. Avoid the obvious. 
88. Birds gotta fly. 
89. Fish gotta swim.
90. Relationships are perishable. 
91. Make that call. 
92. Track your progress. 
93. Decisions drive momentum.
94. Take notes everywhere.
95. Look further ahead.
96. Stop playing small.
97. Sell the dream.
98. Deliver the goods. 
99. Never shortchange yourself.
100. You're so ready.
101. DO IT. Now!

Grab your FREE copy of the Do It! Marketing Manifesto

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

Are you a DO IT freak? 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!