tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90073992904536930232024-03-19T04:21:46.449-07:00Rat Race ArmaggeddonUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14779125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-24472788469735709562024-03-14T18:05:00.001-07:002024-03-14T18:05:20.884-07:00How To Hire a Fractional CMO<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/fractional-cmo-strategy/">How To Hire a Fractional CMO</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/tosin/">Tosin Jerugba</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/ducttape/DTM-John-SoloShow-July.mp3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</a></p>
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<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I go solo and dive into the trend in the marketing consultancy agency world that is: Fractional Chief Marketing Officers or CMOs.</p>
<p>This episode is a must-listen for business owners, marketing professionals, and consultants seeking a game-changing approach to business growth.</p>
<h3>Key Takeaways:</h3>
<p>I explore the game-changing concept of Fractional Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), highlighting its cost-effectiveness compared to traditional hires. Emphasizing the importance of leading with strategy, I challenge the conventional project-based approach to marketing, advocating for a transformative focus on strategic direction. By intentionally evolving the customer journey, businesses can position themselves for sustained growth in 2024 and beyond. Tune in to discover how embracing Fractional CMOs and prioritizing strategy-first methodologies can revolutionize your marketing approach and drive long-term success.</p>
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<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch, and I'm doing a solo show. Just me, nobody else in the camera, right? All right, so I've been doing a number of shows. We do a lot of education. We license our fractional CMO system to agencies and consultants and strategists all over the world. So I thought it might be interesting. A lot of small business owner listeners here might be interesting to do one that I might call how to hire a fractional CMO. Now, you can go to duct tape marketing.com and you'll find how we talk about our fractional CMO approach. You don't really have to call it a fractional CMO, but it really is going to lead with strategy, and that's really why I call it the fractional CMO approach, because that's the implication that you're thinking at the C-suite level about your marketing, that it's going to be somewhat strategic.</p>
<p><b>(01:03):</b> Now, what is a fractional CMO? I should start there, right? Fractional chief marketing. Now, you might not have chief anything in your organization, but you do have a marketing function, and wouldn't it be lovely to have somebody that was their core laser focus? It is a growing trend fractional everything frankly is a growing trend out there in the business world. So why not marketing? Why not bring somebody in who is going to be at the highest level thinking strategically about your marketing today? Boy, there's so many tactics. There's so many things to know, so much that's changing every single day. Having somebody that is focused on that at a very high level, I think has become really essential for any kind of business. Now, why would you consider hiring a fractional CMO? Well, probably the top line benefit is somebody that's going to bring high level strategic marketing leadership, not just ideas without the full-time cost of an executive.</p>
<p><b>(02:12):</b> I mean, I know you're not thinking about probably hiring A CMO, but if you were, you're going to be looking at north of 200,000, north of 300,000 in some cases. For somebody that's got that kind of full-time experience, plus they're not going to write the email copy. They're going to hire people or they're going to hire people to do that. So it's a very expensive proposition, but you can actually get, I believe, an adequate amount of strategic thinking for your business without really spending anywhere near that. Well, literally a fourth maybe of that or a fifth of that. The right person, the right fractional CMO, the right consultant, whatever you want to call it, is going to bring an outside perspective with probably hopefully fresh ideas for your marketing. Now, we're going to get to how to spot the right one, but hopefully that's what somebody's going to bring you.</p>
<p><b>(03:04):</b> A lot of times people will think, well, I'm an accounting firm or I'm a remodeling contractor. I want somebody that's got years of experience in my industry. Certainly some knowledge of your industry having worked with past clients can be a very good thing, but too deep or a specific niche only tends to actually bring kind of cookie cutter brings, like, this is what I do for this company in Des Moines. This is what I do for the one in Tokyo. This is what I do. Same exact thing, same exact approach, and some of certainly may work and been informed by years of doing that approach, but also it could be stale. There could be no innovation in it. Having somebody that's worked in a variety of industries, I think actually brings you a better potential outside perspective and fresh ideas. A lot of times marketing tactics are just kind of a like, how do we make the phone ring?</p>
<p><b>(03:57):</b> How do we get the email? How do we do this tactic? The right fractional CMO is going to help you. Marketing strategy and business strategy are not always the same thing. In many cases, they certainly support each other. There might be some overlap, but your business strategy might differ greatly from your marketing strategy, but the right person's going to help you align your overall business goals really with your marketing objectives and hopefully keep you on track and hold you accountable for staying on track. I mean, the right one is not going to just let you say, I know we said last quarter our three priorities were X, but now we're going to go this direction. Hopefully you actually look to that person to push back a little bit on holding you to what you've really the stated objectives are. There is a bit of flexibility in this approach.</p>
<p><b>(04:46):</b> I mean, you can scale it up. Maybe you have a seasonal business, maybe you have a business that really in the winter really almost practically shuts down. Well, this is an approach that you can scale up and scale down. I don't necessarily recommend shutting marketing off ever, but you might actually have the need to think strategically or even oversight of what you're doing might actually come down dramatically. The right person is going to actually drive marketing results and ROI with proven methodologies and best practices, they're going to be experienced. Hopefully they've actually developed some methodologies, some frameworks that they can bring and immediately bring to your business. I already mentioned this idea of holding you accountable. I think that's a big deal for a lot of businesses. It is really easy, especially if you're working or making a lot of the decisions on your own.</p>
<p><b>(05:40):</b> It's really easy to just wander off course because seems easier to go this way. You get the idea of the week. The one last piece I want to tell you that I think is extremely important because as a business owner, as A CEO, sometimes we get very bottom line oriented. We get very, this is easier for us to do it this way. This is more efficient to do it this way, and we lose sight of what's best for the customer. Sometimes the right, I mean in a traditional organization, A CMO is going to actually be the advocate for marketing, going to be the advocate for the customer. So what if you brought a little bit of that, even a fractional little bit of that, somebody who's saying, well, why are we doing it this way? That may be easier for those two people to communicate that way, but it's not good for the customer.</p>
<p><b>(06:26):</b> So customer experience is it's actually how you charge a premium. It's actually how you keep your customers. It's how you build momentum. So what if you had somebody that was very focused on the customer, very focused on the customer experience? Alright, let's get down to, let's say you're thinking about doing this. What would you look for in the right? I use the word right, fractional CMO. Well, first and foremost, it should be somebody that's got some expertise in track record, and by track record I mean of results. Have they helped other people get the results or move in the direction that you want to move? It's very easy to hang a shingle out and say, I'm a fractional CMO. I mean, maybe the highest level I've ever been in an organization was a marketing manager, and there's nothing wrong with that. You don't have to have Fortune 500 CMO experience.</p>
<p><b>(07:13):</b> You're not a Fortune 500 company. I'm guessing maybe one or two of you are, but I'm guessing that you're not, and so you don't necessarily need that level. You actually need somebody who's worked in a company like yours or worked with organizations that are the size of yours or that comes of yours that are experiencing the growing pains that you're experiencing, that kind of track record, that kind of deep expertise is what you should be looking for. It doesn't hurt if they've worked with multiple companies. They've been in business for a while. But again, some of that just has to do with the track record that they can prove. Do they have case studies, references, really, that are not just saying they're nice people that really help demonstrate the ability to drive growth? I mean, is there social proof? Do they have their thought leadership published in places that would demonstrate that they do maybe know what they're talking about?</p>
<p><b>(08:09):</b> It's my pleasure to welcome a new sponsor to the podcast. Our friends at ActiveCampaign. ActiveCampaign helps small teams power big businesses with the must have platform for intelligent marketing automation. We've been using ActiveCampaign for years here at Duct Tape Marketing to power our subscription forms, email newsletters and sales funnel drip campaigns. ActiveCampaign is that rare platform that's affordable, easy to use, and capable of handling even the most complex marketing automation needs, and they make it easy to switch. They provide every new customer with one-on-one personal training and free migrations from your current marketing automation or email marketing provider. You can try ActiveCampaign for free for 14 days and there's no credit card required. Just visit activecampaign.com/duct tape. That's right, duct Tape Marketing podcast. Listeners who sign up via that link will also receive 15% off an annual plan if purchased by March 31st, 2024. That's active campaign.com/duct tape.</p>
<p><b>(09:14):</b> Now, this offer is limited to new active campaign customers only. So what are you waiting for? Fuel your growth, boost revenue and save precious time by upgrading to active campaign today. Next thing I'd really be looking for is a structured, we call it strategy first, by name, by brand name, but it's still, it's an approach, right? Do they have an approach that says, well, before we get into doing X, Y, and Z, we are going to study what our strategic direction is going to be. We're going to study how we're going to differentiate. We're going to study how to narrow our target market focus. I mean, if they're not coming with that strategy first approach, and they're really just coming with saying, what do you need? What random acts of marketing do you need and not have a proven process, that's a red flag. Now, a proven process doesn't mean cookie cutter.</p>
<p><b>(10:04):</b> It just means that a process that ticks certain boxes allows you to discover things very quickly and move in maybe new directions very quickly. That proven process that we have, a very repeatable process that we install, and what it's done is it's allowed us to get very good at delivering results very quickly, because we've done it so many times. Now, this is going to include auditing your current marketing building, hopefully a full strategic plan that you can look out in the future and say, okay, I have an idea now of not just what we're going to do next quarter, but the next quarter, the next quarter, maybe the entire year. Now, most businesses, at least the size that I work with, small, mid-size businesses, they can't really afford to hire somebody that's going to lay a plan on their desk and say, good luck. So the right or maybe the ideal fractional CMO that you might hire, marketing strategist that you might hire, would also come with execution, the ability to then actually execute the plan for as long as you need them to be there.</p>
<p><b>(11:12):</b> Now, while I stress this idea of a proven process, there obviously needs to be some flexibility. They need to have a wide sort of depth of channels that they might play in or have an expertise or be able to bring partners to the table, expert partners to the table, because every business has, maybe this sounds cynical, 20% that's unique, 20% that really is a variant because they're B2B or B2C, or because they're a local business or a national business, or they're primarily their customers. Find them online. I mean, those are the variations that need to be taken into play. I mean, there's no question that somebody who has deep expertise for in e-commerce is probably not the same person that has deep expertise in marketing, say professional services at the local level. So you do want somebody that has certainly the ability to tailor and create a flexible engagement model for you that might involve flexible packages, but also flexible pricing.</p>
<p><b>(12:15):</b> Not every business has the same needs. Not every business wants to run at the same speed. So certainly the ability to charge appropriately based on revenue, based on growth is something that you want to look for. Make sure that you have the strategy first approach should help you define a very clear scope of work. What's going to be a deliverable, and most importantly, how we're going to measure what we're doing. A lot of, sadly, a lot of marketing folks just throw magic fairy dust out there and print off a couple reports that don't really indicate that we're first off even tracking the right things. Somebody who's going to come in and immediately help you identify the key performance indicators, identify how you're actually going to extract that data for a lot of businesses, figuring out what their cost to acquire customers, no easy task. So somebody that is very focused on helping you not only develop the process for that, but then track and hold themselves accountable.</p>
<p><b>(13:17):</b> If you have team, very few people have a full marketing team or anything that you would call a department ahead of marketing even, but a lot of companies have maybe one or two people that are doing marketing functions. Maybe it's social media or maybe it's producing a newsletter, or you've hired freelancers to write content or to do SEO work or something. So the right fractional CMO can help you do one of two things. Build and manage and integrate with that existing team, help you build additional resources or be able to demonstrate that they can bring their own team. A lot of times, one of the challenges with hiring marketing folks inside of your organization is if marketing's not your full-time job, which most CEOs or owners it is not, then even managing those assets, those resources, I should say inside your organization can be a real challenge or it can just be a distraction.</p>
<p><b>(14:16):</b> So if somebody who can actually help you manage your existing team and also manage and help orchestrate all of the implementation is a great asset as well. If any of you who are listening to this have hired the SEO person content person, web person, it's as much work to manage those multiple resources, certainly as it is to get a lot of the work done. So having somebody who can help you orchestrate that, I probably don't need to say this, but certainly cultural fit chemistry, you're going to work very closely. In fact, some people come to view this role as almost a member of the team. It doesn't necessarily mean that they have to have a seat at the table in every leadership discussion, but a lot of times they will be involved in some of the deeper discussions about where you're going, about your overall business strategy.</p>
<p><b>(15:07):</b> They're going to get into the books. I mean, they should help you understand revenue and profit and expense and your cost to acquire customers. So they're going to get deep into your business. So chemistry and cultural fit, I mean, one of the best ways probably to measure how the relationship's going to go is communication style. Understanding their communication style and how it meshes with you, how it aligns with really your values or the values of the organization indeed aren't important to try to see if you can get, so having that good rapport is, it's not everything, but it's certainly a piece that is going to make working together easier. Lastly, I would say somebody who is not talking about quick wins are important. Quick wins are nice, but long-term results oriented mindset is really what you're after. Somebody who understands where you are today, but also understands where you want to go, where you want to be, and can help guide you that as your marketing matures, so are they going to not only focus on long-term success, but then start thinking in terms of building infrastructure around marketing processes, SOPs, things that will actually scale as you start to scale the business and viewing it almost as a partnership.</p>
<p><b>(16:27):</b> I know that's kind of cliche, but to talk about, a lot of people are like, we're partners with you, but that's how you want to view their relationship and you hope that they do as well. Alright? There's no question that marketing leadership, it can actually become one of your greatest competitive advantages if you can figure out how to do this role, right? The model itself allows you to get real business systems for a fraction of the cost. It's also, I hate to be on a negative, but it's also if the relationship doesn't work out, the fractional model is an easy one to fire as opposed to hiring somebody. So again, if any of this made sense to you, if you're thinking about this, it doesn't matter what you call it. You don't have to call it a fractional CMO if you don't want to call it that, but if you believe that your business would benefit from a strategy first approach, there's tons of information on our website about it, you can actually find, we license this methodology of ours to other consultants around the world, other agencies around the world.</p>
<p><b>(17:31):</b> So you could find somebody there, or we'd love to talk to you about how the fractional CMO plus implementation model might work for your business. It's just duct tape marketing.com. That's D-U-C-T-A-P-E marketing.com. Love to hear your feedback always on this. It's just john@ducttapemarketing.com, and if you're a regular podcast listener, heck, if this is the first time you've listened to the podcast, we love reviews on whatever platform you listen to, the Spotifys, the apples out there of the world gives us a review. Alright? That's all. Hopefully we'll run into you one of these days out there on the road.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-28330459551862498562024-03-13T12:08:00.001-07:002024-03-13T12:08:21.705-07:00Remote Work Revolution: Drive Sustainable Growth with Virtual Teams<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/remote-work-revolution/">Remote Work Revolution: Drive Sustainable Growth with Virtual Teams</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/tosin/">Tosin Jerugba</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP7863748961&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
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<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Scott Cox. Scott brings a wealth of experience in the ever-evolving world of sales and marketing, with a career spanning over a decade. Scott is best known for founding Social Reach in 2017, which is a marketing agency that caters to small business owners in varying industries.</p>
<p>Today, he provides business coaching, where he helps business owners grow and scale their businesses from 6 to 7 figures by implementing the right systems and processes, as well incorporating Virtual Assistants.</p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>Scott shares insights into leveraging remote work for sustainable growth. He highlights the importance of embracing virtual teams, navigating growth challenges, and balancing automation with human interaction. Scott also discusses the potential of integrating AI technologies to enhance productivity and creativity. By building resilient businesses through remote work and technology, entrepreneurs can thrive in today’s fast-paced world.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask Scott Cox:</strong></h3>
<p>[00:59] What made you decide to exit the agency world and become a coach?</p>
<p>[03:22] How do you help your customers stay ahead with the changes in Marketing?</p>
<p>[06:58] How do you see the world of virtual assistants giving small businesses a competitive edge?</p>
<p>[10:47] What are some of the hurdles that people have to overcome in order to effectively engage remote workers?</p>
<p>[13:51] Do you screen, place and train virtual assistants for your clients or do you just show them how to do it?</p>
<p>[15:57] How do you balance automation with the human touch when working with virtual assistants?</p>
<p>[17:55] Where can people connect with you, and learn more about your work?</p>
<div>
<h3>More About Scott Cox:</h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Scott on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottacox/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit his <a href="https://stxconsulting.co/">Website</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Work Better Now</p>
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<p>Visit <a href="https://www.workbetternow.com/">WorkBetterNow.com</a> mention the referral code DTM Podcast and get $150 off for your first 3 months.</p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Scott Cox. He brings a wealth of experience in the ever evolving world of sales and marketing with a career spanning over a decade. Scott's best known for founding social reach in 2017, which is a marketing agency that caters to small business owners in varying industries. Today he provides business coaching where he helps business owners grow and scale their businesses from six to seven figures by implementing the right systems and processes as well as incorporating virtual assistance. So Scott, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>Scott (00:45):</b> Thank you so much for having me, John. Really appreciate the time and happy to bring as much value as I can to you and your audience.</p>
<p><b>John (00:51):</b> So let's start first, I work with a lot of agency owners and there are challenges with that business model. There are challenges in every business, in every industry. What made you decide that I'm going to get out of the agency world and become a coach?</p>
<p><b>Scott (01:04):</b> Oh, that's a great question. I don't get asked a lot. For me, it was, as an agency provider, you're busy providing services, you're busy managing a team, and especially if you have multiple clients and if you're across different industries, it's just marketing and agencies are a chaotic world. There's just so much going on and to really do it right. And so I had typically been working with small business owners, so this is maybe mid to high six figures to low seven figures. My niche was helping those mid to high six figure business owners get to seven figures and the low seven figures get to multiple sevens and scale through those processes and all the challenges that come at that level, which are many doing. Working with that audience, there was a lot of need for my clients to solve challenges in their business that were coming from growth that were not directly related to the marketing.</p>
<p><b>(02:08):</b> They were challenges caused because the marketing was working and bringing in new leads, new customers, new business. But then my customer was, Hey, great, but what I don't have systems. I don't have processes. I need to hire people. And so there was so many bottlenecks that these clients of mine, these small business owners had. And so I really just saw it as a massive opportunity to bring value in a different way. And honestly, I was just burned out from the agency life after doing it for a long period of time. And I just felt a more natural calling to saying, Hey, I can help business owners build these teams within their own businesses, solve these problems as they grow, focus more on just that and actually help them reach more success and not just, Hey, hire an agency and get some marketing, but then hit some other hurdles and have to stop because they aren't doing what they need to do in their business.</p>
<p><b>John (03:05):</b> I guess this is the point where I should say that marketing is everything. That's how I view it. I've been doing this about 30 years and obviously marketing's evolved. There's new platforms, new technologies, how do you help? I will say that's probably the biggest complaint I hear from business owners is like, how do I keep up with all of it? How do you keep up with the changes in marketing, and then how do you bring those to your customers to help them stay ahead?</p>
<p><b>Scott (03:29):</b> Yeah, I think it's really important to stay focused on the basics, right? There's fundamentals of marketing that will work regardless of the platform you're on, regardless of the medium that you have and everything like that. And so I think making sure that you're focused on the fundamentals first, doing the core marketing tasks and objectives that need to be done to create a good effective message, get it in front of the right people, and then give them an opportunity to convert. And then it comes down to just your personal style and brand. And if we're specifically talking about small business owners, you as a small business owner are pretty much going to be the driver of content in your business for good long time. So if you like recording videos, maybe you have a YouTube channel if you like writing copy, maybe you're on LinkedIn if you like making funny gif, maybe you're on Instagram.</p>
<p><b>(04:21):</b> Obviously your audience is a big dictator of what platform and medium you use. But I think you should also be looking at your own personal skillsets and what kind of fits into your workflow. Look at how many businesses, small businesses specifically are on TikTok just recording what they're doing in their business. They're making stuff and they're just recording it and they're having a ton of success. An agency can't just sit here and record their process. So you have to look at those core things like what is your business? What kind of content does it lean towards? Where's your audience? What kind of medium and content do they want to absorb? And then what specifically fits to you and your style, your skillset, and how you communicate best.</p>
<p><b>John (05:04):</b> So when I go out and speak, I'll give people the seven ways to do blah, blah, blah. And then inevitably somebody comes up and says, okay, that's great, but what's the one thing I need to do? Because everybody wants the simple magic pill. But have you found that there are, I don't know, a handful of tactics that when it comes to sales and marketing, pretty much every business needs to understand and do?</p>
<p><b>Scott (05:27):</b> Yeah, every business needs to get as much exposure as they affordably can. They need to stay in front of that exposed audience as consistently as possible, and they need to craft a really good message. And look, we have the Alex from Moeys of the world who's absolutely brilliant in marketing and explaining terminologies and how these different concepts work. But if you have a business where you can create an irresistible offer, obviously that's going to make a massive difference. But even just having a message is effective and effective means connects with your audience, leaves them with a good impression of how their life is going to be different after they've interacted with your business. That is the core things you need to do. Exposure, stay in front of that exposure and then have a really good message that leaves an impact with people.</p>
<p><b>John (06:18):</b> I mentioned in your bio that you help place and figure out systems for working with virtual assistants. My organization's been like a lot of companies I think has been virtual probably for 15 years. Many of my team's been distributed. I haven't tell you the last time I sat in a client's office, it's been at least 15 years ago. It's a pleasure, right? For the pandemic, certainly. Yeah, exactly. The pandemic certainly accelerated that for a lot of folks that hadn't even considered it, it's now the norm. Talk a little bit about how somebody might, and I know we're recording this, it's morning for you or it's morning for me, it's later in the day for you because you're in Thailand. Talk a little bit about how you see the world of virtual assistants connecting with small business and how we can go into some other one. Let's just talk about how you see that connecting right now.</p>
<p><b>Scott (07:09):</b> Yeah. There's all kinds of small businesses out there. There's virtual businesses like ours, and then there's brick and mortar, there's local businesses. And look, I think at a fundamental general level across the board, utilizing remote workers, virtual assistants gives you a much larger talent pool to choose from. When you're looking to hire and source talent for the business, it gives you a much more affordable resource to find that talent. And look, I'll tell you, a big part of success for small businesses is if they can understand that there's multiple ways to grow your business, and there's definitely an avenue and a medium where you should have an agency come in and help your business grow. But there's also a way where you can hire your own core team to do some of your core functions and affordably scale to the point where you actually can utilize, really, truly utilize what an agency can do for you, but have this core team in place and have the consistency in your business and in your marketing to, I talk a lot about this in my videos.</p>
<p><b>(08:26):</b> One of the biggest challenges that small business go through, especially when they're going from six to seven figures, is the cyclical effect, right? It's just the ups and downs of business, the high seasons and the low seasons. And what most business owners do is when their busy, they tend to spend money on marketing and they market, but then when things get slow, they tend to stop spending money on marketing and stop marketing. And really what you need to do is you need to just be consistent throughout. So that means don't overload the marketing when you're busy. And that means don't cut off the marketing when you're slower. Pick a strategy and a budget that will allow you to market consistently. And remote workers are a massive part of that because if you can lower your overhead as far as human resources, then that's just going to allow you to do so much more for so much longer.</p>
<p><b>John (09:18):</b> And now a word from our sponsor, work better now. Work better now provides outstanding talent from Latin America, hand matched to your business with over 40 roles across various industries, including marketing, there are a reliable partner for consistently finding the perfect fit for your business. Simply tell them what you need and they'll handle the rest hassle-free. We have two work better now, professionals on our team, a marketing assistant and a marketing coordinator. And we've been blown away by their abilities, responsiveness, and professionalism. They've really become an essential part of our growing team. And to top it off, each dedicated and full-time work better Now. Professional is 2350 per month, and there are no contracts to schedule a 15 minute consultation with a work better now rep and see how they'll support your business growth goals, visit, work better now.com. Mention the referral code DTM podcast, and you're going to get $150 off for your first three months.</p>
<p><b>(10:17):</b> That's work better now.com. And don't forget that DTM podcast code. Yeah. I talk to a lot of business owners that you're not the first person to talk about remote workers, right? That's been something people have been talking about for 10 years offshore, they used to call it, I don't think they call it that so much anymore, but the idea of there are actually places you can get remote workers for much less than say a US wage would be for various reasons. But what are some, I've also talked to a lot of people said, yeah, I tried that and I couldn't make it work. What are some of the mistakes or the hurdles that people have to overcome in order to effectively engage remote workers?</p>
<p><b>Scott (10:55):</b> So a lot of mistakes just come from employee management in general. And so I think a lot of it's as small business owners, we're not trained on marketing, we're not trained on sales, we're not trained on business operations, and much less are we trained on employee and people management. And so I think you just have a lot of general mistakes from lack of systems and processes. So having a way to organize your projects, your tasks, your notes, all of those communications, lack of training, method, process, resources. And then I think honestly, a big part of it is just expectations. I think as people, we have a lot of expectations of, oh, I'm going to go hire this person. They say they can do this thing. I just trust that or expect that they can do what they say they're going to do, and then we give them tasks and they fail at it for one reason or another.</p>
<p><b>(11:46):</b> And so then we go, oh, that didn't work. I'm never going to do that again. And so there's a lot of things that come into play and lot of reasons why these failed. But those are some of the big things that's really honestly just lack of understanding of how to manage people. And when it comes to remote workers specifically in VAs, these systems become so much more important and crucial because you're not with that person, can't just, there's a difference when you're working with someone through the computer versus if they're in your office, there's a comfortability there where they can come talk to you, they can see your facial expressions, your body expressions, all that. And honestly, we have video chat now. So a lot of that stuff is not a moot point in my opinion, but it's just different. And so even more so with remote workers, you have to really have these systems in place because ideally, you're not going to be sitting with them eight hours a day, right?</p>
<p><b>(12:43):</b> You're a business owner, you have stuff to do. Having these systems in place to manage them effectively, giving them resources to be able to reach out, get support, SOPs, standard operating procedures, how long have employees been around? When businesses still don't use standard operating procedures, they don't even know what they are. A lot of these, again, it's just fundamentals, but we're not taught and trained small business owners on these things. And so we don't know. We don't implement them. And then we hear about, oh, you can go hire a cheap $3 an hour copywriter and just expect to be able to write copy and it can work. It does work. Just doesn't work the way the marketing people who are trying to, I don't know, sell your freelancer or something or saying it. So I don't know. I love the market. It's beautiful, but it's also still one of the last wild west of the world. Anything almost goes in marketing.</p>
<p><b>John (13:37):</b> Yeah. Yeah, that's too, and a large part too, the fact that a lot of business owners don't really understand marketing. A lot of marketers don't really understand marketing, and you get a lot of this, oh, I just have to take what they say. Talk a little bit. Do you screen and place and train virtual assistants for your clients, or do you just show them how to do it?</p>
<p><b>Scott (13:58):</b> Yeah, so I do both. I've got programs from where I can build out. I have an audit that I do that to the first interaction, one of the first interactions with me besides a one-on-one consultation, I do an audit where I'll come work with business owners and we go through a checklist and highlight all of their, Hey, these are where all your gaps missed opportunities are. Here's what you can do to fix it. And then, yeah, one of my services, again, besides one-on-one consulting or doing a preset program of, Hey, you need to hire sales person, let's take you through that process. Where are the SOPs, the job description, all that. But yeah, I actually am able to work with my clients on saying, Hey, I need a marketing team. I need a sales team. Great. I can actually come in. I can help you source, vet interview, and then train and get your own internal team set up for that.</p>
<p><b>John (14:49):</b> Let's talk a little bit about technology and automation is great. I think a lot of people lean on it maybe too much. You see some of these AI chatbots now that are more frustrating than helpful. So how do you balance the fact that there is a lot of automation that can create some efficiencies, but then you lose the human touch, which is I think probably people are craving more than ever. How do you create that balance,</p>
<p><b>Scott (15:11):</b> The rule of automate everything you can that isn't human interaction, and then when you have human interaction, make that human to human as much as possible? Obviously, we're going to automate things that are like emails or maybe text messages or marketing campaigns, but if you're going to have a chat system, if you have the volume, if it makes sense for your business, having a live person respond to that, it's not convenient, but it makes a difference. And I think something, especially in a country like the US or in a lot of other Western countries, I think what small business owners have lost sight of is the fact that as small business owners, the way we can compete with large corporations is by offering that really amazing personalized service. And that's really the only way. We can't compete on cost. We can't compete on fulfillment. We can't compete on refunds and warranties and exchanges and all of that.</p>
<p><b>(16:11):</b> The big corporations are always going to beat us out on those things. Where small business owners can win is that human to human look. We have systems and processes, but we're not a large corporation where you have a unique situation. And look, we just have a system and a process. So that's it. You just have to, we are small business owners. We can make exceptions. We can really work with people and give that really specific touch. And that's been my model when it comes to what should you automate and what should you leave human to human? And I'll just say on a note of tech and ai, I think one of the most undervalued or underutilized pairings right now is using AI with remote workers. So a lot of people talking about remote workers, a lot of people talking about ai, but maybe where three years ago I had to pay a remote worker copywriter 10 to $15 an hour to get a decent English speaking or English writing copywriter.</p>
<p><b>(17:08):</b> Now maybe I can hire a three to five. They're not as proficient, but they can use something like chat, GPT, Grammarly Hemingway, and they can actually produce really quality copy. And again, I'm lowering my overhead and using the software to, even if you have a really quality remote worker, and let's say you're paying them a little bit more than the average, you're going to enhance the quality of work they do, the speed of the work that they can do, and the creative output. And when it comes to tech, a big focus of mine too is saying, Hey, let's pair the AI and these enhancing tools, which I think is a really cool perspective to think about them with your team and just make your team more productive, more creative.</p>
<p><b>John (17:51):</b> Awesome. Scott, I appreciate you taking a moment to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Where would you want people to connect with you or find out more about your work?</p>
<p><b>Scott (17:59):</b> Yeah, you can find me on pretty much any of the social media channels, mainly Instagram, Facebook. I have my YouTube channel, nomad Talk N zero Mad Talk, and my website STO. You can go there and find out about my consulting and my programs for VA sales and marketing, and you can send me an email or shoot me a friend request on Facebook or Instagram and we can chat.</p>
<p><b>John (18:23):</b> Awesome. Again, I appreciate you stopping by. Hopefully we'll run into you one of these days out there on the road.</p>
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from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/jOWiuEx<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-88446321804808993452024-03-09T06:05:00.001-08:002024-03-09T06:05:35.063-08:00Weekend Favs March 9th<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/weekend-favs-march-9/">Weekend Favs March 9th</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p>My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.</p>
<p>I don’t go into depth about the finds, but I encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one I took on the road.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://mymind.com/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MyMind</a> – MyMind is your digital sanctuary for organizing thoughts and ideas. With intuitive mind mapping tools and collaboration features, MyMind helps you unleash creativity and boost productivity. Whether you’re brainstorming solo or collaborating with a team, MyMind provides a streamlined platform for visualizing concepts and bringing ideas to life.</li>
<li><a href="https://otter.ai/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Otter AI</a> – Otter transforms the way you capture and organize conversations. With advanced AI transcription technology, Otter transcribes meetings, interviews, and lectures in real-time, making it easy to revisit important discussions and extract key insights.</li>
<li><a href="https://walling.app/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Walling</a> – Walling is your ultimate productivity companion for organizing tasks and ideas. With its intuitive interface and customizable features, Walling helps you stay focused and efficient.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are my weekend favs; I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me <a href="https://twitter.com/ducttape" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@ducttape</a></p>
<p>If you want to check out more Weekend Favs you can find them <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/blog/">here.</a></p>
<br />
<br />
from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/dVXIOQF<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-23684164051035989792024-03-07T13:06:00.001-08:002024-03-07T13:06:25.050-08:00How to Achieve Remarkable Sales Results Every Time<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/achieve-remarkable-sales-results/">How to Achieve Remarkable Sales Results Every Time</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/tosin/">Tosin Jerugba</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP1294145425&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-77179 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p>
<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Ian Altman, renowned sales expert and author of “Same Side Selling.”</p>
<p>Ian grew his prior businesses from zero to over one billion dollars in value. He has since built a reputation for helping others build a culture of growth achieving remarkable results.</p>
<p>For 5 years in a row, he has been recognized as one of the world’s top 30 Experts on Sales, and his Same Side Selling Academy is repeatedly rated one of the top 5 Sales Development Programs globally. Ian hosts the popular Same Side Selling Podcast and you can read hundreds of his articles in Forbes and Inc. In this episode, Ian shares invaluable insights into the essential components of a winning sales process.</p>
<h3>Key Takeaways</h3>
<p>With an emphasis on consistency, alignment between sales and marketing, and the wise utilization of technology, Ian Altman underscores the importance of a well-defined sales process. By implementing a common process and language, businesses can navigate meetings effectively, overcome common obstacles, and shift the focus from price to value. Collaboration between sales and marketing teams ensure a cohesive approach that attracts and engages ideal clients, while leveraging technology enhances efficiency without sacrificing the personal touch. With these strategies in place, businesses can achieve remarkable sales results consistently, driving growth and success in today’s competitive market.</p>
<h3>Questions I ask Ian Altman<strong>:</strong></h3>
<p>[01:27] What is the sales process?</p>
<p>[03:00] How important is a repeatable sales process?</p>
<p>[03:45] What are the core components of a repeatable sales process?</p>
<p>[05:37] As a Sales Guy, what do you think about Marketing?</p>
<p>[06:50] How important is the role of marketing in getting a prospect to pick up that first sales call?</p>
<p>[08:03] How do you effectively combine the culture of a sales process to the ultimate goal of closing a sale?</p>
<p>[09:59] How do you appropriately employ the use of technology in a sales process?</p>
<p>[15:13] How critical is ongoing training to better master the sales process?</p>
<p>[16:54] How do you make roleplaying effective?</p>
<p>[19:24] What are the common pitfalls beginners usually fall into when creating a sales process?</p>
<p>[21:37] Where can people learn more from you?</p>
<div>
<h3>More About Ian Altman<strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Ian on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianaltman/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit his <a href="https://ianaltman.com/">Website</a></li>
<li>Grab a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Same-Side-Selling-Approach-Barriers-Integrity/dp/1940858895"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Same Side Selling</span></a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by ActiveCampaign</p>
<p><a href="https://www.activecampaign.com/promo/dtm?utm_source=thirdparty_podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=DTM_promo"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-74623 alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1-300x200.png" alt="" width="128" height="85" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1-300x200.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1-1024x683.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1-768x512.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px" /></a></p>
<p>Try ActiveCampaign free for 14 days with <a href="https://www.activecampaign.com/promo/dtm?utm_source=thirdparty_podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=DTM_promo">our special offer</a>. Sign up for a 15% discount on annual plans until Mar 31,2024. Exclusive to new customers—upgrade and grow your business with ActiveCampaign today!</p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Ian Altman. Ian grew his prior business businesses from zero to over 1 billion in value. He has since built a reputation for helping others build a culture of growth, achieving remarkable results. For six years in a row now, he has been recognized as one of the world's top 30 experts on sales. And his same side selling academy is repeatedly rated one of the top sales development programs globally. He's also the author of a book named Same Side Selling Podcast, is called Same Side Selling. So Ian, welcome back to the show.</p>
<p><b>Ian (00:51):</b> Thanks so much, John. It's almost like that duct tape marketing theme where everything's named the same. I don't know how we come up with these things. I just attribute it to a lack of creativity.</p>
<p><b>John (01:00):</b> Well, I'd counter that by saying that the market responded well to same side selling, and probably you then said, well, why don't I call everything that it's kind of branding 1 0 1, right?</p>
<p><b>Ian (01:14):</b> There could be some truth to that, but it could just be that I was too lazy. But I'd like to think it's better branding, but I'm just not a great branding and marketing guy like you. So for me, just I call it just blind luck.</p>
<p><b>John (01:25):</b> Alright, so we're going to talk about sales process, not just closing or whatever, one aspect of it, but the entire process. So maybe let's start with defining what that is, what the parts of it are, because I think that's a term that a lot of people will mention, but what is it?</p>
<p><b>Ian (01:45):</b> And it can be different for different types of organizations. So depending upon what people are selling, you can define it differently. But fundamentally what it comes down to is how do we earn the attention of our ideal clients? How do we differentiate and stand out from the competition? Then how do you navigate meetings to help people make a decision faster than they might otherwise? And how do you shift the focus from price to value and results? And it sounds simple and it can be simple. It's just not easy. And the reality is that I think where many organizations fall down, many individuals fall down is in every other aspect of their business. They have a defined process. Here are the steps that we follow. Here's the language we use, and in sales, we just make it up. And that's one of the biggest gaps. And so over time, we've discovered different steps that no matter what methodology you're using, doesn't have to be same side selling. If you follow these core components, you can be pretty darn successful.</p>
<p><b>John (02:45):</b> So I know a lot of what you preach, you've kind of shadowed it a little, foreshadowed it a little bit. There is a repeatable process, but sort of the myth of the, oh, I'm just like a natural born salesperson. Probably butts with that a little bit, right? So how important is a repeatable process that says step one is this, then we ask for this, then we do this.</p>
<p><b>Ian (03:08):</b> Well, so here's the thing. When you have different people on a team and some follow a process and some don't, what we find that the people who outperform others tend to be the ones who follow a consistent process. And if you're managing a team of multiple people and you don't have a consistent process, you don't have a consistent language and you get different results, then you're left guessing. Is it the individuals? Is it the process they're following? Is it their approach? But if I have the same process for everybody, that becomes less of a mystery</p>
<p><b>John (03:40):</b> How important we've talked about, I mean, I think we've high level said the importance of a sales process, but are there specific components that go into creating such a process and refining and evolving? I mean, is there a follow-up component? I know I'm going to cheat a little bit because every business is a little different, but are there kind of core components?</p>
<p><b>Ian (04:01):</b> Yes. In fact, there are, and there are three components, and we can walk through 'em one by one. But the three components that I have found, let's do and keep in mind in our same side selling academy, these were not necessarily things that we started with. And then we figured out, well, why are some people having success? Some aren't. And then we added stuff and all of a sudden it's like, oh, when we combine all these together, this works really well. It wasn't like, oh, I knew all these things were going to work, and we did that in version one. No, it was over time we realized, oh, here's what we've been messing up. Now that we've figured it out, I just want to share it with others. So the three components come down to the first is a common process, not only a common process and language, but how do we teach that common process and language internally and reinforce it?</p>
<p><b>(04:47):</b> Then it's what we call a playbook for obstacles. So many businesses will have a small number, maybe a dozen of the most common obstacles they come up with, and their team kind of invents the answer each time it comes up, even though it comes up almost every single day, which is silly. And the last part that most organizations overlook is that they don't place enough emphasis on weekly role play or practicing coaching feedback and things like that. And those three components, if we can step through 'em piece by piece, are what I find are the difference between the top performers and those who are doing just Okay.</p>
<p><b>John (05:27):</b> I do want to come back to that, but I'm going to throw another topic out. I'm a marketing guy, so I get the salespeople greatly. Those idiots can't close. Well, that's probably true. Now you are a sales guy. What do you think about marketing? That's</p>
<p><b>Ian (05:40):</b> Probably true. So the reality is that, and you and I have talked about this and we've got many friends who the big gap for many organizations is this lack of alignment between sales and marketing. So oftentimes the sales organization looks as marketing as top of funnel creating, and then it's off to sales. And the reality is, throughout the sales process, there are questions that come up. There are issues that come up that marketing could provide content that will support the sales process. And too often there's this wall between the two. They don't talk to each other enough, and then you don't get that multiplier effect for the organizations where sales and marketing has joined at the hip, that's when you get the multiplier effect because you say, okay, the leads you've been generating, some of them are great. Some of them what we think we can refine the message to attract the ideal customers. Great. Which it's all marketing wants. Marketing doesn't want to create bad leads, they want to create great leads, but you have to work collaboratively to make that happen.</p>
<p><b>John (06:39):</b> Yeah. Yeah. So I think increasingly today, and you correct me if I'm wrong on this, I mean a lot of trust has to be built before I even want a sales call. I mean, because there's lots of ways for me to avoid sales calls. And so how much of the role then, does marketing really play in establishing the trust high enough to where I even want to pick up the phone or have you set an appointment with you?</p>
<p><b>Ian (07:03):</b> Well, a lot of it comes back to this notion of disarming. So it's the notion of if someone comes to your website and feels like you're just telling the person who landed there, look, we're the greatest thing in the world. You just don't know it yet. They're like, Hey, yeah, we've heard this before. Say from a marketing standpoint, here's who's a great fit not, and if you think you might be in this category, it's a great fit. Here's some questions we ask to make sure that we can deliver the results for you. And if you'd rather talk to one of our team members who can help figure that out, that's great. The client ultimately has to feel as though, and you can't fake this, that their outcome is more important than the sale. And once that happens, the guard comes down and people say, oh, you know what? These guys actually, they want to ask questions to make sure they can deliver what we're asking for. They're not just looking to pitch stuff at us. They want to see if we're a good fit. Okay, now I can have a conversation.</p>
<p><b>John (08:00):</b> That's a brilliant point because I was going to ask you about the idea of culture. I mean, how much of what a prospect experiences from a brand, obviously some of it's the website, but how much of it then is the culture of the sales process as well? Because there are definitely brands that want to be very consultative, very educational, not pushy at all. I mean, so how do you marry that?</p>
<p><b>Ian (08:24):</b> Well, I think nowadays, if you're not focused on the client's outcomes, you're missing the boat because it used to be 30 years ago, you could drop the ball and the person who you disappointed might tell their closest friends today, they'll tell a million people they've never even met before. So we need to make sure that the good news for the marketing people is that when there's a lack of alignment between sales and marketing and they get a different message from marketing, they do from sales, they assume one of them is lying. Usually they assume it's the salesperson. So the marketing people are safe. But ultimately, if you're trying to get a better outcome, the idea is if every message from beginning to end says, I'm more concerned with your outcome than I am the sale, then your customer can relax and say, okay, they're asking me questions about success that the other vendors never even brought up, so I'm better off working with them than somebody else.</p>
<p><b>(09:16):</b> But part of it is how do you get people to ask those types of questions? And when you talk about the culture, the top performing organizations that we see through our academy and through the clients I work with comes down to businesses where if you talk to them, their culture says nothing is more important than the client's outcome. And if we don't think we can deliver it, we're not taking their business. And these are companies that went from 5 million to 50, from 17 to a hundred, from a hundred million to 700 million. I mean, we have example after example of businesses that have grown dramatically following these three core steps and focusing entirely on the client's result is more important than us making the sale.</p>
<p><b>John (09:57):</b> I love it. Alright. Used to be sales technology was a mobile phone. Now of course, so we've got AI bots and we've got all kinds of automation and all kinds of follow up. What's the balance between using that for good and using it for not so good?</p>
<p><b>Ian (10:14):</b> Well, generally I think what we do is we see some level of automation like ai, and then in most businesses, we figure out a way to mess it up and make it worse. And I'm a big fan of taking the IS s approach, which is we want to do things that are incrementally less stupid than they were last time. And so if you can take an incremental approach, and for example, we use AI tools for audio transcription and summaries for phone calls and video calls, and that way the system can draft a summary. Now if you just copy and paste it and don't review it, shame on you. But if you take something that used to take you 40 minutes to summarize, and now you can edit it down in five minutes and send it over, that's great. I think that the mistake that people make is rather than using this technology to assist, they try to use the technology to replace and then they're all of a sudden not human. As soon as the client figures that out, think about it. We've all used a chat bot that we're like, man, I can't tell if this is a chat bot or a human. And then it reaches a point where you can tell it's not a human. And now you go from being, this is cool, this sucks. And so you got to figure out where you intercept it and hand it off to a human.</p>
<p><b>John (11:29):</b> It's my pleasure to welcome a new sponsor to the podcast. Our friends at ActiveCampaign. ActiveCampaign helps small teams power big businesses with a must have platform for intelligent marketing automation. We've been using ActiveCampaign for years here at Duct Tape Marketing to power our subscription forms, email newsletters and sales funnel drip campaigns. ActiveCampaign is that rare platform that's affordable, easy to use, and capable of handling even the most complex marketing automation needs. And they make it easy to switch. They provide every new customer with one-on-one personal training and free migrations from your current marketing automation or email marketing provider. You can try ActiveCampaign for free for 14 days and there's no credit card required. Just visit activecampaign.com/duct tape. That's right. Duct Tape Marketing podcast listeners who sign up via that link will also receive 15% off an annual plan if purchased by March 31st, 2024. That's activecampaign.com/duct tape. Now, this offer is limited to new active campaign customers only. So what are you waiting for? Fuel your growth, boost revenue and save precious time by upgrading to active campaign today. Yeah, we tested, we did all kinds of training. They're just not quite there yet, but we tested an AI trained bot, and you could see people would get to a point where they just go, well, now I'm just going to ask it stupid questions. Because you'd see the transcript, you're like, eh, that's probably not a great experience.</p>
<p><b>Ian (13:03):</b> And it's that I remember overuse. It's that overuse. It's that overuse of automation that becomes a problem where people say, oh, well, okay, they said this, so I'm going to route 'em to this situation. I had a situation with a flight recently where the airline lost the luggage, and it wasn't that they lost the luggage, it was that I had better technology than they did. So I had an RFID tag, so I knew where my bag was. They didn't, and I'm talking to the gate agent and I said, look, my bag's over there, but I'm over here, which means my bag isn't making on this flight, and we have an hour and a half and you guys get on, we're fine. The AI bot at the airline says, oh, in a baggage issue, it's like, look, I don't care that baggage didn't get delivered. I care the people in the airport didn't do anything and had 90 minutes to fix it, but an AI bot goes, no, he mentioned baggage. So we route 'em to this box, and it's like, no, that's not what you want to do. Yeah,</p>
<p><b>John (13:56):</b> But there are definitely places where, for example, if I want to schedule an appointment with somebody, just being able to click on a link and schedule it without interaction is a better experience. It removes the friction of me having to go back and forth. So definitely we're, I know you're not anti-technology.</p>
<p><b>Ian (14:13):</b> Not at all.</p>
<p><b>John (14:13):</b> It's just the poor use of it.</p>
<p><b>Ian (14:16):</b> And keep in mind when John, even that example of the calendaring, if I just send you a link and say, Hey, pick this thing. Your perception may might be, this guy's lazy. If I send you a link and say, Hey, John, let me know what's convenient for you. In fact, if it makes life easier for you, here's a link that has my availability. You can pick from that, and if nothing shows up at a time that's convenient for you, just fire us a note and we'll find a time that works for both of us. Nine times out of 10, the client's going to just click on the link, and now they don't feel like it was lazy. It's like, Hey, I'm just trying to minimize back and forth for you. Oh, and me, but for you. So how do we do that? So part of it's how do we couch that in a way that doesn't sound like we're lazy,</p>
<p><b>John (14:59):</b> Right? So I remember when I first started my career out of college and it was essentially a sales position, and so they sent me to a two day workshop how to be a better sales person, and then they never mentioned it again. So how critical is the ongoing training?</p>
<p><b>Ian (15:18):</b> Ongoing is the key. It's like anything else in life. If you took a golf lesson, never practiced that swing and never got reinforcement, you might be worse rather than being better. And it's like in anything else, but in sales, people think that's okay. So it gets back to those three components, which is if I've got a consistent language and I reinforce it with my team, if I say, here are the most common dozen things that come up, how do we overcome those? And now they've got a formula for how to deal with those. And then every week we have a formula for how we coach people. That's when we get those high performing teams. And the funny part is that I've had clients reach out to other people like, wow, these guys, they grew from the prior three years. They've gone from 14 to 17 million after implementing this.</p>
<p><b>(16:00):</b> They went from 17 to 109. How they do it, they reach out to the client and the client says, yeah, so we practice for an hour a week. And he goes, well, so in a year, how many times do you do it? And my client says, well, my calendar is 52 weeks, how about yours? It's like we do it every single week. It's not like, well, we say every week, but sometimes we don't all in. This is something that we just do and we create a way to make it fun. I remember I had the CEO of the same company. He says, yeah, I mean, we're growing like crazy, but people are doing the same sign and improv role play thing. And I don't know, it's like when I go over there, they're just all laughing and having a good time. I'm like, okay, so that's good. They're actually enjoying it and they're crushing your numbers, so they don't have to be miserable. They can be having a good time, which is why they're happy to do it every week.</p>
<p><b>John (16:50):</b> So set that up a little bit. Give me a little explanation about, because everybody talks about role playing and we've all probably experienced really painful role playing. So how do you make that effective? And one of the things you said, consistency is probably one of the keys, but how do you make that effective when it is practiced, but it's not in a real live situation?</p>
<p><b>Ian (17:11):</b> Well, so I'll break it down into first how we set it up, how you create variability, and then how you give feedback, because those are the three things you need to have. So first, in terms of the setup, we have three characters. We have a salesperson, we have a customer, and we have an observer. The observer is purely observing and taking notes because they're not in the moment. So they actually learn more than anyone else in each round of role play.</p>
<p><b>John (17:36):</b> Their wheels aren't turning the whole time.</p>
<p><b>Ian (17:39):</b> And so what we do is we say, okay, first you need to have an objective. So you need to say, here's the scenario, here's the background of this meeting, et cetera, because you can't just jump in the middle of it. And usually it's for the salesperson, okay, who's this customer? What's the background? Now what we do is we then create something we call in same side improv. We call 'em secret cards. We do it all digitally now, but the secret cards are a series of dozens of different scenarios. So it'll say, for example, for the customer, they pick one or more of these cards and it might say, you're afraid to lose control or headcount, or you've had a bad experience with a prior vendor, or you don't trust, or your existing vendor, or you are using this meeting to leverage your favorite preferred vendor, or there's executive pressure to solve it.</p>
<p><b>(18:23):</b> Those sorts of things that often come up that people don't know about. And then the person playing the customer plays that role. And so we're trying to advance the meeting to achieve certain objectives. And that's all very well defined at the end. What I tell people is the first person to get feedback is the salesperson and the salesperson's supposed to say, what did you like? And what's the one thing you would've done differently? Then we ask the person, who's the customer, what are the things that stood out that were especially positive for you, and is there one thing that you would suggest that they do differently that they haven't already mentioned? And then we do the same thing for the observer. So what happens is everyone's giving positive reinforcement of, this was good, this was good, but here's the one biggest thing that you might want to do differently. And I'm giving the salesperson the opportunity to share something that, no, because if I can do now, it's like, okay, I can get to something that no one else has gotten to.</p>
<p><b>John (19:20):</b> So one final question. We'll end on the downer. What are the big mistakes that you see people falling into the pitfalls that when they're trying to set this up and get something like this going when it hasn't existed before?</p>
<p><b>Ian (19:33):</b> So either there's a few, I wish it was just one. One is that they say, oh, yeah, we should do this. But then they don't really enforce it. It's like in our academy we say, here's the process to follow. Well, we have a dashboard that shows the individual what they've done. It shows the leader what people have done. So if you set deadlines and people aren't actually following through, you need to hold people accountable. The second part is that when they're doing coaching, the biggest mistake is either the leader, which sometimes is the CEO, sometimes as a sales leader, often feels their job is to ride in on the white horse and save the day. And the reality is that their job is to coach and mentor their team. And then during the coaching session, they look at it as an opportunity to beat the other person over the head instead of say, Hey, you did these things really well.</p>
<p><b>(20:22):</b> Here's the biggest thing that I would change this one thing, because you can't change 75 things at a time. But if every time they had a role play session, they got one thing better in the course of a month, they're going to be dramatically better. And what I love is that we take people who were never in sales before and six weeks into it, all of a sudden they're the top performer in the company. Everyone's like, what happened? It's like we gave 'em a simple process they can follow. We told them how to deal with the most common objections that come up, and then we're coaching them so they can develop those skills on a weekly basis. And surprise, wow, now they're doing great. And it's not that hard. It just requires that level of discipline.</p>
<p><b>John (21:03):</b> Yeah. I like what you all said. The main thing too there is we probably tend to over complicate things, and by having a simple process to follow, we're going to do it.</p>
<p><b>Ian (21:12):</b> Exactly. I think there are a lot of great systems that are so complicated, no one's ever going to follow 'em. And so what I present in same side selling and what I find attractive in just about every system that works is a level of simplicity that says, here are these really complex concepts. We're going to make it simple enough that people will actually do it. And that's what I think moves the needle. Yeah.</p>
<p><b>John (21:34):</b> Awesome. Well, Ian, I appreciate you stopping by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. You want to tell people and where they might find out more about what we talked about today, same side selling and your academy,</p>
<p><b>Ian (21:43):</b> This is going to be a great shocker, but if they go to same side selling.com, they will find everything they want. And of course, you can find me on social media just at Ian Altman, I-A-N-A-L-T-M-A-N, but same side selling.com will get you to me also.</p>
<p><b>John (21:57):</b> Awesome. Well, again, I appreciate you taking a moment to stop by. Hopefully we'll run into you one of these days out there on the road soon.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-24645103954502644752024-03-06T01:05:00.001-08:002024-03-06T01:05:25.890-08:00Navigating Failure: The Science of Failing Well in Entrepreneurship<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/science-of-failing-well-entrepreneurship/">Navigating Failure: The Science of Failing Well in Entrepreneurship</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/tosin/">Tosin Jerugba</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
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<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
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<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Amy Edmondson, the Novartis professor of leadership and management at the Harvard Business School. Renowned for her research on psychological safety and author of several acclaimed books, including The Fearless Organization, and the Science of Failing Well – winner of the 2023 Financial Times Business Book of the Year. Amy shares her insights on the science of failing well in entrepreneurship.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>Amy Edmondson challenges the conventional view of failure, advocating for a shift towards intelligent risk-taking in entrepreneurship. By emphasizing the importance of clear goals, informed hypotheses, and systematic risk assessment, she guides listeners towards embracing failure as a catalyst for growth and innovation. Amy underscores the role of organizational leaders in cultivating a culture where intelligent risk-taking is encouraged and celebrated, empowering teams to experiment, learn, and adapt. Through reframing failure as a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey, Amy inspires aspiring entrepreneurs to navigate challenges with resilience and optimism, unlocking their full potential in today’s dynamic business landscape.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask Amy Edmondson:</strong></h3>
<p>[00:51] Why do a lot of business gurus promote the concept of failing?</p>
<p>[02:58] How do we create a methodological approach to failing?</p>
<p>[05:21] Explain the gap between rhetoric and action when it comes to failure?</p>
<p>[08:11] What are some of the characteristics of smart failure versus just failure?</p>
<p>[10:39] Do you ever run the risk of people sort of preparing to fail on purpose?</p>
<p>[11:45] Does expecting failure to a certain degree a mentality?</p>
<p>[12:59] What are some of examples of ROI an organization can start to see by well designed failure experiments?</p>
<p>[15:43] How do we empower our managers and team leaders to give people permission?</p>
<p>[17:35] What are your thoughts on thinking big: 10x vs 2x. Could it help people fail faster?</p>
<p>[19:15] Where can people connect with you, learn more about your work and pick a copy of your book?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About Amy Edmondson</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Amy on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycedmondson/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Grab a copy of <a href="https://amzn.to/3T4aTTg">Right kind of Wrong</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Work Better Now</p>
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<p>Visit <a href="https://www.workbetternow.com/">WorkBetterNow.com</a> mention the referral code DTM Podcast and get $150 off for your first 3 months.</p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jansen. My guest today is Amy Edmondson. She is the Novartis professor of leadership and management at the Harvard Business School, renowned for her research on psychological safety for over 20 years. She's the author of the Fearless Organization and Teaming, and a book we're going to talk about today, right? Kind of wrong, the Science of Failing Well, which was a winner of the 2023 Financial Times Business Book of the year. So Amy, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>Amy (00:41):</b> Thank you for having me.</p>
<p><b>John (00:43):</b> Alright, so I'm just going to toss this up and let you bat it out of the park because it's a softball question. But there's a lot of literature lately, a lot of gurus online talking about how entrepreneurs have to fail and fail fast and fail often. And frankly, I don't like failing. So why are you telling me I have to do it?</p>
<p><b>Amy (01:05):</b> So I don't like failing either, and that's why I wrote this book because actually really it's a book about success, but success in an uncertain world where we cannot prevent all failure, it turns out we can prevent an awful lot of failure. We can prevent unintelligent failures, we can prevent the kinds of failures that happen when you mail it in, you don't do your homework and you fail the exam. Those are preventable. And I think the reason why there's all this sort of literature or sometimes happy talk about failure is that we recognize it as a necessity for progress in any field. And if you're a startup, by definition, you're doing something that doesn't yet exist and you've got a hypothesis that it might work. In fact, don't do it if you have no confidence that this could work at all, stay out of the game, but you have a sense that this could work.</p>
<p><b>(02:03):</b> In fact, you're probably pretty sure it could work, but because it's new territory, there is a possibility that you were wrong. That with all the effort, all the brains, that this thing might not work. That would be what I would call, especially if you've done your thinking and had good reason to believe it would work, that would be an intelligent failure. And that is the kind of failure that the Silicon Valley talk, fail, fast, fail often is implicitly referring to, but often they're not explicit enough. And it sort of sounds like they're saying, yeah, go ahead and fail at everything. No, nobody wants to fail.</p>
<p><b>John (02:42):</b> So not doing your research and not understanding if there's product market fit, that would be silly failure, right?</p>
<p><b>Amy (02:50):</b> Right. Not doing your research to find out what we know, what we don't know, and what's worth trying next.</p>
<p><b>John (02:58):</b> So how do we make this a science that obviously implies that there's a very methodical approach to it. How do we make that a science?</p>
<p><b>Amy (03:07):</b> Well, I think it is really the science of assessing risk thoughtfully. And of course there's technical work on assessing risk thoughtfully, but in a more colloquial way, I offer three, four criteria that are from first principles really. But any scientist is either implicitly or explicitly using them. So first of all, do you have a goal? Is there somewhere you're trying to get, whether that's a new business or a new invention or a new relationship, you have a goal. And second, there's no way to look up the answer that it's in new territory. And third, you've done, as we've talked about before, your homework, you've found out what is known, what isn't known, and you have a theory or a hypothesis about what's worth trying. And then fourth and importantly, the risk you're taking is no bigger than necessary. You do not bet your entire net worth on this new company that may not work. You borrow as much as you can afford to borrow, you bet as much as you can afford to bet, but you're mitigating risk because there's uncertainty. And that is true whether you're starting a company or developing a new product in a company or going on a blind date, you mitigate the risk. You don't agree to go off for a weekend with someone. You agree to meet for coffee and you</p>
<p><b>John (04:39):</b> Tell a</p>
<p><b>Amy (04:39):</b> Friend. Sense what I'm saying?</p>
<p><b>John (04:41):</b> You tell a friend to text you and text you in 10 minutes,</p>
<p><b>Amy (04:45):</b> Got to go. So we all know, we know how to mitigate risk when we're thoughtful about it, but sometimes we're not. We just don't think systematically. So the science part refers to the fact that you can be a very logical, very systematic, very thoughtful about the risks you take. In fact, I advise it.</p>
<p><b>John (05:05):</b> Yeah. Yeah. So there with your reference to the date, there was actually a rom-com movie. I don't know if you know that that was titled the Right Kind of Wrong.</p>
<p><b>Amy (05:15):</b> Oh, I didn't, and I dunno it. That's terrible. It's a</p>
<p><b>John (05:20):</b> Terrible movie. But you talk in the book about the gap between rhetoric and action when it comes to failure. Can you elaborate on that gap?</p>
<p><b>Amy (05:29):</b> Yeah. So the rhetoric is, I think my challenge with the rhetoric is it's a little glib. When you see fail fast, fail often, or celebrate failure, it sounds like it applies to everything evenly. All failures are the same and all failures are not the same. And I think the last thing you want to do, and of course the last thing you would do is celebrate preventable and occasionally tragic failures. Go into a manufacturing company and tell the plant manager to fail. Often she'll just look at you, what are you talking about?</p>
<p><b>John (06:07):</b> Get people</p>
<p><b>Amy (06:07):</b> Killed. We're going for six s signal. Yeah. Yeah. That's not what we do around here. We've got a really good processes that are in control and capable and you say applaud. And similarly, scientists who fail, which they do all the time are not, you don't want them failing because they mixed up the chemicals that they were supposed to be using in the experiment. You only want failures that are truly new tests in new environments that haven't been done before. So the rhetoric is just a little sloppy and a little non nuanced. Whereas the reality of failing well is thoughtful risks in new territory are to be applauded whether they end in success, which we hoped for or failure, which we didn't hope for, but we still must welcome the new knowledge and in familiar territory for which there is a recipe or a protocol or a process, we should use it and use it thoughtfully.</p>
<p><b>John (07:09):</b> Yeah, I think about all the times I've heard the cliche Edison, 10,000 failures was just giving him like 9,999 that were of the wrong answers. And I think a lot of people really look at it that way as you're eliminating wrong answers when it's more, this was a hypothesis that had some thought behind it and</p>
<p><b>Amy (07:30):</b> We</p>
<p><b>John (07:31):</b> Either made it or didn't, right? Yes,</p>
<p><b>Amy (07:32):</b> I love the Edison quote, but it is right. It gives the wrong impression of scattershot. And I think because the 10,000 is probably not a scientific number, but a kind of poetic number. What he's saying is, I didn't mind all of the false starts on the way to the phonograph or the electric light bulb. I understand that's a necessary part of being an inventor, not scattershot,</p>
<p><b>John (07:59):</b> Right? So I think you're actually calling this smart failure, but you may have already said that already, but I know it's in the book Smart Failure. So in the context of say, an organization, what are some of the characteristics of smart failure versus just failure?</p>
<p><b>Amy (08:16):</b> Smart failure is anything that's legitimately in new territory in pursuit of a goal and with a hypothesis and no bigger than it had to be. And that literally could be a formal r and d project, a clinical trial, or it could be a salesperson making a call on a potential client and trying an approach, a script, a way of describing the product that hasn't been tried before and it falls flat. And that's a smart failure as long as some thought has gone into it. So I think in companies day in and day out, depending on which part of the operation you're in, which tasks you have, there's ample opportunity for smart failures, but they are more numerous in r and d than in execution of operations. But even in operations, let's say you have an idea, a hypothesis about a way to speed up the line a little bit and you test it in a small way and it doesn't work, right? That's an intelligent failure in a routine setting, but it's a very small one indeed.</p>
<p><b>John (09:31):</b> And now a word from our sponsor. Work better now. Work better now provides outstanding talent from Latin America, hand matched to your business with over 40 roles across various industries, including marketing. They're a reliable partner for consistently finding the perfect fit for your business. Simply tell them what you need and they'll handle the rest. We have two work better now, professionals on our team, a marketing assistant and a marketing coordinator. And we've been blown away by their abilities, responsiveness, and professionalism. They've really become an essential part of our growing team. And to top it off, each dedicated and full-time work better Now. Professional is 2350 per month and there are no contracts to schedule a 15 minute consultation with a work better now rep and see how they'll support your business growth goals, visit work better now.com. Mention the referral code DTM podcast, and you're going to get $150 off for your first three months. That's work better now.com. And don't forget that DTM podcast code, do you ever run the risk with a lot of emphasis on failure? Do you ever run the risk of people sort of preparing to fail and so it's like, yeah, we're going to try this thing, it's probably not going to work, and so then it doesn't, right? Does that ever crop up?</p>
<p><b>Amy (10:51):</b> I haven't actually thought of that. I haven't seen that. But I love the question and it would be worth keeping an eye out for it. I think most of the time that risk is counterbalanced by our very human desire to do well. Even when we know we're in novel territory and there's a real risk that it might not go well, we're still hoping that we're going to be the ones who gets it right? So even a scientist who, like my husband who says 70% of the experiments in his lab fail even there every day, every scientist, every young scientist is sort of hoping that they're the ones who are in the 70, not in the 30 that day. So I think of course, motivation can be missing. You can have a place when people aren't, are apathetic and don't really care. And then it would be a bigger risk.</p>
<p><b>John (11:44):</b> I think of a lot of venture capitals that often talk about, they bet on 10 companies kind of almost with the hope that one's going to be a unicorn, knowing that seven are going to fail. And that probably becomes a bit of a mentality. It</p>
<p><b>Amy (11:59):</b> Can become a self-fulfilling prophecy because, and this goes back to the old research on teachers where if you start to expect this one's a winner and this one's not a winner, you'll start to unconsciously do things that help the winners and toward the losers. And so you do have to be honest with yourself and thoughtful about how am I thinking about this company, this project, this person? And if your honest answer is, I don't think they can make it, test that, think a little more carefully if you really think so. Maybe it's time to pull out now, maybe you're wrong. What are you missing? Have an honest, difficult conversation with them or with the executive team. It's always important to step, be able to step back later and say, I think I did everything I could.</p>
<p><b>John (12:50):</b> Yeah. So it's very common. People will say it was only a failure if you didn't learn something from it. What are some of the, other than learning from failure, what are some of the other return on investments that an organization can start to see by, well-designed failure experiments.</p>
<p><b>Amy (13:07):</b> It's mostly learning. And learning means learning's a pretty encompassing category. It means a lot of different things. It can mean very technical things that now we know to do this and it'll work. Or it could mean just, Ooh, when we don't try hard enough, we don't get the results we want. So there's lots of things we can learn and those are really important dividends from any failure. But I think we also, the other positive output from a failure that we take the time to learn from is that we learn, sorry, I used the word we discover that we didn't die of embarrassment or something else. So our failure muscles become a little strengthened. We learned that we're still okay. And so that's a kind of confidence enhancer, even though it was a failure. There's a little bit of a more robust and healthy ego as opposed to unhealthy ego.</p>
<p><b>John (14:06):</b> I don't know if you have any examples of this, but there are some people that tried something as a hypothesis experiment, it didn't work, but they accidentally created Velcro or Right. Like that mean, so are there some potential benefits of by trying more stuff, you're going to accidentally, right? That was the one I was trying to think of. Yeah, this guy, right?</p>
<p><b>Amy (14:28):</b> Yeah. Post-it, the epitome of that story. But penicillin was an accident in the book I described oyster sauce, which was a small failure of overcooking the oysters, and they burnt and turned into yucky goo. And then it turns out, if you taste that yucky goo, it's delicious. And there was born a multi-billion dollar industry from that young chef more than a hundred years ago. So yes, I call that the happy accident failure. And those are not the dominant category, needless to say. So if you're sort of hoping that your screw ups will always yield like wonderful dividends, that's probably not the best strategy for failing. Well, but if you don't take the time to pause and taste or dig into the failure, the glue that wouldn't stick properly and think deeply about and create the conditions where other people can team up to think deeply about the implications of that failure, then you stand no chance of a real success at the end of the tunnel.</p>
<p><b>John (15:36):</b> I know a great deal of this work is targeted at the decision makers, strategic thinkers, but down the line, how do we empower our managers and team leaders to give people permission? Because part of it, we're not going to try stuff that we think will work better if we don't. Culturally, it's not acceptable. So how do they bring that environment?</p>
<p><b>Amy (16:01):</b> I wish more than anything to speak to the team leaders, to the managers, to anyone in a project or people management role, because they're the ones who are shaping the climate far more than executive leadership. They matter, but it's the local interactions that are really shaping our mental models about what's possible, what's acceptable, what's not. Okay. And if you get that message either explicitly or implicitly that ever coming up short is not okay, then you're going to either hide when the news isn't good, or under undershoot specified targets or goals that you know can make rather than ones that are a stretch and bring a risk, and you don't want people doing that. So I speak, I think primarily to all of those sort of leaders in the middle who are responsible for setting the stage, for describing the world in which we are working as one that brings necessary uncertainty and necessary human fallibility. And when we accept that, those two things like uncertainty in the world around us and fallibility of ourselves and our teams, then and only then are we well set up to actually do our best because we can be honest about it. We can be as ambitious as possible about beating the odds, but we can be honest about when things aren't working.</p>
<p><b>John (17:35):</b> There was a book I had the author on recently, and the premise of the book was that it's actually easier sometimes to think in terms of doing something really big. 10 x is actually how he defined it as opposed to just two x, which is basically like 20% more. We can probably just do a little of what we're doing harder, but 10% or 10 times growth. We truly have to innovate. We truly have to take big risks. I'm curious of how your thoughts on that mentality. That's</p>
<p><b>Amy (18:02):</b> Interesting. Okay, so my first thought when you said that was, well, that's kind of crazy. I don't mean that in a bad way, but we're not going to just do 20 x or 10 x next year. We can't. But I thought so that might by saying, so that might lead people to kind of go, okay, it's not discussable, but that's nuts. As long as it's actually an explicit exercise, then I think it's brilliant because then the idea is we won't think differently if we just say, okay, this piece. But if we say, just for fun, let's imagine 10 x, what would have to be true? So it's a way of unlocking our team's thinking rather than a kind of new ogre who's come in and said, you must do 10 x, which would be crazy.</p>
<p><b>John (18:53):</b> Exactly.</p>
<p><b>Amy (18:54):</b> But as a thought device to get us to think out of the box as it were, I think that's really fun.</p>
<p><b>John (19:03):</b> You'd have to have a whole different set of hypotheses, right, for that. Right.</p>
<p><b>Amy (19:08):</b> You couldn't just do more of, you'd have to</p>
<p><b>John (19:11):</b> Do different. Exactly. Yeah. Well, Amy, I appreciate you stopping by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Is there someplace that you would invite people to find out more about your work and obviously find a copy of right kind of wrong?</p>
<p><b>Amy (19:22):</b> Sure. So the book is for sale everywhere, I think, more or less. But if you go to amy c edmondson.com, there are links to the book, which I really hope you'll read, and also to other papers and articles, and even some fun little videos here and there. Awesome.</p>
<p><b>John (19:40):</b> Again, I appreciate you taking a few moments to speak with our audience, and hopefully we'll run into you one of these days out there on the road.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-1032527219337177352024-03-04T14:05:00.001-08:002024-03-04T14:05:58.475-08:00How to Build Trust with Clients: A Proven Strategy Guide<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/how-to-build-trust-with-clients/">How to Build Trust with Clients: A Proven Strategy Guide</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/shawnas/">Shawna Salinger</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p>Longevity and success in business <em>depends on </em>establishing client trust. Picture this: You’re meeting a potential client for the first time. Within the first few moments, they’re sizing you up, evaluating not just your credentials but also your demeanor, your communication style, and most importantly, your authenticity. </p>
<h2 id="howtobuildtrustwithclients">How to Build Trust With Clients</h2>
<p>To make that great first impression, <strong>authenticity</strong> is key. It’s not about showcasing your achievements; it’s about being genuinely interested in your client’s needs and demonstrating a sincere desire -and ability- to help them succeed. </p>
<p>Once you’ve laid the groundwork with that initial connection, it’s time to keep the momentum going. <strong>Communication</strong> is your most powerful tool. Regular updates, transparent discussions about challenges and opportunities, and proactive problem-solving all contribute to strengthening the bond between you and your client.</p>
<p>But communication alone isn’t enough. Your <strong>commitment</strong> to their success must be clear in every interaction. Whether it’s going the extra mile to meet deadlines, providing innovative solutions to unforeseen obstacles, or simply being there to offer support and guidance, your dedication speaks volumes.</p>
<p>By mastering these components—authenticity, communication, and commitment—you’ll not only meet but exceed expectations, setting the stage for lasting partnerships.</p>
<p>In the following sections, we’ll explore each of these aspects, offering practical strategies and actionable insights to help you communicate effectively, build trust, strengthen relationships, and become an indispensable trusted advisor for your clients.</p>
<h2 id="main-toc" name="tableOfContents">Table Of Contents:</h2>
<ul name="tableOfContents" id="65e637bc6562a_156768">
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="howtobuildtrustwithclients-toc" href="#howtobuildtrustwithclients">How to Build Trust With Clients</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="thecomponentsoftrust-toc" href="#thecomponentsoftrust">The Components of Trust</a>
<ul name="tableOfContents" id="65e637bc6562c_156768">
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="1competence-toc" href="#1competence">1. Competence</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="2consistency-toc" href="#2consistency">2. Consistency</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="3care-toc" href="#3care">3. Care</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="4character-toc" href="#4character">4. Character</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="5communication-toc" href="#5communication">5. Communication</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="6commitment-toc" href="#6commitment">6. Commitment</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="buildingtrustthroughoutthecustomerjourney-toc" href="#buildingtrustthroughoutthecustomerjourney">Building Trust Throughout the Customer Journey</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="thebusinessvalueoftrust-toc" href="#thebusinessvalueoftrust">The Business Value of Trust</a>
<ul name="tableOfContents" id="65e637bc6562c_156768">
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="keystatsbuildingtrustleadstomorefulfillingrelationshipsandincreasedprofitability-toc" href="#keystatsbuildingtrustleadstomorefulfillingrelationshipsandincreasedprofitability">Key Stats: Building trust leads to more fulfilling relationships and increased profitability.</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="amplifyingyourreferralengine-toc" href="#amplifyingyourreferralengine">Amplifying Your Referral Engine</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="beyondbusinesstransactions-toc" href="#beyondbusinesstransactions">Beyond Business Transactions</a>
<ul name="tableOfContents" id="65e637bc6562c_156768">
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="continuouslearning-toc" href="#continuouslearning">Continuous Learning</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="communityinvolvement-toc" href="#communityinvolvement">Community Involvement</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="measuringtrustthroughengagement-toc" href="#measuringtrustthroughengagement">Measuring Trust Through Engagement</a></li>
<li name="tableOfContents"><a id="join25ksubscribersandlearnmoreprovenstrategiesinourweeklynewsletter-toc" href="#join25ksubscribersandlearnmoreprovenstrategiesinourweeklynewsletter">Join 25k+ subscribers and learn more proven strategies in our weekly newsletter.</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="post-intro intro-cta"><span contenteditable="false" draggable="true" class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aJkyrUhu8tc?&wmode=opaque&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="fr-draggable"><span contenteditable="false" draggable="true" class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable"><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span></span></iframe></span></div>
<h2 id="thecomponentsoftrust">The Components of Trust</h2>
<p>Build trust by embodying the 6 Cs: Competence, Consistency, Care, Character, Communication, and Commitment. Each of these dimensions contribute to building and maintaining trust with your clients – here’s how:</p>
<h3 id="1competence">1. Competence</h3>
<p id="isPasted">Trustworthiness doesn’t depend on knowing all the answers – it depends on your ability and commitment to finding them. Establishing yourself as an expert doesn’t happen overnight but through years of hard work, continuous learning, and staying updated with industry trends.</p>
<p>You can demonstrate competence by sharing insights on platforms like <a href="https://www.linkedin.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a>, contributing to industry publications, or speaking at conferences. These actions show potential clients that others value your opinion and expertise which builds trust even before they’ve worked with you directly.</p>
<h3 id="2consistency">2. Consistency</h3>
<p>Your clients want to know they can count on you, every single time. So, make sure you’re delivering the goods like clockwork. Whether it’s meeting deadlines, keeping promises, or just showing up with your A-game day in and day out, consistency is your ticket to earning their trust.</p>
<h3 id="3care">3. Care</h3>
<p>Next up, show some heart. Your clients aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet—they’re real people with real problems. So, take the time to listen, understand, and genuinely care about what they need. </p>
<h3 id="4character">4. Character</h3>
<p>This is all about walking the walk and talking the talk. Your clients want to work with someone they can trust, someone who’s honest, transparent, and sticks to their principles. As a service provider, you’ll deal with sensitive and private info that your clients will want to know is safe.</p>
<h3 id="5communication">5. Communication</h3>
<p>You’ve got to keep those lines of communication wide open if you want to build trust. Whether it’s sharing updates or even tackling tough conversations, make sure you’re keeping the conversation flowing. Trust me, your clients will appreciate it.</p>
<h3 id="6commitment">6. Commitment</h3>
<p>Your clients want to know you’re in it to win it. Whether it’s going above and beyond to meet their needs, owning up to mistakes, or just being there to lend a helping hand, let your commitment shine through in everything you do.</p>
<h2 id="buildingtrustthroughoutthecustomerjourney">Building Trust Throughout the Customer Journey</h2>
<p>The moment a potential client encounters your brand, be it through a website visit or social media profile, sets the tone for your entire relationship. This crucial window is not just about making things look pretty; it’s about immediately communicating reliability and trustworthiness.</p>
<p>Studies have consistently shown that first impressions are made within seconds. What does this mean for you? Every element of your customer’s journey should be optimized to reinforce their initial positive impression. From user-friendly web design to a stress-free sales process, every touchpoint matters in maintaining trust.</p>
<p>To grasp how vital first impressions are, consider that <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/15-essential-web-design-statistics-every-business-owner" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">94% of users’ first impressions relate to a site’s design</a>. Visual appeal isn’t the only factor; the simplicity of moving through and accessing content also influences how they perceive it. An intuitive layout lets visitors know you value their time and experience on your site.</p>
<p>Including positive reviews to build trust is a good idea, too; that social proof could be what makes your future client feel like you are the person to help them.</p>
<p>Maintaining this trust goes beyond the digital facade into every interaction they have with your brand. Even when someone has been working with your for a long time, it’s always important to think about maintaining strong relationships with your clients. Whether it’s prompt customer service or consistency in messaging across platforms, these actions reassure clients that they’ve made the right choice by choosing you. </p>
<p>To sum it up, think of each step of the customer journey as an opportunity to build a trusting relationship. </p>
<div class="key-takeaway" style="background: #81acbd; margin: 0 auto; display: table; padding: 30px; margin-top: 50px; margin-bottom:50px; border-radius: 4px; max-width: 720px;">
<div class="takeaway-body" style="display: flex; font-size: 18px;">
<div class="key-content" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Key Takeaway: </strong>
<p>Build trust by being reliable, genuinely caring about clients’ needs and goals, and aiming for shared success. This solid foundation of trust turns a simple connection into an unshakeable partnership.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h2 id="thebusinessvalueoftrust">The Business Value of Trust</h2>
<p>Building trust isn’t just about feeling good; it’s a concrete factor that drives profitability and growth for marketing consultants. When clients believe in you, they’re more likely to stick around, refer others, and pay more for your services.</p>
<h3 id="keystatsbuildingtrustleadstomorefulfillingrelationshipsandincreasedprofitability">Key Stats: Building trust leads to more fulfilling relationships and increased profitability.</h3>
<p>In the world of marketing consulting, where choices abound for clients, standing out because your clients trust you can mean the difference between thriving and barely surviving. A survey by <a href="https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2353-consumer-ad-trust.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nielsen found that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know directly over any other form of advertising.</a> The sheer importance of cultivating profound connections with clients, anchored in trust, is highlighted by this figure.</p>
<p>But how does one quantify this abstract concept? <strong>Increased client retention rates</strong> are one measure. Satisfied customers don’t just come back; they become evangelists for your brand without being asked. Their word-of-mouth endorsements are gold—more effective than any ad campaign could ever hope to be because these referrals come with built-in credibility.</p>
<p>A Harvard Business Review article highlights another crucial point: <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/10/the-value-of-keeping-the-right-customers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">boosting customer retention rates by as little as 5% can increase profits anywhere from 25% to 95%</a>. That’s an enormous potential return on investment simply for making sure your clients feel heard, valued, and understood—fundamental aspects of establishing trust.</p>
<div style="border: 1px solid #03a9f4;margin: 0 auto; display: table;cursor: pointer;font-size: 20px;padding: 0px; border-radius:6px; margin-top:50px; margin-bottom: 50px; max-width: 720px; background: #ffffff;"><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Building+trust+isn%27t+just+feel-good+fluff%3B+it%27s+your+ticket+to+higher+profits+in+marketing.+Happy+clients+stick+around%2C+refer+more%2C+and+spend+big.+Did+you+know+a+5%25+increase+in+retention+can+boost+profits+by+up+to+95%25%3F+%23MarketingMagic+%23TrustLeadsToProfit&via=@ducttape&related=@ducttape&url=" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;padding: 20px;display: block; cursor:pointer; color: #03a9f4;" rel="noopener"><em>Building trust isn’t just feel-good fluff; it’s your ticket to higher profits in marketing. Happy clients stick around, refer more, and spend big. Did you know a 5% increase in retention can boost profits by up to 95%? #MarketingMagic #TrustLeadsToProfit</em></a> <span style="float: right; margin-right: 10px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -18px;">Click to Tweet <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" x="0px" y="0px" width="16" height="16" viewbox="0 0 48 48" style="fill:#000000;">
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<h2 id="amplifyingyourreferralengine">Amplifying Your Referral Engine</h2>
<p>Trust is the currency that fuels referrals and word-of-mouth recommendations. Once clients have faith in you, they’re inclined to enthusiastically recommend your services to their acquaintances.</p>
<p>Gaining a referral isn’t just about doing good work; it’s about creating an experience so memorable that clients can’t help but share it. Imagine delivering not just what was asked for but going beyond, turning satisfied customers into enthusiastic advocates. This approach has been shown to <em>significantly</em> increase the likelihood of referrals.</p>
<p>To make this concept actionable, consider implementing a system where feedback is not only encouraged but rewarded. A simple “thank you” note or a small discount on future services can go a long way in acknowledging their effort and encouraging further engagement.</p>
<p>One thing you want to keep in mind with this strategy is that you always want to be in touch with those you serve. Regular updates through newsletters or social media keep you at the forefront of their minds, making them more likely to refer you when someone asks for a recommendation.</p>
<div style="border: 1px solid #03a9f4;margin: 0 auto; display: table;cursor: pointer;font-size: 20px;padding: 0px; border-radius:6px; margin-top:50px; margin-bottom: 50px; max-width: 720px; background: #ffffff;"><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Boost+your+referral+game+by+building+trust%21+A+simple+thank+you+or+discount+can+turn+happy+clients+into+vocal+fans.+%23ReferralMagic+%EF%B8%8F&via=@ducttape&related=@ducttape&url=" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;padding: 20px;display: block; cursor:pointer; color: #03a9f4;" rel="noopener"><em>Boost your referral game by building trust. A simple thank you or discount can turn happy clients into vocal fans. #ReferralMagic ️</em></a> <span style="float: right; margin-right: 10px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -18px;">Click to Tweet <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" x="0px" y="0px" width="16" height="16" viewbox="0 0 48 48" style="fill:#000000;">
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<h2 id="beyondbusinesstransactions">Beyond Business Transactions</h2>
<p>Building trust with clients goes beyond transactions and one-on-one conversations. To be trustworthy, you want to engage in continuous learning, networking, and community involvement. These elements not only deepen relationships but also showcase your commitment to growth and improvement.</p>
<h3 id="continuouslearning">Continuous Learning</h3>
<p>To stay ahead in marketing, you need to keep learning. Demonstrating to your clientele that you’re perpetually on the hunt for fresh methodologies and technological advancements illustrates a dynamic approach rather than complacency. By attending workshops, webinars, or even enrolling in courses related to marketing trends, you demonstrate a dedication to excellence. Clients appreciate this because it means their business is getting top-notch advice.</p>
<p>Sharing what you’ve learned through blog posts or newsletters can be incredibly effective too. This approach allows clients to directly witness the worth of your expertise.</p>
<h3 id="communityinvolvement">Community Involvement</h3>
<p>Lending a hand not only reflects your character on a personal and career level but also echoes the essence of true leadership. Studies show this kind of engagement improves company perception while fostering deep connections within local networks. Consider volunteering or sponsoring local events if you want to highlight and communicate your company values.</p>
<div style="border: 1px solid #03a9f4;margin: 0 auto; display: table;cursor: pointer;font-size: 20px;padding: 0px; border-radius:6px; margin-top:50px; margin-bottom: 50px; max-width: 720px; background: #ffffff;"><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Dive+into+the+heart+of+marketing+success%3A+continuous+learning%2C+genuine+networking%2C+and+community+giving+back.+It%27s+not+just+business%3B+it%27s+building+trust+and+connections+that+last.+%23MarketingGrowth+%23BuildTrust&via=@ducttape&related=@ducttape&url=" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;padding: 20px;display: block; cursor:pointer; color: #03a9f4;" rel="noopener"><em>Dive into the heart of marketing success: continuous learning, genuine networking, and community involvement. It’s not “just business” -it’s building trust and connections that last. #MarketingGrowth #BuildTrust</em></a> <span style="float: right; margin-right: 10px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -18px;">Click to Tweet <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" x="0px" y="0px" width="16" height="16" viewbox="0 0 48 48" style="fill:#000000;">
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<h2 id="measuringtrustthroughengagement">Measuring Trust Through Engagement</h2>
<p>Trust isn’t just a feeling; it’s measurable. In the world of marketing, especially for small and mid-sized firms, understanding how much your clients trust you can be seen in their actions – not just their words.</p>
<p>Start with retention rates. A high client retention rate signals that your patrons have faith in your consistent delivery of outcomes. If your clients are jumping ship after just a couple of months with you, it’s a good sign that they’re losing trust somewhere along the way.</p>
<p>Referrals are another indicator: if there’s one thing better than a satisfied customer, it’s when they become advocates for your business. A referral is essentially someone vouching for you based on their positive experience. This act alone speaks volumes about the level of trust established between you and them.</p>
<div style="border: 1px solid #03a9f4;margin: 0 auto; display: table;cursor: pointer;font-size: 20px;padding: 0px; border-radius:6px; margin-top:50px; margin-bottom: 50px; max-width: 720px; background: #ffffff;"><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Did+you+know+high+client+retention+signals+deep+trust%3F+It+means+they%27re+likely+to+spend+more+over+time+and+even+become+your+biggest+advocates.+%23MarketingTrust&via=@ducttape&related=@ducttape&url=" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;padding: 20px;display: block; cursor:pointer; color: #03a9f4;" rel="noopener"><em>Did you know high client retention signals deep trust? It means they’re likely to spend more over time and even become your biggest advocates. #MarketingTrust</em></a> <span style="float: right; margin-right: 10px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -18px;">Click to Tweet <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" x="0px" y="0px" width="16" height="16" viewbox="0 0 48 48" style="fill:#000000;">
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<p>Remember, trust isn’t just a feeling—it’s a tangible asset that drives profitability, amplifies referrals, and fosters loyalty. Now that you know how to build trust with clients, keep building relationships, keep delivering excellence, and enjoy the journey of long-term business.</p>
<h2 id="join25ksubscribersandlearnmoreprovenstrategiesinourweeklynewsletter">Join 25k+ subscribers and learn more proven strategies in <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/dtmnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong><u>our weekly newsletter</u></strong></a><u><strong>.</strong></u></h2>
<div class="post-conclusion conclusion-cta"></div>
<br />
<br />
from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/LMwlndQ<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-58952220362797602122024-03-04T08:06:00.001-08:002024-03-04T08:06:16.911-08:00Weekend Favs March 2nd<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/weekend-favs-march-2/">Weekend Favs March 2nd</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p>My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.</p>
<p>I don’t go into depth about the finds, but I encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one I took on the road.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://repurpose.io/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Repurpose.io</a> – Repurpose.io simplifies content distribution by repurposing your existing content across multiple platforms. With just a few clicks, you can effortlessly transform your videos, podcasts, and live streams into engaging social media posts, blogs, and more.</li>
<li><a href="https://kaiber.ai/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kaiber</a> – Kaiber.ai is your secret weapon for automating customer support with AI. Say goodbye to long wait times and repetitive queries—Kaiber.ai handles it all with intelligent automation. Seamlessly integrated with your existing systems, it delivers personalized responses and resolves issues faster, ensuring happier customers and a more efficient support team.</li>
<li><a href="https://koroverse.app?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Koroverse</a> – Koroverse revolutionizes virtual events with its immersive platform. From virtual conferences to interactive workshops, Koroverse offers a seamless experience for hosting and attending online events. Engage your audience with interactive features, networking opportunities, and customizable virtual environments—all in one user-friendly platform.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are my weekend favs; I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me <a href="https://twitter.com/ducttape" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@ducttape</a></p>
<p>If you want to check out more Weekend Favs you can find them <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/blog/">here.</a></p>
<br />
<br />
from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/zGypULR<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-79786045152625782042024-02-28T11:06:00.001-08:002024-02-28T11:06:14.339-08:00Unlocking Your Leadership Potential: From Hero to Human Leader with Empathy<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/unlock-leadership-potential-hortense-le-gentil/">Unlocking Your Leadership Potential: From Hero to Human Leader with Empathy</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP9824696748&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-77065 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-8-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-8-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-8-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-8-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-8-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-8-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-8.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p>
<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Hortense le Gentil, a world-renowned executive leadership coach, speaker, and author. With over 30 years of experience across various industries, including media consulting and advertising, Hortense guides CEOs and senior executives on their journey from hero leaders to human leaders.</p>
<p><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></p>
<p>Join Hortense le Gentil on a transformative journey as she discusses the evolution of leadership in today’s world. Learn to identify and overcome mental obstacles, embrace authenticity and vulnerability, and lead with empathy. Gain actionable insights into unlocking your true leadership potential and thriving in both your personal and professional life. Whether you’re a seasoned executive or an aspiring leader, Hortense’s expertise will empower you to inspire and connect with others on a deeper level, driving sustainable growth and success in today’s rapidly changing landscape.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask Hortense le Gentil:</strong></h3>
<p>[01:08] What is a mind trap and how does it impact us?</p>
<p>[02:06] How is a mind trap different from a limiting belief?</p>
<p>[02:48] Tell us the personal case study of when you were stuck 15 years ago?</p>
<p>[04:46] What do you do when you can’t trust that inner voice?</p>
<p>[06:41] Explain the concept of transforming from a hero leader to a human leader ?</p>
<p>[08:58] What does the process of unlocking yourself as a human leader look like?</p>
<p>[13:54] How does a leader help their team adjust to their embracing empathy?</p>
<p>[16:25] Is there a level of self awareness needed to embrace empathy as a leader?</p>
<p>[16:56] Do you get some pushback from experienced leaders who deny the relevancy of developing their consciousness?</p>
<p>[17:47] What is the one tip you have for beginners looking to start unlocking their leadership potential?</p>
<p>[18:45] Where can people connect with you, learn more about your work and pick a copy of your book?</p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About</strong> <strong>Hortense le Gentil</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Hortense on <a href="https://www.hortenselegentil.com/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit her <a href="https://www.hortenselegentil.com/">Website</a></li>
<li>Grab a copy of <a href="https://www.hortenselegentil.com/">The Unlocked Leader</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Work Better Now</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-76646 alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2020-12-21-at-8.00.16-AM-300x180-1.png" alt="" width="71" height="43" /></p>
<p>Visit <a href="https://www.workbetternow.com/">WorkBetterNow.com</a> mention the referral code DTM Podcast and get $150 off for your first 3 months.</p>
<p> </p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch, and my guest today is Hortense le Gentil. She's a world renowned executive leadership coach, speaker and author. She guides CEOs and senior executives on their journey. From hero leaders to human leaders guided by 30 years in business, working across industries, including media consulting and advertising. And as an entrepreneur, she's the author of a book we're going to talk about today, the Unlocked Leader, dare to Free Your Own Voice, lead with Empathy, and shine your light in the world. So Hortense Bienvenue.</p>
<p><b>Hortense (00:49):</b> Thank you for having John. Happy here.</p>
<p><b>John (00:52):</b> That's all of the French that I'm going to attempt today, but I nailed that one, didn't I?</p>
<p><b>Hortense (00:57):</b> Oh, you did great. You just love this one.</p>
<p><b>John (01:01):</b> Alright, so in the book there is a concept called you call Mind Traps. That's a big part of the book. So let's start there and let's define what a mind trap is and how it impacts us.</p>
<p><b>Hortense (01:14):</b> I'd like to say that the mind trap is, it's a mental obstacle that is on your way to move forward. This is something that holds you back. It can be something that you used to be, for example, like I used to be perfect or to try to reach perfection. It was a driver for me, but now I feel like it doesn't work anymore. So when you feel like something is hold you back, holds you back, and you can even feel unhappy and satisfied, you cannot be completely yourself and journeys happen to everyone. I dunno if it happened to you, but every moment, a lot of moment in our life, it happened to us and it happened to me and I remember it was more than 15 years ago.</p>
<p><b>John (02:04):</b> So let's get into that. But I want to clarify how is that different than excuse, than a limiting belief? I'm not good enough to lead or something. How is it different from that?</p>
<p><b>Hortense (02:14):</b> So let's say that can be cousin. They can be cousin because mine trap is really for me, it's where you are stuck. So limiting belief when you think I'm not enough, for example, yes, that could be because this is a consequence, let's say because you are trapped somewhere and then you begin to think, okay, why do I think like that? What is behind that? The scene. So behind the scene you will find the real reason, and this is what I call the mind trap.</p>
<p><b>John (02:48):</b> So let's use your example that you were starting to bring up there from 15 years ago to maybe even help clarify that further.</p>
<p><b>Hortense (02:54):</b> Okay, yes, no, I just wanted to explain that. 15 years ago I felt completely lost and stuck in my life, personal life and professional life. And then I was lost, John, I didn't know what to do. And then of course everything went south and I went stuck in bed for months. So I had plenty of time to think. And then at that time I had the dream. I had the dream. And my grandmother, it was a grandmother that I just loved and she came back in my dream and she told me something very simple. She told me, you have to find the bus of roses. And I had no idea it was a pass of roses. So I asked her in my dream and I said, okay, where is that and where is it? Because more important, where is it? I want to find the rose.</p>
<p><b>(03:46):</b> And she said, you just look at me and smile. And she said, you know where it is. And then I woke up. Of course I was furious. She didn't give me the answer, but I will understand later what she meant was very important. She meant that I had to listen to my inner voice. And very often this is why we are stuck somewhere because we are not listening our own voice. We are not confident enough because it can be risky, it can be difficult. You need to be courageous to take sometimes difficult decision. And then this is what I learned and when I began to listen to my own voice, yes I could do that. Yes, I could change my life personally and professionally. Yes, I could do that and that this is what I did and I began to free myself.</p>
<p><b>John (04:35):</b> Alright, so what if you can't trust that inner voice? I mean there's a lot of things that we call an inner voice that are telling us things that aren't together altogether positive. I mean, how do you tell the difference between yeah, that's the right guidance as opposed to that's just continue to keep me locked.</p>
<p><b>Hortense (04:51):</b> Interesting. Okay, listen. So what we know, I think it's more a feeling. So when you want to take a decision, whatever the decision is, I think we know the decision. And when it's a hard decision to take, we need someone with who that shares this decision. And you're looking for someone who say yes, do it. But sometimes you can wait a long time before anybody is like, I agree with you. So I will say that this voice is the one that you feel. So we all know exactly what we should do and sometimes we are not ready. But one day when you are stuck, it's time to face that and to listen to that voice. So what do you really want to do and not the voices behind that because of course when you are stuck somewhere, you need to track the source. So who said you that, for example, who said that you cannot be a CEO, for example. I had a client like that and who said that it was a professor, it was a teacher years ago, this professor was told that young person that you will never be a CEO because I can see all the emotion on your face.</p>
<p><b>(06:12):</b> And so it was so surprised. So we are making association because we are living with the voices that the community authority, whatever the voices around us and also our brain is cooking voices for us because we are looking for meaning. Okay, why? Yes, I should do that. No I don't all the time. So silence,</p>
<p><b>John (06:38):</b> I think I read it in your intro, but it certainly shows up in the book, this idea of taking people from the hero leader to the human leader. Explain that concept.</p>
<p><b>Hortense (06:49):</b> You know that we need to free ourself from those mind trap to become human leader. And what should we become human. It's because the world has changed and the expectation has changed. Also, people now they want to connect with you. They don't need another hero like said, no, we don't need another hero. We need someone with who we can relate, we can understand, we can connect. And the only way to do that is by being human, by using your secret weapon. That is the empathy. And you need that. And I think that every leader know that because a lot have been said about why we should lead with empathy. But when it comes to the how do we do that and you need courage to do it, it's very courageous because you have to unlearn what you learned. But it's another dimension I would say. So now you have to inspire and take care of people. It's completely different.</p>
<p><b>John (08:00):</b> And I think a lot of leaders fall into the trap of believing I have to have this strong front that I'm in charge of everything, I have all the answers. And that's probably an aspect that right or wrong holds a lot of people back, doesn't it?</p>
<p><b>Hortense (08:14):</b> Exactly, exactly. Because we are raised like that. Your education at school, I'm sure everyone was telling you, oh don't show your emotion, right? And how all the answer, but who has all the answer? John, tell me. Who could predict a pandemic? Who can predict every, can we say that we are living in a crazy world today, every day something happen? How can you alone have all the answer? That's absolutely not possible.</p>
<p><b>John (08:48):</b> So the core concept of the book of course is unlocking yourself as a leader. What does that process look like? Obviously it's very drawn out in the book, but give us the high level. What is the process of unlocking yourself as a leader look like?</p>
<p><b>Hortense (09:01):</b> So it's going to this process of, okay, be aware that we are locked and okay, are we ready to start this journey? Because it's a journey, it's not a destination. And how we do that. So we face our fears first because we are afraid. Maybe we are used to do another way. You need to change. And then we go to, okay, where am I trap? Where I am stuck? And you track the source like who said? And then when you track the source, you found the source. Then you go to what I call the mind shift. So you change your mindset and with some questions, powerful questions you ask yourself. Okay, so you track the source and you said, is it true? Is it relevant? Is it helpful? What I'm thinking right now? And then you're let go and then you are free yourself and you are able to write your own story.</p>
<p><b>(09:57):</b> But maybe let me share very quickly an example. So I have this client, he was considered to be the next EO of the company. And so he went through a process in front of a panel of their leaders in order to be the next CEO. And then out of nowhere, out of the blue, his behavior changed and he became very talkative. He was talking all the time, didn't listen, he changed completely. So he was surprised. Everybody was surprised. And of course he didn't get the job. Then we had this conversation and he told me, I don't know, I don't know what happened, tto, I don't know. I said, okay, so let's figure out. And then revisiting his life, he remembered that years ago he had to pass an exam, not to pass an exam, it has to be in front of a panel of teachers.</p>
<p><b>(10:54):</b> And then one of the teacher didn't let him talk. So he was shocked. It was a trauma, one of the cos when what is behind it became a trauma. And then it was the same story that I shared before. This teacher told him, I don't know what you're going to do young guy, but you will never be a CEO because I can see all your emotion on your face. Young guy, very smart, begin his life thinking that you don't have to show your emotion. And second, he was not aware. He forgots his conversation, but his unconscious didn't. And the way the day, the first opportunity that unconscious has to remember that talk in order to not have the same situation that he had before. So going through this process of you track the source, where it's coming from, it was coming from there. In this case there were trauma and voices.</p>
<p><b>(11:58):</b> So they are the two main families, the source of your mind trap. So he found the source and then I asked him is the three question, is it true? Is it relevant? Is it helpful today that you cannot be a CEO and you don't have to show your emotion? He said, no, I know. I said, okay. So we let go. So we walk on, let go. And then you begin to write your own story. What is important for you? How you want to be? Remember, how do you want to show up as a leader, what difference you want to make in the world or around you and all that? What have your values? And you begin to write your own story because you don't. You live your own life. You don't live the life that someone wants for you.</p>
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<p><b>Hortense (14:16):</b> So good? Of course, but what I recommend very often is it's difficult to change how people think about you. So what I always recommend is to share with your team. So at fun point you say, okay, my name is, and I want to work on being a better leader and connect better with yourself and have more empathy, whatever it is, or communicate better with you. And then your team or your environ is aware, oh, oh great, she want to change, okay. And you ask for help and say, and I need help. And then everyone wants to help you. No worries about that. And then they say, okay, so let's do it together. Then it's faster for two reasons. First, they're aware that you're doing something and they appreciate the fact that you want to be better. Then you give the tone so they can also be, okay, I can walk also to be better.</p>
<p><b>(15:17):</b> It's all right to not be perfect. Then you set the tone and also they help you because you are in the middle of a meeting and things like that. And after you maybe you ask for feedback and said, what feedback do you have for me? Maybe not every day, I mean, but when you feel it or when you decide and then it's all together that you're going to work on that. So on your side you do your homework of unlocking yourself and in fact of telling, be sure of the message and vision that you have and really who you are. Connect with yourself because empathy begin to start with yourself first. You have to connect with yourself. Who am I? What do I want? Can you really say how you are to yourself? Can you say that? Who are you? And then when you are very clear on that, because that is a personal walk, when you're very clear on that, you're ready to practice, you're ready to do it. And after, again, it's a journey. It's not a destination. So every day we learn something and every day we evolve and then it's, it's wonderful because it changed everything.</p>
<p><b>John (16:25):</b> I imagine a level of self-awareness, or at least a desire to uncover some self-awareness is really the starting point for all this, right? I mean you can't really do that. You can't do the work you're talking about unless you discover some level of self-awareness. Exactly. I mean, would you say that's accurate</p>
<p><b>Hortense (16:41):</b> If you don't know where to start? Yes, that's absolutely accurate, right?</p>
<p><b>John (16:45):</b> So a lot of the leadership I have, a lot of people have written books on leadership. I speak with people that have development programs and a lot of them really try to focus on competencies and skills. Do you get some pushback when, I mean you're literally telling people that they have to develop their consciousness. So do you get some pushback from people that feel like, how is that relevant?</p>
<p><b>Hortense (17:08):</b> Not that much in fact, because I think if we are honest with ourself, all of us, we know where we have to evolve and we know that part is very hard and we don't know where to begin when to start, as I said. So no, I don't think so. And because most of the leader that I know, they know after you need courage to come and to ask for that. So if you're not ready, if you, but most of the leaders, they are courageous so they can do it, but it's because you did courage.</p>
<p><b>John (17:42):</b> Alright, so I'm going to invite people or ask you to invite people where they can connect with you. But what's one thing, if somebody came to you and said, give me one thing I could start doing today to really unlock my leadership potential, what would that be?</p>
<p><b>Hortense (17:56):</b> The first thing I think</p>
<p><b>John (17:57):</b> Everybody always wants the one tip, right?</p>
<p><b>Hortense (18:00):</b> I know. So the one tip would be, okay, reflect and do the three colon exercise in your life, personal, professional, whatever, both of them is even better. And do first colon, what do you want to keep? What is good in your life? What gives you energy? Second colon, what do you want to drop? What you drain? You don't want that anymore. And third colon. So what do you want to add to live to your life today? And then begin your journey. What is the first step? Look at that and begin your journey to the process of maybe unlocking yourself.</p>
<p><b>John (18:41):</b> Love it. Well, I appreciate you taking a few moments to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Is there anywhere you'd invite people to connect with you, learn about your work, and obviously pick up a copy of The Unlocked Leader?</p>
<p><b>Hortense (18:51):</b> So I have a website, so it's my name, Hortenselegentil.com. And also we can on LinkedIn, everywhere. On LinkedIn, on social Instagram. So I try to be active.</p>
<p><b>John (19:05):</b> The book is, we'll have a link to your website in the show notes, but the book could be purchased pretty much anywhere people purchase books. Again, I appreciate you taking a moment or dance and hopefully we'll run into you on these days out there on the road.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-4375110367460320892024-02-27T11:05:00.003-08:002024-02-27T11:05:43.377-08:00From Generalist to Specialist: The Blueprint for Vertical Market Domination<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/vertical-market-specialization-blueprint/">From Generalist to Specialist: The Blueprint for Vertical Market Domination</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP7832191432&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-77019 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p>
<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Corey Quinn, former CMO of Scorpion and now a dedicated agency coach, Corey specializes in guiding agency founders to scale with vertical market specialization. At Scorpion, he played a pivotal role in growing the agency’s revenue 8x in 5 years to a remarkable $150M. Corey is also the author of ‘Anyone, Not Everyone,’ a comprehensive guide for agency founders looking to move beyond founder-led sales. He is currently on a mission to empower 1,000 agencies to become vertical-market specialists, leveraging his extensive experience and insights.</p>
<p>In this episode Corey provides a comprehensive blueprint for agency founders looking to transition from being generalists to specialists in their field, paving the way for vertical market domination and sustained growth.</p>
<h3>Key Takeaways</h3>
<p>Corey Quinn underscores the significance of vertical market specialization in transitioning from founder-led sales to scalable growth for agencies. By honing in on a specific vertical, founders can position themselves as experts, differentiate their services, and attract ideal clients. Corey outlines actionable steps for identifying the right market, validating its potential, and building relationships with key influencers. With a focus on long-term success, agencies can leverage vertical market specialization to achieve sustainable growth and dominance within their niche.</p>
<h3>Questions I ask <strong>Corey Quinn:</strong></h3>
<p>[00:57] Explain the concept of anyone, not everyone</p>
<p>[02:52] What is vertical market specialization and how is it different from picking a niche and getting specialized?</p>
<p>[05:45] How does one position themselves as the go-to agency for a specific market?</p>
<p>[10:00] Tell us about the strategic gifting outbound approach</p>
<p>[12:58] What are your favorite platforms or tools for building the ultimate list of who to target?</p>
<p>[15:57] How important is it to network with big names in the target industry and how is it done?</p>
<p>[19:24] Is it advisable to repeat the approach with other markets or stick to one?</p>
<p>[20:37] Where can people connect with you and grab a copy of your book</p>
<div>
<h3>More About <strong>Corey Quinn</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Corey on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyquinn/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit his <a href="https://www.coreyquinn.com">website</a></li>
<li>Check out his <a href="https://youtube.com/@coreyquinninc">Youtube</a></li>
<li>Get notified for the book launch of <a href="https://www.coreyquinn.com/anyone-not-everyone-book">Anyone, Not Everyone</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by ActiveCampaign</p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Corey Quinn. He's a former CEO of Scorpion and now a dedicated agency coach. He specializes in guiding agency founders to scale with vertical market specialization. At Scorpion, he played a pivotal role in growing the agency's revenue eight x in five years to a remarkable $150 million. He's also the author of a book we're going to talk about today, anyone, not everyone, A comprehensive guide for agency founders looking to move beyond founder-led sales. So Corey, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>Corey (00:47):</b> John, it is a real treat to be here.</p>
<p><b>John (00:51):</b> So let's start with the title. I find myself always doing that because authors picked every word of a title so carefully. What's the big picture you're trying to imply with this idea of anyone? Not everyone.</p>
<p><b>Corey (01:03):</b> So the big promise or the transformation that I wrote the bill to really help agency founders with is this idea of escaping founder-led sales, which is a challenge that many agency founders will go through in the sort of the lifecycle of their agency. And the way that I've personally seen this happen, both in the work that I do as well as in dozens of other agency owners I've interviewed, is one way to become sort of independent of sales and also to help scale your agency is to get really clear on who you're targeting. Not only just get clear but specialized in serving a specific vertical market. And the funny thing is that title did not come day one. It was a much different title, and it wasn't until I was working back and forth with my editor and I was saying we were using the term, it's like something around you could do anything but not everything type of thing. And that's where it was born from.</p>
<p><b>John (02:07):</b> Well, if you don't nail this getting out of founder led sales, I mean you'll never be able to sell the business. I mean, to me, that's kind of job number one, isn't it?</p>
<p><b>Corey (02:16):</b> Correct, absolutely. And there's a saying that I love somewhere that I think is super interesting, which is that you want to build a business that everyone wants to buy that you don't want to sell, right? And that's a business that probably creates the freedoms in your life as a business owners that you want to have. So a hundred percent if an acquirer is looking at your agency and you are instrumental to the growth of it, that is not as interesting of a value proposition versus otherwise.</p>
<p><b>John (02:48):</b> So I know you go very deep into this idea of you actually, I think I read it in your vertical market specialization. How is that different from the sort of well-worn advice of pick a niche and get specialized?</p>
<p><b>Corey (03:02):</b> Yeah, I think it's a good question. The idea of niching down is very common. There's a great saying, the riches are in the niches, and I think there's a lot of truth to that. I think the challenge is that it's today it's a very vague idea of what does that mean exactly? Does that mean I'm targeting females between 35 and 50, who like donuts or am I targeting flight attendants or what does that exactly mean? It's very vague. And so what I wanted to do is be much more literal and specific about when you want to scale an agency. One of the great ways to do it, it's not the only way, but one of the great ways to do it is to specialize in a vertical market. So in a way, vertical specialization is a type of niching down by the way, you can specialize in what you do, like SEO, that's another type of specialization. But I personally like to help agencies and I'm really obsessed with this idea of taking a vertical market approach and I really care about helping people get there.</p>
<p><b>John (04:04):</b> So one of the challenges I think is I think a lot of people hear that advice and they're like, okay, where's the opportunity lawyers or dentists? And having never worked with those markets, they just charge into 'em. And sometimes it works. Sometimes they realize, I hate working with Dennis. No offense, Dennis, but how do you make sure that you're making the right sort of decision because it is a decision to send your business down a track</p>
<p><b>Corey (04:30):</b> A hundred percent John. And there are situations where it makes sense as an agency founder to start down that road on day one, but generally that does not the way it works usually it is an agency owner who opens their doors and does business with their family and their distant family in the local chamber of commerce, and they say yes to a lot of different businesses. And I think that makes a lot of sense. As you're launching your new business, you want to have revenue and you want to get it off the ground, but it is only until they realize that they can't get beyond a certain point because they're serving a wide variety of clients. They're a jack of all trades, and they lack expertise in any one area, which has a direct impact in their ability to do things like operationally scale, but also their positioning becomes very watered down. The market doesn't see their true value for what they are. They compete on price and they lose deals to lesser firms. And that all of that results in slow and inconsistent sales and all of those aspects bring the founder right back into sales because when the sales isn't happening, that's the founder's responsibility at the end of the day. Right?</p>
<p><b>John (05:40):</b> Yeah. So what are some of the key steps? If I've decided maybe I've been out there, I've had some success, I have some ideas about markets that I like, I've been able to serve, I've been able to add value. What are some of the key steps to really kind of positioning myself as the go-to</p>
<p><b>Corey (05:55):</b> Absolutely. So in that case of that generalist who's been around for a while, you have a lot of sets and reps. It's important as you're going through this process of verticalizing your agency to look at your current book of business and see who do I like working with? If I was going to fill my business with dentists as your example, what kind of life would I be enjoying at that point? Right? The whole outcome you're trying to create is you want to fill your practice with a whole bunch of this type of business. And so first thing you want to do is you want to look at your experience. You want to look at, like I said, who you like working with, what problems are you really good at solving for them, and are they willing to pay for those problems? That's number one. You want to look at your current business.</p>
<p><b>(06:38):</b> Number two, you want to look at the market because you don't want to target an audience that is too small or maybe too big. If you're targeting an audience that says that, let's say that has a small budget inherently then, and you charge $10,000 a month, and on average the average business owner in that industry makes a hundred thousand dollars a year, you're going to have a hard time finding clients. And so there's an aspect of it where number one, you have to feel like you're good at it and you want to do want to work with these folks. But then number two, that the market that you're going after is what I call, you have to validate it. You have to validate it's not only large enough, but that it is a good fit for the kind of business you want to create.</p>
<p><b>John (07:22):</b> I have people come to me all the time and say that I want to work with X, and I'm like, well, they don't spend money on marketing at all. That might be a slog for you.</p>
<p><b>Corey (07:31):</b> Yeah. The number I like to use as sort of a benchmark is when you're doing the market research, does the average business in this vertical make a million dollars a year? This is specifically in the context of marketing agencies, and the math is if they make a million dollars a year and they spend 10% of that revenue on marketing per year, which is a hundred thousand dollars, you divide that by 12 months, that's $8,333 per month. And you think about marketing today, you have to have a website, SEO content, PPC book, reputation management, do a podcast. All of a sudden you're stretching that $8,000 pretty thin. And so depending on the type of service you have and the type of revenue you want to generate per client, a million dollars is a good barometer to make sure that they actually do make enough money for you to justify targeting them.</p>
<p><b>John (08:27):</b> It's my pleasure to welcome a new sponsor to the podcast. Our friends at ActiveCampaign. ActiveCampaign helps small teams power big businesses with the must have platform for intelligent marketing automation. We've been using ActiveCampaign for years here at Duct Tape Marketing to power our subscription forms, email newsletters and sales funnel drip campaigns. ActiveCampaign is that rare platform that's affordable, easy to use, and capable of handling even the most complex marketing automation needs, and they make it easy to switch. They provide every new customer with one-on-one personal training and free migrations from your current marketing automation or email marketing provider. You can try Active Campaign for free for 14 days and there's no credit card required. Just visit activecampaign.com/duct tape. That's right. Duct Tape Marketing podcast. Listeners who sign up via that link will also receive 15% off an annual plan if purchased by March 31st, 2024. That's active campaign.com/duct tape.</p>
<p><b>(09:32):</b> Now, this offer is limited to new active campaign customers only. So what are you waiting for? Fuel your growth, boost revenue and save precious time by upgrading to active campaign. Today, we have worked for years with various agents or various industries and certain industries, certain verticals are just getting hammered by people that have taken this approach. Remodeling contractors, for example. I mean, get 10 pitches a day from somebody that says they're an expert in their industry. You have an outbound approach that uses gifting as a kind of unique approach to really stand out, right? They get the 10 emails. How are you different? Yeah, talk about that approach.</p>
<p><b>Corey (10:13):</b> Yeah, absolutely. So the prerequisite is number one, you have a vertical market that you specialize in, that you position your agency around, and then what you do is you want to, and this is based on my direct experience of working at an agency where we sent literally millions of dollars of cookies to attorneys. Another one of these markets that is oversaturated that you could argue, but the way that I teach my clients, what you do is, number one, you build up a 20% lead list. And what I mean by that is out of all the attorneys in the us, let's say you are targeting personal injury attorneys, you want to take that list and then you want to qualify it to identify what's the top 20% of this list that if I can get them on the phone, then I have a very high likelihood that they're going to be a great fit.</p>
<p><b>(10:59):</b> They're going to want to work with us. And so you create that list that becomes your lead list for this gift based outbound. The next thing you want to do is you want to identify a gift that would be unique, it would be striking, and it would leave a positive impression. You don't want to send a ballpoint pen with your logo on it because that's too easy to ignore. And as a result of this 20% list, it's not very much of a spray and pray approach. It's much more of a quality over quantity. I've done things, everything from sending gourmet cookies to sending alcohol to attorneys, to sending flowers to dentist office, you name it, video brochures. We've sent books. We've written books. Lemme share with you the impact of this. When we sent cookies to attorneys, this is again an industry where there are gatekeepers whose primary job is to prevent me from getting in touch, talking to the attorney.</p>
<p><b>(11:57):</b> So that's their job is to weed me out, screen me out. And so what we would do is we would send the cookies into the law firm, and these are again, not generic cookies. These are amazing mouthwatering cookies. They would be put in the FedEx box, sent to the law firm, addressed to the lead attorney. Of course it would go right past the mail room. It's a FedEx box, it'd go right to the attorney's desk, it'd be sitting there. The attorney would open it up, be this amazing presentation of cookies which would end up in the break room. And then people would be eating these cookies and everyone's saying, gosh, who brought these amazing cookies? And it was like, oh, this company's scorpion. And everyone's like, well, who's scorpion? There's this buzz all of a sudden about this company that sent this amazing gift. By the time a salesperson called, which was right after the gift arrived, the gatekeeper would, the energy would be shifted from who are you and who do you want to talk to? Oh, you're from Scorpion. Let me put you through, he wants to talk to you.</p>
<p><b>John (12:51):</b> So this may be a little in the weeds, but your research piece, like the list targeting the top 20, and do you have some favorite kind of go-to list sources or platforms or tools?</p>
<p><b>Corey (13:04):</b> Bring up a really great point, which is that the list is typically thought of as a check the box, go do Apollo or go to ZoomInfo and download a list or just use their interface. The list is the strategy, meaning you have to spend some additional time on the list than you otherwise would. And so what I recommend doing what I teach people to do is to source a list from these third party list vendors like a ZoomInfo or Apollo download leads into your own software like Excel or Google Sheets, and then you want to qualify those leads even further from what they gave you. You want to look for things like what are some objective signals that I could see that would indicate that these businesses can afford my services, that they actually have the pain point that I saw? And you need to go through these on a very manual basis.</p>
<p><b>(13:59):</b> Unfortunately, I know we all like to go super fast, but if you're planning on sending cookies, and by the way, it's not just sending one gift, it's sending gifts for three years. It's not a one and done. It's an ongoing event. Every quarter you send 'em a gift. So that's even more reason why you want to just slow way down on the list on list build. So that's kind of how I do it. Another place where you can find a high quality list is every vertical market has associations. They have conferences. And as you begin to target these folks, you'll be going to these events and you'll begin to build lists from those experiences where you tend to get really high quality leads from.</p>
<p><b>John (14:38):</b> And I tell a lot of people, there are a lot of agencies out there, like 10 more clients, good clients that would move the needle significantly, but they're trying to a list of 5,000 as opposed to that's list of a hundred. Let's spend 500 bucks on each of them as opposed to $5 on spray and pray approach. Approach. And</p>
<p><b>Corey (14:58):</b> That focus, and I think the focus is kind of the thing that helps you to stand out. The fact that you are sending a thoughtful gift, it can be a personalized gift to them. As I said, it's not just once. They may ghost you on the first gift and that's okay, but then the next quarter comes, you send 'em a second one and the next quarter comes, you send 'em another one. Eventually you've built up all this reciprocity and they're going to at some point say, okay, I got to talk to John over there at Duct Tape Marketing, because clearly they want to talk to us and they're being very persistent in a meaningful way. And we also know that people, every attorney, every dentist, they're going to shop for a new agency once every three years, let's just call it that. And that's why the time horizon behind this strategy is it's a three year program. By the time that every single person on your list has been gifted over a three year period, all of them had an opportunity to go back to market, and you want to be on that list.</p>
<p><b>John (15:57):</b> So every industry has key people. Everybody knows maybe their authors, they're big consultants, they're advisors or accountants or something in the industry. First off, how important is it to get into some relationships with those folks and then second part of how do you do it?</p>
<p><b>Corey (16:17):</b> Yeah, great question. So the part of the strategy, once you become a vertical market specialist, the benefit of targeting a vertical or one of the unique benefits is every vertical is kind of like a village and everyone kind of knows everybody else. There's definitely a gossip train and so on and so forth. And in any one of these type of social circles of a vertical, there are going to be people that Malcolm Gladwell calls Mavens, and these mavens are people that everyone else looks to make a decision on who to hire. And so as a vertical market specialist, as you're trying to build your reputation and visibility in that market, it makes sense to try and build a direct relationship with these mavens versus just going out to market and talking to anyone. I'll give you an example. One of my clients was focused on the chain restaurant industry, the industry of restaurants that had multiple chains, and there was a maven in that industry.</p>
<p><b>(17:15):</b> He's the editor of a magazine called QSR, and he is prolific on LinkedIn and he's at the keynoting, the conferences on the stages and whatnot. He's everywhere. Well, as a result of identifying this person as really a maven that people look to as a tastemaker, we made a decision to try and find ways, genuine ways to build a relationship with that person. Of course, we did that over time, and that resulted in a lot of opportunities for my client. That's number one. And then number two is what I call influential brands. And influential brands are effectively the same as a Maven, but it is sort of a big brand in that vertical that everyone else looks to. If it's good enough, if this company's going to hire this agency, well, they're probably good enough for us. And I saw this firsthand at my last company when we were getting into the franchise world, multi-location businesses, and we landed the biggest, the most well-respected, multi-location franchise business in the industry as really our first client. It was through a relationship. And as a result of that, that led to a lot of really almost frictionless introductions in the franchise space, which ended up being a big growth engine for us.</p>
<p><b>John (18:29):</b> It's funny, over the years, I've targeted manufacturers that have distribution networks, and the same thing is bring them something, build a relationship, provide value, and they're very motivated to help their distributors. And so all of a sudden it's like you're the person. And as you mentioned, it's a layup to get the business because in some cases they even had co-op dollars to give them.</p>
<p><b>Corey (18:53):</b> Yes, yes, exactly. The reason why these things are important is you need to focus first. Once you get clear on who you're targeting, marketing becomes a whole lot easier. Which keywords to target, which conferences to go to, what associations to get involved in all these things become super clear. It's those agencies that haven't made this decision to narrow their focus on this vertical market that are challenged with this things I said, the water down positioning, the ineffective marketing.</p>
<p><b>John (19:23):</b> So is it safe to say once you get good at one market, you can actually repeat this approach, or should you just stay narrow?</p>
<p><b>Corey (19:32):</b> It completely depends on the founder and their ambitions. I'll give you an example. The last agency I worked with where we ran this play, we started off with attorneys, and then it was home services and then franchise. And I think the way that I coach agencies on how to approach this is, number one, you want to get to about 3% of the total addressable market. So if there are a thousand businesses in this market, once you get to 30, that's a signal that you probably have enough momentum in that vertical that you as the founder, could lift your head and go find another adjacent vertical. What I mean by adjacent is it's a business that has the same problem that you're already solving, or it's a vertical that has the same problem but is not well-served. So the example, my last company was attorneys, local service businesses, and then home services, local service businesses, both depended on Google for new leads, both needed a great website, reputation management, all of those things. That's what I mean by adjacent.</p>
<p><b>John (20:32):</b> Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, Corey, it was great having you stop by the Duct Tape Marketing podcast. Is there someplace you want to invite people to connect with you and obviously find a copy of anyone? Not everyone.</p>
<p><b>Corey (20:43):</b> Gosh, John. I appreciate that. So the best place to get plugged into more of this type of content is my book, which is called, as you mentioned, anyone, not everyone. I have the website, anyone, not everyone.com, where you can go and learn more about the book. So I invite you to go there.</p>
<p><b>John (20:59):</b> Awesome. Well, again, appreciate you taking a few moments, and hopefully we'll run into you one of these days out there on the road.</p>
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from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/7R9CcLa<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-9481809557491235402024-02-27T11:05:00.001-08:002024-02-27T11:05:42.646-08:00Weekend Favs February 24<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/weekend-favs-february-24/">Weekend Favs February 24</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p>My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.</p>
<p>I don’t go into depth about the finds, but I encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one I took on the road.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.joinassembly.com/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Assembly</a> – Assembly is an employee recognition and rewards platform that simplifies how teams celebrate achievements and milestones. It integrates with your existing tools to streamline acknowledgments, making it easier to boost morale and foster a positive work culture. Whether you’re looking to recognize individual contributions or team successes, Assembly offers customizable options to fit your company’s needs.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.air.ai/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air.ai</a> – Air is an AI platform that powers 10-40 minute phone calls, mimicking human interactions with perfect recall and action across 5,000+ applications, available 24/7/365.</li>
<li><a href="https://copyleaks.com/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Copyleaks</a> – Copyleaks is a cutting-edge plagiarism detection and content protection tool designed to ensure the originality and integrity of your work. By scanning for similarities across billions of web pages, academic papers, and documents, it helps educators, students, and professionals uphold authenticity in their writing. Whether you’re looking to safeguard your content or verify the uniqueness of submitted work, Copyleaks offers a comprehensive solution to keep your intellectual property secure and plagiarism-free.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are my weekend favs; I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me <a href="https://twitter.com/ducttape" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@ducttape</a></p>
<p>If you want to check out more Weekend Favs you can find them <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/blog/">here.</a></p>
<br />
<br />
from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/LpvsKOx<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-74662243591530602622024-01-31T12:05:00.001-08:002024-01-31T12:05:54.357-08:00Mastering Email Deliverability: The Crucial Changes You Must Make in 2024<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/mastering-email-deliverability-2024/">Mastering Email Deliverability: The Crucial Changes You Must Make in 2024</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/tosin/">Tosin Jerugba</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP6840034414&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-76546 size-medium alignleft" src="https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-4.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-4.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-4.png?resize=1024%2C1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-4.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-4.png?resize=768%2C768&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-4.png?resize=75%2C75&ssl=1 75w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-4.png?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed JT Beckham, a senior manager of deliverability at <a href="https://linkedin.com/company/activecampaign">ActiveCampaign</a>, <span style="font-weight: 400;">leading the Deliverability team and collaborating with other teams across the organization. Prior to his current role, J.T. worked at Acoustic as a Global Manager, focusing on deliverability services and overseeing complex technical implementations. J.T. also worked at IBM for a significant period, holding various managerial positions. In this episode</span> we discuss the intricacies of email deliverability and the essential changes required in 2024. As the leading expert in deliverability, JT provides insights and guidance on navigating the evolving landscape of email authentication and strategic practices.</p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>Emphasizing the importance of email authentication, Beckham and I go into the technicalities of DKIM and DMARC, highlighting the need for proper configuration and SPF best practices. The episode underscores the significance of incorporating a visible one-click unsubscribe option within the header to enhance user experience and comply with RFC standards. Beckham also warns against ignoring these best practices, as it may lead to increased spam complaints and potential deliverability issues. The key takeaway is clear: businesses must proactively implement these crucial changes to safeguard their domain reputation and ensure successful email marketing campaigns.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask <b>JT Howarth</b>:</strong></h3>
<p>[01:18] Tell us about what in email marketing will go into effect in January 2024 that people should know about?</p>
<p>[02:17] What does authentication mean?</p>
<p>[04:09] Will your emails bounce if you fail the authentication test?</p>
<p>[05:21] Are there tools out there than can help make this process easier?</p>
<p>[06:11] What do businesses have to watch out for when using a Gmail also on a domain?</p>
<p>[07:42] Are there things to be looking out for when using a service like Active Campaign?</p>
<p>[08:45] What is a DKIM?</p>
<p>[10:28] What is DMARC in email marketing?</p>
<p>[12:33] Where does one obtain information that should be in the DNS records?</p>
<p>[14:07] What is SPF in email marketing?</p>
<p>[15:25] Tell us about how DNS records are part of the onboarding process in Active Campaign</p>
<p>[17:26] Tell us about how having Unsubscribe in your header is shaping up to be requirement in email marketing</p>
<p>[20:11] What happens if a business chooses to ignore all these new recommendations?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qTEh4-3sR9o?si=dSCg8Ibung3swx87" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About <b>JT Beckham</b></strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with JT on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jt-beckham/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Connect Active Campaign on <a href="https://linkedin.com/company/activecampaign">LinkedIn</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is JT Beckham. He is currently a senior manager of deliverability at ActiveCampaign, leading the deliverability team and collaborating with other teams across the organization. So JT, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>Beckham (00:29):</b> Thanks, John. Pleasure to be here.</p>
<p><b>John (00:31):</b> Deliverability is a hard word to say actually, but that's what we're going to talk about is email deliverability, and we're going to talk about some technical things. I'm going to lean on JT to not make it too crazy technical, but there's some things that you need to know. Email still the best channel for most marketers today, or at least the best online channel today. So it's important that we get that email into the inboxes. They're obviously, we know all the privacy and spam and issues that a lot of organizations will work on. It has kind of come to a forefront with Google and Yahoo in particular, introducing new email authentication requirements. So JT, and by the way, depending upon when you're listening to those requirements, go in effect February, 2024. So jt, is there a way to summarize what is going into effect in January, 2024 that's important to people that maybe haven't paid attention?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (01:24):</b> Yes, sir. So there's three main things with email authentication. We want to make sure that DKIM DNS records are defined for any from domain or from email address domain you're going to be using when you send out your emails. The next thing is DMARC . You need to have a basic DMARC record in place. Those are the two key things that have to be done for authentication. And then of course, there's two other parts of the requirements that are coming out. One that you can't use@gmail.com address unless you're sending email from their platform and you need to watch your spam complaint rates at Google. So those are the three main areas.</p>
<p><b>John (02:09):</b> Okay. You nailed it. Those are the three main areas. Now, 5% of my listening audience knows what you were talking about. So we need to back up and say, what does all that mean? So when we talk about authentication, I mean, what we're essentially talking about is ways that because people are sending spoof things, we all get 'em all the time. It's like I get an email that's supposedly from me, from somebody out there who's trying to rip me off or something. I mean, so it's really just an effort to make sure that you are who you say you are, especially, and it's really focused on bulk senders, right? People that are sending five, 10,000 person lists, right?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (02:46):</b> That's been the guidance that has been laid out by Google and Yahoo is the 5,000 limit. However, they have come back and said in other conversations, that's just like a soft number. Their basic guidelines is that if sending a single email to multiple recipients, then you are a bulk sender. And so it's advised that everybody follows through and makes sure that you do what you can to make sure that the mailbox providers and ISPs out there in the world know that this email is from you and that you authorized it to be sent from certain IP addresses. And that when you do dec, IM signing, you are basically adding a digital, an encrypted signature to your emails that if that gets damaged or broken along transit, then it fails to check when the ISPs and mailbox providers look at that and do a lookup on it. And so that would fail your authentication. So like you said, it's really key to make sure that you prove that you are the one sending the email, and that helps your recipients and your contacts that you're trying to reach know for sure that's you, that it didn't get spoofed.</p>
<p><b>John (03:57):</b> And even if it's not being spoofed, you're not spamming. I mean, you have the ability to send you these records. The setting up of these DNS records are really how you prove that you are who you are. And if you don't prove you are who you are, then it's, it's going to bounce. Right? I mean, that's what's going to start happening. Your mails just won't go through, right?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (04:17):</b> That's correct. They're going to start out slowly with warning signals, letting people know, or letting ESPs like ourselves know through the bounces coming back, what would happen if they were to flip the switch and enable it. So they say that they're going to slowly roll this out and starting February 1st is when they said, so a lot of interesting times ahead.</p>
<p><b>John (04:43):</b> Alright, so you mentioned these, and I don't know, don't know if people need to know what these DKIM and DMARC stand for? Probably they don't because everybody just calls 'em DKIM and DMARC. But these are essentially records that are created in your DNS settings. So if your DNS is hosted by Google, that's where you make those changes. If it's hosted by CloudFlare, that's where you make your changes. Some hosts, some actual domain hosts or website hosts, I should say host, DNS. So that's really the first place to go and look. Right?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (05:13):</b> That's absolutely true. You want to focus</p>
<p><b>John (05:15):</b> On that? Tell me, if I'm listening to this and I don't really know if I've got these records or if they're set up, are there tools out there that I can take my domain and say, tell me if I need these things fixed?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (05:28):</b> Yeah, there is. So there's third party tools, like D Martian their website, they have a domain checker tool on their site. There's one called DNS info. The MX Toolbox is a commonly used one that many people use. My team, we use several different ones just to make sure that if one is not reporting something correctly, we always have others that we go and check. Because sometimes these tools do have issues, but most of the time they work very well. And you just define your domain and say, show me the records, and it'll tell you if it sees the DKIM records or any other DNS.</p>
<p><b>John (06:07):</b> Right? So couple scenarios. Let's say I'm using Google Workspace and it is a Gmail, but I'm using it on my domain. Are there any things I have to do? Because in my DNS records, I'm using Google's MX records for sending, but is there anything that, does Google actually tell me what my DMARC record needs to say, or my domain key needs to say,</p>
<p><b>Beckham (06:34):</b> If you have a problem that your chem is not there or it's failing at any point in time? One of the tools that Google has is a free tool to everyone is Google Postmaster tools. And that's a tool that we and the deliverability base highly recommend every customer to take advantage of and sign up with their domain. You just define your domain, it will give you a text record that you need to add in to your DNS to authorize their system to be able to use your domain and pull data for it. As they see data coming across their servers will show you more insights on it.</p>
<p><b>John (07:14):</b> And I love using Google tools because you're basically saying, here's what Google sees. And no matter if you have it all set up and you've hired a consultant to do everything, if Google doesn't see it right, then it doesn't matter, right?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (07:28):</b> That's right. That's right. That's again, another reason we like to use other tools, and specifically if a mailbox provider has a tool for themselves like Google, we really strongly want you to use</p>
<p><b>John (07:40):</b> Those tools. Now, let me give you another scenario. I use Google Workspace tools, but that's really more for individual emails than I'm sending out. I happen to be an active campaign customer and we send out bulk emails to people that have opted in to receive those, and other people are using other email service providers. Are there any special things that you should be looking for if you're actually sending most of your bulk mail through a service like ActiveCampaign?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (08:09):</b> Yeah, so whichever service you're using, DKIM keys. The DKIM records are unique to each service provider and their platform. So you couldn't take and put our DNS or DKIM key that we give. You could put that in there and then send from our platform and they'll sign it. If you try to use that key and send it off of Google or another different solution, the DKIM is not going to work. It's not going to pass. It's specific, like I said, to the mailing infrastructure of the BSP that you're using.</p>
<p><b>John (08:45):</b> And essentially what it's saying is this email says it's coming from Duct Tape Marketing in my case, but it's actually being sent by this company. And so you're essentially saying, I authorized this company to send on my behalf, essentially what's going on? So in that case, would you potentially have, let's say you're also, I don't know, you're using MailChimp for some other things too, so there's a third player. So would you have DKIMs from all three of those places?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (09:13):</b> That is correct. Yeah. Any platform that you would be sending from MailChimp into it, whatever it is, they're going to give you the same type of DNS records.</p>
<p><b>John (09:21):</b> It's basically just a long encrypted code is what it amounts to. Yeah, that's</p>
<p><b>Beckham (09:26):</b> Right. And it is unique again, to that service provider.</p>
<p><b>John (09:30):</b> And then underneath, behind the scenes and stuff, that code is actually part of your email. It goes out in the header of your email.</p>
<p><b>Beckham (09:37):</b> That's correct. So when you look at, if you're looking at your Google Mail and you say view source, then you can see your header information and absolutely see is deam signing or is it passing or failing? And again, I want to stress, you can have multiple dms in here for any platform as long as you've got it for each platform you're actually sending from. That's the key.</p>
<p><b>John (09:58):</b> And that's actually what you should do is have it for all the platforms you're sending from. Yeah, that's correct.</p>
<p><b>Beckham (10:03):</b> And you should always make sure you maintain, right? If you change platforms, for example, one of the things you really want to be diligent about is making sure you update these records and remove any platform you're not sending from anymore so that no one could potentially take advantage of that.</p>
<p><b>John (10:20):</b> Okay. So I think we've unpacked the understanding of what the DKIM record is. That's kind of the encrypted authorization. What does DMARC do? I understand the settings for it. What does it do?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (10:32):</b> Yeah, so DMARC is another DNS record and it's commonly referred to as a policy. What this basically does is it gives instructions to the mailbox providers or the ips on what to do if your email does not pass authentication. So there's a couple of parameters to it that there's a couple of different ways you can configure it to look at your DKIM key, for example, and enforce it in a strict mode or relaxed mode. This is going to be probably one of the most challenging areas for many people because you're not real sure how to set it up unless you've got DMARC experience and you understand what's going to happen. When you implement A DMARC DNS record, there's usually an email address that's associated and defined in that record. So when you enable or define this record for a domain, every email you go out that goes out and gets processed at every mailbox provider is going to report back what happened. So if you're sending out 500 emails, you're going to get 500 responses or reports into your email address that you specified. So we highly recommend working with a company like DMARC digests to ingest that data. Oh,</p>
<p><b>John (11:47):</b> So it's sending it to their URI?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (11:50):</b> Yes. Yeah, exactly. And the users a much more user-friendly way to interpret what's happened and can see very easily who is sending on your behalf using your domain. And if you are failing on DKIM, if it's failing, you'll get a report.</p>
<p><b>John (12:08):</b> So you'll get reports back that's correct. From those tools that will give you basically a health report on your deliverability. So in addition to that being a requirement, that sounds like a good best practice anyway.</p>
<p><b>Beckham (12:23):</b> Absolutely. It is like the third step of authentication to help reduce the likelihood of being spoofed, having your email spoofed.</p>
<p><b>John (12:33):</b> So where does one turn to, and maybe the answer is, well, it depends and that there are multiple places, but where does somebody turn to find out what should be in those records? Because there's syntax and things like all kind of coding things that have to be done. How does somebody get that information?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (12:52):</b> Yeah, the best site would be DMARC.org. That is the main site that defines what DMARC is, every parameter about it, how it works. It should answer any and all questions you have. However, you may find that you might be better off working with a consultant that specializes in implementing DMARC. I've worked with several companies in the past that are very large with multiple brands under them, their IT team gets involved and things like this. And putting a DMARC record in place in enforcement mode instead of reporting mode can be damaging if you don't do it correctly.</p>
<p><b>John (13:31):</b> We've had a client that did and all of a sudden nobody was getting email.</p>
<p><b>Beckham (13:34):</b> Yes, yes, I've seen that happen. Somebody thought that they were doing the record setting the record up for their subdomain that they were using on their from addresses in turn. But what actually happened was they implemented for the root domain and that caused major headaches for a very short period of time until they fixed it.</p>
<p><b>John (13:52):</b> All right. So if you're still with us listeners, I'm getting ready to confuse you a little deeper. So we've been talking about DMARC and one of the important parts of DMARC is it's going to check the DKIM to see that as part of its reporting. There's a sender policy framework. SPF is another element that's a record in DNS. We haven't talked about that yet, but is that part of these new requirements or is that just a good best practice to have that set up for the right servers?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (14:18):</b> So great question. It is best practice to have that set up and defined. The SPF record is where you specify the ips of the machines that are allowed to send your mail, right? So most people will see an include colon SPF under google.com or something to that effect. And again, you want to only have one SPF record for a domain. It's not like DKIM keys where you can have multiples. It's one record and you just have to add to it and update it. You</p>
<p><b>John (14:47):</b> Just depend it</p>
<p><b>Beckham (14:48):</b> With, yeah, correct. And so DMARC does have an option, a parameter where you can say, look at the SPF record and make sure it passes. You can assess on the DKIM, make sure it passes. You can say both of them have the pass. So it can get complicated when you're trying to implement that. But yes, SPF best practices always make sure you're diligent again on making sure it's updated and doesn't have IPS or platforms defined that you're no longer sending from that way you're making sure nobody's potentially using your phone</p>
<p><b>John (15:24):</b> Domain. Now, I'm guessing most certainly the bigger name ESPs active campaign certainly has this. I mean, I know when I set up my account, part of the setup was actually setting up these DNS records, and I suspect most people, most of their bulk email is being sent from somebody like an active campaign. Is that you want to talk about a little bit about how you all view that's part of the onboarding, right? As far as you're concerned?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (15:50):</b> That's correct. We try to work very closely during the onboarding process to ensure that we help you get your accounts set up correctly. We help you check your SPF Your DKIM DMARC policies for you. And so it's critically important that we do this so that you can get started right away. We commonly have in the industry what we call a custom mail server domain, and the custom mail server domain allows you to brand your mail server that is sending the mail on from our platform or any other platform. So you might see an email come into your inbox that says, from John via sent by or sent via, and then some unique name. That doesn't make any sense. And that's where the SPF is checked on your DMARC policy. It's looking at that mail server's name and what that SPF record looks like. So many of the platforms like ours, we actually do this for you. We provide the SPF by default for that weird looking mail server name. That's our name, our domain. We do have the ability to help a customer set up a custom mail server domain and rebrand it. So then now your domain and your subdomains all line up. And so when that SPF check is done through the DMARC policy, it will see, oh, okay, your SPF is there for your subdomain of your mail server that you're using.</p>
<p><b>John (17:18):</b> Yeah.</p>
<p><b>Beckham (17:19):</b> And I know sub domains and domains can get a little confusing too. So</p>
<p><b>John (17:24):</b> Yeah, we'll stick to just domains right. Now, the one other thing that's not a DNS record, but I am understanding it to be highly recommended by at least Google, and that is to have unsubscribe in your header. A lot of for years, people would bury it down at the very bottom, maybe make it even hard to find. It's kind of goofy because then people just hit spam. But talk a little bit about that. I'm not even calling it a requirement. I think they're just suggesting it as a deliverability element and maybe how you guys address that.</p>
<p><b>Beckham (17:56):</b> Yes, sir. So what they're referring to is one click unsubscribe and it has to be part of your header. We've had that as part of our platform for years, that it is part of making sure your emails are RFC compliant. And so we want to make sure that everyone understands that it's usually already built in, and usually your provider that you're using can tell you pretty easily, yes, we already do it for you, or no, here's how you need to enable it. This is a requirement. It's buried into the other parts of the documents, but they're not calling it out per se other than you just have to make sure you're RFC compliant. And this is</p>
<p><b>John (18:39):</b> Part of that. So when we talk about it in the header, I mean it is still visible, but it's really, we've all probably seen those where you've wanted unsubscribe to something. It was right there almost in the subject line. And so that's what we're really talking about and it's really, I still get emails from people that don't have an unsubscribe anywhere, which is just amazing. I mean, those people will probably get swatted down pretty quickly, won't they?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (19:03):</b> So it's a good call out right there. So if you're doing transactional messaging where you asked for a mail be sent to you like password reset kind of thing, then those emails don't have to actually have an unsubscribe in it. It's actually not required. So there are some types of emails you can send that will not be looked at or won't be scrutinized in that manner, but it is still a good practice to put 'em in every communication you send out just to make it so people don't say, this is spam. That's the worst thing we want. We don't want</p>
<p><b>John (19:37):</b> That to happen. Yeah, absolutely.</p>
<p><b>Beckham (19:40):</b> Yeah. We make it easy as possible. And some with the unsubscribed, there are some customers and users that would like to have a preference center where you can choose which list you want unsubscribe from that is not filling, fulfilling that requirement. In other words, you can still do it, but you have to have that one click unsubscribed so that you have it at the top</p>
<p><b>John (20:03):</b> Of email and that unsubscribes from any list, right? Yes. Okay. So let's end this by scaring people. What happens if I just go, ah, that seems really hard. I'm not going to do it. What's going to happen to, let's say by summer if you just ignore this?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (20:20):</b> So if you ignore it, you are most likely going to start seeing most, if not all of your emails bounce and not be delivered. If you have your DMARC record in place, by chance, you're going to start getting flooded with a lot of failures, but the bounce messages will be very clear that come back to your provider. They can see, we can look at the syn logs and see the messaging and say, yep, you are bouncing because you don't have DKIM and plot implemented. You don't have SPF implemented. You haven't done anything. So you're going to see a major impact, especially Google and Yahoo. But we also know other mailbox writers are going to follow this example.</p>
<p><b>John (21:03):</b> Well, and I suspect you started having 50% bounce rates, your ESPs or somebody's going to start blacklisting your domain period, right?</p>
<p><b>Beckham (21:12):</b> That's right. And active campaign, we actually have automated systems in place, so we monitor that across all accounts. And if an account hits a certain threshold on their bounce rates for a particular campaign, we actually have a compliance team that will reach out proactively and say, Hey, by the way, we've observed your bounce rate went a little higher than we were expecting. Let's have a chat and figure out what's going on and see how we can help you recover from that. Because this also has a risk of if you don't do anything damaging your domain reputation, which ultimately hinders your ability to deliver email.</p>
<p><b>John (21:50):</b> So I guess we could also do a whole nother episode on list hygiene, but I know that's not your area of expertise, but we certainly, when you talk about the bounces, I know we routinely clean those bounces out because they're going to bounce again, and so they're just going to add up. jt, I appreciate you taking a moment to share info. Obviously we didn't tell people exactly how to do this because it is a technical aspect, but hopefully we've given you enough information to go out and buy it done or to talk to your ESP or talk to your IT folks to get this done. So I appreciate you taking a few moments to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-39597885876902803512024-01-30T12:06:00.001-08:002024-01-30T12:06:02.757-08:00Strategic Fitness: Elevate Your Acumen, Allocation and Action<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/strategic-fitness-rich-howarth-3a-method/">Strategic Fitness: Elevate Your Acumen, Allocation and Action</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP4828019409&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
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<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Rich Howarth, a renowned business strategist, and CEO, known for his groundbreaking work in strategic thinking and leadership. <span style="font-weight: 400;">Rich Horwath is founder and CEO of the <a href="http://www.StrategySkills.com">Strategic Thinking Institute</a> He is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of eight books on strategic thinking, including his most recent work, <a href="https://www.strategic-book.com/">STRATEGIC: The Skill to Set Direction, Create Advantage, and Achieve Executive Excellence</a>.</span> Rich reveals his game-changing 3A Method to elevate your business acumen, resource allocation, and strategic action. Join us as we explore the intricacies of strategic fitness and how it can revolutionize your approach to business success.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>In this episode, Rich and I discuss the transformative 3A Method, emphasizing the mastery of business acumen, strategic resource allocation, and purposeful strategic action. Learn the importance of consistently evolving your business acumen, reallocate resources strategically throughout the year, and prioritize actions aligned with your strategic goals. Rich introduces the concept of the Strategic Quotient (SQ) as a tool to measure and enhance strategic thinking skills. Whether you’re a seasoned executive or an aspiring entrepreneur, these insights provide a roadmap to elevate your strategic fitness and navigate your business towards unparalleled success.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask <b>Rich Horwath</b>:</strong></h3>
<p>[00:51] What’s your definition of strategic thinking?</p>
<p>[01:52] Periodic or Lifetime practice, how often does a leader think strategically?</p>
<p>[03:37] How do you balance the reality of long term and short term planning?</p>
<p>[04:53] How would you differentiate between strategic thinking and strategic planning?</p>
<p>[06:31] Why use fitness as a metaphor when describing strategic thinking?</p>
<p>[07:34] What are the 4 fitness arenas of strategic thinking?</p>
<p>[10:38] What areas would you suggest strategic thinkers focus on?</p>
<p>[12:23] What are some practical examples of organizational fitness?</p>
<p>[15:19] What are some practical examples of communication fitness?</p>
<p>[17:19] How do you begin consulting a beginner in strategic thinking?</p>
<p>[20:40] Where can people connect with you and obtain a copy of your book?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iLon-BO3D-A?si=NbCRg4N9YqJf2maP" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About <b>Rich Horwath</b></strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Rich on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/richhorwath/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit The <a href="http://www.StrategySkills.com">Strategic Thinking Institute</a></li>
<li>Get a copy of <a href="https://www.strategic-book.com/">Strategic</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by ActiveCampaign</p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Rich Howarth. He's the founder and CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, where he is a strategy facilitator, speaker, advisor, and coach to executive leadership teams. He's a New York Times and Wall Street Journal, bestselling author of eight books on strategic thinking, including the most recent work we're going to talk a little bit about today, strategic, the skill to set direction, create advantage, and achieve executive excellence. So Rich, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>Rich (00:42):</b> John, great to be with you. Thanks so much for having me.</p>
<p><b>John (00:46):</b> So I'm just going to start with this because if I ask 10 people, I'll get 10 different answers. What's your definition of strategy or strategic thinking?</p>
<p><b>Rich (00:55):</b> Yeah, so strategy for me is the intelligent allocation of resources through unique system of activity to achieve a goal. So simply put, strategy is how you plan to achieve your goal. And as I've read your books in the past, going back to Duct Tape Marketing, you talk about strategy before tactics, and I love in there you always talked about the how, not the what. And I think I'm a big believer in that as well. I think too often, as you talk about in your books, and I share a little bit as well in my books, we sometimes see people mistaking their mission, their vision, their goals, their objectives for strategy, trying to be number one in the market, trying to be the premier provider of X, and instead we really need about think about how are we going to get there. That's really the strategy. So again, I've appreciated all the insights you've shared over the years on this. I think it's really helped a lot of us in the field.</p>
<p><b>John (01:46):</b> Well, I appreciate that. So let's get into a few more kind of logistic aspects. Is this something that you do once a year, once every three years? I mean, is there a rhythm? Does it never end? I'd love to hear your thoughts on kind of the how often question.</p>
<p><b>Rich (02:03):</b> Yeah, John, and you hit it on the head initially. You talked about strategy and strategic thinking. So to me, strategy is something that you set and really, if you've done your thinking, it should be something that stays in place for a long period of time. Where I think a lot of people could use a jumpstart is the strategic thinking part. So just because we have our strategic direction doesn't mean that we want to take our eyes off the road. And I know in one of your last books you talk about the importance. You've got a great five step process, map, and uncover are two of the first steps in your process. And I think those are great starting points. When we think about strategy, when we think about mapping, as you talk about, you've got to understand what's my situation around me. And I think too often we get our head buried in the internal stuff or we're so reactive to fire drills with customers that we fail to remember what is the long-term strategy that we've got in place. And so strategic thinking for me is really our ability to generate new insights or new learnings on a regular basis that help us keep and achieve that competitive advantage. So I think it's a great point that you bring up to me strategy, something that we set, but strategic thinking is something we should be doing day in and day out. We need to stay hungry on how we're going to get better and learn.</p>
<p><b>John (03:23):</b> It is funny, there are some models out there that talk about strategic planning. I think there's one very popular one that talks about what's 10 years from now look like. I've had a lot of small business owners, they don't know what next quarter looks like. How do you balance long-term and reality of short-term? Right,</p>
<p><b>Rich (03:42):</b> Right. Yeah, it's interesting you bring up, there was just a study by pwc, they surveyed 4,700 CEOs and it was interesting, 45%. So nearly half of the CEOs said that they did not think they would be in business in 10 years unless they significantly evolved the way that they do business. So one of the things that we've got to be thinking about is how are we evolving in, what I like to think is the business model, but it's really simple. It's how do we create value, how do we deliver value and how do we capture value? So what I like to do is really create that strategy tuneup. So just like we get our car tuned up on a regular basis, what I recommend is quarterly get together with your team, take a couple hours, maybe it's over lunch and go through just some of the basic fundamentals of the business. Have the customers thinking and actions changed? Has the competitive landscape changed at all? What's going on within our company? What's working, what's not? That takes a couple hours, but that's a great way to tune up the strategy, to understand should we be doing things differently, especially when it comes to creating and delivering value to our customers.</p>
<p><b>John (04:55):</b> And I guess that's probably as good a description of strategic thinking as opposed to strategic planning. You might have a strategic plan, but the strategic thinking is something, it's the flexibility, it's the adaptability, it's the need to have to evolve and mature, isn't it?</p>
<p><b>Rich (05:12):</b> Yeah. I love the words you used there, flexibility, adaptability, that's something too. It's that catch 22, as we get older, as we get more experience, we tend to lose that adaptability and that flexibility. And so one of the things I recommend to people is get some perspective outside of your industry. So read a journal in architecture or science or technology if you're not in those fields, and think about how are those people assessing their problems, their challenges. I'm a big believer too in studying nature, this whole idea of biomimicry, how can we take the challenges that we face? So getting more customers, creating a better sales funnel, closing more leads. When we think about nature, how has nature accomplish some of those things? How does nature, how does a species, how does a duck go from the winter to the summer? What do they do? Do they drop feathers, do they get faster? All of those things can teach us if we take the time to step back and think about how other people are doing some things as well. So I think that's a big thing. Like you said, adaptability and versatility are really important, but we need to remember as we gain more experience, we have to continue to push ourselves out of that comfort zone.</p>
<p><b>John (06:26):</b> You use the fitness metaphor quite a bit. I want to talk about the way you've broken the book up a little bit. Is there any particular reason why the fitness metaphor works in strategic thinking in your mind?</p>
<p><b>Rich (06:38):</b> Well, one of the reasons is, again, we think about CEOs and you work a lot of CEOs. I work with some as well. What's interesting is the average CEO exercises for 45 minutes a day, which I found was pretty impressive. I mean, that's a good chunk of time each day to be exercising. But what we find is that when it comes to practicing or building our business fitness, and you've seen this, John, I'm sure in your world, people, we don't tend to practice. We tend to play all the time. So you've got football playoffs or baseball playoffs, they're practicing 90% of the time and they're in competition 10% of the time. But in business, we're on that activity treadmill all the time. And what I've found is the best leaders, they jump off that treadmill, they take their team with them and they think about how are some ways that we can get better? And they devote some time to training, to development, to a lot of the things that you've talked about and you've helped people with over the years as well.</p>
<p><b>John (07:34):</b> Taking that a step further, you've actually broken up into four arenas. And so maybe I'll let you walk us through those. Obviously picking up a copy of strategic is how you're going to get the full compliment, but walk us through those four fitness arenas.</p>
<p><b>Rich (07:50):</b> Sure, John, and the reason I came up with these four areas, and I use a compass to represent the four areas, is I've looked at my coaching notes over the years. The one word that popped up again and again was the word navigate. A lot of folks that I was talking to said, we're having trouble navigating our competition, we're having trouble navigating these new market changes. And so I tried to come up with this compass based on the folks that I was working with in the four areas of strategy, leadership, organization, and communication. Because the reality is, even though strategies, my passion, if we're just good at strategy, we're going to be a failure. Long-term, we've got to be good at communicating, executing, we got to be great at marketing, we got to be great at sales. So there's so many things to be a well-rounded, strong leader. So I created those four areas to help people almost create a checklist to say, as a leader, am I checking off these areas? Do I have a strategy in place? Am I building leadership capabilities for myself and my team? Do we have a good culture? What's my emotional intelligence? Do we have our value chain figured out? So all of those things are important, so I try to simplify it, give people a checklist so that they can kind of walk through that.</p>
<p><b>John (09:03):</b> It's my pleasure to welcome a new sponsor to the podcast. Our friends at ActiveCampaign. ActiveCampaign helps small teams power big businesses with a must have platform for intelligent marketing automation. We've been using ActiveCampaign for years here at Duct Tape Marketing to power our subscription forms, email newsletters and sales funnel drip campaigns. ActiveCampaign is that rare platform that's affordable, easy to use, and capable of handling even the most complex marketing automation needs. And they make it easy to switch. They provide every new customer with one-on-one personal training and free migrations from your current marketing automation or email marketing provider. You can try Active Campaign for free for 14 days and there's no credit card required. Just visit activecampaign.com/ducttape. That's right. Duct Tape Marketing podcast listeners who sign up via that link will also receive 15% off an annual plan if purchased by March 31st, 2024. That's activecampaign.com/ducttape.</p>
<p><b>(10:08):</b> Now, this offer is limited to new active campaign customers only. So what are you waiting for? Fuel your growth, boost revenue and save precious time by upgrading to active campaign today. So maybe without, again, I know there are a lot of elements in here that rather than just reading a list, but give us a sense of, so you mentioned strategy, leadership, organization and communication. What are some of the elements in each of those buckets? So beginning with strategy, fitness, what are the areas that we would focus on if we were going to maybe make an assessment in that area?</p>
<p><b>Rich (10:43):</b> So yeah, let's think about strategy. The one thing that comes to mind, especially when we think about marketing and sales as well, is this idea of resource allocation. So we all know we've got resources, we've got time, we've got budget, we've got people, we need to move those around. What's interesting though, John, is the research shows that 92% of companies allocate their resources once a year when they do their plan. But the best companies, the research shows they reallocate resources, time people, budget programs, projects throughout the year. So that's one key element that I talk a little bit about in the book is just this idea that look, we need on a monthly basis to think about where are we spending our time, our money, and our programs, and how can we change that so that we're putting more fuel on the things that are working and less fuel on the things that are not working.</p>
<p><b>(11:34):</b> And then the other piece on strategy I would mention is I talk about competitive advantage. And again, kudos to you from Duct Tape Marketing. You talk a lot about being different and the importance of differentiation, and I've done some research on that following in your footsteps as well. And again, even going back to science, this idea of the principle of competitive exclusion, meaning no two species can coexist that make their living the identical way. So you think about two male lions in the same area in Africa, after a while, one of the male lions isn't going to be there because trying to do the same thing in the same way. So one of the things we talk about in the book is this really importance of idea of differentiation, which obviously not a new idea, you've talked about it 10, 15 years ago, but it is still something that we need to remind ourselves of, how are we different in ways that customers value?</p>
<p><b>John (12:22):</b> Awesome. So in leadership, fitness, what are some practical examples of ways somebody might, I mean you talk about mental training and emotional quotient and time management even. What are some practical ways that we can be looking into that bucket,</p>
<p><b>Rich (12:39):</b> Especially for the small to midsize business leader? One of the things to think about is your time allocation. And obviously there's lots of stuff on time management, but when you look at the best CEOs that have run multiple companies at the same time, people like Elon Musk with SpaceX and Tesla, Jack Dorsey who runs Twitter and Square, one of the things they're really big on is batching their time. So they'll pick a couple things and they'll work on those things for 2, 3, 4, 5 hours out of the day. And I know what people are saying, geez, rich, I've got a million things to handle. But the most effective leaders say, look, if I've got to do one-on-one meetings with my team, I'm not going to spread 'em out over the week. I'm going to do those all on Monday morning from eight to 11. Because what that does, John, is it reduces the number of mental transitions that we have to make. And what the research shows is that the mental transitions jumping from one topic to the next, that's the thing that burns people out that causes the fatigue that we feel at the end of the day. So if you can say, Hey, I'm going to do email five times a day in these 15 minute chunks, I'm going to do my performance reviews here, that's going to simplify your life a lot. So that just that idea of batching our time can be helpful.</p>
<p><b>John (13:54):</b> Alright, organizational fitness, I'm guessing culture goes squarely into that, developing your people, processes, talent planning for what's next, innovating. So give us some practical examples of what we might focus on in organizational fitness.</p>
<p><b>Rich (14:12):</b> Yeah, you're right on the money, John culture is a big one. And the thing I think we miss a lot of times is we will take the time to do our values, we'll do our mission statement, our vision statement, but what we really need to be aware of as a small to mid-size business leader is what are the three or four behaviors that you're seeing the most from your team? Either things that are productive or not productive. Because at the end of the day, behaviors are, so if you want a better culture, you've got to pick out two or three behaviors that you as a leadership team really believe in are going to best serve your customers. And then you've got to find ways to build those behaviors within your team. Let's say customer centricity, that's a popular one. It's all about the customer. Okay, well we can say that on paper, but what does that behavior look like? That might mean we're going to answer a phone call, we're going to return a phone call within one hour. We're going to return an email within three hours and we're going to return a text message within four hours, whatever it might be. But putting some specific parameters around what do those behaviors look like?</p>
<p><b>John (15:20):</b> Alright. And then the last one, communication fitness. So I'll let you kind of pick out a practical example there.</p>
<p><b>Rich (15:26):</b> Yeah. So communication, fitness, it's funny, I never used to talk about meetings at all, but ever since we've come out of the hybrid and the remote work the last few years, people still have meetings stacked one upon the other. And so one of the things I found is just taking a strategic approach to our meetings. And what we mean by that is when you have a meeting, there should be three things in mind. Number one, what's the intent? So what's the purpose of this meeting that should be shared with people two days, three days before? And I recommend giving one or two key questions that you want people to think about so that when you get together, it's a true dialogue. It's not a monologue. Too often I sit in on meetings and one person's talking for 30 or 40 minutes, that's not a meeting, that's a monologue for a late night talk show.</p>
<p><b>(16:13):</b> So we need to make sure that we're really creating that interactive dialogue and meetings. And then the other big part is having insights. So when we finish up the meeting, you got to ask yourself, what was my takeaway? What did I learn from that meeting? And if we're not walking away from meetings with learnings, then we're wasting our time. We've got to either change that meeting or get rid of the meeting. So I'm a big believer as a leader out there, create a meeting inventory. So take an inventory of all the meetings you have on your calendar and for one week score those meetings on their value. Zero is no value, three is high value. And at the end of the week, total those up. If you've got meetings that are around a zero or one average, get rid of those.</p>
<p><b>John (16:58):</b> Yeah, that's an interesting point because I think there are people that have gotten into this meeting rhythm where they're just like, no, it's Tuesday at noon. We do this meeting every week. And it's gotten to the point where it's of no value to anyone attending fact mag might actually be negative, but the idea of just canceling and I think really kind of freaks people out, doesn't it? Alright, so in your work, your coaching work, if somebody said, gosh, I'm listening to this, and there's some stuff making sense here, but there's also a lot that we've just hit the surface of when somebody says, can you come in and talk to us, rich, do you have a process that you walk everybody through on where do you start?</p>
<p><b>Rich (17:42):</b> Yeah, so the one thing I'd recommend is to keep it simple, and you made a great point earlier about the difference between strategy and strategic thinking. So when we're trying to create strategic thinkers in the organization at all levels, I would keep it simple like three a's acumen, allocation and action. So that's where I would start. As acumen always be asking yourself, what's the new value in this situation? So if you're talking with a customer, if you're having a staff meeting, what's the new value here that you can either create or deliver or capture? So always be thinking about what's the new value here? The reason a lot of businesses wind up failing in the long run is because they started with a good strategy, but then everybody else started to catch up and they didn't create any more new value. So why don't we think about that new value?</p>
<p><b>(18:31):</b> And then the second a allocation, I'm a big believer, and I know you've talked about this in the past, John, this idea of the not to-do list. What are you not going to do? Who are you not going to service? Who are you not going to focus on? Too many of us are trying to serve everybody and we're minimizing the real value we can bring to that select few that are going to find the most mutual value. So big believer, we got to be really selective in who we're focusing on, where we're focusing to be as valuable as possible. And the third A is action. We just got to think about what are we prioritizing today? If we've got a list of 17 priorities, we've got nothing prioritized. So just really thinking about what's my priority, the one or two things, and then am I matching my time spend to those priorities? If you look at the end of the day and a good exercise for folks to do, track your time for one week in 30 minute increments, add it up at the end of the week, graph it out, and then look at that graph and see if that matches up with your priorities. Too often I'm seeing people say, 50% of my time is spent on stuff. That's not really my priority. So take the time to assess your time where you're spending it, and that will really help I think with priorities.</p>
<p><b>John (19:46):</b> Now you have, and I can't remember if it's in the book or if I just saw it on your website, you have an assessment, people can go through and measure some of where they are on some of these things.</p>
<p><b>Rich (19:56):</b> Yeah, absolutely. So the strategic quotient, we've all heard of IQ forever, measuring intelligence, eq, emotional intelligence. So what I've tried to create this strategic quotient SQ really measures how people think, plan and act strategically. So it's an assessment of your behaviors and your mindset, and it's a good starting point for people to say, yeah, I'm doing a pretty good job here, but maybe I could be doing a little bit differently there. So it really matches up too with those three a's acumen allocation action that we've talked about. So again, just a simple way takes about five to seven minutes, but can start to shed some light on areas that you as a leader might want to spend a little bit more time on as you develop.</p>
<p><b>John (20:37):</b> Awesome. Well, rich, I appreciate you stopping by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Is there someplace you'd invite people to connect with you, find out more about your work, and obviously about your books?</p>
<p><b>Rich (20:45):</b> Yeah, John, thanks for asking that. I appreciate it. So there are a lot of free resources, articles, white papers, videos@strategyskills.com, so strategy skills.com, lots of free resources there.</p>
<p><b>John (20:57):</b> Awesome. Well, again, I appreciate you taking a moment to stop by and share with my listeners, and hopefully we'll run into you only these days soon out there on the road.</p>
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from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/dmNzk7J<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-59484997818156993942024-01-29T04:06:00.001-08:002024-01-29T04:06:04.379-08:00Weekend Favs January 27<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/weekend-favs-january-27/">Weekend Favs January 27</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p>My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.</p>
<p>I don’t go into depth about the finds, but I encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one I took on the road.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.parma.ai/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parma</a> – Parma is a streamlined CRM tool designed for simplicity and efficiency in managing customer relationships. It’s minimalistic yet effective, helping you remember key details about your customers – who they are, their preferences, and your last interaction with them. The tool is user-friendly and aims to make CRM a seamless part of your daily workflow, ensuring you stay connected and engaged with your customers effortlessly.</li>
<li><a href="https://julius.ai/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Julius</a> – Julius.ai is an AI-powered data analysis tool that acts like a personal data analyst. It simplifies complex data analysis tasks, making it accessible even for those without a technical background. The tool is designed to help users make informed decisions by providing clear insights from their data. It’s user-friendly and efficient, aimed at enhancing productivity in data-driven decision-making.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartly.io/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smartly</a> – Smartly.io is a comprehensive advertising platform that streamlines media buying, creative automation, reporting, and optimization in one place. It’s designed for agencies and marketing teams to manage campaigns across various platforms efficiently, offering tools like automated workflows and predictive algorithms. The platform’s dynamic creative capabilities and insightful reporting dashboards empower brands to engage audiences effectively and glean actionable insights for improved performance.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are my weekend favs; I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me <a href="https://twitter.com/ducttape" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@ducttape</a></p>
<p>If you want to check out more Weekend Favs you can find them <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/blog/">here.</a></p>
<br />
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from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/7yvOwZA<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-23809601689613932092024-01-25T19:05:00.001-08:002024-01-25T19:05:32.674-08:00Future-Proofing Your Consulting Career: AI, Trust Triangles, and Colorado Pricing Strategies<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/future-proof-consulting-ai-trust-colorado-pricing/">Future-Proofing Your Consulting Career: AI, Trust Triangles, and Colorado Pricing Strategies</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/tosin/">Tosin Jerugba</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP4747041459&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-76174 size-medium alignleft" src="https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-3.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-3.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-3.png?resize=1024%2C1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-3.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-3.png?resize=768%2C768&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-3.png?resize=75%2C75&ssl=1 75w, https://i0.wp.com/ducttapemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-3.png?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></p>
<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed David A. Fields, a seasoned consultant and the Co-founder of Ascendant Consulting, specializing in assisting large corporations entering new markets. With a wealth of experience, David has transitioned from a marketing career at Glaxo Smith Klein to becoming a trusted advisor for consulting firms.</p>
<p>Our conversation delves into the future landscape of consulting, touching on the transformative role of AI, the crucial aspect of building trust, and the innovative pricing strategy known as Colorado Pricing.</p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>explored the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence on consulting, delved into the crucial role of building trust with the Trust Triangle, and uncovered the innovative Colorado Pricing strategy. From understanding the dynamic landscape reshaped by AI to gaining insights into client trust-building strategies and implementing unique pricing models, this episode provides a roadmap for future-proofing your consulting career. Join us for a deep dive into the intersection of AI, trust-building, and groundbreaking pricing models that are shaping the future of the consulting industry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Questions I ask David Fields:</strong></p>
<p>[01:37] What is it that you bring as a consultant, do you feel you have a unique point of view?</p>
<p>[03:34] What 3 things do consultants do to obtain the clients they need?</p>
<p>[05:18] Do you believe it’s hard for people getting started not to say yes to every opportunity that comes their way?</p>
<p>[07:04] How do you sell a solution to somebody who isn’t aware of the problem?</p>
<p>[08:37] Do you believe that every consultant needs a framework?</p>
<p>[09:50] Project versus Retainers, what are your thoughts on that?</p>
<p>[11:45] Explain Colorado Pricing</p>
<p>[13:00] How do you develop a high level of trust with your client, early on?</p>
<p>[14:43] How do you see AI changing the Consulting Industry?</p>
<p>[19:30] Where can people connect with you and grab a copy of your book?</p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About David Fields</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with David on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidafields/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit his <a href="https://davidafields.com/">Website</a></li>
<li>Get a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Irresistible-Consultants-Guide-Winning-Clients/dp/1683501640?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SAVGKK1T1afjdBp7aAhCsilr7lfcb5j7JGdCC3jjEyzSbsmCcPbIDnpvNB7QGsqkU9r0EzX5eKDjLDzaXL4uHw.PmdR1A7d7KL-3fJ32NsN5ulxfxLl5EeA7LVDQ96nmus&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+irresistible+consultants+guide&qid=1703701469&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=ducttape0a-20&linkId=32464f959cca362960c53f8f162f8de2&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Irresistible Consultant’s Guide to Winning Clients</span></a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is David Fields. After a nine year marketing career at Glaxo Smith Klein, David transition to consulting, becoming a partner at a boutique firm before co-founding Ascendant Consulting, specializing in helping large corporations enter new markets. He introduced a general contractor model focusing on winning engagements, ensuring quality and managing relationships while subcontracting expert work. He's also the author of a book we're going to touch on a little bit today, the Irresistible Consultants Guide to Winning Clients. So David, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>David (00:50):</b> Thank you. Wow, that intro goes way back. Of course, I haven't had sending consulting even for eight, nine years. So my firm David, A Fields'</p>
<p><b>John (00:59):</b> Group, I don't know where we got that then.</p>
<p><b>David (01:01):</b> I'm sure my group provided, or a came from somewhere, it doesn't matter. But yeah, I came out of marketing and then co-founded a firm co-founded consortium, but eight, nine years ago we transitioned almost exclusively to working with other consulting firms, with advising firms on how to grow. So we haven't had corporate clients in probably at least eight years.</p>
<p><b>John (01:22):</b> Nice. Alright, well, as we were talking about off air, we have similar models and I think similar beliefs. In fact, let me throw a really hard question at you, or maybe you've got a perfect answer for this already. If you're going to describe your point of view about consulting or what it is you bring as a consultant, do you feel like you have a unique point of view</p>
<p><b>David (01:42):</b> For our group or do I think consultants should have a unique point of view?</p>
<p><b>John (01:46):</b> I think you personally,</p>
<p><b>David (01:47):</b> Yeah, I think that's an</p>
<p><b>John (01:49):</b> Interesting question. Going to start with a hard question.</p>
<p><b>David (01:51):</b> Yeah, it's an interesting question. Do I have a unique point of view? I think I have a point of view, which is people tend to say, oh yeah, that makes sense. I don't know that it's unique as much as it's kind of a reminder of what people know deep down. So the most fundamental principle we teach is what we call right side up thinking, which means consulting is not about you. And this is the same for all professional services and probably all businesses, but I say consulting is not about you, it's about your clients, it's about your prospects, it's about them. So we call that right side up thinking and it's really easy in concept and people tend to say, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course in practice it actually proves to be quite difficult.</p>
<p><b>John (02:39):</b> It's interesting, I work with a lot of startup consultants. I mean, they're jumping out of corporate or something. They're going out and telling people, here's what I charge. And I will say that what you just touched on right there is probably one of the hardest things at first because it's all about what do I know? Do I know enough? Am I an expert? Am I worth whatever amount I'm charging? And what you're talking about is actually how you overcome that, isn't it?</p>
<p><b>David (03:03):</b> That's exactly right. That's exactly right.</p>
<p><b>John (03:06):</b> So one of the things that we teach a lot of, I'm sure you get this all the time. There are definitely people that are good at delivering consulting. They get very good at sharing their expertise, bringing third outside view to the world. They're not so great at getting clients necessarily. And part of that is they see so many bad examples of what people are doing out there and they think they have to mimic just for consultants. If you're going to say, here's the three things every consultant should do or could do and now have all the clients they need,</p>
<p><b>David (03:39):</b> Wow, you're right. People really struggle. And in part I think it's because they approach consulting. You need to sell it, and they try to be salespeople. And consulting is not sold, consulting is bought. You can't sell someone a solution, a consulting solution to a problem they don't have. So all you can do is approach people and be out there in the world in the right ways for the right people so that when they have a problem that you can solve, they're thinking, Hey, you know what? I need to call John, John can help me solve this problem. So consulting is bought. You don't sell at consulting, which is why being right side up is so important. Listening for most folks that are small that are under call it $5 million, and especially for startups, their biggest challenge tends to be that they're too broad. That they make this crazy ironic mistake of saying, well, but I need to keep my market as broad as possible so that I can win business. And it's the exact opposite. I mean, I've got all the evidence in the world, and even though it's really hard to do, you have to give up 90% of your possible audience so that you are exactly right and attractive and credible for that 10% or 1% that will then say, oh, you are the person. Your firm is the firm and up to about 25 million. You find the larger the firm, the more specialized they are.</p>
<p><b>John (05:18):</b> I think that's hard, particularly for people getting started. That's hard because it means saying no a lot, right? And nobody wants to say no to what they think could be an opportunity. And that the challenge.</p>
<p><b>David (05:28):</b> Yeah, well, you don't necessarily have to say no. You can still be opportunistic. What we tend to tell people is be narrow in your marketing and broaden your capabilities, which means especially if you need to keep the lights on, if you need cash, and at the beginning you need cash. If someone comes along and says, Hey, I'm willing to pay you 25,000 or a hundred thousand or whatever to do something, it's okay to say yes. However, in any of your marketing, in any of your discussions as you're telling people, here's what I do, you want to be very narrow resonates and narrow is memorable. Does that resonate with you</p>
<p><b>John (06:06):</b> Or Yeah, I love that too because also, yeah, no, absolutely. And one of the things I love that you said was about taking the a hundred thousand dollars because frankly that's how you develop your experience. Sometimes you go figure out something you don't know how to do and you end up deciding, Hey, we're pretty good at that. Absolutely. Or we develop an expertise to do that.</p>
<p><b>David (06:24):</b> And also it would be crazy if you decide what I'm going to do is I'm going to focus on water bottles and you get 12 requests from, I don't know, people that want you to advise 'em on how to build chairs. I'm on water bottles. It's like, dude, listen to the market. The market is telling you something. So just listen to the market.</p>
<p><b>John (06:47):</b> I want to back up a minute to something you said that you can't sell somebody who doesn't have a problem. I essentially sell strategy. Most businesses we work with don't ever wake up and say, I'm going to go buy strategy today. So how do you sell something? And I know you've written about this, how do you sell something to somebody who has the problem? They just don't know they do.</p>
<p><b>David (07:08):</b> So I don't know if you're going to like my answer to this one because what we typically tell people is don't, and we have a whole thing we call fishing where the fish are, and your prospects are either aware they have a problem or don't or they're not aware. And also, so that's one way you can think of them. Another way you can think of 'em is if they have a problem, how urgently do they want to solve it? They want to solve it now or maybe in the future or no urgency at all. And we highly recommend you target people who are aware of the problem and want to solve it now. And the reason is they're really easy to win business from trying to convince people they have a problem. That's hard work. You can do it. There are ways at it, I can tell you some ways at it, but I would much rather just go after the people who are saying, oh yeah, I want to solve this problem you're talking about. It's just easier.</p>
<p><b>John (08:01):</b> And I guess probably what ends up happening, or at least for us is they don't wake up and say, I want strategy, but they wake up and say, how come I have to compete on price all the time? How come my competitors show up in search results and I don't show up? And it's like, well, those are strategy problems. And so it's really selling. It's understanding the symptoms. Right.</p>
<p><b>David (08:22):</b> That's exactly right. That is a hundred percent right. And again, we run into this all the time. Consultants at least like to talk about themselves, these big terms, general terms, but that's not how clients are describing their symptoms.</p>
<p><b>John (08:35):</b> Yeah, absolutely. Do you believe that consultants need, I guess this is a yes or no answer or this might be a depends. Do you think they need a framework? Do you need something that's repeatable that you can take out to somebody and say, here's our framework,</p>
<p><b>David (08:51):</b> Yes, there's my yes or no answer. Yes. Would you like more behind that? Yes. For two reasons. Two reasons. One, unless you have some sort of framework repeatable approach, you have nothing scalable. So you cannot scale a hundred percent bespoke. And second, a framework, a view of the world creates credibility. It shows that you understand this problem, this challenge, and that makes you a more reliable solution. You don't need to be different, you just need to be credible. And the framework creates credibility.</p>
<p><b>John (09:29):</b> I also find that you get better at it. I mean, if you're practicing the same process or methodology, you get better at delivering results. Right,</p>
<p><b>David (09:37):</b> Exactly. Like I said,</p>
<p><b>John (09:38):</b> Three. Okay, let's throw another one out then. Projects, three reasons. No, go ahead. We have a little delay I think in our thing, so I'm stepping on you a little bit there. Yeah,</p>
<p><b>David (09:47):</b> I not sure why.</p>
<p><b>John (09:49):</b> I'll throw out another one. Projects versus retainers, tuck that one through</p>
<p><b>David (09:53):</b> Just different types of, so you're talking about different contract structures or what happens frequently is this conflating of contract structures, meaning how you get paid and work structures. And it's understandable that they get conflated because certain types of projects or work fits better with certain fee structures, project work. By and large, you want to be paid a project fee, which can be determined in front or advanced variable or fixed advisory work or ongoing work tends to be better set up as what we would call a stipend. We don't really talk about retainers. Attorneys get retainers, which is a lump of money them, and then they draw against it hourly. A much better model is what we would call a stipend, which is a periodic payment. You don't draw down against it, it's just a payment. And that keeps you available to give advice or what have you, or work on the client's issues for a month or a quarter or a year. If you can get a decade long stipend, that would be good. So matching the right contract structure with the right type of work helps. That's one that's complex enough. I would advise folks go and grab an article or look at it like my second book or even my first book to see different pricing structures.</p>
<p><b>John (11:19):</b> The one that we've fallen on for years, you and I, again, we're talking before I hit record, but is we like to deliver strategy upfront. So that's like everybody buys that product. You don't pass go without doing that if you're going to retain us. And then it's like, well, for the next year, how much could you pay us on a monthly basis and we'll check all the boxes quarter by quarter. You actually gave that a name that I had not called it. So you want to describe that in your words.</p>
<p><b>David (11:47):</b> Yeah. Well, we call that Colorado pricing, where you ask the client basically what fee would you feel comfortable paying on a periodic basis pretty much forever, at least for the next couple of years or three years? What's going to feel comfortable paying monthly or paying quarterly, paying twice a year and whatever that price is, we will figure out then how do we create value within that. And if at any point you feel like you're not getting your value, you let us know or we'll cut it off. We call that Colorado pricing.</p>
<p><b>John (12:23):</b> So one of the things that I discovered early on is to do that pricing model, you have to have a very high level of trust with a client because you're essentially saying, trust me, you'll get the results for this price. So how do you develop that level of trust, particularly early on?</p>
<p><b>David (12:42):</b> Yeah, so you develop trust. That's a big topic. There are ways to develop trust quickly. What anybody will tell you is the way you develop trust is by being trustworthy. And that means a lot of things, no question. So we talk about trust as being a trust triangle. There are three points in the trust triangle and in the middle is me. But from this client's point of view, client client is always thinking me. They're thinking, there's three questions. The client is thinking, do you have my best interests at heart? Are you thinking about me? And the client is thinking, are you going to help me? And separately, it sounds similar, but it's actually different. Are you going to hurt me? And so very quickly you need to demonstrate that you're putting their interest first. For instance, by not saying you can do things that you can't actually do by recommending, perhaps they find a different expert for certain things that shows you're putting their interest above yours.</p>
<p><b>(13:43):</b> You show that you can help them by showing your credibility, by case studies, by pointing out the value of working with you, but also really important. And this is even more important in certain cultures. When you get outside the us, you just show you're not going to cause harm. That can be a little bit harder to demonstrate, but it can come across in your emails and how you phrase things. And if you're ever in a meeting where there's your client and multiple people, you go out of your way to make sure even if someone says something dumb or wrong, that you never embarrass them, that you help everybody look good. And if you can do with those, you can focus on that trust triangle, then you can fairly quickly build the kind of trust that allows you to create these relationships where you do Colorado pricing. Of course, you can also start out and say, let's give it a three month trial.</p>
<p><b>John (14:38):</b> Yeah. I'll tell you one that I'll throw into there, and it's maybe because of who we've tend to work with over the years and my point of view about systems demonstrating that you have a process really goes a long way towards building trust.</p>
<p><b>David (14:53):</b> Yeah, I agree with that. I think that's a really</p>
<p><b>John (14:55):</b> Good point. I think a lot of people have been burned by consultants who were winging it. Let's face it.</p>
<p><b>David (15:02):</b> Yeah, I agree with you. I do think that's a really good point showing you've done it before, showing results. That's all part of the credibility. And you can help me bucket being able to say, yeah, we've got this thing all mapped out. Here's our 25 step diagnostic or 25 point diagnostic on this. Yeah, that makes a big difference.</p>
<p><b>John (15:22):</b> We've gone 15 minutes and 32 seconds into our interview, and I've not mentioned AI yet, so I'm going to do that now. How do you see it changing the industry from the consulting industry?</p>
<p><b>David (15:36):</b> Yeah, John, my point of view is anybody who prognosticate on this, anybody is setting themselves up to be wrong. We all know it's going to affect the industry and however we predict it is going to be wrong. It will have a massive impact where exactly how clients will use it and how consultants will use it. Boy, it's hard to tell. I'm seeing so many fascinating applications of ai. I mean, it's just extraordinary things I wouldn't have imagined. I will tell you, I would not like to be an entry level consultant in today's world because entry level analysis, I can interview a dozen of my clients, the end customers to get feedback, run it through AI and have one hell of an analysis in no time as opposed to paying what was a junior consultant to do that kind of thing. But where it's going to go, gosh, I don't know. Where do you think it's going to go?</p>
<p><b>John (16:38):</b> Well, again, I wasn't asked really to look futuristic as I'm with you. I mean everything will change next week, but I'm seeing immediate impact right now. And you just mentioned one of them certainly on entry level, but I think in a lot of ways what it does is I think it makes the informed consultant actually more valuable because there is a lot of misinformation, there's a lot of misuse, there's a lot of misunderstanding. And I think that somebody applying the tools appropriately is actually going to become more valuable.</p>
<p><b>David (17:10):</b> And since AI hallucinate, I think is the term right, they just make things up. Unless you're informed enough to know and be able to recognize the hallucination, AI becomes quite dangerous. And yeah, I'm not terribly concerned about AI replacing consulting. I think what's more interesting is going to be how consulting firms effectively use AI to create more value for clients. And again, I've seen some pretty wild and fascinating attempts at that already.</p>
<p><b>John (17:43):</b> Yeah, I mean, I know from our standpoint, we are expanding some of our deliverables because we can things like trend analysis and threat analysis and opportunity analysis. There are some things that can be added that I don't know if they immediately add a lot of value, but they certainly add more substance to the deliverable for</p>
<p><b>David (18:05):</b> Good, bad, and indifferent. And it's good thought starters. We have clients who are building experts for their clients who are saying, look, you have a question. What we'll do is legally we will load the top 10 books on this particular topic. We'll create a custom bot for you, and it will just tell you, if you were to ask these top 10 authors what they think, here's what they would say. And that's handy. I mean, that's an interesting piece of tech.</p>
<p><b>John (18:35):</b> Yeah, you and I have been writing online, so a lot of our content has been consumed by these learning models. So I think that we've actually been using it to repurpose some of our own original content, which I think it's actually very good at Currently. It's not good at producing original content, but it's good at consuming and understanding original content.</p>
<p><b>David (18:58):</b> Yeah, it's pretty interesting. I was a little freaked out the first time I went on the chat GPT and said, write an article on the style of David A. Fields. And because I published books and I published something like 400 odd articles, it was like, okay, and it knew who I am and it's not graded original, and it did an okay job, but it's a little freaky.</p>
<p><b>John (19:22):</b> Yeah, it is. David, again, I appreciate you stopping by and the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Talking a little bit about marketing and consulting, where might you invite people to connect with you, find out more about your work?</p>
<p><b>David (19:35):</b> They can always go to david a fields.com. So David a is in apple fields.com or check on LinkedIn. We run a 15 minute q and a every Monday, consulting best practices q and a on LinkedIn. And of course, I would encourage 'em to take a look at the book that you mentioned at the top, the Ible Consultants Guide to Winning Clients. It has done very well and well received, and I think most folks will find it quite helpful.</p>
<p><b>John (20:00):</b> Yep, absolutely. I concur. Well, again, thanks for stopping by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast and hopefully we will run into you one of these days out there on the road.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-52723517414044211512024-01-24T15:05:00.001-08:002024-01-24T15:05:31.843-08:00How To Build A Successful Online Community<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/online-community-retention-strategies/">How To Build A Successful Online Community</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/tosin/">Tosin Jerugba</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP7291152761&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-76034 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-7.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p>
<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Andrew Guttormsen the Co-founder of <a href="https://circle.so/">Circle</a>: the All-in-one community platform <span style="font-weight: 400;">for professional creators and world-class brands. Formally the VP of Growth at Teachable, Andrew has a deep background in courses, online marketing, memberships and building growth marketing teams.</span></p>
<p>Together we shed light on community mastery, onboarding excellence and how platinum communities excel in keeping members for the long haul.</p>
<p>Creating a thriving online community requires more than just a platform – it demands a strategic approach to engagement, growth, and retention. In this insightful episode, we dive into the secrets behind Oprah’s Community Platform, exploring the platinum community blueprint that keeps members invested long term.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>Discover the power of signature gatherings – the secret weapon of platinum communities, fostering a sense of connection and commitment among members. Unveil the mystery behind Oprah’s choice of a community platform with <a href="https://circle.so/">Circle</a>, exploring the unique features and strategies contributing to her community’s success. Dive into the retention strategies employed by platinum communities, emphasizing consistent new member acquisition, onboarding excellence, and delivering ongoing value.</p>
<p>Explore the significance of onboarding in creating a seamless welcome experience for new members, learning from successful communities like Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income. Uncover the commitment required to deliver on promises made to community members, aligning community goals with member expectations for sustained success and stay tuned to this episode for a deep dive into strategies that can turn your online community into a thriving, engaged, and long-lasting digital space.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask Andrew Guttormsen:</strong></h3>
<p>[01:04] Tell us a bit about your entrepreneurial journey</p>
<p>[02:33] What is the distinguishing characteristic between a community and its counterparts e.g. an email list?</p>
<p>[03:51] What is Circle?</p>
<p>[03:51] What is it like being recognized as the online community platform for Oprah daily?</p>
<p>[06:01] In the community benchmark survey, who do you survey and why?</p>
<p>[07:27] Define the Platinum community</p>
<p>[08:59] What are some of the best practices for gaining new community members?</p>
<p>[13:00] What are some of the best practices for creating offerings of value to members?</p>
<p>[14:43] How do you make onboarding a really engaging event?</p>
<p>[18:49] Explain how platinum communities succeed in maintaining retention</p>
<p>[18:49] Where can people connect with you?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zu37eiEBQSM?si=MmLfyVe-rc3E53xX" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About Andrew Guttormsen</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Andrew on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewguttormsen/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit <a href="https://circle.so/">Circle</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Work Better Now</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-76046 alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Work-Better-Now-logo.jpg" alt="" width="77" height="77" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Work-Better-Now-logo.jpg 200w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Work-Better-Now-logo-150x150.jpg 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Work-Better-Now-logo-75x75.jpg 75w" sizes="(max-width: 77px) 100vw, 77px" /></p>
<p>Visit <a href="https://www.workbetternow.com/">WorkBetterNow.com</a> mention the referral code: DTM Podcast,</p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Steve Stockman. He's a producer, writer, and director of over 200 commercials that's probably gone up since he wrote that web series films, music videos, and TV shows. He wrote, produced and directed the award-winning MGM feature film Two Weeks with Sally Field, and he's also the author of a book we're going to talk about today, how to Shoot Video. That Doesn't suck. So Steve, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>Steve (00:37):</b> Thanks for having me, John. I appreciate it.</p>
<p><b>John (00:39):</b> So you probably don't have empirical data on this, but you probably have some anecdotal data. How long will somebody watch a video? That sucks?</p>
<p><b>Steve (00:48):</b> Oh, that sucks. Three seconds. We're very attuned to good video versus bad video. If you remember the buttons on a radio, because I used to be in radio, it took a while to understand that it takes about three seconds for someone to decide they don't like what you're doing, and that's true in video as well, I think.</p>
<p><b>John (01:12):</b> So let's talk a little bit about what are some of the things that make a video hard to watch, which essentially probably fits it into the category of sucks.</p>
<p><b>Steve (01:20):</b> Well, the first thing that makes it hard to watch is, oh, let me back up philosophically. The thing that makes video hard to watch is when you don't feel comfortable that it's going to a place that you're interested in. So what I mean by that is that it's kind of like turning the pages on a book about marketing. If you're reading the first couple pages and you go, this person doesn't know what they're talking about, this is not for me. This book is badly written. I don't understand the language, the points are nonsense. You're going to stop reading that book in about three pages. And there are things that we do as people who produce videos that clue people in the same way that we have no idea what we're doing, which makes sense because until 10 years ago, nobody ever asked normal human beings to make a video.</p>
<p><b>(02:11):</b> They called people like me and said, can you come in with your crew and make a video? But now we carry around our cell phones and we are expected all day to be shooting video. And the truth is that we grew up on video from the time we were born. So we understand how it works, but we don't speak it very well. So the shorter answer is that the minute somebody shows you that they don't know anything about how to light a scene or that they're pointing the camera in a way that's unattractive, or their camera is shaking or their audio is terrible, or they cut between two things that make no sense to you, basically the minute that happens, we lose faith that you're taking us on a journey and instead go, oh, this is terrible. Is it over soon or can I go? And then we click to one of 300 billion other things that we could be watching instead of your video.</p>
<p><b>John (03:08):</b> So the book title is How to Shoot Video, which sort of implies, oh, you get out your camera and you turn it on, right, that's the shoot. But there are many component parts, right to go to make a video that is something somebody's going to watch. How do you think in terms of even preparing before the camera?</p>
<p><b>Steve (03:26):</b> Well, I think the term of preparing is surprising to some people, especially because we're used to, for home videos, we just pull out our camera and point, or we get to the Niagara Falls and we go, oh, that looks cool, and we go click and we roll for a couple seconds. But in truth, preparing is probably the biggest difference between what a professional does and what an amateur does. And so any preparation is good, but the key thing is to think about what you want to communicate to your audience, and you need to think about that not in terms of, oh, I want to promote a big sale that I'm having. You need to communicate that in terms of what's in it for the audience to watch my video. Because a video that doesn't get watched is like a tree that falls in the forest with no one around, right?</p>
<p><b>(04:19):</b> It's like nobody hears it. If you do a video that's so bad that you drive people away, you might as well not have made it. And in fact, you would've been better off not spending the time or the money or calling in the favors or whatever you were doing to cause that video to come into existence. So the first thing you need to do is think about what your audience wants from you and what they want from your video. Seriously consider how you might deliver that to them. Video does some things really well. It does motion, it takes you on a trip or it does emotion. It makes you feel or laugh or cry or whatever. So motion and emotion are big things. Marketers often get hung up on information delivery and video doesn't do pure information delivery particularly well, which is why commercials are never Hondas are on sale. Go buy them in big letters on black because if it were that easy, everyone would do it, right? Video just doesn't do information. We won't sit still for it without a story or without some emotion. And so your prep of what you're going to say to people that they'll value and how you're going to deliver it is the first most important thing for you to do.</p>
<p><b>John (05:34):</b> So in marketing copywriting specifically, there's all kinds of advice that spend 90% of your time on the headline because you've got to get people interested in reading the rest of the copy. You see a lot of videos, especially on YouTube that are essentially an ad and you've got five seconds because I can click away after five seconds. So what's the similar approach to the headline? I hear people talk about a hook. You have to get somebody really intrigued in five seconds. Do we overdo that? Does that make sense?</p>
<p><b>Steve (06:08):</b> Yes and no. First, let me completely agree with the premise. Intrigue is the most important thing that you can supply to your audience, but if you make films or television shows or commercials, you quickly realize that's true. Every single second of all two hours that you're making that is intrigue is making the audience want to know what happens next. And in the hooky kind of YouTube first five seconds world, people tend to go for something sensational in hopes of intriguing. But there again, it's not that easy. Car crashes are intriguing, but once we know it's a car crash, we drive by, right? YouTube videos are the same. Once we know you've used some schlocky, come on, then you're kind of in the neighborhood of those clickbait headlines like Elon Musk opens up about his feelings about something and you click on that once and you go, they don't know anything about Elon Musk that I don't know. And then you go look at something else, right? So trying to do a hooky opening that's based on cheating the audience or grabbing them with a car wreck, it doesn't pay off in the long run for you because trust is the most important thing you can provide to your audience. Yeah,</p>
<p><b>John (07:30):</b> They feel cheated. They feel cheated, right? Yeah,</p>
<p><b>Steve (07:32):</b> Exactly. But intrigue is saying to them, Hey, I'm going to show you something and let me show you the beginning of it, and now let me show you where this is going, and I want you to think about how it could all end up. And that's really storytelling in a true sense.</p>
<p><b>John (07:50):</b> I wouldn't ask a lot of people this, but just in the time we've spent together, I think this is going to make a lot of sense to you. What's the difference between narrative and storytelling as far as what you just described, the common movie where they start with the car crash, but that's because that's where the protagonist ended up, and now we're going to go back to how they got there and tell the story. Am I making sense there? I mean, do you bring this idea of narrative into your story?</p>
<p><b>Steve (08:18):</b> Yeah, even in commercials, story form is very important in video. So a story has a hero, a beginning, a middle, and an end, right? Right. And if you get that wrong in a commercial, then the end of the commercial is very dissing. And if you get it wrong, if you don't set up a good beginning where you have a hero who has some sort of dilemma or problem or question or is in a situation that becomes very not intriguing, in other words, we need to immediately care about a character and where they might be going. And if we do that, then we are in a story. And I would argue that all marketing video needs to be storified skillfully. So let me give you an example of what I mean. If you have a, I don't know, a guitar shop, one of a big music store where you sell guitars and other musical instruments to kids and people in your community who buy those things, and you're known for antique guitars, not antique a hundred years old, but you've got the classics, the Stratocasters, and all those things that are like the ones that the rock stars played in the olden days, and maybe you even have a few of those around the shop and you're known for that.</p>
<p><b>(09:37):</b> There's two ways that you could do a marketing video to put on your website. One way is to show, look, here's a Stratocaster, and it was once played by somebody in Chuck Berry's band and it's $1,500 and then here's another one and it's $670. And your audience would basically be gone in about that three seconds. But the other way you could do it is you could think about what your audience loves about your store and how they love the fact that you have these vintage guitars. And you could tell a story of a high school girl who comes into your store and wants to buy the same kind of double barreled guitar that Jimmy Page played on Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven. And you could show in this video how she comes into the store, tries the one that you have draws a huge crowd with her virtuoso playing, loves the guitar, plunks down her 1500 hard earned dollars, this antique guitar, and then fast forward to her debut recital at high school where she's playing with her band and killing it. That's a story about what people love about your store that is way more intriguing and gets across exactly the same message as showing a picture of a guitar with a sign. The difference is nobody's going to watch the pictures of the guitars with price tags, and everybody's going to watch the story of this amazing young woman. And so by thinking in terms of story and delivering a story to your audience, you've vastly elevated the kind of marketing video that you're doing.</p>
<p><b>John (11:19):</b> And now a word from our sponsor, work better now. Work better now provides outstanding talent from Latin America, hand matched to your business with over 40 roles across various industries, including marketing. They're a reliable partner for consistently finding the perfect fit for your business. Simply tell them what you need and they'll handle the rest hassle-free. We have two work better now, professionals on our team, a marketing assistant and a marketing coordinator, and we've been blown away by their abilities, responsiveness, and professionalism. They've really become an essential part of our growing team. And to top it off, each dedicated and full-time work better Now, professional is 2350 per month, and there are no contracts to schedule a 15 minute consultation with a work better now rep and see how they'll support your business growth goals, visit work better now.com, mention the referral code DT m podcast, and you're going to get $150 off for your first three months. That's work better now.com. And don't forget that DTM podcast code. Yeah, you take people on a journey as opposed to shoving something down their throat, I guess.</p>
<p><b>Steve (12:30):</b> Yeah, exactly. And also giving them something of value so that entertainment is of value to them, that emotion that they feel is of value to them. The chance to be with the hero of your story, this young woman and see her have a goal, have a way to get it done at your store and then succeed with it. People love that. I mean, that's what we pay to go to the movies for, that we buy our subscription to Netflix for is those kinds of stories. So if you can do a real story that your customers will be interested in, that's gold.</p>
<p><b>John (13:06):</b> So let's talk a little bit about the technical aspects. I know that we could spend all kinds of time unpacking all kinds of equipment and whatnot, but there's the camera itself, there's sound, there's lights. I mean, there's a lot of things that need to be considered, especially since a lot of my audience are amateur, so to speak. They're producing video that they need as content, let's put it that way. What are some of the most important things to consider as you consider the technical aspects?</p>
<p><b>Steve (13:32):</b> There are two super important principles of learning to shoot video better from a technical aspect. One is that your smartphone shoots better video than Alfred Hitchcock could shoot with a crew of 150 mid 20th century. So it is smarter and more adept at lighting. It does focus beautifully. It does 4K video. It looks amazing, and you can shoot a movie on it. And that's important because if you go on YouTube and you get all these tips about how to shoot video, you're going to see a whole bunch of stuff that's about three point lighting and framing and all that stuff. And that's good information, but it's not the information that you really need to create an effective video because in truth, your camera will light for you. It has algorithms in it that make it very hard to produce a picture. Not impossible, but hard.</p>
<p><b>(14:37):</b> The only thing cameras don't do particularly well is sound or cell phone cameras. And for that, if you're doing a marketing video that you expect your customers to watch, you really need to get an external microphone or two and make sure that everything sounds really great, but looks-wise, your camera will do it all. And the reason I start with that is because amateurs especially get hung up on, well, what equipment? I need equipment. It's like if you think about if you're a golfer, if didn't go out and buy the $25,000 golf clubs day one of your journey to the first lesson, what you did was you probably either rented or borrowed some clubs. And the reason you did that is because when you're a complete amateur, you don't know the difference between the $25,000 golf club and a $10 golf club. You're learning that. And so learn with what you have.</p>
<p><b>(15:36):</b> So most of us have smartphones, which are terrific if you're going to shoot your own video. Some of us have DSLR cameras that also shoot great video and maybe have better lenses. If you're a photographer, a skilled photographer, you will notice the difference between the lens of a really nice DSLR and an iPhone. But what you want to do is find a piece of equipment that's easy for you to use so that you can focus on getting the message that you want to cross and telling the story you want to tell without having to worry about how the equipment works. And as you practice and get better, you're going to realize that the $10 golf club is a piece of crap and you're really going to need to upgrade. But you'll learn that that's part of your learning process, and you'll learn what you like to shoot on. And you'll get frustrated with, the phone doesn't do this or this, and I really wish it did, so I'm going to upgrade to a prosumer black magic camera or Sony or something. But you don't need to worry about that until you're really good at video. People worry</p>
<p><b>John (16:40):</b> About, yeah, you might learn that. You might learn that you just need to hire somebody that you don't like doing it.</p>
<p><b>Steve (16:45):</b> Yes. And there's no shame in that, right? I mean, for example, I'm a director and I love video, but I don't actually shoot it. I hire people who love to shoot video to work on my crew, and they make the pictures beautiful, and I look at them and go, could you tweak that a little here? Or Could you point a little more this way? Or We missed that part of the shot. That's my job, but I don't handle the camera because it's not my thing. And the same with audio. I mean, I would never do my own audio, but I know a guy who's brilliant and can mic 27 people at once and capture everything they do perfectly, and he'll never make a mistake on the set. And he comes to all my shoots because he's great at that. So yes, I think it was one of my favorite philosophers of the 20th century. Alf, do you remember Alf, the puppet prime alien life form? Sure. Yes. Alf said, the secret to happiness in life is to figure out what you don't do and then don't do it. So I've always tried to live by that.</p>
<p><b>John (17:53):</b> So true. This is a silly question, but I have to ask it because everybody asks me, how long should a video be?</p>
<p><b>Steve (17:59):</b> Video should be long enough to tell the story you want to tell in an interesting way, not a second longer. So if you think about it, if I have very good luck and a very skilled cast and crew and a pant load of money, I can make a movie like Marvel Avengers, and it will last three hours, and you will sit there through the whole thing and enjoy all of it. If I'm a bad videographer, 30 seconds will make you want to chew your leg off like you were caught in a bear trap and run, or hobble, I guess, if you chewed your leg off. So you definitely, it's really all about the story and the skill of the storyteller, and not at all about the length of this should be. We used to think that the web wanted short videos, and sometimes it still does, but YouTube encourages its creators to do 10 or 20 minute videos on a regular basis. TV shows have always been half an hour or an hour long, or really 22 minutes and 46 minutes long with commercials. Movies have always been about two hours. They were an hour and a half maybe in the forties, and now they tend toward three, but they're in there somewhere. The question is how long is it interesting? And what real estate do you need to tell the story? Because the minute you waste the audience's time, they're gone, right?</p>
<p><b>John (19:25):</b> Yeah. When we were starting off air, you told me you have a video course that actually accompanies the book or that has supplemented the book. You want to tell us a little bit about that?</p>
<p><b>Steve (19:34):</b> Yeah. I wrote the book 10 years ago and it's been updated since. So the current version is very current and how to shoot video that doesn't suck, doesn't really talk about equipment. It talks about this communication, how to take your audience on a journey, how to think about communicating to them with video. And over the years, people have written me and said, why isn't this a video course? Which I always thought was kind of funny. I always figured it as a book. And then the audio book did really well, and none of it has much to do with pictures, but people asked for it. And so I thought about it and it sort of became an opportunity to add things that weren't in the book. So I did this video course that you can get at my website, steve stockman.com, and it's 22 lessons, 22 short lessons with exercises that cover most of the key things from the book and then a bunch of other things.</p>
<p><b>(20:28):</b> There's a whole separate section on marketing video and how to do something that your customers are going to love to watch and that will help them understand more about you and make them feel good about working with you. And then there's a whole bunch of other stuff, and you get the exercises, and I demo the exercises. And so different people like to learn different ways. If you like reading books, the book is there, and if you would rather have somebody show you for a couple hours how it's done that you can break up into little bits and do on your own, the course is there as well.</p>
<p><b>John (21:03):</b> Awesome. Well, Steve, I appreciate you stopping by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, and hopefully we'll run into you one of these days out there on the road.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-44405917853142728952024-01-23T12:05:00.001-08:002024-01-23T12:05:22.273-08:00Unlocking Your Life’s Creative Brief: A Powerful Practice for Personal Transformation<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/unlocking-life-creative-brief-transform/">Unlocking Your Life’s Creative Brief: A Powerful Practice for Personal Transformation</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/tosin/">Tosin Jerugba</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP1251042185&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with Bonnie Wan</h3>
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<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Bonnie Wan, the Head of Brand Strategy at the renowned ad agency Goodby and Silverstein. With decades of experience in brand strategy, Bonnie introduces us to her transformative practice discussed in her latest book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Brief-Playbook-No-Regrets-Living/dp/1982195509">Life Brief Method: How to Recenter Goals and Values in Your Life for Bettering Your Workplace</a>. Dive into the conversation as we explore the essence of creative briefs and how they can be applied not only to businesses but to our personal lives for profound transformations.</p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>A practice born from personal crisis, The Life Brief Method guides individuals through life’s crossroads with clarity and intention. In this episode Bonnie emphasizes the importance of embracing the “get messy, get clear, get active” approach, advocating for small, intentional shifts over grand gestures for lasting change. Uncover the power of daily micro movements in challenging limiting beliefs that lead to meaningful transformations. Whether it’s understanding the art of small shifts or recognizing that the key to transformation lies in openness to self-discovery, Bonnie Wan provides actionable insights to unlock your life’s creative brief and embark on a journey towards intentional living.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask Bonnie Wan:</strong></h3>
<p>[00:58] Would you say the book is written for someone in transition or perhaps stuck?</p>
<p>[01:50] How has this practice transformed your life or your decision making?</p>
<p>[05:00] What is a creative brief?</p>
<p>[08:24] How has writing this book on creative briefs helped you become a better strategist?</p>
<p>[07:56] Would you say that in some ways the first step in getting unstuck in business is understanding what limiting beliefs are?</p>
<p>[13:11] Explain what the three stages of creating a life brief?</p>
<p>[15:43] As a practice is do you create a life brief solo or would need some help?</p>
<p>[16:50] Is there a tendency for people to make big decisions in order to make change in their lives as opposed to micro-movements?</p>
<p>[19:13] Is there a particular time in life to begin this practice?</p>
<p>[20:30] Where can people connect with you and pick up a copy of The Life Brief?</p>
<div>
<h3><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kgSeDQL47VM?si=LxfTynOAlBjB58a4" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></h3>
<h3><strong>More About</strong> <strong>Bonnie Wan</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Bonnie on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonniewan/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Connect with Bonnie on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bonniewanofficial/">Instagram</a></li>
<li>Visit her <a href="https://thelifebrief.com/">Website</a></li>
<li>Get a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Brief-Playbook-No-Regrets-Living/dp/1982195509">The Life Brief</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Bonnie Wan. As the head of brand strategy for the storied ad agency, Goodby and Silverstein, Bonnie Wan has helped the world's most iconic brands align with their essential virtues using a tool called a creative brief. So when she found herself on the precipice of her own deep dissatisfaction and doubt, she turned the same tool inward. And we're going to talk about that because she talks about it in her book Life Brief Method, how to Recenter goals and values in your life for bettering Your Workplace. So Bonnie, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (00:48):</b> Thank you for having me, John. It's an honor to be here.</p>
<p><b>John (00:52):</b> Well, so let's start with you talk about the book being kind of a tool for people navigating life's crossroads. So would you say that's who this book is really written for? Somebody who feels in transition or maybe stuck?</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (01:05):</b> I think that's the reason some people will want to come into it because when we feel stuck, we suddenly are grasping and opening our minds and hearts to new approaches. But at the end of the day, I think the book can be useful for anyone across all the various parts of their lives. And in the 14 years I've been doing this, I've met people using this practice across everything they've written briefs for everything from parenting to relationships to their careers and their side hustles.</p>
<p><b>John (01:40):</b> Awesome. Well, we'll talk about some of those examples, but first I guess I want to hear a little bit of your story. I mean, I said in the bio in your intro that some of this came out of your own searching. So I'd love to hear a little bit about how this practice has maybe transformed your life or at least your process of decision-making.</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (01:59):</b> Yeah, so it originated in a moment of personal crisis for me, a crisis of meaning in my marriage. Back in 2010, I'd already been doing brand strategy for decades, so I was very practiced in it for business, helping companies get really clear about the essence, who they are, what they believe, and what they want so that they could be as innovative and creative as. So when I found myself at the crossroads myself, I thought my husband was the problem. I thought my marriage was broken, and the same stories were swirling in my head. And again, at the lowest darkest point it was either I was going to move ahead and fracture this thing we had created or I was going to try something new. And in that moment, a reflex popped up, which was my strategy reflex. I recognized the confusion I was facing and the urgency and need for change.</p>
<p><b>(03:06):</b> So instead of operating as someone who was troubled in their marriage, I put on my strategist hat and I dropped into what is at the essence of what's going on here. And I started writing because as a strategist, I like to say my job is to find meaning in messiness. I look at a company, the problems are in how their category is changing. I help them find the way through by dropping into what's essential, not all the noise. So that's what I did right there in my childhood bedroom, I dropped in through writing to, the essential question for me is, what do I want? Not what does my marriage need? What do my children expect? Not what my parents want for me, but what do I want? At the end of the day, and after a couple of hours of writing, I stepped back and I looked at what had come out onto the page, and what I realized was my first big aha, which is, oh, my problem isn't my husband, my problem is my relationship with time.</p>
<p><b>(04:17):</b> Because everything I had written about was wanting more time to be with him, not fighting, negotiating, debating more time with my children, more presence and facelessness for myself. And once I was able to see that, and I could only see that because I had the distance of writing it was on a page and I could be in relationship with it, only then did I get that aha that took me into a different direction in terms of calling forth what my solutions could be for the real problem at hand, which is where I was aiming my attention, how I was prioritizing my time.</p>
<p><b>John (05:00):</b> I want to dive more into that, but I feel like I've gotten a little ahead of myself. I know what a creative brief is, but maybe listeners, that analogy that really underpins the entire book, maybe we ought to back up a little bit and explain what that is and how you use that as an analogy from your professional work.</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (05:18):</b> So the name kind of says it all right. It's a brief meaning a distillation of creativity. So it's a creative briefs are a sharp and sticky distillation of what a brand stands for, what a company stands for, and where their ambition is. And that brief is a single-minded single page document that culminates in a single idea about where we're going and aligns everybody on a team to get onto that singular strategy. And that is usually expressed in a way that is explosive creatively, meaning once you read it, boom, you have so many ideas. And that's what creative briefs do. Not only do they distill to the essence, but they expand your sense of possibility. A life brief does the same for people. It's a clear and concise declaration of what you want expressed in a way that just tattoos onto your mind and into your heart so that every decision, choice, action you take starts and emanates from that place.</p>
<p><b>(06:37):</b> So for instance, my marriage brief actually was handed to me from my husband. It was the second time that life briefing saved our marriage. It's called Mad Love. And now the brief itself has five sharp declarative statements about what our partnership means to us. But it's summarized in that phrase mad love because he asked me the question in the middle of a really everyday fight, are you still madly in love with me? And I was completely taken aback that was not what I was expecting to come out of his mouth, but once it came out of his mouth, an answer came up in my throat. And luckily I didn't let it out in that moment because it was no, I am not madly in love with you. But it did stir stirred with me for weeks when I then had to unpack for myself first and foremost, because the life brief is a private practice of permission.</p>
<p><b>(07:38):</b> I had to sit nakedly honest and think about do I want mad love? And that was hell, yes, I'm too young to not experience mad love ever again in my life. And then the harder question, do I want mad love with my husband? After 17 years of marriage, four kids, three moves, four moves maybe at that time. And eventually it got to the answer, yes, I do want mad love. And from there, once I declared it for myself, this is the private practice, it's not for anybody else, but once I got to the exclamation point declaration of Yes, I am ready to be madly in love with my husband again, my action showed up automatically differently the next day.</p>
<p><b>John (08:24):</b> This is probably not, well, maybe you've had this question, but as I go through the parts of this, I feel like this book is actually a really great primer on how to create a creative brief as well. Have you ever gone backwards instead of just you, your experience created the analogy, but now it's like this is maybe the best book on a creative brief I've ever seen.</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (08:48):</b> Thank you for saying that. It's funny, writing the book made me a better strategy for sure, because my editor's mantra to me was, so much of this is intuitive. Your job is to walk the blind horse down the mountain to water through your words. So I had to really translate everything that was so intuitive to three decades of doing this work and spell it out for somebody in some state in some suburb or rural farm who had never even heard about creativity, creative briefs, advertising, et cetera. So I really had to explain to a listen. And so it made me a better strategist. And then I just had one of my industry heroes read it and he said, what's in here is a really great strategy book. So I honored, I felt honored that it has dual purposes.</p>
<p><b>John (09:48):</b> Alright, so staying on that track a little bit, but I've done for 30 years myself, marketing strategy for small mid-size businesses. And one of the things that I struggle with the most, or I have to get people over is that in business in life, we are hobbled by a lot of limiting beliefs. And a lot of times people won't do the bold thing in their business that the creative brief obviously screams to because they believe something that's true or not true. So in life, that's really the first step, isn't it? I mean, what are some ways that a lot of times these limiting beliefs are very powerful or have a very powerful hold on people? So would you say that in some ways is the first step is understanding what these limiting beliefs are and the hold that they have?</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (10:32):</b> Yes. The writing practice that this invites helps call forward those limiting stories or beliefs, and I hear them all the time in my workshops applied to personal lives and often they're adopted or inherited from as young as childhood. I had a woman at a retreat say to me the first day of the retreat, my parents told me never to ask for what I want. It will always lead to disappointment, but it's so great as you said, to be aware, oh wait, that's not my story. At least it's not built from my own experience of life. But that was something I was told and well-intentioned by people who love me and want to keep me safe, but now that I've created awareness around it and I can see it in writing now, let's play with it like clay. What if it wasn't true? What would I replace that story with?</p>
<p><b>(11:33):</b> What evidence do I have that belief is true? What evidence do I have in my own experience of life or business that demonstrate the opposite of this belief is true. The other limiting belief that I think we all share culturally is that there are only ever two choices in life or business, yes or no stay or go this or that. Whereas growing up you and I in creative industries, marketing is a creative space in the world of business because you have to look beyond what is today and imagine what could be. And being in that creative space, having spent so many years in it, I see such a range of possibility beyond yes or no, stay or go, but we have to train ourselves. And that's why I call it a practice. We have to practice imagining some really bold and brave what ifs. And only when we expand our minds that way can we start to pursue new sets of realities for our businesses and our lives.</p>
<p><b>John (12:48):</b> I'm glad you mentioned the word practice because that's where I think you diverge from. The idea of a creative brief is a lot of times for a creative brief, it's more of a plan that we're going to act on or we're going to create goals around, whereas you call this a practice, and I think that's where it really, I think it really diverges from the analogy a bit. What we probably ought to do is dive into what the practice or the approach looks like. You talk, there's the three stages that you go through. So maybe start unpacking that a little bit.</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (13:19):</b> Yeah, I'll step back for a minute and just say, creative briefs are not quite plans, but they help us get to plans and actions. I see creative briefs as springboards because they don't tell you the ideas nor how to execute on those ideas, but they do tell you a very sharp and potent starting place to think about how to solve business problem or a brand problem. And it is the starting point from which everyone, creatives, then producers, then makers, they all leap from that place. So it's not exactly a plan, but it is the spark and catalyst for us to get to great ideas. And then the plans for those ideas. When I talk about practice, it is the practice of getting messy, then getting clear, then getting active, which are the three parts of the life brief and the book and getting messy is the part that we like to skip in this really fast-paced business culture we all work in, right?</p>
<p><b>(14:28):</b> Everything's urgent, everything's a fire. But the important step is to step back and reflect and get clarity on your strategy before you invest a lot of time, energy, and money in the actions. If you don't have the clarity of where you're going to go, then you're going to have a lot of U-turns. You're going to have a lot of waste of expenditure. If you're talking about a business, right? You're going to be throwing spaghetti at the wall. So if you take a moment, it's not a long time, but just to get messy, meaning getting all the ingredients out on the table so that you can make meaning of it. So you can sort it and separate it and then get really clear on what matters and then express it in a powerful, inspiring way. Now all your actions are going to sing, they're going to be smart investments because you started from that place of clarity, and that takes practice. We still have to unwind all those years of behaviors that we have in terms of acting first and then apologizing later.</p>
<p><b>John (15:34):</b> A lot of times when we work with brands, they bring us in as a third party outside, we can see things they can't see or things that they just take for granted anymore. Right. So does this as a practice, is it hard to do yourself? I mean, do you need a coach to do this? Do you need a team of people that know you well to help get some of this out?</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (15:53):</b> Great question. Well, if you're going to do it solo, it does work solo. That's why the writing is important, because when you write things down, you create distance between you and your feelings, you and your anxiety, you and your fears. And once captured and parked in writing, you can now look at it from a lens of curiosity and distance that is less fraught. But people do love life briefing together. And so in the earliest days of this practice, people loved attending the workshops. People loved buying my first thought starter. Workbooks that the agency printed could be silver senior partners, they're so wonderful partners on this practice, but people would buy them in bundles of three or multiple bundles of three for their work team, for their girlfriend weekend as couples, as families. So I think there's some elevated sense of permission and inspiration when people life brief together.</p>
<p><b>John (16:55):</b> So particularly when we're talking about somebody in transition or stuck and they go through this, is there sometimes a tendency to want to say, I've got to do something really big. I've got to quit my job, I've got to move across the country. That's the only way to change it. When you actually talk about lasting and meaningful change comes more often from a daily flow of micro movements. And do you sometimes have to help people resist that? It might just be a slight change or a slight different way to think about, or even like we've had brands we worked with where we just changed the wording in their promise and it made all the difference.</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (17:30):</b> That's right. We often think because of the urgency of the fear or the feelings or the high stakes world of competition, right? There's no time we have to go big or go home. I found the most dramatic changes happened in a series of tiny steps, just like you said, tiny inflections and shifts that made all the difference, that created ripple effects that led you to big change. So you yourself, don't have to leap, burn the house down, quit your job, get a divorce, quit your children up for adoption, make your pet. It might feel that way. But if you have the clarity, again, you can start by the smallest singular step that is irresistible and inexcusable, and then see what unfolds from that small shift. And often no one else in your life notices that shift, but you and the internal shifts are actually the ones that are most powerful. And as soon as you shift how you show up in a meeting, how you show up with your spouse, how you show up with your kid, suddenly they might not even notice it, but they start to shift because it's this interrelational dance that happens between how we show up and the world we're in.</p>
<p><b>John (18:59):</b> So you've, over the years of doing this, you've probably worked with people in different ages, different places in their life. Do you find that people approach it differently? Do you find that it applies almost the same way regardless of where people are? Or is there a perfect time in your life to do this?</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (19:18):</b> There's no perfect age, time or way, but I find the thing that is shared for people who really get into the process are unlocked by the practice, is that they are open. They come into it and open-hearted. If you're resistant, this isn't going to work because this is a self unlocking book and practice. You have to be open. And so seekers, people who really want to be bettering themselves in their business, in their work, in their relationships, it's that openness that is shared across the demographics. So like we say in marketing, it's more important to understand the mindset and what unites your audience than what makes them different. And this is a practice that cuts across all ages, stages, and types of moments and types of people. What makes it potent is if you come in open to trying something new.</p>
<p><b>John (20:26):</b> Absolutely. Well, Bonnie, I appreciate you taking a moment to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. You want to invite people where they might connect with you, learn more about your work, and obviously pick up a copy of the life brief.</p>
<p><b>Bonnie (20:35):</b> Yes, the life brief.com is where you can find everything. The Life Brief book launches on January 16th, and it can be anywhere. You can buy a book, Amazon, bards and noble bookshop.org. Thank you John for having me.</p>
<p><b>John (20:52):</b> Awesome. Well, again, I appreciate you stopping by and hopefully we'll run into you one of these days out there on the road.</p>
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</div>
<br />
<br />
from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/PYskD6H<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-78595164171720893032024-01-23T09:05:00.001-08:002024-01-23T09:05:47.743-08:00Weekend Favs January 20<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/weekend-favs-january-20/">Weekend Favs January 20</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p>My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.</p>
<p>I don’t go into depth about the finds, but I encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one I took on the road.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.photoroom.com/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PhotoRoom</a> – AI-powered photo editing tools can be a game-changer for small business owners. By easily removing backgrounds, creating professional product images, and retouching photos with a swipe, PhotoRoom simplifies the process of creating high-quality visuals.</li>
<li><a href="https://designs.ai/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Designs.ai</a> – Designs.ai offers an array of AI-powered tools that can streamline the way small business owners handle their creative needs. From generating brand logos to creating engaging videos and writing SEO-friendly content, it simplifies complex design tasks.</li>
<li><a href="https://mountain.com/nextgen/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MNTN Next Gen</a> – MNTN’s Next Gen Performance TV platform is a robust solution for small business owners seeking to amplify their advertising impact. By leveraging advancements in TV advertising technology, businesses can achieve lower cost per acquisitions and significantly more site traffic. The platform’s intuitive design, powerful audience targeting, and seamless integration with third-party platforms like Google Analytics make it an ideal choice for businesses aiming to enhance their marketing strategies and grow their brand.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are my weekend favs; I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me <a href="https://twitter.com/ducttape" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@ducttape</a></p>
<p>If you want to check out more Weekend Favs you can find them <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/blog/">here.</a></p>
<br />
<br />
from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/1xrZob8<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-4732398087911035772024-01-19T12:05:00.001-08:002024-01-19T12:05:24.557-08:00The Top 5 Episodes of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast in 2023<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/top-marketing-podcasts-2023/">The Top 5 Episodes of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast in 2023</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p>2023 was a year of remarkable growth for the marketing industry. With a rapidly changing landscape, it’s never been a more exciting time to be an entrepreneur.</p>
<p>I was able to visit with many phenomenal guests on the show this year. It’s been nice to review some of the most popular episodes from 2023. Which one was your favorite?</p>
<p>Want more? <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/about/duct-tape-marketing-podcast/">Check out the full lineup of shows here.</a></p>
<h2><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/uncovering-the-hidden-power-of-your-unfair-advantage/"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-75519 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>1. Ash Ali & Hassan Kubba – Uncovering the Hidden Power of Your Unfair Advantage</h2>
<p>Both successful tech entrepreneurs with humble roots, Ash and Hassan have a message of hope to share. <span title="Style" data-ail="68844">Despite not going to university, Ash became a serial tech founder and the first marketing director of a unicorn startup – Just Eat). </span>Hasan built a successful startup from his bedroom with nothing more than an online course and a yearning to escape the ‘rat race’. They are now international bestselling authors, coaches, and keynote speakers. Their latest book is – <a href="https://amzn.to/3NtoG0o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Unfair Advantage: How You Already Have What It Takes to Succeed</a>.</p>
<h3>Biggest Takeaway:</h3>
<p>Behind every story of success is an unfair advantage. Your unfair advantage is the element that gives you an edge over your competition. In this episode, I talk with Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba about how to identify your own unfair advantages and apply them to any project in your life. We talk about how to look at yourself and find the ingredients you didn’t realize you already had, to succeed in the cut-throat world of business.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/uncovering-the-hidden-power-of-your-unfair-advantage/">Click here to listen to the episode.</a></p>
<h2><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/unveiling-the-future-of-ai/"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-75551 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>2. Kenneth Wenger – Unveiling the Future of AI</h2>
<p>Kenneth Wenger is an author, a research scholar at Toronto Metropolitan University, and CTO of Squint AI Inc. His research interests lie at the intersection of humans and machines, ensuring that we build a future based on the responsible use of technology.</p>
<p>His newest book, <em>I</em><em>s the Algorithm Plotting Against Us?: A Layperson’s Guide to the Concepts, Math, and Pitfalls of A</em>I. Kenneth explains the complexity of AI, demonstrating its potential and exposing its shortfalls. He empowers readers to answer the question: What exactly is AI?</p>
<h3>Biggest Takeaway:</h3>
<p>While significant progress has been made in AI, we are still in the early stages of its development. However, the current AI models are primarily performing simple statistical tasks rather than exhibiting deep intelligence. The future of AI lies in developing models that can understand the context and differentiate between right and wrong answers.</p>
<p>Kenneth also emphasizes the pitfalls of relying on AI, particularly in the lack of understanding behind the model’s decision-making process and the potential for biased outcomes. The trustworthiness and accountability of these machines are crucial to develop, especially in safety-critical domains where human lives could be at stake like in medicine or laws. Overall, while AI has made substantial strides, there is still a long way to go in unlocking its true potential and addressing the associated challenges.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/unveiling-the-future-of-ai/">Click here to listen to the episode.</a></p>
<h2><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/the-fastest-and-least-expensive-way-to-double-your-sales-1/"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-75566 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>3. Amanda Holmes – The Fastest and Least Expensive Way to Double Your Sales</h2>
<p>Amanda Holmes is the CEO of Chet Holmes International (CHI) which has worked with over 250,000 businesses worldwide. At age 24, she inherited her father’s multi-million dollar enterprise, which specializes in helping companies double their sales. She’s the author of a book — <a href="https://amzn.to/3yrSp4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Based on The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies</a>.</p>
<h3>Biggest Takeaway:</h3>
<p>At just 24, Amanda Holmes inherited her father’s multi-million dollar enterprise – Chet Holmes International. Without much direction, she had to navigate the uncharted waters of running an enterprise at that scale. In this episode, Amanda shares more about her journey as CEO and the challenges of implementing change in a long-standing organization. Amanda dives into the process her father developed years ago that has helped large companies quickly double their sales and how she has helped that process evolve over the years.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/the-fastest-and-least-expensive-way-to-double-your-sales-1/">Click here to listen to the episode.</a></p>
<h2><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/maximize-the-power-of-newsletters/"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-75575 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-2-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-2-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-2-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-2-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-2-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-2-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-2.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>4. Russell Henneberry – How to Maximize the Power of Newsletters</h2>
<p>Russell Henneberry is <span title="Style" data-ail="71564">a renowned digital marketing expert, digital marketing consultant, speaker, and co-author of <em>Digital Marketing for Dummies</em>.</span> He’s the Founder of theCLIKK, an <a title="Email" href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/email-marketing-compliance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ail="71564">email</a> newsletter about digital marketing. Russ also consults and trains employees of companies through his Digital Advisor program.</p>
<h3>Biggest Takeaway:</h3>
<p>Newsletters have made a comeback by combining email marketing with content marketing and direct response promotion. By building trust, providing education, and offering entertainment, newsletters have the power to nurture subscribers and connect with them by creating engaging content, and effective calls to action. It is important to have a voice to attract and maintain subscribers depending on the niche of your business and not rely completely on AI to generate content and to maintain a human touch.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/maximize-the-power-of-newsletters/">Click here to listen to the episode.</a></p>
<h2><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/fractional-cmo-reinventing-marketing-strategies/"><img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-74850 size-medium" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-6.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>5. John Jantsch- Fractional CMO: Reinventing Marketing Strategies</h2>
<p>John Jantsch is a marketing consultant, speaker, and author of Duct Tape Marketing, The Referral Engine, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur, and The Ultimate Marketing Engine. He is also the founder of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network, which trains and licenses independent consultants and agencies to use the Duct Tape Methodology.</p>
<h3>Biggest Takeaway:</h3>
<p>Strategy is one of the most essential elements to running a successful business today. Whether you are a business owner or a consultant, who doesn’t understand why your marketing is not working the way it should, the Fractional CMO model could change your business.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>Fractional CMOs help companies and business owners develop strategic marketing plans in a more cost-effective solution as they are not full-time employees, but they have the expertise of a seasoned marketing executive. They will develop the marketing activities through strategic planning that could improve the relationship companies have with their clients, as they are able to understand better how to guide the perfect customer journey.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/fractional-cmo-reinventing-marketing-strategies/">Click here to listen to the episode.</a></p>
<p>Is your favorite episode on the list? If not, we’d love to hear which one you enjoyed listening to the most!</p>
<p>For our podcast audience, we can’t thank you enough for your support over the years! If you like the show, click on over and subscribe and if you love the show <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on </a>iTunes, please!</p>
<br />
<br />
from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/iN9ECL5<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-34490847517538584992024-01-18T12:05:00.001-08:002024-01-18T12:05:25.884-08:00Mastering Intrigue: How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/mastering-intrigue-shoot-video-not-suck/">Mastering Intrigue: How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP6917543127&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with Steve Stockman</h3>
<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-75822 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-5-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-5-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-5-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-5-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-5-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-5-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-5.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p>
<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Steve Stockman, a seasoned producer, writer, and director with over 200 commercials under his belt. His expertise spans various mediums, including web series, films, music videos, and TV shows. The discussion revolves around his book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239">How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck</a>, where he shares invaluable insights into creating compelling and effective marketing videos.</p>
<p>Embark on a journey to master the art of video production with Steve Stockman as he shares insights on shooting videos that captivate your audience. Discover the crucial elements that contribute to the success of a video, from storytelling techniques to understanding your audience’s needs.</p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>Embark on a transformative journey into the world of video production with Steve Stockman in this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Gain insights into the power of intrigue, emphasizing authentic storytelling over sensational tactics to captivate your audience from the first few seconds. Steve highlights the importance of preparation, urging creators to consider their audience’s needs and deliver value through thoughtful planning.</p>
<p>Simplifying the technical aspects, he dispels the myth that expensive equipment is crucial, focusing on the storytelling element. Learn to storify your marketing videos, turning mundane showcases into engaging narratives that resonate with your audience. Steve also challenges the notion of ideal video length, stressing the importance of conveying your message effectively without wasting the audience’s time. Elevate your video marketing game with Steve Stockman’s actionable insights for creating compelling, engaging, and impactful content.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask Steve Stockman:</strong></h3>
<p>[00:44] How long will somebody watch a video that sucks?</p>
<p>[01:13] What are some of the things that make a video hard to watch?</p>
<p>[03:08] What things do you have to have prepared before turning on the camera?</p>
<p>[05:56] Much like a hook in copywriting, how do you get people intrigued in the first 5 seconds?</p>
<p>[07:56] What’s the difference between narrative and storytelling?</p>
<p>[13:27] What are some of the most important things to consider in the technical aspects of videomaking?</p>
<p>[17:57] How long should a video be?</p>
<p>[19:27] Tell us a bit about the video course that accompanies your book?</p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About</strong> <strong>Steve Stockman</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Steve on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/customproductions/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Connect with Steve on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stevestockman/">Instagram</a></li>
<li>Visit his <a href="https://stevestockman.com/">website</a></li>
<li>Get a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239">How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/msJZ2Gdiq4I?si=cg8jJ-LmKaoodQpR" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Get Your Free AI Prompts To Build A Marketing Strategy:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/dtmnews/?utm_source=dtm-podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=free-prompts">Download now</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Work Better Now</p>
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<p>Visit <a href="https://www.workbetternow.com/">WorkBetterNow.com</a> mention the referral code DTM Podcast and get $150 off for your first 3 months.</p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Steve Stockman. He's a producer, writer, and director of over 200 commercials that's probably gone up since he wrote that web series films, music videos, and TV shows. He wrote, produced and directed the award-winning MGM feature film Two Weeks with Sally Field, and he's also the author of a book we're going to talk about today, how to Shoot Video. That Doesn't suck. So Steve, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>Steve (00:37):</b> Thanks for having me, John. I appreciate it.</p>
<p><b>John (00:39):</b> So you probably don't have empirical data on this, but you probably have some anecdotal data. How long will somebody watch a video? That sucks?</p>
<p><b>Steve (00:48):</b> Oh, that sucks. Three seconds. We're very attuned to good video versus bad video. If you remember the buttons on a radio, because I used to be in radio, it took a while to understand that it takes about three seconds for someone to decide they don't like what you're doing, and that's true in video as well, I think.</p>
<p><b>John (01:12):</b> So let's talk a little bit about what are some of the things that make a video hard to watch, which essentially probably fits it into the category of sucks.</p>
<p><b>Steve (01:20):</b> Well, the first thing that makes it hard to watch is, oh, let me back up philosophically. The thing that makes video hard to watch is when you don't feel comfortable that it's going to a place that you're interested in. So what I mean by that is that it's kind of like turning the pages on a book about marketing. If you're reading the first couple pages and you go, this person doesn't know what they're talking about, this is not for me. This book is badly written. I don't understand the language, the points are nonsense. You're going to stop reading that book in about three pages. And there are things that we do as people who produce videos that clue people in the same way that we have no idea what we're doing, which makes sense because until 10 years ago, nobody ever asked normal human beings to make a video.</p>
<p><b>(02:11):</b> They called people like me and said, can you come in with your crew and make a video? But now we carry around our cell phones and we are expected all day to be shooting video. And the truth is that we grew up on video from the time we were born. So we understand how it works, but we don't speak it very well. So the shorter answer is that the minute somebody shows you that they don't know anything about how to light a scene or that they're pointing the camera in a way that's unattractive, or their camera is shaking or their audio is terrible, or they cut between two things that make no sense to you, basically the minute that happens, we lose faith that you're taking us on a journey and instead go, oh, this is terrible. Is it over soon or can I go? And then we click to one of 300 billion other things that we could be watching instead of your video.</p>
<p><b>John (03:08):</b> So the book title is How to Shoot Video, which sort of implies, oh, you get out your camera and you turn it on, right, that's the shoot. But there are many component parts, right to go to make a video that is something somebody's going to watch. How do you think in terms of even preparing before the camera?</p>
<p><b>Steve (03:26):</b> Well, I think the term of preparing is surprising to some people, especially because we're used to, for home videos, we just pull out our camera and point, or we get to the Niagara Falls and we go, oh, that looks cool, and we go click and we roll for a couple seconds. But in truth, preparing is probably the biggest difference between what a professional does and what an amateur does. And so any preparation is good, but the key thing is to think about what you want to communicate to your audience, and you need to think about that not in terms of, oh, I want to promote a big sale that I'm having. You need to communicate that in terms of what's in it for the audience to watch my video. Because a video that doesn't get watched is like a tree that falls in the forest with no one around, right?</p>
<p><b>(04:19):</b> It's like nobody hears it. If you do a video that's so bad that you drive people away, you might as well not have made it. And in fact, you would've been better off not spending the time or the money or calling in the favors or whatever you were doing to cause that video to come into existence. So the first thing you need to do is think about what your audience wants from you and what they want from your video. Seriously consider how you might deliver that to them. Video does some things really well. It does motion, it takes you on a trip or it does emotion. It makes you feel or laugh or cry or whatever. So motion and emotion are big things. Marketers often get hung up on information delivery and video doesn't do pure information delivery particularly well, which is why commercials are never Hondas are on sale. Go buy them in big letters on black because if it were that easy, everyone would do it, right? Video just doesn't do information. We won't sit still for it without a story or without some emotion. And so your prep of what you're going to say to people that they'll value and how you're going to deliver it is the first most important thing for you to do.</p>
<p><b>John (05:34):</b> So in marketing copywriting specifically, there's all kinds of advice that spend 90% of your time on the headline because you've got to get people interested in reading the rest of the copy. You see a lot of videos, especially on YouTube that are essentially an ad and you've got five seconds because I can click away after five seconds. So what's the similar approach to the headline? I hear people talk about a hook. You have to get somebody really intrigued in five seconds. Do we overdo that? Does that make sense?</p>
<p><b>Steve (06:08):</b> Yes and no. First, let me completely agree with the premise. Intrigue is the most important thing that you can supply to your audience, but if you make films or television shows or commercials, you quickly realize that's true. Every single second of all two hours that you're making that is intrigue is making the audience want to know what happens next. And in the hooky kind of YouTube first five seconds world, people tend to go for something sensational in hopes of intriguing. But there again, it's not that easy. Car crashes are intriguing, but once we know it's a car crash, we drive by, right? YouTube videos are the same. Once we know you've used some schlocky, come on, then you're kind of in the neighborhood of those clickbait headlines like Elon Musk opens up about his feelings about something and you click on that once and you go, they don't know anything about Elon Musk that I don't know. And then you go look at something else, right? So trying to do a hooky opening that's based on cheating the audience or grabbing them with a car wreck, it doesn't pay off in the long run for you because trust is the most important thing you can provide to your audience. Yeah,</p>
<p><b>John (07:30):</b> They feel cheated. They feel cheated, right? Yeah,</p>
<p><b>Steve (07:32):</b> Exactly. But intrigue is saying to them, Hey, I'm going to show you something and let me show you the beginning of it, and now let me show you where this is going, and I want you to think about how it could all end up. And that's really storytelling in a true sense.</p>
<p><b>John (07:50):</b> I wouldn't ask a lot of people this, but just in the time we've spent together, I think this is going to make a lot of sense to you. What's the difference between narrative and storytelling as far as what you just described, the common movie where they start with the car crash, but that's because that's where the protagonist ended up, and now we're going to go back to how they got there and tell the story. Am I making sense there? I mean, do you bring this idea of narrative into your story?</p>
<p><b>Steve (08:18):</b> Yeah, even in commercials, story form is very important in video. So a story has a hero, a beginning, a middle, and an end, right? Right. And if you get that wrong in a commercial, then the end of the commercial is very dissing. And if you get it wrong, if you don't set up a good beginning where you have a hero who has some sort of dilemma or problem or question or is in a situation that becomes very not intriguing, in other words, we need to immediately care about a character and where they might be going. And if we do that, then we are in a story. And I would argue that all marketing video needs to be storified skillfully. So let me give you an example of what I mean. If you have a, I don't know, a guitar shop, one of a big music store where you sell guitars and other musical instruments to kids and people in your community who buy those things, and you're known for antique guitars, not antique a hundred years old, but you've got the classics, the Stratocasters, and all those things that are like the ones that the rock stars played in the olden days, and maybe you even have a few of those around the shop and you're known for that.</p>
<p><b>(09:37):</b> There's two ways that you could do a marketing video to put on your website. One way is to show, look, here's a Stratocaster, and it was once played by somebody in Chuck Berry's band and it's $1,500 and then here's another one and it's $670. And your audience would basically be gone in about that three seconds. But the other way you could do it is you could think about what your audience loves about your store and how they love the fact that you have these vintage guitars. And you could tell a story of a high school girl who comes into your store and wants to buy the same kind of double barreled guitar that Jimmy Page played on Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven. And you could show in this video how she comes into the store, tries the one that you have draws a huge crowd with her virtuoso playing, loves the guitar, plunks down her 1500 hard earned dollars, this antique guitar, and then fast forward to her debut recital at high school where she's playing with her band and killing it. That's a story about what people love about your store that is way more intriguing and gets across exactly the same message as showing a picture of a guitar with a sign. The difference is nobody's going to watch the pictures of the guitars with price tags, and everybody's going to watch the story of this amazing young woman. And so by thinking in terms of story and delivering a story to your audience, you've vastly elevated the kind of marketing video that you're doing.</p>
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<p><b>Steve (12:30):</b> Yeah, exactly. And also giving them something of value so that entertainment is of value to them, that emotion that they feel is of value to them. The chance to be with the hero of your story, this young woman and see her have a goal, have a way to get it done at your store and then succeed with it. People love that. I mean, that's what we pay to go to the movies for, that we buy our subscription to Netflix for is those kinds of stories. So if you can do a real story that your customers will be interested in, that's gold.</p>
<p><b>John (13:06):</b> So let's talk a little bit about the technical aspects. I know that we could spend all kinds of time unpacking all kinds of equipment and whatnot, but there's the camera itself, there's sound, there's lights. I mean, there's a lot of things that need to be considered, especially since a lot of my audience are amateur, so to speak. They're producing video that they need as content, let's put it that way. What are some of the most important things to consider as you consider the technical aspects?</p>
<p><b>Steve (13:32):</b> There are two super important principles of learning to shoot video better from a technical aspect. One is that your smartphone shoots better video than Alfred Hitchcock could shoot with a crew of 150 mid 20th century. So it is smarter and more adept at lighting. It does focus beautifully. It does 4K video. It looks amazing, and you can shoot a movie on it. And that's important because if you go on YouTube and you get all these tips about how to shoot video, you're going to see a whole bunch of stuff that's about three point lighting and framing and all that stuff. And that's good information, but it's not the information that you really need to create an effective video because in truth, your camera will light for you. It has algorithms in it that make it very hard to produce a picture. Not impossible, but hard.</p>
<p><b>(14:37):</b> The only thing cameras don't do particularly well is sound or cell phone cameras. And for that, if you're doing a marketing video that you expect your customers to watch, you really need to get an external microphone or two and make sure that everything sounds really great, but looks-wise, your camera will do it all. And the reason I start with that is because amateurs especially get hung up on, well, what equipment? I need equipment. It's like if you think about if you're a golfer, if didn't go out and buy the $25,000 golf clubs day one of your journey to the first lesson, what you did was you probably either rented or borrowed some clubs. And the reason you did that is because when you're a complete amateur, you don't know the difference between the $25,000 golf club and a $10 golf club. You're learning that. And so learn with what you have.</p>
<p><b>(15:36):</b> So most of us have smartphones, which are terrific if you're going to shoot your own video. Some of us have DSLR cameras that also shoot great video and maybe have better lenses. If you're a photographer, a skilled photographer, you will notice the difference between the lens of a really nice DSLR and an iPhone. But what you want to do is find a piece of equipment that's easy for you to use so that you can focus on getting the message that you want to cross and telling the story you want to tell without having to worry about how the equipment works. And as you practice and get better, you're going to realize that the $10 golf club is a piece of crap and you're really going to need to upgrade. But you'll learn that that's part of your learning process, and you'll learn what you like to shoot on. And you'll get frustrated with, the phone doesn't do this or this, and I really wish it did, so I'm going to upgrade to a prosumer black magic camera or Sony or something. But you don't need to worry about that until you're really good at video. People worry</p>
<p><b>John (16:40):</b> About, yeah, you might learn that. You might learn that you just need to hire somebody that you don't like doing it.</p>
<p><b>Steve (16:45):</b> Yes. And there's no shame in that, right? I mean, for example, I'm a director and I love video, but I don't actually shoot it. I hire people who love to shoot video to work on my crew, and they make the pictures beautiful, and I look at them and go, could you tweak that a little here? Or Could you point a little more this way? Or We missed that part of the shot. That's my job, but I don't handle the camera because it's not my thing. And the same with audio. I mean, I would never do my own audio, but I know a guy who's brilliant and can mic 27 people at once and capture everything they do perfectly, and he'll never make a mistake on the set. And he comes to all my shoots because he's great at that. So yes, I think it was one of my favorite philosophers of the 20th century. Alf, do you remember Alf, the puppet prime alien life form? Sure. Yes. Alf said, the secret to happiness in life is to figure out what you don't do and then don't do it. So I've always tried to live by that.</p>
<p><b>John (17:53):</b> So true. This is a silly question, but I have to ask it because everybody asks me, how long should a video be?</p>
<p><b>Steve (17:59):</b> Video should be long enough to tell the story you want to tell in an interesting way, not a second longer. So if you think about it, if I have very good luck and a very skilled cast and crew and a pant load of money, I can make a movie like Marvel Avengers, and it will last three hours, and you will sit there through the whole thing and enjoy all of it. If I'm a bad videographer, 30 seconds will make you want to chew your leg off like you were caught in a bear trap and run, or hobble, I guess, if you chewed your leg off. So you definitely, it's really all about the story and the skill of the storyteller, and not at all about the length of this should be. We used to think that the web wanted short videos, and sometimes it still does, but YouTube encourages its creators to do 10 or 20 minute videos on a regular basis. TV shows have always been half an hour or an hour long, or really 22 minutes and 46 minutes long with commercials. Movies have always been about two hours. They were an hour and a half maybe in the forties, and now they tend toward three, but they're in there somewhere. The question is how long is it interesting? And what real estate do you need to tell the story? Because the minute you waste the audience's time, they're gone, right?</p>
<p><b>John (19:25):</b> Yeah. When we were starting off air, you told me you have a video course that actually accompanies the book or that has supplemented the book. You want to tell us a little bit about that?</p>
<p><b>Steve (19:34):</b> Yeah. I wrote the book 10 years ago and it's been updated since. So the current version is very current and how to shoot video that doesn't suck, doesn't really talk about equipment. It talks about this communication, how to take your audience on a journey, how to think about communicating to them with video. And over the years, people have written me and said, why isn't this a video course? Which I always thought was kind of funny. I always figured it as a book. And then the audio book did really well, and none of it has much to do with pictures, but people asked for it. And so I thought about it and it sort of became an opportunity to add things that weren't in the book. So I did this video course that you can get at my website, steve stockman.com, and it's 22 lessons, 22 short lessons with exercises that cover most of the key things from the book and then a bunch of other things.</p>
<p><b>(20:28):</b> There's a whole separate section on marketing video and how to do something that your customers are going to love to watch and that will help them understand more about you and make them feel good about working with you. And then there's a whole bunch of other stuff, and you get the exercises, and I demo the exercises. And so different people like to learn different ways. If you like reading books, the book is there, and if you would rather have somebody show you for a couple hours how it's done that you can break up into little bits and do on your own, the course is there as well.</p>
<p><b>John (21:03):</b> Awesome. Well, Steve, I appreciate you stopping by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, and hopefully we'll run into you one of these days out there on the road.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-54697506914032185372024-01-18T08:06:00.001-08:002024-01-18T08:06:16.241-08:002024 Marketing Trends for Fractional CMOs: A Guide<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/2024-marketing-trends-for-fractional-cmos/">2024 Marketing Trends for Fractional CMOs: A Guide</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p id="isPasted">I’ve put together my thoughts on what 2024 holds for marketing strategists and fractional CMOs. But let me be upfront: I approach the concept of “trends” with a healthy dose of skepticism. Why? Because often, by the time something is labeled a trend, it’s either already happening or it’s just a shot in the dark.</p>
<p>Today, I want to cut through that noise and talk about real shifts that matter, especially for you fractional CMOs out there.</p>
<p>I’ve been in the marketing trenches for over <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/about/company/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">two decades</a> and I’ve learned to distinguish the fads from the game-changers. Over the years, I’ve learned to cut through the hype and zero in on what really drives a company’s success. For those stepping into the role of a fractional CMO, grasping this viewpoint is essential; it’s all about capturing the essence and connecting with audiences just as vividly as a well-pictured story does. You’re juggling a ton of different hurdles in all sorts of fields, and what you really need are strategies that don’t just make sense but actually work.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2 id="2024marketingtrendsforfractionalcmosaguide">2024 Marketing Trends for Fractional CMOs: A Guide</h2>
<p id="isPasted">As a fractional CMO, you’re in a unique position to help businesses navigate the ever-changing marketing landscape. But with so many trends to keep track of, it can be tough to know where to focus your attention.</p>
<p>In this guide, we’ll break down the five most important marketing trends for fractional CMOs in 2024. We’ll also provide actionable tips on how you can leverage these trends to help your clients succeed.</p>
<div class="post-intro intro-cta">
<p>Get a complete <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/agency-certification-intensive" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fractional CMO system</a> that changes how you think about your agency’s growth.</p>
</div>
<p> </p>
<h2 id="main-toc">Table Of Contents:</h2>
<ul id="65a84b1d0afa6_149783">
<li><a id="2024marketingtrendsforfractionalcmosaguide-toc" href="#2024marketingtrendsforfractionalcmosaguide">2024 Marketing Trends for Fractional CMOs: A Guide</a></li>
<li><a id="embracingaiinmarketingstrategies-toc" href="#embracingaiinmarketingstrategies">Embracing AI in Marketing Strategies</a></li>
<li><a id="navigatingsearchengineevolution-toc" href="#navigatingsearchengineevolution">Navigating Search Engine Evolution</a>
<ul id="65a84b1d0afab_149783">
<li><a id="ashifttoaeooranswerengineoptimization-toc" href="#ashifttoaeooranswerengineoptimization">A shift to AEO or Answer Engine Optimization.</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a id="thedominanceofvideomarketing-toc" href="#thedominanceofvideomarketing">The Dominance of Video Marketing</a>
<ul id="65a84b1d0afab_149783">
<li><a id="aidrivencontentcreation-toc" href="#aidrivencontentcreation">AI-Driven Content Creation</a></li>
<li><a id="videocontentandaiefficiency-toc" href="#videocontentandaiefficiency">Video Content and AI Efficiency</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a id="prioritizingdataprivacyandcompliance-toc" href="#prioritizingdataprivacyandcompliance">Prioritizing Data Privacy and Compliance</a>
<ul id="65a84b1d0afab_149783">
<li><a id="leveragingfirstpartydatafortargetedmarketing-toc" href="#leveragingfirstpartydatafortargetedmarketing">Leveraging First-Party Data for Targeted Marketing</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a id="trustandcustomerexperienceiskey-toc" href="#trustandcustomerexperienceiskey">Trust and Customer Experience is Key</a></li>
<li><a id="adaptingtomarkettrendsasafractionalcmo-toc" href="#adaptingtomarkettrendsasafractionalcmo">Adapting to Market Trends as a Fractional CMO</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-fo8g42KT-c" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span></iframe></p>
<h2 id="embracingaiinmarketingstrategies">Embracing AI in Marketing Strategies</h2>
<p id="isPasted" style="margin: 24px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Google Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" data-sourcepos="13:1-13:257">Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic in marketing for years, but in 2023, it had it’s moment and in 2024 it will become a cornerstone for our marketing strategy. AI-powered tools can help you with everything from content creation and social media management to data analysis and customer segmentation.</p>
<p style="margin: 24px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Google Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" data-sourcepos="13:1-13:257">There’s no doubt it can help you create content, but there’s a lot more to AI than that.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="fr-fic fr-dib alignnone" style="width: 366px; display: flex !important; margin-inline: auto !important; float: none !important;" src="https://app.contentatscale.ai/uploader/uploads/2024/01/1705591159_DALL%C2%B7E%202024-01-18%2009.18.50%20-%20Create%20a%20visual%20representation%20of%20the%20concept%20'Embracing%20AI%20for%20Marketing%20Strategies'.%20The%20image%20should%20depict%20a%20blend%20of%20technology%20and%20marketing%20ele.png" /></p>
<p style="margin: 24px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Google Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" data-sourcepos="15:1-15:39"><strong>As a fractional CMO, you can use AI to:</strong></p>
<ul style="margin: 4px 0px; padding-inline-start: 36px; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Google Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" data-sourcepos="17:1-20:0">
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;" data-sourcepos="17:1-17:190"><strong style="font-weight: 500;">Brainstorm: </strong>AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard can help you to generate ideas when you are not feeling creative.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;" data-sourcepos="17:1-17:190"><strong style="font-weight: 500;">Create personalized content:</strong> AI can help you generate blog posts, social media updates, and even email marketing campaigns that are tailored to your clients’ specific target audiences.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;" data-sourcepos="18:1-18:234"><strong style="font-weight: 500;">Automate tasks:</strong> AI can free up your time so you can focus on more strategic initiatives. For example, you can use AI to automate tasks like scheduling social media posts, responding to customer inquiries, and generating reports.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;" data-sourcepos="19:1-20:0"><strong style="font-weight: 500;">Make better decisions:</strong> AI can help you analyze data and identify trends that you might otherwise miss. This can help you make better decisions about your clients’ marketing campaigns.</li>
</ul>
<div style="border: 1px solid #03a9f4; margin: 0 auto; display: table; cursor: pointer; font-size: 20px; padding: 0px; border-radius: 6px; margin-top: 50px; margin-bottom: 50px; max-width: 720px; background: #ffffff;"><a style="text-decoration: none; padding: 20px; display: block; cursor: pointer; color: #03a9f4;" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Rev+up+your+marketing+with+AI%3A+Think+less+grunt+work%2C+more+genius+content%21+From+tailored+articles+to+multi-platform+videos%2C+it%27s+a+game-changer+for+fractional+CMOs.+%23AIMarketing+%23ContentRevolution&via=@ducttape&related=@ducttape&url=" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Rev up your marketing with AI: Think less grunt work, more genius content. From tailored articles to multi-platform videos, it’s a game-changer for fractional CMOs. #AIMarketing #ContentRevolution</em></a> <span style="float: right; margin-right: 10px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -18px;">Click to Tweet</span></div>
<h2 id="navigatingsearchengineevolution">Navigating Search Engine Evolution</h2>
<p>Search engines are shifting, and as a fractional CMO, you’ve got to stay on your toes. Remember when search results were one-size-fits-all? Those days are long gone. Now we’re looking at answer engines that serve up tailor-made results like a personal concierge for every user.</p>
<p>Imagine this: two people type the same question into a search bar but get different answers. Why? Because these platforms now weigh in our browsing habits, location, and even the device we’re using to give us what they think we want. It’s all about making sure each click gets us closer to ‘the one’—that perfect piece of content or product.</p>
<p>Keyword stuffing will not work in 2024 nor has it for a long time. You’ll need to think more conversational AI-driven content creation because that’s how you’ll feed those hungry answer engines with quality bites they can’t resist sharing with users.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3 id="ashifttoaeooranswerengineoptimization">A shift to AEO or Answer Engine Optimization.</h3>
<p>We will start to see <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/03/14/the-future-of-seo-is-answer-engine-optimization-aeo/?sh=4868a2fb2ef3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AEO or Answer Engine Optimization </a>as the new SEO. Think of AEO as your content’s secret weapon for grabbing the spotlight in search results. It’s about crafting content that directly answers people’s questions, especially those phrased as queries. Imagine someone asking, “What’s the best way to potty train a puppy?” With AEO, your client’s helpful blog post on that exact topic could land smack dab in the coveted answer box at the top of the search page or your favorite <a href="https://www.uctoday.com/unified-communications/the-best-large-language-models-in-2023-top-llms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LLM platform.</a></p>
<h2 id="thedominanceofvideomarketing">The Dominance of Video Marketing</h2>
<p>“Video first” isn’t just a catchy phrase; it’s the reality of our content landscape. Video is no longer just one of the content types; it’s becoming the basis of content strategy.</p>
<p>The immediacy, the intimacy, and the versatility of video make it a powerful tool for storytelling, brand building, and customer engagement.</p>
<p>As a Fractional CMO, steering your clients towards a video-first content approach could be the game-changer they need.</p>
<h3 id="aidrivencontentcreation">AI-Driven Content Creation</h3>
<p>Gone are the days when creating killer video content was an epic feat reserved for big-budget studios. Now, with AI even small marketing teams can churn out high-quality and effective videos.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3 id="videocontentandaiefficiency">Video Content and AI Efficiency</h3>
<p>Talk about efficiency—AI isn’t just making video creation easier; it’s transforming repurposing into an art form itself. You can shoot a video once but cut countless ways to fit any social platform’s appetite—from bite-sized to long-form and even ads.</p>
<ul>
<li id="isPasted">Creating video content for social media: Share short, engaging videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.</li>
<li id="isPasted">Using video for sales and marketing: Create video testimonials, product demos, and explainer videos</li>
<li id="isPasted">Running video ads: Video ads can be a great way to reach a large audience and generate leads.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<h2 id="prioritizingdataprivacyandcompliance">Prioritizing Data Privacy and Compliance</h2>
<p>Remember the time when you could collect user data without much fuss? Well, those days are gone. The digital marketing landscape has evolved drastically with stringent data privacy regulations like <a href="https://cookie-script.com/blog/data-privacy-trends-in-2024#:~:text=It%20is%20expected%20that%20in,Pay%20or%20Okay%E2%80%9D%20approach%2C%20automotive" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GDPR and CCPA</a> taking center stage. For marketers, particularly fractional CMOs, it’s a game of staying ahead while playing by the new rules.</p>
<p>The spotlight is now on first-party data as third-party cookies crumble under regulatory pressure. You’ve got to get crafty in how you gather and use customer info directly from your audience—think website interactions or social media engagements—because let’s face it, that goldmine of third-party data isn’t what it used to be.</p>
<p>It’s not just about compliance; it’s about building trust. Show your customers you value their privacy as much as they do by implementing <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/service/data-transparency" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">transparent practices for collecting and handling their information</a>. It’s smart business because when customers trust you, they stick around longer—and we all know that loyalty pays off in spades.</p>
<p id="asafractionalcmoyoucanhelpyourclientsby"><strong>As a fractional CMO, you can help your clients by:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Developing a data privacy policy:</strong> This policy should explain how your clients collect, use, and store customer data.</li>
<li><strong>Obtaining consent from customers:</strong> Make sure your clients have consent from customers before collecting their data.</li>
<li><strong>Being transparent about how data is used:</strong> Let customers know how their data will be used and give them the ability to opt out.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="leveragingfirstpartydatafortargetedmarketing">Leveraging First-Party Data for Targeted Marketing</h3>
<p id="isPasted">Think of first-party data as the secret sauce that gives your marketing strategy its unique flavor. It’s information your clients’ customers willingly share, like website interactions or social media engagements. It’s a digital handshake where they say, “Here’s my info; show me something good.”</p>
<p>And with privacy rules tighter than ever, this direct connection is more valuable than ever before. Why? Because it lets you talk to folks on a level that feels almost psychic. No more throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it sticks. Now, you’re using their own words and behaviors to craft laser-focused messages that resonate deeply. Imagine the conversion power!</p>
<div style="border: 1px solid #03a9f4; margin: 0 auto; display: table; cursor: pointer; font-size: 20px; padding: 0px; border-radius: 6px; margin-top: 50px; margin-bottom: 50px; max-width: 720px; background: #ffffff;"><a style="text-decoration: none; padding: 20px; display: block; cursor: pointer; color: #03a9f4;" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Say+goodbye+to+third-party+cookies+and+hello+to+trust-building+with+first-party+data%21+For+fractional+CMOs%2C+it%27s+time+to+play+smart+in+the+privacy-first+marketing+arena.+%23DataPrivacy+%23MarketingTrends2024+%EF%B8%8F&via=@ducttape&related=@ducttape&url=" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Say goodbye to third-party cookies and hello to trust-building with first-party data. For fractional CMOs, it’s time to play smart in the privacy-first marketing arena. #DataPrivacy #MarketingTrends2024 ️</em></a> <span style="float: right; margin-right: 10px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -18px;">Click to Tweet</span></div>
<h2 id="trustandcustomerexperienceiskey">Trust and Customer Experience is Key</h2>
<p>The pandemic’s silver lining? It cranked up customer expectations for top-notch service and convenience.</p>
<p>In 2024 companies can use AI tools to make every interaction feel like it’s tailor-made. You know when you walk into your favorite coffee shop and they start prepping your usual order before you even say hi? That’s the kind of personalized touch we’re talking about.</p>
<p>Fractional CMOs can utilize data to personalize their client’s customer journey though marketing messages and website content. They can also use these tools to make it easier to do business with you through frictionless checkout procedures and website navigation.</p>
<p>However, be careful, if these tools aren’t implemented and used correctly it do be more harm then good. And remember the best tool is the one that you know how to use.</p>
<div style="border: 1px solid #03a9f4; margin: 0 auto; display: table; cursor: pointer; font-size: 20px; padding: 0px; border-radius: 6px; margin-top: 50px; margin-bottom: 50px; max-width: 720px; background: #ffffff;"><a style="text-decoration: none; padding: 20px; display: block; cursor: pointer; color: #03a9f4;" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=AI+bots+are+the+new+digital+baristas%2C+serving+up+personalized+experiences+faster+than+your+favorite+coffee+spot%21+%23CustomerServiceRevolution&via=@ducttape&related=@ducttape&url=" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>AI bots are the new digital baristas, serving up personalized experiences faster than your favorite coffee spot. #CustomerServiceRevolution</em></a> <span style="float: right; margin-right: 10px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -18px;">Click to Tweet</span></div>
<h2 id="adaptingtomarkettrendsasafractionalcmo">Adapting to Market Trends as a Fractional CMO</h2>
<p>Fractional CMOs need to ride the wave of change, and 2024’s marketing landscape is all about smart tech and savvy strategies.</p>
<p>To sum it all up: With AI marketers can churn out top-notch material at warp speed, especially with video. It’s not just cat clips anymore; it’s becoming king in customer engagement.</p>
<p>The search game is also leveling up with engines getting smarter by serving personalized answers faster than you can say “SEO”. This means we’ve got to fine-tune our digital presence like never before—think less keyword stuffing, more answering real people’s questions.</p>
<p>Data privacy isn’t just nice-to-have; it’s must-have now. We’re swapping third-party cookies for first-party data treasure troves that keep us in line with GDPR while giving us killer insights straight from our audience.</p>
<p>Last but not least, trust and customer experience has become the golden ticket and will be key not just for 2024 but beyond.</p>
<div style="border: 1px solid #03a9f4; margin: 0 auto; display: table; cursor: pointer; font-size: 20px; padding: 0px; border-radius: 6px; margin-top: 50px; margin-bottom: 50px; max-width: 720px; background: #ffffff;"><a style="text-decoration: none; padding: 20px; display: block; cursor: pointer; color: #03a9f4;" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=2024%27s+marketing+is+a+wild+ride%21++AI+boosts+content%2C+video+reigns+supreme%2C+SEO+gets+personal%2C+data+privacy+is+king+%26+CX+is+everything.+%23MarketingTrends+%23FractionalCMO&via=@ducttape&related=@ducttape&url=" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>2024’s marketing is a wild ride. AI boosts content, video reigns supreme, AEO takes over SEO, data privacy is king & TRUST is everything. #MarketingTrends #FractionalCMO</em></a> <span style="float: right; margin-right: 10px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -18px;">Click to Tweet</span></div>
<p>Keep these insights close—they’re the compass for navigating tomorrow’s waves as a fractional CMO poised at the helm of change.</p>
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<p>Free up your time, increase ROI, and finally learn how to scale by licensing a complete <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/agency-certification-intensive" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fractional CMO+ system</a> for your marketing agency. We have helped 1000s of agencies scale and clients soar with this proven marketing system, <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/agency-certification-intensive" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">check it out.</a></p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-59291267544714687382024-01-17T12:05:00.001-08:002024-01-17T12:05:49.150-08:00The Zero Dollar Consultancy<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/zero-dollar-consultancy-phil-gerbyshak/">The Zero Dollar Consultancy</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/tosin/">Tosin Jerugba</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
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<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
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<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Phil Gerbyshak, a small business expert, author, and keynote speaker with over two decades of experience in sales and marketing. Phil shares valuable insights from his latest book; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7F75Y8R?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_30HCFA92A9BB2BZD1424_2">The Zero-Dollar Consultancy: How to Start Your Consulting Business with Little or No Money</a>.</p>
<p>Embark on a transformative journey as Phil unveils strategies for launching a consultancy with minimal financial investment. Learn how to navigate the challenges faced by those starting out in the consulting world and discover practical steps to initiate and grow your consulting business.</p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>Phil Gerbyshak, a seasoned small business expert and author of The Zero-Dollar Consultancy shares invaluable insights on mastering the art of launching a consultancy with minimal financial investment. In this episode you’ll learn actionable steps for beginners, the importance of finding a focused niche, practical pricing strategies, building strong client relationships through trust, and smart scaling strategies. Phil’s expertise provides a roadmap for both aspiring and experienced consultants to navigate the complexities of starting and growing a consultancy successfully.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask Phil Gerbyshak:</strong></h3>
<p>[00:52] Why did you think that people needed advice to start a zero-dollar consultancy?</p>
<p>[03:26] If somebody thought to start a business. Where should they go to figure out what their focus should be?</p>
<p>[06:31] What’s your take on the concept of picking a niche?</p>
<p>[08:23] Tell us about 3 of the 10 essential free tools you mention in your book everyone needs to get started</p>
<p>[11:34] What’s the best way to secure your first 3 clients?</p>
<p>[14:07] How does a beginner with no track record or case studies determine how to price their services?</p>
<p>[16:53] As a consultancy with a few clients how does one determine their first hire in order to scale?</p>
<p>[18:22] What are some of the common mistakes consultancies fall into when they get started?</p>
<p>[20:06] Are there any things, trends, changes that you see coming that that are going to impact this industry?</p>
<p>[21:25] Where can people connect with you and obtain a copy of your book?</p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About</strong> <strong>Phil Gerbyshak</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Phil on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/philgerb/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit his <a href="https://philgerby.com/">website</a></li>
<li>Get a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7F75Y8R?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_30HCFA92A9BB2BZD1424_2">Zero Dollar Consultancy: How to start your consulting business with little or no money</a></li>
</ul>
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<h3>Get Your Free AI Prompts To Build A Marketing Strategy:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/dtmnews/?utm_source=dtm-podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=free-prompts">Download now</a></li>
</ul>
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<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by ActiveCampaign</p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Phil Gerbyshak. He's a small business expert, author and keynote speaker, boasting over two decades of experience in sales and marketing. Throughout his career. He has worked with a range of enterprises from Wall Street firms to Main Street establishments, and today we're going to talk about his latest book, $0 Consultancy, how to Start Your Consulting Business with Little or No Money. So Phil, welcome to the show.</p>
<p><b>Phil (00:38):</b> Hey, thanks John. It's great to be here with you.</p>
<p><b>John (00:41):</b> So with a compelling title, like How to Start With No Money or $0 Consultancy, let's start really first with the premise. This is an awful question to ask an author, but I'll ask it anyway. Why did you think that people needed advice to start a $0 consultancy?</p>
<p><b>Phil (00:57):</b> So Million Dollar Consultancy is already out there with Alan Weiss, right? Alan wrote the book, it's a great book. It's great book. It's how to Make a Million dollars and that's great. I think though a lot of people struggle to get started, the questions that I get from folks like me are like, Hey dude, how do I get started? What's the first thing I do, not the 15th, the first? What's the 10 things I do? So I said, huh, let me think about that. Well, I don't know about you, John, but if somebody asked me a question more than 10 times, I'm probably going to write down the answer and make it into something for them. So that's what I did.</p>
<p><b>John (01:30):</b> So give us a little, other than the fact that you've been doing this for a while, give us a little background on what equipped you to feel like you were going to be the voice for those people trying to get started.</p>
<p><b>Phil (01:40):</b> Well, when I started, I had no clue. I remember back in 19 what? No, not 19 2006, not 1996, 2006. When I got started, I was like, well, what the heck is here? And before that, I mean, I did some work, but I wouldn't call it formal. It was like I'd get paid for doing random stuff and alright, well, in 96 there was nothing out there. And so I started doing things and then people would ask me questions and I'd end up coaching them, and then they'd ask me more questions and coach 'em some more, and then they refer to their friends and I'd coach 'em a little bit more. So I think of that as consulting, right? Because coaching, I'm not talking ICF. So tell me about your feelings and what do you think, John? But really in my zone of genius, which is tech, marketing and sales, inside my zone of genius, I know a lot of stuff.</p>
<p><b>(02:31):</b> So people would ask me questions and it would be way more complex than I could write in an email. So I was like, huh, okay, well maybe I should charge you some money for this and people would gladly give me money. And then so it just happened that I would do this, but I never ever found just that startup bible that I needed. Not hardcore Eric Rice type of stuff, just simple, actionable, do this stuff. So here we go. I said, this is the stuff that I coach. This is what I teach, this is what I believe, this is what I know works. So let's write a book.</p>
<p><b>John (03:05):</b> So the technology, the world we live in, all the things that have changed. I mean, it made it really pretty easy for anybody to get into any kind of business, regardless of the type of business. And frankly, there are heck of a lot of people that are doing the same thing. They worked for a company for a while, they didn't like it anymore. It's like, I think I'll do my own thing. How does somebody decide? How would you suggest that somebody decide some sort of focus? I mean, it's one thing people are asking you to help 'em a little bit. You sort of get led into it, right? But if somebody's thinking today I'm going to start a business, I mean, where do they go to figure out what their focus should be?</p>
<p><b>Phil (03:42):</b> Sure. Well, I read a little bit about this in the book because it's hard to find a focus if you don't have a guide. Here's the key, right? Find a guide, find a mentor, find someone you trust, and to ask them to ask you some questions. Some of those questions might be, so what are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? What do you not want to be doing? Who do you likes? You? Those are the types of questions that help. And then take some assessments. Take some assessments, see if that's really true. You know what? I like that. And I believe we make the most money and the biggest impact in our icky guy. If we think about that, what people pay you for, what we're good at, and then what we love. If we can combine those things, what gives us that juice?</p>
<p><b>(04:25):</b> We combine those things, that little sliver there, that's the best money. But from there, pick one of those three. I mean, you don't have to be the biggest expert to be able to consult with people. You just have to be a few steps ahead of them and understand, okay, so this is what they need. I'm not telling you that you should claim that you can take people to $10 million if you've never done it, but what I am telling you is if people ask you questions and they ask you them over and over again, you can work with people like that to start your business. And that can be your focus.</p>
<p><b>John (04:57):</b> And I think for a lot of people, I know to some degree in my experience, you evolve with clients. So some of those first clients you have to, may not be a perfect fit, may not be the right thing, but you learn what you do, what you don't like, what you're good at. So sometimes it's just a matter of get out there and start swinging, right?</p>
<p><b>Phil (05:16):</b> Absolutely. So that's the biggest thing. I've got a whole chapter on it, just getting started. I do think that's the hardest thing. I don't want people to overthink that. That's one of the reasons why I have 10 free tools. They might not be the greatest tools on the planet. There's thousands of tools though. Like John, how do I build a landing page? Oh my gosh, how much time you got? Or go to card.co and go build yourself a landing page. That's the thing. Just get started. And I agree with you. We do grow. We do pivot. I got to ask. Somebody asked me today, they said, so Phil, what advice would you give to people just starting out? And my answer would be prepared to change. It will not look anything like you expected when you started.</p>
<p><b>John (06:01):</b> Yeah, that's interesting. There's certainly a lot of common advice out there now, talking about people picking a niche and going really deep in that. And I think there certainly can be some value in that. If your whole world background is in a industry, it probably makes sense for you to start there. But I think it's really hard. I always tell people, just go get a few clients. Your niche will find you. Rather than saying, I'm going to today, start going forward, I'm going to work with dentists. It's like, I've never worked with dentists. I don't know if I'll working with them. Right? So what's your feeling on that idea of, because I mean, you can find plenty of experts talking about that's the way to go pick a niche and go deep in it.</p>
<p><b>Phil (06:40):</b> Well, it is hard. It's so hard because you might hate what you did. So instead, let's pick how you can pick instead of that, right? Instead of what you should pick. So how you can pick, you might say, you know what, I like working with middle managers. I like working with business owners. I like working with entrepreneurs. I like working with program managers. I like working with software developers. I mean, pick one of those, even if you're not one of those and pick one. Get a couple clients and say, test your hypothesis. Do I like working with them? And if I do a good job, do they pay me? You know what I would love? There's a lot of companies, a lot of nonprofits, a lot of people that I'd love to work with. But if you're going to pay me 10 bucks an hour, well, I can make more than that at McDonald's. That's not worth my time. I mean, I don't like that. Now that being said, maybe you do give away your first couple gigs. You waive your fee to get testimonials, to get feedback.</p>
<p><b>John (07:40):</b> Case studies,</p>
<p><b>Phil (07:41):</b> Case studies. Maybe you waive your fee, but you don't just give it away. You don't advertise. This is free. Then you get free suckers. And I hate free suckers,</p>
<p><b>John (07:50):</b> People just suckers. Well, plus I think you devalue what you do as well. I often tell people that are just getting started charge more than you think anybody's going to ever pay you because there's less competition at say, $5,000 a month than there is a $2,000 a month. And as long as you know can deliver value, it's a lot easier to work with fewer clients at a higher retainer. So let's talk about, I do want to come back to the 10 tools because everybody loves tools. So maybe let's go there right now. Don't give out the whole list because people need to buy the book to get the whole list. But let, let's go with three free tools that you think these are foundational. Everybody needs these when they're getting started.</p>
<p><b>Phil (08:29):</b> Sure. Well, I talked about card. CAR d.co is a free landing page tool. I think you should have an offer. I don't care what it is. It could sadly just be for a newsletter that you give out coupons. That's okay. Something though. Start capturing email addresses with that. Connect that to a MailChimp. MailChimp is free. ConvertKit is free under a certain amount. Find a free one just for and start gathering those. So those are two. And then the other one is, I don't know about you John, but I like money. Do you like to get paid?</p>
<p><b>John (09:03):</b> That's what a lot of folks that are starting out. That's like an afterthought. But yeah, that should be the first thought, right?</p>
<p><b>Phil (09:09):</b> Right. That should be right here. So wave.com. Wave apps.com. A, it allows you to invoice. Now you say, Phil, I don't want to take money online. Okay, you don't have to, but you can use that to have professional looking invoices. And I will tell you, professional looking invoices get paid faster than ones that look like your 8-year-old. My 8-year-old made them with his crayons. So please get that set up. And do accept credit cards. Do accept aach H because it's a small fee. It's a small fee mark. If you can't afford 3%, raise your rates. Raise your rates. I mean, come on now. Don't charge it to your client. Raise your rates. And with that, as you get more money and you understand it, continue to raise your rates.</p>
<p><b>John (09:59):</b> Yeah, no question. It's my pleasure to welcome a new sponsor to the podcast. Our friends at ActiveCampaign. ActiveCampaign helps small teams power big businesses with the must have platform for intelligent marketing automation. We've been using ActiveCampaign for years here at Duct Tape Marketing to power our subscription forms, email newsletters and sales funnel drip campaigns. ActiveCampaign is that rare platform that's affordable, easy to use, and capable of handling even the most complex marketing automation needs. And they make it easy to switch. They provide every new customer with one-on-one personal training and free migrations from your current marketing automation or email marketing provider. You can try Active Campaign for free for 14 days and there's no credit card required. Just visit activecampaign.com/duct tape. That's right. Duct Tape Marketing podcast. Listeners who sign up via that link will also receive 15% off an annual plan if purchased by March 31st, 2024. That's active campaign.com/duct tape. Now, this offer is limited to new active campaign customers only. So what are you waiting for? Fuel your growth, boost revenue and save precious time by upgrading to active campaign today. Let's talk about getting clients.</p>
<p><b>Phil (11:19):</b> Yeah,</p>
<p><b>John (11:20):</b> I got sidetracked there for a minute because the whole pricing thing I want to come back to as well. But as far as getting clients, again, we're probably talking about selling professional services to other businesses, B2B, right? So are there certain tactics or approaches that we should focus on first? I see a lot of people go jumping into business and they want to build the perfect funnel and have thousands and thousands of subscribers. And what's the best way to get client? 1, 2, 3.</p>
<p><b>Phil (11:50):</b> Well go see them in person would be best way, if you can, and I know that sounds so old school, but really these should be people that you know already trust you, people that know you, right? So go knock on the door. Hi John, how's it going? Hey, you got 30 minutes, we can talk. And most people be like, yeah, hey, let me buy you lunch. Great. Well, here's what I'm working on. Do you need this service or do you know somebody who does? That would be step one, step two, pick up the telephone, pick up the phone and ask people again. The good news is you should already be in their phone. You should already be in their phone. They're going to answer it. So that's your second way. And if that fails, well good luck. They're not really good friends. I mean, really, those are the only two ways as you're starting out to get your client 1, 2, 3.</p>
<p><b>(12:40):</b> That should be a way that you do it. Now, if they're across the world, I understand, get on Zoom, start a podcast, ask them questions, get to learn who the heck they are so that when you do send that email, it doesn't go to spam that they don't just ignore you. So that when John Chance sends you an email, I'm like, yep, what do you need, John? As opposed to John sends the fifth follow-up and like, dude, did you get swallowed by alligators? And I'm like, no, man, I've never got a message from you before that went in the spam bucket. I'm sorry.</p>
<p><b>John (13:12):</b> Yeah. So a couple things I want to throw in there, and I know you agree with this too, but LinkedIn, that's the equivalent, can be the modern equivalent done right, of reaching out to people that already know you and already trust you. I'm glad you used a trust word because that's what I always tell people is I said, your target market should be people that already trust you because you really are going to go out to them and say, here's what I'm doing. Got any ideas for me? You're not necessarily pitching them. Maybe if they're a perfect fit, you'll pitch. But a lot of what you're doing is just talking to people. Every single one of us knows somebody who needs you. And so a lot of times you're just talking to people so that they can go, oh, you know what? I just had a conversation with Phil yesterday and he was telling me that he needs this.</p>
<p><b>(13:53):</b> And so five times a day, you got to be doing that early on if you're going to get in any kind of momentum going, particularly when you're just getting started and you don't have this rock solid offer and website and all that kind of stuff. Let's talk a little bit about pricing. I know a lot of people struggle with how to, especially when they don't have a track record, they don't have all kinds of case studies that can prove that they get the results. So how do I go about finding what would be the right price? I mean, am I just saying, well, how much do I think people will pay me? Am I looking at industry guides? I mean, how do I go about pricing my service?</p>
<p><b>Phil (14:31):</b> Well, either of those are valid, but I like to do this instead. I like to figure out how much do I need to make a month? So let's do round numbers here. I like round numbers. I need to make $10,000 a month. I want to work a hundred dollars a month. That means I need to charge a hundred dollars an hour. Now that being said, here's the thing, you're not working every hour. So I would say take that and double it, and that should be your price. So $200 an hour should be your start. If you want to make 10 grand a month, and you'll be lucky if you work 50 hours a month. Now, that's not to say you're not going to do 200 hours of work, but you're going to do 50 hours of billable time. Think of an attorney who before they make partner, has to do their own research, has to do their own outreach, who has to do their own marketing?</p>
<p><b>(15:17):</b> Who has to still answer their own phone? Who has to answer their own email? Who has to go to networking events? That's you. That's you. So 50 hours of billable time a month would be awesome, and that will get you there. But it's hard. It's hard to get there. So I would tell you, Dan Rome said to me, John, I was at an event at 800 CO read years ago, and Dan's advice for everybody starting out was two words. Second mortgage, meaning it's going to be expensive, right? It's going to be expensive to get started. And don't be disappointed by that. Just know that until you get a cooking. That's why I don't recommend you leave with zero clients. Take your day job, use that as your capital infusion and your business, and start freelancing. Start moonlighting. Start getting some clients that my first coaching clients were at five in the morning or at 10 at night.</p>
<p><b>(16:09):</b> They were in different parts of the world. That's how you started out. You got to be willing to hustle it a little bit at the beginning. I mean, this whole hustle culture, once you get to a certain point, you don't have to work as hard, but you still got to work hard always. So start out people that know you, people that trust you, people you can talk to, figure out your hourly rate. And then here's the thing, it's okay to negotiate. It's fine. You don't have to hold that rate. But if you start if a hundred dollars and then negotiate down, you get $75, they start at $200 and then negotiate down $50, you're still getting 150. So that start high.</p>
<p><b>John (16:53):</b> Alright? So I've got a few clients, actually, things are starting to fill up. I'm feeling a little stressed because I'm working a lot. What's my first hire? How do I take it beyond just me and the time that I've got? Because let's face it, that doesn't scale.</p>
<p><b>Phil (17:09):</b> Yeah. So where are you weakest? What part of your business takes the most of your energy? If you hate sales, well, you probably shouldn't go into business for yourself, but if you</p>
<p><b>John (17:20):</b> Do, because no matter what you do,</p>
<p><b>Phil (17:22):</b> It's sales. Maybe it's sales, right? But beyond that, you need to hire a money person, C-O-C-A-O, whether it's part-time or full-time.</p>
<p><b>John (17:34):</b> Somebody to send out your invoices, right? Yeah.</p>
<p><b>Phil (17:38):</b> Well, or someone that isn't you to hound dog, someone who didn't pay the invoice. I hate that. I dunno about you, but I hate being a beggar. I don't be like, hi John, you still owe me $112. Hi, John. Still $112, right? I hate</p>
<p><b>John (17:51):</b> That. I tip for you. I'll tip for you, Phil. We get paid upfront. We don't invoice anybody. We put</p>
<p><b>Phil (17:58):</b> Love that too. Love that too. Absolutely. But people you trust though, people you trust, though I trust you're going to pay me, John. So okay, I'll get started on the work and then I get 10 hours in and again, right?</p>
<p><b>John (18:12):</b> So I keep losing my question there that, oh, I know. Yeah, I have it here. I was going to go to mistakes. So we've talked about a lot of the things to do. Sometimes people learn Best Buy, like what not to do. So what are a handful of common things that you see, mistakes that you see people fall into when they get started?</p>
<p><b>Phil (18:32):</b> Don't partner too soon. First of all, stay by yourself. I've had more failed partnerships than I can tell you, both relationships as well as business wise, because we go too fast. I get happy years. People get happy years, and they're like, oh yeah, that's perfect. No stop. Is this really perfect? Or does this just feel good? So everybody's got to bring their own clients. So the next mistake that I've made is putting people on payroll too soon. Somebody who does what I do does not double business. I still have to manage them. That's a hard thing. That's money that I don't get that they get, which is really paid. They are getting paid for me to mentor them. That's a big mistake. So don't do that. And then I would say probably the third big mistake is don't save for your taxes. Take that money, put 33% aside. You make a dollar, you put 33 cents aside. Make a hundred bucks, you put 33. I'm still paying my taxes from early in my career. Later I'm better, but I'm still paying early career taxes because I didn't have that sensibility about me. I'm like, oh, I'll make more money. Sure you will. And then you have lean times and then the IRS loves you and they'll call you every day. No, don't do that.</p>
<p><b>John (19:46):</b> Yeah. I think human nature for a lot of us that if money's in the bank, we're going to spend every bit of it. But if we put it in, if we take it out as a bill every month, it's like, well, I don't have that money anymore, so I better figure out how to do with less. So. Absolutely. Right. That's right. So I always quite often like to look ahead. Are there any things, trends, changes that you see coming that are going to impact this industry or this way of going to work?</p>
<p><b>Phil (20:13):</b> Well, AI of course, is going to change the whole game. AI will make things faster. You're not going to be replaced by ai. You're going to be replaced by somebody who knows ai. So start to learn AI now, whether it's Grammarly or chat GPT or video editing, or insert your thing here, use AI and get used to it. That's the biggest trend. Stay on top of that. And then you know what? That could be something that you add to your arsenal. Don't gin up a business and say, oh yeah, I'm an AI expert. You're lying. You're not.</p>
<p><b>John (20:46):</b> Well, we both have been around long enough to remember all the people that built their business as Twitter experts, and so it's not the platform. Fundamentally, what AI does for fundamentally what we are here to do hasn't changed. AI just gives us another set of tools in order to do that. But if you're not providing strategy context, it's just a bunch of lousy tools. And frankly, in two or three years, it'll all change. So absolutely, 100%. There's a whole lot of snake oil being sold under the AI get rich bucket right now, but don't fall pre to it. So Phil, I appreciate you taking a moment to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. You want to invite people to connect with you somewhere, or certainly find out where they can grab a copy of $0 Consultancy.</p>
<p><b>Phil (21:33):</b> Sure. So go to ZDC for $0 consultancy book.com. That's the easiest place to get it. And then find me on LinkedIn. Spell Gerb Hack. You'll find me G-E-R-B-Y-S-H-A-K. Just</p>
<p><b>John (21:45):</b> Find me. Awesome. Awesome. Again, Phil, thanks for stopping by taking a moment, and hopefully we'll run into you one of these days out there on the road.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-29924058670352619142024-01-16T12:06:00.001-08:002024-01-16T12:06:54.980-08:00Unlocking the Profitable Power of Trust<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/unlocking-profitable-power-trust/">Unlocking the Profitable Power of Trust</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/ducttape/DTM-John-SoloShow-July.mp3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</a></p>
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<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I’m going to talk about the profound impact of <em>Trust</em> in your business. This isn’t just about a buzzword, I touch on the intricacies of building and maintaining trust with your clients and how it can significantly influence the success of your marketing efforts.</p>
<h3>Key Takeaways:</h3>
<p>Trust is not just a foundation but a driving force behind successful client relationships. As we explored in this episode, the dimensions of trust, its value, and practical steps for building and measuring it are pivotal in today’s business landscape.</p>
<p>In this episode, you’ll learn:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Dimensions of Trust in Business</li>
<li>The Value of Trust in Business:</li>
<li>Building Trust with Clients</li>
<li>Measuring Trust Levels</li>
</ul>
<p>Embrace trust as a strategic asset, and watch how it transforms your business in 2024 and beyond.</p>
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<p><b>Speaker 1 (00:08):</b> Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch and it's another solo show. Today I want to talk about trust, and that sounds like a big fat hairy topic, doesn't it? So I'll be more specific. As a service provider, I want to talk about the idea of becoming the trusted advisor for your clients. I'm going to go into the benefits. I'm going to go into how to do that, but I'm guess let's start with what I mean by trust in the context of business. Trust shows up in a lot of ways. It shows up in your reliability. Can somebody count on you to do what you promised to do? Comes out in credibility. I mean, do you have proof? Can you show that you've gotten results for other people that seem to have the same problem that I have or that your client or prospect has?</p>
<p><b>(01:02):</b> It's an element of intimacy. We deal with a lot of private information with clients. I mean, we get into their business so deeply. Sometimes I feel like we're providing therapy, and I think that is a level that is wanted, but it also requires a level of vulnerability on their part, and that's certainly something that you have to earn. There is an element of what's a good term for it? Orientation and trust, meaning that a client comes to believe that you have their best interest at heart rather than just your own to make money. And how these elements that I'm defining as trust come about is varied. I mean many ways, but let's talk about some of the dimensions of trust. And I made a list, so I'm going to kind of read from it. Competence, you build trust by demonstrating your capability and proficiency in your field.</p>
<p><b>(01:56):</b> A lot of the way that we do that is by actually showing a proven system, installing a proven system for us. Consistency. We've been at this 30 years, so there's a trail, a long trail. We hear it every day from people who come to us as you've been around for a long time, you keep doing this. There's nobody saying anything bad about you. I mean, those are things that lead to the dimension of trust care. I mean, a lot of times people will think of trust as I can trust you because you care about our results. And that's very true character that shows up every day in every word, in every meeting, even in your marketing. I think character shows up as a dimension of trust and then communication, certainly owning up to mistakes, being honest about what somebody can expect, celebrating the wins with folks.</p>
<p><b>(02:48):</b> I mean, that's all part of it. And then a level of commitment that you can show that you really are in it to win it, in it to help your client get the results or the value that they're after. So those are all things that have to come into play in your marketing, certainly in your fulfillment to be a trusted advisor. So far have built up just what it is, maybe the definition of it, just for this context. I mean, I think we all growing up we're taught what trust meant and what it didn't mean. But in the business context, I think there are special elements that go with it. However, now I'm going to talk about the value of trust on top of it, creating what I think are much more fulfilling relationships with clients is far more profitable. Let's just be honest. You can charge a lot more money if you have a reputation for trust, if people believe that what you're, I mean, if you can prove that you've gotten results for folks, people are going to pay more for that.</p>
<p><b>(03:50):</b> You think about the example of a referral. If somebody is referred to you quite often, I mean, we still need to ask what the reasonable price is going to be, but quite often price goes down the list. It's not the number one component because there's risk, particularly in service providers, right? I mean, you're selling air, so there's risk in engaging anyone. And so the reason prices is such a consideration is because we don't trust that there's going to get a result or we've never worked with you before, so we don't know. So the idea that somebody who I already trust you allows me to borrow that trust, that's why referrals are so, such a potent way really to build a business, word of mouth, such a potent way to build business because there's a level of trust that is extended with that relationship. But I think that it's also important for you to build that level of trust through your marketing, but also through your fulfillment.</p>
<p><b>(04:53):</b> One of the things that we do is we offer strategy, but a lot of agencies just offer retainers. So you come to 'em and say, okay, it's whatever amount per month the rest of my life, hope you can get the result. We have a process we call strategy first, and everybody goes through that process first. We don't sell a retainer. We have to develop the strategy before we can really even develop what a plan or retainer engagement would look like. And what we found is that certainly that attracts a certain type of client, an investor client, which we have found to really be for our services, the best type of client. But it also gives us the space and the ability to develop a level of trust where we become a trusted advisor. So I encourage you, regardless of the industry you're in or the business you're in, can you have a way to have a, it's really a trial in a way, a project or engagement or offering that would allow you to develop not only a level of trust in the results, but just a trusted, high level, trusted advisor relationship that is really going to allow you to then recommend maybe without much pushback what needs to come next and what needs to come next.</p>
<p><b>(06:13):</b> And I think that if you have any issues with clients that they're just not a good fit, they push back on things. They don't take your advice, they hired you to consult, but then they won't let you consult. A lot of times, well, one of the reasons is because they're not the right fit. So that certainly happens. But the other element of that is they don't trust you enough, and sometimes that's on them. Sometimes that's on you because you haven't done whatever the step is that will allow you to build that. So let's talk a little bit about, now kind of switch gears a little bit to how do you build trust with clients? Well, trust is one of those things I suppose that can be repaired, but it's certainly one of those things that first impressions matter. I mean, how they see you, how they experience you, what leads them to even want to have a sales conversation with you.</p>
<p><b>(07:01):</b> That's a level of the customer journey. That trust building is going on completely. I talk all the time about the marketing hourglass stages. For us, the customer journey is no like trust, try, buy, repeat and refer. And that is a level of guiding people that have to come to know about you. But then the first impression makes a huge impression on whether or not we want to even spend our time and energy to go any farther. Obviously, we're not going to engage somebody at any level without a level of trust. And then as I talked about, the try for us is really almost our first engagement. We are being tried there and we are putting everything into building that relationship and that trust there. Communication and transparency. Tell people what you're going to do and do it. Stick to it. Communicate over. Communicate frankly, is a way that we build trust.</p>
<p><b>(07:53):</b> A client will tell you, a prospect will tell you, that's enough. I don't need that much. I got it. Just give me the highlights, and that's fine. You can always dial it back, but it's much harder to dial it in from a communication standpoint and from a transparency standpoint, here's what we're doing and why. Delivering on promises obviously and promises are funny because they're really, in a lot of ways, they're just expectations, right? I promise that this will be done by Friday, sets an expectation that'll be done by Friday. And so you either meet that expectation or maybe you exceed it, but if you miss that, you've broken up promise. And so that's really be careful what you promise to some degree. But breaking those promises is really going to erode or withdraw from the trust bank pretty quickly in terms of establishing yourself as a trusted advisor.</p>
<p><b>(08:41):</b> Some of that is demonstrating your expertise, being able to communicate what you've done for others. But I think it's also, I know one of the things people say to us all the time, I'm just very interested in all the new tech and AI and all the things we're about, and that to me is a level of people trust us to bring them the next thing when they need it, not because it's the next thing. And I think that continuous learning that adapting what we do based on what we learn is certainly a marker, a great marker of trust and something that people come to rely on. What you do in the community, how you network, those are all who you know, your network members of your network. I mean, those are all elements of the trust puzzle in terms of maintaining and growing trust takes work.</p>
<p><b>(09:29):</b> You think of any relationship, right? I mean, you ignore a close relationship and it will start to erode. You put in work, you continue to build that relationship over time. In fact, some people are so focused on new client acquisition. We've kind of forget about retention and the long-term benefits of really having those clients that have worked with you for years that love you, that trust you explicitly. Mistakes happen, challenges happen. Those are all part of doing business, trying to scale business. We're all human. We all make mistakes. Obviously, how you respond to how you respond to challenges says a lot about whether or not somebody can trust you. I've seen that many times over the years that people will forgive you for making a mistake, but for lying about it, for not owning up to it, for trying to push blame off on somebody.</p>
<p><b>(10:25):</b> That's where you really cut into a trusted relationship. So how do you measure trust levels for us? Retention and referrals and even engagement. The level of engagement. Now we have so many digital platforms that we're on today. In some ways it's not an exact science, but in some ways that goes greatly into are we putting in the time? Are we nurturing the relationships? Are we having X amount of conversations? Are we retaining clients? Are we getting referrals from clients? Those, to me, are obviously pretty significant markers of trust. So kind of a non tactical topic today, but there's so much value in becoming a trusted advisor, seen as a trusted advisor in your industry. Certainly seen as a trusted advisor with your clients. There's financial value, there's relationship value. It's just more fun to do business in that environment than it is to constantly have that tug of war with clients because you haven't put in the time and not even just the time.</p>
<p><b>(11:37):</b> I mean, the systematic approach to onboarding and to communicating. Those are all elements that will eliminate a lot of the back and forth struggle that you might have. The other tip I would give you is create that systemized, repeatable process that you can do on the front end that really focuses on developing that trusted advisor relationship so that whatever your work is beyond that will go much smoother. Alright, that's it for today. Again, love those reviews on iTunes or wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you've got ideas or thoughts that you want to share based on what I shared today, feel free to send me an email at any time, john@ducttapemarketing.com. All right. That's it for today. Hopefully we'll see you on these days soon. Out there on the road.</p>
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from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/T2xk40A<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-37513058109364081042024-01-13T06:05:00.001-08:002024-01-13T06:05:55.793-08:00Weekend Favs January 13<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/weekend-favs-january-13/">Weekend Favs January 13</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p>My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.</p>
<p>I don’t go into depth about the finds, but I encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one I took on the road.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://namora.ai/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Namora</a> -Namora is a dynamic assistant powered by GPT-4, specifically designed to supercharge the efforts of sales reps, and account executives. This advanced tool significantly enhances prospecting, research, and messaging capabilities, enabling sales professionals to close more deals efficiently.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.humanlinker.com/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HumanLinker</a> – HumanLinker emerges as a cutting-edge AI Sales Assistant, revolutionizing the approach of revenue generation teams towards their goals. It’s designed to help sales professionals effortlessly surpass quotas through personalized prospecting and efficient meeting preparation. By leveraging advanced AI algorithms, Humanlinker streamlines the sales process, enabling teams to target prospects more effectively and prepare for meetings with greater ease and precision. This tool is a game-changer for any sales team aiming to boost productivity and achieve better results in a highly competitive market.</li>
<li><a href="https://adzis.com/?ref=ducttapemarketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adziz</a> – Adzis is an AI Content Engine designed to empower online businesses to publish content regularly. Distinguishing itself from basic spinners or rephrasers, Adzis leverages advanced artificial intelligence to generate original and engaging content.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are my weekend favs; I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me <a href="https://twitter.com/ducttape" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@ducttape</a></p>
<p>If you want to check out more Weekend Favs you can find them <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/blog/">here.</a></p>
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from Duct Tape Marketing https://ift.tt/d7fSv6K<br />
via <a href="https://ifttt.com/?ref=da&site=blogger">IFTTT</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-74021206300632779462024-01-11T14:06:00.001-08:002024-01-11T14:06:04.148-08:00Camp Recruiting: The All-In Approach To Unleashing Team Potential<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/camp-recruiting-unleash-team-potential-mike-michalowicz/">Camp Recruiting: The All-In Approach To Unleashing Team Potential</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
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<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
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<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Mike Michalowicz, renowned author, speaker, and advocate for building unstoppable teams. With his extensive experience in the business world, Mike shares profound insights from his latest book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/All-Great-Leaders-Build-Unstoppable/dp/0593544501">All In: How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams.</a>”</p>
<p>Embark on a journey of leadership transformation as Mike discusses the innovative concept of camp recruiting and how it serves as the all-in approach to unleashing team potential. Gain valuable insights into redefining traditional recruiting methods and creating a culture that fosters team excellence.</p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>Mike Michalowicz introduces the game-changing concept of camp recruiting, revolutionizing traditional hiring approaches. This all-in method engages potential team members through immersive experiences, fostering a community-driven environment and identifying individuals with the highest potential. The discussion emphasizes the importance of aligning personal goals with corporate achievements, creating a reciprocal dynamic that motivates team members to contribute their best. Financial transparency emerges as a crucial factor in building a strong team culture, offering insights into the company’s financial health and instilling confidence. Striking a balance between supporting individual dreams and organizational goals becomes pivotal, with a focus on community values over a top-down culture. Despite challenges, the episode highlights the power of making an effort, genuine care, and support in creating a positive and thriving work environment. Mike Michalowicz empowers leaders to embrace the all-in approach, redefine team-building, and unlock the full potential of their organizations.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask Mike Michalowicz:</strong></h3>
<p>[01:38] What led you to write a book about building teams and building leaders?</p>
<p>[04:32] What strategies will you recommend for leaders wanting to build A-players?</p>
<p>[07:03] Explain the approach of camp recruiting?</p>
<p>[10:00] How financially transparent should organizations be in building teams?</p>
<p>[12:43] Where do you fall on the people operations approach of publishing salaries ?</p>
<p>[14:58] How do you balance caring about people’s personal goals and respecting the privacy what they do off-hours?</p>
<p>[17:22] What are some of the challenges people might face doing things the All-In way?</p>
<p>[18:45] Would you say that your book is about company culture?</p>
<p>[20:49] Where can people connect with you and obtain a copy of your book?</p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About Mike Michalowicz</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Mike on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemichalowicz/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit his <a href="https://mikemichalowicz.com/">website</a></li>
<li>Check out his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MikeMichalowicz">Youtube</a></li>
<li>Get a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/All-Great-Leaders-Build-Unstoppable/dp/0593544501">All In: How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams</a></li>
</ul>
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<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
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<p><b>John (00:08):</b> Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch and my guest today is Mike Michalowicz. He's an author, speaker, and all around great guy. He's also the author of Greater Really of the Profit First, which is used by hundreds of thousands of companies across the globe to drive profit books like Clockwork Fix This Next Get Different, and today's book we're going to talk about all in how great leaders build Unstoppable teams. So Mike, welcome back to the show.</p>
<p><b>Mike (00:38):</b> It's good to see you. One thing for my bio too, apparently I push alcohol on you. We ran each other in Whitefish. First of all, who does that? Who runs on each other?</p>
<p><b>John (00:49):</b> Well, the funny thing was we talked about it. I mean, we knew we were going to be there, but then I just kind was like, well, he's busy. I'm busy. And then we've run into each other in the same dang restaurants.</p>
<p><b>Mike (00:59):</b> I know totally unrelated things. We run into each other in the restaurant. I get you the obligatory drink, which is the Huckleberry Bourbon or something, or Huckleberry Vodka of Montana. You and your wife are walking out and I'm like too late and I had to drink hands. No, we're coming back in and sure enough, you are true to your word. I saw you walk back in, you must've been there for another five, 10 minutes before you and your wife walked out. So I'm impressed. I'm very impressed.</p>
<p><b>John (01:24):</b> Yeah, we sat on the little bench. I'm sure they wondered what in the world we were doing. And by the way, huckleberry bourbon is really bad.</p>
<p><b>Mike (01:31):</b> You got a KAR drink to, that was the bonus.</p>
<p><b>John (01:36):</b> Alright, first question. What possessed you to write a book about, well, it's called All In, but really about building teams and building leaders.</p>
<p><b>Mike (01:46):</b> Yeah, this is what it looks like. So the book, the subtitle is How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams. How it came about is pre Covid, you get this too. People in my community, my readers, we have coaches, experts. I'm in a regular dialogue and my most common question is, what's the challenge you're facing now? And I look for that common thread. It was recruiting, retaining, raising the bar, and I think people were kind of blaming it on millennials, a new generation and sure, new generations, new needs. But that was, it's true for every generation. And so I started researching and testing, but then Covid hit and we went into Hyperspeed. What was formally a desire became an expectation. People wanted flexibility in their work schedule. Now it's an expectation that's available. People wanted to work from home, remote access. Now it's expected. And so when Covid hit this went into Hyperspeed, we finished testing out through our companies. Other companies codified the system and produced</p>
<p><b>John (02:41):</b> The book. Yeah, it's funny, a lot of people talked about the great resignation. People just don't want to work anymore. And it's like, no, people just don't want to work for you anymore. You'll still want to work. Right? That's the reality, isn't it? People just decided they don't have to take it anymore and that they can go find a job that puts their priorities as priorities.</p>
<p><b>Mike (03:06):</b> When I was in Whitefish, I hosted or spoke at an event and I asked the audience, it's pretty big audience, a couple hundred people, which for Whitefish is massive. And I've been asked this question to a lot of people. I said, who here in this room is an A player? And now these are business owners, managerial leaders. Every hand goes up, everyone's an A player. I'm like, don't be bashful here. I don't want you to pretend that you are. That's great. Then I asked with their hands up, I said, what percentage of the population are A players? Just shouted out the biggest was 10%. And I'm like, okay, everyone's hands up in this room. That's a hundred percent yet we're saying it's only two to 10%. What's wrong here? And my argument is they are right. Everyone actually isn't a player, but most are a players in waiting.</p>
<p><b>(03:52):</b> You can pick any human being on this planet and they aren't a player if they're put in the right environment where they could thrive. And most cases it is not with your business. If we're a small business, I got 20 positions here, I can't support most people. So my job as a leader is identify, do I have an opportunity for someone to flourish here? And if I don't, then can I guide them to somewhere else? They can flourish. So to your point, if people don't want to work, it's because they really don't want to work for you. You're not setting up an environment where they can flourish and maybe you don't have that environment and that's okay too, but we have to acknowledge it.</p>
<p><b>John (04:24):</b> So if somebody is going to pick up the book, one of the things I know you're going to teach is this basically some strategies for developing structure. So if somebody feels like, Hey, maybe I've got the wrong people or maybe I've just got the wrong approach, what are some strategies they can start employing to develop those folks that to date they've seen as C players?</p>
<p><b>Mike (04:44):</b> Yeah, typically me identify a common approach we use and see what the results are and if it's not working, probably the common approach isn't right. So a lot of my theories or approaches seem contrarian, but it's simply whatever we're doing now is not working. One of the most common things, and I was guilty of this, I remember about a decade ago with my companies, I came out of the office and I wrote on the board, I called my 30 employees together and said, I've spent the last day running our numbers and my God, we can achieve $10 million in revenue this year. This is our corporate mission and we're going to do it by doing X, Y, and Z. And I had the tire playing in the background just for emphasis, and it was total silence and I'm like, what's going on? Why isn't everyone pumped about our corporate mission?</p>
<p><b>(05:30):</b> My assistant Patty came to me, John and said, Mike, you get the bigger house, you get the new car, but why should we care? We have our own dream. And that's the moment I said, oh my gosh, a great leader, John, if you don't have an invigorated team, it's because it's not because your corporate mission isn't right. It's the realization. The corporate mission is really the dream of the owner or the leader or the leaders, but everyone has their own dream. Someone wants to learn this new language, someone wants to buy first, car, learn, play guitar. Our responsibility is to learn about the visions that our team members have for their lives and make that a priority. The job is a vehicle to get there. It's maybe it's an expression of themselves, but it's also a means to achieving those goals. But if we don't what the goals are, we can't support it. So our job is identify their personal goals, then align their accomplishments along with the corporate accomplishments and reciprocity kicks in. If I'm supporting you helping you get your first car, I'm not paying for it. I'm keeping your dream in front of you. I give you a work environment that can support that. Then you're likely to reciprocate and set a work environment that supports my dream, the corporate mission. That's what we need to do.</p>
<p><b>John (06:39):</b> When people talk about acquiring talent, one of the challenges is just recruiting. I mean that was for a lot of companies. There was just so much competition for that over after post covid, but you present an approach, I think you call it camp recruiting, that I think if people wrap their heads around, we'll see this really innovative and I think it offers some opportunities beyond recruitment, but I'll let you explain the approach of camp recruiting.</p>
<p><b>Mike (07:07):</b> So traditional recruiting is run an ad on the platform de jour. It used to be monster, now it's indeed. Then interview someone. The result is about 10% of hires are long-term meaning say over five years and considered a players meaning top performing members. Most hires don't work out. It's a hard system, but I did find an industry, and I want to say it's a trillion dollars in revenue. I actually got to look up the exact number that does not do a single interview, and yet they get top talent constantly. It's the sports industry. Just a personal story, I played sports in high school, I played lacrosse and I went to a camp in Northeast called Hobart. They're a preeminent lacrosse college. I went there with 300 other kids and all of us improved. They coached all of us to get better, but certain kids were being tapped on the shoulder saying, Hey, there's another field we want you to go over to even further your skills.</p>
<p><b>(07:58):</b> What they were looking for was people with the most potential, the spark, and at the end of the camp, two or three kids were ultimately invited to play at Hobart. Not one of them, but they did. But I will tell you what happened to me. I played collegiate lacrosse and the reason I did was because in part that camp, it's a cool environment that everyone gets better and certain people are cherry-picked well in our business environment, we can do the same. Instead of doing interviews, run a camp. This is where you educate your community. You need to hire a bookkeeper. That's great. Run a bookkeeping camp or course, learn to be a bookkeeper, learn the skills. What our job then is to teach everyone and prove everyone, but in the process, who's showing the most interest, the most desire, the most thirst ultimately, and those people have the most potential.</p>
<p><b>(08:42):</b> Now, one last thing is this is not just theory and you should try it out. It may work. There are corporations doing it just if you're not doing it, you got to do it. Now, home Depot, a mega corporation. The next time you see build a workshop that is a camp. What they're doing is they have you come down with your kid or some other people and you start selling birdhouses. Yes, they're ingratiating with the story, you're getting familiar with it, you're learning skills. They have an employee there observing the best participation. Who's the parent that's helping out other parents, who's learning the most, who's answering questions. When people have a question, they then tap that person on the shoulder and say, you're the type of candidate we would love to have work at Home Depot. Have you ever considered employment here? It's a great recruiting mechanism.</p>
<p><b>John (09:25):</b> I recall you playing at No Bart,</p>
<p><b>Mike (09:27):</b> Right? No Bart. Sorry, help myself. I did. I played. I played. My position was left out.</p>
<p><b>John (09:34):</b> Talk a little bit about, I know one of the things you talk about and promote in your business as well back into Profit First even, but is this idea of financial transparency. I think a lot of times you talked about the $10 million goal, and so you get the new house. I think a lot of people think of it that way. It's like whether it's true or not, they think the boss is making a whole lot of money and that's like a demotivator, right? And so talk a little bit about your thoughts on how transparent we should be as part of this idea of building a teams.</p>
<p><b>Mike (10:04):</b> There surely is an educational component to your point. The revenue of a company is usually the perception of the owner's income. When you're making a half a million dollars in revenue, they think you're taking home half a million when most business owners are actually getting further in debt to cover that half a million in revenue. But there's another component and it's based upon Maslow's hierarchy of needs. All of us need among other forms of safety, physical safety, physiological safety, we also have what's called financial safety. We need to have security. And if you've ever been broke or in dire straits financially, you know the stress it puts on you. So the employer has to bring about that safety. Now, there's two ways we do it. One is through the compensation of an employee. I'm not saying unreasonable compensation, you can't pay someone beyond what you can reasonably afford and what's appropriate for that position, but we do have that responsibility.</p>
<p><b>(10:55):</b> But the other part is the open books. What's so fascinating about Open Books is it gives our colleagues confidence and understanding of where the business is headed, which brings a sense of financial security. So open books isn't just about an education to the team, it's actually giving them comfort of where the business is headed. Some people say, well, I got to show the good stuff. No, you show the real stuff because business just like life because it's ups and downs, but people have confidence because you're exposing it that they're hearing the truth from you and that they're more comfortable in the position.</p>
<p><b>John (11:26):</b> It's my pleasure to welcome a new sponsor to the podcast. Our friends at ActiveCampaign. ActiveCampaign helps small teams power big businesses with the must have platform for intelligent marketing automation. We've been using ActiveCampaign for years here at Duct Tape Marketing to power our subscription forms, email newsletters and sales funnel drip campaigns. ActiveCampaign is that rare platform that's affordable, easy to use, and capable of handling even the most complex marketing automation needs, and they make it easy to switch. They provide every new customer with one-on-one personal training and free migrations from your current marketing automation or email marketing provider. You can try Active Campaign for free for 14 days and there's no credit card required. Just visit activecampaign.com/duct tape. That's right. Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Listeners who sign up via that link will also receive 15% off an annual plan If purchased by March 31st, 2024. that's active campaign.. That's active campaign.com/duct tape. Now, this offer is limited to new active campaign customers only. So what are you waiting for? Fuel your growth, boost revenue and save precious time. By upgrading to active campaign today, there's a move afoot in people operations to actually publish salaries so that everybody knows what everybody's making. Where do you fall on that?</p>
<p><b>Mike (12:52):</b> I'm not necessarily a fan yet. We congeal everyone's salaries, but the numbers, how we display them is if you decide to make the effort, you could figure it out. You could figure out exactly how much I'm making. We disclose when we do a profit distribution as an example, I share 20% with our organization, the owners of the company. And in this case, I just own my company exclusively. I get 80%. So you can figure out the exact profit distribution I'm taking. You can see everyone's compensation in one package. In my parts, I'm part of it and you can figure it out. I think disclosing it takes away a sense of integrity and some negotiations and confidence. So that's why we don't do it, but it's definitely figureoutable. Do you have a different opinion? I'm curious.</p>
<p><b>John (13:35):</b> I think I'm probably a little bit old school that I think it just seems so foreign that I think even some of the open book things, it seems a little foreign from people, but I think it's, it's going away as all organizations are going away from top down. I think as far as how they're structured even So I think that it's eventually, as long as this system is set up fairly, where I think people get in trouble is they publish it and it's like, well, why is that person making that much more than me? We're doing the same work or something. So I think it has to be fair and people have to understand how they go the next level, what their career path looks like and the objectives to meet that. And I think as long as you do that, I've always probably erred on the side that it's just a lot of work to set up a system that is that transparent.</p>
<p><b>Mike (14:24):</b> One thing that's interesting is in the sports industry, that's where I took this work camp or camps, work camp is not the right word. Camps or workshops I should say, where concept. They also disclose salaries, how much the coach is making, how much every player's making and players in the same role are making different amounts of money based upon their contribution. So the starting quarterback makes more than the second string quarterback,</p>
<p><b>John (14:47):</b> Especially in the NFL. You hinted a little bit of this helping a person meet their own personal goals and then obviously contributing to the organizational goals. Do you ever find that there's a balancing act there where it's like it's none of your business to help them reach your personal goals? Again, I'm citing some things I've heard before and it's like I don't need to get into what they do in their off hours as opposed to I want to support what they're doing in their off hours. How do you balance that?</p>
<p><b>Mike (15:18):</b> Yeah, we only support what they volunteer to share. So people do have certain private matters or something, right? I'm running a drug ring on the side, I need help with that. Some people may not disclose that, nor would I decide to help with that. How we help is in very rare circumstances do we ever help fiscally. What's interesting, what we found, and this was through research I did with a company called Jan coa. They're a janitorial firm in Cincinnati, 700 janitors, the founders Mary Miller. She shared a great story. She said, Mike, when someone becomes a janitor, it wasn't like this was a dream of theirs. No one dreams of being a janitor, but they all have dreams. And so I said, well, do you help fund that purchase of the house or do you help? Just absolutely not because that diminishes the achievement of the dream.</p>
<p><b>(16:02):</b> The funny thing is, and we know this in our personal lives, it's not when you achieve that great success, it's the effort that you had to expend to get that great success that's more meaningful back to sports. Imagine two teams show up to the Super Bowl and they say, Hey, let's not even play games. There could be injuries. Let's just pick a winner. You win. That destroys the game. It's the effort required to get that accomplishment, and that's true just for humanity. So when people disclose their dreams, our goal is to preeminently, keep it in front of 'em. That's our primary dream. Make sure they're aware of that dream and that we're talking about it. Secondly, if we can block and tackle, make some resources available, whatever we will. One of the biggest dreams that came out from Amy here, she said, I just want to be cancer free. And every year she's been with us now for five years, we mark another year cancer free. And the fact that we're acknowledging the team, she's come back to us many times and saying, I feel so supported in this organization. I'm not surprised. She supports us accordingly in return.</p>
<p><b>John (16:59):</b> So what are, I guess in terms of somebody's listening to this, obviously go out and get the book. What are some challenges that you think people are going to face in trying to implement some, in many cases your ideas? I mean, profit First was innovative for some and odd for some. So what are some of the challenges you think somebody would face? They come in and say, here's how we're going to do it. Now we're going to do the all-in way,</p>
<p><b>Mike (17:30):</b> Right? Yeah. Too fast, too much too soon is always a problem. One of the things is the fear of getting it wrong. I want to improve my leadership, but if I make a wrong mistake, I actually may take a step back. There's some fascinating feedback is if you go about trying to serve your team and you do it wrong, it still serves the team. I had my own experience here. We set up a little game. We have a daily huddle, and after the huddle I had this bozo punching doll when we were kids, you could punch it, it kind of falls down and comes right back up. I'm like, oh, let's get dark guns and as a fun game, we'll shoot it. And whoever hits bozo in the nose with their dark gun wins $5. And we did it a couple times and people were like, oh, do we have to do the bozo thing?</p>
<p><b>(18:12):</b> So it clearly, it was a flop. As I deflated the balloon and took it out, I felt defeated. I was like, oh, I was trying to do something fun for our organization. It was just stupid. It was like a foosball table. Why did I do this? And Jenna came up and she said, Mike, no one caress that it wasn't good. They care that you simply care. You made an effort. Thank you. Do it again. And that inspired me to realize, my God, when we simply make an effort, even if it's sloppy or ugly, people will care. So don't be concerned about that, but it is a common concern. To get it right is not necessary to get it started is</p>
<p><b>John (18:45):</b> Would you say that this book, as much as anything, is about company culture?</p>
<p><b>Mike (18:50):</b> Yes, and I've discovered that culture, a lot of my things are contrarian. I've discovered that culture is misused is probably the better word, is here's my set of rules for life. I'm the founder. This is going to become my set of rules for the company, and I need people that comply with my set of rules so that we're consistent. But what happens is you cause a silo effect. So most of these culture rules are a silo system. What I found is community trump's culture, and what I mean by this is look at the collective that you have and find out everyone's individual values. Every book I write, we deploy these techniques in our own businesses. First, I have a rule that's no dicks allowed, and the rule is real simple. I will not do business with someone that qualifies as a dick and as rude as it's not worth my effort or time, but I won't be a dick too.</p>
<p><b>(19:41):</b> If I do that, I will punish myself because that's not an appropriate behavior. I shared with my team, I said, it's about no dicks allowed. And they're like, Mike, that's so broy. Let's get rid of that. The new term which can replace that is the no bro show. We're not going to be that Broy brand. Look at my Amazing Jet and all that nonsense that can go on out there or the non Broy brand, but that's not my belief. That's our collective belief. It's something that our community came up with individually. We come together with this. We all do have our individual values and that's the best part is that we are different. We're encouraging that diversity. There's some common beliefs that come about from us. So that's my spin on corporate culture.</p>
<p><b>John (20:25):</b> Yeah, it's funny, your corporate jet picture, I had a 10-year-old, I love the car, but kind of beat up Mini Cooper and I was so tempted one day to do me standing in front saying, this could be yours too if you that three big, but I never got around to it and I don't own the car anymore.</p>
<p><b>Mike (20:45):</b> Oh, that'd be so funny.</p>
<p><b>John (20:46):</b> Well, Mike,</p>
<p><b>Mike (20:48):</b> Actually mocking.</p>
<p><b>John (20:49):</b> Yeah, exactly. A few moments to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Anywhere you want to invite people to connect with you and pick up a copy of All In.</p>
<p><b>Mike (20:56):</b> Oh, John, thank you. I'd love it. The best place to go right now is Amazon, and I know that's 800 pound gorilla, but Amazon's algorithm, how it works is when someone buys all in, there's a lot of demand for it. Right now it looks for similar, I guess, avatars. It'll look for people that have buying trends like you and it promotes the system. So it's the best way selfishly to get the word out. But if you want to get resources and all that stuff, maybe the Better Starting Spot is All in by Mike. That's me all in by mike.com. You can check it out there and there's links to independent bookstores, other stores you can get if you prefer not to get it on Amazon.</p>
<p><b>John (21:31):</b> Awesome. Well, again, thanks for taking a few moments and hopefully we'll run into you soon out there on the road.</p>
<p><b>Mike (21:37):</b> That'd be wonderful. I got you a drink. I'll buy you a drink for sure.</p>
<p><b>John (21:40):</b> No huckleberry.</p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9007399290453693023.post-4551346102185642752024-01-11T12:05:00.001-08:002024-01-11T12:05:43.101-08:00Unveiling Business Clarity: Strategies to Work Less and Achieve more<p><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/business-clarity-strategies/">Unveiling Business Clarity: Strategies to Work Less and Achieve more</a> written by <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/author/johnjantsch/">John Jantsch</a> read more at <a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com">Duct Tape Marketing</a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=YAP7164393192&light=true" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<h3>The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch</h3>
<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-75664 size-medium alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-1-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-1-300x300.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-1-1024x1024.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-1-150x150.png 150w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-1-768x768.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-1-75x75.png 75w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/New-DTM-Podcast-Graphics-1-1.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p>
<p>In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Jim Vaselopulos, a seasoned business advisor and the founder of <a href="https://www.raftiadvisors.com/">Rafti Advisors, LLC</a>. With a wealth of experience in guiding companies through various stages of growth, Jim shares profound insights from his latest book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clarity-Business-Wisdom-Work-Achieve-ebook/dp/B0CK5CSF4T?ref_=ast_author_mpb">Clarity: Business Wisdom to Work Less and Achieve More.</a>”</p>
<p>Embark on a journey of business transformation as Jim unveils strategies for achieving clarity in the ever-evolving business landscape. Learn how his approach helps early-stage companies kickstart their growth, assists growth-stage companies in overcoming plateaus, and guides mature organizations through strategic shifts and complex challenges.</p>
<h3><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h3>
<p>Embark on a journey of business transformation with Jim Vaselopulos as he unveils strategies for achieving clarity in the ever-evolving business landscape. Discover the power of clarity and how it enables leaders to focus on essential aspects, achieve more with less effort, and overcome common challenges faced by businesses of all sizes.</p>
<p>Gain insights into the significance of recognizing mentors and benefactors, expressing gratitude, and fostering a collaborative work environment. Explore the parallels between business symptoms and medical symptoms, emphasizing the importance of identifying root causes for lasting solutions. Learn Jim’s strategies for making time an ally, including the power of focus, intentional decision-making, and mastering the art of timing, sequencing, and patience, and dive into the concept of conscious competence, understanding why you do things to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Jim’s insights offer a fresh perspective on achieving clarity in a busy world, making this episode essential for those seeking to enhance their business acumen and effectiveness.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Questions I ask Jim Vaselopulos:</strong></h3>
<p>[01:12] Explore the significance behind <em>Rafti</em> in Rafti Advisors</p>
<p>[01:46] Tell us about the business background that led you to where you are today</p>
<p>[04:45] Have you come to understand that the keyword: clarity is the most significant thing missing in business today?</p>
<p>[06:00] Why is it common that it takes a third party to give clarity?</p>
<p>[10:56] Explain the parallels between business and medical symptoms as you highlighted in your book</p>
<p>[12:51] Talk about making time your friend and how this is a challenge a lot of small businesses face</p>
<p>[15:17] How does one get to the point where they can comfortably work less and achieve more?</p>
<p>[17:28] Where can people connect with you and obtain a copy of your book?</p>
<p> </p>
<div>
<h3><strong>More About</strong> <strong>Jim Vaselopulos</strong><strong>:</strong></h3>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Connect with Jim on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimvaselopulos/">LinkedIn</a></li>
<li>Visit his <a href="https://www.raftiadvisors.com/">website</a></li>
<li>Get a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Clarity-Business-Wisdom-Work-Achieve-ebook/dp/B0CK5CSF4T?ref_=ast_author_mpb">Clarity: Business Wisdom to Work Less and Achieve More</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Get Your Free AI Prompts To Build A Marketing Strategy:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/dtmnews/?utm_source=dtm-podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=free-prompts">Download now</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Like this show? Click on over and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/duct-tape-marketing/id78797836?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">give us a review on</a> iTunes, please!</p>
<p>Connect with John Jantsch on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ducttapemarketing/">LinkedIn</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by ActiveCampaign</p>
<p><a href="https://www.activecampaign.com/promo/dtm?utm_source=thirdparty_podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=DTM_promo"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-74623 alignleft" src="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1-300x200.png" alt="" width="128" height="85" srcset="https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1-300x200.png 300w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1-1024x683.png 1024w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1-768x512.png 768w , https://149781471.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/629dfc8845310cb9dd20a0b2-1.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px" /></a></p>
<p>Try ActiveCampaign free for 14 days with <a href="https://www.activecampaign.com/promo/dtm?utm_source=thirdparty_podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=DTM_promo">our special offer</a>. Sign up for a 15% discount on annual plans until Mar 31,2024. Exclusive to new customers—upgrade and grow your business with ActiveCampaign today!</p>
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<p><b>(00:08):</b> Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Chance. My guest today is Jim Vaselopulos. He is a C level business advisor with a proven record as a leader, strategist, rainmaker, and new business development expert. He's the founder of Rafti Advisors, LLC, where he helps early stage companies get off on the right foot growth stage companies push through plateaus and mature organizations with strategic shifts and complex challenges. He's also the author of Clarity, business Wisdom to Work Less and Achieve More. So Jim, welcome to the show. Yeah, thank you for having me, John. Appreciate it. So I do with that very Greek name. You did great. You did great. A lot of people just don't even give an attempt, so I really appreciate it. Most people go by Jim V, you look at my name, it's spelled very, A lot of conson is crushed together, so I know a lot of people struggle with it, so I make an attempt to get everybody's names.</p>
<p><b>(01:09):</b> So I'm always curious about names being of names, business names. So Rafti advisors, what's the rafti? Well, seeing as I'm Greek rafti is, or Rafti actually in Greek is a small town in the mountains of Peloponnesian, Greece where my dad was from and where I hearken from my relatives. And that pays homage to my heritage and from which I gained a lot of the, I think, wisdom that is ever present in the book I just wrote. Awesome. Well, I'm glad I asked that. Alright, so give us a little lot of times when people write a book, they've had a long journey that brought them to that point. Give us a little bit of your business background that led you to where you are, but maybe also give a sense of what kind of experience you were able to gain that, let's face it, allowed you to write a book to tell people how to do stuff.</p>
<p><b>(02:00):</b> Yeah, I mean, I'm one of those guys that probably needed to learn lessons the hard way and I think sometimes that's the best way to learn. But I'm writing a book, so not everyone has to learn the hard way, but I've been very fortunate to have a lot of great mentors and people along the way guiding me, nudging me, giving me advice. I was always just very mindful of those moments that you could almost recognize in your life that were kind of pivotal. I just wanted to capture all that. I had a pretty successful corporate career, started as an entrepreneur pretty early in my life, in my early twenties, and then I'll tell you, it's been wonderful, but it hasn't been something I did alone. It was always with the help of other people and I wanted to kind of credit many of those folks that were known benefactors of mine and some of them that I call in the book momentary benefactors, people who played an outsized role, they didn't even realize it, and I think that's important in life.</p>
<p><b>(03:00):</b> That's interesting. A lot of entrepreneurs, I've read thousands of books, certainly when I was getting started, I leaned very heavily on people like Peter Drucker and Seth Godin, who's become a good friend, and I always tell people that they were mentors to me. They didn't know it at the time. Certainly Peter Drucker was not even alive, but I think probably most entrepreneurs have that collection of people that we sometimes just forget really played a role. Yeah, I mean I think it's important to be intentional and one of the great joys actually, and I just sent a batch out of books today, mailing them to some of these folks, just I wanted 'em to have a copy of say, listen with a nice little note inside saying, you really helped me and you may not realize it, but you had an outsized impact on my trajectory.</p>
<p><b>(03:47):</b> And I think that level of gratitude and is important to having a good life where you feel fulfilled and it also moves the needle forward and makes everyone else in your sphere feel maybe an inch taller as well so that they feel like, Hey, I didn't realize I had done something good. That's always a nice thing to do. I've written a number of books and I occasionally hear from people that have little stories, big stories about the impact. And I will say that you're right. Sometimes you write these books and you think, is anybody even reading these things? And then you hear a story from somebody and it made a difference. That's why I do this. Yeah, exactly. Break down both parts or a number of parts of your introduction, but going to the book, it's interesting clarity a, I think if you went to business owners, I know that I do it all the time.</p>
<p><b>(04:34):</b> I don't think a single one of, well, I shouldn't say most, would not say my greatest challenge is I don't have clarity. They know something's wrong, they can't figure it out. They're doing what they've thought is the right thing to do. That word clarity, have you come to discover that when you can get people to understand that they realize that is the most significant thing missing? It's one of those things that I think as you said, people don't go looking for it, but they typically are looking for something they don't know what it is and they feel confused or burdened or just overweight with just all kinds of stimuli that are coming at them. And really it was my clients that told me that's what they valued in the beginning. I thought they would've said like, oh Jim, you're wise and we value your wisdom.</p>
<p><b>(05:24):</b> But they really didn't value the wisdom. They valued the results of the wisdom, which was clarity. They said, I feel like less encumbered. I feel like I know what to do next. I feel like some of the worries I had are muted or at least put on the side because I know that which matters most right now is in my sights and I'm going to go after it. And so clarity was the word that came up time and time again for my clients and I thought, wow, that really is what people value. And if I'm going to write a book, let's put that right front and center. This is what people value. So why do you suppose that it quite often, most often takes a third party from the outside to come in and give you clarity? I mean, why is business owner the person that's in it day to day, not able to see that's the missing piece?</p>
<p><b>(06:14):</b> Well, I mean because human, I think it's really hard to kind of sit through your own head trash sometimes. And we have so many filters that we put between us and reality. I mean, the first part of the book talks about from a business sense of what goes on with business problems you're trying to deal with, but really as you get deeper into it, it gets very much more into the kinds of things that distract us, how easily distracted we are with assumptions and is let astray by our emotions and to try and understand how to peel back those layers of the onion. It's always easier to see a fault in someone else's golf swing or in their tennis stroke, but it's hard to see it for yourself. And so these are the kinds of things that getting objective partners, and it doesn't always need to be someone who has more experience than you.</p>
<p><b>(07:06):</b> I will tell you I work with a lot of entrepreneurs and business leaders who are, I believe far more accomplished than I ever was, but they're human and so it's easier for me to see something going on than for them to see it themselves. And so I think there's a partnership there between a player and coach that can be productive when people lean into that relationship. I've had examples over the years where I've had a 10 or 12-year-old look at a website that we had designed for somebody and we thought was perfect, and they're like, well, how do I make it do this? And you're like, all these experts looked at it and they didn't have that question. I think you're right. Sometimes it just takes somebody who's not involved in a way that could show you something. You work with businesses in numerous stages and I'm curious, do you find that they come to you with very similar characteristics?</p>
<p><b>(07:56):</b> So the startup phase has similar characteristics, somebody who's plateaued as you talked about, they've got the same challenges, almost all of 'em, somebody who's now a mature business. Talk to me a little bit about what you see as the characteristics at each stage, because I'm guessing also there's a level of lack of clarity that maybe changes at each stage. Yeah, I think one of the dirty little secrets having been a consultant for many years is that most businesses actually face very similar problems across the board, even spanning industries and sizes, et cetera. I mean, they're very similar. No one wants to hear that, but that's the truth. If I were to say though, some things that tend to be more, I'd say popular with smaller companies, I think a lot of times smaller companies get sequencing wrong. They know all the things they need to do, they tend to do 'em in the wrong order.</p>
<p><b>(08:47):</b> They might obsess about operations and efficiency when they really should be focused on sales. And it's not that both aren't important, it's just one might not be as important yet. And so I think that plagues smaller businesses in bigger businesses. I think you get in a lot of time management issues around delegation and accountability and trying to come up with systems that allow you to manage the broad scope of things because it's too big for any one individual to try and get their arms around. And it maybe was easier 30 years ago when we had a lot of layers of middle management, but now that we've got pretty flat organizations, those problems become a lot more severe, more quickly. And so just getting the structure right on how you're going after things and sometimes that just is getting a focus on what to do much about that from a management standpoint, it's about saying no, management isn't about approving things.</p>
<p><b>(09:45):</b> Management is about saying like, Hey, this is what we should not do. Or if I approved, this is the implicit no, that goes with it. So let's make it an explicit no. Yeah. And now a word from our sponsor. Work better now. Work better now provides outstanding talent from Latin America, hand matched to your business with over 40 roles across various industries, including marketing, there are a reliable partner for consistently finding the perfect fit for your business. Simply tell them what you need and they'll handle the rest. We have two work better now, professionals on our team, a marketing assistant and a marketing coordinator, and we've been blown away by their abilities, responsiveness and professionalism. They've really become an essential part of our growing team. And to top it off, each dedicated and full-time work better now. Professional is 2350 per month and there are no contracts to schedule a 15 minute consultation with a work better now rep and see how they'll support your business growth goals, visit work better now.com, mention the referral code DTM podcast and you're going to get $150 off for your first three months.</p>
<p><b>(10:54):</b> That's work better now.com. And don't forget that DTM podcast code. That's interesting. I often tell people that all the time that half the job I do in developing strategy for people is selling 'em what not to do because I do think that's a real challenge for most businesses. They've got everything. Everybody's telling them they need this idea and this idea, and it's really easy to get scattered. We fall into this trap where we say, oh, this is a good idea or this is bad idea. Most of the ideas tend to be pretty good. I mean, it's just a matter of it's not good now. And I think putting things in the context of time, we can't do it all, can't do 'em all. This is a good one. This is probably the best one to do now with the limited resources we've got, whether it's time, money, people and then say, it's not that the other ideas were bad, it's just not yet.</p>
<p><b>(11:45):</b> And so when it comes to strategy, strategy is about the sequencing of all the tactics, all the initiatives we want to put together, and I think we frequently kick people to the curb with their ideas and have them think their idea was bad. It might be a perfectly great idea, just not yet. You talk about in the book the idea of business symptoms being like or medical symptoms. Talk a little bit about how they are the same and maybe how they're different. I often talk about a business comes to us and they have symptoms of not having a good strategy and they're trying to cure the symptoms. Talk a little bit about your view of that. The reason I compare 'em to medical symptoms is because I want people to kind of internalize this in a way that makes sense to them. And so accountability is a huge problem most businesses face.</p>
<p><b>(12:33):</b> And I kind of talk about how it's kind of like having a fever, it's really common, but just because you have accountability. I mean you might treat a fever with aspirin, but there's a root cause behind that. There's a reason, there's a fever. The fever isn't the problem, the problem is an infection or something else. And so we always have to dig deeper. And what I like to help people realize is that the symptoms are always outcomes. An outcome is if you have misalignment isn't the problem. That's an outcome of other issues. And so you want to be really careful with that being too busy or having conflict with the organization. Those are outcomes. Even culture, probably the most controversial symptom I have in my book is an outcome because I always talk about that like the immune system of your body. It's not that you have a bad culture or a good culture.</p>
<p><b>(13:25):</b> You've got a culture that is sometimes weak and sometimes strong, and the culture is really a manifestation of the actions you take on a daily basis. It's an outcome. What are the things driving those actions? Well, that starts getting you closer to the ground truth and where you can really have an impact solving a problem. And I love that analogy because there are definitely a lot of businesses out there that are just trying to treat tactics or treat what they see as a problem with the tactic, the tactic of the week, and that they really just end up creating another problem. A lot of times you talk about making time your friend probably the greatest challenge. Certainly small businesses face how I'm sure listeners are waiting. How do you make time your friend part of it's focus saying no to things, being very intentional about stuff.</p>
<p><b>(14:13):</b> I think one of the other great ways to make time your friend is to really understand, take the time to think through what matters most. There's so many things we do that we don't need to do. Okay. And you just need to really think about that, make a little bit of time to evaluate what you're doing on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis and just say, did that move the needle? Why do I keep doing that? Who's telling me I have to do that? Is there a reason? Is there a discussion? I can have to stop doing that. And in my career, I was able to do things that formally or took me 40 to 60 hours a week to get done and get that down to four to six hours a week. And everyone says, oh, that's crazy. But I really just applied some of the same thinking that Tim Ferriss had in his book, the Four Hour Work Week.</p>
<p><b>(15:02):</b> And I just said he always just threw the rule book out the window and just said, let me question everything. And that's really a good practice. Then I think there are a couple other little things I'd add to that mentality. One of them is timing, sequencing, timing in patience. Really those are really powerful things that can make time your friend knowing the right order to do things and then timing the same amount of energy goes in hitting a foul ball versus a home run. It's just a matter of hitting the ball at the right time. And so understanding your timing and knowing what the right time is and are you spending a little bit of extra time here and there to really figure that out. Because when you figure that out and you start Hint home runs all the time, well guess what? Work gets really easy and then you build up more time to learn and improve.</p>
<p><b>(15:50):</b> So it's like this self-fulfilling prophecy if you just spend a little bit of a time trying to figure out the right timing for things, the right triggers for things. And that is a process I really call conscious competence, which is do you know why you do things? Do you know why this particular phrase or this particular process works so well at this time? And if you know the right things to do at the right time, work gets easier, time becomes your friend, and you get to invest way more time getting even better at it. So the promise of the book really shows up in the subtitle, work less, achieve more. How do you get to that point where you actually can experience that as a reality? So literal this really busy world, we've all got a million things coming at us and whether it's from the internet, tv, our clients, our email, I think it gets down to stripping away layers of the onion and getting to that which matters most is so you can have the most impact with the least amount of work.</p>
<p><b>(16:47):</b> So I'm inherently a super lazy guy. I've had a lot of success in my life, but I'm always going to take the leap path of least resistance. So I'm like water, I'm going to find the easiest way to get through something. And so the outside layer is don't focus your time on symptoms, recognize symptoms, peel them back, understand where the problems are. Once you understand the problems, peel those back and understand what's clouding your perception of those problems. Because it's the little things that cloud our ability to kind of see the world clearly and cleanly that slow us down. And so you peel that away. Then I kind of add in this kind of emotional aspect of trying to see other things that affect our demeanor, our temper, our perspective. Then you get into sequencing, timing and patients. I have a clear view, but now I can order things and organize them in the right way so that I can have the most impact and start hitting home runs instead of foul balls.</p>
<p><b>(17:42):</b> And then as we get further into the book, it says, and here is the process you use and it's really this conscious competence and working with other people to help them feel empowered to get to a point where you're getting a lot done, you're working a lot less and you're achieving your goals much more because you're not wasting a lot of time on stuff that doesn't matter or move the needle and it can be done. And I just wanted to share that with folks because I mean, literally at the end of my professional career before I got into coaching and advising, I was doing the work that other people were taking 60 hours to do in less than a day. And it got to the point where it was annoying people. They're like, well, how do you do that? And I said, well, this is the recipe.</p>
<p><b>(18:28):</b> This is how you do it. Awesome. Well, Jim, I appreciate you taking a few moments to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Is there someplace you'd invite people to connect with you and obviously pick up a book or find, I got a terrible last name. It's hard to find on LinkedIn and everywhere else, so I tried to make it easy for everyone. Business wisdom.com. If you go to business wisdom.com, you can connect with me on LinkedIn and you can see information about the book and about my business and everything you need is right there. Awesome. Well, I appreciate it again for you taking a few moments and hopefully we'll run into you on these days out there on the road.</p>
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