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Why you don’t get the results the gurus get

Posted byIan Brodie on December 5th, 2014.

Have you ever tried to implement some recommendations from a big-name expert, but not got the results you were hoping for?

It's certainly happened to me a few times.

You watch a video. The guru tells you “follow my exact, step-by-step approach”. They say “do X, Y and Z”. You do X, Y and Z.

And your results are nothing like theirs.

Sometimes that's because the guru, ahem, “exaggerates” their results so you buy their products.

More usually it's because they neglect to mention the conditions they got those results in.

Like already having a huge mailing list and a pre-established brand. Or that this stuff works in their niche (usually the weird niche of people wanting to learn how to do marketing) but it won't necessarily work in your niche.

I'm sure the same thing has happened to people following some of my recommendations too.

Sometimes things just work out differently in different situations. Life isn't paint-by-numbers.

But what does work every time is learning. Trying out the recommendations and if they don't work as well as you'd hoped, tweaking them to make them work.

I ran a campaign recently based on a guru recommendation that started out badly. Results about half as good as he'd got percentage-wise.

But rather than abandon the whole thing I rethought it a bit.

I was sure the core idea of the strategy was good. It's just the type of offer at the end wasn't a great match for my clients.

So I changed it around based on feedback from clients. Lo and behold, my results were twice as good as the guru had reported.

Try the same thing yourself. Rather than just copying what the experts say you should do, treat it as an experiment.

Test what they're saying. If it doesn't work as well as you hoped, look at why not and try changing something.

You'll very often find that even if the expert's strategy doesn't work straight out of the box, there's at least the germ of a great idea in there you can use and get results from.

Success at marketing is never about just blindly copying others. It's about testing and tweaking and getting something that works for you.

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What’s your iPod?

Posted byIan Brodie on December 5th, 2014.

In November 2014, Apple Macs hit a market share of 13% of the global PC market. They've grown market share in 33 of the last 34 quarters.

There are many reasons why Apple's doing so well. Power, usability, ergonomics, fashion.

But I believe one of the biggest reasons for Apple's recent success in computers has simply been the iPod.

The iPod – and later the iPhone and iPad – made millions of people “Apple people”. People who hadn't previously considered themselves as Apple buyers.

Not only did they have a positive experience of Apple through the iPod, but for the first time, they considered themselves to be Apple buyers.

When it came time to buy a new PC, instead of just looking at Windows options as they'd done previously, many of them widened their horizons to consider a Mac. Previously, a Mac just wouldn't have figured in the decision – it'd have been ruled out subconsciously.

But once our self image includes an Apple buying element it becomes much easier for us to consider a higher priced part of the range.

We no longer have to make that psychological leap to seeing ourselves as an Apple buyer. We're already there.

The same thing happens with many potential clients.

If they've not hired consultants, coaches or whatever it is you do before, there can be a huge, inbuilt resistance to doing so.

They just don't see themselves as someone who hires a coach or a consultant. They barely consider it.

But if you can construct a simple “no brainer” offer. Your version of the iPod: a brilliant product with a low price tag. You can shift their perception.

You can get them to see themselves as a person who buys consulting or coaching. And so someone for whom buying a large project is just a step up from what they've done previously, not a whole different thing.

Someone who's bought even just one day of consulting is exponentially more likely to buy a big engagement than someone who's never bought consulting before. The same goes for almost every conceivable service.

So what can you construct that's a low-cost, no brainer offer that will get your potential clients to see themselves as a buyer of your type of services.

What's your iPod?

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Have you turned your marketing into a system?

Posted byIan Brodie on November 30th, 2014.

“Systems” is such a dull word. But systems are vital if you want to move your business beyond startup mode.

When you're starting up everything is new. You make things up as you go along. You just do what it takes to get things to work.

But when you've built that initial client base and you're fairly busy, if you want to progress you can't waste time recreating things all the time.

I've learnt that personally I only have limited mental capacity. I can think hard about stuff for a few hours a day, but after that my brain is much less effective.

I can continue to have meetings, chat to people, do familiar tasks. But I can't create a lot of new stuff once my mental capacity has been exhausted.

So I need to reserve my limited brain power for when I really need it.

For me that's stuff like working directly with clients, creating new training material and writing blog posts, emails and maybe doing the odd video.

I don't have the capacity to be constantly thinking about what to do next. Or how I'm going to get more email subscribers. Or what I can do to get more website traffic.

That's why I've created systems to do that stuff for me.

They're not all automated, but they are all “no brainer” stuff.

My website traffic these days comes from online advertising campaigns, some guest blog posting and appearing on other sites in interviews or podcasts, and sharing of my material on social media.

I review what I'm doing quarterly. But on a day by day basis I don't have to think about it. It's either running itself, or I just get on and do what I need to do.

Similarly for nurturing relationships with potential clients, I don't spend time thinking about what to do next and coming up with lots of new stuff. I just write emails as part of my system and send them out.

Selling stuff? My system is to include a link at the bottom of my emails for people wanting to learn more and get faster results. And I do occasional webinars to promote products.

But again, I'm not reinventing the wheel all the time. I'm not having to think hard about what to do, I'm just executing my system.

Have you got systems in place in your business, or are you having to think hard every time you do marketing?

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Get over yourself Ian

Posted byIan Brodie on November 16th, 2014.

You know when you go to an event or you meet people you know and you ask them “how's business?”

Has anyone ever said to you “not that great” or “pretty bad really”?

No? Me neither.

No one wants to be seen as anything other than super successful. So we build this veneer around us so that we're never seen as anything but brilliant by the outside world.

And that's usually fine. In the absence of other evidence, some clients will interpret how well you look like you're doing as being how good you are at your job. A worn-out suit, battered briefcase and hangdog look don't send the right signals about how successful you'll be working together.

But many of us take it too far.

We go beyond giving a good impression to being petrified of seeming weak or needing help or being anything other than perfect.

It means we don't call old contacts to see how things are going because we don't want to “seem desperate”.

We spot opportunities where we could help clients in other ways but we don't bring them up because we don't want to look like we need the business.

We reach the end of sales discussions with clients and let it peter out because we don't want to seem “salesy” by asking the client if they're ready to start working with us.

But it's all in our minds. Calling up old contacts to explore opportunities is sensible business. Alerting clients to areas you could help is sensible business. Asking clients if they're ready to start is sensible business.

Clients don't think less of you because you ask. In fact if you don't, some will wonder why they're not hearing from you, why you're not identifying things that could help them, and what the point of the sales discussion was if you're not going to propose something.

** Our hesitancy to reach out to clients because we're woried how it might look is much more about us and our own insecurities than it is about them **

I guess there are a lot of things you could do to examine your inner motivations and issues to cure yourself of this.

But personally, I find that what works for me is when I find myself thinking this way to say to myself “get over yourself Ian”.

Stop being so darned self-centred. The world doesn't revolve around me or you and what everyone else thinks of us.

So just reach out and ask the questions that will get you more business and help your clients more.

More Clients Memorandum

Marketing is *much* easier if you have this

Posted byIan Brodie on November 9th, 2014.

I grabbed a coffee with a friend recently to talk about some new ideas for their marketing.

They're doing pretty well, have expanded to two offices, and now want to grow further.

I did my normal “quickfire” review with them where we look at their ideal client profile, their value proposition, and the marketing messages and methods that would resonate with their ideal clients.

And you know what? It was all pretty easy.

Not because I'm some kind of genius with secret sauce I can sprinkle on to any business to instantly supercharge their marketing.

But because they already had most of the key elements in place. They just needed some help harnessing them in the right way.

When I asked my friend about his ideal clients, he had a very clear picture of two different types of business.

When I asked him about what value he brought to those clients and which of those elements of value were distinctive to his business and different to his competitors; then after a bit of thought he was able to come up with a solid shortlist.

And when we talked about valuable content and insights he could share with his potential clients to get their attention, give value in advance, and sign them up for ongoing communication he came up with a whole bunch of ideas.

All it took then was for me to show him how a systematic marketing system works and to help him with a bit of prioritisation and planning and he was off and running.

Contrast that with some businesses where trying to get them to say who their ideal client is or how they add value and why they're different is like wading through treacle.

If your business is genuinely adding great value to your clients in ways that your competitors can't match, then creating a value proposition or USP is fairly straightforward once you know the steps.

But if you just do pretty much the same as everyone else and think people hire you because you've “got great people” or you're “good value” then you're going to struggle.

If you're bursting with useful ideas and tips and insights that can help your clients business then – when guided in the right direction – you'll be able to come up with literally dozens of effective ways of reaching more potential clients.

Because if you've got great stuff to share there are no end of people, websites and media happy to share it for you.

If you've got little new to say then the reverse is true. You'll struggle to get anyone willing to showcase you or introduce you to their contacts or audience.

A lot of people think of marketing as some kind of wand they can wave that will get them into contact with a whole bunch of clients and magically persuade those clients to work with them.

It doesn't work that way. Marketing isn't something you bolt-on. It starts with having a great business that does brilliant work for clients and has something to add that others can't easily match.

Crack that and the mechanics of marketing become way easier.

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Why you don’t need to be brilliant at marketing

Posted byIan Brodie on November 2nd, 2014.

Does it sometimes feel like not only do you have to be brilliant at what you do, but you also have to be brilliant at marketing (and selling and managing and technology and…) to succeed?

You really don't. Despite what it feels like sometimes, and despite what people selling you marketing training would like you to believe.

Millions of people find their life partners and fall in love every year without ever being brilliant at chat-up lines or romance.

What shines through is their good intentions and their love. That's what gets them their partner; not clever words or “pick up” techniques.

It's the same with your marketing. You could invest decades of study into getting brilliant with words, or hire a highly paid copywriter to write you the best ever sales page, elevator pitch or descriptions of your services.

You can have the most seductive, most perfectly written stuff on your website. And still it wouldn't hold a candle to the impact you can get from regularly adding value to your potential clients.

A “lead magnet” that people sign up for and that gives them incredibly practical tips on their key challenges. Regular emails or personal contacts that are interesting and useful.

They're much, much easier for us regular folks to produce than world-class copywriting.

But done repeatedly over time, “actions speak louder than words”.

They prove to your potential clients that your ideas or services work because they see the results in action. They build your credibility and create the desire to work with you far more than any brilliant advertising could do.

So next time you're feeling a bit overwhelmed by the thought that you have to learn even more clever new marketing techniques, just remember that the best form of marketing is to do useful stuff for people.

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‘Fess up

Posted byIan Brodie on October 26th, 2014.

Do you do everything perfectly?

Of course not. Me neither.

No one succeeds at everything. No one gets everything right first time. No one glides through life in a series of stunning victories.

In fact pretty much every successful person has failed multiple times in their life.

Yet for some reason when we speak to clients we feel the need to keep
up this façade of perfection.

When you get regular emails from many people, it's all about their brilliant successes and how you can be just like them if you only follow their simple success formula.

I don't know about you, but I kind of get bored with that. It feels like they're not being honest with me.

I've found that if I'm honest and open in my emails and blog posts about what hasn't worked for me as well as what has, then it forms a better bond with the people reading them.

Whether that's my failure to take action when I should in “So are you going to do this?” or my struggles with 1-1 selling in “My worst sales meeting ever”.

When you share the truth about your own story people empathise more. They understand you moved beyond the struggles and you now know what you're doing and have something to teach – that's why they signed up or tuned in.

But honesty about the hurdles you had to overcome helps them connect better.

And it's more interesting too. Think of any great book, film or story. The hero always has to overcome adversity to succeed. Without danger there's no tension and no elation when victory comes.

And your audience pays more attention because you've had realistic success too. They're much more likely to feel they can do what you're recommending if you didn't get things perfect the first time yourself.

And sharing your failures and struggles also makes a more human connection. These days we like our celebrities to be more like us. We've realised that everyone has feet of clay and the “perfect in every way” icon just makes us suspicious they're hiding something.

So when you're communicating with potential clients – especially in emails and blog posts or articles where you're giving advice – don't be frightened to ‘fess up and admit to some of your failures.

It will lead to success.

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Magic feedback (literally)

Posted byIan Brodie on October 12th, 2014.

I was at a magic convention a while back.

As I think you might know, I haven't performed magic seriously for years but I like to go to the odd convention to keep up with old friends as see “what's new” in the magic world.

One of the acts performing in the gala shows were the “Victorian Time Travelling Magicians”, Morgan and West.

Very good act. Well structured. Funny. Magical. Do go and see them if you get the chance.

Their act oozes class. But it doesn't just happen by accident.

I had a chat in the bar with Morgan after the show. But it was only a quick chat because as soon as their show director arrived they disappeared off to do a breakdown of the act: what had worked well and what they could do to improve it.

While the rest of us chatted, laughed, drank and shared tricks, Morgan and West were working on improving their act with direct feedback from an experienced show producer.

Feedback like this is vital if you want to improve anything you're doing.

For performers, audience reaction, applause, laughter, gasps of astonishment tell them whether they're doing a good job. In marketing it's sales, website visits, click-through rates, optin rates, etc.

But just knowing whether something is good or bad isn't enough. You need to know how to improve it.

That's why professional performers have paid directors, producers and advisers who give them feedback not only on whether something is good, but also on how to make it better.

That's why I introduced marketing critiques into Momentum Club. When we do our regular webinars, as well as me presenting content or answering questions, I also give feedback on marketing that members have submitted. 

You can get feedback from a mentor or coach, from colleagues in a mastermind or even a group on Facebook or Linkedin you're a member of (but make sure the people you get feedback from really do know what they're talking about).

And then you need to test.

No mentor or coach can be right all the time. They can point you in the right direction based on having seen many similar situations. They can help you avoid a whole bunch of pitfalls. But you'll need to test your improvements and see whether they result in more “applause” as you'd hoped.

Of course, most people don't get feedback. They don't test and improve. They just wonder why they're not getting the results they want.

Don't be one of them.

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You are not your client

Posted byIan Brodie on October 5th, 2014.

I was reminded of an important marketing truth this week: you are NOT your client.

It came up when a friend asked me to look at some headlines on opt-in forms on some big websites.

To be honest, I found them quite transparent and manipulative. They were the sort of straw man alternatives you sometimes see. A “Yes, I want more sales” button vs a one saying “No, I don't want to find out how to get more sales” if you didn't want to sign up.

I really don't like them and they cause me to deliberately click the “no” option just to be contrary.

However, the data showed that they work.

And that's the point with marketing. We're not marketing to ourselves. We're marketing to our clients. And they sometimes behave differently to the way we'd behave.

Now many of us built our businesses based on being like our clients. A lot of what I teach about marketing and sales is based on what I (painfully) learnt myself.

I was far from a natural at marketing and sales, but managed to get good at it. So I generally have a good instinct for what most of my clients want and need.

But over the years I've grown to quite enjoy marketing. And I'm pretty good with the technical side. That's not true for many of my clients. So my instincts won't always be spot on.

That's why with marketing it's vital to test everything. You might think you know what will work with your clients, but you never really know until you test.

I was wrong about those buttons. I've been wrong about which landing page will have the better opt-in rate and which email subject line will have the better open rate.

But I've tested and learned. You should too.