One of my interviews this week for Course Builders TV was Sarah Robb who's created a course to teach freelancers and clients how to create world-class brand strategies.

One of the things we talked about in the interview was how Sarah made sure there was real demand for the course before creating it by interviewing potential buyers.

Not only did those interviews tell her that the course did indeed meet a real need, they also told her exactly what people were looking for from the course.

Not just the practical benefits, but the emotional side too. The fears and concerns they had when doing brand strategy. The uncertainties and hesitations when they were selling it.

In other words, the key “hot buttons” the course needed to address in order to motivate potential buyers to get off the fence and stump up their cash.

You'll hear Sarah's story and her lessons learned from building her course when Course Builders TV goes live in a few weeks.

But for now, I thought it was worth highlighting the importance of doing something a lot of us are actually a bit scared of: asking for help.

In Sarah's case, she asked potential clients to give a bit of their time to help her create a great product for them.

I know personally I'd have agonised over sending the invites. “Won't they think I should know this stuff already?”. “Will they think I'm being cheeky asking for their time?”. “What if I don't like their answers?” 

It takes a little bit of bravery to admit you don't have all the answers and reach out for help.

Not “rushing into a burning building to save someone” level of bravery of course.

But minor bravery. About as brave as marketing gets.

The kind of brave that saves you a ton of wasted time and effort and ensures you get much better results from your marketing.

But the kind of brave most people don't do.

You don't need to wait until you're launching a new product to do it. You should really be asking clients and prospects for their input, ideas and feedback on a regular basis.

And if you get into the habit of asking for feedback, it's a lot easier to do it when you really need it.