Big Circle, Little Circles

By: Tad | Published: December 21, 2010 · 31 Comments

Niching.

Gah.

This is the toughest nut to crack.

It can feel a bit like this picture – “So. Many. Blueberries. Which do I pick?“

If we think of just picking one – we feel this sense of, “Oh no! I’m missing out on all the others! I’m limiting myself.” but if we try to go after all of them at once – our mouth isn’t that big. And that feels overwhelming. “Where do I start?“

Luckily, there’s another way forward.

There’s a lot to it but, over the past few months I’ve come up with a process and structure that seems to be helping a lot of people work through it all a bit more easily.

And I wanted to share it with you as my holiday gift. Just watch the seven minute or so video below (and there are funny jokes at the very end too!). It was made by my new pals from Ottawa at Bindu Productions. Check out their stuff – they can help you create a kick ass video like this – or also a super affordable and gorgeous website.

So . . . Big Circle, Little Circle.

Here are a bunch more examples as a scanned hand drawn image in this free PDF . . .

FREE & CHARMING PDF: Big & Little Circles

Two things I’d love to get from you:

1) Feedback: Does the make sense? I would love your feedback and questions here – this is a new thing I’m working out and I want to make sure it’s clear.

2) What are your circles? Leave them in the comment box below with your website. Who knows? You might just get a clients out of it …

If you’d like get cool posts like this in your inbox every few days CLICK HERE to subscribe to my blog and you’ll also get a free copy of my fancy new ebook “Marketing for Hippies” when it’s done.

| Categories: marketing strategy, Niche Marketing - Tags: niche

your marketing calendar

By: Tad | Published: December 20, 2010 · 4 Comments

This is the coolest thing.

My colleague from Toronto Gisela McKay who runs www.naturalhealthcare.ca sent me the coolest thing today and invited me to share it with you.

It’s the coolest tool for creating your 2011 marketing calendar. It’s mostly designed for holistic practitioners – but I think you’ll find it useful (or at least inspiring and clarifying) no matter what you do.

Check it out . . .

The Marketing Calendar Cheat Sheet PDF: http://naturalhealthcare.ca/downloads/cheatsheet

Why is this useful?

So . . . I’m a lazy hippy.

Really.

My marketing planning has, thus far, consisted of, “Hmm. Yeah. I’ll do some workshops in the fall. That’s eight months away – plenty of time to plan.” And then the month before scrambling to make it all happen.

Fear of commitment? Maybe. (Get off my back . . .)

But maybe you can relate. Feeling like your marketing is a bit haphazard and last minute. No cohesive, over all, big picture plan.

So . . . the practice of having a scheduled marketing calendar makes so. much. sense.

I might just do it this year . . .

The benefits, as I see them:

imagine beginning your year knowing exactly what you’d focus on in each month in your marketing.

knowing that each promotion would be tied to what people were already thinking and talking about.

knowing that your content would be relevant to people.

that your emails were way more likely to be opened and forwarded to people.

that your blog posts would be more likely to be shared on social media.

TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY – The Marketing Calendar Cheat Sheet PDF:

http://naturalhealthcare.ca/downloads/cheatsheet

| Categories: becoming a hub, holistic practitioners, marketing strategy - Tags: becoming a hub, relevance

be strategic, but don’t be a dick

By: Tad | Published: December 16, 2010 · Leave a Comment

I just watched this video about being ‘too strategic’ with social media on a new site I cam across. What tagline, “Less stuck. Less struggle. More awesome.” I like it.

And how that can actually hurt you.

Simple wisdom. And funny!

Go watch the video by clicking here.

And of course – I bet he has more awesome stuff on the rest of his website – http://www.sankofasong.com

| Categories: becoming a hub, marketing strategy, Social Media - Tags: authenticity, becoming a hub, building trust, conversations, online marketing, social media

Marketing is like Baseball

By: Tad | Published: December 2, 2010 · 4 Comments

My colleague and mentor, Robert Middleton talks about how marketing is like baseball.

It’s like baseball in a few ways . . .

First of all, you can have all the right baseball equipment and just be terrible at the game – if no one has ever taught you how to play, the rules of the game and how to throw a ball or swing a bat.

Translated to marketing, you can have a website, fancy brochures and business cards with pretty logos and still not market effectively. It’s not just about the right ‘equipment’.

Secondly, home runs and grand slams are rare. The baseball greats only hit homeruns occasionally. Translated to marketing – it’s actually very rare to meet someone and have them book a session with you on the spot. It happens from time to time but it’s really rare.

In his (brilliant) model each base represents an important phase we have to get to in our relationships with people before they’re ready to buy. This is my paraphrasing of it . . .

Home Base: Stranger. At home base, marketing is a bit like the old TV show Cheers. Except nobody knows your name and nobodies glad you came. You’re approaching people totally cold. They don’t know what you do. They don’t trust you. The idea of working with you hasn’t even crossed the horizon of their mind.

First Base: Clarity. They get what it is that you do. They understand how you might be able to help them. There’s no fuzziness. They could explain what you do to a seven year old and have them get it.

Second Base: Trust. They like you. ‘You’re my people!’ they think. And they trust that you can help them get from where they are to where they want to be. They trust not only your character, but your competence. Crucial to this is Pink Spoon Theory.

Third Base: Excitement. You start hearing them say, ‘I should hire you! I should come to your workshop. Why haven’t I worked with you yet?’ They’re intending to – but maybe the timing isn’t right, or they haven’t been asked in the right way.

Home Base: They pay you the money and sign the contract.

Most entrepreneurs want to go straight from being a stranger to having the person pay them. That’s how the fantasy works. You meet someone, tell them what you do and BAM! they pay you money. Again – this happens incredibly rarely. But, it happens enough that people get hooked on the ‘hopeium’ of it happening again.

Let me be clear: hope is not a marketing strategy.

Looked at another way: when you try to skip bases – bad things happen.

Imagine trying to skip from home base (being a stranger) to second base (trust) without them being clear about what you do. Madness.

Or trying to go from first base (clarity) to third base (excitement) without building any trust. That’s most business nextworking meetings I’ve had the misfortune to go to. This is going up to someone, asking what they do and then immediately saying, “hey . . . we should work together sometime . . .” What? Too much too soon.

(Also good dating advice)

Or trying to go from second base (trust) to homebase (they pay!) without honouring the best timing for them. Pushing it faster and harder than is a fit. You will not only lose trust – you’ll violate it. Going for the hard close never works long term. I’ve seen it happen.

People go to a presentation – the presenter is warm and wonderful – the content is great. And then? The hard close. The push. The manipulative tactics. And it’s gross. People leave feeling awful. Or maybe having signed up for something they didn’t really want to.

What do you think? Does this make sense? Do you have any stories of this in action being upheld or violated?

| Categories: marketing strategy - Tags: building trust, safety

Do you want curiousity or clients?

By: Tad | Published: October 8, 2010 · 2 Comments

Do you want curiosity or do you want clients?

I saw this poster on a mailbox in Toronto the other day and it made me think about the whole effectiveness of posters.

Posters are often used to ‘get my name out there’. In fact, a lot of marketing is used in that way. Networking, handing out business cards, placing regular ads in magazines etc.

But ‘getting your name out there’ is different than building up a following (e.g. email list, facebook page, blog etc). Do you really want to get your name ‘out there’ or would you rather get their name ‘in here’ (e.g. on your email list)?

This is a vital distinction.

Here’s the big challenge with them. They work, for the most part, on the ‘cold’ level. The people who see it have never met you. There’s no relationship and no trust.

Ask yourself this: When’s the last thing you’ve ever bought something from a poster?

Exactly.

And when’s the last time you bought something because a close friend recommended it?

Double exactly.

Another challenge with posters: they are one directional (Marketing 1.0). It’s you talking at them. But, unlike with a blog or social media – they can’t talk back. And marketing has moved away from pitching into creating conversations (Marketing 2.0).

But! Here’s where posters can kick ass: when they’re placed in locations people are already looking for what you’re offering (e.g. a poster for your raw chocolate making class on the bulletin board of the local organic grocer). But random posters on random poles and mailboxes won’t work that well.

And even if it did have a lot of people call you – they’d be calling you cold.

Remember this: People who are referred are better. They haggle less. They walk in already liking and trusting you (or at least being open).

Do you want people to just see a poster and be curious? Or would you rather they called and started engaging with you? And when they come in for an appointment – do you just want them to be curious or would you rather have them already trusting you because you’ve done such a great job building a relationship with them and have already given them such great free value?

People being curious about you is seriously over rated.

| Categories: identifying your hubs, marketing strategy - Tags: building trust, marketing 2.0

Parties as Marketing

By: Tad | Published: October 6, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Photo from the Toronto 2009 Green Grub and Gather

So, I think parties are one of the best marketing tools ever. I’ve been talking about it more and more – and here’s some proof! This is an excerpt from an interview I did with Joel Monk (JM) and Laurens van Aarle (LV) of Coaches Rising in Amsterdam. I think you’ll dig it.

JM:            So tell me more about this hot marketing because you’ve really got me going here. Did you say about hosting your parties and stuff?

TH:            Yeah, one of my big things these days has been this idea of parties as marketing. And where this came from was I was in Toronto doing a workshop and I heard about this guy in L.A. who on the Saturday night of his workshops, his business marketing workshops, he would take everyone out for dinner at this Italian restaurant.

I just always thought that was the coolest idea. I felt like, that’s so classy. That’s so nice.

What I liked about it, too, was it created a social setting that wasn’t there at the workshops. Because the workshops I do are super-interactive but it’s still a workshop. It’s not like hanging out with people.

One time I did that and it went really well. I really loved it.

What I found is we went to a restaurant and everyone basically sat at their tables. They were in a big, long row but nobody moved so people were just mingling with the people sitting directly next to them and that wasn’t what I was wanting.

So I tried a few more restaurants, same kind of thing and eventually moved to a house party called the Green Grub and Gather. But as that transition was going, I remember sitting there right before the dinner thinking about, “Oh, I’ve got these other clients of mine who I would love to—from past workshops who I really love—and they should come to dinner.”

So I fired off a few texts and a few of them came. And then it really occurred to me that there are people in Toronto who are super successful already and have just no interest in coming to my workshop. Like there’s a guy, in Toronto who’s a green realtor. He’s incredibly well known, super tapped in in the Toronto green scene. He’d never really come to my workshop. He doesn’t need my workshop. But if he knew about what I did, it would be useful.

People might ask him, say, “Hey, Chris. Seen this marketing workshop for hippies and green businesses. Is this worthwhile?” And if he says, “I don’t know.” That’s one thing. But if he could say, “Yeah, it’s totally worth your time,” that’s a really solid endorsement to have.

And how do I do that because he’s not going to come to my workshop to check it out but he might come to a party. So it eventually evolved into doing house parties for like 40 people. Everyone at the workshop, and I had like 20 people at the workshop so maybe 15 of them actually show up and can make it.

And then I invite my favorite alumni from that area, plus people who are hubs, people who are influencers, people who are connectors in the scene in that area. And that party has been awesome for me in terms of building relationships, building connections with people who I normally probably wouldn’t have had a reason to connect with. Yeah, I could have gone to lunch with all of them but that would have taken a lot more time so I did that.

JM:            I love the idea of getting them all in one place. Because a party’s so relaxed, isn’t it? You’re at a party to have fun and people just let down a lot of those boundaries. It’s just a great place to make a friendship with someone. I could see that being really—I’m thinking about how we could do that. Everybody loves a good party.

But yeah, I don’t know what you think, Laurens, but I love this idea of just having a party. It takes away all that pressure, doesn’t it? You’re just going to have fun. Everyone wants to hang out and maybe get some good music on. What stands out for me from what Tad said is even if you just speak to that guy for five minutes, you’ve already made a connection. He’s already put a face to your name. He knows what you do and he’s probably going to be pretty impressed that you’ve put on a party like that.

LV:            Yeah, it sounds like a great way to both have fun, market, connect, make that human connection with people, expose everybody to what you’re doing and at the same time, just enjoy great food, music and company.

| Categories: becoming a hub, identifying your hubs, marketing strategy, Networking, Parties - Tags: becoming a hub, building trust, pink spoons, pressure free, safety

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

By: Tad | Published: September 26, 2010 · 1 Comment

Robert Cialdini used to be a patsy. He’d fall for every sales trick in the book. He just couldn’t say ‘no’ to the door to door salesman. But then one day he wondered if it was because he was a patsy or because they were using covert tools on him that made it very hard to say ‘no’. In his research he discovered six unconscious tools of persuasion – tools that had ethical and wise uses and also darker more manipulative uses. He also uncovered how to identify and counter them when they are used against us.

This is a most fascinating read.

Dr. Robert B. Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, has spent over fifteen years in the scientific investigation of the processes whereby people are persuaded and reach their decisions. He enumerates six fundamental social and psychological principles underlying the thousands of individual tactics that successful persuaders or compliance practitioners use every day to get us to say yes.

*These principles are:

Rule of Reciprocity

According to sociologists and anthropologists, one of the most widespread and basic norms of human culture is embodied in the rule of reciprocity.

The rule requires that one person try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided.

By obligating the recipient of an act to repayment in the future, the rule for reciprocation allows one individual to give something to another with confidence that it is not being lost. This sense of future obligation within the rule makes possible the development of various kinds of continuing relationships, transactions, and exchanges that are beneficial to the society.

Consequently, all members of the society are trained from childhood to abide by the rule or suffer serious social disapproval. The decision to comply with another’s request is frequently influenced by the reciprocity rule. One favorite and profitable tactic of certain compliance professionals is to give something to another before asking for a return favor. The exploitability of this tactic is due to three characteristics of the rule for reciprocation:

the rule is extremely powerful, often overwhelming the influence of other factors that normally determine compliance with a request;

the rule applies even to uninvited first favors, thereby reducing our ability to decide whom we wish to owe and putting the choice in the hands of others;

the rule can spur unequal exchanges; to be rid of the uncomfortable feeling of indebtedness, an individual will often agree to a request for a substantially larger favor than the one he or she received.

Another way that the rule for reciprocity can increase compliance involves a simple variation on the basic theme: instead of providing a first favor that stimulates a return favor, an individual can make an initial concession that stimulates a return concession.

One compliance procedure, called the rejection-then-retreat technique, or door-in-the-face technique, relies heavily on the pressure to reciprocate concessions. By starting with an extreme request that is sure to be rejected, a requester can then profitably retreat to a smaller request (the one that was desired all along), which is likely to be accepted because it appears to be a concession.

Research indicates that, aside from increasing the likelihood that a person will say yes to a request, the rejection-then-retreat technique also increases the likelihood that the person will carry out the request a will agree to future such requests. Our best defense against the use of reciprocity pressure to gain compliance is not systematic rejection of the initial offers of others.

Rather, we should accept initial favors or concessions in good faith, but be ready to redefine them as tricks should they later be proved as such. Once they are redefined in this way, we will no longer feel a need to respond with a favor or concession of our own.

Commitment and Consistency

People have a desire to look consistent within their words, beliefs, attitudes and deeds…this tendency is fed from three sources:

good personal consistency is highly valued by society;

consistent conduct provides a beneficial approach to daily life;

a consistent orientation affords a valuable shortcut through the complexity of modern existence: by being consistent with earlier decisions, one reduces the need to process all the relevant information in future similar situations; instead, one merely needs to recall the earlier decision and respond consistently with it.

The key to using consistency pressures for profit is the initial commitment: after making a commitment (that is taking a stand or position), people are more willing to agree to requests that are in keeping with the prior commitment.

Many compliance professionals try to induce people to take an initial position that is consistent with a behavior they will later request from these people. Commitments are most effective when they are active, public, effortful, and viewed as internally motivated (uncoerced).

Once a stand is taken, there is a natural tendency to behave in ways that are stubbornly consistent with the stand. The drive to be (and look) consistent constitutes a highly potent weapon of social influence, often causing us to act in ways that are clearly contrary to our own best interests.

Commitment decisions, even erroneous ones, have a tendency to be self-perpetuating because they can “grow their own legs.” That is, people often add new reasons and justifications to support the wisdom of commitments they have already made. As a consequence, some commitments remain in effect long after the conditions that spurred them have changed.

This phenomenon explains the effectiveness of certain deceptive compliance practices. To recognize and resist the undue influence of consistency pressures on our compliance decisions, we should listen for signals coming from two places within us: our stomachs and our heart of hearts.

Stomach signs appear when we realize that we are being pushed by commitment and consistency pressures to agree to requests we know we don’t want to perform. Heart of heart signs are best employed when it is not clear to us that an initial commitment was wrongheaded. Here, we should ask ourselves a crucial question, “Knowing what I know, if I could go back in time, would I make the same commitment?”

Social Proof

One means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct.

We view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see other performing it. The principle of social proof can be used to stimulate a person’s compliance with a request by informing the person that many other individuals (the more, the better, the more “famous” the better) are or have been complying with it.

This weapon of influence provides us with a shortcut for determining how to behave, but, as the same time, makes one who uses the shortcut vulnerable to the attacks of profiteers who lie in wait along its path (introduction seminars or guest dinners, retreats to recruit cult members–provide the models of the behavior the group wants to produce in the new recruit).

Social proof is most influential under two conditions:

uncertainty (when people are unsure, when the situation is ambiguous, they are more likely to attend to the actions of others and to accept those actions as correct);

similarity (people are more inclined to follow the lead of similar others) Recommendations on how to reduce our susceptibility to faulty social proof include a sensitivity to clearly counterfeit evidence of what similar others are doing and a recognition that the actions of similar others should not form the sole basis for our decisions.

Liking

People prefer to say yes to individuals they know and like.

This simple rules enables us to learn about factors that influence the liking process by examining which factors compliance professionals emphasize to increase their overall attractiveness and their consequent effectiveness.

Compliance practitioners regularly use several such factors.

One feature of a person that influences overall attractiveness is physical attractiveness. Although it has long been suspected that physical beauty provides an advantage in social interaction, research indicates that the advantage may be greater than supposed.

Physical attractiveness seems to engender a “halo” effect that extends to favorable impressions of other traits such as talent, kindness, and intelligence.

As a result, attractive people are more persuasive both in terms of getting what they request and in changing others’ attitudes. A second factor that influences liking and compliance is similarity. We like people who are like us and are more willing to say yes to their requests, often in an unthinking manner.

Another factor that produces liking is praise; although they can sometimes backfire when crudely transparent, compliments general enhance liking, and thus, compliance. Increased familiarity through repeated contact with a person or thing is yet another factor that normally facilitates liking.

But this relationship holds true principally when the contact takes place under positive rather than negative circumstances. One positive circumstance that works especially well is mutual and successful cooperation. A fifth factor linked to like is mere association. By connecting themselves or their products with positive things, merchants of influence frequently seek to share in the positivity through the process of association.

Other individuals as well appear to recognize the effect of simple connections and try to associate themselves with favorable events and distance themselves from unfavorable events in the eyes of observers. A potentially effective strategy for reducing the unwanted influence of liking on compliance decisions requires a special sensitivity to the experience of undue liking for a requester.

Upon recognizing that we like a requester inordinately well under the circumstances, we should step back from the social interaction, mentally separate the requester from his or her offer, and make any compliance decision based solely on the merits of the offer

Authority

In the Milgram studies of obedience, we can see evidence of a strong pressure in our society for compliance with the requests of an authority. The strength of this tendency to obey legitimate authorities comes from systematic socialization practices designed to instill in society members the perception that such obedience constitutes correct conduct.

In addition, it is frequently adaptive to obey the dictates of genuine authorities because such individuals usually possess high levels of knowledge, wisdom, and power. For these reasons, deference to authorities can occur in a mindless fashion as a kind of decision-making shortcut. When reacting to authority in an automatic fashion, there is a tendency to do so in response to the mere symbols of authority rather than to its substance.

Three kinds of symbols that have been shown by research to be effective in this regard are

titles;

clothing;

automobiles.

In separate studies investigating the influence of these symbols, individuals possessing one or another of them (and no other legitimizing credentials) were accorded more deference or obedience by those they encountered.

Moreover, in each instance, those individuals who deferred or obeyed underestimated the effect of authority pressures on their behaviors. It is possible to defend ourselves against the detrimental effects of authority influence by asking two questions: Is this authority truly an expert? How truthful can we expect this expert to be here?

The first question directs our attention away from symbols and toward evidence for authority status. The second advises us to consider not just the expert’s knowledge in the situation but also his or her trustworthiness. With regard to this second consideration, we should be alert to the trust-enhancing tactic in which a communicator first provides some mildly negative information about him- or herself.

Through this strategy the person creates a perception of honesty that makes all subsequent information seem even more credible to observers.

Scarcity

According to the scarcity principle, people assign more value to opportunities when they are less available. The use of this principle for profit can be seen in such compliance techniques as the “limited number” and “deadline” tactics, wherein practitioners try to convince us that access to what they are offering is restricted by amount or time.

The scarcity principle holds true for two reasons:

because things that are difficult to attain are typically more valuable, the availability of an item or experience can serve as a shortcut cue to its quality;

as things become less accessible, we lose freedoms. According to psychological reactance theory, we respond to the loss of freedoms by wanting to have them (along with the goods and services connected to them) more than before.

As a motivator, psychological reactance is present throughout the great majority of the life span.

However, it is especially evident at a pair of ages: “the terrible twos” and the teenage years. Both of these times are characterized by an emerging sense of individuality, which brings to prominence such issues as control, rights, and freedom. Consequently, individuals at these ages are especially sensitive to restrictions.

In addition to its effect on the valuation of commodities, the scarcity principle also applies to the way that information is evaluated. Research indicates that the act of limiting access to a message causes individuals to want to receive it more and to become more favorable to it. The latter of these findings–that limited information is more persuasive–seems the more interesting.

In the case of censorship, this effect occurs even when the message has not been received. When a message has been received, it is more effective if it is perceived as consisting of exclusive information. (“We” have the truth….we have special knowledge)

The scarcity principle is most likely to hold true under two optimizing conditions:

scarce items are heightened in value when they are newly scarce (we value those things that have become recently restricted more than those that were restricted all along);

we are most attracted to scarce resources when we compete with others for them.

It is difficult to steel ourselves cognitively against scarcity pressures because they have an emotion-arousing quality that makes thinking difficult. In defense, we might try to be alert to a rush of arousal in situations involving scarcity. Once so alerted, we can take steps to calm the arousal and assess the merits of the opportunity in terms of why we want it.

Taken from Influence. Science and Practice, Robert B. Cialdini, Scott, Foresman and Company, 1985; Summary notes.

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| Categories: Ethics in Advertising, marketing strategy - Tags: attraction, building trust, generosity based business, irresistible offers

The Top 10 Ways to Market Your Talents Shamelessly

By: Tad | Published: September 26, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Thomas Leonard (1955 - 2003)

If you’re like me – you hate hype. You hate slick anything. You hate pressure and pushing.

And yet – you’ve got something valuable to offer.

This is the quandry of many a hippie in business. The need to market – and yet the shame surrounding the marketing.

Here’s a provocative question that Thomas Leonard invites us to ask – ‘what if we took the shame out of marketing?‘

What does it look like to market your talents shamelessly? No one I ever knew could speak to this better than Thomas. What follows are brilliant notions on marketing.

Market shamelessly?

How can this be at all related to Attraction? Good question! Attraction is not a passive process as some might assume. It is very much an active process — planting seeds, adding value, telling (vs selling), responding and yes, even marketing. In this Top 10 List, you’ll learn how to market yourself in a very attractive way, because you’ll feel incredibly attractive as you market yourself.

1. Know what it is exactly that you provide/deliver to others.

Do you know what you offer to others? If you’re a physician, for example, do you offer relief from suffering? Wellness? Referrals? Diagnostic services? Stern lectures about smoking? Medicines? Preventive care?

All of the above, perhaps. But how do you share this with your patients in a way that they can remember it and benefit from it? Work on the exact description of what you offer and you’ll never hesitate to share it with anyone at any time. And you’ll smile while you’re sharing it because you believe in it so much.

The phrasing makes it even more real for you and the client. It becomes a meme.

2. Make it impossible for potential buyers not to buy or leave with something.

What if you decided to provide some service or product to everyone who expressed some interest in what you offer? Take Coach University for example. Don’t want to plunk down $2995 for 2 years of training to be a coach? How about a 3 month course on Attraction for $295? Still too much of a commitment? How about a LazerPhrazing tape set for $59? Still not ready? No problem! Let’s get you signed up for a free TeleClass so you can learn the basics of coaching for 4 weeks at no charge at all.

Too busy, you say? Then, how about a free subscription to the DailyCoach, where you’ll learn a bit about coaching every day for as long as you want, no charge. See the point here? If they come near you, make it impossible for them to say no to something you feel good about providing them, whether they buy your premier product/service or not.

In many cases, they will upgrade when they are ready — requiring absolutely no effort on your part. Just make sure that you have something to offer everyone who may come calling on you for help.

3. Feel incredibly proud of what you do and what you offer.

I was a Certified Financial Planner and I didn’t do very well at it financially.

Why?

Because I didn’t believe in what I was doing. I was primarily a product salesman/stock broker. Nothing is wrong with that, but I wasn’t excited about it; I wasn’t proud enough of it to tell the world. So, I tried to fake the enthusiasm for it and I barely got by. (Of course, it led me to coaching, which I became VERY proud of because I enjoyed doing it and I saw that by direct efforts, my clients measurably and consistently benefited, at almost no risk to them.)

If you don’t totally love what you do, are not proud of exactly how you do it or don’t feel good enough to tell the world about it, it’s going to be difficult to be very attractive. Either you need to change jobs/occupations/employers, or you’ll need to master your craft until you do.

4. Become a model of what you’re selling.

If you’re a marketing expert and your brochure is a dud, you’re not going to be very attractive. If you’re a coach and your life’s not up to snuff, who’s going to hire you without a hardsell? This point is probably obvious, but the more you have personally benefited from what it is that you offer to others, the better brochure you will become! Printing not required.

5. Perfect, or customize, what you’re selling so that it fits perfectly for you.

In another one of the Attraction Principles, I talk about the value in customizing what you offer so that it can fit for more than just a single set of clients. But this is a bit different than that. Here, I am suggesting that you perfect or customize what you do so that it’s a better expression of your talents — a better fit for you.

You see this happening a lot in most professions. The MD who learns chiropractic and becomes a much more thorough healer. The PhD psychologist who becomes a coach and can better diagnose and accelerate their clients’ progress. And, in addition to the synthesis of professions, you can also take a product or service and customize it around a special talent you have. And we all have them.

6. Know what you want people to do, tell them to do it and show them how.

Forgive me for saying this, but people need, and benefit greatly from, direction. There are so many choices out there, it’s overwhelming for most. And none of us had Goal Selection 101 in high school. And if you did, I want to know about it! The point is that, for better or worse, people (clients, prospective clients) respond to direction, whether during the selling process or when using the product itself.

Don’t be afraid to tell people what to do! It’s a huge way to add value. And the few who don’t want help will let you know. If you feel the buyer should buy your product or service and you feel good about selling it them, don’t take no for an answer.

7. Show customers how to sell for you.

I almost never ask my clients or customers to refer their friends or associates to me. But they do. A lot. Why? Because I show them how to sell for me, without being blunt about it.

And so can you.

What I often do is tell very quick stories about what some of my clients have gone through and how I advised them. I don’t talk about the client, nor do I talk about the client’s situation, because that would be against the ethics of confidentiality. Rather, I describe the feelings and spaces my clients had to move through.

This strikes a chord with almost any listener and credibility is established. Plus, the person I’m sharing this with (usually a client), now knows who else they can refer to me! (I don’t mean to make this sound devious; I only share the stories as a way to educate my client on themselves. But it does have a nice ‘byproduct bonus!’)

8. Make certain the client knows all of the value they are receiving.

My clients, as well informed as they are about what we’re doing together and the value they are receiving, still only understand about 30% of the value that they are getting. (But, hey, I’m working on it!) I want clients to really feel/see/understand 100% of how what we’re doing together is benefiting them today, next month, next year and next lifetime.

Not because I need the kudos, but because then they’ll take our work that much more seriously. (I’m so altruistic…) One of the ways that I lock in the value is to say something like….”The reason X is so important right now, John, is that…..”…or….”What you did right here, Jane, was called a ……”. See how this works?

9. Always have a comeback for those who doubt or criticize you.

You may not need to have a collection of comebacks, but I do. Having these in my quiver gives me the extra confidence to market shamelessly. If someone thinks that coaching is a sham, I say, “Hmm, why do you think then that every single gold medalist credits their coach for the win?” Or, that coaching is a luxury or only for Californians. I say, “Yes, coaching is worthless for those who don’t want much out of life.” (Meow.) Or, that my fees are too high. I say, respectfully this time, looking innocent and inquisitive, “Have you no goal worth that much?” (Double meow.) I almost never have to use these, but they are available, and that is emotionally helpful.

10. Develop a Capillary System to sell, screen and filter for you.

I think if I had my way, my Capillary System would handle every part of the sales/buying process so all I had to do was to do my coaching, at $400 an hour. I spend zero time selling my services, but I do spend the equivalent of 10% of my billable time feeding my Capillary System pipeline.

I have about 25,000 daily subscribers to various newsletters, I teach several free TeleClasses each month on subjects that I find interesting or need to develop further (so, it’s really R&D time, not selling), and I add to several dozen web sites with various foci. The point is, I refuse to sell.

Not interested.

But I am interested in providing value for all who want it and so I use a Capillary System as a way to nourish and attract others. By the time they reach me and e-mail or call me, they’re ready to hire me or buy something. I don’t mean this to sound cold.

But isn’t this a better way to build a business than becoming an expert at cold calls or networking? And one of the benefits of having a strong Capillary System is that I add so much value to so many people that I don’t feel badly/weird/hesitant about charging a fairly high fee. I know the client will get at least ten times the financial value-equivalent from our time together. Because by the time they’ve come through the Capillary System, they are ready to.

- by Thomas Leonard

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| Categories: marketing strategy - Tags: attraction, communicating value, generosity based business, guidance, pressure free, safety, trusted advisor

The Top 10 Ways To Endorse Your Worst Weakness

By: Tad | Published: September 26, 2010 · 2 Comments

Thomas Leonard (1955 - 2003)

One of the things I learned most from Thomas Leonard was the idea of endorsing your own worst weakness. It’s a bit of what he’d call ‘tricky wisdom’. Can you take the thing that you’re most embarrassed and ashamed of in your business (and maybe life) and turn it into a strength, an assett and maybe even something to be relished.

I recently had a call with a client who’s target market was women. And she was fierce. I called her out on her fierceness. She admitted she was but was embarrassed by this.

‘It’s true! But it’s gotten me into so much trouble!’

‘What if,’ I asked her. ‘You were here to teach women how to be fierce.’

This had never occurred to her as a possibility – that her mess might just be her message.

The human tendency is to either ignore, hide, deny, compensate for or strengthen our weaknesses. After all they ARE weaknesses, right? And weaknesses aren’t GOOD. Well, until now. The following Top 10 List makes the case for getting to love and honor your worst weaknesses instead of trying to improve them.

1. Your worst weakness may be the fastest way to accessing the best parts of yourself.

What IS your worst weakness? Are you a wimp? A liar? Insensitive? Impatient? Selfish? A dilettante? Or worse? Just for now, pick one. If you get to the ‘bottom’ of your worst weakness you WILL find something of incredible value.

For example, if you are a wimp, it may just be that you are a supersensitive person (which is a REAL gift). If you are a liar, you may be someone who is built for a much better life (one that is true to the lie) than you have now — hey reason enough to set higher goals! If you are insensitive, perhaps you are hanging out with the wrong people and it’s time to freshen up the Rolodex. And so forth.

Look for the opportunity in your worst weakness — not to strengthen it, but rather what it points to or tells you about what the next level of your life should probably include. Weaknesses then can really be great traffic cops — telling you where to go/focus on next.

2. What IF you began feeling proud of/accepting your worst weakness?

What IF you began feeling proud of/accepting your worst weakness?

Hopefully, the comments in #1 above will make weaknesses sound and feel, well, less ‘weak.’ It’s pretty common advice today to ‘accept’ your weaknesses instead of self-criticizing yourself for them, or blaming others. However, I am suggesting that you go a lot further than just acceptance. Because acceptance implies ‘giving up’ or ‘giving in.’

Endorsing implies more of a sense of being grateful and proud of your weaknesses. Wouldn’t that be an amazing evolutionary step for you to feel incredibly great about your worst weakness? And for folks to hear and feel this excitement on your part. Remember, the TRUTH will set you free; acceptance only heals. Big difference.

3. Focus on your strengths, but include your weaknesses and THEN delegate them.

I’ve met a lot of clients who get some sort of satisfaction from improving their weaknesses. For example, if they are really bad paper filers, they’ll take pride in setting up the world’s best filing system, only to have it dismantle itself within a month. All that effort for a short-term sense of ‘success.’

Oh please.

Better to focus on your strengths to the point that you can afford to pay others to handle your weaknesses. I’m really bad with paperwork, follow up phone calls, dealing with the public or paying bills, so my Virtual Assistant does ALL of that for me. Sure, I could MAKE myself do all this stuff (after all I AM a CPA), but at what peronsal, time, emotional, spiritual or financial or, most importantly, opportunity COST?

Part of being irresistibly attractive is to become super conductive. How can you become super conductive if you’re forcing yourself to overcome a weakness? I’m PROUD of the fact that I’m lousy with paperwork and dealing with the public. I used to be embarrassed/shamed by this. But to me, it’s now an asset/strength. Make that leap.

4. Educate people on what you don’t do well, until they fully understand.

Part of the process of ‘converting’ your weaknesses into strengths is to educate others on the fact of what your weaknesses are. In other words, be human. A great quote is: “I’d rather be hated for who I am than be adored for who I’m pretending to be.”

Of course, I’d prefer to be adored for my weaknesses, but that’s another top ten list! Seriously, here are the types of things to say to yourself or others about specific weaknesses: “I’m really bad about responding to this type of email from someone I don’t know. I need to pass on this.” “I’m terrible with secrets; I gossip. Don’t tell me anything you don’t want broadcast.” “Paperwork is the bane of my existence, which is why I invoice you (a client) by telephone.” “I don’t’ have the attention span to take notes of our coaching sessions, so you’ll need to keep track of your goals and progress.”

Get the point? I’m not saying to be arrogant with your weaknesses, but they really ARE strengths if you let them help youu tell the truth.

5. By knowing what you cannot do and cannot change, you are freed up to enjoy what you have that does work well.

By knowing what you cannot do and cannot change, you are freed up to enjoy what you have that does work well. Taking the path of least resistance is an important strategy in the Attraction OS. So is surrendering to what is so. “What resists, persists” and all that. The point here is to spend your energy where it flows and pulls you forward instead of getting your self esteem and success by overcoming limitations or natural preferences.

6. When you can endorse your worst weakness, you can accept the humanness of others.

This is key. When YOU get to the place where you see/recognize/accept/endorse your worst weakness as a strength, you’ll be able to respond to others in a similar way. You’ll take things less personally, and be less affected by the ‘humanness’ of others. And THAT will really make you attractive — to others as well as to yourself.

7. Your worst weakness can become a community-network builder for you.

This may sound a little unusual, but it’s really neat. What’s your worst weakness? How are you dealing with it? What have you learned? What other characteristics do you have as a result of having this weakness? Who else is in the same boat? The point here is that your weakness may be the admission ticket to a ‘club’ of others dealing with the same thing. And by getting to know others with a similar weakness, you can get some of the support you need to turn your weakness into a strength.

8. Accept/endorse your worst weakness by realizing how well it’s gotten you to THIS place in your life — and being grateful for that.

Give credit to your greatest weakness for how it’s helped you get to where you are today. Write down a list of 10 very specific ways it has helped you whether these were (positive or negative at the time) events, situations, conditions or relationships which were triggered, exacerbated or protected (you) by your weakness. I think you’ll find a pretty cool list!

9. Link your worst weakness to your biggest strength — see the relationship between them.

My biggest weakness is/was that I am WAYYYYYY too sensitive to other people’s energy, criticism, even their praise. It either disturbs, devastates or seduces me. I feel that I have no control over it. Yet, it’s also become my biggest strength: To honor the weakness, I’ve had to change my life, my priorities and how I work.

I’ve become even MORE sensitive in the process, but now I use this skill/gift to create cool stuff instead of trying to ‘overcome’ it. So, I think it’s fair to say that what you might call your biggest weakness is really your body’s or spirit’s way of saying, “Hey, there’s something really great down here, but you’d better make some changes before I’ll let you see what it is!”

10. Endorsing your worst weakness is just the beginning of the Attraction Principle; not the end.

You probably understand that this principle is not about feeling good about saying to someone, “Hey, this is my weakness; get over it!” This principle is not a license to be a jerk, nor is it an excuse not to evolve through your weakness. Because to truly endorse your weakness, you WILL need to become 100% responsible for how affects you, your life and others.

You will naturally want to evolve through your weakness instead of wearing it like a badge of honor. That’s why the process of endorsing your worst weakness is just the beginning of this principle, not the only step.

- by Thomas Leonard.

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| Categories: holistic practitioners, marketing strategy, quality of life - Tags: authenticity, building trust, real, safety

The Top 10 Points About Becoming the Host of a Network

By: Tad | Published: September 26, 2010 · 2 Comments

Thomas Leonard (1955 - 2003)

Thomas Leonard is a bit of a hero of mine. We spoke a number of times over the phone and shared a passion for the Dave Matthews Band. His book The 28 Laws of Attraction remains one of the best books I’ve ever read. Half of the people to whom I lend it have a significant life breakthrough. I was one of the first class leaders on teleseminar.com and Thomas listened to a few of my calls and offered for me to take over a tour he was doing – which floored me. In the end I couldn’t. He passed away a few years ago before we ever got a chance to meet in person but left behind him such an incredible wealth of practical wisdom and distinctions.

And this piece you’re about to read on hosting a network planted some of the earliest seeds in my mind around ‘becoming a hub’. This man was a genius.

In some of the classes I teach, I often refer to the practice-building strategy (and general success strategy) of becoming the host of your network, and I get lots of questions about what I mean by this and how one becomes the host of their network.

This Top 10 List explains the idea and how to put it into practice.

1.   First, a little bit about networking in general. Traditional networking is when you meet people, get their business card or name/phone and put it in your Rolodex. People are viewed as contacts, as resources. The next level of networking is when you help out individuals as you meet them, or later, with referrals, information, support, connections, resources, etc. Sometimes they do the same for you; sometimes they do not. You network among your friends, at breakfast meetings, support groups, professional associations, etc. Lots of saying hi and shaking hands and getting to know people at some level.

Networking is positive in many ways, although it can take a lot of time and energy to keep “getting out there” and meeting and greeting. And for us shy ones, it’s difficult to do emotionally.

2.   So, that’s networking, but being the host of a network is quite different. I don’t have much time or taste for networking. True, I should spend more time on it, but I don’t want to. I’d rather be providing a service or product to people. I’d rather be delivering than meeting and greeting someone I’m not going to be really close with. (Call me timid. Call me cold. Call me easily bored.) At the same time, I know it’s fun/nourishing to know a lot of people and from a business standpoint, it’s gold.

So, I said to myself, “Thomas, why don’t you just establish yourself as the host of a network and start serving the people who want to hang around you or buy what you’re offering?“

Well, I didn’t really ask myself that question, but if I was clear enough about this concept 2 years ago, I would have. But if you look at what I’ve done in the past 2 years, you’ll see that I have been extending my network. It started when I began broadcasting these Top 10 Lists (15,000+ people receive them every day now).

Many people who read them, write me.

We connected.

They “joined” my network — without consciously knowing it, perhaps. Some of them hired me as their coach; some of them signed up for my TeleClasses, some of them entered Coach University. And some (most) of them did absolutely nothing, but that’s ok because it takes me ZERO extra time to “serve” them with my top tens. And I’ve developed quite a Capillary Marketing System (aka Attraction) in the process. So, then came the 2 books last year.

More people in my network — those who read the book, and those who responded to the offer of a free TeleClass on Attraction on the back cover. And did I tell you that at least a dozen of them entered Coach University as a result of the book (so far)?

3.   Okay, is this making a little more sense now? What I am saying is that it is possible to attract and serve 1,000-10,000 or even more people with not that much effort on your part. Some of you will need to stick with the marketing approach that you’re using, because this “host of a network” thing takes a little while to get up and running. But those of you spending far too much time on marketing, or who don’t like to market, becoming the host of your network is the best investment you’ll ever make.

There is a bit of a learning curve, especially when it comes to finding out exactly how to serve the people in your network, but once you get good at listening, surveying and experimenting, you’ll find your sea legs. The mistake that most people make when they do this, is that they already have in mind what they want to sell or offer their network and try to push that on their “prospects.”

Bad form and it destroys trust.

The people in your network, even if you never meet them and if they never buy anything from you, are not prospects. They are human beings, just like you, who have wants and dreams and needs and problems. Better to overrespond (one of the Attraction Principles) to what your network wants, than try to foist your good ideas and products on them. (In my early years, I was a masterful failure at “foisting.” Not pretty.)

4.   The first change to make is in your thinking. Get out of the marketing business and into the network-building and serving business. Get your arms around the notion of being the host of your network, instead of just being part of a network or networks. Make the decision to help the people in your network. Remember the line that goes something like “one of the best ways to become successful is to help enough people become successful.” What a perfect approach! You may be saying to yourself, “Well, that SOUNDS good, but how do I build a network and how do I make it worth my while financially?” That’s a good question, but first ask yourself, “Am I willing to help 10,000 people succeed in any way I can, assuming it would help me financially as well?” If the answer is yes, then you’re on your way to becoming a very successful host of a network. But you have to care about other people’s success, not just your own. You have to be willing to use technology (the Internet, email) in order to serve your network effectively. You have to be willing to share a lot of what you know in your areas of expertise and give much of it away for free, in virtual formats. You have to be willing to be a builder. You have to be efficient (or else, you’ll drown in serving the needs of 10,000 people). And you have to be willing to learn from your network, not just offer what you have been offering. Being the host of a network is a whole ‘nother ballgame. It’s an evolutionary step in both marketing and in living. And it takes a little getting used to.

5.   Your first goal should be to build between 1,000 and 10,000 people in your network, many of whom you’ll never meet. You need a fairly large number of people to make this “host of a network” strategy work. In other words, if you want a full practice, enough people need to know about you and be in contact with you in some way on a regular basis so they “remember” you when it comes time for them to hire you or to make a referral.

What you want is 99% of your new clients to come from those “out of the blue” calls we love to get. Your network IS that “blue.” At this point, you may be wondering exactly how one attracts 1,000-10,000 people to “join” your network.

The simplest, best, easiest, least expensive, and fastest way to do this is to start a daily or weekly email newsletter or tip broadcast on the subject(s) of your choice. Most of the coaches who I’ve advised/helped to set this up will have between 500 and 2,000 subscribers within one year. One coach has 5,500 subscribers to his list in the first year, and expects to earn $75,000 in 1999 from coaching services and TeleClass revenue that come exclusively from this network of people HE NEVER KNEW BEFORE.

Such is the power of the Internet.

People on the Internet are eager to join something because they want to learn stuff for free and they want the chance to connect with others who share their interests and/or problems. It’s not uncommon for a person to be a part of 10 or 20 “networks.” Why not yours?

6.   So, you’re saying that if I start an email newsletter or tip broadcast, I’ll make $75,000 a year? Some will, some won’t. Some will make less, some will make more. But what I am saying is that if you are looking for more clients and for a “system” that continually sends you clients and students, then the email newsletter/tip broadcast is one of the best ways to go. (Another great way is to write a book, but that takes time and connections and there’s less of a guarantee that it will sell.)

The idea is to start building toward 10,000 subscribers who like what you are writing about. That makes you attractive. That bonds them to you a bit and creates trust. All I can say is that if you have 10,000 subscribers you’ll have reached critical mass and you’ll have enough people in your network who will buy SOMETHING from you. (Well, on average 5% of them will buy something from you, but 5% of 10,000 is 500 people! That adds up.)

And the best thing about this approach is that your network will only grow over time. So, it’s like having an annuity that’s building. New folks will come in, some folks will drop off, but on balance, your network will grow. It’s just how it works.

7.   The trick is to find out what the people in your network need and want and then provide that for them. One of the best lines I’ve ever heard related to the Internet and marketing is “It’s better to find out what 1,000,000 people want to buy and provide that to them, than to try to get 1,000,000 people to buy what you’re trying to sell them.” This holds true for your network of 10,000. You CAN bond with them enough to learn what types of classes, tips, information, support, coaching, discussions, etc., that they most want and need. They WILL tell you if you ask — and be impressed that you did ask. And you can create the stuff they want, they WILL buy something from you.

Think of your 10,000 people as your R&D team that helps you create products and services to attract even MORE people. I did this with the Attraction Course I led in the fall of 1997. I had a contract to write a book on that subject (called The Portable Coach) from Scribner, and I knew I needed “real people” to help me co-create and test out my theories so they’d be practical and attractive vs just a figment of my imagination. 400 people signed up for my class that fall and I taught them all about Attraction, and they taught me what I had to do to make the concepts stronger, more practical and more easily understood.

Since July 1998 when the book was released, over 20,000 copies of the books have been purchased, mostly by people I don’t know and will never know. But some of them have joined my network via subscribers and TeleClass participants. See how well the whole idea of being the host of your network builds on itself? The synergy is awesome.

8.   People want to be part of a network where the host looks out for, and ahead for, them. People join networks because they want to learn something and have a connection with people with similar needs, interests or problems. But they also like having a “leader” or host — someone who is thinking ahead, and looking out for their well-being and success. As a coach or other professional, you are in a perfect position to do this.

You know cool stuff that others want to know.

You know how to communicate and touch people. You are already progressive and forward thinking so you’re probably ahead of the curve (which makes you very attractive to people who want to catch up or keep up). Part of what you get to do as host is to ask yourself, “What do the people in my network need to know in order to be more successful/happier over the next 3 years?” In other words, what information, support, tools, 1-1 help, questions, programs, assessments, etc., do they need to handle what’s coming down the pike or to resolve whatever’s blocking their progress?

As you get to know your network, you’ll start creating perfectly-fitting solutions for them. You just will. Some of these solutions will be free and some of them will carry a fee. If you focus on the 10,000 people and offer a mix of free and fee, you can earn between $25,000 and $100,000 a year (perhaps even $1,000,000) “from” your network, without abusing them.

9.   Okay, let’s get practical. How can I “harvest” my network so that I can make a living at this? There’s a smart way to earn money via your network, and a dumb way. The dumb way is to be too generous and give everything you do away for free, in the “hope” that someone will hire you because you’ve been so nice and generous. Another dumb way is to hard-sell your products and services to your network. They’ll flee. But the smart way is to start offering creative, non-threatening, trust-creating ways for your “members” to connect with you.

Here are 11 examples of what I mean:

Free single-session TeleClasses on any subject that your members will respond to.

Fee-based 4-12 week TeleClasses or TelePrograms on subjects that your members are willing to pay for.

Free “hotline hours” on Fridays from 12 to 3 p.m. where anyone can call you for help on a specific topic/problem.

Fee-based Group Coaching (up to 10 people) on a very specific subject.

Offers to provide free referrals of any kind to anyone in your network who needs an expert in something.

Free showcasing of selected members of your network, so people get to know each other.

Fee or free TeleSupport Groups for members sharing a similar problem.

Additional tips/information/broadcasts/topten list on subjects of interest to your network.

A free 1-1 coaching session, as a special offer.

A free or special offer from one or more of your members available to other members.

A content-rich website with stuff that your network really can use.

See?

Most of these things don’t take a lot of time and they go a long way to engender trust which results in direct business and referrals. I’d much rather spend my time offering these types of goodies than to spend a single minute cold-calling or marketing for clients.

NO thanks!

Again, I’d rather deliver services for free and benefit from the goodwill, flow, value-added, than to market myself directly. What you’ll find is that people take you up on the free stuff and then start buying the fee stuff once they realize that you know what you’re talking about. And, as your network grows and you offer more free and fee stuff to them, about 2-4% of your network will buy more than one product/service/class from you.

10.   Whew. There’s a lot to this idea of becoming the host of your network! Yes, it’s both a new concept to grasp and there is some work needed to set it up. But I can say that it’s entirely worth it, and the emergence of the Internet really makes it possible to serve this many people, in relatively very little time. The trick is to get started and the best/easiest way to get started is to offer a free weekly tip or newsletter via email and start building your subscriber base. (I teach a TeleClass on exactly how to do this called Internet Marketing for Professionals — visit http://www.thomasleonard.com.) The key to becoming the host of a large network is to get started. Let me know how I can help YOU get started.

About the Submitter: Submitted by Thomas Leonard

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