Videos on Sales, Content Marketing, and More

Most products or services are like plain chocolate cake. We're excited for that outer layer of frosting. It's sweet and tasty. (We feel good about what we've bought.) Then, we take a deeper bite and get into the cake. Sometimes the cake (and our experience with the product or service) is delicious, moist and smooth. It's not quite as good as the frosting, but still altogether a pleasant experience. Other times, the cake is a little dry. We need the frosting to ensure the overall experience is a good one; and sometimes even that doesn't do the trick. We were sold on the frosting, but the cake didn't deliver.

We’re only SIX weeks away from a new year. Hard to believe, right?!? This is typically the time of year when business owners and leadership teams are reviewing the past 12 months and starting to plan for the next 12. Don't follow the traditional things. What you need to do instead is to take deep dive into your company's messaging - to simplify and clarify that message so it truly resonates with your best prospects.

Don't be afraid to ask for the sale - especially online. We tend to soften the "ask" with words like "Contact Us" or "Get Started" or "Learn More" and others. Instead of using "Buy Now" or "Schedule a Call" or other direct calls to action. If your customer is ready to buy, make it easy for him/her to buy! Do not put something in their way.

In sales, it's essential to "find pain" - and it's vital to "not BE a pain!" Following up is one thing, but pestering, bothering, being a pain, that's not what good salespeople do. They trust the process; they trust that they have clearly shared their message, and if the prospect is ready, they will buy. Don't be a pain. Find pain, and help solve that pain.

If your message is unclear, it's not a question of IF, but you absolutely ARE losing business. When it's not clear what you do and how it will help improve the life of your ideal customer, you just give them a reason to move on to your competitor.

Thick skin. Damn the torpedoes attitude. Charge at life. Let the spears bounce off you. THAT is a rhinoceros! And that is how we should approach life and business.

I highly recommend the book Rhinoceros Success.

Are your beliefs setting you up for success or holding you back from your potential? We all have both positive and negative beliefs. What you believe has so much impact on your success. When you truly believe that you have the "cure for your industry's cancer," you would haven no problem sharing that with the world.

U>Me...That little formula is the way I believe both my personal and professional life should be managed. When we put others first, not only does the other person benefit, but we ourselves benefit because that's what we were intended as human beings to do... to serve others, to love others, to put others ahead of ourselves.

Consider that as you go through your day today. Be intentional about it. I promise it will make a difference.

"Collaborating" or "convincing"? Which one are you doing when you're selling? This is huge! Depending on how you approach "selling," It can make all the difference in the world. If you are at a point where you are trying to "CONVINCE" someone that they should buy your product or service, you're fighting and uphill battle! Instead you should be "COLLABORATING" and coming alongside your prospect to help them find the best solution for their pain or challenge.

I learned some valuable sales and business lessons at a local flea marketing this past weekend. 1. Try new things. 2. Know where your audience "hangs out." 3. Adjust as necessary.

I wanted to say 'thanks' to all the jerks out there in business! Your jerk-ness makes my job so much easier. The bar has been set so low by people like you in business that when those of us with integrity show up, it's a breath of fresh air to the prospect/partner.

Doing the right thing isn't always easy...but it is the RIGHT thing. So, just do the right thing. Those who don't may get by with it in the short run, but it WILL catch up with them. If you're one of the good guys/gals, join me in saying 'thanks' to the jerks! Here's the blog post referenced in the video

Whatever you're doing...do it awesomely! Or as Henry Rollins said it at #CMWorld 2019, "Do Nothing with Mediocrity!" If you are putting time into running a small business, make it awesome! If you're selling a product or service, put everything you've got into it. If you're a content writer or video producer, make it the best piece of content you can possibly make. The best will rise to the top.

What's your sales strategy? Are you a "pusher" or a "puller"? Do you know the difference? When it comes to sales in the traditional sense, "pushy" is usually the norm. People don't like salespeople - in general - because they are pushy. While "pull-y" may not be the word to use, the concept of pulling your prospect through the sales process is much more focused on THEM than it is about YOU. When you "pull" in sales, you're educating, you're informing, you're entertaining all along the way. It's another way of saying stop selling, start helping!

If you're watching this video, it's likely because something's not working with your current online marketing - you're not getting enough website traffic; your engagement with the traffic you do have isn't effective (or maybe even non-existent); or your online marketing isn't driving bottom line sales.

I get the question/response all the time: I'm not sure content marketing will work in my business/industry. My simple reply..."Do your prospects have questions?" If they do - which you know they do - then content marketing will work for you. It's just a matter of how you'll answer those questions.

This is the first in a series of 5 videos addressing the “Big 5” content marketing topics you should ABSOLUTELY be including in your content marketing efforts. These Big 5 come from Marcus Sheridan’s book, They Ask, You Answer, which is a fantastic book that simplifies content marketing to its core: People have questions. You need to answer those questions.

This is the second in a series of videos where I’m discussing what Marcus Sheridan (aka @TheSalesLion) calls the “Big 5” in his book, They Ask, You Answer. The Big 5 are the five most important topics/subjects you should be addressing in your content marketing efforts. Last week, we covered Price. This week, it’s all about addressing PROBLEMS.

This is the third in a series of videos where I'm discussing what Marcus Sheridan (aka @TheSalesLion) calls the "Big 5" in his book, They Ask, You Answer. The Big 5 are the five most important topics/subjects you should be addressing in your content marketing efforts. In the first two videos, we discussed PRICE and PROBLEMS. Today, we want to provide COMPARISONS to our prospects.

This is the fourth in a series of videos addressing the “Big 5” content marketing topics you should ABSOLUTELY be including in your content marketing efforts. These Big 5 come from Marcus Sheridan’s book, They Ask, You Answer, which is a fantastic book that simplifies content marketing to its core: People have questions. You need to answer those questions. In this video, I discuss the idea of REVIEWS/BEST OF content and how it can make a difference in your business.

This is the final video in a series of 5 videos addressing the “Big 5” content marketing topics you should ABSOLUTELY be including in your content marketing efforts. These Big 5 come from Marcus Sheridan’s book, They Ask, You Answer, which is a fantastic book that simplifies content marketing to its core: People have questions. You need to answer those questions. In this video, I address the concept of "Best in Class" - or creating Best-Of lists for your industry.

Storytelling has been around a lot longer than content marketing! But, telling stories is a tactic of marketing and sales that allows you to connect directly and emotionally with your prospect.

Do you use email marketing? If not, you should be. If you do, is it consistent? If not, it should be! Consistency is key with an effective email marketing strategy. When you combine relevant content and regularly scheduled, consistent email marketing, it will make an impact on your business.

When it comes down to it, content marketing is all about being useful. Just be useful. Jay Baer has an awesome book called Youtility that talks about this concept in detail. If you can educate, inform, and sometimes entertain, in a way that is useful and helpful to your target audience, that is content marketing gold! http://www.stopsellingstarthelping.com

The majority of salespeople (and websites in general) are trying to French kiss perfect strangers! They're trying to make out before even knowing the name of the other person! What I mean is this: traditional salespeople, as well as most websites, are jumping into the sales message before finding out of there's even a fit. Instead, we need to be asking questions, learning more about the prospect's situation, about their needs and wants, challenges and problems. THEN - and only then - can we move forward with the sales message. (And, in some cases, that means we won't move to that point at all...and that's okay.)

I challenge you to stop something you're doing when it comes to content marketing. Find one thing that's not working and stop it today! Whether it's a social platform that's not performing or a tactic that isn't generating results for your business...stop it! Focus on the areas that ARE working and pull out of those that aren't.

If you've heard about or read the book The Challenger Sale, today I want to compare that to the idea of helping versus selling. The Challenger sale is defined as a sale in which the rep teaches the prospect something about their business, tailors their pitch to resonate with customer concerns, and takes control of the sales process. Sounds a lot like helping instead of selling!

Do you know who your best customers are? Can you describe them in great detail if you had to? If not, I challenge you to go through the process of defining your ideal customer or your target persona. I reference a free template that I'd be happy to share with you. Click here to download a free template.

Do you have integrity in your business? Integrity is vital for the long-term success of any business. If you don't do what you say you're going to do, if you don't fulfill the promises and expectations that you gave up front, if you choose to do things not quite ethically...that's not acting with integrity.

I want to challenge you to STOP doing three things moving forward. 1) Stop copying what others are doing. 2) Stop talking about yourself so much. 3) Stop doing things "the way they've always been done."

A client came in the office recently and noticed a copy of Marcus Sheridan’s book, They Ask, You Answer, sitting on the desk. In this video I share his story and explain how EASY content marketing can truly be.

Don't just be there - BE AWESOME with your content! You want to produce the best possible content you can, so your audience has a reason to watch/read/listen/consume your content. It's not just about getting content out there; it's about getting the RIGHT content out there, the most AWESOME content out there!

When it comes to helping versus selling and content marketing, in general, I think the hardest thing is related to creating content that is "RELEVANT and VALUABLE" to your audience. We often want to talk about ourselves, our products, our services...but we don't necessarily consider whether it's actually RELEVANT and VALUABLE to our audience.

Many companies fail at content marketing for one simple reason: Consistency. They have big ideas and great intentions, but when it comes down to implementing regularly, they fall short. Consistency is one of the most important elements of a strong content marketing effort. Here's a link to the post I mention in this video.