Guerrilla outbound prospecting
Back in 2012 I ran a training called "Email Marketing Strategies for Consultants -- How to quickly become an authority, sell under the radar, and make BIG profits from tiny lists." It covered things like:
Hacking feedback loops
In my experience, many people aren't where they want to be in life simply because they haven't taken enough action to learn from the feedback they've been given to build sufficient momentum of the right actions. It's often useful to think of your business as a system. And within that system are various sub-systems for …
Lock it in, Eddie!
Here in Aus we had a TV quiz show called "Who wants to be a millionaire?". Answer 15 multiple-choice questions in a row and you win a million bucks. Of course, the questions increase in difficulty each round so it's not as easy at it might seem. Often two or three of the options sound …
What are you in it for?
Every failure I've had in business can be traced back to focusing on the money. For a long time my focus was on creating a six-figure business. That was my idea of success. My thought process in those days was along the lines of, "the X market is a Y billion industry, if I can …
Why you don’t charge enough
Do you understand the real value you provide to your clients? I'm not talking about surface level things like "I build websites" or "I save them time". I mean the deeper stuff -- how your positioning fits with their self-image, the confidence they get because of your system, the stress relief of finally finding someone …
Better now than later
When I first started in business I spent a few years farting around without much success. Partly because I thought if I just hung out my shingle announcing my consulting business that somehow I'd be flooded with work. And partly because I didn't have a clue what I was doing.
I need this ASAP
ASAP. How did four letters get so much power? People hear "I need this ASAP" and right on cue they rearrange their lives, cancel date night with the wife, put other projects on hold, and stay up all night to accomodate the request. We generally believe people mean "fast" when they say ASAP. But what …
Turning off autopilot
Ever drive home and have no memory of the trip? Mean to stop at the grocery store but end up at home anyway? Lock your car only to check it 12 seconds later because you can't remember if you did or not. I've done these things countless times.
No I can’t do that
From the perspective of someone who needs to put food on the table, the idea of telling a prospect "no I can't do that" is scary as hell. Especially when the request is something you can figure out how to deliver. Why would any sane person turn down work?
Gear Heads
The Internet is a breeding ground for gear heads. Everywhere you look, in every corner of every niche, there are people obsessed with the tools of the trade. Entrepreneurs who spend $1,200 per month on software and tech to automate every part of their business... but don't yet have a single client.
Vendor Vs Adviser
One of the most powerful breakthroughs you will have as a consultant is going from vendor to adviser. This change is mostly one of perception. You don't actually do much different. But the impact it has on the fees you can charge and the respect you get is enormous.
Climbing the mountain
Watched a great documentary on Netflix the other day called Valley Uprising. It's about the 50 year history of rock climbing in Yosemite... and... the larger-than-life characters spanning three generations who have made their name climbing it's massive walls. Now, I'm not a climber. But it's fascinating watching people at the top of their game …
Surfing 12ft bombs
You might have seen the east coast of Australia getting belted by severe storms this past week. An intense low-pressure system combined with king tides combined to create gale-force winds and huge surf conditions. Entire beaches eroded, homes along the coast are falling into the sea, and the surf came to life. Breaks that would …
Oneitis
In the dating advice world there's a concept called "oneitis". It's when a guy (or girl) gets obsessed with one single person. You become infatuated and obsessed... thinking about them day and night... constantly wondering where they are and what they're up to... doing anything you can to be around them... dreaming about the life …
Why consulting rules
Yesterday we were talking about the dark side of consulting. Today I want to talk about why, despite some of the negatives, I still believe consulting is the best business model for most people to start with... and the perfect cash-flow machine you can bolt on to almost any other business.
Why consulting sucks
Got an email over the weekend asking why I sell coaching and do ecommerce instead of just getting $100k+ clients like some of my students have done. (He was specifically referring to James Jackson who I helped go from making $1700 per month to landing two contracts worth $750,000. I think it was James Schramko's …
Guilty!
Lots of great feedback on my last email. This response touched on something I want to talk about: "Fantastic email. I relate really strongly to this. I struggle to do more than 5 hours of work in a day and I've felt guilty in the past about not grinding as much as I should. Instead …
Lifestyle Design vs 10x Hustling
Chatting with one of my Adwords clients on Wednesday and he asked me what I think about the whole "lifestyle design" vs "10x hustling" type of mindset. No doubt there's gurus preaching one way or the other. Lifestyle guys who only ever seem to work an hour a day from exotic beachside locations around the …
The “yes” trap
One of my favourite books over the past year or so is Essentialism by Greg McKeown. Have you read it yet? Highly recommended. Anyway, this morning I ran a training on essentialism for my inner circle clients. The idea behind it is pretty simple:
You only need one
Below is an email (slightly edited) I got from one of my High Value Client Express members. I wanted to share this with you because it shows two important things: 1. If you put the work in you WILL get results. 2. You only need ONE good case study to start building momentum. How powerful …