The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale
#84 - How To Use The C.L.O.S.E.R. Framework To Drastically Increase Sales Conversions In today's episode, Brian shares share a sales framework he learned from Alex Hormozi. Hormozi's C.L.O.S.E.R. sales framework is a tool you can learn and install for every team rep. It should be taught and enforced via an internal policy. You don't want your sales team ‘winging' it based on their personalities and individual sales styles. You need and want a systematized approach that works time and time again. As you've likely already concluded, C.L.O.S.E.R. is an acronym that walks you through a repeatable 6-step process. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 84 Season #: 4 Episode Date: January 8th, 2024 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandora https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Google https://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership) https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
EPISODE #83 - 10 Ways To Destroy Your Business In 2024 In As Few Moves As Possible In today's episode, Brian shares how to use Charlie Munger's process of 'inverted thinking' to create more success in your business. You'll hear from Charlie Munger, former Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, best-selling author, Jim Collins, and Brian Webb as you learn the top 10 ways to destroy your business in 2024 in as few moves as possible. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 83 Season #: 4 Episode Date: December 28th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandora https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Google https://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership) https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
#82 - The 4 C's Of Leverage To Grow Your Business Smarter & Faster In today's episode, Brian shares how you can turn leverage into an asset for your business, and what the 4 C's of leverage are. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 82 Season #: 3 Episode Date: December 12th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandora https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Google https://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership) https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
#81: A Fireside Chat With Master Storyteller & Viral Creator; Neal Foard [REPLAY] In today's episode, Brian interviews special guest, Neal Foard. Brian and Neal talk about the importance and value of telling beautiful stories and how storytelling affects branding and marketing. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb ____________________ Connect with Neal Foard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-foard-3727403/ Website: https://www.nealfoard.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nealfoard Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nealfoard/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nealfoard ____________________ 3 Videos Referenced In Today's Episode The Restaurant Of Mistaken Orders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvbSCLpwq6w Best Birthday Ever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouiiHrs7OZk&t=4s Just Lucky I Guess https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XBKRR0HDu9Y ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 81 Season #: 3 Episode Date: December 5th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandora https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Google https://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership) https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
In today's episode, Brian Webb shares the scoop on two upcoming free online masterclasses to level up your marketing and business growth strategies. ____________________ LEAD MAGNET MASTERCLASS: The No B.S. Playbook On How To Create Irresistible Lead Magnets Your Customer Will Want & Love DATE OPTION 1: Thursday, October 5th, 2023 TIME: 9 AM CST WHERE: Virtual Online PRICE: Free ($297 Value) REGISTER: https://whatboxdigital.com/lead-magnet-masterclass DATE OPTION 2: Thursday, October 12th, 2023 TIME: 2 PM CST WHERE: Virtual Online PRICE: Free ($297 Value) REGISTER: https://whatboxdigital.com/event-lead-magnet-masterclass-oct-12th-2023-2pm ____________________ SALES FUNNEL MASTERCLASS: The No B.S. Playbook On How To Launch Sales Funnels That Convert Prospects Into Paying Customers DATE: Tuesday, October 17th, 2023 TIME: 9 AM CST WHERE: Virtual Online PRICE: Free ($297 Value) REGISTER: https://whatboxdigital.com/oct-17-2023-sales-funnel-masterclass ____________________ VIEW ALL EVENTS: https://whatboxdigital.com/events Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Small Business Marketing Accelerator: https://whatboxdigital.com/smallbusiness ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 80 Season #: 3 Episode Date: October 3rd, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
In today's episode, Brian Webb interviews JJ Hollie, CEO of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce. Brian and JJ discuss the 3 common pitfalls to avoid to grow your business smarter and faster. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Small Business Marketing Toolkit: https://whatboxdigital.com/small-business-marketing-toolkit Woodlands Chamber Members Special Discount Offer: https://whatboxdigital.com/woodlandschamber ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 79 Season #: 3 Episode Date: September 22nd, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
In today's episode, Brian Webb shares 3 tips and mindset shifts for finding the perfect growth coach for you and your business. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Small Business Marketing Toolkit: https://whatboxdigital.com/small-business-marketing-toolkit ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 78 Season #: 3 Episode Date: July 31st, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
In today's episode, Brian Webb shares 10 key digital marketing and sales metrics your business should be relentlessly monitoring every single day. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Small Business Marketing Toolkit: https://whatboxdigital.com/small-business-marketing-toolkit Learn more about Custom Dashboards: https://whatboxdigital.com/dashboards See Live Dashboard Demos: https://whatboxdigital.com/dashboard-demos Related Article: https://whatboxdigital.com/10-marketing-metrics-you-should-be-relentless-monitoring-every-single-day ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 77 Season #: 3 Episode Date: July 25th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
#76: NEW LAUNCH: The Small Business Marketing Toolkit & Top 8 Reasons It Will Massively Help Grow Your Business In today's episode, Brian Webb shares the scoop on the best and most affordable marketing program we've launched in over 20 years, along with the 8 top benefits of why it could massively help grow your business smarter and faster. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Small Business Marketing Toolkit: https://whatboxdigital.com/small-business-marketing-toolkit ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 76 Season #: 3 Episode Date: July 20th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
#75: How To Understand & Navigate The 5 Exit Stages Of An Entrepreneur In today's episode, Brian Webb shares the 5 exit stages that entrepreneurs must understand and learn how to successfully navigate. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 75 Season #: 3 Episode Date: July. 8th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
#74: A Fireside Chat With Master Storyteller & Viral Creator, Neal Foard, & A Tribute To America In today's episode, Brian interviews special guest, Neal Foard. Brian and Neal talk about the importance and value of telling beautiful stories and how storytelling affects branding and marketing. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ Connect with Neal Foard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-foard-3727403/ Website: https://www.nealfoard.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nealfoard Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nealfoard/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nealfoard ____________________ 3 Videos Referenced In Today's Episode The Restaurant Of Mistaken Ordershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvbSCLpwq6w Best Birthday Ever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouiiHrs7OZk&t=4s Just Lucky I Guess https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XBKRR0HDu9Y ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 74 Season #: 3 Episode Date: July 3rd, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
#73: 14 Reasons You Should Consider Launching A 7-$Figure Mastermind Business In today's episode, Brian shares 14 reasons why you should seriously consider launching a 7-$figure mastermind business, and he debunks the top 5 common reasons why leaders think they can't do it. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 73 Season #: 3 Episode Date: June 26th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
#72: 7 Types Of $0 Traffic Assets You Could Buy To Attract Tens Of Thousands Of Visitors To Your Website Month After Month In today's episode, Brian shares 7 types of assets you could buy to consistently attract $0 dollar traffic to your website offers, landing pages, and sales funnels, month after month. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 72 Season #: 3 Episode Date: June 26th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
26 AI Tools You Can Harness To Grow Your Business Faster And More Cost-Efficiently In today's episode, Brian shares 26 AI tools you can use to grow your business faster, a lot faster, and while saving a lot of money along the way. Want to speak with Brian about how to grow your business smarter and faster? Just visit our website at: https://www.whatboxdigital.com If you'd like to grab the AI resources Brian mentions in today's episode, just visit the following page. https://whatboxdigital.com/26-ai-tools-you-can-harness-to-grow-your-business-faster-and-more-cost-efficiently/ ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 71 Season #: 3 Episode Date: June 22nd, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
13 Pro Tips To Avoid Giving A Personal Guarantee For Any Business Deal In today's episode, Brian shares 13 pro tips to avoid giving any personal guarantees when raising capital or restructuring existing debt for your business. Want to speak with Brian about the Profit Maximizer Consult, Business Growth Accelerator, or our Maximize Exit Valuation Accelerator for your business? Just use the link below: https://calendly.com/brianwebb/profit-maximizer-accelerator-intro-call ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional Chief Growth Officer, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 70 Season #: 3 Episode Date: June 12th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandorahttps://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Googlehttps://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership)https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
16 Profit Maximizing Strategies To Add 10-30% Or More To Your Business Bottom Line In today's episode, Brian shares 16 actionable profit-boosting strategies that you install into your business immediately to add 10, 20, 30%, or more to your bottom line. Want to speak with Brian about the Profit Maximizer Consult for your business? Just use the link below: https://calendly.com/brianwebb/profit-maximizer-accelerator-intro-call ____________________ Are you signed up for the 2-day 2023 Business Growth Intensive, which is being held Thursday and Friday, July 13th and 14th, in The Woodlands, Texas? To learn more and register for the event, visit: http://warroomhouston.com This event is hand-tailored for business owners and C-suite execs of businesses with gross sales of $1 million or more, business investors with at least a million dollar net worth, and aspiring entrepreneurs who have big audacious growth goals for 2023 and beyond. - Save $500 on the registration fee ($1,999) between June 6th and June 19th, 2023. - Registration jumps to $2,499 on June 20th. To learn more and register for the event, visit: https://main.warroomhouston.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional CMO, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Schedule A Consult: https://calendly.com/brianwebb LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 69 Season #: 3 Episode Date: June 5th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandora https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Google https://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership) https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
In today's episode, Brian debunks 6 myths about why most business leaders believe they could never launch a business podcast, along with the 18 reasons you'd be crazy not to launch a podcast to grow your business. Want to speak with Brian about launching your own business podcast? Just use the link below: https://calendly.com/brianwebb/free-15-min-podcast-accelerator-intro-call?month=2023-05 ____________________ Are you signed up for the 2-day 2023 Business Growth Intensive, which is being held Thursday and Friday, July 13th and 14th, in The Woodlands, Texas? To learn more and register for the event, visit: http://warroomhouston.com This event is hand-tailored for business owners and C-suite execs of businesses with gross sales of $1 million or more, business investors with at least a million dollar net worth, and aspiring entrepreneurs who have big audacious growth goals for 2023 and beyond. - Save $1,000 on the registration fee ($1,499) until June 5th, 2023. - Save $500 on the registration fee ($1,999) between June 6th and June 19th, 2023. - Registration jumps to $2,499 on June 20th. To learn more and register for the event, visit: https://main.warroomhouston.com ____________________ Get in touch with Brian Webb, Business Mentor, Fractional CMO, Investor Email: hello@whatboxdigital.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Website: https://www.whatboxdigital.com Chat About Launching Your Podcast: https://calendly.com/brianwebb/free-15-min-podcast-accelerator-intro-call?month=2023-05 LinkedIn Business Growth Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/learn-earn-more-newsletter-6914601587080388608/ ____________________ The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb w/special guest, Tiffany Philips, CPA Episode #: 67 Season #: 3 Episode Date: May 27th, 2023 ____________________ Subscribe To The Podcast Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-growth-show/id1544528167 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/667h5ACRMKY0ZZqMHxXb2l Pandora https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-business-growth-show/PC:51370 Google https://podcasts.google.com/u/2/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzMxMjkxNy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ27cFahcKEwjwvZHx8trwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-business-growth-show-84607868/ Amazon Music (w/Prime Membership) https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1680ce7a-0936-459e-a565-d0cb4c00b8c6/the-business-growth-show
The Business Growth Show Sponsored By: Whatbox Digital Host: Brian Webb Episode #: 65 Season: 3 Episode Date: May 20, 2023 ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Amazon Music ____________________ BRIAN ON SOCIAL LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianwebb/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebrianwebb TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@officialbrianwebb YouTube: Coming Soon ____________________ SHOW TRANSCRIPT Hey everyone. Welcome to the Business Growth Show, where we talk about everything, marketing, money, mindset, and acquisitions; anything that will help you grow yourself, your revenue, and your business smarter and faster. How excited am I to welcome you back to the show? It's been a while. We've been on sabbatical in between where we are now, starting season three, and where we were in season two. And I've got some fun stuff I wanna share with you. First of all, if you haven't noticed, everything is different. The look of the show, the brand, the name of the show, and what we're going to be talking about are all different. For those of you that are new, we used to be the 'Learn More Earn More Business Growth' podcast. That's gone now. We are the 'Business Growth Show.' And let me tell you why. In our evaluation, learn more, earn more, and too vague. Even though business growth was in the bottom of the name, it was too vague, too obscure, and it was hurting. Even though we've got lots and lots of downloads, in fact, I'm proud to say that we're a top 1% business podcast; we felt it was time to change the name to be more clear and more specific. We are here to help you grow your business yourself and your revenue. And we feel confident that that name change is going to help us to have a bigger impact. Not to mention that we're on about, we were already on what, eight different channels now. We're on about 15 different platforms. So, in addition to Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and a handful of others, there are about seven or eight, or nine other platforms that you can find us on if those aren't your favorite to begin with. And let me go a little bit deeper as to why the change, the brand, the name. Historically, the only thing, at least 95, 96, and 97% of the time, that we spoke about was marketing, marketing hacks, and growth hacks. And good news, by the way, that's not going away. Whatbox Digital is a marketing company. I serve as a fractional CMO for multiple different companies. Marketing and being a marketer is who I am, and it's a great way to grow your business. You need great marketing if you wanna scale your business. But there are so many factors that can affect your business growth that can affect your personal growth. That can affect your ability to generate more revenue and ultimately build wealth. So moving forward, we'll continue to talk about marketing. But let me tell you three more things that we're going to be talking about consistently. First mindset. If there's one thing that I've learned over the past 20 years is that our mindsets, specifically our negative mindsets, have an enormous impact on how we view ourselves, how we look at opportunities, how we look at risk, business, revenue, wealth building, and how we look at others. I can't even begin to count the number of times in my life when one of my business coaches or one of my mentors, a book that I read, or a speaker that I heard said something to me that helped me to change my mindset, elevate my perspective and turn me from upside down to right side up. And so we're going to be sprinkling in content that's going to help you to have a better mindset about you, those around you, money, business, risk, anything and everything that's currently impeding your personal financial growth, and of course, not to mention your relationships. Next, we're gonna talk about money. We'll be bringing in experts to talk about how to invest. We'll be talking about private equity and how to interact and invest in private equity. We'll be talking about the importance of both generating cash flow, super important, and building wealth at the same time. Most people are good at one or the other. We want you to be good at both. And we will be talking about M&A and acquisitions. Don't get me wrong; marketing is a huge component of building your business and building your brand, and generating leads. But absolutely, 100%, the fastest way in the world to grow your business is through acquiring other businesses. When you look at brands like Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, when you look at family offices, rarely, if ever, do they go and start a business. That's because there are so many risks that are inherent in launching a new business. No, they go and acquire other businesses. And so we'll be talking about how you can go acquire a business. We'll talk about strategies for sourcing deals. We'll talk about strategies for funding deals. And believe it or not, a lot of time for little to zero cash out of your own pocket. So pretty much if there's anything that we can talk about that is about marketing mindset, money, mergers and acquisitions, buying a business, anything that's going to help you grow in your own personal leadership, that's going to help you grow your recurring revenue, that's going to help you build wealth. That's why we are here, and so we hope that you're coming along for the ride. As I said, we've been on sabbatical for a little while, since 2022, actually. But we are back, and we are back as the 'Business Growth Show.' And if you're not currently a subscriber, go find us on your favorite platform. Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Amazon... probably, again, eight or nine others. Go find us and subscribe. When you subscribe, you get automatically notified when new episodes are launched. And this is how you make sure that you never miss out because I assure you, you're not going to want to miss anything. I promise you; we work hard to make sure that there is no fluff in the content that we provide to you. I want to help you grow in your mindsets. I want to help you remove limiting beliefs. I want to help you grow recurring revenue. I want to help you build wealth. I will be working hard to bring you content that is actionable, practical, and that virtually anyone can apply to their own lives. So this is the beginning, the launch of season three of the 'Business Growth Show.' Let's continue to partner together so that we can help you grow smarter and faster. Thank you for being a part of the new show. Thanks for being a part of season three. We have a fun ride ahead of us. I will see you in the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of 'The Business Growth Show.' We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and even Amazon Music. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @brianwebb, and just go to @officialbrianwebb to find me on TikTok. And, of course, you can find me on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links and the show notes. And if you haven't done so already, I'm inviting you to subscribe to the show on your favorite platform. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the 'Business Growth Show.' Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you in the next episode.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 64: The Ultimate Guide To TikTok Hashtags For Growing Your Business ____________________ INTRODUCTION If you're on TikTok, if you are using TikTok to grow your business and you're wanting to get it right, today I'm going to give you the ultimate guide on how to use hashtags on TikTok to grow your business smarter and faster. Let's jump into it. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: If you're on TikTok, if you are using TikTok to grow your business and you're wanting to get it right, today I'm going to give you the ultimate guide on how to use hashtags on TikTok to grow your business smarter and faster. Let's jump into it. This is to Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks, to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey everyone. Welcome back to the show. It is July 4th, 2022. I hope that you are having a safe and fun and relaxing holiday with your family and friends. So happy Independence Day. Today we're going to talk about TikTok and why hashtags are so important. First thing you've got to know, hashtags on TikTok have the power to expand your reach beyond your current audience. Now let's talk about why you care and why that's important. Number one, hashtags provide context. Hashtags provide a layer of context with your TikTok videos. For instance, for example, if you upload a video and you're playing a video game, you could include the hashtag #gaming or #videogames. Then the TikTok algorithm decides who will be the most interested in seeing that video in their feed. Second discoverability and engagement. You probably know this already, but hashtags categorize your videos under very specific topics like #gaming or #videogamestreaming so users can easily find the content they're interested in. As a result, your content has more chances to be discovered, even if someone isn't currently following you on TikTok. So when you get more eyeballs, when you get more people paying attention to your content, you've got a higher chance of engagement. After all, users can only like and comment on the videos that appear in front of them. So obviously your goal is to appear in front of as many eyeballs as you possibly can. Last, hashtags are a great tool for building community. For example, branded hashtags are an effective way to encourage users to engage with your brand and create videos around a sponsored hashtag. And check out this case study I saw on HubSpot. Nissan Australia wanted to promote its new sports car called the Juke. So on TikTok, they created a branded hashtag #improvisewithJuke, and then they challenged their users to make their own car commercial voiceover with the winner, receiving a feature in a future Juke commercial. So what happened? 129 million video views globally and over 34,000 video submissions leading to a 92% lift in brand awareness for the Juke. So clearly we would call that a very, very successful case study. So I'm going to give you three ideas on how to use hashtags on TikTok. Tip number one, find the best hashtags for your content. It's super important to research hashtags that are relevant to what you do, your brand, your industry, and the audience that you're wanting to pursue. So one way you can do this is by checking out your competition, obviously, because there's likely an audience overlap, find out which hashtags they're using and which one of those hashtags gets the most views and engagement. You can also find inspiration on the app's discover page, but here you can browse through trending hashtags and sounds. And remember, the discover tab also showcases popular videos that use these hashtags to help you find your inspiration. Tip number two, combine niche hashtags with the popular hashtags. This might sound obviously kind of counterintuitive, but only targeting popular hashtags can be ineffective. Sure, they have a larger audience. They're also more competitive. Instead, focus on a mixture of both niche and popular hashtags. Obviously, your niche hashtags will have fewer people looking for it or searching for them, but those who do are more engaged and more interested. So for example, #food is a popular TikTok hashtag with millions of impressions, but #pizzarecipes is a more niche with a fraction of the audience. By incorporating, by using, by leveraging both of those, obviously, you're tapping into two different audiences and that's better for you. That's better for your business. And of course, last you've got to stay mindful of character limits, TikTok limits captions to right around 300 characters. So while yeah, you could squeeze as many hashtags as you possibly can into your captions. A long string of hashtags can confuse your audience. And it arguably does a poor job of explaining what your video's about. So instead think about using two, three, four, maybe five hashtags as your optimal number. And if you want to find out what the most popular hashtags are in real-time, you can just Google TikTok trend discovery, and it will take you to the TikTok page where basically TikTok shares popular hashtags that are trending, songs, which creators are trending, and even specifically, which videos are trending. So again, to find that just do a Google search for TikTok trend discovery, and it will take you right to it. The URL's too long to list here in the podcast. So again, it's July 4th, we're keeping the podcast a little bit extra brief today because hopefully you're out celebrating. I certainly hope you found this helpful and don't forget, getmymarketingchecklist.com, www.getmymarketingchecklist.com. Go and get it, fix what's broken in your marketing. That's it for this week again, happy July 4th, happy Independence Day. Let's keep going and growing together. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today. And listening to this episode of the Learn More, Earn More business growth podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode, and if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @BrianWebb and the show sponsor, Whatbox Digital can be found at, as you might guess @WhatboxDigital. You can also find me and Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities, and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 63: The Ultimate Guide For Knowing How & When To Use LinkedIn Voice Messages ____________________ INTRODUCTION Are you responsible for generating leads and acquiring new customers for your business? Are you on the LinkedIn platform trying to cultivate meaningful relationships that eventually convert into new customers? Today, I'm going to give you the ultimate guide on how to use LinkedIn voice messages and how, when, and why you should send them. Let's jump into the show. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Are you responsible for generating leads and acquiring new customers for your business? Are you on the LinkedIn platform trying to cultivate meaningful relationships that eventually convert into new customers? Today, I'm going to give you the ultimate guide on how to use LinkedIn voice messages and how, when, and why you should send them. Let's jump into the show. This is to Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey everyone, welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks, to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions, and avoid costly pitfalls, and expensive mistakes along the way. So, let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. So today we're going to talk about sending voice messages on the LinkedIn platform. There's a couple of things that you should know right out of the gate. First of all, you can't send LinkedIn voice messages on your desktop PC. You can only do it from the LinkedIn app. And let me tell you why you should consider using LinkedIn voice messages. I would imagine, I would bet a large sum of cash, that your LinkedIn inbox looks exactly like mine. It is full of spam messages. It's full of people who connect with you, and then they pitch, pitch, pitch, sell, sell, sell pitch, pitch over and over again, lather, rinse repeat. And for sure, because it's the easiest thing to automate, it's the fastest and cheapest way to message you. It's the easiest way to gamify, which I would argue means to cheapen your sales and marketing efforts, so everyone uses text messages. But lets you and I be better than that, so let's assume that you are different. Let's assume that you really do want to help your audience. And let's also assume that you want to do marketing right. How does your text message differentiate from every other text message, including that which is done by automation and bots? And the answer is, it doesn't, you look exactly like the bad guys. So how do you stand apart? How do you stand out? How do you differentiate yourself? How do you let me see the warmth and the charisma of your personality? How do you let me get a sense of your authenticity to reach out to me? The short answer is voice messages on LinkedIn. Now, at this point, I can almost imagine the objections that some of you might be thinking, which is I don't like getting voice messages. And if you don't, I respect that, I totally get it. But just because you don't like something, doesn't mean it won't work, and it doesn't mean that it's not a better way than what you don't like. One of the things that I teach all of my clients, my high-paying VIP clients, is that you can either use social media or you can be used by social media, but you're going to fall into one of those two categories. I would suggest that you use social media to effectively cultivate new, meaningful relationships that, perhaps, can also turn into paying customers. But even if they don't turn into paying customers, it doesn't mean that can't become a super-powerful, extremely meaningful relationship to you. Hopefully, all of us don't just measure value with transactional value. But whether or not you're just cultivating a meaningful relationship, a partnership, or someone who might become a new customer, you need to be thinking about using LinkedIn voice messages. Just to make sure we cover the bases of how you do it, I'm going to give you the seven steps to do it. It's very easy. It's really quick. And if you have the LinkedIn app, anyone can do it. Step number one, open your LinkedIn app, and tap the messaging icon in the top right-hand corner of the LinkedIn mobile app. Select the user, step number two, that you want to voice message. Step number three, select the record button towards the bottom right hand of the screen. Step number four, give LinkedIn microphone access if you haven't done it already to your phone. And number five, hold down the blue microphone icon while recording your message. Step number six, stop holding the icon to finish the recording. And then finally, you can either send the message, if you're pleased with it, or you can hit cancel and start all over again. So what goes into an ideal LinkedIn voice message? First of all, some background research might be good. As with any kind of prospect outreach, you need to have a picture of who you're talking to before you send them a message on LinkedIn, even if it's a voice message. You never want to come off as the stereotypical callous impersonal salesperson sending generic message after generic message to a list of leads. Understand who your prospect is, what their business does, and some other information that can inform a more thoughtfully tailored voice message. Now the second step, I'm going to tell you to talk about something that has a quick personal appeal. Okay, I'll get back to the podcast in just a minute, but let's face it, most marketing doesn't work. Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over again? Like so many others, you're probably tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. You know what that is? That's when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then you hope it works. You've probably thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures. You wish you could get all that money back, but you can't. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth. But it doesn't have to be that way. I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right, free. I've put together the ultimate 97-point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing. And it will only take you about 10 to 15 minutes. Think of it like an MRI for your marketing, without the expensive medical bills to follow. And to get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your email inbox, just go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, provide your info, and we'll get it out to you right away. And again, it's totally free. I'd actually encourage you to walk through the checklist with your team, and honestly discuss and evaluate every item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Again, don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. Again, totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now. Let's fix what's broken in your marketing today. Now, the second step, I'm going to tell you to talk about something that has a quick personal appeal. But just the fact that you're sending a voice message, that you're recognizing them by name, that you are showing up, the way that you would show up on their doorstep, you're already a step ahead of your competitors. But since voice messages are more personal than their text-based counterparts, in most cases, you'll send one in response to maybe something that they've done, some sort of an event, an accomplishment, a milestone that your prospects recently achieved. Make some quick reference to whatever prompted you to send the message, to begin with, a little personal appeal that lets your prospect know you are keeping up with them, and that can go a really long way. Three is a cursory value proposition. Why are you sending this message in the first place? What can you offer your prospect? If you want your voice message to go anywhere, you need to give your prospect a reason to respond. Try to quickly, but convincingly, frame a compelling value proposition. Intrigue them enough to want to learn more. And not to go into the weeds of more advanced marketing, but when I say a value proposition, I don't mean to pitch them or to sell them. Give them something that's valuable; a checklist, a swipe file, a framework, a case study, a free trial to your software; give, give, give before you ask. That would be my definition of a value proposition. And then, of course, a clear call to action or a next step. Give some concrete instructions for how they should proceed if they're interested in what you have to say or to offer. In most cases, giving a phone number, saying your email, or just telling them to message you on LinkedIn should suffice. And to close out this episode, I'm going to give you an example, behind the scenes, of what I use here, at What Box Digital when I'm prospecting personally. So here's an example message: Hey, first name, I am thrilled to be connected with you here on LinkedIn. I really enjoy connecting with business leaders, just like you. I just wanted to reach out, and say hello in my own voice. As you can see on my profile, my name's Brian. I'm the CEO here, at What Box Digital, and the fractional CMO for multiple B2B companies. My team and I help business owners and leaders create lead generation systems that actually work for growing their businesses smarter and faster. But, great news, nothing to pitch or sell today. I just wanted to give you a friendly, hello, please reach out anytime, if there's anything I can do for you, and I hope we'll bump into each other from time to time here on LinkedIn. And I'll pop you a link to my business growth newsletter here on LinkedIn if you haven't yet subscribed. I hope you're having a great day. And then I'll include a link to the newsletter. So if you want to stand apart from everyone else, from all of the bots, from all the automation tools, from everyone who is showing up and pitching, everyone who is trying to sell too quickly, and everyone who, by the way, is completely ignorable. Think about it. If you don't believe me, look at how you view your inbox on LinkedIn. I'm guessing, in fact, I don't have to guess you, ignore 99.999% of every message that comes through on LinkedIn, because most people don't know how to do it right. So that's it for today. Use LinkedIn voice messages, and show up more personally. I've given you the reasons why. I've given you an example script. And if you're just now tuning in, I just did a three-part masterclass on LinkedIn and how to prospect. Think of this episode like the little bonus add-on to the end of that series. If you want to stand apart if you want to be more effective and more successful in cultivating meaningful relationships and generating more leads on LinkedIn, use LinkedIn voice messages. I hope this episode was helpful and don't forget, getmymarketingchecklist.com go and get the checklist, and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing and in your business. Let's keep going and growing together. I can't wait to see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms, like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at, @brianwebb, and the show's sponsor, What Box Digital, can be found at, as you might guess, @whatboxdigital. You can also find me in What Box Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up-to-date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 62: UPDATE: Brand New Update To Facebook Messenger You Can Use To Reach More Customers & Grow Your Business ____________________ INTRODUCTION Meta, the artist formerly known as Facebook, is introducing recurring notifications in Facebook Messenger. Why do you care and how can you use it to grow your business? I'll get to that in the show. Let's jump into it. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Meta, the artist formerly known as Facebook, is introducing recurring notifications in Facebook Messenger. Why do you care and how can you use it to grow your business? I'll get to that in the show. Let's jump into it. This is to Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey everybody. Welcome back to the show. Let me ask you a question. Why is Facebook a valuable platform? Why is NBC a valuable television network? The answer is simple. They have audiences. They have the attention of eyeballs and ears. And as a result, people will pay tons and tons of money to advertise on those platforms. So whether you're a solopreneur business, a realtor, for example, or whether you're running a $10 million a year business, what's your biggest asset? Your audience, the people who buy from you, the people who might buy from you in the future. So what's the takeaway? You need to be growing your audience. You need several lists if you want to scale and grow your business. So for example, how big is your email list? How big is your text message list? And here comes the surprise. How big is your Facebook Messenger audience? The vast majority of people who own businesses, who listen to this podcast have no idea that you can not only grow an audience inside Facebook Messenger just like you can your email list, you can grow multiple audiences. So if you're in a B2B business and you work with architects, manufacturers, and home builders, you could literally have 1,000 people in an audience in Facebook Messenger that are all manufacturers, another 1,000 people who are home builders, and another 1,000 people who are architects. And all of those 3,000 people have no idea that they are in an audience with the other 2,999 people. They have no idea. So why do you care? When you send out an email, look at your own analytics. If you're lucky, you're getting a 20 to 25% open rate. And if you're lucky, you're getting a one or 2% click-through rate. And that's probably if you're emailing to a group of your family and friends. So to put some math to that, if you have 1,000 people on your email list and you send out an email, maybe a little over 200 of the people that you send it to will open it, meaning they'll even see it, to begin with. And if you're lucky, 20 of them, probably less will click on any offer that you give to them. Now, let's contrast that with text messaging. Text messages, 90 plus percent of the people that send a message to will see it, and oftentimes 50, 60, 70, 80, 90% of them will click on whatever you sent in the text. But here's the big secret that marketers know that you don't, you can do the exact same thing with Facebook Messenger. So let's get to the news for today. Recently, Meta, formerly Facebook, introduced recurring notifications, meaning automated messages that you can use to delight your customers inside of Facebook Messenger. What that means is you'll be able to send proactive, automated messages to people who have opted in to your Facebook Messenger to receive those messages. You can use that to drive engagement and keep the conversation going right in the thread. So let's get to the part why you care, my wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast audience. Recurring notifications make it easy for you to deliver tailored messages at the right time to your customers, ranging from conversation-focused messages, like sales notifications, all the way to content that drives more engagement, like a newsletter. With recurring notifications inside of Facebook Messenger, businesses can do the following. You can do this. One, send tailored and timely messages that drive action. So you can create personalized messages about their chosen topic. For example, a shoe store could notify their customers when their size is back in stock. So messages resonate much more effectively because it meets the business goals of your customer. Discovery, product discovery recommendations, brand inspiration content and newsletters or consideration, product alert, behind-the-scenes news, like what's going on behind the scenes at your business. Pre-sales alert, recommendations based on past purchases. Conversion, you could be sending discount codes, promotional content, loyalty rewards, and partner offers. What about engagement? Tips, community stories, cross-sells, upsells down-sells, and product service reminders. And one bonus pro tip why you're going to love leveraging the power of Facebook messenger is when you do email marketing, if you've done it, you understand it's work. And it's because you're writing in long-form typically, and it's perceived as one to many, meaning it's more ignorable. When you do messaging inside a Facebook Messenger, on the other hand, it's short form, meaning you're not writing a huge email with paragraphs. You're sending a sentence or two, so you're much faster when you're producing content. And again, the perception is that you're speaking one to one, which is why the engagement is so much higher. Next, you can message across the customer journey. So for example, messages can be sent daily, weekly or monthly so a business can reach, your business can reach customers at any moment in their journey. And then third, you can initiate messages that deepen your relationships. So basically to ensure a high-quality experience, customers are shown the topic and frequency in advance, and they've got to opt-in before businesses can send recurring messages. Also, but one thing you should know so that you do marketing right, they have a one-tap access to opt out of your Facebook Messenger anytime they want. So in other words, if you're showing up all the time and begging for their money, they're going to opt-out. You just lost a potential customer or an existing customer. Now heads up, the ability to have recurring notifications in your Facebook Messenger is a new optional premium feature that Facebook intends to charge your business for in the future. It's currently available to all businesses that use the Facebook messenger platform as part of a free trial period. But they currently charge businesses to send messages from the WhatsApp business API and they're listening to customer feedback to guide decisions on their pricing model. And Facebook also said that recurring notifications are coming later this year to the messenger API for Instagram as well. So there you have it. Facebook messenger can be a real tool that you use to grow your business and helping you to grow your business is the only reason this podcast exists. And don't forget for crying out loud, go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, and download that checklist. So many people have done it, and it's going to help you grow your business faster. Getmymarketingchecklist.com, go and get it now, run, run, go get it. You won't regret it. Take 15 minutes to review it. I guarantee you it will identify holes in your business marketing 100% guaranteed. That's it for today. Thanks for being here as always and I will see you on the next episode. Let's keep going and growing together. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @brianwebb and the show's sponsor What Box Digital can be found at, as you might guess, @whatboxdigital. You can also find me and What Box Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 61: 3-Part LinkedIn Master Class - Part 3 - Sales Funnel: How to Create an Automated Sales Funnel on LinkedIn ____________________ INTRODUCTION Do you wish you could generate more sales from LinkedIn without actually having to prospect? Are you curious how to build an automated lead generation process on LinkedIn? Well, if so, you're in the right place today. I'm going to teach you how to make an automated funnel on LinkedIn to grow your business smarter and faster. Let's jump into it. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Do you wish you could generate more sales from LinkedIn without actually having to prospect? Are you curious how to build an automated lead generation process on LinkedIn? Well, if so, you're in the right place today. I'm going to teach you how to make an automated funnel on LinkedIn to grow your business smarter and faster. Let's jump into it. This is The Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to The Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. If you're new here today, today is part three of a three-part LinkedIn masterclass. Episode 58, we talked about creator mode and the seven reasons that every B2B business leader should add this to your profile, and how to do it. Episode 59, we talked about part two, basically how to prospect like a pro, how to get 10 to 20 real leads or more every month from LinkedIn. Today, part three, the final part of this series anyway, is how to create an automated sales funnel on LinkedIn. And so today, we're going to talk about how to turn your LinkedIn company page into an automated sales funnel in just a handful of steps. Remember prospecting is an organic process, meaning you're humanly reaching out to other people, trying to connect, and form those relationships. Today is going to be more about paid traffic. So the money that you give to LinkedIn to buy traffic or to buy media to get attention to your brand and to the products and services and offers that you have. LinkedIn ads offer really, really valuable opportunities to expand your reach because that's what they want you to do. They want you to pay them using one of their specific types of ads called native lead forms. Again, we're always flying fast and furiously here on the podcast because you are a busy, busy person, but basically, a lead forum is when an ad pops up on LinkedIn and someone clicks on it. Instead of abandoning LinkedIn and going to your website, a form pops out with all of their information already populated from their account in the forum. All they have to do is click submit. LinkedIn likes this because they're less likely to leave the platform. You like it because it's bringing the information straight from their account, which is probably their real information, as opposed to them just giving you their juncture email address. But before you run any ads, the first thing you've got to do, you've got to turn on conversion tracking in the platform. And to do this, to access conversion tracking, go to LinkedIn campaign manager, open your account, view your account assets, then create new conversions for each step of your sales funnel. For example, you might want to track leads, signups, new trials, subscriptions, whatever. You can also use this to track ad clicks and phone calls, so that's step one. And if you haven't heard of these acronyms, I'm going to share them with you for the first time. TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU. TOFU stands for, top of funnel, MOFU, as you might guess, stands for middle of funnel, and BOFU stands for bottom of funnel. But for this next step, we're going to talk about top of the funnel. And when you think of the top, middle, or bottom of funnel, think of those as temperatures. So think of top of funnel as cold. Meaning the people who might not even know that you exist, or if they do, they have very little awareness about who you are, how valid you are. Think of MOFU or middle of funnel as people who have a little more exposure to your brand, your products, and your services. You've been nurturing them for a little while. And then think of the bottom of funnel as where they're most likely to convert. This is when they're hot. Hopefully, the ones that are ever going to purchase from you. And they're the ones who are familiar with you. They have been exposed to your content, and it's time to start talking about your offers. So when people are at the top of your funnel, meaning they don't hardly know who you are, focus on organic type of posts that tell people about your business and introduce prospects to your products and services. Rather than providing tons of details, create short-form content. Entertain people, educate, always educate, and always engage. Now, the next step that you're going to want to do when you're producing this top of funnel or TOFU content, it may reach hundreds or thousands of people if your company page has a sizeable following. But if you want your content to actually be seen, even if you're a smaller company, you're going to have to boost those top-performing posts on your LinkedIn company page. That way you can reach more of your target audience and keep adding new prospects into your funnel. So now, let's move to the MOFU, not to be confused with the MOFO. The MOFU, can't believe I said that. The middle of your funnel at this point, prospects have moved past the getting to know you stage. They understand what your business does. They have a general idea of how your products and service that can help them. So at this point, you want to start focusing on creating more in-depth, more detail-type content. You can detail how your products can help, demonstrate how your services have worked for other people, and share competitive research that shows your business is a top choice. Social proof, social proof, social proof. We talk about that all the time. Now, you can do this with regular text posts, but especially at this point, you might want to think about using images and video content, multimedia in your ongoing marketing efforts, in the middle of the funnel on LinkedIn. And by the way, if you weren't already aware, you could even upload a slide deck to LinkedIn, which will appear to the users on LinkedIn like a carousel. So if you have a slide deck prepared, for example, export that out to a PDF, upload that PDF as a document to your post, and it will look like an image carousel. So people can scroll through the various slides that you want them to see. Next step, we want to get to some automated retargeting with paid content. Again, we're still in the middle of the funnel. One principle I teach all the time, it takes at least 21 to 24 times for your audience to engage with your brand before they go through those three phases of the relationship, right? They've never heard of you, maybe a little bit of awareness. You build trust through enlightenment. And then finally you get to that commitment, that engagement of some kind. They came to your event, webinar. They took a sales call. They signed up to be your customer. I stumbled into another statistic recently that had nothing to do with the number of times, it was the amount of time they consumed your content. And the time was over five hours, meaning 21 to 24 times before they go through the process. This newer statistic that I'd bumped into suggests that they have to at least consume five hours of your content. So think about that for a second. Five hours, they see a post that's about two seconds. When you're posting videos, when you're posting documents, slide decks, PDFs, you're getting more of their attention. You might be getting more of their time. So at this point, you want to accelerate these touch points. You want to move people through this stage of the funnel more efficiently. Okay, I'll get back to the podcast in just a minute, but let's face it, most marketing doesn't work. Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over again? Like so many others. You're probably tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. You know what that is, that's when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then you hope it works. You've probably thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures. You wish you could get all that money back, but you can't. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth. But it doesn't have to be that way. I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right, free. I've put together the ultimate 97-point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing. And it will only take you about 10 to 15 minutes. Think of it like an MRI for your marketing without the expensive medical bills to follow. And to get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your email inbox, just go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, provide your info and we'll get it out to you right away. And again, it's totally free. I'd actually encourage you to walk through the checklist with your team and honestly discuss and evaluate every item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Again, don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. Again, totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now. Let's fix what's broken in your marketing today. This newer statistic that I bumped into suggests that they have to at least consume five hours of your content. So think about that for a second. Five hours. They see a post that's about two seconds. When you're posting videos, when you're posting documents, slide decks, PDFs, you're getting more of their attention. You might be getting more of their time. So at this point, you want to accelerate these touch points. You want to move people through the stage of the funnel, more efficiently. Use campaign manager to run consideration-focused campaigns. If you use retargeting audiences, you can guide prospects through a customized series of touchpoints designed to address their specific needs. Here's an example, consider publishing an organic carousel post that links to a blog post introducing people to the topic, or create a LinkedIn video ad that takes a deeper dive into the topic and re-targets people who visited the blog post. Publish a website traffic ad that links people to a detailed how-to guide and re-targets people who watch your LinkedIn video ad. And since this is a podcast and not a full-blown course, we can't go too deep here, but let's move to the next step, how to design bottom of funnel LinkedIn content? And remember bottom of funnel means these are people that you have been warming up, educating, entertaining, and engaging for an extended period of time. At this point, your prospects might have a strong interest in your solution, but something is preventing them from taking that final step. Maybe they have lingering questions. Maybe they're checking out your competition, or they might be waiting for the right offer. If you can provide the final piece of that puzzle, there's a great chance that you can secure a new customer, a new sale. So let me give you some examples for your bottom of funnel, your BOFU content. Let's talk about LinkedIn live events. This lets you connect with your prospects in real-time, and you can follow up with attendees afterward to provide additional resources for them or make them offers for that matter. And by the way, while it's called LinkedIn live, you don't necessarily have to actually be live. There's a tool out there called Stream Yard. You can literally produce a video, produce content and then have it post at a later time once you've polished it up. That being said, if you're going live, you need to be present in the live meaning you need to be available to chat, to get messages, to respond to people, but the video could have been pre-produced. And hopefully, prayerfully, coming soon, they're going to have audio-only events opening up to the rest of the platform. This is a platform not unlike ClubHouse, if you've heard of it, where you can go into a room, go live basically, but it will be an audio-only room. So you can do it from your pajamas, from your home. You heard it from me first, but a couple more examples. Gated Content, Gated Content, lets your prospects download valuable guides and reports and all kinds of things in exchange for their information, their cell phone number, and their email address. You can nurture those leads, please do, please do, via email, text message, or direct mail, and add them to your retargeting audiences. Do you sell an actual product or are you a SaaS company? How about a free trial or a demo? Get prospects in the door and onboard them into your system. Your final, you can automatically follow up with those leads, and encourage them to upgrade or subscribe to a paid plan. We're almost done. The last step, re-target your serious prospects automatically. I can tell you right now, if you're not running retargeting ads, you have an enormous hole in the side of your business. To lead prospects to a final stage of your sales funnel, your bottom of funnel, use lead generation and website conversion objectives for your LinkedIn retargeting campaigns. With the lead generation objective, you can encourage your prospects to fill out a native lead form to request a personal follow-up or to access your high-value lead magnet. And if you don't know what a lead magnet is, go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, and intentionally give your real first name, your real last name, your real cell phone number, and your best email address. One, you'll need the resource, you want that resource. And two, it will allow you to go through a journey, a sales funnel journey to see what that experience is like. But as far as your ad is concerned on LinkedIn, you want to use lead generation as the objective. You can encourage prospects to fill up that native lead form we talked about to request a personal follow-up. So bottom line, before you build a funnel, take a few minutes to optimize your LinkedIn presence for lead generation and conversions. Prospects might discover your business on LinkedIn in several different ways, through a search, seeing your ads, and organic content that you're sharing. When they visit your company page, however, you want them to find all of the information they need to trust your business. So have you uploaded an image and a cover image? Are you updating it regularly? Do you have CTA buttons or call to action buttons that link to your website? Are you doing a good job of showcasing your specialties? You can choose up to 20 of them by the way. And when you do this right, it actually guides the LinkedIn algorithm and increases your chance of appearing in a search. So that's it for today, people. Again, getmymarketingchecklist.com, go check it out. Are you subscribed to my newsletter on LinkedIn, by the way, learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com? Go there and subscribe. We've talked about the seven reasons you need to have creator mode turned on on your profile. We've talked about how to prospect like a pro, and get leads month after month. And now, I've taught you how to make an automated sales funnel again in podcast form and short form on LinkedIn. That's it for today. Thanks for being here. I'm always grateful. I never lose sight of the fact that you could be spending your time anywhere else. So thank you for being here. Let's keep going and growing together. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today, and listening to this episode of The Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating in an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at, @brianwebb and the show sponsor What Box Digital can be found at, as you might guess, @whatboxdigital. You can also find me and What Box Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of The Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening, let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 60: How To Use A Summit Funnel To Build Massive Authority, Generate Tens of Thousands Of Leads, & 6 Or 7+ Figures Of New Revenue Opportunities ____________________ INTRODUCTION What if I told you there was a funnel that you could use to build massive authority, get tens or hundreds of thousands of leads in a single month, help you to instantly become an influencer, and generate five, six, seven figures, or more in new deal flow opportunities, even if you're a small business, even if you don't have an email list? Today I'm going to teach you about the summit funnel. Let's jump into it. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: What if I told you there was a funnel that you could use to build massive authority, get tens or hundreds of thousands of leads in a single month, help you to instantly become an influencer, and generate five, six, seven figures, or more in new deal flow opportunities, even if you're a small business, even if you don't have an email list? Today I'm going to teach you about the summit funnel. Let's jump into it. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. Hey everyone, welcome to the show. I'm your host Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. Today I am going to teach you about something that you've got to know about. It's called the summit funnel, but let me tell you a little bit about it. A summit funnel is another type of lead generation funnel, but it's one that is strategically designed to let you leverage other people's traffic and co-brand yourself to build your authority in a market. You can use summit funnels to quickly build an email list, generate leads, and develop relationships with other influencers in your market. So what is a summit funnel? A summit or a virtual summit is a free online conference, and when organized and executed well, it can be an incredible business growth opportunity which requires zero ad spend. Although ad spend helps. Instead of spending time and money mastering paid traffic, a virtual summit allows you to partner with dozens of other established businesses and business leaders in your niche, driving targeted traffic from their email lists their audiences to your funnel to grow your own subscriber list, generate your own leads in a matter of weeks. And here's a bonus, by contacting and interviewing speakers for your summit, you begin to build a network of influencer colleagues with whom you will continue to do business with for the years to come. Second bonus, there's an added benefit of authority being given to you by viewers simply because your face appears alongside your guest speakers on your summit registration page, on promotional materials, and in your video interviews. So how does it work? Step one, invitations. First, a person, you, who organizes the summit, you're going to be known as the host, invites a group of colleagues in their niche to be interviewed. You're going to do this either over Zoom or some type of video conference software. The ideal interviewee is a colleague or someone in your niche who has their own email list of your ideal clients. A good size summit, about 30 speakers, but it can be more, it can be less, but you'll likely find yourself approaching more people than that before you find yourself arriving at the final list of confirmed interviewees and participants. Now the interviews. You, the host, will pre-record these interviews with these guest speakers, which will be broadcast online for a limited period of time later during the summit event. And last, let's talk about promotion. Motivated by affiliate commissions and the prestige of being a featured speaker at your event, your guest speakers join with the host to promote the virtual summit in advance of the interviews being broadcast. This is key, by the way. By using a well-constructed virtual summit funnel, the host, you, can collect the email addresses of everyone who opts in to watch the free summit event, as well as sell products to the summit registrants. When your guest speakers promote your summit to their email lists, a portion of their subscribers will become your subscribers, which is how your own targeted email list grows. So now that you know what it is, now that you know what the benefits are, let's walk through the various steps. As with all marketing, step one is choosing who your ideal customer avatars are. Whom do you want to attract into this funnel, to this event? So now we're at step two. Even though I told you that you don't have to use paid traffic, I'm going to give you a bonus here in a moment that you might decide to use, because you might be able to generate paid traffic and not have to pay for the ads. So step two, we're going to choose all of our traffic sources. One, paid traffic. If so, which channels? Two, organic traffic. Three, your owned traffic. So for example, your email list, and your text message list. Four, any earned traffic you can get, like appearing on somebody else's podcast, affiliate partners. And of course, five, what I call your least traffic, so all the organic reach that you can get on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, all the channels. So we've chosen who we want to target, and we've chosen our traffic sources. And by the way, one of the earned traffic sources that you're going to get, which is the most epic part of this funnel, is your ability to leverage the audiences, the email lists, the social connections of everyone that's going to be in the summit, to begin with. So now I'm going to take you through the structure, and the assets that you need to do a summit funnel. First, you're going to have a big landing page. It's going to be the registration page. This is going to be like any other event you've ever seen promoted. You've got photos of all of your guests. You have bios about them. Any and all details that you want to use to basically promote this free summit everywhere. 'And here's the bonus I told you about. Okay, I'll get back to the podcast in just a minute, but let's face it, most marketing doesn't work. Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over again? Like so many others, you're probably tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. You know what that is? That's when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then you hope it works. You've probably thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures. You wish you could get all that money back, but you can't. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth. But it doesn't have to be that way. I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right, free. I've put together the ultimate 97-point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing. And it will only take you about 10 to 15 minutes. Think of it like an MRI for your marketing without the expensive medical bills to follow. And to get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your email inbox. Just go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, provide your info, and we'll get it out to you right away. And again, it's totally free. I'd actually encourage you to walk through the checklist with your team and honestly discuss and evaluate every item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Again, don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place, again, totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now. Let's fix what's broken in your marketing today. And here's the bonus I told you about. Once they sign up, you're going to take them to an upsell page or what we call a one-time offer page. Remember, every single time that a broadcast is going to go live to the world, you're going to do that at a specific time over an extended period of time, several days, potentially weeks. So on that order bump page, that upsell page, that one-time offer, what you're going to suggest is that "Hey, the likelihood that you can show up at the same time every day for the next week or two weeks or three weeks or more is probably not going to happen." So your offer is $99, $79, $149, some low ticket amount, you basically say, "If you're going to miss this content, why don't you go ahead and buy access to the vault," where we'll put all of the bonus materials that your guests provide and yourself, where you'll have all the videos from the summit put behind a lock and key, a username and password in other words, and they can have access to it for a lifetime so they don't miss anything. You would be shocked at how many people will gladly pay that $99 or 79 bucks or 149 bucks because they want to have access to that content. So we started with the summit registration page. We then took them to the one-time offer page. After that, here's what happens. One, they are opted in. Remember, everyone that has to sign up for this event gets onto your email list. So once they've opted in, one, they're going to be redirected to a thank you page. Second, you're going to text them because you collected their cell phone info in the registration form. And the reason that you want to do this is because as you send email reminders every day of the summit, those emails may or may not get delivered. Your text messages will get delivered. So we're going to take them to the thank you page. We're going to send them a text message confirming that they signed up. We're going to send them an email doing the same thing. They will now be on your email list. And I would recommend that we add them to a Facebook Messenger audience, because again, the conversion rate, the open rate, the click-through rate is crazy, crazy high. And for a moment, that's it. Now, two weeks prior to the summit going live, you're going to start sending warm-up emails. So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for two weeks prior, and the same thing the week prior, you're going to send emails and text messages that will get them fired up about this summit. You want to get them to invite their colleagues to the summit. You want to pique their curiosity and elevate their interest. Signing up is great. Showing up is better. And then for however many guests that you have interviewed, you're going to have that many days where emails go out, text messages go out, Facebook Messenger messages go out, reminding them that, one, today's the day of the summit, and two, you provide the link to the page where that video will be broadcast. Another crazy good bonus is that on those broadcast pages you could have offers. You could have lead magnets to take them into other funnels. And for every single guest that you interview, on the day of their summit and on their broadcast page, they can have their own offers, bonuses, things that get people into their nurturing sequences, their sales funnels, which of course is the biggest reason that they wanted to participate in your summit, to begin with. And then at the end of the summit funnel, there's a few wrap-up things that we do. One, we want to tag someone in the CRM. We want to know in the future how this person arrived in your list, to begin with. We want to send them a ringless voicemail, where you're going to make another offer to them. It happens with automation. And if you want, you can even send them a physical piece of mail all through automation. After that, we eject them from that journey, that's the end of the summit. However, you can now start doing retargeting ads that continue to create brand awareness moving forward. And if any of your guests are using paid traffic, meaning if they're buying ads, you don't want them to have pixel audiences built from all of your summit pages, but from their own respective day that they broadcast that interview. From that page, they could build their own pixeled audience so they can start retargeting the people that showed up for their broadcast to sell their products and their services. So there you have it. That's the summit funnel. Massively grow your authority, and generate tens or hundreds of thousands of leads. From a positioning standpoint, you are now associated with all of these thought leaders and business leaders that were in the summit, to begin with. While you might not necessarily be targeting your guests as potential clients or customers, it's entirely plausible that they could become potential customers for clients. So that's it. If you have questions or want to talk about how you could use a summit funnel to grow your business and generate massive leads and massive new sales, just send me a text at 832-324-2432, or email us at What Box Digital, just hello@whatboxdigital.com. That's it for this week. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode, and if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @BrianWebb, and the show sponsor, What Box Digital can be found at, as you might guess at What Box Digital. You can also find me and What Box Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 59: 3-Part LinkedIn Master Class - Part 2 - Prospecting: How To Get 10 to 20 Real Leads Or More From LinkedIn Every Single Month ____________________ INTRODUCTION Last week, we covered part one of my LinkedIn masterclass, seven reasons why every B2B business owner and leader needs to add creator mode to your profile. This week, we're getting to part two: prospecting - how to get 10 to 20 real leads or more from LinkedIn every single month. Let's jump into it. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Last week, we covered part one of my LinkedIn masterclass, seven reasons why every B2B business owner and leader needs to add creator mode to your profile. This week, we're getting to part two: prospecting - how to get 10 to 20 real leads or more from LinkedIn every single month. Let's jump into it. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. Let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey everyone. Welcome back. Last week, part one of my LinkedIn masterclass. This week, part two. I'm going to teach you how to prospect like a pro. Next week, I'm going to teach you how to make a sales funnel that starts with LinkedIn. I would say that the vast majority of people who are on LinkedIn, business owners, and business leaders, you know that you should be on the platform. You know that it's where your prospects are. And you're doing stuff. Maybe you're posting here and there and you're hitting the like button from time to time, but you're not getting any leads from it. If you haven't done so yet, go back and listen to last week's episode, where I teach you how to turn on creator mode and the seven reasons why you should. This week, we're going to talk about prospecting. And by the way, I'm sensitive to the fact that this is an audio platform. So if you want to see what I'm going to teach here today, go check out the Learn More Earn More newsletter on LinkedIn. And if I gave you the URL to the newsletter, you would never find it. So instead, just go to: learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com. It will redirect you. You can go there and see the scripts of everything I talk about. Basically, you can have the framework right in front of you. And if you're not subscribed, go ahead and hit that subscribe button. That way, you'll get notified every time I launch a new article, which is at least weekly, by the way. And every single one of them are to help you grow your business smarter and faster. Let's get to it. Here is how you prospect properly on LinkedIn. Step number one, you've got to know who your ideal customer avatar is or who they are. And we're not going to even talk about that today because I've already covered it. In fact, if you go back to the podcast to episode number seven, I basically teach you how to create the perfect ideal customer avatar to grow your business. So go check that out. And once you learn how to do it, go check out my free tool at whatboxdigital.com/avatar. There's a form right there. You walk through all the questions. It will email you the results. It's a great tool, and it's free your favorite price. But step one, you've got to know who you're targeting. Step two, you need a sales navigator account. That's an upgraded version of LinkedIn. It's a completely separate platform. Obviously, it's connected to LinkedIn, but it's a completely separate platform. You've got to have a sales navigator account. So now that you know who your ICA, your ideal customer avatar is or who they are, and now that you have your sales navigator account, we got to go find them. We got to go get them. You're going to go perform a search for your ideal customer avatar. And sales navigator lets you do that. It's absolute bliss if you're trying to grow your business on LinkedIn. The beginning of your search might start with manufacturers. It might start with law firms. It might start with medical practices. You start by choosing whom you want to target. And all of the filtering parameters that you need are right there. You can filter by connection level; first-degree connection, second, or third. You can geographically target. Maybe you want to target just Texas; maybe Michigan; maybe the United States; maybe worldwide. You can target based on years of experience, company headcount, their role, or their job titles; spotlights, meaning changed jobs in the last 90 days, or maybe they were mentioned in the news in the last 30 days. Or a good one, posted on LinkedIn in the past 30 days. And again, if you go to learn moreearnmorenewsletter.com, I'll include some screenshots so that you can see that in case you don't yet have your own sales navigator account. So, we've identified our ideal customer avatar. You've got your sales navigator account set up. And you're going after one of your ICAs, ideal customers, on sales navigator. Step three, you're going to pick 10 to 20 of the people in that search per day, Monday through Friday, and you're going to go and engage with their profile. You're not sending a connection request. You're just going to go and view their profile, for example. You're going to go and like a recent post. Comment thoughtfully on a recent post. Basically, you're just showing up before you even send that connection request out, to begin with. Now, step three can really be steps three, four, and five, meaning you could just go do it once. The longer you take, the more conversions you're going to get when you're trying to connect with people. But if you're that business owner, that business leader, that wants the baby without the labor pains, go ahead and just do it one time. Your effectiveness will probably go down, but just do your own testing as you go. Remember, everything I share with you is a framework from which you have to go and make it your own and do your own testing because every market is different. And every user on LinkedIn is different. For example, if you've got 35,000 followers and the world sees you as a celebrity, it's not going to take that long for you to connect. If you're the guy who's just so busy working in his business or her business, and you rarely show up, well, then you're a complete stranger. It's going to take you a little longer for people to warm up to you. Next step, send a connection request to those people that you've been engaging their profile. And I'm going to give you the script. This is what I use. Make it your own. And be conversational. Here's mine. "Hey," first name. "I'm a B2B marketer here in the Houston area. I enjoy connecting with..." fill in the blank; meaning the type of business owners and leaders that you want to go connect with. "But don't worry. I'm not here to pitch or sell you anything today. Hopefully, we will cross paths here on LinkedIn from time to time, Brian." I cannot say this loudly enough. Do not connect then pitch. This is the pandemic that absolutely plagues LinkedIn. When you do this, what you're, in essence, inadvertently doing is you're showing up, you're connecting, you're shaking their hand by connecting with them. And then you're saying, "Give me your money." Now, the irony is we should all intuitively know that that's not how you do business, especially on LinkedIn, because we hate it when someone does that to us. Don't do that. Don't connect and then pitch. Step five, and this is the one that you're probably not going to like because it's not as scalable. Okay. I'll get back to the podcast in just a minute. But let's face it, most marketing doesn't work. Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over again? Like so many others, you're probably tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. You know what that is. That's when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then you hope it works. You've probably thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures. You wish you could get all that money back, but you can't. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth. But it doesn't have to be that way. I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right: free. I've put together the ultimate 97-point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing. And it will only take you about 10 to 15 minutes. Think of it like an MRI for your marketing, without the expensive medical bills to follow. And to get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your email inbox, just go to getmymarketingchecklist.com. Provide your info, and we'll get it out to you right away. And again, it's totally free. I'd actually encourage you to walk through the checklist with your team and honestly discuss and evaluate every item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Again, don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. Again, totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now. Let's fix what's broken in your marketing today. Step five, and this is the one that you're probably not going to like because it's not as scalable. Every single person that accepts your connect request, get on the LinkedIn mobile app, go to messages, click on that little microphone and send them a voice message. A sincere, heartfelt, warm voice message. Now, I'm going to give you a script. But remember, make this your own. You don't have to do it like me, but make a variation of this that works best for you and your industry sector. Here's what I say: "Hey," first name. "I am thrilled to be connected with you here on LinkedIn. I really enjoy connecting with business leaders, just like you. I just wanted to reach out and say hello in my own voice. As you can see on my profile, my name's Brian. I'm the CEO here at Whatbox Digital and the fractional CMO for several B2B companies. My team and I help business owners and leaders create lead generation systems that actually work for growing their businesses smarter and faster. But again, great news, nothing to pitch or sell today. I just wanted to give you a friendly hello. Please reach out anytime, if there's anything I can do for you. And I hope we'll continue to bump into each other from time to time, here on LinkedIn. So, I've created some awareness. This person, he or she, knows what I do. I ask for nothing, not a single thing. Let's move on to the next step, step six. Wait a day or two. Send them something valuable. Help them. Give before you ask or take. In the world of marketing, we call this a lead magnet. But give them some tools, some assets, some resource that really will be helpful for them. It could be a framework that helps you to make money or save money. Maybe it's a checklist that helps you to avoid pitfalls in business. A resource that we created here at Whatbox Digital is our Ultimate B2B 97-Point Marketing Audit Checklist. It's a 36-page, 97-point marketing checklist that will absolutely help you to be a better business owner, and a better business leader. It'll help you to conquer marketing. I'm sure you have resources that you can use in your business, but you want to show up with generosity. Not with your hand out, but with something in your hand to give. On to step seven, which by the way is going to feel a whole lot like step number six. You're going to wait a day or two. You're going to give them another resource: another tool, another framework, another checklist. Be creative. Go through all the assets that you have in your business that help you to be successful and share those resources with the people that you're trying to connect with. And then, I'll repeat those steps one or two more times. This has happened over the course of, let's call it, a week or so. And by the way, when you give that resource, don't literally give it to them. Put it behind a form on a webpage or a landing page where they have to go and give their information to get it. For example, I would not just forward some news article online. If I'm going to give you that 97-point checklist, you're going to go to a landing page, and you're going to enter your name and your email address. And if I give you additional tools and resources, they're all going to be behind a form and a landing page where you have to opt in to get that resource. And remember, next week we'll be talking about a sales funnel. And what I just told you is a bit of a teaser for part three, so make sure you're tuned in next week. And then, based on how they have or have not engaged with me over this process of a week or two, I send them one more message. And in that message, I basically say, "Hey, I hope you've been getting some value out of these resources that I've been sharing with you. As I told you, I do..." A, B, and C. Example in my case, at Whatbox Digital, "we provide consulting services and frameworks for lead generation for B2B companies. Does it make sense to talk about what that looks like in your business?" And remember, most people will never engage with you. Most people will never work with you. Nothing you can say and nothing you can do. This is just the law of sales and marketing. But I'm telling you, if you do these things I just taught you, you can generate five, 10, 15, 20 leads a month. And again, that spectrum can vary because how many connections do you have? How much authority do you have online? How much are you showing up on LinkedIn when you're not prospecting, or posting valuable content? This podcast is an example. The newsletter is an example. I see someone that's posting that they're hiring. I share that with my audience. I'm demonstrating generosity. And by the way, not faking it either. And that right there might be the most valuable tip that I just shared with you today. Most people are faking it. Most people are showing up and being just generous enough to ask you for your money. So, you can go down that path, and you can fake it. And you can continue to waste your time on LinkedIn or any other social media platform. Or you can show up in a genuine and authentic way where you're trying to make a contribution to the universe. You genuinely want to help people overcome their challenges and find and pursue and achieve their dreams. But the bad news is if you're faking it, we all know it. So don't do it. Show up daily. Do your best. Give value. Stop pitching. That's how you get leads. Isn't it ironic? It's when you stop pitching that you'll start generating more opportunities for you and your business. And check this out. Believe it or not, the vast majority of everything that I've spoken to you about today, last week, and next week, it can be outsourced. As you can tell by everything I've shared, this can be a simple program; this can be robust. A proposal would have to be created. But 1500 bucks to two grand on the low end, up to three or $4,000 on the high end? If you want to get the benefit out of LinkedIn, but you're never going to have the time to do it, we can get you taken care of. Just text the word "LinkedIn" to 832-324-2432. 832-324-2432. Text the word "LinkedIn." We can start a conversation. That's it for this week. I think I've talked about the marketing audit checklist three or four times. Plus, the promotion is pushing that out to you guys. You've got to go get it. Go to getmymarketingchecklist.com and get your copy. I promise you, it'll be the best 15 to 20 minutes that you spend with your team. And don't forget about next week. Come back, subscribe. Part three of my LinkedIn masterclass: How to Make a Sales Funnel That Starts with LinkedIn. Thanks for being here. I'll see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @BrianWebb. And the show's sponsor, Whatbox Digital, can be found at, as you might guess, @WhatboxDigital. You can also find me and Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 58: 3-Part LinkedIn Master Class - Part 1 - Creator Mode: 7 Reasons Every B2B Business Leader Should Add This To Their Profile ____________________ INTRODUCTION Are you sick and tired of being on LinkedIn, but you don't feel like you're getting out of it what you should be? Well today, I'm going to take you through part one of three of my LinkedIn masterclass that's guaranteed to help you generate leads month after month and grow your business smarter and faster. Let's jump into the show. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Are you sick and tired of being on LinkedIn, but you don't feel like you're getting out of it what you should be? Well today, I'm going to take you through part one of three of my LinkedIn masterclass that's guaranteed to help you generate leads month after month and grow your business smarter and faster. Let's jump into the show. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks, to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Well, you heard me say it in the introduction, today is part one of three of my LinkedIn masterclass. Today, we're going to talk about creator mode, and seven reasons you and every other B2B business leader should add this to your profile. Next week, we'll go into part two; prospecting. I will literally give you my behind-the-scene step-by-step process for how I prospect on LinkedIn and generate 10 to 20 leads a month every single month. Then the following week we'll go to part three where I'll teach you how to create an automated sales funnel on LinkedIn. But today let's just talk about creator mode. I'm going to give you the seven reasons you need to add this to your profile. But first, let's talk about what creator mode is. Basically, creator mode is a profile setting on your dashboard that can help you grow your reach and influence on LinkedIn. You can turn on creator mode to get access to new tools, additional tools, and features that will help you create content and grow your audience based on LinkedIn. And to learn how to do that by the way, if you just perform a Google search on how to turn on creator mode on LinkedIn, it'll bring you right to the link. They walk you through it step-by-step. While I'm not going to go deep on this today, I will give you the first few steps here, just so that you know how to do it. Go to your LinkedIn profile. You're going to click on the icon up at the top of your LinkedIn homepage. Click view profile, scroll down to the resources, and click on creator mode, which is currently set to off. What you're going to do is click next on the creator mode preview popup window. And then this is where you can go through the process. So that's the quick and dirty way of how to actually turn it on, but let's talk about the reasons you want to. Reason number one, the connect button on your profile will change to follow. Once you've done this, LinkedIn will now display the number of followers you have there on your profile. When someone sends you a connection request, after you turn on creator mode, they will also follow you while they await your response. So if you don't have this turned on, someone sends you a connection request. You don't accept it. Nothing happens. Once you move over to creative mode and they click that connect request, you basically now have a new follower, whether or not you ever accept their connection request. And even if you decline their invitation, they will still be following your posts until they manually unfollow you. Reason number two, you can display the topics you post about in your profile introduction as hashtags. This will make it easier for other LinkedIn members to discover your content and follow you. And they literally appear right up there by your name. Let's move on to reason number three. When you move to creator mode, when you turn that on, LinkedIn will highlight your original content on your profile by moving your featured and activity sections to be first on your profile. And even furthermore, the activity section on your profile will no longer include your likes, comments, and other activities. They'll still be available when you click on the see all activity link up. Okay, I'll get back to the podcast in just a minute, but let's face it. Most marketing doesn't work. Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over again? Like so many others, you're probably tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. You know what that is. That's when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then you hope it works. You've probably thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures. You wish you could get all that money back, but you can't. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth. But it doesn't have to be that way. I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right. Free. I've put together the ultimate 97-point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing. And it will only take you about 10 to 15 minutes. Think of it like an MRI for your marketing without the expensive medical bills to follow. And to get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your email inbox, just go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, provide your info and we'll get it out to you right away. And again, it's totally free. I'd actually encourage you to walk through the checklist with your team and honestly discuss and evaluate every item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Again, don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. Again, totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now. Let's fix what's broken in your marketing today. Reason number four, you can add a link to the introduction section, that first box that people see, that first area of your profile to drive more traffic to your website, your content, your landing pages, and your sales funnels. Maybe an upcoming event. To see this in action, go to my profile, Brian Webb on LinkedIn. To find me easy, by the way, just go to linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb. No, I don't think I'm special enough to have the word the in front of my name. That was just my only option because another Brian Webb beat me to the punch when I was setting my own vanity URL years ago. Reason number five, get discovered better. When you turn on creator mode, you basically become eligible with LinkedIn to be featured as a suggested creator to follow so the potential followers can find you and your content all over LinkedIn. So said differently, just by turning on creator mode, LinkedIn is going to automatically for free give you more exposure on the platform. Reason number six, this might be, if not my favorite, one of my two favorites, is you get access to creator tools on LinkedIn. For example, you can do LinkedIn live when you turn on creator mode. You get access to create a LinkedIn newsletter. If you missed it, by the way, go back to episode number 51 of this podcast, which was launched on April 4th, 2022, on how to use LinkedIn newsletters to drastically reach more B2B prospects on LinkedIn. Now for this particular one, the newsletters, you have to meet LinkedIn's specific criteria. To find out if you meet the criteria, visit the creator tools section in the creator hub. You will see available next to the creator tools that you have access to. And finally, reason number seven, you get access to creator analytics, which basically provides aggregate analytics to show how your content portfolio performs over time. Now at the time of this recording, LinkedIn basically is letting us know that they're gradually rolling out creator analytics to all members who turn on creator mode. So during this time it may or may not yet be available to you, but basically to check availability, click on the number of post impressions past seven days in the analytics section of your profile. If you do not see creator analytics, check back in the coming months. So there you go. That's the seven reasons you want to turn on creator mode for your profile. So go take care of that today. That's literally something that will take you five minutes and it's going to enhance your ability to grow your business and get more exposure on LinkedIn. And don't forget, this episode is part one of three. Next week we'll go to part two, prospecting. How to get 10 to 20 real leads or more every month from LinkedIn. And then the following week part three, how to create an automated sales funnel on LinkedIn. That's it for today. Thank you for being here as always. And a quick reminder, if you haven't gotten your marketing audit checklist, go do it today. Just go to www.mymarketingchecklist.com. Go through the process. You won't regret it. And if you want to find my newsletter on LinkedIn, just go to learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com. That will redirect you to my newsletter on LinkedIn. If you're liking this podcast, you're going to love the newsletter too. And as always, thank you for tuning in here to the podcast. If you like what you're learning and hearing on this podcast, if you would be so kind as just to take a quick moment and go give us a five-star review and a rating on the platform you listen to this on, it literally helps us to reach more people and help more people just like you. So again, thanks for being here today. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @briancwebb. And the show sponsor Whatbox Digital can be found at, as you might guess, @whatboxdigital. You can also find me in Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 57: 10 Things Every Business Should Automate To Save Time & Grow Faster ____________________ VALUE BOMBS So here you are, you're running your business, you want to grow faster, you want to be more efficient, you want to add time back to your schedule, I'm going to teach you 10 things that you and every business should be automating. ____________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - ActiveCampaign gives you the email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools you need to create incredible customer experiences. Instapage - Everything you need to build and optimize landing page experiences for higher conversions. TypeForm - Create forms, surveys, and quizzes that people enjoy answering. Jasper - Artificial intelligence makes it fast & easy to create copywriting content for your blog, social media, website, and more! Rated 5/5 stars in 3,000+ reviews. SalesMessage - Simple, scalable, two-way business texting & calling. Easily send, receive, and manage text and phone conversations online. Pipedrive - The all-in-one sales platform for growing revenue. The first CRM designed by salespeople, for salespeople. Wavve - Turn your podcast, talk, or music into engaging, easy-to-consume video clips for social media! Descript - All-in-one audio & video editing, as easy as a doc. OptinMonster - Convert and Monetize Your Website Traffic. Stop losing visitors! Instantly grow your email list, get more leads and increase sales with the #1 most powerful conversion optimization toolkit in the world. Monday - The Work OS that lets you shape workflows, your way. Centralize all your work, processes, tools, and files into one Work OS. Connect teams, bridge silos, and maintain one source of truth across your organization. SproutSocial - A powerful solution for social media management. Creative Market - Accelerate your projects with millions of ready-to-use template products. New Old Stamp - Promote your company using email signatures marketing. Personalize calls-to-action in every email your team sends. Enjoy email signature management. CallRail - With call tracking, find out which marketing campaigns make your phone ring. If your business relies on quality customer conversations, you need CallRail. Match inbound calls, text, forms, and live chats to your marketing campaigns to finally learn what's working and what's not. Adobe Creative Cloud - Now everyone can make something amazing for fun, for work, or just because. All you need is a little imagination and Adobe Creative Cloud. Miro - The online collaborative whiteboard platform to bring teams together, anytime, anywhere. Slack - Stay on the same page and make decisions faster by bringing all of your work communication into one place. Apple Keynote - With its powerful tools and dazzling effects, Keynote makes it easy to create stunning and memorable presentations, and comes included with most Apple devices. Feedly - Track insights across the web via RSS feeds without having to read everything LinkedIn Sales Navigator - B2B data you can trust. Generate sales and close deals with LinkedIn Sales Solutions. Grammarly - Get suggestions from Grammarly while you write in desktop applications and sites across the web—as you move between apps, social media, documents, messages, and emails. Evernote - Tame your work, organize your life. Remember everything and tackle any project with your notes, tasks, and schedule all in one place. Vimeo - Video hosting. Where amazing videos, works in progress, and everything in between come to be their best. Libsyn - Podcast Hosting. Beginners to Experts, Unlimited bandwidth & reach, Unparalleled customer support, Audio & video – Be heard. Be seen. Avid Pro Tools - The industry-standard audio-production software for songwriters, musicians, producers, and engineers. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: So here you are, you're running your business, you want to grow faster, you want to be more efficient, you want to add time back to your schedule, I'm going to teach you 10 things that you and every business should be automating. Let's jump into the show. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey, everyone. So I'm going to share 10 things that you should be automating in your business, but the reality is you should be automating dozens if not hundreds of things in your business. Today, we're just going to cover 10 of them. If you rewind tape about 20 or 30 years ago, automation was only really available or affordable to big businesses. But today automation is for everyone, not just the corporate giants. We use all kinds of automations here at Whatbox Digital, and we encourage our clients to do the same. When leveraged well, automation can simplify nearly every department in your business. The reality is automation is becoming increasingly more and more integral to the success and goals of businesses from nearly every industry sector. Like I said, automation is no longer just for the big guys. Even if you're a solo entrepreneur in your business, automation is something you can and should be using to run your business better. It literally can save you time and help you to grow faster and more efficiently. According to gleanster.com, nearly 80% of all top-performing companies used marketing automation for at least two years or more according to their research. So there are numerous automation tools in the market that are available for every business. Our tool of choice here at Whatbox is ActiveCampaign. In fact, I wrote an entire article on it on my LinkedIn newsletter, which you can find at learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com that will redirect you to my newsletter on LinkedIn. By the way, as of the time of this recording, you'll be joining about 840 other CEOs, business owners, and executives who have also already subscribed. And we're only about five weeks old right now in that newsletter. So you can go and check that out. Now, I've talked about automation before, but just to give you a refresher course, there are three components that can be used in any automation. Two of which are always necessary. The first is triggers. Every automation on the planet must start with some kind of a trigger. Triggers are what inform your automation platform that something needs to happen. Next, conditions. Conditions can be applied to triggers to narrow the focus on whether an action should happen. So, for example, the trigger could be, I added a tag to a user, but there could be a condition like something like has not visited my website in 60 days. So that's a condition. And the third is actions. Once an automation has been triggered and a condition has been met when you want a condition to be met, then finally there's an action. The action is what you need to see happen in order to achieve your objective. So actions could include, send an email, send a text, send a slack notification, wait 30 days. That's just a handful of them. So again, 10 automations we're going to cover today. There are hundreds you could and should be using for your business, but we're going to start with number one, create an autoresponder to immediately reply to email inquiries from your website. If you have a contact email address on your website, and you probably do, for visitors to get in touch with you, you could potentially become overwhelmed by the number of leads that might be expecting to hear from you. A 30-minute delay literally in response time decreases the odds of closing a new customer by 21 times compared to responding within five minutes. So you can see that, that's important. So a trigger, in this case, would be forms submitted. The action would be to send reply email. Easy. Probably the easiest of all the ones I'll talk about today. Automation number two, automatically request online ratings and reviews from customers who are raving fans. In March 2022, I released a podcast episode that actually teaches you how to automate the process of requesting online reviews from customers who have recently had a great experience with your products and services. But basically, this process involves sending a survey upon the sale of a product or the completion of a service project. Then depending on how your customer replies, you follow up with a sequence that would be sent to the customer to compel a new response. So, for example, trigger, tag added a customer. For example, project completed product sold. Action, send email with a performance survey. Now, when they reply, there's a condition, three conditions. Condition A, customer replies with five stars in the survey. Action, send them an email and ask for a review on Facebook or on Yelp. Or condition B, the customer replies back with three stars. Mediocre. Action, send an email to ask about how your service or product could be improved. Or worst-case scenario, condition C, the customer replies with the one star in the survey, meaning you suck. Action, literally in triplicate, send a slack message, a text message, and an email notification to your customer service team to inform them that you have an unhappy customer. This is so that you can reach out to them immediately to do damage control and potentially increase customer loyalty. So you're doing two things. You're increasing customer loyalty. And for those that loved what you did, love what you sold to them, you're automating the process of getting more reviews, which is great for social proof, it's great for SEO and it just makes your brand look good. And, by the way, quick plug here, if you need help with your marketing automation needs, Whatbox Digital is totally here to help. Literally, just call our office at 281-801-7721 or just send an email at hello@whatboxdigital.com, and we'll help you out. Number three, and this might be my favorite, automatically get notified when known visitors and hot leads are on your website. This one's a little bit more of a secret. Most people don't know about this. You're probably not even aware that this is even available to you, but it's easy to do. So imagine this. You own a brick-and-mortar store. Would you ignore customers when they walk through the door? No, of course, not. Your website is the foyer to your business. Wouldn't you like to get notified automatically when known visitors and sales leads visit the various pages of your website? I would, I do, actually. This automation does require that a snippet of tracking code be embedded into the header of your website while this step is likely a task that you're not comfortable doing yourself. It is something that anyone with reasonable web editing experience could do in literally two minutes. So in this case, the automation is trigger a known user, to visit your website. Action, send a Slack notification. By the way, pro tip, you can set up a trigger for every page of your website, which allows you to monitor which pages your guests are visiting in real-time. So it's like watching someone walk from one side of your store to the other. By being able to monitor your visitor's footsteps across your site, you have an indication as to what they're seeking and what might be important to them, or at least interesting. Automation number four, capture and nurture sales leads over time, and then convert them into paying customers. If there's one topic I cover regularly is sales funnels. Sales funnels are essential, literally imperative to systematically generate new leads for your business. Sales funnels can range from very simple, like a string of emails when a new lead opts into your offer to extremely robust and complex, which could include emails, text messages, ringless voicemails, physical and direct mail, and much more. Now, a typical sales funnel that we would do here at Whatbox Digital is typically pretty robust. And so again, if you want to see a video of this being fully laid out for you, just go to learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com and go check out the article called the ultimate B2B lead generation squeeze funnel. Automation number five, always win at phone tag. It's easy to lose a game of phone tag when you're a busy entrepreneur or a business leader that's highly involved in the operations of your business. You leave a voicemail with a client, then he or she returns your call while you're in a meeting. You make a note in your mind to call back when you're at your desk, and voila, another voicemail. If the game continues, all while you're chasing other players, you might eventually give up either intentionally or because you were too busy to remember to call them back. Maybe you had a lead, but then you lost it. So in this automation, the trigger is add tag in your CRM that says left VM, for example, to a contact. When that happens, action one sends an email to the contact, and action two sends an email reminder back to yourself to call back. So if you're using an automation platform like ActiveCampaign like us, you can note in the system that you left a message for a contact. Doing so triggers an automation to email him or her, I just left you a voicemail, sorry, I missed you. If I don't hear from you, I'll follow up tomorrow. The software then reminds you to make the call tomorrow as promised. No sticky notes are necessary and no lost leads. Automation number six. Okay, I'll get back to the podcast in just a minute, but let's face it. Most marketing doesn't work. Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over again? Like so many others, you're probably tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. You know what that is. That's when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then you hope it works. You've probably thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures. You wish you could get all that money back, but you can't. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth. But it doesn't have to be that way. I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right, free. I've put together the ultimate 97-point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing. And it will only take you about 10 to 15 minutes. Think of it like an MRI for your marketing without the expensive medical bills to follow. And to get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your email inbox, just go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, provide your info and we'll get it out to you right away. And again, it's totally free. I'd actually encourage you to walk through the checklist with your team and honestly discuss and evaluate every item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Again, don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. Again, totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now. Let's fix what's broken in your marketing today. Automation number six, and I love this one too, follow up with new networking connections. Whether you're at a networking happy hour or a conference or any business function or event, networking can pay off with a large stack of business cards in your hand. But you already know that collecting business cards isn't the goal. So you can use the power of automation to start communicating with your new contacts immediately before both you and your new contact forget about the conversation you had to begin with. Transfer the contact information for your new connection from their business card to your CRM. Tag each person as a conference or event contact. Then use automation software to schedule an email to be sent. Whether you want to follow up an hour or later or the next day, doesn't matter. And when I say send an email communication, send a string of email communications, maybe four or five or six of them. So, for example, trigger, add new contact, action, send email one of seven, action, wait one day, action, send email two of seven, action, wait two days, so forth and so forth and so forth. It's a great way to introduce yourself over a period of time to indoctrinate the people that you met with all that you can do to help them based on the products and services that you have to offer. Automation number seven, welcome a new client. I'll tell you something that you already know. A sale is not the end of your relationship with a new client. In fact, it's only the beginning you need and want to make a great first impression by sending a series of welcome emails to demonstrate to your new clients that you care about them. And again, it's a great opportunity to indoctrinate your clients with information about your business and to set and manage their expectations about what it's going to be like to work with you. Staying in touch is effortless with automation. Setting up your software so that when a purchase is made or by manually adding a tag for B2B service businesses, a trigger automatically activates that email series. In the first email sent immediately after a purchase or a tag is added, send them a thank you and an intro to your company. You could also send answers to frequently asked questions or an overview of what your services entail. And if you really want to up your game, consider sending a thank you gift. Check in again shortly after the client has started using your products or services to see how they're doing. Include helpful content like tips about using your products or how-to video or suggest complementary products and services that may also be of interest to them. A few days later, ask for feedback, and send them a link to a survey asking how your business could improve. If the client is dissatisfied, you'll want to take action sooner than later. Onto number eight, stay on top of failed billing charges and past due invoices. When a customer changes or loses a credit card, your business might not have made his or her list of records to update. Billing charges that don't clear even for a short period of time, can have a detrimental impact on your bottom line. So be proactive about collecting payments by establishing automated processes. For subscriptions and other fees collected on a recurring basis, set up a trigger for your automation platform of choice to notify you when a billing charge fails. The notification prompts you to reach out to the customer, allowing you to collect payment as soon as possible. And you could prevent some failed charges from happening in the first place by catching credit cards on the verge of expiration. You can set up an automated process in which the software scans customer information stored in your client management system for credit cards due to expire in 30 days triggering a reminder to reach out to customers about updating their cards. Cool stuff. Number nine, send appointment reminders. In a society where the word breathing is synonymous with the word busy, leads and clients need reminders about their appointments. And arguably they need to be reminded about the reminder. Forgotten appointments translate to wasted time and money for your business, but you can't afford to spend hours serving as a full-time assistant for your clients. With automation software, leads and clients can schedule an appointment at the time that works for them and that's free on your calendar. They can then receive a series of emails and appointment confirmation followed by reminders in the days or hours prior to the appointment. If the client or lead cancels, the software will automatically notify you so you can follow up and reschedule. And finally, last but not least, number 10, ask clients for referrals at the right time. It's the oldest marketing strategy in the world. Word of mouth is the most trusted form of advertising. 84% of leaders say they completely or somewhat trust recommendations from people that they know. But sometimes clients need a little reminder or an incentive to spread the word. Ask clients at the right time to give referrals by sending an automated email. To encourage them to take action, you might offer a small gift or a hefty referral fee. At Whatbox Digital, we love to pay big referral fees to people who refer new customers to us. And I mean thousands and thousands of dollars. Here's how you can set this up. When a client enters a friend's name or a colleague's name and their phone number and email address into a web form, your software will issue a task for you or your team member to call and reach out to that referral. So, Brian, you're talking about automation. Why the old school phone call? Emailing contacts without their direct permission puts your email at high risk of being flagged as spam, which could lead to your messages being blocked by inboxes. Pick up the phone, then ask about opting them into your emails. This is one where you might consider having a dedicated page on your website that's only there for your customers. And you remind them that it's there. It's a great way to make it easy for them to introduce you to other people. That's it. 10 automations that will save you time, and help you grow your business faster. And don't forget, I know you heard the promo earlier, go and get your 97-point marketing audit checklist. It's a phenomenal tool to help you audit and assess what is not working in your marketing so that you can become aware of it and start working on fixing it. Everything that you fix in your marketing helps you to grow your business faster and more efficiently. So go get your checklist. All right, that's it. Thanks for being here today. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @BrianWebb. And the show sponsor Whatbox Digital can be found at, as you might guess, @WhatboxDigital. You can also find me in Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 56: Part 1: A Story About A $40 Million Dollar Fraud And Its Priceless Lessons For Investors & Entrepreneurs ____________________ VALUE BOMBS What does desperation, patriotism, entrepreneurship, a 40 million loss for investors, concurrent FBI and SEC investigations, and a pending indictment of a friend and former client all have in common? This podcast, this episode, my interview today with Chris Bentley, let's jump into the show. ____________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - ActiveCampaign gives you the email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools you need to create incredible customer experiences. Instapage - Everything you need to build and optimize landing page experiences for higher conversions. TypeForm - Create forms, surveys, and quizzes that people enjoy answering. Jasper - Artificial intelligence makes it fast & easy to create copywriting content for your blog, social media, website, and more! Rated 5/5 stars in 3,000+ reviews. SalesMessage - Simple, scalable, two-way business texting & calling. Easily send, receive, and manage text and phone conversations online. Pipedrive - The all-in-one sales platform for growing revenue. The first CRM designed by salespeople, for salespeople. Wavve - Turn your podcast, talk, or music into engaging, easy-to-consume video clips for social media! Descript - All-in-one audio & video editing, as easy as a doc. OptinMonster - Convert and Monetize Your Website Traffic. Stop losing visitors! Instantly grow your email list, get more leads and increase sales with the #1 most powerful conversion optimization toolkit in the world. Monday - The Work OS that lets you shape workflows, your way. Centralize all your work, processes, tools, and files into one Work OS. Connect teams, bridge silos, and maintain one source of truth across your organization. SproutSocial - A powerful solution for social media management. Creative Market - Accelerate your projects with millions of ready-to-use template products. New Old Stamp - Promote your company using email signatures marketing. Personalize calls-to-action in every email your team sends. Enjoy email signature management. CallRail - With call tracking, find out which marketing campaigns make your phone ring. If your business relies on quality customer conversations, you need CallRail. Match inbound calls, text, forms, and live chats to your marketing campaigns to finally learn what's working and what's not. Adobe Creative Cloud - Now everyone can make something amazing for fun, for work, or just because. All you need is a little imagination and Adobe Creative Cloud. Miro - The online collaborative whiteboard platform to bring teams together, anytime, anywhere. Slack - Stay on the same page and make decisions faster by bringing all of your work communication into one place. Apple Keynote - With its powerful tools and dazzling effects, Keynote makes it easy to create stunning and memorable presentations, and comes included with most Apple devices. Feedly - Track insights across the web via RSS feeds without having to read everything LinkedIn Sales Navigator - B2B data you can trust. Generate sales and close deals with LinkedIn Sales Solutions. Grammarly - Get suggestions from Grammarly while you write in desktop applications and sites across the web—as you move between apps, social media, documents, messages, and emails. Evernote - Tame your work, organize your life. Remember everything and tackle any project with your notes, tasks, and schedule all in one place. Vimeo - Video hosting. Where amazing videos, works in progress, and everything in between come to be their best. Libsyn - Podcast Hosting. Beginners to Experts, Unlimited bandwidth & reach, Unparalleled customer support, Audio & video – Be heard. Be seen. Avid Pro Tools - The industry-standard audio-production software for songwriters, musicians, producers, and engineers. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS Burning Bellatorum: The Story of a Forty Million Dollar Fraud and its Priceless Lessons for Investors and Entrepreneurs The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: What does desperation, patriotism, entrepreneurship, a 40 million loss for investors, concurrent FBI and SEC investigations, and a pending indictment of a friend and former client all have in common? This podcast, this episode, my interview today with Chris Bentley, let's jump into the show. This is to Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Brian Webb: Hey there, it is a pleasure to have you Chris, Chris Bentley, on the show today. How are you doing this morning, man? Chris Bentley: I'm doing well, Brian, thanks for having me on the show. Brian Webb: It's a thrill to have you here. The audience doesn't know this yet, but you and I got to know each other as a result of us collaborating together, doing a little bit of marketing work for you back in the day. Chris Bentley: Yep, absolutely. Yeah. That was a fun experience. Brian Webb: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So for those in the audience who don't know who you are, take a minute or two and just kind of share kind of your background, where your story starts. Chris Bentley: Well, I grew up in east Texas, in Tyler, and joined the Marines right after high school and thought I was going to be a lifer. I was in for about 14 and a half years. Got medically discharged for some injuries I incurred while I was in the Marine Corps. Again, that was kind of devastating for me because I thought I was going to be in for life. So I'd done six tours, several to Iraq, several to Afghanistan, and didn't know what I was going to do with my life when I got out. And so I moved to Houston in January of 2014. At that time, oil and gas were trading for over a hundred dollars a barrel. It was pretty easy to get a job in the greater Houston area. So I got a job as a landman down here and got into the oil and gas industry after that and got into some entrepreneurial ventures, buying and selling mineral rights, being the main one, started a business in 2016 that started with just me and my wife and then grew to about 21 employees and over 40 million dollars in assets under management within a few years. Brian Webb: Wow. So today is going to be maybe one of the most interesting stories that we've had here, really, on The Learn More Podcast. And so I know that you've got a book that is out, I've got it, it's called Burning Bellatorum, and it's all about the story of a $40 million fraud and it's priceless lessons for investors and entrepreneurs. Tell me, tell the audience how you lost all of your own personal assets and not just the investors' money. It happened for you and the investors, but tell the audience how that story began. Chris Bentley: Well, like I said, in 2016, I started the company. At first, it was just doing small deals, brokering deals, buying, when I say small, I mean I think the largest one I bought on my own with my own capital was like $30,000 and I would buy and sell these smaller assets and I saw the opportunity for scale and so in 2017 I brought in one investor, did very well for him. It grew from there and it was an extremely legitimate successful business through the beginning of 2019. And in 2019, keep in mind in 2017 we had started with one investor, that grew to about, I think, six investors toward Q3 of 2017. Then by Q1 of 2018, I think we had like 27 investors. Then later that year it grew to 45. And then by January of 2019, we had about 22.7 million of assets under management and with a hundred investors. Chris Bentley: And then later that year, that grew to 28.7 million. And then by the end of the year, we took on, I took on, and this is crucial to the story, I took on 6.6 million dollars in debt. I did that by committing fraud and lying to the bank, but basically, to try to survive I also levered all my own assets, made personal guarantees, got personal loans with my house, and all my personal assets as leverage. So when I turned myself in and everything fell apart, I lost not only all my investors' money but my personal assets as well. Brian Webb: Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. I've known you for some years now and I'm trying to put myself in your shoes because the Chris that I know, you're not a nefarious guy. You've served our country and you did not get into this with the intention of this happening. Talk a little bit more about that slippery slope. I know it started with trying to manage cash flow and things like that but talk about where that started and where that's brought you to today. Chris Bentley: Yeah. So I'd say it started with call it like late 2018 or early 2019. But basically, I came back from the Christmas holiday break between 2018 and 2019 where we would always shut down the office for a couple of weeks, about the week of Christmas, and then start the Monday after the New Year's holiday, come back to the office with ready to take on this new fund of 22.7 million dollars in capital commitments from investors, and I learned that we weren't ready from an operational standpoint, meaning like we didn't have the deal flow we normally had, just some little nuance about the business. We would send out letters like literally the day before we left for the Christmas break so that when we come back in January, we were starting to get some deal flow and incoming calls. Chris Bentley: And this was crucial to starting off a fund, we always start in January because it was important to kick off the fund with this new deal flow and make these acquisitions at that time of year. Brian Webb: Right. Chris Bentley: So I come back, there were some problems with the letter and the data sets that fed those offer letters that we would send out. So the first mistake I made, I think was, I was thinking, okay, this isn't a big deal, is what I was telling myself and that we could fix it. So it kind of rallied the troop, so to speak, got all hands on deck, fixed the data, at least I thought I fixed it, with my team, and got a bunch of letters out. Chris Bentley: So keep in mind, we also have this cash coming in. I'm simultaneously taking on investor capital, and signing the contracts, which we refer to as the PPMs or private placement memorandums. So I've taken all this capital on and taken the management fee from that capital. And so then fast forward a few weeks later, realized that the letters we had hustled to hurry up and get out, the data that I thought we fixed, we made some serious mistakes. So the deal flow that started coming in was, there was bad deal flow because there were mistakes, the offers were too high in some cases, or they were the incorrect offers for the wrong tracks of the wrong assets. So we would buy these mineral rights properties, and oil and gas royalties. And so sometimes on these offer letters that were incorrect, they would have the wrong properties listed and the wrong owner's names and things of that nature. Chris Bentley: So then I'm like, all right, crap, what do I do? I've already taken the management fee. I just made one bad decision after another. So in previous funds, it had always been possible for us to flip these assets quickly and make we promote our share of the profits. Well, because we hadn't bought any assets and we didn't have the ability to flip anything yet for a profit, then what I did was the first thing, I had the management fee to run off of for a couple of months, but then by May, it was starting to run out of that money to cover the overhead. So then what I started doing was, for lack of a better term, committing fraud and altering documents so that I could take a part of the capital and move it into the company and I would make it look like it was in acquisitions. Let's say just for example sake, for a million dollars, when it was really $800,000 and I would move the 200K via various entities and kind of siloing people and employees so nobody would find anything out and I'd get that money back into Bellatorum's operating account and cover the payroll and the rent and all those things to operate the business. Chris Bentley: So there I start digging the hole like that. And then in the middle of 2019, the oil and gas industry starts going downhill, big time, with lots of different things going on, political things, prices being depressed, consolidation, not enough new wells being drilled to keep the assets that we did by increasing the value on those assets. Brian Webb: Sure. Chris Bentley: So then that's when I couldn't flip the assets that we did purchase and because I had already marked them up for all intents and purposes to pull that capital back to the company like I was telling you about just now, so the assets I had purchased in the fund were already didn't have enough margin on them to sell and then their value went down even more with the industry downturn and then keep in mind, we're going into COVID in 2020 and I didn't know that obviously at the end of 2019, but I took on debt from a private lender for 6.6 million dollars in December of 2019 and used the investors' assets, the mineral rights that we owned in the fund as collateral. Brian Webb: Right. Chris Bentley: And I did not disclose that to the investors. So that per se, wasn't illegal, definitely unethical not to disclose to investors, but I was technically allowed to do that as the general partner. So I do that, but I deceived the lender. I made them think that things were better than they were. I altered documents to make our balance sheet look stronger so that they would approve the loan. So that was the first part in defrauding the lender. And then secondly, they said that I could only use the proceeds for buying new assets. Well, I did buy some new assets with their money, but I also spent a large portion of it on covering overhead. Chris Bentley: The final thing I did is, well, I was thinking, all right, this is getting bad. Now fast forward we're 2020, COVID's happening, oil prices fall below zero for a day. I mean, it's just a- Brian Webb: Right. Chris Bentley: It's a shit show, for lack of better terms, Brian. And so 2020 was just survival mode trying to, I kept doing these fraudulent transactions and having to hide it from everybody and covering it up just to keep the lights on and have an outward appearance that the company was still good. Chris Bentley: So I laid a few people off, but not everybody. I didn't want it to look like things were bad at the company because I was out on a campaign to try to raise a more patient capital structure fund. Like this goal, if I could get a hundred million of assets in our management, I thought, okay, and with a long term lockup, like five years, say, then I'd have time to weather any storms and have enough assets on our management to give us enough management fee to cover our overhead. And so that was the goal. I went out trying to raise capital in various avenues. I mean, private investors, institutional investors, overseas debt, just all kinds of different capital structures and just running parallel paths in 2020. And it was just, it was brutal. I mean, nobody wanted to do anything in 2020. Chris Bentley: And so I'm out there trying to make it look like, yeah, Bellatorum's great. We have this great track record, which we did in 2017 and 2018. And so my narrative to investors is, Hey, 2019's fun. Don't judge us on it yet because we're in COVID, I haven't had a chance to liquidate all these assets. I'm obviously not telling new investors all this crazy stuff I've been doing behind, all this fraudulent activity I've been doing just to keep the lights on. But again, my thought was, if I could just get a big capital commitment from a huge investor or handful of huge investors, then I could just consolidate everything, get some patience, get enough AUM, move assets around, and just make everybody whole, and then get a longer-term fund where it would give me the ability to trade in and out of assets, get rid of the debt and then acquire new assets with royalty income and other the new capital. Chris Bentley: And so anyway, everything was a lie. Things were challenged, to say the least. And the lenders started pushing hard on me for their payment, the note and basically honoring that. They were starting to get suspicious, I would say. And I mean, everything I was doing was like a lie, right? Like, it didn't matter if somebody just said, Hey, how are you doing Chris? Like to say, oh, I'm all right, man. How are you? Just to put a smile on my face and have that outward appearance became a chore. I couldn't sleep. I was getting suicidal. And I just was like, you know what, I can't do this anymore. And I was so close, I'll tell you, Brian, some people have said, man, if you just coulda kept doing what you were doing for maybe a month or two, you would've made it because things were starting. Chris Bentley: And I turned myself in April of 2021. I sent the investors an email just saying everything that basically I just told you on April 9th. I think if I would've lasted if I would've kept doing what I was doing for a couple more months. I probably could have gotten that big capital commitment in. I was having so many investor meetings every day, positive ones. Things were starting to look up for the oil and gas industry again. I mean there were prices that were going up, they were back up, I think in April of 2021 they were back up to like mid-sixties. So things were looking up. Some people said you could have just kept doing what you're doing if you would've fought a little longer. I was like, yeah, but man, I really- Brian Webb: It was eating you up inside. Chris Bentley: It was eating me up bad. And my one thing that I've been going to church a lot and going to Bible study and I, every single Sunday, it was like the message at church or the topic at our Bible study group or both was just like, poking me in the eye saying you can't build something on lies and a lack of integrity. So I thought even if I pulled this off and get a hundred million bucks or 200 million, I mean, it was starting to look like it was like, man, all these people are now coming out of the woodwork and I might end up with 200 million AUM or maybe even more. And that would've been great and I would've been able to commit a few more fraudulent transactions and make everything whole and then be set up, you know? Chris Bentley: And I think I still could have made everybody whole and got them a decent return, like the new investors, so it wouldn't have been like a quote-unquote Ponzi scheme where I actually had assets and royalty income and if we just sat on, they bought some new assets, et cetera, I thought, okay, I won't be the rockstar that I was in 2017 and 2018 with the 60% annualized returns, but I might get everybody like 10 to 15% and I'll be all right. Brian Webb: Sure. Chris Bentley: And then we'll just wind down and everybody will be happy they got their money back plus a return. And then we'll just call it quits with like a soft landing, so to speak. Brian Webb: Yeah. Chris Bentley: But as I go to the Bible study and sit and just read, and I read a lot and I read a lot of business books and just reading a Shoe Dog from about Nike and by Phil Knight and all these books. And just like, man, I can't do this. I won't be able to live with myself if it's 15, 20 years from now, knowing that I committed all this fraud just to build this company and survive. Doesn't matter, the right thing to do would've been back in 2019 and say, Hey, I'm not ready for your capital. Let's take a pause and let me regroup. I think we were such a new company and I was so worried about failing, that clouded my judgment. Brian Webb: For sure. Let me ask you this. One, thank you for sharing that story. I can only imagine what you were going through and for that matter, what you're still going through, but specifically, or especially when you're living in this house of cards, I mean the quintessential house of cards, really. Share with the audience what's going on in your life. Like where are you now? What's happening? Where are you in the process? What's next for Chris Bentley, your family, and the investors? Brian Webb: We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor What Box Digital. Did you know that most marketing doesn't work at all? Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over and over again? Like so many others, you are likely tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. This is when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then hoping it works. You've thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures, and you wish you could get that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth, but it doesn't have to be that way. Brian Webb: I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at What Box Digital, and I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the greater Houston metroplex for over 18 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth time and time again, and I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right, free. I've put together the ultimate 97-point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing, and it'll only take you about 10 or 15 minutes to go through it. Brian Webb: Think of it like an MRI for your marketing, without the expensive medical bills to follow, and to get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your inbox, simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, provide your info and we'll get it out to you right away. And again, it's totally free. I'd encourage you to walk through this checklist with your team and honestly discuss and evaluate every action item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failed hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. Again, it's totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now let's fix, what's broken in your marketing. Brian Webb: What's going on in your life? Like, where are you now? What's happening? Where are you in the process? What's next for Chris Bentley, your family, and the investors? Chris Bentley: I mean, right now I'm renting the upstairs of my in-law's house for my wife and kids. I'm working at a thrift store that's actually a nonprofit that one of my investors is the owner of and just kind of waiting to see what the charges are going to be. I got a call from my lawyer last week saying that I should be officially indicted any day now. So just waiting to see what that's going to be and what they're going to propose is sentencing and all that. So still don't have any hard facts on that. But I have spoken with the SEC and the FBI and the AUSA several times over the past year and I believe they have concluded their investigation and are just wrapping up the formalities to make those official charges. Chris Bentley: Still married. My kids, they're still in school. I don't know how much they comprehend about this whole thing. I have two boys, they're 13 and 11. And I told them that I committed a crime and that I would probably go to jail. I told them that back last April because I didn't know how fast things would move and they just seemed shocked. But I mean, I still don't think they fully comprehend that. So during this time, I wrote a book, as you mentioned at the beginning of the show, and the whole purpose of that book is to try to make restitution. I'm not getting any of the proceeds from that. So I figured at least I could use my time while I'm not incarcerated or while I'm free to try to do something to make some money back for the investors. So my point in this book is 100% to try to make restitution. Brian Webb: Sure. Chris Bentley: I know selling books is a hard road, but it was the only thing I could think of to try to make a dent, try to make investors, and get them something back. Brian Webb: Wow. Well, one, I've got one more question for you, but one, my prayers are with you, your family, the investors, and everyone that's involved. I can't imagine standing in your shoes right now. And again, this is a great story about maybe some poor decision making, but it wasn't like, again, you were this criminal, that you had nefarious intent, you got into a place of desperation. And as we all know, when we're desperate is when we absolutely make our worst decisions. Period. Let me ask you this, this is my final question. If you could tell the audience one thing if you could give them one transformational takeaway from all of this and I'm sure there are many, but if you had to sum them up into one, what would it be? Chris Bentley: You know, failure is an option. Brian Webb: Wow. Chris Bentley: It seems so, yeah, that's, duh, right? But I think for a lot of people that are high achievers or strive to be exceptional, so to speak for lack of better terms, that you think failure's not an option. And I, Brian, I don't want to say I'm blaming the Marine Corps, my childhood, on the decisions I made, but I was definitely raised to achieve. Brian Webb: To conquer. Yeah. Chris Bentley: And then definitely reinforced in my time in the Marine Corps that failure's not an option. Right? And so I would just say that failure is an option. Any story you read about successful entrepreneurs, the big names out there, Bill Fates, Phil Knight, et cetera, Elon Musk, there's a lot of literature out there and real-life stories to show that there is a way to fail and to make it a positive thing. And I wish that would've been top of my mind. And if I could leave your listeners with anything is to just always keep that in the back of your mind that, hey, you can fail. And there's a book called The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, and he talks about you can create soft landings that you can recover from, and those failures can end up being launch pads for new ventures if you do it right. Brian Webb: Wow. Well, audience, the book is Burning Bellatorum. You can get it on Amazon. His name is Chris Bentley. Man, Chris, thanks for being here today and sharing your story. It's just, I think it's going to be invaluable for the audience. Chris Bentley: Thanks, Brian. I appreciate you having me, and I look forward to staying in touch. Brian Webb: I want to share a closing word before we leave today. As I think about what Chris has been through, I can't help, but think of how many times in my life, I would imagine in yours, all of us, we have been desperate and we've made bad decisions. They don't all have the same consequences. Clearly, Chris is facing some real consequences. My prayer, my hope is that restoration and redemption is available for everyone, the investors, Chris, his family, Chris's future, and everyone that's been involved. Some bad decisions were made, but who among us has not made bad decisions? Again, the consequences are higher here and I get that, but it's just a good reminder that when we feel desperate, take a step back, talk to someone, get some wise counsel, a wise friend of mine once said that secrets only grow in the dark and they can eat us alive. Brian Webb: So as you're growing your business, as you're leading your organization and you find yourself in that desperate situation, let's learn from Chris. Chris's life, Chris's story can really teach us so much. And by the way, the book, Burning Bellatorum, text 832 324 2432. How you felt about this interview and how it touched your life, that's me, you'll text me directly at 832 324 2432, the first three people that text me about this podcast episode. I'm going to send a free copy of Chris's book. And remember, all of that goes back towards paying back those investors who suffered that loss. Thanks for being with me today. Brian Webb: Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode, and if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating in an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at, @Brian Webb, and the show sponsor What Box Digital can be found at, as you might guess at What Box Digital. You can also find me and What Box Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of The Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you. I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 55: The Lead Generation Squeeze Funnel Every B2B Business Should Be Using To Get More Leads ____________________ VALUE BOMBS Whether you're a B2B or B2C business owner or leader, you know that you should be using sales funnels, but you kind of sort of don't get it kind of, sort of, but not really. Today, I'm going to walk you through the ultimate lead generation squeeze funnel. Let's get to it. ____________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - ActiveCampaign gives you the email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools you need to create incredible customer experiences. Instapage - Everything you need to build and optimize landing page experiences for higher conversions. TypeForm - Create forms, surveys, and quizzes that people enjoy answering. Jasper - Artificial intelligence makes it fast & easy to create copywriting content for your blog, social media, website, and more! Rated 5/5 stars in 3,000+ reviews. SalesMessage - Simple, scalable, two-way business texting & calling. Easily send, receive, and manage text and phone conversations online. Pipedrive - The all-in-one sales platform for growing revenue. The first CRM designed by salespeople, for salespeople. Wavve - Turn your podcast, talk, or music into engaging, easy-to-consume video clips for social media! Descript - All-in-one audio & video editing, as easy as a doc. OptinMonster - Convert and Monetize Your Website Traffic. Stop losing visitors! Instantly grow your email list, get more leads and increase sales with the #1 most powerful conversion optimization toolkit in the world. Monday - The Work OS that lets you shape workflows, your way. Centralize all your work, processes, tools, and files into one Work OS. Connect teams, bridge silos, and maintain one source of truth across your organization. SproutSocial - A powerful solution for social media management. Creative Market - Accelerate your projects with millions of ready-to-use template products. New Old Stamp - Promote your company using email signatures marketing. Personalize calls-to-action in every email your team sends. Enjoy email signature management. CallRail - With call tracking, find out which marketing campaigns make your phone ring. If your business relies on quality customer conversations, you need CallRail. Match inbound calls, text, forms, and live chats to your marketing campaigns to finally learn what's working and what's not. Adobe Creative Cloud - Now everyone can make something amazing for fun, for work, or just because. All you need is a little imagination and Adobe Creative Cloud. Miro - The online collaborative whiteboard platform to bring teams together, anytime, anywhere. Slack - Stay on the same page and make decisions faster by bringing all of your work communication into one place. Apple Keynote - With its powerful tools and dazzling effects, Keynote makes it easy to create stunning and memorable presentations, and comes included with most Apple devices. Feedly - Track insights across the web via RSS feeds without having to read everything LinkedIn Sales Navigator - B2B data you can trust. Generate sales and close deals with LinkedIn Sales Solutions. Grammarly - Get suggestions from Grammarly while you write in desktop applications and sites across the web—as you move between apps, social media, documents, messages, and emails. Evernote - Tame your work, organize your life. Remember everything and tackle any project with your notes, tasks, and schedule all in one place. Vimeo - Video hosting. Where amazing videos, works in progress, and everything in between come to be their best. Libsyn - Podcast Hosting. Beginners to Experts, Unlimited bandwidth & reach, Unparalleled customer support, Audio & video – Be heard. Be seen. Avid Pro Tools - The industry-standard audio-production software for songwriters, musicians, producers, and engineers. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Whether you're a B2B or B2C business owner or leader, you know that you should be using sales funnels, but you kind of sort of don't get it kind of, sort of, but not really. Today, I'm going to walk you through the ultimate lead generation squeeze funnel. Let's get to it. This is The Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks, to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey everyone. Welcome back to The Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. I'm always excited to have you come back and hear what's going on week after week. But before I jump into today's episode, I want to tell you about something. Just one month ago, I launched a brand new newsletter and it's on LinkedIn. And if you go to learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com, it will take you right there. I've already published several articles and by the way, it's a month old, and we're just shy of 800 CEOs, vice presidents, business owners, and entrepreneurs who have already subscribed and it just keeps growing every week. So go to learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com. Enter that into your browser. It will redirect you to the actual newsletter on LinkedIn. And it's just another channel where I can help you grow your business smarter and faster for free. So one subscribe today, learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com. And you know what? Newsletter is a bit of a misnomer. And let me explain. It's not a newsletter as in go somewhere to get more information that you don't care about that's totally ignorable. No, newsletter is just the engine that LinkedIn uses to distribute the content. But really it's more like a multimedia experience that visually reinforces some of the same principles that I teach here on the podcast. You might recognize some of these titles. The Top Reasons You're Wasting Money On B2B Marketing That Does Not Work. You're Known, But Are You Being Noticed? Three Steps To Easily Choose The Perfect Brand Color Palette For Your Business. Why Active Campaign Is My Favorite Marketing Automation Platform For Growing Businesses Smarter And Faster. The B2B Shock, An All Sales Funnel To Attract High-Value Customers And Add Millions To Your Business In 2022. And there are plenty of great articles that are in the works for the weeks to come. New articles published every Monday, go check it out, learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com and it will take you right to the newsletter on LinkedIn. I'll hope to see you there and become a part of that community of other like-minded business professionals, just like you. So, as I said, you're a business owner, you're a business leader. You know that you need sales funnels. You keep hearing us crazy marketers talk about them all the time, but you don't really understand what they are. You kind of do. Most people think that a sales funnel is just a sequence of emails when in reality, it's way, way, way more than that. And there are a lot of tactics that get involved and certainly strategy. So today I'm going to walk you through what I call the ultimate B2B lead generation squeeze funnel. The more expensive your products or services are, meaning the more high ticket that you are, the more education it requires for someone to understand the nuance of your value proposition, you've got to use sales funnels. Even if you don't face those two challenges, sales funnels are still the best way to generate leads online. It takes numerous, dozens of interactions with your brand before your prospective audience will ever go through the three natural phases of a relationship with you. By the way, the same phases that you go through before you adopt someone else's products and services. One, curiosity, maybe awareness. Second, you build trust over time through enlightenment. And third, you finally get to that engagement or that commitment. And by the way, we call this a squeeze funnel because what you're trying to do is squeeze information. Their name, their email address, maybe their cell phone number. You're trying to squeeze information from somebody so that you can nurture them over time. The vast majority of your website visitors, go look at your own Google Analytics, most of them show up and leave without clicking on a single button. And the rest that do are typically there for a minute or less then they go. And once they leave, you've lost them. So what we want to do when you have people come to your website, your prospective customers, we want to invite them into your story, we want to bring them into a journey where you can slowly over time, help them to understand that you have the solution to their problem. So step number one of this funnel is identifying your ideal customer avatar. I'm not going to go deep here, but there's a process and a framework that we have for that at What Box Digital. You need to know who you're going after so that you know where to find them and how to speak to them. Step number two, you need to choose your five sources of traffic that you are going to compel and attract and invite into this funnel. And you're thinking five types of traffic, what in the world does that mean? Well, let me break it down to you. First, let's talk about paid traffic. You can use Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Depending on your vertical, maybe you're running print ads in periodicals, or maybe you're running television ads or radio spots. Maybe you're sponsoring a podcast that has your audience. Paid traffic is only one of the five types of traffic that you can use to drive into the sales funnel. The second is organic traffic. Organic traffic could be you coming up in a Google search, or maybe there was a news report or a press release done on your behalf. Maybe you're in a business directory. So you've got paid traffic, organic traffic. And of course, let's talk about your own traffic, the most valuable. These are people that you have on your email list or your text message list. You can absolutely take everyone that's in your CRM, customer relationship management software, and you can bring them into the funnel as well. And you don't have to pay to bring them into the funnel. That is a traffic that you own. And I've covered traffic in a previous podcast episode so I'm going to keep this light, but let's cover just two more types of traffic. We'll get back to the show in just a moment. But first, a quick word from our sponsor: What Box Digital. Did you know that most marketing doesn't work at all? Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over and over again? Like so many others, you are likely tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. This is when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then hoping it works. You've thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures. And you wish you could get that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth, but it doesn't have to be that way. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at What Box Digital, and I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the greater Houston metroplex for over 18 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth, time and time again. And I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right, free. I've put together the ultimate 97-point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing. And it'll only take you about 10 or 15 minutes to go through it. Think of it like an MRI for your marketing, without the expensive medical bills to follow. And to get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your inbox, simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, provide your info, and we'll get it out to you right away. And again, it's totally free. I'd encourage you to walk through this checklist with your team and honestly discuss and evaluate every action item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failed hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. Again, it's totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now. Let's fix what's broken in your marketing. And I've covered traffic in a previous podcast episode so I'm going to keep this light, but let's cover just two more types of traffic. We've talked about paid. We've talked about owned. We've talked about organic. What about earned traffic? One way that you can earn your traffic is through a podcast just like this one. If you do, you've got an audience. If you've got an audience, you can push them into a sales funnel, into your offer. Maybe you don't have a podcast, but you can go and guest appear on other people's podcasts. Those are ways of earning your traffic and not paying for your traffic. And last, let's talk about, what I call leased traffic. As in when you lease a home or when you lease a vehicle. This is the organic side of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and the list goes on. And the reason that I call it leased traffic is because you don't own it. And if any of these major platforms decide to shut down your account or suspend your ad account, you're done. You don't own that audience, the platforms own the audience. You just get to lease it temporarily, as long as you comply with all of their terms of service and the beings in power who get to decide whether you get to keep leasing that traffic or not. So step one, we chose our ideal customer avatar. Step two, you went and designated all of your traffic sources, paid, owned, organic, leased, and earned. Step three, we need some irresistible offer, a lead magnet or a lead generator, also known as that big juicy carrot. What is something that your ideal customer would find valuable enough that they'll give you their name and their email address, even though they know that you might bug them in the future? And to save time talking about lead magnets in this episode, go back to episode number 44, where I cover 13 lead magnets you can create in 30 minutes or less. Episode number 44, it launched on November 15th, 2021. So we've chosen our ideal customer that we want to go after. We have chosen all of our traffic sources for how we want to go after them and get them to the landing page with our offer. You have learned per the previous podcast episode how to create a lead magnet, that special offer that allows them to opt into your final. And now I'm going to briefly take you through what this funnel looks like. So first, whether you have a post on social media, an email blast, a text message blast, whether you're buying traffic on LinkedIn or Facebook, you are promoting this thing, this resource that's valuable that you want to give away. And the reason that you want to give it away is because they're not ready to buy your high ticket services or products yet. So we've got how to get them to make a micro-step in your direction. Then when we do, we're going to drive them to that landing page. And that page is going to have no menu at the top, it's going to only have that one offer. You can have your primary call to action, which is give us your info, let us send you this asset or this resource. And you can have a secondary call to action. Maybe like watch this video or follow me on a social media platform or join a webinar next week. Then from there, once they've done that, here's what's going to happen. And again, this is going to be brief just because it's hard to go deep on a podcast platform. But I want to give you the idea and then I've got a tip for you at the end that's going to reinforce everything that I'm teaching you here today. So now that your ideal customer has said, yes, give me that resource that's going to help me save money, move away from pain, move towards pleasure, achieve a specific goal in a short period of time, learn how to be more efficient. Whatever that resource is, they've opted in. Once they opt-in, you are going to send them an email, not with the resource. You're going to send them the email that takes them to the page where they can get the resource. Here's why. If you send that resource in the email, that's kind of all you can do. When you make them click in the email to go to the landing page to get that asset, there are two benefits that you gain by taking this approach in this framework. One, you are training them to open your emails and to click. A lot of people don't realize that there's this thing called sender reputation. That is what the email service providers, ESPs, use to determine the value of your email. The lower your sender reputation is, the more your emails are going to make it into a spam folder, or it's going to end up in a promotions folder on Gmail. So long story short, it just means fewer people are going to get your emails. The more you teach people to open and click through your emails, the higher your sender's reputation. But the other reason is when they come to that landing page, you can have other assets there. You can have videos, you can have checklists, and you can have other offers. It's hard to get that into the email. So that's the two big reasons that you want to do it that way. Then we're going to take them through five phases in this funnel. First is what I call the problem and solution sequence. You're going to send out one, two, three, a few emails that illustrate, here's a problem that you have. Here's a solution that we have for it. Here's another problem that you're facing. Here's another solution that we have for it. In phase one, you're going to take them through a problem and solution sequence. And by the way, you are not selling and you are agitating pain. I can't reinforce that enough. Our human lizard brain loves the status quo. We love to not change. We love to remain where we are because moving forward feels risky. It's your job to agitate pain and to let them see that they have problems and that you have solutions. But in this sequence, you are never asking for a thing. You're just showing up and delivering value. Phase two, social proof sequence. You're going to send them one, two, three, four, a handful of emails that gives them social proof that you are credible. Again, you're asking for nothing. This could be a case study. It could be a testimonial. It could be screenshots of online reviews. This is just your opportunity to demonstrate and to illustrate definitively that you are good at what you do, that your products work, that your services are actually beneficial, that they'll get that return on investment. Phase one, problem and solution. Phase two, social proof. Phase three, the objections sequence. You're going to send out a few emails that cover every single objection that you believe your prospect might have in their brain as to why they shouldn't be doing business with you. Face all of those objections head-on. And one at a time, per email. I think I can't afford this. Show them that they can't afford it. This won't work for me. Show them how it is going to work for them. It's too complicated, I don't know if I'll understand it. Show them how to understand it. Give them clarity. Phase four, paradigm shift sequence. This is where you're going to show them the before and after of what it's like to engage with you. Right now, you're stressed because you can't get enough leads for your business. When you have systems in place, you don't have to have that stress anymore. You'll have your own before and after sequences that show them how you can change their paradigm, that their life will be different when they partner with your products, your services, your brand, and your business. And again, do this one at a time. And the final phase, phase five, kind of the final phase, I'll explain in a minute, is your sales sequence. This is where you are not pushy, but you are extraordinarily direct. This is where you are inviting them to go to lunch with you, set up a sales call, attend a webinar, and grab a happy hour with you. It's a very specific call to action. You have shown up for a few weeks now, you have fielded their objections, and you have shown them what life was like before and after engaging with you. And let me shoot the elephant in the room. Most people are not going to respond. At least not yet. Maybe they will be three months or six months or a year from now, but you can absolutely grow your business with the number of people that will say yes. By the way, that's why we call it a funnel. The top, the open mouth of the funnel is huge compared to the bottom. And that's where the funnel metaphor comes into play. We're going to push as many people as we can into the top of that funnel. And then a small percentage of them will end up coming out of the bottom. You can grow your business with what comes out of the bottom of that funnel. That's it. And again, there are some tactics, there are some specifics when it comes to technology, what you say, how you do it, how you structure automation, but that's the high-level view of a squeeze funnel that generates leads for your business every single week of the year. Now, when we got to phase five, I said that's kind of the last phase, but it's not necessarily the last phase because now that we have brought these people to your landing pages, we've [inaudible 00:17:38] them, we can track them, which means now you can run retargeting ads on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google, all over the place, YouTube, that can continue to tell your story, or at least create brand awareness even though they're done with that funnel. So what do we do with them now? Are we done? Some people will just unsubscribe. And by the way, beautiful, they don't want to do business with you, you don't want them crushing your sender reputation anyway because that means that they're going to be causing you to not be able to reach the people who you can help, that want to hear from you because your sender reputation is suffering. So unsubscribing is a good thing, but are we done? No, no. Now what you're going to do is give them another offer. We call this funnel stacking by the way. Maybe they started off going through this funnel. Maybe the next funnel that you can invite them into is a webinar funnel. They don't know it's a funnel. They just think it's an offer. And it is an offer. It's legitimately an offer. You're going to do something that's generous that helps you to show up and provide value. You're going to extend your runway by stacking one funnel on top of another, of allowing yourself to continue to demonstrate authority, to show generosity, and to show empathy towards their pain. Some people will build trust in you in a week. Some will do it in a few meetings. Some, it'll take two years. But as you show up, as you provide value, that's how you generate leads over time. And this is how you build systems. And these systems are just like adding propellers to the wings of your business. Every time you have another funnel up and running, you added another propeller or another jet engine that just gives your business more thrust and more lift. So that's it. Remember at the beginning of this podcast, I told you go check out the newsletter, The Learn More, Earn More Newsletter on LinkedIn. Probably as you're listening to this podcast episode, it just feels like there's so many abstractions. Well, if you go to the newsletter. Again, the URL, just type into your web browser, learnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com, and it will redirect you. And you can actually go and hear this, see this, watch a video and see this entire sales funnel fully diagrammed. So that's it. Go check out thelearnmoreearnmorenewsletter.com newsletter. Go and subscribe, by the way, join the community, and be a part of the tribe. It's a bunch of leaders that are all subscribing to it. I'd love to have you there too. I hope you've enjoyed today's episode. It's always my goal to give you as much value as possible to grow your business smarter and faster. Let's keep going and growing together. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of The Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @brianwebb and the show sponsor, What Box Digital, can be found at, as you might guess, @whatboxdigital. You can also find me and What Box Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of The Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster. #55: Season 2: Episode 10
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 54: The Top 9 Reasons You're Wasting Money On Marketing That Does! Not! Work! ____________________ VALUE BOMBS If there's one thing I hear over and over again, it's, "Brian, our marketing doesn't work and we don't know why." Well, there are a plethora of reasons why that could be happening, but today I'm going to share the nine top reasons your marketing isn't working. ____________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - ActiveCampaign gives you the email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools you need to create incredible customer experiences. Instapage - Everything you need to build and optimize landing page experiences for higher conversions. TypeForm - Create forms, surveys, and quizzes that people enjoy answering. Jasper - Artificial intelligence makes it fast & easy to create copywriting content for your blog, social media, website, and more! Rated 5/5 stars in 3,000+ reviews. SalesMessage - Simple, scalable, two-way business texting & calling. Easily send, receive, and manage text and phone conversations online. Pipedrive - The all-in-one sales platform for growing revenue. The first CRM designed by salespeople, for salespeople. Wavve - Turn your podcast, talk, or music into engaging, easy-to-consume video clips for social media! Descript - All-in-one audio & video editing, as easy as a doc. OptinMonster - Convert and Monetize Your Website Traffic. Stop losing visitors! Instantly grow your email list, get more leads and increase sales with the #1 most powerful conversion optimization toolkit in the world. Monday - The Work OS that lets you shape workflows, your way. Centralize all your work, processes, tools, and files into one Work OS. Connect teams, bridge silos, and maintain one source of truth across your organization. SproutSocial - A powerful solution for social media management. Creative Market - Accelerate your projects with millions of ready-to-use template products. New Old Stamp - Promote your company using email signatures marketing. Personalize calls-to-action in every email your team sends. Enjoy email signature management. CallRail - With call tracking, find out which marketing campaigns make your phone ring. If your business relies on quality customer conversations, you need CallRail. Match inbound calls, text, forms, and live chats to your marketing campaigns to finally learn what's working and what's not. Adobe Creative Cloud - Now everyone can make something amazing for fun, for work, or just because. All you need is a little imagination and Adobe Creative Cloud. Miro - The online collaborative whiteboard platform to bring teams together, anytime, anywhere. Slack - Stay on the same page and make decisions faster by bringing all of your work communication into one place. Apple Keynote - With its powerful tools and dazzling effects, Keynote makes it easy to create stunning and memorable presentations, and comes included with most Apple devices. Feedly - Track insights across the web via RSS feeds without having to read everything LinkedIn Sales Navigator - B2B data you can trust. Generate sales and close deals with LinkedIn Sales Solutions. Grammarly - Get suggestions from Grammarly while you write in desktop applications and sites across the web—as you move between apps, social media, documents, messages, and emails. Evernote - Tame your work, organize your life. Remember everything and tackle any project with your notes, tasks, and schedule all in one place. Vimeo - Video hosting. Where amazing videos, works in progress, and everything in between come to be their best. Libsyn - Podcast Hosting. Beginners to Experts, Unlimited bandwidth & reach, Unparalleled customer support, Audio & video – Be heard. Be seen. Avid Pro Tools - The industry-standard audio-production software for songwriters, musicians, producers, and engineers. ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: If there's one thing I hear over and over again, it's, "Brian, our marketing doesn't work and we don't know why." Well, there are a plethora of reasons why that could be happening, but today I'm going to share the nine top reasons your marketing isn't working. Let's jump into the show. Brian Webb: This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks, to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So, let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Welcome back, everybody. As I said, in the intro, there are a myriad or a plethora of reasons, I think is the word that I used, that marketing doesn't work. But today I want to share nine of them with you that I see the most frequently. So, let's start with number one, you're marketing to the wrong people. If you haven't precisely defined exactly who your perfect ideal customers are, and if you don't understand exactly what their problems and challenges and dreams are, this is going to give you a few problems. One, you might be getting in front of your ideal customers, but you're probably saying the wrong thing. Or two you're spending money to get paid traffic to your website, to your offers, to your landing pages and you're wasting money on people who will never, ever buy from you. So, if you haven't defined exactly who your ideal customer avatar is, and you probably have multiple of them, by the way, then it's going to be difficult or impossible for you to really get in front of the right people. The people that you want to be doing business with. Second, you are saying the wrong things. When you don't know what to say in your marketing effort, this is called a failed message to market match. I want to encourage you to speak into the dreams, the problems, and the challenges of your ideal customers. And by the way, use the same vocabulary they do. Once you've been through step one and you have precisely defined your ideal customers, you'll know exactly how to communicate and engage with them. And always remember, by the way, every single customer that you're looking for has the exact same two goals. They want to move away from pain and they want to move toward pleasure. When you can help them to achieve that, and they believe you when you tell them, you're going to get more customers more quickly. So again, number one, you're likely marketing to the wrong people. Number two, you're saying the wrong things. And three, you're asking them to do the wrong thing. "Well, thanks, Brian. That's really helpful. What are we supposed to be asking them?" There's a scene in the film, Ocean's Thirteen, that I've never forgotten because I see businesses doing the same thing. Al Pacino is just talking to one of the contractors and he's working on building the most beautiful, the most luxurious hotel in the world. And one of the contractors is basically talking to him about the delays that are coming. And Pacino says this. "I don't want the labor pains. I just want the baby." I'd be willing to bet that if I were to walk through all of your marketing collateral, all of your messaging, that you are saying the same thing but in a different way. You don't want the labor pains. You just want the baby. In other words, "I don't want to say much to you. I don't want really start a relationship. Give me your money." Your marketing probably sounds a lot like Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character in the film, Jerry Maguire, when he says, "Show me the money." It takes at least 21 to 24 interactions with your brand before someone goes through the three phases of a relationship. Some level of curiosity and awareness, trust that gets built over time through enlightenment, then the engagement, then the commitment. If you're not inviting people into a story, if you're not using all of the sales funnel strategies that are available to you, then you're asking them to do the wrong thing. Every time that you run an ad, you're basically saying, "Give me your money." Every time that you put something on some social media, "Give me your money." You're selling, selling, selling. And I get it, we're all out here to grow our businesses and generate new revenue opportunities. Start using generosity as your lead foot. Not only in your marketing as a business, instead of buying now, right now, upfront, say things like, "Download this checklist. Let me send you this video series. Let me show you how to accomplish X, Y, or Z." Then, once you've had some time to nurture your prospects over time, then you can get to what you want to ask them to do, which is to set up that meeting, buy your product, and engage with your services. The fourth thing that you're doing wrong is thinking that you can advertise anywhere and everywhere. 40 years ago, choosing the right media or the right platform was easy, but in today's modern era, new platforms and new channels emerge seemingly every day. Once you've identified where your ideal customers are, you're going to want to show up only where they are. But everywhere they are to the best of your financial ability. You and I are not Coca-Cola. We don't have a $3 billion a year marketing budget and advertising spend. You need to hone in on exactly where they are and then show up all the time. And number five is probably the most overarching problem that you have is that you have no effective marketing systems. We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor, WhatBox Digital. Did you know that most marketing doesn't work at all? Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over and over again? Like so many others, you are likely tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. This is when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then hoping it works. You've thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures, and you wish you could get that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth. But it doesn't have to be that way. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at WhatBox Digital. And I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the greater Houston metroplex for over 18 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth, time and time again. And I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right. Free. I've put together the ultimate 97-point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing. And it'll only take you about 10 or 15 minutes to go through it. Think of it like an MRI for your marketing, without the expensive medical bills to follow. And to get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your inbox, simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com. Provide your info and we'll get it out to you right away. And again, it's totally free. I'd encourage you to walk through this checklist with your team, and honestly discuss and evaluate every action item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failed hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. Again, it's totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now. Let's fix what's broken in your marketing. And number five is probably the most overarching problem that you have is that you have no effective marketing systems. Without a system you're just flying blind, right? When you don't have an effective marketing system, you do have a system, it's just called the spray and pray system or the hope marketing system. You're just going to go and do a lot of stuff. There's going to be a lot of activity. You're going to spray a lot of marketing into the air, and then you pray that something comes back from it. You hope it works. And what's ironic to me, is that marketing is typically the one system that most businesses don't have. You have accounting systems, you have HR systems, you have IT systems, you have accountability systems. I work with 7, 8, 9 figure businesses and you'd be amazed at how the vast majority of them had no marketing systems in place before I got there. Lead generation is the ongoing acquisition of leads for your business. Conversion is the process of taking those leads and converting them into customers. Retention, referral, ascension, this is the system for ensuring that you keep the customers you've acquired, ascending them to the new products that you want them to have or services and income opportunities, and then generating referrals for new customers. If you're hearing this and you're thinking, "Oh my goodness, this is us." We really need to talk. Don't forget you can visit whatboxdigital.com or just text me, at 832-324-2432. But moving on. Number six, you're chasing your customers instead of magnetically attracting them. Let me ask you this, what is your natural inclination when you discover yourself being chased in hot pursuit? I know the answer. You run away as fast as you can. But when you leverage the power of sales finals, again, which almost always starts with an irresistible offer, a lead magnet, or a lead generator. Instead, now you're going to magnetically attract your ideal customers and prospects to raise their hands and just take a tiny step in your direction. Don't chase, instead, magnetically attract them. And I kind of covered number seven earlier, which is thinking that you have the ad budget of Coca-Cola. Like I said, we don't have billions of dollars. I think in 2017, I saw it reported that Coca-Cola's advertising budget or their expenses rather were just shy of $4 billion. You're not going after every single parched throat on the planet. You want to be smart with your financial resources and only spend money on showing up where your customers are. And number eight, racing to the bottom in low price without an effective marketing system, which includes branding that's in place. It's going to be tempting to look at the competition and see what they're doing to grow their business, which oftentimes is lowering their prices. But the problem is there can only be one numero uno, lowest cost provider. Bottom-dwelling is not the path to success, and it's not going to give you the business model that you desire anyway. So don't do that. And last but not least, number nine, no follow-up. Most audio customers are not ready to buy from you at the moment that you show up. And they're certainly not ready to buy, just because you are ready to sell. Some will take weeks, others will take months. Sometimes, and this has happened to me and it's happened with my clients, for years. It takes years. Once you've attracted the right ideal customer into your brand's ecosystem, it's imperative that you follow up forever. Something that's kind of silly, but really it's not. It's actually true, that I tell my customers all the time. You follow up until they buy, die, or unsubscribe. And it's okay if they unsubscribe, but you are going to follow up with them forever. I don't mean you're calling them every week, right? You don't want to be a pest, but until they buy or die or unsubscribe, you can continue to nurture them, send them resources, things that help them, again, move away from pain and towards their goals, towards pleasure forever. And let me close with this thought, isn't it fair to say that you owe it to yourself and you owe it to them. Your products and your services solve a problem. But you can't solve the problems of your customers until they hire you. So, if you give up prematurely if you just stop following up. It's almost like you have the cure for cancer and you said, "Eh, we're done. We're going to leave this alone." Meanwhile, your customers continue to suffer with the problems that they have. So, follow-up is king, until they buy die or unsubscribe. That's how you're going to follow up moving forward. That's it for today. I hope you enjoy this episode. And I know this is covered in the outro, but when you go to our podcast, especially on Apple, but all the platforms, wherever you listen. And you go and leave a rating and review, you actually help me and us to help more people because you help us to do better in the algorithm. So just by doing that one little act of generosity, not for any vanity metric, I don't care about that. But if it helps us to help more, then you get to be a part of that calling and that legacy. Thanks for being here today. Thank you for listening. And please know when I say thank you, I say it from the bottom of my heart. I feel like I'm a steward of your time. I have a fiduciary responsibility to be as valuable for you as I can. So if you're showing up and you're listening, thank you. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will see you on the next episode. Let's keep going and growing together. Blessings, everyone. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @BrianWebb. And the show sponsor WhatBox Digital can be found at, as you might guess, @whatboxdigital. You can also find me and WhatBox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn, with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you. I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 53: 7 Ways To Reduce Your Email List Unsubscribe Rates ____________________ VALUE BOMBS So you're doing the right thing, you're doing the hard work to stay in touch with your customers and your prospective customers. And after all of that hard work, people keep unsubscribing. That's painful. Today, I'm going to give you seven tips to reduce your email unsubscribe rates. If you're going to do all the hard work, you want to make sure you maximize the benefit. So, let's jump into the show. ____________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - CRM & Marketing Automation TypeForm - Web Forms Monday - Project Management (on steroids) Pipedrive - CRM Alternative Instapage - Landing Pages Creative Market - Graphic Design & Creative Template Resources ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: So you're doing the right thing, you're doing the hard work to stay in touch with your customers and your prospective customers. And after all of that hard work, people keep unsubscribing. That's painful. Today, I'm going to give you seven tips to reduce your email unsubscribe rates. If you're going to do all the hard work, you want to make sure you maximize the benefit. So, let's jump into the show. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. Brian Webb: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So, let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. It takes superhuman effort to build an email list, to begin with, set up workflows, and manage the responses. After going through all of this, it's painful to see some of your contacts, lots of them, slipping out of your fingers. And your first inclination might be that they're not valuable, but that's not necessarily the case. The truth is, email unsubscribe rates are a necessary evil. It's a part of life. It helps clean up your email list. It ensures that your emails are reaching the right people who might take the action that you want to see them take. But of course, I want to see you lose as few people as possible, but let's start by giving you a baseline. What are some of the average email unsubscribe rates across various industries? I'll just cover three or four or just a few. In advertising and marketing, an open rate average is about 18.5%. An unsubscribe rate is about 0.2%. In education, you're going to get closer to a 25% open rate with a click-through rate of nearly 4.5%, and about a 0.1% unsubscribe rate. Let's talk about a couple more. Let's look at healthcare. In healthcare, the average open rate is about 23.4% with about 0.3% unsubscribing. Let's just do one more. Let's go into retail. 12.6% is the average open rate, clearly ignorable, and according to Woorise.com, a 0% unsubscribe rate. Now clearly, we know it's not zero, but the average is 0%. So, that gives you a few baseline metrics and you can see how your stats compare to those. So, here are seven tips to improve your unsubscribe rate. Number one, consider using double opt-ins. Double opt-ins require the users to confirm their consent to sign up for your email newsletter or your email sequences. So basically when someone signs up, they get a follow-up email asking if they will confirm their consent for the email. Once they've done so, they have double opted in. The downside of this is that it's an additional step, which could slow down your email list building. The upside is that those who give you double opt-ins have lesser chances of unsubscribing from your emails, especially if you're serving them really, really well. Tip number two, consider giving them the ability to choose the frequency in which they receive your emails. Now, you might imagine there's no hard and fast rule as to how many times you can email your list. It can really depend on your industry and a variety of variables, but the best way to know how frequently you should email them is just to ask. Let's set the preference. Maybe they want your daily emails or just your weekly emails. Maybe they only want the emails about special promotions. But giving them the choice will reduce your unsubscribed rates. Number three. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor, Whatbox Digital. Do you want to grow and scale your business better and faster with fewer mistakes? Of course you do. Then you're in the right place, right now. Like so many others, you're tired of relying on a failed hope marketing system where you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then hoping it works. You've thrown away tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures, and you wish you could get all of that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to suffer from industry downturns, lumpy cash flow, and ultimately higher stress and sleepless nights. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at Whatbox Digital. I know where you are and I've been there before. It pains me to watch business owners and entrepreneurs suffer from relying on hope and bad advice that simply doesn't work. I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the greater Houston metroplex for all almost 20 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth time and time again, and that's exactly what I want to do for you. Our marketing strategy playbook consulting engagement allows us to do just that. In just four weeks or less, we'll take you through our three-step process that will open your eyes to the readily available growth opportunities you need, want, and deserve. To learn more or just get started, simply go to WhatboxDigital.com/strategy and click the Get Started Now button. Or, just text the word playbook to 832-324-2432. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business better and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you are in the right place. You need to get unstuck, you need a plan, and we're here to help. Let's get started today right now. Number three. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. The right subject lines. Whether you believe it or not, the subject line that you use, even though it's short, has the power to make your customers open or delete your email, to begin with. It's reported that 47% of email recipients open an email based exclusively on the subject line. The subject line of your email has only one job to do, which is to create a sufficient amount of curiosity on behalf of the reader that they open your email. If the email is the boat you want them to jump into, then the subject line is the hook. Need help writing better email subject lines or advertising headlines? Go to WhatboxDigital.com, and reach out to us. We can help. Number four, think about segmenting your customers based on which stage of a funnel that they are in. Surely you can relate to this. Getting emails that are irrelevant can feel annoying to you as the recipient. All of us, at some point in time, have received emails that we have no clue who sent it and for what purpose they sent it. The immediate reaction we have is that we want to delete it or mark it as spam right away. Tip number five; test, experiment, try different content formats. When you have a variety of different types of content formats, it can heighten the experience for your users and entertain them better. For example, it's easier and more interactive to broadcast an upcoming event with a video than it is with a text message. But not too terribly unlike that, consider embedding infographics to highlight major features; upcoming milestones, discounts, coupons, whatever. Gifs and animated gifs can also play a huge role in making emails come to life. Hopefully, number six will be one of the most obvious, which is to make sure that your emails are optimized for mobile-friendliness. Did you know that 75% of Gmail users access their email on a mobile device first? A few things that you can do to optimize for being mobile-friendly. One, use shorter pre-header text, fewer than 60 characters. Two, make the call to action button prominent and easily clickable. Three, keep the email body short, and concise. Four, use images and elements that load faster. Five, choose single-column emails for longer text. And six, choose double-column emails for image-heavy emails. And when all else fails, go to tip number seven: ask them why they unsubscribed when they did. Yeah, this might seem like a no-brainer, but asking your unsubscribing users is the best way to know the gaps in your email content strategies. There's plenty of survey software available to you in the marketplace that you can use to collect feedback via email. They help you ask the right questions like, "Is this too generic? Am I sending you too many emails too frequently? Don't the customers remember signing up? Is this too promotional?" Speaking of being too promotional, in everything you do, consider this a 7.5 bonus tip, always leverage the WIFFT principle. When you're emailing your users your list, what's in it for me? Not me, them. What's in it for them? Everything you do, what's in it for them? When you're drafting an email to your email list and everything in it is about you, you're destined for failure before you even get it sent out. Email marketing is a legitimate and rewarding marketing strategy for growing your business smarter and faster, but it's not easy to master either. Every brand, whether it's established or just getting started, struggles with controlling its email unsubscribed rates. So you and I are no different. I hope these seven tips were helpful. Need help with your email marketing? Go to WhatboxDigital.com. We are here to always, always, always help you grow your business smarter and faster. That's it for today. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review, I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @BrianWebb, and the show sponsor Whatbox Digital can be found at, as you might guess, @WhatboxDigital. You can also find me and Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities, and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 52: Quick Tips For Easily Choosing Your Brand's Color Palette ____________________ VALUE BOMBS So you're thinking about starting a new business, or maybe it's time to rebrand your existing business, but you don't know how to pick the color palette for that brand. Well, today I'm going to give you an easy and fast three-step process to do just that. So let's jump into the show. ____________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - CRM & Marketing Automation TypeForm - Web Forms Monday - Project Management (on steroids) Pipedrive - CRM Alternative Instapage - Landing Pages Creative Market - Graphic Design & Creative Template Resources ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist COOLORS.CO Adobe Color Tool ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: So you're thinking about starting a new business, or maybe it's time to rebrand your existing business, but you don't know how to pick the color palette for that brand. Well, today I'm going to give you an easy and fast three-step process to do just that. So let's jump into the show. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Boy, are you in for a treat today? You are thinking about launching a new brand or a new business, or you're thinking about rebranding your existing business. You're not a creative, you're not a graphic designer and it's time to choose the right color palette to perfectly reinforce the brand that you want to project into the world. You are absolutely going to love this hack. It's easy, it's fast, and you do not have to be a graphic designer or a branding expert or anything like that. Three steps. And again, you're not going to believe how easy this is. So step number one, write down the mood or feel you want to represent your brand. And I want you to do that with a few words. So, for example, you may go with something like feminine, youthful, and bright. Or another example, nautical, sunrise, beach, right? Maybe another example is modern, sleek, neutral. Or maybe it's elegant, exclusive, luxurious. Basically, come up with a cluster of words that when people see your brand, your logo, your website, anything and everything where your branding resides. Think of a few descriptive words that you want your audience to perceive in your brand. You want them to resonate on the same frequency. This could be an emotion. This could be a socioeconomic type, a personality type, an age group, whatever it is that you want your brand to reflect. So let's just, for example, use the words elegant, exclusive, and luxurious. Step two, go and do an image search using those clusters of words that you created. So, for example, if it was elegant, exclusive, luxurious, go do a Google search and click on the images tab and find an image or two or three that best represents that cluster of words that you want to resonate in your brand. We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor, Whatbox Digital. Do you want to grow and scale your business better and faster with fewer mistakes? Of course, you do. Then you're in the right place right now. Like so many others, you are tired of relying on a failed hope marketing system, where you're spending valuable time and money on marketing and then hoping it works. You've thrown away tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures, and you wish you could get all of that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to suffer from industry downturns, lumpy cash flow, and ultimately higher stress and sleepless nights. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at Whatbox Digital. I know where you are and I've been there before. It pains me to watch business owners and entrepreneurs suffer from relying on hope and bad advice that simply doesn't work. I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex for almost 20 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth time and time again. And that's exactly what I want to do for you. Our marketing strategy playbook consulting engagement allows us to do just that. In just four weeks or less, we'll take you through our three-step process that will open your eyes to the readily available growth opportunities you need, want, and deserve. To learn more or just get started, simply go to whatboxdigital.com/strategy and click the get started now button, or just text the word playbook to 832-324-2432. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business better and faster and with fewer mistakes, you are in the right place. You need to get unstuck. You need a plan and we're here to help. Let's get started today right now. Believe it or not, you're almost done. For the final step, find you a color generator tool. There are a couple of them and I'll recommend to you. You can use coolors.co. Let me spell that, www.C-O-O-l-O-R-S.co, or use Adobe's tool, color.adobe.com. By the way, these tools are free. If you're using the Adobe tool, click on the extract theme link at the top. From there, it will allow you to upload an image into the drag and drop area that you found in your Google search. Immediately after you do this, the Adobe tool will go and create a color palette. It guesses and it finds five different points within the image. And then it literally generates a color palette for you. Now, you probably won't like what it pulls out on its own, but you can drag and drop those five points around the image until you have identified five core brand colors that you can now use for your identity. So that's it. Step one, go and find the words, two or three words that best define your brand, and what you want to emulate. Step two, go and do a Google search to find images that match those words that you want your brand to feel like and to look like. Step three, upload that image to a color tool of your choice. Again, Adobe Color, color.adobe.com is a free one. And then tweak and customize the taste. Then you can do an export. It gives you the RGB values. It gives you the CMYK values for print and you're done. That's it. So this is definitely a short and sweet episode, but I hope you found this tip to be helpful. I'm here to make sure that you keep growing your business smarter and faster. I'll see you in the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating in an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @brianwebb. And the show sponsor, Whatbox Digital, can be found at, as you might guess, @whatboxdigital. You can also find me in Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 51: How To Use LinkedIn Newsletters To Drastically Reach More B2B Prospects On LinkedIn ____________________ VALUE BOMBS So you're a business owner or you're responsible for selling for your company. You're using LinkedIn and you want to get more out of it. What if you could reach a greater percentage of your followers? What if you could reach more people than even follow you on LinkedIn when you post? Today, I'm going to show you how. It has something to do with LinkedIn newsletters. Let's jump in. ____________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - CRM & Marketing Automation TypeForm - Web Forms Monday - Project Management (on steroids) Pipedrive - CRM Alternative Instapage - Landing Pages Creative Market - Graphic Design & Creative Template Resources ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ HELPFUL LINKS The Ultimate 97 Point Marketing Audit Checklist ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: So you're a business owner or you're responsible for selling for your company. You're using LinkedIn and you want to get more out of it. What if you could reach a greater percentage of your followers? What if you could reach more people than even follow you on LinkedIn when you post? Today, I'm going to show you how. It has something to do with LinkedIn newsletters. Let's jump in. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. Let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Welcome back to the show, everybody. Today, we're going to talk about LinkedIn again. We've been a little heavy on LinkedIn lately, but if you're a B2B business owner or if you work in a B2B business, it's probably something we should be talking about. Today, if you're not familiar with it or if you're not aware, LinkedIn has a feature that you can use, Newsletters. I'm going to tell you why you should be thinking about using it. Once you've set it up, and by the way, I'll tell you how to do that in just a moment, once you have set up the newsletter function on your LinkedIn account, the following is going to happen. One, LinkedIn is going to invite all of your current followers to subscribe automatically. Second, whenever you post new articles in the future, notifications will go out to your followers every time you post a new article. An email will go out from LinkedIn automatically to all of your newsletter subscribers anytime you post a new article. Basically, LinkedIn, once you have this setup, that's very important, once you've done this the first time is basically trying to help you get more organic reach. When they post to your audience or to your followers, it goes up in the news feed, it goes out in the notifications, it goes out as an email and it goes out to the invitation network. We're always just trying to even reach the followers that we have because every time you post a small percentage, typically, depending on the type of content you're creating, typically a very small percentage of your audience will ever even know that you've posted. I've seen a case study where someone who had 30,000 followers got 100,000 views on their newsletter. That's enormous. That's amazing. Remember, organic, not paid traffic, free traffic. Let me take you through the steps on how to set this up on your account. First, if you don't have it turned on, you need to turn on LinkedIn creator mode. There are two criteria that you must meet to start a LinkedIn newsletter. First, you have to have creator mode turned on, and second, you have to have created a post sometime within the last three months. If you want to take advantage of this, you have to have creator mode turned on on your LinkedIn account. Step two of three, you need to set up your LinkedIn newsletter. Once you've taken care of the first steps, basically, you log into your LinkedIn account, go to create a post, then click the option to create an article. Inside the publishing editor, if you have creator mode turned on, you'll see the option to click to create a newsletter. Once you do that, there are four steps you have to take to set up your newsletter. First, you need to come up with a name for your newsletter. Now, while this is true with all marketing, it's certainly true here. Choose to be clear. Do not be clever. Don't choose a name or a title for your newsletter that was neat to you, it's interesting, but it tells the audience nothing as to what they're going to get out of it. The WIIFM principle, what's in it for me, what's in it for them. Let your title clearly articulate what value you're going to provide to anyone that chooses to follow your newsletter. Once you've chosen the name of your newsletter, you need to come up with a description. You'll have about I think it's 300 characters or so to work with. Focus on writing a clear description that outlines your value proposition. "Why should I care? Why should I subscribe?" Use your description words, and what you choose to say to entice me. Be as irresistible as possible. The third step that you can take is to upload a logo. It needs to be 300 pixels by 300 pixels at 72 DPI. If you're not sure how to do that, just get a graphic designer to help you out. By the way, it might be your logo. Maybe it's your picture. Maybe it's your photo. Maybe it's your photo with your name on the photo. But you get a 300-pixel by 300-pixel square so that you can do something to brand your newsletter and let people instantly know that it's connected to you. The last step you want to take is your anticipated posting schedule. Basically, how frequently do you plan to publish? Daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly? You need to set something to manage the expectations of those that might be thinking about subscribing. But don't worry. LinkedIn won't force you to stick to that schedule. If you say that you're going to do it monthly and you post twice a month, nothing is going to break. But if you say that you're going to post weekly and you're only posting every two months, you might be failing the expectations of your subscribers. Basically choose daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly and this lets your subscribers know how frequently they should anticipate hearing from you. We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor. Whatbox Digital. Did you know that most marketing doesn't work at all? Did you know that most business owners and leaders are making the same mistakes over and over and over again? Like so many others, you are likely tired of relying on hope, which is a failed marketing system. This is when you're spending valuable time and money on marketing and then hoping it works. You've thrown tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures and you wish you could get that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to exclusively rely on the loyalty of your existing customers and word of mouth. But it doesn't have to be that way. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at Whatbox digital, and I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the greater Houston metroplex for over 18 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth time and time again, and I want to give you a resource for free. You heard me right. Free. I've put together the ultimate 97 point marketing audit checklist, which will allow you to assess and diagnose what is and is not working in your marketing. It'll only take you about 10 or 15 minutes to go through it. Think of it as an MRI for your marketing without the expensive medical bills to follow. To get this free marketing checklist delivered right to your inbox, simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com, provide your info, and we'll get it out to you right away. Again, it's totally free. I'd encourage you to walk through this checklist with your team and honestly discuss and evaluate every action item on the list. It will be the best 10 minutes you've invested into the growth engine of your business in a long, long time. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failed hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business smarter and faster and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. Again, it's totally free. Simply go to getmymarketingchecklist.com right now. Let's fix what's broken in your marketing. Now here's something else you might find interesting. Newsletters can have multiple articles that you've published in a single newsletter because you can attach articles to the newsletter. The newsletter is just the engine, letting your subscribers know that a new article went live. Check this out. If you didn't already know, LinkedIn articles are multimedia documents. You can literally upload GIFs, so animation GIFs. You can upload a code snippet, video links, and links to other articles in your newsletter. You can embed images, and videos. A newsletter going out on LinkedIn is almost like sending out a landing page so definitely take advantage of that. It doesn't have to just be text and images like an email newsletter typically is. Then, of course, the third step of having a great newsletter on LinkedIn is publishing quality content. You do need to set up a cover photo for each article or we recommend it anyway. That's going to be I think 1280 pixels by 720 pixels. I almost forgot you can even include slide decks in your newsletters. If you have a slide deck that you've done now, that would have to be posted up onto Prezi or SlideShare, but you can embed that slide deck into your newsletter. A couple of pro tips you probably want to be thinking about: One, at the end of each article that you post, include a screenshot and link that says continue reading to the next newsletter with a screenshot. Basically, be inviting people to other articles that you've done. Second, what seems to be working well is newsletters that take about two to four minutes to read. That seems to be getting the best engagement from what I'm seeing. By the way, even though you're just putting in copy and content into your newsletters, LinkedIn actually posts at the top the anticipated length of time it takes to consume that content so focus on two to four minutes. Now, if you really want to elevate your game, whenever you're creating an article, always have calls to action in every newsletter. Share button on an article as a post as a message on Facebook on Twitter. Or if you have a lead generator for your business, include a link to download that at the end of every article. Okay, so now you know why you should be using LinkedIn newsletters. I've just walked you through the three steps on how to do it. Turning on LinkedIn creator mode, setting up the newsletter, the initial four steps, and now that you're posting content, let me give you some best practices. It bears mentioning again, choose a name for your newsletter that is clear that your audience will instantly understand. Don't be clever. Next upload a cover photo for every individual article in your newsletter. LinkedIn is currently saying that 744 pixels by 400 pixels at 72 DPI, but upload art that's relevant to your brand. Do not upload clip art or generic stock images. That's not going to work. Images with faces and people tend to resonate more with your audiences. You'll probably also find that you'll get more engagement by adding a few lines of commentary or asking a question in a post when you share your newsletter. When you're posting about the newsletter, in your description, you could also ask members to subscribe. Now, share your newsletter articles or your newsletter page to your networks on other social media platforms, including your email list to increase engagement and awareness that you're even doing this. Once you have set the frequency that you're going to be publishing, maintain that cadence that you chose for your newsletter so that your subscribers can engage regularly with your content. The last thing you may want to consider doing is changing the connect button on your profile to instead follow. Instead of connect being the button, the call to action that people see when they visit your profile. By the way, you can only do this when you have your LinkedIn account set to creator mode. Changing your connect button to follow can only happen when you have your account in creator mode. But this will enable people who view your profile to follow your activity, which means they're going to see when you post new articles to your newsletter. If you publish content at all, especially if you're a B2B business or a B2B marketer, you have every reason in the world to be doing this. This is a phenomenal way to create brand awareness, to demonstrate thought leadership, to demonstrate authority and empathy with the pains that your customers are dealing with. While this may cost you a little bit of time, the reach that you get is free. You are not paying to get seen and noticed. Don't forget by the way. You might be thinking, "This is awesome. I don't have the time to do this or I don't want to do it. I don't know how to go about doing it." Reach out to me. Just text the word LinkedIn to 832-324-2432, and I'll get you hooked up with someone who can help. We are here to help you if you need some help with this. That's it for today. Let's keep going and growing together. I hope you got something out of this today. I will see you in the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode and if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating in an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @BrianWebb and the show's sponsor Whatbox digital can be found at, as you might guess, @WhatboxDigital. You can also find me in Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities, and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. If you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 50: 5 Tips To Commenting On LinkedIn ____________________ VALUE BOMBS You're a sales professional. You own your own business. You are responsible for generating leads on LinkedIn. Today, I'm going to give you five tips on how to comment on other people's posts like a pro. ____________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - CRM & Marketing Automation TypeForm - Web Forms Monday - Project Management (on steroids) Pipedrive - CRM Alternative Instapage - Landing Pages Creative Market - Graphic Design & Creative Template Resources ____________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: You're a sales professional. You own your own business. You are responsible for generating leads on LinkedIn. Today, I'm going to give you five tips on how to comment on other people's posts like a pro. Let's jump in. This is the Learn More, Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks, to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey there, fans, family, and friends. Welcome back. If you haven't noticed yet, we've restructured this podcast just a little bit. We will still, occasionally, as we have in the past, bring longer form episodes, interviews with thought leaders and authors, and really, really successful business Titans. But one thing I know, you're in a hurry. If you're a business leader, an entrepreneur, you're in a hurry. You've got a lot to do, a lot to learn, and a lot of things to get done today. So we're really tightening up our format here on the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast to give you more meat on the bone, more nuggets in shorter periods of time. So hopefully, this is going to be even more valuable to you. Today, I've promised if you're on LinkedIn, and you're using it to generate leads, to grow your business, to find new prospects, I'm going to give you five tips on commenting on other people's posts. Here's what they are. Tip number one, whenever you're commenting on someone's post, go ahead and tag the creator of the post. Basically, use the @ symbol and then place in the person's name. This is going to give them an additional notification that you have shown up. It just heightens their awareness that you are commenting on their post. You're creating goodwill and reciprocity. Tip number two, show up early. When someone puts a post on LinkedIn, be someone who shows up in comments within the first hour or less. This signifies to the person who created the post that you're following them, that you're paying attention, and your post shows up at the up of all of the comments above all of the other people who follow after you. Gives you more visibility. Tip number three, don't be brief. Think about leaving thoughtful, three, four or five lines of text, which forces LinkedIn users to click the see more, which is going to be good for the algorithm as well because people are engaging with your comment. We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor, What Box Digital. Do you want to grow and scale your business better and faster with fewer mistakes? Of course, you do. Then you're in the right place right now. Like so many others, you're tired of relying on a failed hope marketing system where you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then hoping it works. You've thrown away tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures, and you wish you could get all of that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to suffer from industry downturns, lumpy cash flow, and ultimately higher stress and sleepless nights. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at We Box Digital. I know where you are, and I've been there before. It pains me me to watch business owners and entrepreneurs suffer from relying on hope and bad advice that simply doesn't work. I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the greater Houston metroplex for almost 20 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth time and time again, and that's exactly what I want to do for you. Our marketing strategy, playbook consulting engagement allows us to do just that. In just four weeks or less, we'll take you through our three-step process that will open your eyes to the readily available growth opportunities you need, want, and deserve. To learn more or just get started, simply go to whatboxdigital.com/strategy and click the get started now button, or just text the word playbook to (832) 324-2432. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business better and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. You need to get unstuck. You need a plan, and we're here to help. Let's get started today right now. Tip number four. If you can find a relevant way to do it, tag other people into the comment. Again, to the creator of the post, it shows reciprocity. It shows generosity on your part. You're engaging other people and pulling them into that person's content, and as if that's not enough, it allows you to include other people that might also be your prospects. So it's a great way of bringing more people together, creating community, showing reciprocity and generosity. Number five, consider creating and using a personal hashtag in the comment. This one's not going to grow your business much faster, but it is going to create more brand awareness because when you're commenting on someone's LinkedIn post, you're commenting as a human being, not as a brand. But whenever you use a hashtag that represents your business, it's a way of also creating some brand awareness for your company, for your brand. So that's it, five really easy, fast tips for commenting like a pro on LinkedIn. One, tag the creator. We talked about that. Two, show up first. Be early. Show up within the first hour or less of someone's post. Three, leave thoughtful, longer comments, not just sounds great, or ha ha. Four, tag, additional people into the comment. Bring the community together around that person's post. Five, consider creating a personal hashtag for your company's brand to create brand awareness for your company, not just for you as a person. If you're going to invest the time to use LinkedIn to grow your business, you might as well do it like a pro. That's it for today. Much, much, much more great content coming your way. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today, and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @brianwebb. The show sponsor, What Box Digital can be found at, as you might guess @whatboxdigital. You can also find me in What Box Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links and the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers and opportunities, and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. If you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 49: How To Automatically Get 'Positive Only' Reviews on FB, Google, and Yelp ____________________________________ VALUE BOMBS Social proof is an important part of strengthening your brand and optimizing conversions in all of your marketing efforts. And our perspective buyers will always care far more about what others say about us than what we say about ourselves, and online reviews are a great way of demonstrating that. Wouldn't it be nice if you could automate the process of getting more positive only reviews from your customers while at the same time strengthening customer loyalty? Today, I'm going to show you how. Let's jump into the show. _______________________________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - CRM & Marketing Automation AutopilotHQ - Marketing Automation TypeForm - Web Forms Monday - Project Management (on steroids) Pipedrive - CRM Alternative Instapage - Landing Pages Creative Market - Graphic Design & Creative Template Resources ____________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ____________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Social proof is an important part of strengthening your brand and optimizing conversions in all of your marketing efforts. And our perspective buyers will always care far more about what others say about us than what we say about ourselves, and online reviews are a great way of demonstrating that. Wouldn't it be nice if you could automate the process of getting more positive only reviews from your customers while at the same time strengthening customer loyalty? Today, I'm going to show you how. Let's jump into the show. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey, everyone, welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So, let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Today, I'm going to show you not only how to get more reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, wherever you want to get your reviews, I'm going to show you how to only ask for those reviews from the people who love you, the people who have had a great experience with your products and services while at the same time giving you the opportunity to strengthen customer loyalty to those who maybe had a less than perfect experience with your products or services. And the great thing is, you can do all of this with automation, and I'm going to show you how to do that today. Now, all automations have at least two or three of the following components, a trigger, a condition, and an action. So, to help you get more positive only reviews and increase customer loyalty, we're going to start with a trigger. But before I go too deep into this, let's talk about some tools that you'll want to consider looking into. One, Typeform. There are many forms, tools, software, and SaaS tools out there that you can use. Typeform is my preferred tool here at Whatbox Digital. Tool number two, you need a marketing automation platform. As of the time of this recording, I've been a huge fan of autopilothq.com. However, knowing that they've recently decided to revamp the platform into a completely new and different platform, it's my understanding that they're somewhat stopping development, they're stopping new development on the version of AutopilotHQ that I've used, so I'm currently in the process of vetting ActiveCampaign. But whether it be autopilothq.com or ActiveCampaign, either one of those platform forms will get you covered. So again, every automation has to start with a trigger. In this case, there's one of two or three options you can have. You can send your new or existing customers who recently used your products or services an email. And the email is basically asking them, "How did we do?" By the way, the shorter and simpler you make this, the better. People are not interested in helping you, they're only interested in themselves and the problems they have. So, if you ask them to take a long survey, you're probably not going to get the results that you're trying to achieve. But if you ask them, "How did we do," and maybe they've got three options on the far right, a happy emoji, in the middle, a so-so emoji, maybe at the other side, a thumbs down, for example. And by the way, Typeform allows you to have a question like that type of field embedded into an email that goes out. Meaning, when the email goes out and they have those three options and they click on one of them, it actually takes them to the form with what they clicked on, pre-populated into that form. And here's the fun part, this is where we get to use conditions. Basically, the trigger, they were sent an email with a three-part question asking them how did you do, then we're going to add conditions. The condition, by the way, is called check field and the check field condition is going to go back and verify which answer did they click on, great, so-so, or terrible. Once they've done this, we are now going to add another element to the automation which is a trigger, which is to send an internal notification to you. Someone internally should be notified that someone actually took the time to answer how you did. Then, we're going to add a delayed trigger. You pick the amount of time, 15 minutes, 24 hours, a few hours, it doesn't really matter too terribly much. But basically, you're going to wait just a little while. And then, only the ones who click amazing, who said, "You were rock stars. You did a fantastic job," they love your products, they love your services, they had a great experience with you, because they met that condition, that individual is then going to be sent another email saying, "Wow, thanks. You loved us. We love you too. Would you be so kind and give us a review and a rating," on the various platforms that you want them, that could be Facebook, Yelp, Google. But again, the only individual that's going to even get that request is the one who said that they loved you. And a couple of pro tips at this point, one, have the links where they can give you the ratings and the review in the email. Make it super, super easy for them. Pro tip number two, think about reciprocating. You're asking them to do something for you, why don't you do something for them? Maybe that's a discount on their next purchase, maybe that's a gift card to their favorite restaurant. You don't have to do this, but the more that you show reciprocation, the more that you're willing to do something for them while you're asking them to something for you, the more conversions you're going to get, the more people that will actually take the time and give you the rating and review that you want, that you covet, that by the way, you'll have a social proof forever. We'll get back to the show in just a moment. But first, a quick word from our sponsor, Whatbox Digital. Do you want to grow and scale your business better and faster with fewer mistakes? Of course you do. Then you're in the right place right now. Like so many others, you're tired of relying on a failed hope marketing system where you're spending valuable time and money on marketing and then hoping it works. You've thrown away tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures and you wish you could get all of that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to suffer from industry downturns, lumpy cash flow, and ultimately higher stress and sleepless nights. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at Whatbox Digital. I know where you are and I've been there before. It pains me to watch business owners and entrepreneurs suffer from relying on hope and bad advice that simply doesn't work. I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the Greater Houston metroplex for almost 20 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth time and time again. And that's exactly what I want to do for you. Our marketing strategy, playbook consulting engagement allows us to do just that. In just four weeks or less, we'll take you through our three-step process that will open your eyes to the readily available growth opportunities you need, want, and deserve. To learn more or just get started, simply go to whatboxdigital.com/strategy and click the Get Started Now button. Or just text the word playbook to 832-324-2432. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business better and faster and with fewer mistakes, you are in the right place. You need to get unstuck, you need a plan and we're here to help. Let's get started today right now. So, at this point, we've already achieved an automation sequence where you can get more positive only reviews. And the reason I say positive only is because if anyone said so-so or terrible, we're never going to ask them to give you a review to begin with. Now, here's where we can improve customer loyalty. For those that said so-so, you're going to send them a different email now. This is a new trigger. And that email's going to say, "Wow, we were hoping for five stars. What can we do, what could we have done to make your experience even better?" You really want to go the extra mile? You've heard it said that there's never a traffic jam on the extra mile. If someone says so-so, maybe have someone from your team reach out to them. Give them a consolation prize or at the very least, find out where you could have improved. Show them that you care. And for those that said they had a terrible experience, we add another trigger that does two things. One, emails the individual back, apologizing profusely for their bad experience, and second, an internal notification, that could be a text message, that could be email, that could be via Slack, is going to go to your team internally, preferably to multiple people for the sake of accountability and maximum heightened awareness. In other words, if someone had a bad experience, you certainly don't want this falling between the cracks, and that notification is basically urging your team to reach out to them immediately. This person just had a terrible experience with your brand, your product, or your service and you're just now becoming aware of it. Their hair's on fire and you had no idea. This is your opportunity for damage control. So again, in addition to the email that goes back to the customer, apologizing profusely, by the way, having a video from the proprietor, or the owner, or the chief customer service person apologizing for that bad experience would be an additional add-on pro tip that you could leverage. But again, most importantly, the notification that goes back to you internally so that someone can respond expeditiously, that is the true value add in this automation sequence. So, that's it. You could have this set up next week if you wanted to. And if you want one more bonus pro tip, you can also add an action into the sequence depending on how they answered, that adds them to a Facebook Custom Audience. For those of you new to what that even is, Facebook allows you to create custom audiences so that you can advertise to that audience. So if someone had a bad experience, you could create an ad that will only target that audience with messaging that talks about empathy, caring, you understand, that your customers are top priority. Do what you can to salvage that relationship and to rebuild it. But for those who loved your product or service, you could create an entire campaign talking about the other products and services that you sell. If they love what you did for them the first time, there is a phenomenal chance that they'll do business with you again in the future. So there you have it, that's it, that's a marketing automation sequence that you can create to automatically generate more positive only reviews and increase customer loyalty at the same time. As always, if you need help with this, go to whatboxdigital.com or just text me personally, 832-324-2432. You already know that my team and I are absolutely here to help you grow your business smarter and faster. That's it for today. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @brianwebb and the show sponsor, Whatbox Digital can be found at, as you might guess, @whatboxdigital. You can also find me in Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ____________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ____________________________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 48: 8 Landing Page Pro Tips To Convert More Visitors Into Paying Customers ______________________________________ VALUE BOMBS You need to get your website and landing pages converting more visitors into customers. You want to reduce your balance rate the number of people that visit your website or landing pages, and then abandon it without clicking on anything. Today, I'm going to give you eight tips on how to do just that. ______________________________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - CRM & Marketing Automation TypeForm - Web Forms Monday - Project Management (on steroids) Pipedrive - CRM Alternative Instapage - Landing Pages Creative Market - Graphic Design & Creative Template Resources ______________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ___________________________________ ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Building A Story Brand by Donald Miller ___________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: You need to get your website and landing pages converting more visitors into customers. You want to reduce your balance rate the number of people that visit your website or landing pages, and then abandon it without clicking on anything. Today, I'm going to give you eight tips on how to do just that. Let's jump into the show. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Welcome back to the show, everyone. Back in episode 18, I gave you a hack on how to 3x your opt-in conversions on your website and landing pages. Then, back in episode 24, I gave you another growth hack, how to get real cell phone numbers from your website and landing page leads? Today, I'm going to give you eight pro tips, eight practices for better structuring your landing pages and your website pages to convert better. So let's jump into tip one, be clear, not clever. I'm going to say that again, be clear, not clever. Perhaps Donald Miller said it best in his book, Building a StoryBrand. Donald Miller is a New York Times Bestselling Author, and he says, "If you confuse, you lose." So when you're writing your headlines do not be clever. I strongly urge you to not use industry nomenclature. Don't use inside jokes. Don't try to be overly poetic. State what the problem is that you solve, how you solve it, and what the wind looks like after you do. Be clear, not clever. To keep this moving, let's get straight to tip number two, do not clutter your header navigation with dozens of links, or for that matter, hardly any links. A truly effective landing page should be asking your prospect, your visitor to only do one thing, maybe two. There should be a primary call to action, sometimes a second dairy call to action. So if you have a home button, if you have an about us, a contact us, several links to various pages across your website, you are going to distract your visitor from doing the one thing that you want them to do. So let every one of your landing pages have only one call to action, as in the primary call action. For example, download this list, sign up for this course, join our webinar. It's okay to have a secondary call to action that might be, watch this video, but do everything that you can to remove any and all distractions of all the other content that you've created. So that you can have your prospect focus on the one call to action you want them to take. Pro-tip number three, which plays off of tip number two, gives users a way to buy your primary call to action button should always be visible. If they're scrolling down the page, consider using a sticky header. If you're new to web, sticky header simply means no matter where they scroll the header at the top sticks there, it never goes away. Give people a way to spend money with your business. Most people aren't going to do it right away, but if you don't give them an option to buy what you do, your services, your products, your guaranteeing it's not going to happen. As you can see, these tips are building upon one another. When it's possible, have that secondary AKA transitional call to action, which can be a lot of things. It could be that you want them to watch a video, or you want them to download some kind of a lead magnet, a juicy carrot that brings them in, that compels them, that attracts them to your email list, to your text message list. One guiding principle I teach all of my clients is that it takes dozens of times, 21 to 24 times minimum before most people go through the three phases of a relationship with you. They weren't aware of you, now they are, they're curious, over time through enlightenment, you build trust, and then finally they're going to convert into a customer. So make sure that secondary call to action or that transitional call to action invites them to your email list or to your cell phone list so that you can nurture them over time. We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor, Whatbox Digital. Do you want to grow and scale your business better and faster with fewer mistakes? Of course, you do, then you are in the right place right now. Like so many others, you are tired of relying on a failed hope marketing system where you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then hoping it works. You've thrown away tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures, and you wish you could get all of that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to suffer from industry downturns, lumpy cash flow, and ultimately higher stress and sleepless nights. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at Whatbox Digital. I know where you are and I've been there before. It pains me to watch business owners and entrepreneurs suffer from relying on hope and bad advice that simply doesn't work. I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex for almost 20 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth time and time again. That's exactly what I want to do for you. Our marketing strategy playbook consulting engagement allows us to do just that. In just four weeks or less, we'll take you through our three-step process that will open your eyes to the readily available growth opportunities you need, want, and deserve. To learn more or just get started, simply go to whatboxdigital.com/strategy and click the Get Started Now button. Or just text the word playbook to 832-324-2432. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business better and faster, and with fewer mistakes, you are in the right place. You need to get unstuck. You need a plan and we're here to help. Let's get started today, right now. Pro-tip number five, agitate the customer's pain. You need to illustrate, you need to itemize what is the cost of not paying you for your products or services. The human brain has a universal, safe word. That word, no, not now, wait, I'll do that later. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that's the safest thing that we should do. It makes us feel safe. Everyone's afraid of buyers' remorse, and not doing something, not buying your products or service makes us feel as though, there's nothing that we'll have remorse over if I do nothing. But what you've got to do is agitate the pain. We, as human beings are great at counting the cost of doing something. But we're almost completely ineffective of counting the cost of not doing something, of sitting still, of being indecisive. So you want to agitate the pain of what it's like for them. What are they going to continue to deal with? What problems will go unsolved if they don't use your products or hire you for your services? Pro-tip number six, provide as much social proof as you can. There's a lot of slippery used car salesman out there. Most all of us have been stung at least once, if not, many times, over the course of our lives. So naturally, we're skeptical. We're cynical. We're jaded. We don't assume that because you say that you can help us, that you can. So when you're making an offer, provide as many forms of social proof as you possibly can. That could be logos from major brands who have trusted you, that could be testimonials, that could be case studies. Show everything that you can that validates the merits of your products and services. Pro-tip number seven, which again, this is progressive. It builds off of previous tips that I've given you, limit yourself to one idea, one concept, one call to action per page. I'm not counting the secondary or the transitional call to action. But if you have nine different services that you want to sell or 18 different products, let this page focus on one of those services, one of those products. Our brains literally burn calories when it's trying to understand what to do next. So give your audience one thing to focus on, not two, not five, just one. Finally, pro tip number eight shows the after-state of what it's like if someone uses your products or services. Vividly paint the picture of what life is like, how much better it is once they've interacted with your brand and used your products or services. If they're going to go from overweight to in shape, show that. If you're taking them from the frustration of wasting money to the joy of saving money and being more efficient, show them that. If they're dealing with the stress of not having the right accounting systems, marketing systems, sales systems, and you can help them overcome that, use your images, video, text, everything to show them how much better life is after working with you, after collaborating with you. So there you go. Eight pro tips that will make your website and landing pages more effective. You'll reduce your balance rate. You'll convert more visitors into actual paying customers. Thank you so much for joining me today. It's always a pleasure serving you. Let's keep growing your business smarter and faster. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode and if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @BrianWebb, and the show sponsor Whatbox Digital can be found at, as you might guess @whatboxdigital. You can also find me in Whatbox Digital, on Facebook, and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up-to-date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth podcast. If you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ___________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ___________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ___________________________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 47: How To Spy On Your Competitor Ads On LinkedIn Legally & Ethically ______________________________________ VALUE BOMBS Are you considering running ads on LinkedIn? If you are, do you wish that you knew how to spy on the ads from your competition? Well, in today's episode I'm going to show you how. ______________________________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - CRM & Marketing Automation TypeForm - Web Forms Monday - Project Management (on steroids) Pipedrive - CRM Alternative Instapage - Landing Pages Creative Market - Graphic Design & Creative Template Resources ______________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) ___________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Are you considering running ads on LinkedIn? If you are, do you wish that you knew how to spy on the ads from your competition? Well, in today's episode I'm going to show you how. Let's jump into the show. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. Let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey everyone, welcome back to this show as always. So if you're considering running ads on LinkedIn, you might want to start keeping an eye on your competitors. Why would you want to do that? Well, first, what if you aren't running ads but you just want to know if they're hiring, you want to know if they're growing. This is a great reason to follow their ad campaigns. But if you are considering running ads, what if you wanted to learn from their ad formulas, see what images they're using, what video they're using, what copy they're using, what calls to action they're using, what their headlines are, what landing pages are they linking to? There's a lot that you can learn sometimes if you have a formidable competitor and maybe you're just looking for creative insights. So if you want to learn how to take a look at your competitor's ads, here's how you do it, and by the way, it couldn't be any easier, but most people have no idea that they can do this. There's literally only three steps. First, go look up the company page for the brand that you want to spy on. In this case, I have Apple pulled up just as a case study. Step number two of three, click on the post link. Now, as of the time of this recording, February 2022, right beneath the following button you'll see a home button, about, posts. So click on the post link. And again, these platforms change their user interface all the time, anytime they feel like it, but at the time of this recording beneath the fall button, you've already clicked posts, beneath that just a little bit to the right you're going to see all images, videos, articles, documents, ads. So you're going to click on the ads button, and voila, there you have it. As you scroll down the page I can see every single ad that Apple has up and running. Some of them are video ads, some of them are just image ads. I can see their calls to action. I can see the landing pages that they're driving their audiences to. Some of the ads are in different languages, which means that they're probably obviously running that ad in other countries on LinkedIn. So again, if you're thinking about running ads yourself, go check out what they're doing and it doesn't have to be your competitor. Go check out some of the big box brands that do a great job in their marketing and their advertising. Learn from them, see what they're doing, emulate what doing. Don't steal, don't take exactly what they're doing, but learn how to leverage their ideas, their insights, their experience. By the way, need help running your LinkedIn ad campaigns? That's what we're here for. Just go to WhatboxDigital.com. That's it for this week. Let's keep growing and going together. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode and if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram, you can find me at @BrianWebb and the show sponsor Whatbox Digital can be found at, as you might guess, @WhatboxDigital. You can also find me and Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ___________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram ___________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram ___________________________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 46: 6 Reasons More And More Of Your Competitors Are Hiring Fractional CMO's ____________________________________________ VALUE BOMBS You're seeing it. I'm seeing it. More and more business owners, your competitors are moving away from the full-time CMO model into the fractional CMO model. And in today's episode, I'm going to give you the six reasons why. ____________________________________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - CRM & Marketing Automation TypeForm - Web Forms Monday - Project Management (on steroids) Pipedrive - CRM Alternative Instapage - Landing Pages Creative Market - Graphic Design & Creative Template Resources ____________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) _____________________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: You're seeing it. I'm seeing it. More and more business owners, your competitors are moving away from the full-time CMO model into the fractional CMO model. And in today's episode, I'm going to give you the six reasons why. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Brian Webb: Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework, secrets, and growth hacks, to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey everyone. Welcome back to the show. If you're new to the show, welcome, welcome, welcome. If you are a loyal listener, you will understand that we have been on a little bit of a sabbatical. So we wrapped up season one and we are now embarking on season two of the podcast. So lots and lots and lots of great content coming your way this season. You may have noticed, but more and more business leaders are wanting to work with and are working with a fractional chief marketing officer rather than a full-time CMO, AKA fractional CMO. And you may be wondering why that's happening and I'm going to give you the six reasons that more, and more, and more business leaders, your competitors are working with a fractional chief marketing officer, as opposed to a full-time CMO. But before I get into those six reasons, I want to break down what is a true CMO and what is not a CMO. Let me start with what it's not. A CMO is not someone who coordinates your social media. A CMO is not someone who handles your graphic design projects. Those are valid technicians that are necessary in the execution of marketing, but that is not the recipe for a true chief marketing officer. Typically, your best chief marketing officer is someone who's going to have had years, if not, decades of broad cross-industry experience that can be brought to your table, to your business, to leverage tactics and strategies that drive revenue to your bottom line. They are not project managers. Through their experience, they know what works and what does not work. Now, your CMO might possess a lot of those skills, those technical skills that are necessary in the execution of marketing, but each one of those skills by themselves is a discipline that's necessary, but it does not bring everything to the table that's needed to be a true chief marketing officer. A high-quality CMO is someone who brings depth, years, decades of experiments, of experience working with marketing campaigns, tactics, strategies that develop a true return on investment that actually grow the business. That said, a lot of the CMOs that I know have prior years of owning an agency. So they have a lot of experience at working with a broad range of clients. And as a result, a lot of times they have a deep bench of people or technicians that are at their disposal and ready to be leveraged for their existing clients. So that's what a true CMO is. Let's talk about why more and more business leaders, your competitors, the top six reasons. One of them, I just covered. That they're working with a fractional chief marketing officer rather than a full-time employee. So number one, I suppose, perhaps the most easily guess cost. A true seasoned chief marketing officer, according to glassdoor.com states that the average CMO is paid somewhere between $190,000 a year to about a quarter of a million dollars a year plus not to mention benefits and frequently equity. And of course, this doesn't include vacation. This doesn't include downtime, sick time. This doesn't include office space, computers, software, and a lot of times a support team to go around that person. So the cost differential between a fractional CMO and a full-time CMO is significant and the reality is most businesses can't afford that. And the clients that I work with don't really necessarily need it. They don't need a full-time C-suite level hire chief marketing officer. So by hiring a fractional CMO, you get to leverage the experience and the brainpower that you need without all of the expensive full-time costs. Second reason, new strategies via a broader level of experience. Someone who has only served with your company brings knowledge and insight, but they likely lack the broader perspective of someone who has worked with both B2B and B2C businesses in a wider range of industries. When you're working with a fractional CMO who has multiple clients, and again, multiple years of doing this, you're bringing in someone who has experience in potentially a half a dozen or a dozen or more different industries, different sectors, a different business niche that you get to leverage and bring those insights into your business rather than just someone who goes to work every day at your office, and only sees what's in front of them, that myopic view that is limited by the fact that they work at one place full time. We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor Whatbox Digital. Do you want to grow and scale your business better and faster with fewer mistakes? Of course, you do. Then you're in the right place right now. Like so many others, you're tired of relying on a failed hope marketing system where you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then hoping it works. You've thrown away tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures, and you wish you could get all of that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating lead and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to suffer from industry downturns, lumpy cash flow, and ultimately higher stress and sleepless nights. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at Whatbox Digital. I know where you are, and I've been there before. It pains me to watch business owners and entrepreneurs suffer from relying on hope and bad advice that simply doesn't work. I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the greater Houston metroplex for almost 20 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth time and time again. And that's exactly what I want to do for you. Our marketing strategy, playbook consulting engagement allows us to do just that. In just four weeks or less, we'll take you through our three-step process that will open your eyes to the readily available growth opportunities you need, want, and deserve. To learn more, or just get started simply go to whatboxdigital.com/strategy and click the get started now button, or just text the word playbook to (832) 324-2432. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business better and faster and with fewer mistakes, you're in the right place. You need to get unstuck. You need a plan and we're here to help. Let's get started today. Right now. The third reason more of your competitors are working with a fractional CMO, and this is something really that any CMO should bring, which is what I call time compression. A legitimate CMO fractional or not helps business leaders to compress decades and years of learning and experience into hours and minutes. Why would a business leader or a business owner want to reinvent the wheel when it's not necessary? Reason number four, and this is another big one, efficiency. Since a fractional CMO isn't a full-time employee, they're also aware that time is valuable. They'll be able to completely focus on a specific project or a marketing initiative instead of needing to attend to the other day-to-day time-wasting tasks that full-time employees often need to contend with. We all know what it's like to deal with day-to-day distractions at the office, water cooler hallway conversations, catching up on the big Super Bowl game, which it's February 14th. So we just had the Super Bowl yesterday. You're getting a more efficient use of someone's time because they're not having to deal with those day-to-day office distractions. This can be done with deadlines as well as project outlines that are written out. This can be used to utilize a strategic marketing approach so that you get what you want, the results that you want faster, more efficiently. Number five, I spoke about a little bit earlier, which is their bench of relationships. Most fractional CMOs that I know like myself, by the way, spent decades running an agency, which means that they know how to hire talent. They know how to vet talent, and they have a deep bench of talent that's already been vetted because they've worked with them. They know who is good at what they do and who is not. And that deep bench of strategist, technicians come along with that person and you get to benefit from that. And number six, let's talk about the thing that all of us hate and we try to avoid, risk. We try to avoid unnecessary, uncalculated risks where we can. And by working with a fractional chief marketing officer, you minimize the risks associated with hiring a full-time employee. You've hired full-time employees. You know that the process is cumbersome and it requires a multi-step process that can take months. There's also the risk that you might hire someone and find that they don't quite fit well within your company, or your culture, or your brand, but you don't have to worry about this risk when you're working with a fractional AKA part-time chief marketing officer. It makes the process quicker because they're part-time, they act more as a consultant, which means you don't have to worry as much as to whether or not they're an exact fit for your culture. They're not there all the time. You also don't have to worry about basic personality and compatibilities. Now, clearly, I'm not suggesting that all of that goes away. I mean, we need to like who we work with. I believe that anyway. Life is way too short to work with people that we don't enjoy being around, but clearly, that's exponentially more so the case, if I'm going to be working with someone all day, every day, Monday through Friday. So if you're wondering why more and more of your competitors are hiring a fractional CMO, rather than a full-time employee, that's it, six reasons. One way, way lower cost. Two, you get newer strategies, fresher perspectives, because they have a broader experience. Three, they compress time. They bring all these years to you in minutes and hours. Four, efficiency. Because they're part-time, time is of the essence. You don't waste a lot of time. Five, the bench of relationships that a great, great CMO brings to you. Most business leaders have no idea how to recognize whether or not they're working with a gifted ad specialist, a graphic designer, a copywriter, or a funnel builder. And last, risk. You minimize risk as much as you possibly can. So that's it. Thanks for being with me today. Again, more and more great content is in the works. Stay tuned. We are passionately committed to helping you grow your business smarter and faster. Let's keep growing together and going together. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today. And listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored if you subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at, @BrianWebb, and the show sponsor Whatbox Digital can be found at, as you might guess @whatboxdigital. You can also find me and Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn, with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. _____________________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram _____________________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram _____________________________________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 45: The B2B VIP Sales Funnel To Add $1MM+ To Your Revenue In 2022 ____________________________________________ VALUE BOMBS Are you a B2B business? Is the average annual valuation for a customer five figures, six figures, or seven figures annually? If so, you're in the right place at the right time. I'm going to explain the VIP Funnel that I've engineered for you to use to go after your top dream 100 customers in a way they've likely never seen before. ____________________________________________ SOFTWARE TOOLS RECOMMENDED BY BRIAN WEBB & WHATBOX DIGITAL Active Campaign - CRM & Marketing Automation TypeForm - Web Forms Monday - Project Management (on steroids) Pipedrive - CRM Alternative Instapage - Landing Pages Creative Market - Graphic Design & Creative Template Resources ____________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Spotify | Pandora | Google | iHeart Radio | Deezer | Stitcher | Amazon Music | (SoundCloud Coming Soon) _____________________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Are you a B2B business? Is the average annual valuation for a customer five figures, six figures, or seven figures annually? If so, you're in the right place at the right time. I'm going to explain the VIP Funnel that I've engineered for you to use to go after your top dream 100 customers in a way they've likely never seen before. Let's jump in. This is the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. Hey everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed to be your number one premier place to learn the framework secrets and grow hacks, to grow and scale your business smarter and faster. While you're working on pursuing your dreams and growing your business, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. So, let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Welcome back to the show everyone. As I mentioned, if you're a B2B business, if a customer annual valuation represents five figures, six figures, seven figures, or even eight figures or more, you are going to want to hear about the sales funnel that I'm calling the VIP Sales Funnel, which leverages the power of shock and awe. While I believe it was Dan Kennedy, who is arguably the godfather of direct response marketing, I believe I heard Darren Hardy, former publisher of Success Magazine or editor in chief rather say the same thing, which is, "When you are going after high-value customers or clients, you can't just send them a brochure. You can't just rely on your website. You have to shock them. You have to awe them. You have to completely rise above the white noise of mediocrity that is your marketplace to get their attention." It takes time. It takes some creativity and it takes commitment. So while I can in no way give you the comprehensive, full layout of what this funnel looks like in a podcast, since it is an audio format, I do want to explain it to you and cover some of the highlights of why it's so powerful. So let's talk about step one. The very first thing that you'd ever want to do if you're going to leverage this kind of a funnel is come up with a list of your dream 100 customers. Think of dream 100, by the way, as the minimum number of high-value prospects that you want to target. It might have 200 or 300 people, but probably focusing on 100 people at a time is more than enough to keep you busy for a while. Once you've attacked that list and you've targeted them, maybe then go onto another dream list of 100 people. So now that we have a list of your top dream 100 customers, we are going to come up with something, I have an idea for that I'm going to share with you, but it's certainly not the only idea. But we are going to come up with something that we are going to send to them that is almost guaranteed to not be ignorable, that's almost guaranteed to not get thrown away as soon as you send it. And even if they don't engage with you right away, there are some hooks in this funnel that are going to allow you to continue to target them and tell your story to them over time. So let's continue to dig in. You've already created your list of your dream 100 absolute top best customers that you would absolutely love to work with. Number two, we are going to come up with all of the addresses and the names of those people so that we can send them something in the mail. Yes, I'm a digital marketer. We are going to send them something physical to their address. T. Three, we are going to leverage the power of shock and awe. We're going to do that multiple ways. They are going to know pretty quickly that we have thoughtfully decided to get in touch with them. That we have put some time and effort into getting in touch with them. Does this guarantee they're going to work with you? Absolutely not, but you have a much, much better chance than if you just run an ad or if you just send them your brochure or that you hope to just bump into them at the next industry trade show. In this particular case, I'm going to suggest that you put together a book and when I say a book, I mean a hardcover, dust jacket, well designed, beautiful pearl high gloss paper inside. It's going to be targeted just to your dream 100 and I'll break that down in just a moment. Here's one of the big takeaways. The book is mostly going to be about them. One of the principles, one of the guiding principles that I teach my clients is what I call the [Wiffen 00:04:45] principle, "What's in it for me?" In other words, if you make a big, beautiful, gorgeous book, and all you do is turn it into a brochure about you, then you will have failed. The content that goes into the book has to be mostly 70, 80% or more completely about them. Remember, the purpose of this effort is not to sell them on doing business with you. The only purpose of this book is to sell them on spending time with you on that initial VIP encounter. And you might say, "Brian, how do you do that?" And I've got the answer. Consider inviting them to some type of a VIP event. Now I realize that some industries have regulations and you have to work inside of those as to what you are or are not allowed to do to basically court your prospects. But assuming that that's not going to be a limiter in this case, we're going to keep talking about it. So consider inviting them to a white linen steak dinner. Consider inviting them to a big first class sporting event in your area. Dan Kennedy once also said, "He who is willing to pay the most to acquire a customer wins. They win every time." So this VIP Funnel, that's leveraging the power of shock and awe is basically trying to rise above sales speak and you're going straight for the throat. You are targeting the person that you want to bring into your fold, and you're showing them how committed you are to creating that relationship with them. So if you do decide that making this book, which by the way, you might be thinking, "Brian, I can't go get 10,000 copies of a book done," well, one good news. You don't have to. And second, if you did, it would defeat the purpose. One pro tip that's very important about this funnel is that each book you create, one-off, one at a time should be on a per-person basis. Meaning if you were going to send this book, this invitation to Tony Robbins, it better have Tony Robbins' name all over the book, the cover, the inside, the cover letter, everywhere. It needs to be quickly conspicuous to Tony Robbins, assuming he's your target, he's our place holder target for today, it needs to be quickly conspicuous to him that that book is just for him. You did not mass produce this, and it was just for him. And if you're looking for a resource to get that book made, go check out, blurb B-L-U-R-B.com. You can literally order books one at a time, and I'm talking for 30, 40, 50, 60 bucks a book. It is not cost-prohibitive. And even if it was more expensive, if you're going after a target that represents 5, 6, 7, or eight figures or more in annual value to your company, this is just pennies in the fountain. The next pro tip. You must do one of two things. Either have it courier delivered if your dream 100 happens to work in the same region where you are. If they're not, either use UPS Priority or use Federal Express. Believe it or not, how you have that book delivered is almost as important as the gift or the gesture itself. Here's why. The bigger your target is, the more likely it is that they have a gatekeeper. It could be their assistant. It could be the receptionist that is literally deciding what mail makes it onto your target and what doesn't, what gets thrown right into the trash. So if you're going to go through all of this effort to create this shock and awe package to send off, don't pinch pennies on how you deliver it. The worst thing you could do after going through all of this time and effort is to have it merely thrown in the trash because it arrived with all of the other junk mail that hits their inbox or rather their mailbox every single day. I mentioned it earlier, but again, this book should look like something that would look beautiful and blend in with all of the other books in their library, on their bookshelves. So, getting this book designed beautifully is important. I'll restate again, the recipient's name should be on the cover of the book. It should be in the cover letter of the book. It should be used intermittently throughout the various pages of this book so that they know unequivocally that this book was made just for them. We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor, Whatbox Digital. Do you want to grow and scale your business better and faster with fewer mistakes? Of course, you do. Then you're in the right place right now. Like so many others, you're tired of relying on a failed hope marketing system, where you're spending valuable time and money on marketing, and then hoping it works. You've thrown away tons of money towards marketing mistakes and failures, and you wish you could get all of that money back. When you don't have a reliable system for generating leads and acquiring new customers, then you're doomed to suffer from industry downturns, lumpy cash flow, and ultimately higher stress and sleepless nights. I'm Brian Webb, the CEO and senior guide at Whatbox Digital. I know where you are and I've been there before. It pains me to watch business owners and entrepreneurs suffer from relying on hope and bad advice that simply doesn't work. I've had the privilege of owning and leading a successful marketing agency in the greater Houston metroplex for almost 20 years. Having worked in over 60 industry verticals, I've led my team and clients to achieve business growth time and time again. And that's exactly what I want to do for you. Our marketing strategy playbook consulting engagement allows us to do just that. In just four weeks or less, we'll take you through our three-step process that will open your eyes to the readily available growth opportunities you need, want, and deserve. To learn more or just get started, simply go to whatboxdigital.com/strategy and click the "Get started now" button, or just text the word "Playbook" to (832) 324-2432. Don't waste another day or another dollar on failing hope marketing strategies that do not work. If you want to grow and scale your business better and faster and with fewer mistakes, you are in the right place. You need to get unstuck. You need a plan and we're here to help. Let's get started today, right now. Now on the cover letter of the book, leave a place for your signature and a postscript, a handwritten postscript. This is one more indication that this book was not mass-produced. It's letting them know that you actually took the time to sign it. And in your postscript, if you know anything about that person, which NFL football team they love, which college they went to, which sporting activity they love, reference that in the postscripts. Basically, this is your opportunity in a handwritten note to let them know that you cared enough to know something about them. Let 80% of the book or more be about the call to action that you want them to take. If you're inviting them out to a steak dinner, steak and lobster, then make the book look like it was created by a five-star steakhouse. If you are an avid golfer and so is your prospect, your target, your dream 100, the book should probably have the look and feel of a country club, Pebble Beach. In multiple forms at least twice, if not three times, lay out what you're inviting them to do, give them an easy way to do it. Give them an easy way or multiple ways to reply to you in a way that's convenient for them and then let everything in that book be the biggest, juiciest carrot that it can possibly be. So just as a quick example, if you're inviting them on a weekend golf getaway, talk about the meals that they'll have, show them images of the gorgeous vista views, use images and text to depict what that's going to look like, a five-star resort experience. I could go long on this. Obviously, there's a bunch of ways that we could do this. For the sake of time, I'm just trying to give you a quick idea to spur your creativity. This next part is really important. Leverage the power of QR codes, and there are multiple reasons you want to do this. QR codes stand for quick response. Coming through the COVID pandemic, almost everyone knows what that is now because of restaurants no longer have they had menus, physical menus. Everyone holds their phone up to the QR code. It just takes you to a web browser, which then takes you to the menu. But you can use this to grow your business. This next part is an extra step, but it's going to be worth it for you because we've already determined, this customer could represent $50,000, $100,000, $500,000, $1,000,000, $10,000,000 a year to your company. It's worth it. Because remember we're not mass producing this. We're hand-picking 10 people at a time, 50 or 100 that we feel like are our dream customers. For everyone that you send this book to, you are going to create a companion landing page. On that landing page, the look and feel should look like your brand and their brand had a baby and that baby is the landing page. It should look like you are already under the presumption that you're going to work together. Use your brand colors, use their brand colors. If you want to take them golfing, have images and background videos of golf courses and people enjoying the sport. But at the top of that landing page is going to be a video from you speaking right into the camera, talking just to them. You are going to mention the recipient by name. You're going to give two or three reasons why you would love to do business with them. And you are going to use your tone of voice, your body language, and everything that you can to warmly invite them to the event that the book has done so in writing and in images, visually. Now let me tell you why you want to do this. One, nobody else is doing it. I guarantee you that. None of your competitors are doing this. You've probably heard it said that there is never a traffic jam when going the extra mile. Second, you want to know if they read the book. If they scan that QR code, the one that takes them to that landing page with your video, you're going to track that QR code and you're going to, at the very least, know that the recipient that you sent it to took the time to scan that QR code, which means there's a good chance they watched the video that you made for them. Now, what if they stop there and they don't take any action? You should have additional steps in the funnel where there is follow-up, LinkedIn follow-up, email follow-up, even using direct response print mail follow-up. You're not going to go through all of this effort and then just hope they do something. You are going to follow up until they basically tell you, "Yes," or "Leave me alone." But one principle I also teach, this is a guiding principle, is that it takes people a long time, sometimes dozens, 21 to 24 times minimum before people go through the three phases of a relationship, meaning they had no idea that you existed, but now they have awareness. Then you develop trust through enlightenment over time before they finally get to a commitment. So this is a numbers game. Not everyone, in fact, most of the people that you send this book to are not going to ever take you up on your offer, but you don't care because if one out of 100 does, it was still worthy of the time and money invested to get that new customer. And obviously, we're shooting for more than one. A conversion rate can be much better than that. But let's assume that they sit still and freeze right there and they do nothing. Since you're doing this right, you have attracted them to a landing page that has all of the tracking pixels on it. Why do you care about that? The reason that you care is because now you can continue to target them with retargeting ads on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google. And by the way, I could do an entire podcast just about the clever ways to tactically retarget them. But at the very least, if they had no idea that you existed the day before they got the book or the day before they scanned and arrived at your landing page, you now have the opportunity using retargeting video advertising online to continue to tell your story, to continue to enlighten them, to continue to build trust over time and authority and demonstrate empathy. So, as I mentioned in the beginning, it's pretty much impossible to fully flesh this out over a podcast since it is just an audio platform, but I wanted to give you the broad vision of what this is. You are targeting VIP customers who represent a lot of growth opportunities for your business. You are leveraging the power of shock and awe, you are doing something that none of your competitors are doing. And you are showing up in a way that is thoughtful, that is innovative, that is hyper-targeted, that is intentional. You are doing everything you can to show up in a way that you can't be ignored. Not everyone is going to work with you right away, but I guarantee you, you will have made an impression, a very, very good impression. And even if you have a 2%, 3%, 5% close rate, since we've already established that each one of these targets could represent 5, 6, 7, or 8 figures a year in annual valuation for your business, the results are going to be phenomenal. If this is something that you'd like to unpack a little more, or you just flat out need the help of getting this executed, reach out to us at Whatbox Digital. Go to whatboxdigital.com. We're here to help. Or if you just want to start the conversation, text me (832) 324-2432. Drop the words VIP and your name into the text and we can start a conversation. That's it for this week. More great stuff coming soon to help you grow your business smarter and faster. Let's keep going and growing together. I will see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode and if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at, @BrianWebb and the show sponsor, Whatbox Digital can be found at, as you might guess @WhatBoxDigital. You can also find me in Whatbox Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links and the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. _____________________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website Linkedin Facebook Instagram _____________________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Email Linkedin Facebook Instagram _____________________________________________ DESCRIPTION The Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast is sponsored by Whatbox Digital, a marketing and consulting agency in the Greater Houston Metroplex. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business and revenue smarter and faster.
In today's episode, Brian Webb discusses 13 lead magnets you can create in 30 minutes or less to consistently generate new leads for your business. Brian loves to help businesses make better marketing decisions to grow their revenue smarter & faster! He is the CEO of Whatbox Digital and the host of the 'Learn More Earn More Business Growth' podcast. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Episode 44: 13 Lead Magnets You Can Create In 30 Minutes Or Less To Consistently Generate New Leads For Your Business __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Stitcher ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Hey, this is Brian Webb. You're listening to the Learn More, Earn More Business Growth podcast, brought to you by What Box Digital. Hey there everyone, welcome to the show. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster, whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a thriving business owner, this podcast is designed just for you so you can learn from the best industry experts in the world. I'll bring you exclusive interviews with authors, thought leaders, and successful business titans who share their stories and business journeys so we can draw insights and learn from their successes and struggles together. As you're working on growing your business and pursuing your dreams, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid the costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way, and I promise we'll have some fun in the process. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey everyone, welcome to the show today. This is Brian Webb, your host. I'm flying solo today, and today I'm going to talk all things lead magnet and I'm going to describe what a lead magnet is, we're going to talk about the important components of a lead magnet, and I'm going to share with you thirteen of my favorite lead magnets that you can use to grow your email list, cultivate leads, and grow your business and increase your revenue. Now I know good and well that my podcast audience is really a blend of entrepreneurs and business leaders, people who probably don't even really know marketing, you're wanting to learn. And I've got people in the audience who quite frankly, are very, very sophisticated marketers, and some of those have actually been on the podcast. So today I'm talking to you, entrepreneur, solopreneur, business owner, the person who wants to learn how to grow your business smarter and faster, but you have no idea what all this marketing stuff is. And today, as I told you, we're going to talk about lead magnets and you might be thinking, first of all, Brian, what is a lead magnet? Lead magnet is really an industry term. It's nomenclature. All it is is an online incentive offered to your prospects in exchange for their email address or their cell phone number. Generally speaking, lead magnets are downloadable digital content, an ebook, a PDF checklist, a white paper, or a training course, or what is called a sideway sales letter, meaning a video series that might drip down over several days or a week or two. But a lead magnet is also known, AKA by the way, as a lead generator can be an opt-in offer, meaning you always are trying to collect their email address and/or their cell phone number, but it could be for a course, it could be for a coupon or a video series. The goal of your lead magnet is basically to attract, to dangle what Dan Sullivan calls that juicy carrot, attract visitors to sign up for whatever your online business is offering and/or your brick and mortar business. And before I share some of my favorite lead magnets, and these are powerful by the way, because remember you can make these in a half-hour or less. So the four elements of a lead magnet are one, you need a form. You need a place where your audience, your prospects, can go and give you their information in exchange for the lead magnet or the lead generator that you want to give back to them. Second, you need a piece of content. This needs to be something as enticing as possible, as irresistible as possible, that you offer to your visitor in exchange for their information. Delivery email, obviously, someone came to the forum. They said yes, they raised their hand, they took a micro-step in your direction. You already have your content, you've got to deliver that to them. You're going to do that via a delivery email, so this email gets sent to your visitor, who fills out that form, which includes a link or a file to the content that you're giving to them. And ultimately, you need a thank you page. This is the page that your visitor will see after they download the content or fill out your form. Right? So while this fourth element is really an option, it's a great way to kickstart the relationship with you and your new lead, your prospect. And you might be asking yourself, do lead magnets actually work? And the answer is an emphatic yes. There's all kinds of benefits associated with using a lead magnet. For example, if you're an online business, your offer is an excellent list-building opportunity to help you develop customer relationships and ultimately increase sales, right? Additionally, lead magnets really work to help you create an audience for your business that's going to be super, super receptive to your marketing efforts, ads, email campaigns, sales calls, everything. Because people in this audience have already demonstrated an interest in your business, your products, your services, and that you have generously given them something that alleviates pain, a problem, you solve a problem. So if you're going to be making a lead magnet, no matter what type it's going to be, and remember, I'm going to share 13 of them with you today, right? Here are the guiding principles that you need for every lead magnet that you ever make. Hopefully, the first one is the most obvious, be valuable. Be ridiculously valuable. Nothing in life is free, including building an email list of prospects, growing your leads. But in order for them to give up that information, future customers want something valuable. Again, solve a problem, deliver them from pain, or propel them towards pleasure. An example of delivering them from paying, for example, might be eight tips to save $100,000 on your income taxes this year, right? That's painful. Propelling them towards pleasure might become to our resort for a free night's stay. That's giving them something that would bring pleasure into their life. Second, offer instant gratification. Anyone who gives you their email address, or even better their cell phone number, they're looking for a solution now. So your lead magnet or your lead generator should be easy to sign up for, and it should quickly deliver on, its promise, whatever that value proposition is. The longer it takes for your prospect to apply or receive your offer, the more likely it is that they will lose interest or just become distracted. Third, it should be well designed. If your lead magnet is just unappealing, unprofessional, undesirable, if it's sloppy, your audience won't have much faith in your brand or company or what you do. Your lead magnet design is a core part of creating an asset that builds trust with your audience. So make sure whatever you create, it looks professional and it's easy on the eyes. And you might say, Brian, I'm not a designer. Hint, hint, Canva.com, C-A-N-V-A.com. You don't have to be a great anymore, there's all kinds of templates out there in the world that you can literally go drag and drop and move right into without having any graphic design experience whatsoever. And fourth, it should align with your business, your products, and your services. Your lead magnet should build consumer trust in your company, so the content that you provide should align with what your business does. For example, if you're a CPA, your lead magnet should probably not be a coupon for 50% off a gallon of paint. If you're a personal chef, your lead magnet probably shouldn't be thirteen of your favorite lead magnets. I think you're getting the point, right? So now that you understand what a lead magnet, also known as a lead generator, is I want to share with you thirteen of my favorite lead magnets that are super easy to create. First, if you have a blog, create a PDF file for your highest performing blog posts. So in other words, if you already have a blog, all you have to do is do a quick copy and paste, again, into a well designed document, convert that into a PDF, super easy, and then let that be the deliverable. So maybe log into your Google analytics account, see which blog posts are performing the best. The ones that get the most traffic or the most engagement, convert those into a PDF, make that the deliverable lead magnet. And it simply would not be hard at all to jazz them up, add some images, add a graph, add a chart. Second, consider giving away transcripts. Are you a podcaster? Are you creating video content for a YouTube channel or TikTok? Then consider making transcripts for each one of those videos. While most people do love videos, some people do prefer to consume content in different ways. For example, some would rather read a book than listen to the audio book. If you have made video content, you've already done the hard work, you've spent hours and hours and hours of creating editing and post-production, so why not go ahead and turn that into a transcript and let that be used as a lead magnet. There are all kinds of services that you can use to get audio or video transcribed into text like Rev.com, Trint, T-R-I-N-T, or Data List. These services are well worth the small cost of you using them to get a transcript from your video content. My third option or idea is think about creating a quick checklist. They are easy to make and people love checklists. Here are some examples, X number of steps to follow to create a how to blog post or a podcast, right? Or X materials needed for a do it yourself project. Or steps to follow while thinking through a particular project or an action. Or ten must have items that you need, things, whatever those are, that you can't live without. Next think about showcasing your "best in show" content with a swipe file. For copywriters, this might be a compilation of your best copy, your sales letters, emails, blog posts, or other projects that you're literally allowing people just to swipe it and use it. Regardless of what industry space or vertical that you're in, you can create a swipe file, I promise you, particularly of your best work to give away as a lead magnet. This might be past sales materials, client work, properties you've sold, quotes, blog posts, whatever. To create a swipe file, just be sure to compile documents you already have so that you can put it together quickly, follow the same processes we talked about with the checklist. Once you have all of that, make it into a PDF, protect that golden content with a lead form, there you go, 30 minutes or less. Here's an idea for those engineers out there. Those left brainers, think about delivering some analytics. Even as I'm recording this podcast. I can think of my engineer friends and colleagues and clients, and they love numbers, so sharing real world results or numerical based data can give number loving prospects the value that they love. This could be an Excel spreadsheet, it could be a graph, marketing results, a white paper, split test numbers, experiments, schedules, whatever. Just be sure to steer clear of anything that's confidential or proprietary, but this is a great one for your left brainers out there. We'll get back to the podcast in just a moment, but first a quick message from our sponsor, What Box Digital. So you want to grow your business smarter and faster, but to grow your business you need a consistent flow of sales leads through your website, but to get those leads, you need traffic, and to get quality organic traffic, your website needs to show up front of line and top of page in the search engines above your competitors. Do you even know how well your website is performing online? Do you know if your competitors are dominating you when searching for the products and services that you provide? Do you even know how Google sees your online presence in comparison to your competition? I bet you don't, but we're here to help. We have a robust online tool for you to get an accurate snapshot overview of your online business and how you compare to your competitors, and it's absolutely free. All you have to do is go to WhatBoxDigital.com and click on the free report button. You'll be immediately taken to a form where you can provide some basic information about your business, and within just 24 hours, you'll have a robust, completely personalized, diagnostic analysis of your business's online presence and how you compare with your competitors. This free snapshot report is like getting an online marketing MRI for your business. And again, it's absolutely free, so stop being lost in the fray online search and stop letting your competitors dominate you and your ability to get more leads and grow your business smarter and faster. Again, simply go to WhatBoxDigital.com and click on the get free report button. You'll get your free snapshot report for your business within 24 hours. Do it today, you'll be glad you did. Here's another one, give away pieces or parts of your products or service. At the end a day, whenever you're offering someone a lead magnet, your ultimate goal is what? To eventually sell your products or services. So ideally in a best case scenario, your lead magnet should help to pre-sell, to demonstrate value, thought leadership and generosity, but to pre-sell whatever product or service that you eventually want to ask them to buy anyway. Grocery stores do this, perhaps the best. I go to my local HEB here in the Houston, Texas metroplex. There's a chef, they're cooking, they're letting you sample their products, recipes, they're being generous. I can't tell you the number of times that I tried something at the grocery store, and then I bought the soup. I bought the ingredients for specific recipe. Well Brian, I don't have a grocery store. Well, maybe you're an author, give away a free chapter of your book. Maybe you're a graphic designer, maybe give away a website template. Maybe you're a consultant, give away the first module in your online course. Or if you're a realtor, how about that one? It might be a quick list of properties. Bottom line is that by giving away a piece of your product, you're giving your audience a taste of what full access or premium service that you offer might be for them as an experience. Now just a few moments ago, I told you about checklists. A checklist is in essence a to do list. It's a step by step how to, but a list all by itself is another phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal lead magnet. People love lists. Here are just a few, 25 email subject lines that get people to convert. My 24 favorite fill in the blank restaurants in Houston, Texas. Thirteen inspirational quotes. Twenty-nine pro tips for the manufacturing industry. Sixteen strategies to reform better as an athlete. The options that you have for creating lists are infinite and easy, so think of a list that you can create to educate your audience about your products or services or to inspire them to again, move away from some form of pain or move towards some form of pleasure. Here's an idea, give away how-tos, give away recipes. If you're a chef, if you're a trainer, if you're an instructor, a gym owner, a blog, or whatever, consider giving away a how-to document or a recipe for what you do. And if you're thinking well Brian, I'm not a cook, a recipe does not have to be for just food. Regardless of what industry you're in, you can produce a recipe for basically any result that your audience is interested in. That could be a quick list of how to do something well, a recipe or a how-to for how to carve a wooden canoe, a recipe for learning how to export Facebook data, or for how to create a custom audience in Facebook. Basically just keep in mind, you can turn your own experiences into a case study or a step by step recipe so that other people who want to replicate your results can do it. This next one can be a lot of fun. Think about giving away your personal routines. We all have them. If you have a routine that your potential audience would find valuable, put it into a PDF and give it away. This could be your habits. This could be what your perfect week Monday through Friday looks like. Maybe it's fifteen productivity hacks that you have just learned over the years. Maybe it's something from your business playbook, your calendar, other shortcuts, whatever. If you're a mechanic, your personal shortcut might be the fastest way to change your own oil or the fastest way to check your own engine. You might be thinking well Brian, I'm a life coach. How about the three things I do every morning to make sure I have a great day? Here's another one. Think about giving away your presentations. If you've created presentations, the odds are favorable that you have a couple of slide decks or PowerPoint presentations or a keynote presentation that's lurking somewhere in your hard drive that you could be sharing with your audience. A little bonus idea. If you're giving a presentation, you could set up a text message campaign that you show during your presentation that allows those in your audience to go and give you their information so that you can send them the slide deck. So you're actually creating a lead magnet that can be offered in real time. Don't forget we live in a microwave culture, people want a lot of information or ideas. They want it fast, they want it brief, and slide decks are a super digestible piece of content that can successfully be shared as a downloadable. Super, super easy. Here's one. What about your top frequently asked questions? You're a business owner, you're an entrepreneur, it's likely that you already know what questions your customers want to ask. You've been doing this for a long time. Pull together a list of your top ten, top five, top fifteen most frequently asked questions, turn it into a PDF with the answers. The best FAQs handle all of the objections that your clients may have when they're considering buying your particular products or services, so make sure you address those. This is a super, super cool opportunity to address those objections and you can provide targeted responses to their concerns. I'd be shocked if this particular lead magnet took you more than 20 minutes to create. Here's one. Give away a valuable video clip. You've created videos, probably. If so, giving away your best of video content as a lead magnet is a great idea for you to consider. Maybe it's a 15-minute clip from your past webinar that you did, or a video clip from a conference presentation that you did, or even a video of your blog content. And a bonus hack on this one. Let's just say that you end up with eight or nine video clips, don't put them all into a single folder and let them go get them, deliver them one at a time. Maybe if you have eight, deliver them one every day for the next eight days. Not only have you provided value, not only have you delivered what you said that you would, but you're getting a piece of real estate in their brain. Even if it's just for a second, even if they don't open the email for the next eight days, you're showing up. They're catching your personality, your tone of voice, your body language. It just gives you an opportunity to over an extended period of time deliver that value, drip that value to them. So that makes twelve, so the last one that I'm going to share with you, number thirteen, think about sharing your top resources or your tools. Consider making a resource guide. This type of a guide is simply a list of your favorite tools. It could be the apps that you use, it's resources that you'd like to recommend to your audience. Maybe this is a list of your top websites. Maybe it's the tools that you use or the apps that you run your business on. By the way, if you do this, include links to all of those websites. And it probably can go without being said, but I'm going to say it anyway, your list of resources should probably entice your audience to want your products or services. On that list, your final recommendation should always include your business website or your business's app or your business's software for that matter. So there you have it, thirteen of my favorite lead magnets, the four guiding principles for what a lead magnet basically is, how they work. Every client I work with, everyone, we all need a sales funnel, we all need a stack of sales funnels. And the way that you do that is growing your email list, growing your SMS phone number list, so that you can nurture your audience over time. Deliver value first, get value later. You're just going to win whenever you are generous and whenever you give value, and when you demonstrate your competence and your thought leadership. That's the underlying foundation for success. If you want to effectively and consistently use marketing, marketing done right, to grow your business. That's it for today, guys. I hope this was valuable. And don't forget, if you need help creating lead magnets, creating sales funnels, creating systems that help you to effectively grow your business, just go to WhatBoxDigital.com, raise your hand, and let us know. We are here to help. That's it for today. I'll see you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More, Earn More Business Growth podcast. We can be found on all the major platforms like Apple podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode, and if you did, I'd be honored if you'd subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at @BrianWebb, and the show sponsor What Box Digital can be found at, as you might guess, @WhatBoxDigital. You can also find me and What Box Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in the show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities, and you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More, Earn More Business Growth podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you, I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb
Erin Pheil is a business leader and a coach who built a nationally-ranked digital agency for 16 years. She is an entrepreneur and she knows your struggles well. It was her own pain and stress that led her to research and discover her approach, which drives her 95% success rate and consistent results. Today, Erin will show us how to identify and remove the negative mindsets that prevent you from growing your business and achieving your goals. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Guests: Erin Pheil Episode 43: How To Identify & Remove The Negative Mindsets That Prevent You From Growing Your Business & Achieving Your Goals __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Stitcher ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital The MidFix Group ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Hey, Erin, welcome to the show. You're a busy business leader, a coach, an entrepreneur. You've taken time out of your busy schedule to be here today. So welcome to the show. Erin Pheil: Thank you for having me. It's great to be here. Brian Webb: Yeah, it's a pleasure to have you here. So I want you to let the audience know what it is that you and your company do to have a positive impact in people's lives. Share that with the audience today, if you don't mind. Erin Pheil: Sure. So I am the founder of The MindFix Group and we specialize in providing rapid root problem removal for your mind. So leaders and entrepreneurs and high performers hire us when they want to get out of their own way. And we help them by rapidly and permanently first identifying and then eliminating their biggest mental roadblocks and barriers and the things that are holding them back. So that could look like anything ranging from perfectionism to procrastination, fear of success, fear of failure, fear of being seen, anger issues, difficulty saying no, imposter syndrome, things like that. Because most leaders get stuck or find themselves in their own way at some points along their journey. Bottom line is our work allows leaders and high performers to eliminate their stickiest blind spots and their fears, and their insecurities, self-doubt, and anxieties that are holding them back. Usually in just a couple of hours a week for a short period of time. Brian Webb: Wow. That's interesting. One of the things that you taught me is that the quote-unquote, personal development space is a 14 billion dollar a year revenue industry. I had no idea it was that much. And I know that people, I've seen people and I've even done it, they can spend thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on programs to help them improve their lives. And yet these programs don't seem to always create lasting change for most people. Why do you think that is? Erin Pheil: Yeah. From my experience, what I have seen is that a lot of the programs that are out there focus on addition. And when I say addiction, I mean that they focus on trying to help people cope with their challenges. So people have these issues say, avoidance or procrastination and they'll try to go to coaching or they'll do personal development, or they'll go to a seminar. And what they learn are tools of how to deal with their challenges. You need to meditate longer, you need to write more in your journal, you need to cope with this challenge. We're going to give you some balm and we're going to give you more bandaids to try and make you feel better and cope with the issue. When at the end of the day that doesn't solve the root problem of why the issue is there in the first place. Erin Pheil: So our approach and the way that we have seen so many people truly be able to heal from their challenges is when you can dive in and identify why someone is stuck and why they're experiencing challenges and problems. And then you subtract. So instead of adding more and adding more responsibilities, and adding tools, and adding tactics, and adding techniques to cope with your challenges, if we can subtract the root cause of why you're experiencing it, then the challenge can go away and it can go away rapidly. And you're not left with the frustrating challenge of trying to continue maintaining or coping with it for the long term. Brian Webb: And when you say subtract, I'm curious, do you mean helping them to overcome head trash? Or is it a matter of removing a relationship out of their life or getting rid of a habit? What do you mean when you say subtract? Erin Pheil: That's a really good question. So when I say subtract, I mean, we want to go in and identify the root cause of why someone is experiencing what they're experiencing. Brian Webb: Okay. Erin Pheil: And then pull that out. So instead of addition, instead of more tools, and tactics, and strategies that help people cope with their challenges, we want to subtract. It's almost like instead of putting more bandaids and balm over the splinter, let's go in, find the splinter that's causing the pain and pull it out. So when it comes to mental challenges or mind challenges, sometimes people call this head trash. We might call it belief systems or belief structures, competing commitments, internal conflicts. There are a lot of things that can be the root causes of people's mind challenges. Brian Webb: When you talk about conflicting conclusions, is that akin to conflicting wishes? I was once taught that I read Jean Chatzky's book called The Difference. She's a financial analyst on TV. And she talks about why do people not achieve their financial goals or their health goals? And she brought up the fact that it's because all of us, we have conflicting wishes. So yes, someone thinks of themselves. Yes. I want to save for my future, but I also want to enjoy my life today and go buy myself something nice. Does that play a part in the therapy that you're providing to people? Erin Pheil: Yeah. Sometimes when we can uncover what we call competing commitments, we'll find that different parts of our mind want different things and we're often not aware of it. So as an example, there was an entrepreneur I worked with just this week and he was feeling very stuck and he was finding that he wasn't doing what he needed to do to move his business forward. And he could not for the life of him, figure out why. He kept going to kind of, seminars and business-building workshops and working with a mentor. But he just could not bring himself to move forward and take action. And he didn't know why. And so what he found was that we found quite a few kind of competing commitments. And what was really interesting is we found that he kept beating himself up. And at the end of the day, his true goals, he wanted to accept himself and love himself and he wasn't. Brian Webb: Wow. Erin Pheil: And as we got into a conversation, what we uncovered is that part of him had a fear that if he loved himself, if he accepted himself, if he said he was okay with himself, that would completely prevent him from moving forward. Part of him was absolutely convinced that if he was okay with himself, he would have no more desire to change or improve or grow. So here he is wanting to accept himself and another part going, you can never accept yourself because then you won't move forward. And it was keeping him in a double bind because he wasn't moving forward because he was beating himself up. Brian Webb: That's fascinating. Oh my goodness. Erin Pheil: Right. Brian Webb: Wow. Erin Pheil: And he had no idea of this conflict until we were able to kind of go in and gently explore this. Well, of course, he couldn't move forward. Of course, he was absolutely frozen because this part of him, this hidden part underneath absolutely was terrified that if he was okay with himself, he would lose everything and he would just never move forward. And so when you can uncover these double binds, these mental knots, these competing desires and commitments that we have, suddenly bringing that awareness to your mind allows us to get unstuck versus here's another tool or let's map out your schedule for the week when these really deeper elements are kind of sitting below the surface powering you and keeping you stuck. Brian Webb: Do you find that, let's just take this particular client or these philosophies, these conflicting kind of philosophies. Were they self-imposed or was it a learned philosophy from his upbringing? Erin Pheil: Oh, I mean, everything is learned, right? Brian Webb: Yeah. Okay. Erin Pheil: We pick these things up from somewhere in our life, whether we see things modeled by people that we respect. We learn things in business classes, and courses, and books, or school that we feel are true. Or we subconsciously absorb them when we're little kids. Brian Webb: Yeah. Erin Pheil: We pick these things up from somewhere. Oftentimes they do come from childhood, but then those things can clash with what we learn later on in our adult lives. Brian Webb: I would imagine that there's different ways that people can find themselves feeling stuck, whether it be their career, or their income, their relationships. What are a couple of those? And what advice do you typically find in yourself giving to your clients? I'm curious. Erin Pheil: Okay. Let's break this down into two different questions to make sure I can give you solid answers here. So the first question is where are different areas in life that people find themselves feeling stuck? Is that correct? Brian Webb: Well more so. I think what I'm asking is not where do they find themselves in life feeling stuck, but what are some of the common reasons that people get stuck? Erin Pheil: Oh, why do people get stuck? Gotcha. Gotcha. So what we find so often, assuming that again, assuming there's not something going on in the body or the nervous system and people are feeling like they can't move forward, we often find that people are experiencing counterproductive thoughts, counterproductive emotions, and counterproductive actions or lack of actions because of what they believe to be true. So often our beliefs are running the show. They're like these lines of code and programming that are determining how we show up every day. I always laugh and give an example of like, if you believe that cats are dangerous and you go out for a walk and you see a cat, that's going to impact the thoughts that you have when you see the cat, that's going to impact how you feel when you see the cat, that's going to impact the actions you take when you see the cat. All of those things, your entire experience around a cat can be influenced by a belief. Brian Webb: Yeah. Erin Pheil: And we have so many beliefs, conflicting beliefs, and beliefs that we picked up when we were younger and they truly do... We walk around going, no, I have full control over everything. And our conscious mind does, but our subconscious mind where these beliefs and the programming exist really are running 90% of our decisions and our choice and our actions as we go throughout our day. So you can imagine what say a leader or an entrepreneur might experience if they have a simple belief like asking for help makes me look weak and they're committed to looking like a strong leader for their team. Brian Webb: Right. Erin Pheil: How that's going to impact what the they do and don't do over the course of a month, regardless of the advice they get or how great their team is. So these unique lines of code that we each have that are all slightly different, are running the show. So to circle back to your question, what are some of the reasons people get stuck? So often times we find that their beliefs, which are sometimes hidden from their awareness, are running the show in that they have problematic or limiting beliefs that are keeping them stuck in loops and ways of being that aren't serving them. Brian Webb: I've had the good fortune to have many mentors in my life, many of which, by the way, never have known that I'm alive. They're people I've not even met. One of those in a huge way, his name was Jim Ron, and many people in the audience may have heard of him. He's actually passed away, broke my heart when it happened. But he said, more than once he says the duck has to fly south every winter because it's in the genetic code and the duck cannot disobey his genetic code. Right. He said, but we as human beings, we can change our minds today and move in a completely different direction tomorrow. And I feel like it's a little bit what you're saying to us today. How realistic is it for someone to experience a permanent lasting change in behavior in just a few months, especially if they've been with a therapist for a decade and they have been to all of Tony Robbins's events? Speak into that, if you don't mind. Erin Pheil: Sure. We see it. We see it a lot. Before I got into this work, I never would've believed it myself. I started therapy when I was a little kid. Brian Webb: Wow. Erin Pheil: I used to come home crying from school as a seven-year-old and just be inconsolable. And my parents started sending me to therapy just as a young kid. So I have done that route, therapy, and coaching off and on for so many years. It always felt frustrating because I would talk with someone, but nothing ever felt like it really changed or really shifted. It just felt like I was going to vent to someone. And that was my experience. I know there's a lot of really great therapists and coaches and experts out there, but I know that for many of us change feels like it's out of our reach. And yet when I started getting into this type of work, into the work of transformation and rapid transformation, which even three months compared to 20 years is quite quick. Brian Webb: Sure. Erin Pheil: We see people change. We see people in a matter of months come in with challenges, and fears, and ways of being, and harsh inner critics, and inability to move forward and perform. And after, within a few months time, three months, sometimes four or five, but it was in a matter of a couple of hours a week, we watch people shift. And we've gone back to our original clients from years ago, and asked them, Hey, how is the problem, the challenges that originally worked on, are they still gone? And the answers are, it's an overwhelming yes. Erin Pheil: When you pull out the challenges that you're dealing with and you pull out the root causes, right, you pull the seed of the weed instead of chopping down the flower every time, you really can have something go away and stop holding you back for the long term. Now, this doesn't mean you won't have a bad day, or you'll never have a negative thought, but these challenges no longer hold you back. And we see it day in and day out, and you can look at our results page and see just the hundreds of people who have had that very experience. It is absolutely possible. Brian Webb: Wow. Let me ask you this. Would you mind, would you be comfortable sharing an example of someone who you've worked with, who they thought nothing would work for them. Right. But they've experienced the transformation you've been talking about today. Do you mind sharing an anonymous example of course? Erin Pheil: Sure. Absolutely. We worked with an entrepreneur who was building a number of different online communities, and each of her communities had thousands and thousands of members. She was working with a mentor who was giving her guidance on how she was to scale her business. She was told that she needed to begin promoting herself, being on podcasts, being on interviews, and doing more PR work. And she was also told, Hey, it's time you start letting go of some of your work because you're doing work that you really should have more of an assistant and a team doing for you. You're too busy for what you're doing. So this woman needed to delegate more. And then also start being seen as the leader of her company. Brian Webb: Okay. Erin Pheil: And I think about four or five, six months passed, and she realized that she hadn't done any of it. She kept procrastinating. She kept avoiding. She was getting opportunities to speak and somehow kept turning them down. Something would always come up. Brian Webb: Okay. Erin Pheil: And she wasn't building her team. So what ended up happening is we worked with her for a couple of months and she picked up the phone one day and called me and she's like, Erin, you'll never guess what. I said, what? She's like, I am a delegating machine now. I've brought a couple of people onto my team. I'm no longer terrified. I can let go of some of this control, Brian Webb: Wow. Erin Pheil: And it feels amazing. And also I've started saying yes to all of these PR and media opportunities. I've been in the Washington Post. I've been in the, she was in Entrepreneur Magazine. She was in the Huffington Post. She was in a number of different, really big media outlets for the work that she was doing with Facebook. And it was absolutely beautiful. She said it's been easy. It's been fun. I'm going live on Facebook and social media multiple times a day. Brian Webb: Wow. Erin Pheil: The fear of being seen is just gone. And it was like I was talking to a different person and she was just so vibrant. So someone who had been putting this off and weeks, and weeks, and weeks, and weeks, and weeks with no movement suddenly came around and was like, this is enjoyable and I'm loving it and the fear's gone and I'm just taking off. And thank you so much. So that was a fun example. Brian Webb: One, thanks for being here. I feel like this has been a therapy session for me today too. I feel like I should be lying on a sofa somewhere. And I always feel like I get to learn and glean from every guest I have on. And you have been no exception. So one, thank you for the impact that you're having in the world. Because clearly, you're just helping so many people. And tell the audience that wants to learn how to find you, where's the best place to connect with you, learn more about your services that you provide. Where is the best place for them to do that? Erin Pheil: Sure. Best place is definitely our website, mindfixgroup.com. We have a free training. We have a long results page where you can see what's possible. We have case studies and if anyone wants to reach out, they're welcome to either apply or learn more just about what we do. I'm also available on Facebook, on social media. I post regularly about work with our clients what's possible, latest findings, and thoughts. And I'm the only, I believe Erin Pheil on Facebook at this time. Brian Webb: Ah, okay. Good to know. Oprah made Dr. Phil famous. I think that you should be the Dr. Pheil and we should start having a segment of the podcast so we can give the world therapy through the podcast. Right. See there. Well, thank you so much for being here, Erin. You've made a big difference today. I'm just so grateful that I got to spend time with you today. Erin Pheil: Awesome. Thank you for having me. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________ CONNECT WITH ERIN PHEIL Facebook | Website | Email __________________________________
Jennifer Hudye is a marketer, copywriter, entrepreneur, and the Founder and CEO of Conscious Copy & Co., one of the top copywriting companies in the digital marketing world where they help entrepreneurs communicate their vision and message in a way that inspires people to take action. Today, she is going to share with us 5 secrets to writing copy that gets the right people to click, open, and buy. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Guests: Jennifer Hudye Episode 42: 5 Secrets To Writing Copy That Gets The Right People To Click, Open, & Buy __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Stitcher ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital Conscious Copy & Co. Jennifer Hudye Website ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Well, Jennifer, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast. I've been thinking about this for quite some time, because we've been planning this for quite some time, as you know, but welcome to the show today. Jennifer Hudye: Thank you for having me. Brian Webb: So, I've already told the audience who you are and what you do and what you're about, but I'd love to hear you share your story a little bit. How did you go about becoming a copywriter and where did that all start for you? Jennifer Hudye: Yeah, I really stumbled into copywriting, to be honest. I was not a writer growing up. Didn't really enjoy writing. Brian Webb: Yeah? Jennifer Hudye: And I was partially dyslexic, so I can't spell, or anything like that, worth anything. Brian Webb: Really? Okay. Jennifer Hudye: Yeah. So it's funny, but when I was in college, I was determined to really come up with a business idea that I could turn into a business so that I could be full-time building a business at the end of college and tdhen full-time after college. And so I think it was a couple years in, I went to my first ever online marketing event. It was actually a Brendon Burchard event, so it was like personal development meets online marketing, and my world was blasted wide open with this world that I knew nothing about. And I saw so much possibility because I saw that I could really bootstrap a business with just an idea alone. And so after attending the event, I was a group fitness instructor and personal trainer at the time, in college. And so I first decided to create an online program for millennial women, which were the women that were coming to my fitness classes every day, and started to take some of the processes that I was learning about the online marketing world and built my first ever online product, which I called the Strong Mind, Sexy Body Blueprint. Brian Webb: Okay. Jennifer Hudye: And when I launched it, I spent months and months on creating the best videos and logos and perfecting the course. And my marketing was a total afterthought. And I just figured, well, that's saying build it and they will come. Brian Webb: Right. Jennifer Hudye: So I created this course and then launched it and it was like crickets. Brian Webb: Wow. Jennifer Hudye: Nobody... Well, there was a couple sales that trickled in throughout the week, but my goal was to have 30 people in my first launch. Brian Webb: Sure. Yeah. Jennifer Hudye: And so after that happened, I was super bummed and I was at the point of thinking, well maybe I got to scrap the course, maybe it's the course, or maybe it's the logo. Brian Webb: Sure. Jennifer Hudye: And I actually, before doing that, I went on a walk and I found this podcast similar to this one, and the two hosts were talking, and they talked about this concept called direct response copywriting. Brian Webb: Yeah. Jennifer Hudye: Which I knew nothing about. Brian Webb: Okay. Jennifer Hudye: And one of the hosts said, if you want to build a business online, you need to master the art and science of copywriting, which is written words that sell, or persuasion in print. Brian Webb: Sure. Jennifer Hudye: And it was like this light bulb moment went off for me where I was like, oh my gosh, this is the missing piece. I didn't even consider. Although I had a sales page for my site, it was, when I looked at it through the lens of some of what I had learned about direct response copyrighting, I realized that I was doing so much of it wrong, where I was making all of the copy and everything about me and the product, versus what is the problem that I'm solving for the client. So I dove right in, and fast forward, started to get my hands on any sort of copywriting book training I could, launch my course again, a couple months later, sold out within 48 hours. Brian Webb: Fascinating. Awesome. Jennifer Hudye: And that was just like the piece that I needed to really double down on the skill. And then fast forward a couple of years after that, and I had really started to dial in a few of my funnels and I had business owners reaching out to me in my space saying, hey, can you help me with my copy? Can you help me with the strategy for some of my funnels, similar to what you're doing? So I just started doing it on the side here and there, because I thought it was really fun and I loved helping them. And then back in 2015, it got to the point where I was partially running these two businesses. And I was like, I got to choose one and double down. And I loved the helping business owners and entrepreneurs so much with really their message and their copy. So I doubled down on that. From there, honestly, in 2015 it just took off. And since then we've worked with a lot of pretty well known people, everyone from Brendon Burchard, Joe Polish, Eben Pegan, Bulletproof Coffee, JJ Virgin, pretty much the the who's who- Brian Webb: The who's who- Jennifer Hudye: ... In the industry. Yeah. And it has been helped thousands of entrepreneurs through our conscious copy method, built a team, et cetera. And it's been just continuing to expand from there. Brian Webb: So I know that you draw a distinction between what copy is, as opposed to what content is. Explain that for the audience today, if you would. Jennifer Hudye: Yeah. So I believe that the goal of content is for people to understand you. If you think about education, information, you're trying to get someone to understand your world. Where the goal of copy, is for people to feel understood. And the spotlight is shining on your target audience, who is it that you want to help? And it's a completely different... It's a not completely, but it's a very different hat that you're wearing for either one. I remember speaking at an event once and this New York time bestselling author, like multiple New York Time best selling author, came up to the mic and he said, I'm great at writing, my track record shows it, he actually has a book company, and he's like, but I suck at copy and I don't know why, I don't know what I'm missing. And I shared that distinction and was like this huge light bulb moment went off where he's like, that's it, I'm not really entering the conversation that's going on in the prospect's mind. Brian Webb: Interesting. So I know that today you're going to share five secrets to writing copy that gets the right people to click and open and buy. What is the first secret that you would share to achieve that? Jennifer Hudye: Yeah. So I look at copy, like there's tools that you want in your marketing toolbox. And just like if you were to build a house, you need the five core tools, right? The hammer, the nails saw the screwdriver, et cetera, to be able to build whether it's a house, or a chair, or whatever, it may be. Brian Webb: Sure. Jennifer Hudye: Same thing goes in marketing. So the five tools when it comes to running copy, the very first one is knowing how to capture attention. If you don't have attention, nothing else matters. And I believe the human attention span now is like less than six seconds or [crosstalk 00:07:28] feel like that. Brian Webb: Like a goldfish. Right? Jennifer Hudye: Yeah. And so it's so important to... Before trying to sell your product or service or get someone to click it, it's first getting their attention. So that's the first step. Brian Webb: So when you say getting their attention, that's what we need to do, but what would be an example, or a small example or two, that you'd use or leverage, that you've seen work time and time again? Jennifer Hudye: Yeah. So in the viewpoint of copy, it's really asking what's the headline? So what is the headline that's going to capture someone's attention. A couple of my favorite ways to craft attention-grabbing headlines. One is by starting with a question. So it may be as simple as like, hey, do you want to learn how to write copy that converts? Or say, are you ready to finally lose that 10lbs? Really calling out the direct question of the specific person that you want to help. Brian Webb: So would you say addressing pain in that question. Jennifer Hudye: Addressing pain is a great way to do it. I believe that there is a stat that shows that as humans, we were 50% more to driven to avoid pain, than gain pleasure. Brian Webb: Right. Jennifer Hudye: So both work, but if you look at it from the viewpoint of pain, it can definitely be a driver. Brian Webb: Yeah. Okay. So getting their attention, knowing how to effectively achieve that. What's the secret or tool number two? Jennifer Hudye: Number two is creating interest. Yeah. So once you've captured their attention, the next question that they're going to be asking consciously or unconsciously is, should I keep my attention here? And whether you are writing an email, whether it's a social media post, a sales page, a YouTube video. A lot of people say, really the first six seconds, but then the first 30 seconds, it's the make or break it of whether people are going to continue on. So in copy terms, that's really discovering, okay, what's the hook? How are you going to hook them in to keep reading? And there's a few different ways that you can do that. One of my favorite ways is through stories. Brian Webb: Yeah. Jennifer Hudye: Because as we know, as humans, we are story making machines, and so hooking in with a very intriguing story that sells, is a great way to do that. But you can also use fascinating statistics that may be relevant to the person. Did you know that 57% of people do X, or whatever it may be. So those are stories, statistics, researcher, a couple different ways that you can hook someone in to keep reading. Brian Webb: Fascinating. Okay. So attention, obviously getting their interest, and I love what you shared by the way. So what's tool or secret number three? Jennifer Hudye: Number three is to clarify benefits. So this is one of the biggest mistakes that I see entrepreneurs and business owners make when communicating in their marketing, is they're much more feature-focused, than benefit focused. So what that really means is how are you... My friend, Lisa Sasevich has an amazing quote, which is, "Sell the airplane, not the destination, or excuse me, "Sell the destination, not the airplane." Opposite. "Sell the destination, not the airplane." Brian Webb: Or sell the hole, not the drill. Right? But hers is better. Lisa's is better, yeah. Jennifer Hudye: Yeah. And what's the other one, "Sell the sizzle, not the stake." Brian Webb: There you go. Jennifer Hudye: Yeah. But the idea, it's really asking, okay, with whatever it is you're selling, like whether it's a product, a service, or software, how is your customer or your client's life going to be better as a result of that? And the more that you can paint the picture using the five senses, really evoking emotion in that, the more that people are going to truly believe that you can help them. So an example I give sometimes is, say, you're in the health space and you help people with gut health. There is a very small percentage of people who know that they need help with gut health. And so if you just say, learn how to heal your gut, they may be like, cool, I don't know if I need to heal my gut. But if you say, do you struggle with low energy, feeling bloated, your skin's breaking out, your mood fluctuates, if, so you may have leaky gut, discover how you can gain back your energy, lose that final five pounds and have glowing skin with this simple process. It completely changes because then the person's going to filter through their experience, which is what we do already. Brian Webb: Fascinating. Okay. So one, obviously capturing their attention. So that could be the subject line of your email, it could be the title that you use for an ad online. Obviously we talked about keeping their interest. You talked about leveraging the power of story, which I certainly believe in, and clarifying the benefits. What's secret or tool number four? Jennifer Hudye: Number four is credibility and trust. Obviously the internet is a noisy, loud place. And when people are looking to follow a person or a brand, they're asking, can I trust this person or brand? And so it's really important when it comes to your copy, whether, again, it's a sales page or maybe you're sending people to an initial lead magnet page from a Facebook ad, or it's a Facebook ad. Your copy literally covers every everything, whatever platform you're on, whatever it is you're trying to sell, copy is what fills that up. And so that next one is okay, how are you creating some credibility and trust in an authentic way? So that may include weaving in social proof throughout your copy, sharing client success stories, or case studies, testimonials of people that you've been able to help, before and afters are a great way. Sometimes people will share the credibility when it comes to do they have what stages that they've spoken on, or people that they've worked with, or certifications or degrees or whatever it maybe that they have. But it's really important to remember in marketing that the most important and powerful social proof is results. Brian Webb: Absolutely. Jennifer Hudye: So leaning into that one and making sure that you are highlighting that throughout your marketing is one of the best things that you can do to create that trust. Brian Webb: Social proof. For sure. So the last one, what's the fifth secret that you want to share with the audience today? Jennifer Hudye: The fifth one is strong call to action. One of the biggest questions that I'll hear from people is, how do I get people to take action? Whether it is opening up your emails, clicking in your emails, signing up to buy, whatever, engaging. One of the most important things to remember is you want to train people to be taking action each step of the way. So it's not just training someone to take action when you want them to buy something. It's training them to take action when it comes to clicking on a link in your emails or your landing page. So you always want the call to action to be clear, direct, benefit-driven, simple and short. Not saying a big button on your website, click here if you want to change your life. It's not super clear of what you want them to do. Brian Webb: Right. Right. Jennifer Hudye: You want them to click here to go learn more about the program, click here to buy now. But there's a couple other things to consider too. When it comes to call to actions, is, if you can, creating time and quantity urgency. So this is something that oftentimes people will miss. And they'll wonder why aren't people taking action on my sales page? Is there a reason for them to take action now versus wait and do it later? And so the more that you can create that the time is now the higher, the motivation for them to decide. Brian Webb: Yeah. Jeff Walker talks about that in his book Launch, which he just basically launched a new addition of his book Launch. But he talks about different ways to create scarcity, being the price goes up, or the course closes. So that definitely makes a lot of sense. This is really a masterclass in copywriting. So thank you for being here today, Jennifer. So let me ask you this. I know that when some people think about... When they're writing copy, when they're giving their elevator pitch, making that video, they're worried about coming across as overly pushy, or aggressive, or salesy, especially right now, what are some ways that they can avoid that? Jennifer Hudye: One of the best and simplest ways is to deliver value up front. And I know it seems so simple, but what I will sometimes see, and I've actually run into this myself too, is like, it feels awkward to make a request of someone when you haven't delivered value upfront. And so the more that you can be doing that and educating in your marketing, the better, and so that when you make that invite to whatever it is you want them to do next, there's that reciprocity there. So that is one of the biggest ways to not feel like you're coming across as pushy or salesy. Another belief that I have, especially in the distinction of just copy in general, versus conscious copy, is that with conscious copy, your commitment should be helping someone come to a decision, and the decision being the best decision for them. Brian Webb: Yeah. Jennifer Hudye: Not necessarily just a yes. Because when we come into anything, if we're writing a sales page and it's like, I just want to get as many yeses as possible, that energy and frequency can come from a place of scarcity, and can also sometimes feel a little manipulative. So it's important to shift to no, as I'm creating this, my commitment is for everyone who this is going to change their life. This is going to be beneficial. We're helping them come to that decision. And of course, we want to make sales and as many as possible, but also not at the expense of others, and not at the expense of bringing on wrong clients within our organizations as well. Brian Webb: That's fantastic and super powerful. The last data point that I saw, Jennifer said that it takes someone who's unfamiliar with your business, your brand, it takes them 21 to 24, so we'll call it a couple of dozen interactions, with your brand before they, one, even become aware of it for that matter, two you build trust through enlightenment, like what you're talking about, so giving value before you ask for it. Before they finally make that decision, whether that be to hop on the phone, sign the contract, buy the product, or what have you, so that definitely, what you just said, aligns with that day at a point. Wouldn't you say? Jennifer Hudye: Absolutely. Yeah. Building their relationship is one of the most powerful ways to create that trust in showing people in advance that we can help them. Brian Webb: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Well, again, this is absolutely a masterclass in writing good copy, great copy that actually brings people to make decision. So thank you so much for being here today. I understand you have a special gift for our audience. Tell us about it. Jennifer Hudye: Yes. Those of you who you're listening to this and you're like, okay, this is really helpful I know what to do, but now how do I do it? One of the first steps is knowing how to capture attention. And so we do have free gift for you, and it is what I call the "high level client headlines." So it's 15 different templates of how to grab your reader's attention without coming across as clickbait or pushy. And so it shares exactly what the template is, an example, and then how you can pour who your ideal client is, your offer your message into it. And you can use this for subject lines, headlines on your sales pages, social media, et cetera. And so if you want to grab a copy of that for free, just go to H-L-C headlines.com, which stands for high level client headlines. So H-L-C headlines.com, and you can grab your free copy of that cheat sheet. Brian Webb: Awesome. I'm going to go get that myself, as a matter of fact. So again, thank you for being here. I know there's so much more you could have said, but it would be fun to have you on again in the future. But thanks so much for being here today, Jennifer. Jennifer Hudye: Thanks for having me, Brian. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________ CONNECT WITH JENNIFER HUDYE Facebook | Instagram | Website | Email __________________________________
Jesse Eker is on a mission is to help over 1,000 online coaches, course creators, authors, and experts create 7-figure brands online using his unique breakthrough method. His specialties include Informational Marketing, Marketing, Conversion, Lead Generation, Content Creation, & Trend Spotting. Today he is going to teach us how to scale your sales in 2021 using highly profitable virtual events. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Guests: Jesse Eker Episode 41: Scale Your Sales In 2021 Using Highly Profitable Virtual Events __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Stitcher ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital Harv Eker Online Build Your Brand Online ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Jesse Eker, welcome to the podcast, man. Jesse Eker: Thanks for having me. I am so excited to be here and share as much value with your audience as possible. I appreciate you. Brian Webb: Yeah, I have no doubt that you're going to drop tons of value bombs today. I've already told the audience about a book of your father's that I read, The Millionaire Mind, moons and moons and moons ago, and I would have to imagine, growing up in that household, that that's shaped you into who you are today. I'd love to hear you share about how that's happened and how it's affected your growth as an entrepreneur and as a leader. Jesse Eker: Yeah. So when it comes down to it, not many people, I would say, are in the position I was, with a, let's just put like a guru type of dad, right? Brian Webb: Yeah. Jesse Eker: And that's what most people think as far as, oh, you grew up with this guru dad, but most people don't know the full story as far as when my dad started to actually do extremely well, I was already 14 years old. So the first 14 years, it was very, very normal, very middle class. We had things, but nothing was extraordinary, nothing was out of the box, and we did okay, but nothing extreme. Then when we ended up moving to Vancouver, that's when he wrote his book, that's when he came out with his new brand, that's when he launched Peak Potentials. And that's when our life really started to change. And it wasn't as much of growing up with T. Harv Eker. It was more of the witness of objectively looking at through the lens of before and after and seeing wow, what a difference life can be when you start to excel in your business and excel with money. And we come from this family of immigrants, so nothing's ever given, everything's always earned. But when it came down to it, it was like vacations started getting better. The house was nicer. We were just able to have more choices. And so when I was able to see that and witness him working through that and building this, it started to ingrain new programming in me of what I really wanted my life to look like, as well. And so that's where I think I learned the most from. It was more of the modeling and viewing versus the actual teaching. Now, when it comes back to growing up with him, and obviously everything in my life was a life lesson because he's very personal development, very personal growth, [crosstalk 00:02:54]. Everything is a life lesson. Brian Webb: Of course. Jesse Eker: And everything had those meanings to it. And I definitely felt like I was definitely a more conscious and enlightened kid than my peers. At the same time, though, it was more of what I saw, what I heard, and what I experienced than anything that he actually personally taught me. And I think that was his gift to me, was not like, hey, this is my way of how we do things. It was more of like, let me show you and be the model for you so that you know what you would like to do and not want to do growing up and starting your family and starting your business eventually when you get going. Brian Webb: Let me ask you this. How did you get started online, and what inspired you to start a new brand and Build Your Own Brand Online? What started that? Jesse Eker: Yeah, so it's a big gap between the two. So when I was first getting started, I was in the real estate space and I was actually finishing school through the crash. And I was actually living in Arizona at the time, and that's one of the places that got hit the hardest in the United States. Everything was down 60%, and there was a huge opportunity. And so I was interning in college and that was my first career, was fixing and flipping homes. And it just wasn't in alignment with what I really wanted to do for my full career. And so when I talked to my dad about it, because he's always been my mentor, I told him about the things that I liked and things that I didn't like. And he was launching at this time the Ultimate Internet Bootcamp. And it was about blogging and affiliate marketing, with Alex Mandossian. And what ended up happening is like, why don't you just check it out because I've heard so many of these amazing things, and also the lifestyle that you could potentially create is work from anywhere, which is the opposite of what he was able to do. He had to be in places to work. Brian Webb: That's interesting. Jesse Eker: And so he thought that would be really cool. That would be really cool for you. So I checked it out, and I love the laptop lifestyle. And so I went and pursued it. I learned it. And after a couple failed attempts of trying to make some business opportunities work and affiliate marketing work, I started to understand how the whole system of online marketing and direct response marketing really works online. And that's when I understood the infopreneur lifestyle and business of selling information online. The problem was I was this college kid that had no skills, no experience, no nothing, and I didn't know what the heck to sell online. And the people that I was trying to promote, like the affiliates, I didn't really like. But I did know this one person, and his name was Dad to me, but for most people, it was Harv. And he had no online presence. He only had live events. But at this time, it was a crossroads for him because he'd just finished selling his company, but not his IP, his intellectual property. And so what I did is I presented the opportunity to repurpose his live in-person events online so that we can reach a broader demographic in more locations, to people who would never go on. And so for a decade, I ran Harv Eker Online and grew that into a multiple seven figure brand by really repurposing his information in the live setting for the online products. And that really gave me the experience of really helping experts and coaches understand what the online space is all about. And that's where my new brand came in, where I was like, man, I'm really good at taking brands, I'm really good at taking experts, I'm really good at taking people who are pros at what they do and teaching them how to productize and how to put a package together online so that they can grow an online presence and they can do what they do best and let me help them with their marketing and sales. So that's where this new brand came in, called Build Your Brand Online, which really is helping really experts and online entrepreneurs build brands online. And we use a very specific methodology, but the whole way that we position this is helping you do more of what you're good at and using a mechanism that you're going to succeed in to really have success online. Brian Webb: So I'm going to skip a couple of other questions that I had because I really, we're always on a limited amount of time, and I want to jump into the meat of what you're here to talk about today. So I know that you help people use virtual event to grow their revenue, grow their business. Why do virtual events in your mind, or in your eyes, work so well, and why are you so passionate about them? Jesse Eker: Yeah. And when it comes down to it, it's not only virtual events, it's the event model. And so this event model has been in my blood for my whole life. My dad, T. Harv Eker, came from the event model. When I say the event model, these are in-person seminars. And so most people, and I'm sure most of your audience, has been to a seminar before in person. And this model's been around forever. And the reason why it works so well is because you go to this seminar, you fly there or whatever, you have the intent of spending your time there. You go and you sign up for this topic that you're super interested in learning, and you sit there and you learn from this one person. And there's this speaker there, or this trainer there, and they teach you. And if they do it right, they build this automatic authority with you. They build this know, like, and trust with you. They build this credibility with you as far as I can help you. And they give you some sort of result where you have kind of this identity shift or transformation of wow, before this event, I was this person, after this event, I feel very different than I was before. And then usually they make an offer of how we can continue working together. And the natural ascension for a lot of people is, hey, the event was great. I'm going to go by myself, which is fine. Or there's going to be a big group of people that say, I want to keep working with this person because they're taking care of me. And so that's the event model. And so what we have done is we really have just taken the event model and put it online because of the circumstances that in-person events aren't really working right now. And a lot of people are kind of nervous to go to them, and they'd actually prefer to do it from their house. And so we kind of molded the two together because in my life, one of the things that I noticed with my dad was he was traveling 250 days of the year. And I have two kids now. One is 26 months and the other is eight months. So two youngins. Brian Webb: Congratulations. Jesse Eker: Thank you. And so for me, it was like, I don't want to miss those steps. My daughter is like getting close to rolling, I mean, to crawling, and doing all that fun stuff. I don't want to miss it. And so the best part about what we do is I do it from my office. I literally can walk out my door and be with my family and kids and I don't have to travel. So it's like the best of both worlds. So I get this amazing model in my hands. I can do it from home. I can kind of have it all. And it's really effective as far as a lead generator, an audience builder, a sales mechanism, and also a mechanism that you can use to actually grow your business without changing much at all. So the process works the same with five people to 10,000 people. There's really no difference at all. So yeah, that's why we're so passionate about it, is because when we come to people like yourself or come to your other experts in your audience like we were just talking about before, they're really good at what they do. They're not the marketers, they're not the salespeople. They're great at solving problems, fulfilling on their promise, being the instructor, but also coaching and stuff like that. And so the event model, especially online, puts them into position to succeed because they just need to do what they do best. And they don't have to worry about the marketing. They don't have to worry about the sales. They just worry about doing what they do best, which is what does all of the persuasion and influence and authority building within the event itself. Brian Webb: And that makes sense. What if the people are like, when I say people, people in the audience, and they're like, this sounds great, but they're thinking, okay, they might know what they're doing. They might be great at coaching and consulting. But they might be thinking, what would I say for all this time? How do I come up with all of these words? What do you say to that? Jesse Eker: That's such a good question. And probably the most common, this is the most common thing, and I think when people think of an event, they get scared in two different ways. One is what the heck am I going to say? And two is like, oh my God, I have to talk in front of people. So I'll go to the latter first because it's a shorter answer. When we think about events, we think about in-person events and talking in front of people, it's kind of scary, right? You've got these lights on you or you're potentially in front of a bunch of people, you can see their reactions and stuff like that, which we can still do online, which is great. But the thing is like, when you're online, you're doing it from the comfort of your house. So there's this comfortable essence to it, of like your home, you're literally talking to a computer. Brian Webb: Sure, like you and I are right now. Jesse Eker: Yeah. It's like, you might get nervous for a second, but it goes away really quickly once you get into the zone. The second part of that is when you know what you're talking about, the confidence is always much higher than when you don't know what you're talking about. Brian Webb: For sure. Jesse Eker: When we are designing events with people, the main thing that we talk about is, you know, you help someone get some sort of outcome, some sort of result, some sort of transformation. That is the promise you give someone. So in exchange for what they're paying you, you're delivering them some sort of result or outcome. And so what we teach people is instead of trying to give them the whole outcome right away, what we're trying to do is just give them some sort of result in advance, meaning like a head start towards getting that outcome, meaning that, let's just say, for example, you help clients make $10,000 per month, and that's the outcome you do. And so the starting point for them would be like, well, let me help you see how to get your first client. And so that's kind of like point A to point B, is getting your first client. Now that you know how to get your first client, let me help you get to $10,000 a month, because there's going to be different processes and systems that you're going to need in place to get to $10,000 a month versus just one client. And so our goal is really in the event to come up with one tangible mini outcome for them to do. And that's what you're going to say and teach, because that's what you know what to do, right? You're literally just coming up with the path of how someone would get that outcome, and getting them from point A to point B. And that's what you would talk about. And it can be 90 minutes, it can be three hours, it could be eight hours, whatever you decide it takes for you to get them that outcome. It really gives them this, again, sample of whoa, this is what it's like to get momentum. This is what it's like to get a result with you, which they never got results with other people, and you're doing it for free. So that's kind of how we design it and how people really get to understand what they are going to say, because they know it, right? It's not like they're doing anything that they don't know. Brian Webb: So Jesse, let's shoot the elephant in the room and let's be the listener for a half a second. And they're thinking, man, this sounds fantastic. I can get the vision of what you're talking about, but they're thinking, I'm not T. Harv Eker or Tony Robbins. I don't have an audience. How can they get people to get to that event? Jesse Eker: That's a great question. And I know that a lot of our clients have a similar thought process around this. Now, most people, when they look at these great people like Tony Robbins, my dad, T. Harv Eker, or maybe Brian Tracy, they look at the lag effect, the lag result of them doing this for 30 years. But that doesn't mean that they started that way. Brian Webb: Precisely. Jesse Eker: Everyone one started at point A. And so I was actually on a clubhouse with Brian Tracy, and we were talking about his event, and his first event only had 17 people there, and he kept doing it and he kept doing it. By the end of the year, he had a hundred people there. 55 years later, he is one of the most well known people in the world, but that's after times and times and times of doing that. So instead of thinking, oh, I need a bunch of people there, it's, oh, let me dial in a process that will build over time. And so that's what we've indoctrinated our students in. And we get, you know, some students just get nine people there, but they still collect 25, $30,000 in cash because they know the process of how to do it. So it's not about having a big group of people. It's about having the right group of people. And there's a stat, and I can't remember where exactly I heard the stat, but there is a stat out there that you are already connected to enough people to be making $100,000 a year in whatever you want to do. Brian Webb: Absolutely. Jesse Eker: What that means is you are already connected, whether that's social media, or your phone book, or your Rolodex, or whatever, your contact book, whatever you want to do, they are either your ideal client or they know your ideal client. And that's usually how we start. If we're like, hey, the goal is for you to get 10 people, that's it. Then you go through your contacts, your network, and you find those 10 people, or try to pass a message on for 10 people. And that's where you start. Like, I don't want my mom to come to my event, but at the same time, my mom knows a lot of different people. And I could say, "Hey, Ma, you could be my advocate. So talk to five or 10 of your friends who you think would be good at this, spread the message, and see if they want to come." And guess what? We'll probably get a couple people from that way. Endorsed traffic. So that's how we start to structure this in a really simplified way before we think about big audience, before we think about any advertising, before we think about anything that's big time. We don't need that. We need to dial the process first, get a couple people there, which you're already connected to, and then work it. And then you build over time. Brian Webb: Yeah. So many people think that you have to have a huge audience. I think it was Seth Godin. I've read tons of his books, too. But he once said that you only need a thousand. Was it him or Malcolm Gladwell? One of the two of them. But they said that you only need a thousand true fans to have all the success. And of course they don't mean Facebook followers. They mean truly devoted fans. Just a thousand is all it takes to be enormously successful in life. So let me ask you this. So people are listening and they're thinking, I want to do this. You've been doing this. You've got the experience. What are two or three key elements that they want to make sure that they have before they go to run their first event? Jesse Eker: Yeah. So the biggest one when it comes down to is they need to have an offer. And the offer is what are you going to offer someone to ascend with you, to go to the next level with you? And the reason why this is the most important thing before you put on an event is because when it comes down to it, we need to have congruency from start to finish. One of the biggest mistakes that you'll see newbie people making, whether it's in business or with the events, is incongruency within their marketing and sales. And you know this very well, right? Brian Webb: Yep. Jesse Eker: And so when you're incongruent with your marketing and sales, you lose a lot of the potential prospects because what they're seeing is different from what they're getting. And so we need to make sure it's congruent. So we always start from, we reverse engineer it, start from the back front. So if you know what you're offering, whether that is a program, whether that is a product, whether that is a service, whatever you're offering them, that's what we start with. And we look at that offer and we say, "Hey, what's the outcome, the result, or the transformation of that?" And then we say, "Okay, great. That's what it is. What are the steps people are going to need to do to get there?" And then we start from the very beginning. So we need the offer because that dictates the whole event. So number one is we definitely need an offer, and it can't just be any offer. It's got to be a really no brainer offer for people to say yes to. We want them to, basically the stress test we say is I've got to feel in my bones silly saying no to this offer, if you're the right person, right? Brian Webb: Absolutely. Yeah. Jesse Eker: So we definitely, like number one, make or break, is your offer. This does 80% of your heavy lifting for the whole event. And then number two make or break is not the amount of people, but the right people there. And the way that you get the right people, and I'll use this analogy because I really like it and I think it really hits home for most people, is we all know these topic based conferences that people go to in different cities. There'll be stuff in Vegas, there's all these different conferences that people have. And maybe it's like a health conference. And in the hallways of these conferences, there's always these sponsorship booths that people have. And it's really interesting to watch, that there's always going to be this one booth with so many people lined up, everyone's around it. And there's this other booth that is absolutely ignored. Someone's like, their feet are kicked up. No one's going by it. Everyone's walking by, ignoring this thing. Right? Brian Webb: Yeah. Jesse Eker: You can picture it and you know it, because it's so common. And so we look at this and we say, okay, if you're in the right place, which is the health conference, you're like a health practitioner, you know you're in the right place with your booth, but why is one getting all the traffic and why is the other one getting no traffic? And the answer is because one has the right message and one has the wrong message. And so that is the difference between getting the right people and the wrong people, is you can be in the right place, but if you don't have the right message, your messaging, then you're either going to get ignored or you're going to have the wrong people for your event. So the next make or break is making sure you're in front of the right people. But also, this is more important, is having the right message to go in front of the right people. And that's how you're going to get the right people to attend your event. And that's why you don't need tons of people to make this happen and make it work. Brian Webb: Yeah. You know, Jesse, I've been looking forward to this interview for quite some time and you really have shown up like a rock star. My last question is for those people that may be hearing this soon or a year from now, and they're like, I want to connect with what you're doing, learn more about it, where's the best place for our audience to learn more about your services, connect with you online? Where's the best place for them to reach you and get in touch with you guys? Jesse Eker: Yeah. One of the things is we created this guide that kind of goes over the four pillars for our events, and that's design it, fill it, monetize it, and run it. And it's a really extensive guide. I'd love to offer that, because that's going to be like a great whitepaper introduction for people. It's buildyourbrandonline.com/guide. Brian Webb: Guide. Jesse Eker: So it's buildyourbrandonline.com/guide. That's going to give you free access to the guide. Of course, you've got to put your name and email because we've got to send it somewhere. So just want to be forefront on that. The other thing is if you're on social media, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Facebook. You're free to connect with me. I answer and reply to messages all the time. I really treat people like people, not just like numbers. So feel free to connect with me on any of the social media platforms. And you'll see that every about four to six weeks we start promoting our events, and I'll be going live in there and giving [inaudible 00:24:07] value and doing all that fun stuff. So those are the two hotspots I would say to come check us out, and you'll get invited to our events that we do on a monthly basis. And you'll love them, and you'll see if it resonates with you. Brian Webb: Well, man, thanks for being here. Thanks for inspiring our audience and dropping some value bombs. It was a pleasure having you, and I hope we get to have you back again someday. Jesse Eker: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to hear the replay of this, and I'm excited for your audience to listen, as well. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________ CONNECT WITH JESSE EKER Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram | Build Your Brand Online __________________________________
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon is a functional medicine physician specializing in the concept of muscle-centric medicine, which focuses on the skeletal muscle, as the key to health and longevity. Dr. Lyon works closely with the Special Operations Military & has a private practice in NYC. In addition, her practice services the leaders, innovators, & executives in their prospective field. On the show, Dr. Lyon is going to discuss three healthy steps every entrepreneur should take to function at their highest capacity. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Guests: Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Episode 40: Three Healthy Steps Every Entrepreneur Should Take To Function To Their Highest Capacity __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Stitcher ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital Website - Dr. Gabrielle Lyon ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. It's awesome to have you on the show today. How are you doing? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: I'm doing great. Thanks for having me. Brian Webb: Yeah, it's going to be a fun conversation. I know that you're here to talk about three things that an entrepreneur or a business leader can do to function in their highest capacity. Before we jump into that, why don't you talk real quickly about some of the impediments that you see with all the business leaders that you work with that does impede or prevent us from functioning in the highest possible capacity? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Absolutely. And I have to say that entrepreneurs are near and dear to my heart and make up a large portion of my practice. And one of the things that I see over and over again is business, family, everything else comes first before their health, Brian Webb: Yeah, boy, that's true. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: And that doesn't necessarily mean working out. It means staying on top of testing, supplementation, lifestyle behaviors are really, a really secondary. Brian Webb: I've seen that in my own life. So I can relate to everything that you just said. So, okay, we're going to talk about the three things that we can do to function better, maybe even at optimal capacity. What's the first thing that we can do? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: First thing is understanding that you are predictable. Human nature is incredibly predictable. What does that mean? What does that mean specifically for an entrepreneur? Entrepreneurship has battle rhythms and whether it's a launch, whether it's a new business that you're starting, whether it's an incredible collaboration, there is a predictability in the way that you're going to push and a predictability in your vices. Brian Webb: Break that down a little bit. Yeah, go ahead, I want to hear more about that. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Yeah. That means that some people stress eat or they go to alcohol. Maybe drugs, maybe more stimulants to keep up with the ever present schedule of really long hours. What is so fascinating about this and I've been in, I've been seeing patients for 15 years. And what I will tell you is that it's very predictable that we repeat patterns. For example, you probably have a very specific pattern that may be more subconscious in terms of what you are going to do and how you are going to manage stress, that is not just internal. A lot of the women that I have, they might walk by, they might be eating late at night or having an extra meal or another glass of wine and this predictable nature of the habits that happen. We all know exactly what they are and then we're all shocked that we do it again. Brian Webb: It's true, yeah it's true. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Brian, it's we're surprised. Oh my gosh, I can't believe that I had five glasses of wine or I decided to smoke marijuana or I decided to do whatever because I'm stressed. You know you've got a big event coming up. You know following that event, you may go for something that is going to have a derailing effect of your health. And you tell yourself that you're not going to do it this next time or that you're just going to stop after this one launch or you're going to stop after this next project and you don't because human nature becomes very good at what it repeatedly does. The first thing an individual has to understand is you have to identify your predictable nature. Brian Webb: So once we've identified that, what do we do with that information once we have identified it? In other words, how do we take that and use that to optimize basically? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Well, let me ask you this. Do you have one that comes to mind? Brian Webb: Yes, I love to have a drink in the evening to wind down. That would be a vulnerable confession here on the podcast today. Yeah. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: And the question is, is it one drink? Brian Webb: Two, I would say on average. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: And when you have a launch or a stressful event or something that is very stimulatory, whether it's a talk or a summit or whatever it is, do you find that you do more? Brian Webb: No, no. When you said that, when you talked about being predictable, I resonated with that right away because I'm extraordinarily pattern oriented. Maybe even more than the typical person. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Okay. Is that something you'd like to stop or reduce or cut back? Brian Webb: Yeah, I think I would actually. Yeah. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Okay, then and I agree with you. I think that alcohol over a period of time, even if it's not a tremendous amount actually affects brain function. My fellowship was in nutritional sciences and cognition, part of memory and aging. And I will tell you that when an individual reduces alcohol, it does help brain function over the long-term. So let's think about something action oriented. Now we can predict this is going to happen. And even if you tell yourself you're not going to do it, you probably will follow through on that. Brian Webb: That's probably true. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: However, I think the better strategy would be practicing what you could do instead in your mind, prior to the moment where you would reach for a drink or a cookie or something else, what would that be? Brian Webb: That's a good question. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Because you're going to want to wind down. So it's going to be something, we can't just take it out and assume that there's nothing to replace it. We have to implement something else for a wind down that arguably should be something that would augment your health rather than take away. Brian Webb: Yeah. So what would be a good example of that in your mind, in your experience? I should say, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: A great example is going out for a walk, reading, meditating, red light, doing, I know this might sound crazy doing some kind, I mean, it's in the evening but doing some kind of activity or just knowing that it's going to happen and then perhaps writing or doing something or having a game plan of maybe some literature you're going to review or a task that you're going to complete that's fun. But you have to plan for it. And this is one of the major things that takes entrepreneurs down because at the end of the day, the health of an individual determines everything about the trajectory of the business. And from what I've seen- Brian Webb: And their output. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Yeah. Well, it's interesting because entrepreneurs are really a hard charging group. Their level, their capacity for suffering is incredibly high. When an individual's capacity for suffering is incredibly high, then there's not necessarily an awareness of the fact that they could feel better or that they're limited. But what I've found is I've seen individuals that are really putting in a ton of hours and pushing really hard, which I would say that happens either early on in entrepreneurship or it becomes an addiction. That's stimulatory pushes becomes an addiction. The inevitable burnout that happens again is also predictable. You know that if you're going to go, there's that battle rhythm, you know that you're going to push and there is going to be a, just an exhaustion. So many entrepreneurs are just exhausted. A better way to approach this is to understand that the battle rhythms happen and then really being disciplined about that predictable nature and putting in very specific boundaries and those individuals, those individuals are the ones that truly Excel because the business is ultimately limited, the vision of the business, the capacity of the business is limited by the entrepreneur. For example, even if the entrepreneur has a CEO or a COO, when that entrepreneur, when that visionary feels their absolute best, they are so much more creative. Even if they have a six, seven figure business, eight figure business. Brian Webb: John Maxwell calls that the law of the lid, basically no organization can rise any higher than that of its leader or its leadership. So, that makes sense. So number one, optimization. Number one is to identify patterns that are either not healthy or could be healthier then look for opportunities to replace those behavior patterns with something that, as you said, augments the quality of your life, what would be number two? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Number two is nutrition. Brian Webb: Nutrition. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Number two is really nailing your nutritional strategy. And you know what I really should say? Is I should say lifestyle interventions, meaning nutrition and exercise that has to happen and and really taking good care of an individual. Typically the long hours lead to elevated cortisol or gut dysfunction, going for carbohydrates, going for sugar. I just need the energy, I just need it for my brain. And then they're on the hamster wheel of ebbs and flows of blood sugar, where they feel great in the morning. They're up, they're feeling great after lunch, they're totally tanked. They need to take a nap under their desk or they're going for another cup of caffeine or some kind of stimulant to get the job done. And when you nail your nutrition and what does it mean to nail your nutrition? It means to really think about being protein forward. And obviously this is more of an entrepreneurial podcast. We don't need to go into the science of it, unless of course you want me to but high quality protein as your first thing that you put into your mouth, will help balance blood sugar and also help maintain skeletal muscle and improve body composition. One thing that entrepreneurs always want, is they want to have good brain function. Brian Webb: Of course. Yeah. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: And we know the data is clear that the more over fat an individual is, the wider their waistline, the lower the brain volume. Keeping body composition in check allows... Alzheimer's is type three diabetes of the brain, cognitive impairment, feeling brain fog, brain fatigue in part is metabolic in nature. And you can address that by really focusing on tight nutrition. And this does not mean smoothies. This does not mean some of the hype that you see. It means, have a burger or have a steak or some fish, something with protein in it. Brian Webb: I'm saying Dr Gabrielle Lyon says no more pasta, right? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: I mean, sure have pasta, if you want to be... If you want to provide subpar performance, then having pasta would be a great choice for lunch. Brian Webb: Yes absolutely. Okay. So one, identify patterns, figure out ways to improve those patterns, nutrition, protein forward. Exercise of course I know is always great. What's the third thing that we can do to optimize our performance? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Well before I move on to the exercise. I just want to mention the protein, the way in which you plan your meals, if you are too busy, hire a chef. If you do not plan ahead, you'll fail yourself. This goes back to this intertwines with the predictable nature of, if you don't have your meals planned, you're going to, you'll fail. You'll eat off the cuff. You'll never reach that really high state of health to bring that vision forward and then exercise. People, the one thing I hear from entrepreneurs is they don't have time. "Oh, Gabrielle, I just don't have time to exercise." If you are effective and efficient at doing a pretty intense, if you can get your mind into it, you can do a very intense training session. No problem. And you will actually get incredible benefits. That's high intensity interval training. If you do heavy lifting or at least lifting to failure but making that resistance training and or a high intensity interval training, non-negotiable, you will feel so much better. And this is kind of obvious to people but instead they will choose to do what they've always done, whether it's on the treadmill or aerobics or whatever it is that is not going to suffice for the long haul. Brian Webb: I went to a seminar once and ironically, it was a Franklin day planner seminar. It was about 25 years ago. And interestingly enough, it was an eight hour seminar. One of the best I've been to in my life, by the way, which again, sounds crazy. But the lecturer, the guy that was talking that day said, "Brian, if I ask you tomorrow." He's speaking to me in front of a room of let's just call it a hundred people or so he says, "If I ask you to start waking up every single day at 2:30 in the morning, would you do it?" And I said, "No, I wouldn't." He says, "What if I told you, I would give you $50 if you did it?" I said, "Nope, I still wouldn't do it." He said, "What if I told you I was going to be standing over your bed with a .357 Magnum revolver and if you don't wake up, I'm going to shoot you right in the head?" And the point that he was making is if our why is powerful enough, we will find the time, we'll do what we're supposed to do. And that's what you're talking about. You're and when we understand that when we do the right things, that the why being able to perform better, being able to serve better, to extend our lives, to improve the quality of our lives, we'll find the time. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Absolutely. Yeah. You just make it a non-negotiable. Brian Webb: Yeah. Okay. Number three. What's the third thing that we can do? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Yeah, number three is interesting. And I actually think that people don't... I think people are actually becoming more aware of this now and this ultimately becomes the environment. What do I mean by environment? Brian Webb: Environment, okay. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Our space is very tech oriented now. People are in front of their computer, people are sitting next to their modems, people are inside. An entrepreneur's life, depending on what they're doing. It is very, like I said, tech heavy, this definitely impacts the wellness of an individual. We are not designed to do that. Brian Webb: How so? Just talking about just consumption of information or just always being distracted, is that what you're referring to? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Actually the screen lighting, the fluorescent lighting, the EMF, the high electronic load. I think that the science is still new to all this but I will tell you individuals that work outside, get outside early on, use a light box at their desk and that's a blue light box. It really helps their energy and their focus also taking screen breaks. Making sure that you're blinking appropriately, making sure that if you can even sit outside and work, like I'd mentioned earlier, is better because we take away that nature aspect and quite frankly, humans aren't designed to sit and work at a desk. Yes a standing desk is great but think about it. Think about you're in a studio right now. You have a studio that has a ton of electronics. Brian Webb: Oh my goodness, yeah, huge. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: That you might feel more fatigued after being there and it might be subtle and you might feel better when you're not recording and you're not with multiple computers and multiple screens. I do believe that there's an effect on the human body. And while the science is still early, it should be brought to the forefront as it relates to something that you're thinking about. So if it's possible to add in those bright lights, there's blue light, there's red light. You can use a red light in the evening. You can move the modem outside of the room. You can, if you're sitting there working and you don't need to be on the computer, you should have a kill switch. I think really understanding that the environment plays a role in the way in which you function. Let me give you an example, one of the causes. So I did a fellowship at Wash U in Saint Louis. And that was like I said, memory aging was one part of the fellowship. One of the risk factors for dementia was individuals sleeping with their phone next to their head or living near the power sources. And that's just, it's just interesting. And this, you have to understand Wash U isn't necessarily progressive. They just look at the science and by understanding that these things do have an effect on our brain and our health really figuring out ways to mitigate the exposure or at least, the Apple watch all these wearables on our body should definitely take a break. Should definitely take a break from the wearables and the electronic. Brian Webb: Let me ask you this question and I know you're not expecting this one. There are so many things. Now I'm a marketer. So that's what I do. I serve as a fractional chief marketing officer, basically as a consultant for all kinds of businesses, different brands. And there are times where I'm giving them advice about marketing, not their health, that's the last thing you want me to be doing. And, but I'll tell them, "Listen, you should be doing this." And I'll tell them but I admit it's hard and I'm not always consistent at doing the things that I know my business should be doing. You as a doctor, I would imagine, I don't really know hardly, most of the physicians that I know are both clients and friends, colleagues, they generally tend to be pretty disciplined but how good is Dr Gabrielle at executing all of the things and this is a vulnerable question but I think it's a fun one to ask, how good are you at doing the things that you know, you should be doing? Be it avoiding alcohol or planning your meals or getting away from electronics. Is it a struggle for you or do you feel like you've conquered those things? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: No not at all. Not at all. Brian Webb: Really? Okay. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: And I think that the best physicians are those that live in alignment with what they tell. I am not the kind of person that makes recommendations that I don't do. I don't actually drink, I'm up and outside the house before seven in the morning, we have a kill switch. The modem is in a fair day cage. I'd love to move it out to the other room but I have two very little children and my meals are planned. If we can't plan it, we have a chef come in and cook it. No, I'm incredibly, it's not even disciplined, it's a secondary way of life for me. Brian Webb: It's habit at this point. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: I've also been doing this for 17 years, so the whole education process and everything has been an entire lifetime. Brian Webb: So identifying patterns, making them better, making better choices, obviously making better nutrition choices, exercise, we all know that one's almost a staple. And you really said some things interesting about our environment. So when you say red and blue light, do you literally mean go to Home Depot and get a bulb that is red or blue or are these a specialty product that have a specific color temperature when you say red and blue and things like that? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Great question, you can do either or. Brian Webb: Really, okay. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: You can go to Home Depot, Home Depot has some of it. Our lights are again, I use a blue light in the house and then we have amber lights in the evening. Red light is a component of photo. Biomodulation, that's really good for recovery and mitochondria. Sometimes I use that at my desk. If I'm not recording or I'm not on video, these, you can get them, they have different wavelengths, you can get them online. There's a, I think it's called, yeah there's a couple companies but the smaller companies seem to be better. I think it's called EMK is one. I can send you another one that I've been looking into. Brian Webb: Yeah, if you do send that link, I'll put it in the show notes, okay. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: And then VeraLux is a great one. Yeah, they're great. Brian Webb: Now when you say these colored bulbs, are we talking like GE smart bulbs? Are you talking about do you put it into a lamp or do you just have it in a fixture that is only for health purposes? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: You can do either. So you could actually buy a certain type of bulb and it fits everywhere. Brian Webb: Okay, wow. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Yeah. They're spectrum lights. Yeah. There are all different kinds. Very easy, these are very easy things to do and understanding in the evening you shouldn't have full lights on. Understanding that if you want to get good, deep sleep, really being aware of your environment, we don't... Well, the one thing is Aires, my daughter is really into turning on the lights these days but typically we don't have big overhead lights on when the sun goes down. Brian Webb: Interesting. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: We really try to keep the environment non stimulatory in the evening and we try to go with the rhythms of what's happening outside. Brian Webb: Wow. Well thank you for sharing and dropping so many value bombs today. For those in our audience, who just want to be more connected with you, learn more about you and what you do. Where's the best place for them to find you? Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: The best place. If you want to work with me, I have an application process or if there is certainly referrals, we don't advertise. They can find the application on my website, drgabriellelyon.com. And you can fill that out. Also you can message Peter at drgabriellelyon.com. I'm pretty active on Instagram. And I have a YouTube channel where I do a lot of education and a newsletter that has curated material. Brian Webb: Okay. Fantastic. And audience, just to be clear, when you say Dr Gabrielle Lyon, that's D-R gabriellelyon.com. Yeah. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Yep, that's right. Brian Webb: Well, thanks for being here today. Promise me you'll come back and be on the podcast again sometime in the future. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: I promise. Brian Webb: It was great to have you. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Thanks for having me. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________ CONNECT WITH DR. GABRIELLE LYON Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram | Website Email: info@drgabriellelyon.com __________________________________
Our guests, Dr. Gregory Howard & Daniel Orrego have spent years researching health & wellness. Dr. Howard is a pharmacist with a degree from the University of Texas & is an Associate Professor at McGovern Medical School. Daniel Orrego spent 10 years researching the intersection of metabolism & disease, with an emphasis on how functional nutrition can be used to mediate disease progression. Today, they will be discussing the health of your employees & how it could be costing your business too much money. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Guests: Dr. Gregory Howard & Daniel Orrego Episode 39: Is The Health Of Your Employee Team Costing Your Business Too Much Money? __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Stitcher ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital Hippocrates Research Foundation September Book Promo Building A Storybrand - Donald Miller The 10X Rule - Grant Cardone Dare To Lead - Brene Brown The Common Path To Uncommon Success - John Lee Dumas Never Lose A Customer Again - Joey Coleman Atomic Habits - James Clear Never Split The Difference Again - Chris Voss Leadershift - John Maxwell Expert Secrets - Russell Brunson Beyond A Million - Jim Dew ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Dr. Greg and Daniel, it's so great to have you guys on the show today. How are you guys doing today? Daniel Orrego: Good morning. Doing well. Dr. Gregory Howard: Indeed. Great to be here, man. Brian Webb: Today I know we're going to talk about health. So I told the audience earlier, Daniel, that we all know that our health is our number one asset, but I know that you agree with that. But tell our audience or expound upon just how big of a deal that is, that our health is our number one asset. Daniel Orrego: Sure. In fact, this is a great way, a great question for reflecting on just what is business about, right? And at the end of the day, business is about people. It doesn't matter if you're in the computer chips business. It doesn't matter if you're in the brownie and cookie business. At the end of the day, what you do, how you do it is ultimately about people, the people that you work with, and the customers that you interact with. Health is such an intrinsic and essential component for ensuring that the work that you do is not only sustainable but it can be done at optimal levels of performance. And the degree to which our mental, emotional and physical health suffers is reflected in the health of our enterprise. That's a point of departure for exploring this question, which is frankly is pretty deep once you get into it. Brian Webb: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That totally makes sense. Dr. Howard or Daniel, either one of you, what would you say is the most innovative way to improve the health for the employees of an organization of the people that might be hearing this? Entrepreneurs, business leaders, what's the most innovative way for people to improve their health? Dr. Gregory Howard: In the last year, we started using continuous glucose monitors. We've known about continuous glucose monitors. A continuous glucose monitor is a wearable device that we've maybe seen on TV that diabetics wear. In the past, they've been very expensive and weren't available to a lot of people. They are a prescription product, but now that's down to about $75 a month to use one of these devices. You put it on the back of the arm. It's a wearable device. You put it on the back of the arm and it will give instant feedback to the person, the employee, whoever it is, they can see the effect of what they eat and we've even simplified it. We just give them a goal to keep their blood glucose under about a hundred, 110 continuously, even after they eat. Most people, when they eat, will spike a blood sugar to about 150 or even greater if they're eating sweets and dessert. Dr. Gregory Howard: But we found that with a little bit of coaching, they can eat whatever they want or like to eat, but the goal is to eat a quantity of that. Obviously, if it's something with carbohydrates in it, they're not going to be able to eat much of it. But when they eat good, they can eat really as much as they want to satiate themselves and have a lot of energy. And then their blood glucose remains very flat and stable. And over a period of time, they become fat-burners as opposed to carb burners. What that means is some people that they rely on their energy stores for carbohydrates, as soon as their blood sugar falls a little bit low, they're hungry and they want to eat again. People that are fat burners, they rely on their own body fat as an energy supply, which is very constant. And so they're never hungry and they feel energetic throughout the day and don't have any crashes in their energy. Brian Webb: That's really good to know. I would imagine there's going to be a lot of people in the audience that's going to find that really insightful. I know that the more awareness that we have, the more we can modify our behaviors. Let me ask you this. Entrepreneurs, business leaders have employees. They're dealing with burnout. They're dealing with fatigue. How much of that is being impacted specifically by their health? Daniel Orrego: That's a good question. It's 100% on their health and it's something that a good doctor, they can actually measure what burnout and fatigue is with laboratory tests. Typically, if you want to know if someone is really fatigued, you can measure something called VO2 max testing. You may have seen that on TV, where athletes are wearing a mask and they're walking on a treadmill. That will measure two things, how much in shape they are or not in shape, and will also tell if they're burning fat or carbohydrates. And burning fat is much more efficient than burning carbohydrates. So if there's fatigue, they can go to a health and wellness doctor and they could have that test done. And so they can see if they're a fat burner or a carb burner. Then the other things, there's laboratory tests that go along with burnout and fatigue. Daniel Orrego: Usually burnout, the person's been under stress too long. And so when you're under stress, you release a lot of cortisol and cortisol can be measured in the blood or more specifically and accurately with a saliva test. Your cortisol should be high in the morning and then slowly decrease throughout the day. And people that are under too much stress, their cortisol builds up and it's really, really high in the evening and that's why a lot of people they want to eat excessively in the evening. The cortisol makes people want to eat. Daniel Orrego: Then when you're really, really burnt out, your cortisol, your body just quits producing cortisol, and then you can measure with a saliva test and your cortisol levels are flat throughout the day. And so naturally they should be high in the morning and decrease throughout the day to a low in the evening. As you progress into burnout, you'll flip that and it's low in the morning and increases throughout the day. And at the end, when you're really at the end of burnout and when you're looking to go to the doctor and you know there's really something wrong, then you're just not producing cortisol in an adequate amount throughout the day. And a doctor should be able to evaluate all that and help you fix that. That can be with prescription and non-prescription medications and supplements. Brian Webb: Some companies, there are companies out there who will partially insure the health care expenditures for their employees. What are your thoughts on that? Dr. Gregory Howard: I think it's a good idea if everyone has skin in the game and everyone's goals are aligned. So the employer, he needs healthy, energetic employees, and he should be willing to put his own money into that. Conversely, the employee, they want to lower the cost of their healthcare and so they want it to be as healthy as possible. So I think that's a real healthy relationship to when the employers and employees both have skin in the game and they all want to work in the same direction. Brian Webb: That makes sense. That absolutely makes sense. Talk about why a business owner or leader might hire their own doctor, their own physician as a medical advocate for them in their team. Talk about that for a minute. Daniel Orrego: Most companies, especially if they self-insure, they don't even audit their claims. And so they need someone that would be able to look at claims and see if the claims are appropriate and sell for a nominal fee, which would be small in relation to how much they're spending on healthcare. A physician could quickly look at the claims and see number one, are the expenses too high for a certain test or certain procedure or facility fee? And then they could also see if the patients were getting the appropriate care and if they were getting recurring care. And so a physician could do that inexpensively. Daniel Orrego: The self-insured company, they could be spending millions and millions of dollars on their employees' healthcare, and then that money has gone. It's just poof. Every year there's... and you start again next year. It's billions of more dollars. For a hundred thousand dollars or less, you could have a medical doctor look over these expenditures and see what's really driving the cost for your healthcare for your employees. And also probably have pretty good idea of how to set up programs that no one else has thought of. Usually, the businesses are using third-party administrators, which are businessmen, selling insurance and products, which is all good, but the employees probably don't know how to use those services adequately and a physician could help direct the employees on how to use those services. Brian Webb: Interesting. Do you see more and more businesses moving in that direction? It seems like a wise path to go down, but do you see this happening more and more often? Dr. Gregory Howard: The bigger companies have been doing this for some time. They do hire their own doctors and they have them on full-time staff. They put clinics in there. If it's a big corporation and they have a central location for many employees, they do put doctors right there as like an urgent care. And if the employees are traveling abroad, they help them with the vaccination process. It's being done in bigger businesses, but I think that in the future, it would be wise if companies would hire medical advocates, which would probably be a doctor or a nurse. Even smaller companies, the expenditure could be $50,000, $100,000, and you have a physician to ask for a year or whatever period of time to ask your questions and get answers to your questions. So I think it'd be money well spent. Brian Webb: Yeah, it seems clear to me. Thank you for everything you've shared today. Here's my last question for today. I know the two of you obviously we get to be working on the launch of the Hippocrates Research Foundation. And I know that a lot of what you've spoken about today is what that foundation is about. Share with the world your vision of what's being launched right now and why they should care about it. Daniel Orrego: So a couple of things to know about the Hippocrates Research Foundation. Firstly, our aims philanthropically are really about playing a role in helping institutions manage the intersection of employee wellness and enterprise performance. Of course, the net payoff is at a very human level in so far that when somebody is healthy, whether they're the owner of the business, whether they're a stakeholder or a shareholder in the business, whether an employee in the business, their life is improved. That improvement has a very direct correlation to the bottom line of the business. So that's where we want to help educate, advocate and facilitate business owners being able to make that connection, obviously gain an economic efficiency when it comes to health expenditure, and ultimately improve the lives of their employees. Brian Webb: Talk about that for a second. Educate, advocate, facilitate. Share with our audience. What does that look like for them for the world? What does that mean? Dr. Gregory Howard: Maybe a great anecdote for this and for those in the audience who are fans of football, specifically American football- Brian Webb: I'm sure we have a few. Dr. Gregory Howard: One of the ways I like to frame this is to look at how football teams treat their players. And I'm talking about the entire staff of players, even those on the practice squad that might not see action on a Sunday. The level of investment in their health, it can't be too high. Why? Because if a player can't play, which is the worst-case scenario, or if a player can't play to their potential, that directly affects the economic wellbeing of that football team. And so you see the investment from the owner, from the head coach, from the special team's coach, from the team doctors, they are maximally attentive of every facet of that player's health. Dr. Gregory Howard: Now, one might say, "Well, hold on a second. I own a company that manufactures shoelaces. Why would I treat my employees like that?" Well, the answer is you would, because it doesn't really matter what level of performance you need from your employees. If you have employees on a manufacturing line, whether it's in a hard goods processing, consumables, food processing, or you're in a high-tech business. The degree to which a person who is working can perform maximally means that that business is gaining the most important efficiencies that they can, which is the highest performance available to them. Dr. Gregory Howard: That can't happen. That cannot happen unless that person has a high degree of mental, emotional, and physical equilibrium and health. So that's really the point of departure for what we're doing and we want to make that... we want to broaden that conversation obviously and make it more inclusive and ultimately demonstrate how these economics really shake out in favor of all stakeholders and shareholders. Brian Webb: That's phenomenal. But let's still break that down a little bit more. Let's just talk about the education component. Tell me what Hippocrates, the research foundation, is going to be doing in the way of education. Daniel Orrego: Yeah. Dr. Howard touched on some of these things and we touched on some of the others. A good example that he brought up is the use of continuous glucose monitors. That is a phenomenal education. Why? Because that continuous glucose monitor is informing that individual literally at 10-minute intervals because that's the interval at which it samples blood sugar to assess what the glucose profile is looking at exactly how they respond to any given food or a grouping of food. Daniel Orrego: You're literally seeing what's happening inside your body on a moment to moment basis and gaining an understanding of what happens when you eat pizza and beer, or when you eat a lean cut of steak and some salad, or when you have a little bit of fish and some broccoli, or whether you have a piece of cheesecake. All of a sudden now, you have this understanding about how your body responds to those things, which totally changes your relationship with food and totally changes your relationship with self-accountability when it comes to having a long-term health and wellness program. Daniel Orrego: Just that, just that right there, that tiny slice of this whole very broad conversation is massive when it comes to education. That's not something you learn in school. It's typically not something that you learn when you go to your general practitioner and they do their once a year or twice a year physical. They're not really having that conversation with you. And the beauty of that is that you have that conversation with yourself every day. And then in partnership with your physician, now you're bringing intelligence and insight that is very informative for them. If you can pull up on your phone, "Hey, man. Here's my blood glucose data for the last 120 days." Man, the conversation there is rich, it's powerful and it's instructive. Dr. Gregory Howard: I'll just add. Just a simple education, so a lot of employers, they encourage and sometimes even reward their employees to go get a history and physical and lab work every year. And just with a little bit of knowledge, the patient, when they're talking to their doctor, they can ask for a few extra laboratory tests that the doctor may not have thought over. It might not be in their normal routine, but they should be there. And that would be the test, first one would be something called a hemoglobin A1C, and that checks for diabetes. Dr. Gregory Howard: A lot of times in a blood panel on your yearly physical, they'll just do a spot check of your glucose and that's just one point in time what your glucose was. The hemoglobin A1C that looks at an average of your blood glucose over about a four to six-week period. That's very, very indicative of health or the probability of pre-diabetes or diabetes. A lot of people were aware that diabetes is on the rise. Some people are now saying that a third of the population is pre-diabetic Type II diabetic or diabetic. That would be just a simple blood test that costs about $10 and that would tell if the person is prone to diabetes. Dr. Gregory Howard: The other figure that we've heard is if someone is diagnosed with diabetes, that they cost... their healthcare expenditures go up, not only for the medications to treat diabetes but the other things that go along with diabetes because diabetes can lead to other diseases like heart disease and all kinds of problems. And so the cost of a person, once they're diagnosed with diabetes, is several thousand dollars a month on the average, which is a huge number, but that's the statistic that people are giving. Dr. Gregory Howard: Hemoglobin A1C would be a simple blood test that may not be done. The other one would be an inflammation test. It's a non-specific inflammation test called high sensitivity CRP. Most cardiologists run that blood test. Again, it's about a $10 test and it's associated with heart disease. Pretty much I use it as a biomarker for health or there's a problem. It doesn't tell me what the problem is, but if normal people don't have much inflammation in their body and people that have any kind of disease are unhealthy, that inflammation goes up in their body. Dr. Gregory Howard: That's just a very simple test to see is "Am I healthy or not healthy?" It doesn't tell me what's wrong with me, but that's another simple blood test. So just a little bit of education like that when you go into your doctor. Two simple blood tests that could really mean the difference between getting the person, the employee, the healthcare they need in a timely manner or letting something go undiagnosed and then turn into a big healthcare problem and expenditure for both the employee and the employer down the road. So just that little bit of knowledge on two simple blood tests would really help a lot. Brian Webb: Well, thank you for sharing all of that. You dropped numerous value bombs today. I continue to learn from both of you every time I'm around you. The Hippocrates Research Foundation, tell the world, tell the audience, those that want to find you, learn more about you, or possibly get in touch, what's the best way to do that? Daniel Orrego: Anyone who's interested in learning more can reach Dr. Howard or myself at drhoward@hippocratesresearchfoundation.org or Daniel@hippocratesresearchfoundation.org. Brian Webb: And when you say Dr. Howard, is that D-R Howard or doctor spelled out Howard? Daniel Orrego: You got it. D-R Howard. Brian Webb: Perfect. Well, I'm so glad to be a small part of what you guys are doing. Thanks for being on the show today. I know that our audience is going to learn something and I just want to say thank you for the impact that you're having in the world. Dr. Gregory Howard: Thank you. Daniel Orrego: Outstanding. Thanks so much. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________ CONNECT WITH DR. GREGORY HOWARD Email __________________________________ CONNECT WITH DANIEL ORREGO Linkedin | Email __________________________________
Our guest, Tyler Lajoie is an expert when it comes to launches. His launches did over a million dollars in revenue before he was even 23 years old. He has helped dozens of startup coaching businesses generate their first five figures with launches and he runs all of the affiliate launches for an eight-figure company. Today, Tyler is going to share how to launch like an expert, even if it's just you or a small team. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Guest: Tyler Lajoie Episode 38: How To Launch Like An Expert, Even If It's Just You Or A Small Team __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Stitcher ________________________________ PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Russell Brunson ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital September Book Promo Building A Storybrand - Donald Miller The 10X Rule - Grant Cardone Dare To Lead - Brene Brown The Common Path To Uncommon Success - John Lee Dumas Never Lose A Customer Again - Joey Coleman Atomic Habits - James Clear Never Split The Difference Again - Chris Voss Leadershift - John Maxwell Expert Secrets - Russell Brunson Beyond A Million - Jim Dew ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Hey, this is Brian Webb. You're listening to the Learn More Earn More business growth podcast brought to you by Wet Box digital. Hey there everyone. Welcome to the show. This podcast is your premier place to learn the frameworks, secrets, and growth hacks to grow and scale your business smarter and faster, whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a thriving business owner, this podcast is designed just for you. So you can learn from the best industry experts in the world. I'll bring you exclusive interviews with authors, thought leaders, and successful business titans who share their stories and business journeys. So we can draw insights and learn from their successes and struggles together. As you're working on growing your business and pursuing your dreams, I'll be here to help you make better decisions and avoid the costly pitfalls and expensive mistakes along the way. And I promise we'll have some fun in the process. So let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hey everyone, welcome to the show. So let me ask you this. Are you considering launching a new business? Maybe you're thinking about writing a book or are you considering launching a brand new course or maybe a mastermind or a coaching program? If you are, you are in the right place today. Let me tell you about my guest Tyler Lajoie. Tyler is an expert when it comes to launches, he had done over a million dollars in revenue before he was even 23 years old. He's helped dozens of startup coaching businesses generate their first five figures with launches and he runs all of the affiliate launches for an eight-figure company. And today, if you're thinking about launching that business, that course, that book, that mastermind today, Tyler is going to drop some value bombs for you so that if you do want to launch that new enterprise, that new business, that new book, whatever he could make it a five-figure, a six-figure, even a seven-figure launch. Can you imagine generating a million dollars in revenue in your first week alone? Amazing. Let's jump into my interview with Tyler Lajoie. So I'm here today with Tyler Lajoie and we're going to talk about launches and we're going to break that down, but first Tyler, welcome to the show today. Tyler Lajoie: How's it going, Brian? Thanks for having me on. Brian Webb: It's great to have you on, it's going great. It's going to be a fun conversation. So the word launch, obviously you and I know what the context that we're talking about for the sake of jumping in. When we talk about a launch, what specifically is a launch to someone who might be hearing this for the first time? Tyler Lajoie: Yeah, absolutely. So for my business partners, when we think about a launch, what we really think about in a great way of modeling that, is to look at the PLF, the product launch formula. It's really any time you are trying to choreograph a way to bring a new or existing product to your market. So if you are actually the one you set something up that has a closed-down period, creates real urgency, creates real scarcity, and you want to do it with an intentional energy behind it. Launching is an amazing tool to use to bring that to your audience, instead of just promoting or having some random blast from an email that they haven't seen in a while, you're actually making an event out of it. Whether you do a webinar, whether you do a five-day challenge, whether you do an email quick launch campaign, a launch makes it feel like this is a real event that engages your audience, and it gives them a timeframe where they actually have to act, otherwise, they might miss out and it's not creating some false illusion of scarcity or exclusivity. The launch actually allows you to do it in a very genuine and authentic way. And I believe that is so, so huge in today's market when we kind of move from away from that fear-based marketing, which a lot of people are reading through now more towards that love-based marketing, but you still have to put that person in that problem they're experiencing and then give them some reason to act, to do a service to them. So I believe a launch is one of the best ways to motivate your audience to actually act in the way they're saying they want to, like being a part of your email list or your community. And it's a great way to guarantee just consistent revenue for your business. So that's kind of what a launch is, any choreographed way of bringing a newer, existing product to your audience in a very intentional way. Brian Webb: Absolutely. Talk to the audience about why it's a must for any business to launch the right way. Why is that important? Tyler Lajoie: Yeah, absolutely. So for us, we always like to go back to the kind of cliche that everybody talks about, but it's so true of leaving money on the table. If you are doing something at 70% efficiency, well, you're probably leaving whatever that thing is on the table. And in this case in a business, as an entrepreneur, you're likely leaving money and impact for your audience on the table. So when I say like 70% efficiency if you don't know how to launch, and that's literally one of the documents have for all of our clients, it's called how to launch. If you don't know how to properly do it, it'd be the same thing of coming in and trying to be an expert copywriter without ever having understood that. So you are not going to communicate your message as well. You're not going to hit the proper pain points. You're not going to have the right sequence in place. You're not going to have the right order of call to actions. You're not going to be doing it entirely the right way while you might make sales. And you might have that bias come up, of that confirmation bias. It becomes really, really challenging when you have those blinders on and you think you're doing it the right way. But if you are not an actual export or expert, or really have dove in or done a lot of launches, it's very likely something around the copywriting, the emails, the sequence, the close-down, the offer, whatever it is just isn't being optimized, right? Maybe it's the funnel. It could be anything. So if you know that it's not your zone of genius, it's likely you're probably not maximizing the capacity of that. So that's why I believe it's super important to always work with someone, who is either a really, really, really expert copywriter, or just really deep into the launch phase, whether that be affiliate, internal, joint venture, whatever it is. Working with someone to maximize that I think is going to be everything. Brian Webb: Yeah. And the one thing I know too, and I'm guessing that you're going to reinforce this is when you talk about why is it important or a must to launch the right way. And one of those reasons is you only get to launch once, you only get to be new one time, right. Beyond that, you've lost what could have been some potential energy that you could have gained in the beginning. Tyler Lajoie: Yeah. I always always emphasize that in the very beginning of a partnership, especially when it is a new product. Because we talk about right, you can, what I call the reverse discount. You can literally use a launch to raise your prices of an existing product. You can use a launch to just bring another, a product you've had for years back to the marketplace in an exciting, new, energized way. So you can definitely do that, but you're spot on. If you have a brand new product, you're bringing to your audience and you don't launch it in the proper way, you definitely giving up some of that momentum that would carry you that much further. If you had done it the right way, the first time around. So for sure, launching for the first time is a huge momentum game. Brian Webb: And to those that are listening, that they're not really thinking in the world of quote-unquote, launching. It's really good. You kind of just covered this, but it's important to talk about, we're not just talking about launching a new business. You could be launching a book, you could be launching a course or a mastermind, right? Tyler Lajoie: Absolutely. Brian Webb: So let's talk about this. What happens if someone launches the wrong way? What are the consequences of that? Tyler Lajoie: Yeah. So two things happen, right? One, this person may be an entrepreneur, nothing's going to really phase down. They're going to be like, "Hey, I'm A-okay. I'll figure it out. We'll get back out the next time." And they're going to be just on the next one. Right? That's the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is a couple of things. One thing is the mentality, the energy of that entrepreneur and or the team kind of drops a little bit because you usually didn't hit the expectation you were setting for yourself. And while expectations are never great, in business, we got to have some sort of metrics, goals, KPIs, objectives that we're reaching for. So whenever we come short of those, it always kind of hurts the team a little bit, even though maybe it shouldn't, right. So that's one thing is the internal team, the mindset of the entrepreneur, especially if they're a very new entrepreneur, which a lot of the people that I started out working with are very new. So when they had a discouraging first launch, it really affected them for weeks and months after that. The second thing is you're just not going to build the traction that you thought you were going to. So if you, like you said, if you're launching a book is a very big difference between being able to launch it to 15 or 20 people, as opposed to launching it to 100 or 500 or 1000 people. And a lot of times it's not that big of a difference, an effort it's a difference in actual principles of what you're doing on the launch, and then the tactics and strategies that goes on top of those to bring in those 100 or 200 or whatever, extra book sales, as opposed to the 15 or 20 you did from a very imperfect launch. So, you're going to lose traction and you're going to lose the momentum. You're going to lose the morale of the team, maybe the mentality, the mindset of the owner, whatever it is. There's a lot of things that can happen, but that's why it's always just best to nip that on the boat and just launch the right way the first time. Brian Webb: Yeah. I once heard the word momentum is defined as forward progress fueled by previous winds. And obviously when you're doing that launch, the more epic it can be in the beginning, the more fuel and momentum it can give you for the rest of that launch or that campaign or the sales or that product. Right. Tyler Lajoie: A 100 percent. I mean, think about how exciting it is to do a million-dollar launch or do one of the biggest launches you've done like you just add so much more energy in there. It gives you a new floor for your business. And it's like, "Okay, next time we do it. That's the bare minimum. We're only up from here." And it kind of gives people new highs, expands their mind a little bit to possibilities they hadn't achieved yet or hadn't even thought of. So it's really cool when I get to see someone break through a barrier, they hadn't yet achieved and then come on the other side and just be like, "Wow, I didn't even realize I could make that much money a month or whatever it is." So, it's a really exciting thing when they break through that barrier, for sure. Brian Webb: It is. So I want to talk about this. I'm thinking about the people in the audience who are thinking, I've got an idea, I've got a product, I've got a course, I've got a book. I want to launch a mastermind or a coaching program, but they're thinking, but I don't know anyone. I don't have a big email list. I don't have a huge database, talk about why one affiliate strategy is a must for scaling, but tie that into specifically break down what a JV or a joint venture launch is because I know that can be a really powerful method for those who don't yet have a big audience to potentially leverage the power of other people's audiences. We'll get back to the show in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor, What Box Digital, if you're like most business owners and leaders, you likely have several marketing problems. Your marketing is just a lot of guesswork. 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I think you've worked too hard, for too long to not be enjoying the peace of mind that comes from knowing you're doing marketing right, right. To get started today, just visit our website, www.whatboxdigital.com, or just text the letters. CMO to 8-3-2-3-2-4-2-4-3-2. And we'll get the discussion moving forward again. Visit whatboxdigital.com or just text CMO to 8-3-2-3-4-2-4-3-2. Don't waste another dollar on failed marketing systems that are doing nothing to grow your business. Let's get started today. Talk about why, one affiliate strategy is a must for scaling, but tie that into specifically break down what a JV or a joint venture launch is, because I know that can be a really powerful method for those, who don't yet have a big audience to potentially leverage the power of other people's audiences. Tyler Lajoie: Absolutely. This is a massive, massive game-changer. And if anybody can take anything away from this call, especially if you are one of the entry-level entrepreneurs or coaches, or maybe you've been doing entrepreneurship for a while, and this is your new business or whatever it might be in the online space. I think this is going to be a big thing to dive into right here. So for me, lucky enough, I actually, my expertise started out in the people who did not have big audiences. So they did not have big email lists. They did not have big podcast listener audiences, they did not have big Facebook communities, anything. So joint venture and affiliate was a massive, massive opportunity for all of them to be able to launch without having to have or pay for their own assets. So let's start off with the definition of the JV and affiliate. So JV, joint venture, usually that implies there's going to be a joint collaboration here, right? So you are going to give reciprocal traffic or reciprocal value to them as they give to you. So if you say, can I email your list, or can I give you these two swipe files to swipe email files to send to your email list, to recruit from my event or my offer, they'll say, "Yes." And then they'll say, "Okay, well, when can you send an email to your list for me?" That would be much more JV-related. And those are amazing. Those are great, that's great reciprocal traffic. You're going to make money from their offer. They're going to make money from your offer. But that usually is how it consists of them coming to you as well for your list. The affiliate side is a one-way street and that's the only difference, in reality, is the fact that you are going to them saying, "Hey, you're going to get 20% on the revenue, I'm going to keep 80% revenue. You're going to send two emails to your list. And then we're going to be off on our merry way." That's how affiliate works. So when you are able to have an affiliate deal, it's really, really good, because you have no further responsibility or obligation to sending your email to your list. Because your list is valuable. Your audience is valuable. You don't want to numb them or wear them out with as many offers. So every offer you bring them, you want to make sure it's very aligned, very powerful it's for them. So when you have JDV partners, you want to make sure they're very, very good ones. So affiliate ones are great because you don't have to send your list. So what happens is say if you have the brand new offer, brand new mastermind program, you're getting ready to launch, you got the messaging down, you know the avatar, you know the pains, you know the desires, you are ready to write the emails and you're ready to send them to whoever's going to listen to you, right? Well, you don't have an email list. You don't have a joint, you don't have anything. You don't have a Facebook community. You don't have a YouTube channel. You don't have anything. What you can do is what Russell Brunson talks about in the Dream 100, and this has been a strategy used for just decades and decades, even before Russell Brunson talks about it. You go out there and you find a hundred people or you even just make a list of a hundred people, that would be awesome if they were able to share this stuff with their audiences. From there, you find a way to contact them, that could be probably email, phone number, whatever, having a VA reach out Facebook Messenger, Instagram. Brian Webb: Social. Tyler Lajoie: From your way, reaching out to them and then deriving a list of your first. It could be between 5, 10, 20, 30, depending on that list of a hundred. How many get back to you? Some of them are going to say yes to you, especially if you really do have your message honed in, you really do have a quality offer. And you really do know why you're doing what you're doing. You're going to be able to transfer that energy to those people that do get back to you from this reach. And they are going to be willing to share that with you. So I'll give a quick example of this is I had a brand new client. She had been in the construction industry forever. She had actually had a quarter-billion-dollar company in her twenties. She crushed it. She's now in her late thirties and that construction company actually, some things had happened where her business partner kind of took it away from her. All these just crazy things happened. And she was forced to move out of it. She then entered more into the subconscious mind field, working with energy, just the universe, all these different things. And I love, love, love all of those things, those spiritual teaching. So she was diving into that and creating a mastermind to really help people recode their subconscious minds, right? To come in alignment with their highest self, she really had no audience at all. She had an email list about a hundred people, but what she did by using this Dream 100 strategy was she reached out to all these people and Mind Valley actually got back to her. They got her onto a podcast. And next thing you know, she had, I believe over 200 to 300 registrants for her first-ever webinar, her first-ever five-day challenge, we ran with her. And then from there, she did a $50,000 launch and she had never done any revenue at all from this brand new offer. So that is the power of JV or affiliate is that she went out there, they offered to get her on the podcast and then basically emailed their list and post it on their website. She then brought in 300 registrants and then created a $50,000 in income from an audience she never had. So that is the power of the affiliate and the JV. And that's kind of how you do it. It really doesn't have its perfect system, but it's definitely a tool people should definitely be tapping into as they move through their first launches. Brian Webb: Let me ask you this. When it comes to looking for someone to be a JV partner, other than obviously the Dream 100 approach, which is go and curate and find, do you have any top tips that you give to someone, when they're thinking about launching some type of an affiliate program, what do you share? What's the one or two things that you share that you wish you would've known when you began, that it took some experience for you to learn? Tyler Lajoie: Totally. And this is right at my alley as well. I have an offer I do on the side of, for myself. It doesn't take me too much time. It's super simple for me, but it's a 90-day sprint basically to build someone's affiliate program from the ground up and do their first affiliate launch with them. So I have three clients I'm working with that right now. And what we do is we come in and step one is, I identify any and all current affiliates who have either promoted in the past, are promoting right now, or who have just been maybe underperforming. So number one is going at the extreme, low-hanging fruit, the ones who already exist, basically. The second one is new affiliates, but the ones who are closest by, right, the second tier up. So this is going to be where you have like champions of the brand. You have people who maybe have been clients, who have audiences, people who just love your brand, love you. People who are willing to promote you just based off of liking you or knowing you or having some third party connection with you or whatever that might be, could be old podcast interviews, YouTube lives you did, Facebook lives, anything like that. I go to those, I really craft a list and I reach out to them. So that's number two is going after second-tier connections. Number three is then cold outreach. So obviously people want to work with people like Tony Robbins or they want to work with people like Justin Goff or Stefan Georgi, people with these big email lists who are doing big things in the internet marketing world or whether the computer world or the financial industry, whatever industry you're in, you want to go to those big players, right? So if you want to go to those big players that becomes the cold outreach bucket. So that could be small people. They usually talk about there's like tad pools, fish, dolphins, and whales in the affiliate as far as size. So you can have a list of all those people, but the third bucket is really that. And that's what I tell people to go out there and do is craft a list, their Dream 100 from that sort of list using internal, secondary connections and then completely cold outreach. And once you are able to do that, the hardest part is almost making the list. The easiest part is just reaching out and getting told yes or no. So once you have that, it's just really off to the races. Brian Webb: Yeah. Well, Tyler, thanks for being here today. You've dropped some really cool value bombs. For those people in our audience, who again, are thinking about launching something, that book, that product, that business ever, what's the best place for our audience to find you online and to learn more about who you are and what you do. Tyler Lajoie: Absolutely. So the best place to reach me right now is going to be simple to send me an email to tyler@theimpactlaunch.com. Tyler@theimpactlaunch.com. And I'm sure we'll put that in the email or wherever that may be, but just send me an email, say you saw the episode and you want to talk about launching and we can definitely, either communicate via email or hop on a quick call to really see, yeah. How you can move your launch forward the most efficient way. And if I can help in any way, shape, or form, I'll definitely let you know, but that'd be the way to get your hold of me and I've, yeah, really appreciate being on, Brian. Thanks for having me so much. It's been awesome. Brian Webb: Absolutely. Thanks for being here today. Tyler. Tyler Lajoie: Wonderful. Thanks so much, Brian, have a great day. Brian Webb: Thanks for joining me today and listening to this episode of the Learn More Earn More business growth podcast, we can be found on all the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, and even Amazon Music. I genuinely hope you enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, I'd be honored, if you subscribe to the show and leave us a rating and an honest review, I'd love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at, @Brian Webb and the show sponsor, What Box Digital can be found at, as you might guess @whatboxdigital. You can also find me and What Box Digital on Facebook and LinkedIn with the links in show notes. This will allow you to stay up to date and never miss out on exciting new announcements, events, special offers, and opportunities. And you'll be in the know when we drop a new episode of the Learn More Earn More business growth podcast. And if you'd like to send me a DM on Instagram to say hello, or share your thoughts on how we can make this podcast even better for you. I'd love to hear from you. Again, thanks for listening. Let's go and grow together. I'll see you on the next episode. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________ CONNECT WITH TYLER LAJOIE Linkedin | Facebook | Email __________________________________
Our guest today, Tony Grebmeier is a serial entrepreneur, whose current ventures include co-founding ShipOffers, which has been on the Inc. 5,000 list 7 times! He has also created the Be Fulfilled Brand. On the show today, Tony will be talking about how to find true fulfillment and understand real success. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Guest: Tony Grebmeier Episode 37: How To Find True Fulfillment & Understand Real Success __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Stitcher ________________________________ PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE John Maxwell John Acuff Jim Rohn ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital Be Fulfilled Journal Tony Grebmeier Website Shipoffers September Book Promo Building A Storybrand - Donald Miller The 10X Rule - Grant Cardone Dare To Lead - Brene Brown The Common Path To Uncommon Success - John Lee Dumas Never Lose A Customer Again - Joey Coleman Atomic Habits - James Clear Never Split The Difference Again - Chris Voss Leadershift - John Maxwell Expert Secrets - Russell Brunson Beyond A Million - Jim Dew ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Well, Tony, it's great to have you on the show today. You and I got to talk a week or two or three ago about talking about being fulfilled and what that looks like. And so, it's just great to have you on the show today. Tony Grebmeier: Thanks for the opportunity to be here. This is a great topic. A lot of people don't dive into finding fulfillment in their life. And so, I'm glad you asked me to come along for the journey. Brian Webb: Yeah, it's going to be fun. Before we jump into that, though, I'd love to hear you give the CliffsNotes version of your story about how you started ShipOffers and what obstacles you've overcome to get from where you were when you began to where you are today. I'd just love the audience to hear a little bit of your story if you're willing to share that today. Tony Grebmeier: Yeah, I appreciate it. Funny thing on my way to the radio station when I used to be a DJ one day. A buddy asked me, "Would you be interested in going to Vegas and talking about maybe a new business opportunity?" And I'm like, "Yeah. I'm going to starving like 20 some year old and I would love to make more money, sure." And one thing led to another that I started figuring out how to build and design websites. And 24 years ago, I really got into the internet and started figuring out how to control and drive traffic, build websites, sell some stuff. And we just kept working and working. And I've been a part of a couple of dot coms, some successful, some not. And I just learned a lot that I wanted to be my own boss. I didn't want to show up and report to anybody. Tony Grebmeier: So, I guess on October 20th, 2000, I said, "Screw the old job." and I decided to go out and venture on my own. One buddy came along for the ride and we started what was the beginning of EyeFive. And EyeFive later turned into ShipOffers. And so, started selling products out of my garage, shipped out of my garage for a short period of time, got to the point where we realized we needed an office. And then, in March, of 2001, we got our formal office and that was in Van Nuys, California. We've been going strong for 20 plus years, offering products in the health and wellness space for online marketers, direct response, and primarily help people do the stuff that isn't so sexy, which fulfills those products. And we now have just a boatload of clients all around the world. We also provide a lot of just, I'd say, off-label consulting services to help you scale your business and find the things that aren't working and help you to tweak them, introduce you to great people, and really just help you to grow your business Brian Webb: And along the way the Inc. 5,000 list, seven times, not too bad. Tony Grebmeier: No, not too bad. And one of those things, when you look back at the Inc. 5,000, I remember when we initially threw our name into the hat, we were like, "Are we really going to show up? There's a, there's a lot of people who supply their name to that." And it's been neat to see year after year growth. And along our journey, we didn't make it one year. And I call that when you figure out what you need to make adjustments in your business, certain things need to take a back seat. So, I was a little disappointed when we didn't make it seven years in a row, but I had a good friend who spoke to me. He's like, "Hey, look, man, you focused on growing your business. You made some adjustments and some powerful changes. Now, look what you've been able to do." And then, it came as a gift this year to making it for a seventh time out of basically the last eight years. So, I was excited. Brian Webb: Amazing. You've probably seen it. It's all over the web, but this graphic shows two different journeys. One is just this perfectly straight line from a lower point to a higher point, illustrating what we want success to look like. And then, it shows another graphic where the line goes up, and then it plummets down and comes back up again, then it plummets down. But the overall trajectory is up, but that's really more realistically what life and success are typically really like. Tony Grebmeier: Yeah. Entrepreneurship, that's what I fall into is not a straight line, it's a squiggly. It goes all over the place. And I've learned that if you look at a really tall mountain, it never goes straight. It's got to bend, has some switchbacks, and takes you on the side of it and then up some. And that's the journey that I've been on. I've never said, "I'm going to start on the top." I said, "I want to start down below because I want to learn how to get my way to that cliff." but nobody stays on the pinnacle of success for long. Somebody is always trying to pull you. So, I've learned to become a Sherpa on my journey up and down success mountain, help others. Brian Webb: Yeah. I've heard that, I forget who said it but said that what success is a leased space. It is not a place we purchase. It's a space that we lease temporarily and try to hold on to it, basically. Tony Grebmeier: Yeah. No, I love it. And one of the interesting parts about being my own boss is that along the journey, I have built a wealth of friends. People often say, "Tony, do you have a lot of friends?" "No." I say, "I have a lot of good friends." and these are people who will help me see my blind spots. And so, a couple of weeks ago I was sitting down with a colleague. We were just chatting about life and business. And some of the things that I face now in my journey are a lot different than when I began my journey, and we were just talking about our blind spots and how you and I can't see them, but others can. Brian Webb: Wow. So true Tony Grebmeier: And that when you make a mistake, it's a mistake one time. After that, it's a choice. So, the things that I was constantly making mistakes on became choices. And then, when I realized that I had power and control over my choices, I could begin to change. Tony Robbins talks about it. Jim Rowan talks about it. For things to change, for things to get better, you've got to get better. So, that journey up and down success mountain is a lot sexier and a lot more fun today than it ever has been in the past. Brian Webb: I was once talking to a buddy of mine, and by the way, another friend of mine that I would say helps me to see my blind spots. And he asked me this question one time. He said, "Brian, what is your definition of success?" And now, in this particular context, it was financial. Now, you and I both know that success expands way beyond money. You and I probably both know a lot of people who have lots of money, but I wouldn't say that they're really succeeding in life. But anyway, he says, "What's your definition of success financially?" And I just didn't have an answer right off the cuff. And then he said, "Because if your only definition is more," he said, "then success is basically always going to elude you because no matter where you arrive to financially, there's always more to go get." What are your thoughts on that? Tony Grebmeier: Oh, it's a preface of what my podcast has been for almost four years. What's your definition of success? It's the question I've asked probably over 500 different entrepreneurs and people who've come on the show. Success is simple. The most common answer I've received is freedom, time freedom to be able to do what you want with whoever you want when you want. You've probably heard that in many different variables, but the thing that's best for me is the ability for me to spend time with my family. That's success because there was a time, some of the people who are listening may know my story and some don't, that I wanted to take my own life. I sat and contemplated that whole thought for many, many hours and attempted to commit suicide. And I received a phone call from a friend who says, "Hey, I'm coming over." Tony Grebmeier: And I'm like, "All right. Let me go put all my stuff away." and he came in and he gave me a big hug and his name's John [Montazeri 00:07:16]. And he said, "You know, Tony, your life has meaning and purpose, but what you're doing right now doesn't." And we sat down for about 45 minutes and had a really in-depth conversation. He proceeded to leave and I said, "Oh, my gosh. Now, what am I going to do?" Tony Grebmeier: And a few hours later, a different buddy called and came over, who happened to be a pastor of the church that I attended. And he helped me to see some stuff that I couldn't see for myself. He painted a vision, "Tony, you have an ability and a gift. I see you on stages speaking, sharing your story, your message with lots of people, but impacting lives all around you." And that really became the vision that I hold for success is being able to have a really passionate and open, honest conversation with another human being, helping them today to make a decision to do something about what they've been given as an opportunity in life. So, relationships is success for me. Brian Webb: Yeah. Because of my previous life, a lot of people might not even know this, certainly not the podcast audience, but before I was in business, 18 years ago, I was actually in full-time ministry. And so, as a result of that, part of what you do is, I've been to many, many, many more than I'd like to have been, to many funerals. And without a doubt, inevitably, every single time someone's on their death bed, there's never the regret of, "I wish I would have worked harder." There's never the regret of, "I wish I would have made more money." It's always, "I wish I would have spent more time with those that I loved." Tony Grebmeier: The interesting part. There's a former basketball player on his bed right now fighting COVID in the hospital. And he put a message out to the world, basically saying, "If I've done you wrong, I apologize." And I don't want to go through life with resentment or regret. I want to go through life knowing that I gave 100%, I did the best I could and along the way, I cleaned up my messes so that I could live free. Because part of success is freedom, and so, how do you get to do that? Part of the gift that I've been given and the ability to do is I meet with men five days a week to talk about where they're at in their journey. And I give it 100% because it's easy to give away because I receive so much in return. Tony Grebmeier: And so, relationships, my buddy, Nick always talks about relationships are the rocket ships that take you places. I'm like, "No. Relationships are the currency that helps you to really create anything that you want." And the way you show up in a relationship, the increase of the value of your currency goes up. So, you can be cheap in a relationship, be a taker and you're being, in my book, a cheap coin that won't buy you anything and. And my buddy Nick's calling me, by the way, that's called life and fate right there. How also, your currency grows is by what you bring to the table. Tony Grebmeier: My buddy, Jim Gnome, always talks about, "What are you bringing to the table of life today?" because most of us are just takers. We show up at a buffet, and you're like, "Man, there's no more pancakes." I'm like, I'm raising my hand, stomping my feet. "I paid good money to be in this buffet line. Why are there any pancakes?" And Jim really helped me to see, "Why don't you be of service today and go cook in the kitchen? Why don't you go show up and serve instead of take?" And so, a good question that I posted a couple of weeks back on my community is like, "What are you bringing to the table today?" Brian Webb: I want to share this with you because I want to get your perspective on this. And this isn't just some placard on the wall, it really is my personal mission statement. And here's what it is, is my mission, personally, Brian Webb is to have an indelible and profoundly positive impact on as many people's lives as possible and to always give more than I ever take. I'm just curious. That, for me, is where I tend to pursue fulfillment. Being a servant, having a servant's heart, servant leadership. Brian Webb: You were talking about blind spots. I've even told employees on more than one occasion that I said, "If you ever see me handle a situation in a way that I could have done it better," I said, "not only is it okay for you to come and tell me," I said, "I welcome you to come and tell me." No, I said, "Please do it in private and do it with love," but I said, "I don't want to be the person who has all my blind spots that go unnoticed for my whole life. I want to always be on that improvement journey." How do you think most people that may not have that mission statement, they may not even have awareness around this thing that we're talking about today, how do you think most people find their fulfillment? Tony Grebmeier: Oh my gosh. That's a really interesting question. And I could go in either direction. I'll tell you this. You've probably heard this somewhere in your journey too, Brian. You either are living your dream or you're living somebody else's. And so, if you're not living 100% your dream, it's all right, don't worry about it. Once you take the right pill, the new trailer for the Matrix 4 is coming out, the red pill or the blue pill. But once you realize that you have a choice, that's a blind spot. People often don't think that they have a choice. I'm like, "You get to create the life that you are living." And I want to break it down an extra level because I want to get to the core of the human, not just the gut. I think the gut's great, but I want to get a little lower than the gut today, just a little lower than that. Tony Grebmeier: What I think that most people are on their journey, and I was sitting talking to a gentleman this morning about it, where we get let down by the people in our lives. And so, we exert more energy and we try harder. And then, we feel that people stepped on the toes and they've hurt us and they brought frustration to our lives and we began to get resentments. And then, we're not living to the truest and the form of who we are. I learned probably about 10 years ago or so after finally getting sober, I've been sober coming up on 13 years. I was pretty addicted to a lot of things and I didn't understand how to find joy and happiness in my life. Tony Grebmeier: I didn't know what I didn't know. And then, someone broke it down for me really, really easy. When I wake up in the morning, I've got options. I can think good or bad, the moment I wake up. The moment I wake up, I can think, "Oh, my gosh, I have all this bad stuff going on in my life today." And I'm instantly over there. But if I'm super grateful and in the presence, for me, it's God. God gave me an opportunity to wake up, open my eyes and get out of bed and is guiding, I believe, 100% of my life in all directions that I go and helps me to see that it's my responsibility to show up today as a good human being. I've been given a gift. I've been given an opportunity because I didn't kill myself. Tony Grebmeier: So now, I experience life at a high level. I feel like in the movie with Bradley Cooper, Limitless. I believe I've been able to swallow the opportunity pill of a lifetime and start living out my dreams. In the last three weeks, I've taken my entire calendar, did it about three years ago and I believe all of us need to become good at archeology. We all need to dig up our past to look at it because we can learn from it. We can see what's maybe holding us back because if we don't, I promise you, your past will show up in the future. It'll knock on your door and say, "Hey, Brian. Hi. I missed you. I'm back. Did you miss me?" And it's like, "What the heck are you talking about?" Your past will always show up in your future unless you understand your past and learn from it and make adjustments. Brian Webb: Just to add to that, I think you'll probably want to steal this and it's not mine. Andy Stanley, who pastors, I think it's the second-largest church in America at north point up in the north Atlanta area. And he once was quoted as saying, "Your present will at some point affect your past, which will then affect the present and your future." Tony Grebmeier: Yeah. Most of us are all trying to figure out what to do today. Very few have it figured out. You live and die by whatever your Smartwatch or your phone or your calendar or the hidden agenda that somebody else has for you is basically putting in your way. And I think COVID, for myself, and I know a lot of people have been affected good and bad by it. I'm just saying, COVID helped me to learn about me in a completely unique way because I have always needed to be around a lot of people, not to feel good, but to feel like I was adding value to the world. Tony Grebmeier: And so, during COVID and lockdown and our business went to, basically remote other than our warehouse for shipping products and services out for people, I launched this thing called networking remote, and I interviewed three individuals at the time in a Zoom and we had a panel and we asked a lot of questions and what are you doing? How are you doing it? And it was a really interesting thing to recently go back and look at those 10 plus episodes and really start seeing, once people regained confidence, how things began to change in their life. Tony Grebmeier: At first, there was a bunch of uncertainty. Then, "Well, I don't know, this thing's going to be over next month. This can't go on forever." And then, another individual I talked to said, "Any pandemic that we've ever experienced in the last 100 or so years, actually has a two to a four-year cycle." This is a pandemic, and we're seeing the legs of it play out. And so, I'm not here to say, do this or do that, I'm just saying, I learned so much as an individual about myself, that ultimately helped me to prepare what now is my new goal, which is to get everything off my table, everything off my plate, everything off my calendar, everything off so I can be 100% free to make choices again without feeling like I'm letting somebody down when they ask me. Brian Webb: That's amazing. And yet, for so many people, I would imagine listening, it's so counterintuitive. But I can absolutely see the wisdom in what you're talking about. Not too long ago, I think I even referred to this in a previous episode, I saw where Johnny Acuff was interviewing John Maxwell. John Acuff has written several New York Times bestselling books. Of course, we all know who John Maxwell is. And he says, "What is it that gets you up in the morning?" He's talking to John Maxwell. And he said, "Is it discipline?" And Maxwell's response, he says, "No, it really isn't discipline." He said, "It's anticipation." He said, "I just anticipate, what will I get to do that will have an amazing impact in somebody's life today?" When it comes to finding fulfillment and even defining success and then pursuing that definition of success, what are two or three things that you think holds people back, Tony? Tony Grebmeier: Number one, for me, it's always been the same, fear. And there's a couple of fun definitions you can find online, if you just say what's the definition of fear? F everything and run, for a lot of people, or false evidence appearing real. But fear, I would put at the very top. I think the second thing is, is they don't believe that it's possible. And you could counter, you could categorize that as fear, but they just don't see themselves as that possibility. Brian Webb: They're not convinced. Tony Grebmeier: Nope. No. I was sitting with an individual this morning and we were going through some processes and he was sharing, he feels like people have wronged him. And I said, "Do you believe you're a good person?" He says, 100%," I said, What are nine other values that you see for yourself? Write them down." I said, "You have a choice in this moment to operate from that or what you believe, which is false evidence appearing real in your mind as to why these things are happening." Tony Grebmeier: We're doing some step work now around making amends. And making amends is something that holds all of us back. We don't believe that they should hear us apologize or say we're sorry, or that we made a mistake. They hurt me, so I would put resentment also holds us back because we're just afraid. And it's okay to be afraid. I just watched the Halloween Kills trailer right before this. I wanted to see the new John Carpenter preview. And I don't want to watch a scary movie at nine o'clock at night, but I can watch it at 8:30 in the morning. I know better when to watch a scary movie. I can watch a trailer at 8:30 and be okay. So, knowing that, I've trained my brain to do things completely different. Brian Webb: A couple of things came to mind while you were talking. One, I'm going to ask this question, even though I really know your answer, but I just want to give you a chance to speak into it. I feel like gratitude is the antidote or the penicillin to depression, to a bad attitude, to having a bad day. I've been taught that by so many of my mentors. And whenever I am coaching someone, I try to pass that along. And I tell people that depression of feelings, I heard it said that feelings are just visitors, so even if you are having a bad day, just realize that that doesn't mean that you have to have a bad day all day. That feeling is just a visitor in your life. I'm guessing you agree with all that though, am I right, or am I wrong? Tony Grebmeier: An attitude of gratitude will take you places that you've never gone before. And most humans that I have done work with, and I've been really grateful to have the opportunity to sit with well over 1,000 men and sit and really uncover gratitude. Gratitude is the only way to really live your life. And the interesting part is that what's going wrong in your life, and then gratitude can't live on the same page in the same space. Brian Webb: That's very, very true. I've also heard it said that fear and faith have one thing in common, they both believe in a future that does not yet exist. Tony Grebmeier: What is faith, if you really want to talk about it? If you were going to go down that road for a moment is, for me, I have a quote and I can put it and share it in the notes for you, but it's taking a step that you can see exists already, but just being willing to take a step no matter what. Most humans and I use most a lot when I describe people that I'm talking about in a general practical way. Most of us want to do better. Jim Rowan has a great quote, paraphrase a little bit, there's only seven or eight miserable people in this world, they just seem to move around a lot. Brian Webb: I have heard him say that many times. Tony Grebmeier: So, if we know that to be true, then when you're having a conversation with your partner or life partner or a child today, and they're having a bad day, that doesn't mean that they're a bad person. We all have bad days. You were just talking about it. A lot of it means that something else is going on and are you the friend that'll get below and get into the gut and really show up today and hold space for that person, just to maybe talk about what's going on in their life? Everything in my life comes back to the same part of this conversation, finding fulfillment. Gratitude is about finding fulfillment. Living your most authentic and true life is finding fulfillment. Showing up in such a way that you allow others to, I don't know, talk about what's going on. Tony Grebmeier: I just don't have time to be around people who don't want to do something about what's going on. I make that clear when I sit down with an individual, I'm like, "Look if we're going to work on life and transformation, doing stuff that's meaningful and purposeful in my life and yours, then are you willing to take certain steps? Are you willing?" I once told I've told several individuals because I did it myself. "I put on a pink tutu and stood on a street corner before. Are you willing to put on a pink tutu and push a peanut across the street today? And if your answer is no, than I'm most likely can't work with you, because if you don't have the willingness to go all out, then you're going to hold back from going all in." Brian Webb: We've talked a lot about Jim Rowan today, which apparently has been a mentor in both of our lives. And I remember one time I heard him talking about, he said, "Imagine if someone were to hop on your back," he says, "how far do you think you could carry that person?" And he said, "Maybe a little while, maybe a few feet, maybe even a quarter of a mile if you're really strong," he says, "but what if we put two people on your back?" He says, "You're probably not going to move forward at all." But, obviously, the point that he was making was, you can only help someone by walking beside them. You can't carry them because it's just not sustainable. You can't really help them if they're not willing to truly help themselves. Tony Grebmeier: Yeah. I'm not better or less than, than anybody. And anybody listening right now, you should think about that too. You're not better or less than anybody. You're doing the best you can with what you've been given. And I have a little weird way of saying it, but I says, "You're doing exactly what you've said you wanted to be doing until you decide you don't want to do anymore. And then, you'll make a decision to change." Jim has been masterful at helping to unpack a lot of stuff. But yeah, I stopped carrying people up success mountain and became their Sherpa and walk beside them. I may be a couple of steps ahead of you because I'm six foot six. However, my goal is to be there with you, help you because I'm going to need help along my journey as well. Tony Grebmeier: I'm willing to ask for help today. That's something I wasn't able to do 13 years ago. I wasn't able to ask for help. Today, I raise my hand and say, "Hey, look, I'm stuck. This is what I'm dealing with." I recently bought a ranch and live on 35 acres. I didn't know how to drive a tractor. I didn't know how to put a cistern. I didn't know how to put casons. I didn't know how to do any of this, culverts in the ground. And then, I'm Googling how to do this, how to do that. And I'm learning every single day. And every single day I make mistakes, but I'm willing to keep making mistakes. And that's why that Japanese proverb, Brian, is so powerful, fall seven, get up. Tony Grebmeier: Are you willing to get up today, even though you had a bad day yesterday? Yeah, get up. This is the time of your life, now. This is the best time. I've heard this too, now stands for no opportunity wasted. Now is the best time of your life. So, no matter if you're listening to this on a Friday afternoon, on a Tuesday morning, wherever your life is, know that if you want it to get better, it will. But if you want it to stay the same, it'll stay the same. That's why we have choices and we have to be really open-minded to what choices are we making in our life. Tony Grebmeier: Everything we do is impacting it in some way and impacting the reality around us, and also causing energy to shift in relationships and also the attraction of all the stuff that's coming in and out of your life. If you think about, "I'm going to get pulled over." Well, guess what? Eventually, you're going to get pulled over. It's just the law of life. If you think about like, "I want my life to get better." and you focus on things getting better, it'll get better. So, you do have a choice, and gratitude plays a huge role in all of that. Brian Webb: There's a verse in the Bible that says that it rains on the just and the unjust. Something I've tried to impart to my kids and my kids are all grown, but I always told them that life is a series of setbacks. And I said, "So when you just understand that setbacks are normal. When you understand that they're going to come to you and everyone else around you. It doesn't mean that you're going to love the setback when you have to deal with it, it just means you're not shocked by it. You're not going to behave as though somehow you're cursed or here we go again, woe is me. You just recognize we all go through it. It rains on all of us." So, I got to tell you, I love every guest I've ever had on the podcast before. This is my favorite interview, so far, Tony. So, kudos to you. Let me ask you this. For the people in our audience who might want to know more about you or find you online, where's the best place for them to find you? Tony Grebmeier: Yeah. Thanks for the compliment. I appreciate that. Let me back for one second, I heard it. A setback is just a setup for a comeback. You can check me out. Tonygrebmeier.com. It's a long German name, but you try to put it in the Google, it'll correct it and get you to the right page. You can learn about ShipOffers from there. The stuff that I've put out into the world, the free courses that I have. Tony Grebmeier: My heart is about giving and if I can serve in any way, if there's something I said today you want clarity on or you want to talk a little bit more, send me a message. I'd love to have a conversation. God presented it today as an opportunity and if I live that out 100%, then a complete stranger could become my best friend, like Brian, you and I got connected from a mutual friend, amber Spears. Conversations led to an interview, interview leads to opportunities. You don't need anything from me. I don't need anything from you, but an opportunity for us to become friends can begin. And that's the gift that all of us have to offer the world to make it a better place. Brian Webb: So true. Well, thanks for being here, Tony. You have been an amazing guest. I know the audience is going to love what you had to say today. Tony Grebmeier: Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________ CONNECT WITH TONY GREBMEIER Linkedin | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Tony Grebmeier Website | Email__________________________________
In this Do Marketing Better segment, Brian Webb discusses the best three ways to get your account banned on LinkedIn. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Do Marketing Better Segment Host: Brian Webb Ep. 36 - The Best 3 Ways To Get Your Account Banned on LinkedIn __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartradio | Stitcher ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital September Book Promo Building A Storybrand - Donald Miller The 10X Rule - Grant Cardone Dare To Lead - Brene Brown The Common Path To Uncommon Success - John Lee Dumas Never Lose A Customer Again - Joey Coleman Atomic Habits - James Clear Never Split The Difference Again - Chris Voss Leadershift - John Maxwell Expert Secrets - Russell Brunson Beyond A Million - Jim Dew ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT: Brian Webb: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the show today. Today, I'm going to tell you three ways, the three best ways to get your account banned on LinkedIn, which of course is something you don't want to do, right? So I'm going to teach you how to behave in a way so that your account will not get banned by LinkedIn. But before I do jump in, I want to remind you of a special promotion that I have going on. If you'll take three to four minutes of your time to do three things, one, go and follow me on Instagram @Brian Webb. Two, go and give this podcast a review or a rating, or both. Three, send me a screenshot between now and the end of September. And if you do, I'm going to pick two of you and I'm going to give you 10 books that have changed both my life and my business. So just as a reminder, Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller, The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone, Dare To Lead by Brene Brown, The Common Path To Uncommon Success by John Lee Dumas, Never Lose A Customer Again, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Never Split The Difference Again by Chris Voss, Leadershift, John Maxwell, Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson, and Beyond a Million by Jim Dew. These books have made a huge indelible impact in my life. They've truly changed my trajectory forever, and you can be one of two people that I'm going to give all 10 of those books to just because you, one, went and followed me on Instagram at @Brian Webb, two, went and gave this podcast a review and a rating. And three send me a screenshot on Instagram via Direct Messenger. At the end of the month, I'm going to pick two winners and I'm going to give all 10 of these books. So hopefully that's going to be you. I will tell you when we do ask for reviews or ratings, I promise you, this is not a vanity play. It's just the more that people review and rate the podcast, the more the various platforms will actually give more organic reach inside of the podcast platforms, which allows us to help even more people. So that's it. Today, I'm going to give you the three best ways to get your account banned on LinkedIn, so you want to avoid these behaviors. First, be careful that you do not have too much activity for the level of account that you have. In the past, it used to be that the normal accounts on LinkedIn could send out 50 invitations per day to connect. And if you have Sales Navigator, you could send up to 100 invitations a day. Now, in my opinion, LinkedIn is just not very effective without Sales Navigator, so I still recommend that you have it. But here recently, LinkedIn has been limiting the amount of invitations that you can send down to about 100 a week. That's 100 connection requests weekly. And somewhat of a bonus tip, be careful, do not use Chrome extensions to browse other people's profiles automatically, or run endorsements or auto engage for more than 50 profiles in a day, and not more than a few hours at a time. And while I'm a huge advocate for marketing automation, just be careful, LinkedIn is not a fan of these robotic softwares that engages on your behalf on LinkedIn. So just be really careful of that. And if you have sent previously, multiple requests out to people to connect and they're still out there as a pending request, you want to go in and sanitize that on a regular basis. LinkedIn does not look at your account favorably if you have hundreds or thousands of old pending connection requests. Now, basic accounts can only have up to 1,500 pending requests, and if you have a Sales Navigator upgrade, that account can have up to 2,500 requests before you have to go in and withdraw. However, I want to recommend that you don't get anywhere near 1,500 or 2,500. In fact, I would actually suggest, if you have requests that are older than 14 days, that you go back into your account and withdraw those connection requests. So to recap, one, be careful of having too much activity for the level of account that you have. Two, go back and monitor and withdraw your old pending connection requests. If they're more than two weeks old, go back in and undo them, withdraw them basically. And last, be careful about including too much information when you send a connection request. Remember that when you're sending a connection request on LinkedIn, your only goal is to connect. Your goal should not be to connect and pitch all at the same time. In fact, that's probably, without a doubt, the biggest mistake that I see on LinkedIn, everyone wants to connect and then pitch right away. And those are the people that won't understand why their LinkedIn marketing efforts aren't really paying off. They try to connect, they try to pitch, it's too fast. That's not the way people form relationships. So be a little patient, be willing to take some time to form that relationship over time. And remember, anytime you send somebody a connection request on LinkedIn, they have one of three options. They can accept, ignore, or they can indicate that they don't know this person. So if too many people select option three, "I don't know this person," your account will get restricted. So the goal is not to give them any reason to hit that option. So to recap, be careful about having too much activity, which usually, by the way, happens with automation, but be careful of having too much activity for the level of account that you have. Second, if you have a bunch of old pending connection requests that have not been accepted, go back in, sanitize, clean that up, withdraw those requests. And then last, be careful to include too many messages when you want to connect. Just say something that's relevant to that person, that's kind of what is in it for them. Be short, be brief, and then you can use engagement in the future and messages in the future to actually continue to nurture that relationship into a potential customer or client. So there you go, that's three behaviors to avoid if you want to really protect your LinkedIn account. Don't forget, if you love what we're doing here, go and follow me on Instagram @ Brian Webb, go and give this podcast a rating and a review, and then go and send me a direct message with a screenshot of your rating and review. I'm going to pick two lucky winners at the end of the month to give 10 books that will change your life, they'll change your business. Thanks for being here today. I will see you on the next episode. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________
Our guest today, Lisa Costello graduated from MIT with an undergrad in mechanical engineering and then went on to get her MBA from the Rice Executive Program. She's the President and Owner of M&H Consulting Ltd and today is going to help define ESG and how getting it right can help you to better grow and scale your business. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Host: Brian Webb Guest: Lisa Costello Episode 35: Understanding ESG & How Getting It Right Can Help You To Better Grow & Scale Your Business __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Stitcher ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS Whatbox Digital M&H Consulting ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT Brian Webb: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show today, it's always fun to be with you here and I want to introduce our guest today. Let me tell you some fun facts about her. One, she's the mother of four daughters, one of them a doctor, the other an attorney, the other, a physical therapist, and the other one is an architect. She is a multi-engine and instrument-rated pilot, but that's just the fun stuff. Let me tell you about the stuff that's relevant to this interview today. She graduated from MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with an undergrad in mechanical engineering. And if that's not enough, she goes on to get her MBA from the Rice Executive Program. She's the president and owner of M N H Consulting Ltd. I consider her a friend and she's also a member of the WBNC and the SASB Alliance. So you're probably picking up, Lisa is rarely not going to be the smartest person in the room. She's a very successful business leader and what she's going to talk about today is ESG. What is ESG? I know what it is. You might think you know what it is, but Lisa is going to bring some really, really good insights as to what it is, why it's important, why you should report about it, who benefits and who the stakeholders are. Let's jump into our interview with Lisa Costello, you're going to love her. You know, Lisa, you and I have had the opportunity, in fact, that's how I got to know you is through a mutual client that we're working with. And so, first of all, I just want to say welcome to the podcast today. Lisa Costello: Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity. Brian Webb: Yeah. So I've told the audience who you are. I know we're going to talk about ESG and I have a feeling, it's just a feeling I have, this is not data-driven, but I would imagine a percentage probably knows that E stands for environmental S stands for social and G stands for governance. But I know it wasn't until recently on this mutual initiative that we're working on and learning from you where I started to really understand or begin an understanding of what that is. So I would love for you to share with the audience, what is ESG? What does that mean? Lisa Costello: It does stand for environmental, social, and governance. It also can be interchangeably used with the term sustainability, which is protecting the resources we are... Using what we have in a way that we protect them for the generations that follow us, reduce, reuse, repurpose, that kind of stuff. But so going back to ESG, and one of the things that came up in our meeting when we first met was a lot of people think ESG is environmental, and it's all about climate change. And it's not, the social and the governance aspects are things that people don't typically think about, may not be well-defined, but have an impact on how a company is managed and the ESG framework allows investors, stakeholders in a company to see how a company is managed. It's the intangible stuff that doesn't show up on traditional financial statements. How you manage the resources, how you reuse them, a lot of that impacts your cost structure, your operating structure, the governance, are you using your employees well? Are you treating them well? Are they healthy? Are they happy? Are they productive? It's hard to define but once you start thinking about the things that may not have been mentioned before, but they are kind of lying underneath the surface, it does make a lot of sense. Brian Webb: Let me ask you this. I think I could come up with a reason or two, why I think this is important, but what would you say is the most significant reason or why ESG is important in business today? Lisa Costello: It's that part of the company, but again that's not reported on the traditional financial statements. So there are companies... So there's the enterprise value of a company and what some of the standard-setting agencies are seeing is that there's a decline in the ratio of the enterprise value to the assets of the company, which means that there's some assets that the company has that isn't being reported, whether it's goodwill or again, how you're benchmarked with your peers, is there an opportunity? A lot of it revolves around risk, but they also don't... A lot of people don't think about opportunities. Maybe you have the secret sauce in how you deal with your employees or how they interact with each other or how you manage your company and that's an opportunity for you to create a competitive advantage with your competitors. Brian Webb: So talk about reporting sustainability, why report sustainability? Lisa Costello: A lot of investors and a lot of this revolves around the investing community right now. It's been around for about 10 years. So it's not new, but the standards are being developed, there's some alignment between some of the agencies. Some of them are more environmental, human capital, and then the other stuff you report it because you want your investors to know that you're thinking about these things. There may be room for improvement, but you're at least thinking about the things that matter to your company, that aren't warehouses and inventory and leases and that kind of stuff. Brian Webb: Who would you say benefits when a company becomes more sustainable-minded, focusing more on ESG and reporting on it? Who would you say benefits from this? Lisa Costello: I would say all of the stakeholders of a company and starting with the employees. If you're reporting on sustainability, you're already thinking about it and you've got a plan. So the employees benefit, it's a more stable company. Typically, they have... The management is better, management benefits, the investors benefit because there's transparency now. A lot of the stuff that's reported in a sustainability report are things that people would have kept secret before because they thought everyone in the public didn't need to know about it. But now with being transparent, it makes it easier for the investors to determine how risky the investment is. There are a number of different stakeholders that will look at a sustainability report and one of the challenges of writing a report is do you write a report that's targeted to one audience, or do you write a report that's targeted to everybody? Because you only want to do it once a year. And a lot of the criticisms of sustainability reports are that they're too long, there's too much information. And that's because companies don't want to put out four different reports, one for the investors, one for the employees. So there's a lot of information in them, but they're important because specifically with investors, it's about cost of capital, de-risking the company, and being transparent. They know where the risks and opportunities are, they can benchmark them against your competitors or against an industry standard. And they can also see how you're improving or maybe not improving year after year, what you said you were going to do. And there are different rating agencies and they have different metrics and so some of them surprisingly are very quantitative and you can see how you're improving year over year. Brian Webb: I saw in the news that Tesla in May actually became a constituent of the S&P 500 ESG Index. So that's what I was going to ask kind of next was who determines what your ESG score is and what is a good ESG score? What does that metric look like? Lisa Costello: The real answer is right now, there isn't anybody that... Well, I take that back. There are rating agencies that will give you an ESG score. Their metrics are proprietary and they don't... So they'll take a sustainability report that a company will produce and they will score it. If you're a member of that company or if you're a member of that ESG committee or something the rating agencies will discuss with you how they got to your score, but generally, their formula is proprietary. Brian Webb: Yeah. Kind of like the credit bureau bureaus what you're telling me basically. Lisa Costello: Exactly. There's an ESG [inaudible 00:08:01] and there about four of them that now have enough traction that they're like the four best well-known. So the short answer is I don't know how they come up with their scores- Brian Webb: Because it's proprietary. Yeah. Lisa Costello: ... because it's proprietary, but you can also look... I mean, they have industry benchmarks going with some of the SASB standards, they have industry benchmarks that you can use their metrics and see where you stand with regards to the industry that you're in. Brian Webb: That makes sense. Lisa Costello: Or also your competitors sometimes publish those metrics and you can see how you compare or benchmark with your competitors. Brian Webb: One of the things that you taught me in collaboration with this client that we both get to work with is that prior to knowing you and not being an ESG professional, I would have thought that E would have been the capital letter of social and governance. But one of the things that you taught and again to our mutual client is that really the governance is the bottom of the pyramid or the foundation. Talk about that for a second because again, prior to knowing you, I think ESG, I think environment, I think sustainability. And so I would have thought that the E the environment would have been the foundation, but one of the things that you taught me was that really it's the governance that is the foundation. Talk about that for a minute. Lisa Costello: So governance is, how is the company run? How are the people that run the company? What is their oversight? Who oversees them? Who monitors them? And what are the rules? And I don't want to say regulations because that's too strong of a word. But what are their processes and procedures that allow them to run a good company or run an honest company with integrity and transparency? So when you're talking about governance, you're talking about the management team, you're talking about the board, you're talking about outside auditors who might vet and rubber stamp the financial statements, you're talking about executive compensation. And so that's the governance and so when you're talking about governance, you're talking about the base of the pyramid, the foundation of a company, and from the board and the management team and the auditors, you drive your culture, your company culture, so to speak. And that flows up into your social, which is how do you treat your employees? How do you treat the community that you live in? How do you treat the people that you work with outside of your employees? Your vendors, your customers. And then on top is the E. So if you do your governance correctly, your social sits on top of that and a good government makes good social easy. When you're doing a good social program that kind of almost by default rolls up into the environment because you're taking care of the people that you work with and treating your community with the respect that it deserves so that it's there for the seventh generation follower. Brian Webb: You said something earlier about the cost of capital. I think this is going to be the lynchpin question here today because I would imagine our audience is thinking ESG, this is a business growth podcast, what does one have to do with the other, which it really does have a lot to do with it. But more and more VC and investors are using ESG ratings as a metric for whether they do give capital or not, right? Lisa Costello: Correct. And one thing that came out of 2020 and the COVID is that companies with good ESG scores tended to do better during the pandemic in the stock market. Brian Webb: Interesting. Lisa Costello: They had good ESG scores and it all goes back into that governance issue. They had good ASG scores, they had good governance, their management team were sharp and focused, forward-looking and they have stable companies going into that. In a way that companies that weren't... Okay, I wasn't reporting ESG. So you still could have a good company, but it makes it easier. You're already thinking about it, you're proving that you're thinking about it and there's a structure for the governance in the ESG world that it's already there, it's very easy to do and when you report on it to investors, they're more comfortable because they know they can take out the risk that they've written in for what if there's a hurricane. You're reporting on your environmental, your climate disasters, your water usage. Is there a risk there? Are you using too much or are you going to have a issue with storms? Where's your real estate? Are you in the Southern part of the United States where you potentially could... We're looking at in the next couple of days you could be dealing with a tropical storm. So investors, the more information they have, the easier it is for them to be comfortable with giving you money and that translates into a lower cost of capital. Brian Webb: That makes sense, Lisa. So thanks for breaking this down a little bit. I think you brought some insight and some clarity as to what ESG is, why it's important. And again, it really can impact your ability to fund or to raise capital for your business to fund growth. If our audience wants to learn more about you and the services that your company provides in terms of consulting, where's the best place for them to find you. Lisa Costello: They can find me on LinkedIn and they can also find my company on our website at M N H Consulting, www.mhcfirm.com. Brian Webb: Mhcfirm.com and we'll put that in the show notes too. Well. Good. Well, thank you, Lisa, for being on the show today. Thanks for bringing us your insight and your experience and your wisdom. Been a tremendous guest, we appreciate you being here today. Lisa Costello: Thank you. Bye. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________ CONNECT WITH LISA COSTELLO Linkedin | M&H Consulting __________________________________
In this Do Marketing Better segment, Brian Webb shares a framework, or funnel, for using auto webinars to generate leads and grow your business. Learn More Earn More Business Growth Podcast Do Marketing Better Segment Host: Brian Webb Ep. 34 - How To Create An Auto-Webinar Sales Funnel That Consistently Generates Leads For Your Business __________________________________ SUBSCRIBE Apple | Google Play | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | iHeartradio | Stitcher ________________________________ RESOURCES & HELPFUL LINKS September Book Promo Building A Storybrand - Donald Miller The 10X Rule - Grant Cardone Dare To Lead - Brene Brown The Common Path To Uncommon Success - John Lee Dumas Never Lose A Customer Again - Joey Coleman Atomic Habits - James Clear Never Split The Difference Again - Chris Voss Leadershift - John Maxwell Expert Secrets - Russell Brunson Beyond A Million - Jim Dew Whatbox Digital Webinar Fuel ________________________________ TRANSCRIPT: Brian Webb: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show today. It's good to have you here. Before we jump into today's episode where we're going to talk about an auto webinar funnel, we love sales funnels here at Whatbox Digital, and we know, we believe, it's proven sales funnels are how you grow your business systematically as far as when it comes to marketing. But before we jump into the episode, I'm doing a giveaway in the month of September. Here's what you've got to do to win, three steps. Step number one, go and follow me on Instagram. I'm @brian, B-R-I-A-N, Webb, W-E-B-B, @brianwebb on Instagram. Step one. Step two, go and leave me a rating and a review for the podcast. And the last step, DM me on Instagram @brianwebb and send me a screenshot of your rating and review. Here's what I'm going to give away at the end of September, 10 books that I've read that I love, that have been game-changers both in my own personal growth and development, but even more so for growing my business. Here's what they are. Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller. The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone, a book about sales. Brené Brown's Dare to Lead, a phenomenal book. The Common Path to Uncommon Success by John Lee Dumas. Never Lose a Customer Again by Joey Coleman. It is literally a framework that you can install on your business to make sure that you never lose a customer again. It's all about customer service. Atomic Habits by James Clear, a phenomenal book. Never Split the Difference Again, a book written by former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss. It's all about negotiation. Leadershift by John Maxwell loved that one. Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson. And Beyond a Million by Jim Dew. These 10 books can absolutely change your life and they can definitely help you to grow your business smarter and faster. And that's all you've got to do, three to five minutes of your time. Follow me on Instagram @brianwebb, go give the podcast a review and a rating, DM me a screenshot of your review and a rating. And I will pick two winners at the end of the month, end of September. And I'm going to choose two lucky winners who will get all 10 of these books, books that have changed my life. They will change your life. It would cost you over $160 to go buy those books. But if you read and implement those books, they will add hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to your income, maybe even millions of dollars. So hopefully you'll find that this is the best three, four, five minutes of your time that you've spent in years. So let's get into the episode today. So if you use webinars for your business, to grow your business, and there's all kinds of webinars and they have all different kinds of reasons to exist. So for example, you might be doing webinars as a tool to actually sell something, a product, or a digital product. You might be using webinars to generate leads for your business, for your consulting business, your financial services business, your coaching business, whatever. In today's Do Marketing Better segment of the podcast, I'm going to give you a framework, a funnel for using auto webinars to generate leads and grow your business. Here are a few takeaways you're going to get today. This webinar funnel is fantastic for using webinars to actually book calls, especially for consultants and businesses that are looking to generate, let's just say $1,000 to 5,000, maybe $8,000 a month for what you do. I'm going to share a simple step that you can add to your registration page that will probably give you in the ballpark of about 12% more leads. I'm going to talk about a strategy for splitting up your thank you pages that turns them into additional revenue streams. And I'm going to give you some tips that you can use to get the highest conversions you've ever seen in your webinars. So if you're using webinars and you want to use automatic webinars, and this sounds good to you, let's jump on in. So if you've ever done an automatic webinar, you might already know that this can be challenging because of the technology issues. It might be too obvious that the webinar isn't actually live. That's not good. So to get started, let's talk about the tool, webinarfuel.com. I'll put a link in the show notes, go check out that tool, webinarfuel.com. This tool makes your webinar an in-software, as opposed to in a web browser. It's an in-software webinar tool, which is really part of what makes it feel like it's live, as opposed to prerecorded. If you want to broadcast the replays, you can do that inside of a typical web browser. So of course the first step in any funnel is creating or generating traffic. We're not going to talk about traffic today, but back in episode four on March 2nd, 2021, I actually gave a masterclass episode. It was called Masterclass: The Four Secret Advanced Website Marketing and Traffic Strategies to Dominate Your Competition and Generate More Leads. So go back and check out episode four, if you want to learn more about how to master traffic. So knowing that traffic is really the first step, let's talk about the first step of the funnel. For your registration page, one powerful tip, only ask for the email address in step one of two. And here's why. Of course, you want their first name, their last name, maybe even their business name, maybe their cell phone number. I know that you want all that information, but the more that you ask for upfront, the lower your conversion rates are going to be. So if you have a registration page, on that first page, only ask for the email address, which will then take them over to a second page. On this page is where you can ask for whatever other information you want to collect. You're going to discover that because people have already given their email address and they have vested themselves in a process, they're much more likely to give you all of the other information that you want. So step one of the funnel is the registration page, which you're going to divide into two pages, page one, the page that promote the webinar, where you're going to ask for nothing more than their email address. Page two, you're going to collect the rest of their information. Let's talk about the second step of the funnel. You're going to have two separate thank you pages for those that register. One thank you page if it's more than an hour before the webinar is supposed to start. If this is the case, you might want to think about making an upsell or a one-time offer to sell before the webinar, like a book or a lead magnet or anything where you can monetize the sales funnel, whether or not they show up to the webinar. This is a great way of creating what's called a self-liquidating funnel. Meaning whether or not you monetize them on the back end by selling your services or whatever it is that you're pitching in the webinar, you can at least make the cost for your paid traffic breakeven by offering them something that they can buy as a one-time offer or an upsell that again, helps you to monetize the funnel, whether or not you monetize them on the other side of the webinar. You're then going to have a separate thank you page if it's less than an hour before your webinar starts because at this point you don't want to distract them with upsells or one-time offers. This thank you page is just about guiding them to the event. Don't distract them with other offers. Basically don't do anything. If it's less than an hour before the webinar is supposed to begin, leave it at that, just get them to the webinar. Step three of this automatic webinar funnel is to get them to the webinar. I'm not suggesting ever that you lie. Don't tell your audience that this is a live webinar if it's not. However, you can make it feel like a live webinar. And just by using the tool WebinarFuel, that's going to make it feel like it really is a live webinar because it's an in-software webinar tool, as opposed to just some video that you've embedded onto a webpage or a landing page. So now that we've gotten your traffic, those that have signed up or registered to your webinar, if you're really good at putting on a webinar, a percentage of your audience is going to buy from you during the webinar, right? You're going to take them to a form where they can get a one-time offer. But for those that don't buy, what you're going to want to do is to direct them to an email follow-up sequence, which then pushes people to what will feel like an automatic webinar, even though the first webinar was also an automatic webinar, but at this point, you can use an email sequence to get them to an automatic webinar. And it's going to feel that way because you're just going to take them to it in a web browser. So, that's it. Other than driving traffic, it's a four-step funnel. It's a lead-generating funnel, a sales funnel that you can set it up once and done. You can continue to send traffic to it. And then you've basically added a jet engine onto your business that gives you more thrust. It's going to drive leads for you systematically. So not only are there tons of other sales funnels that we'll be talking about in the future. And we've talked about some in the past, there are actually multiple webinar funnels that you can use. This is just one of them that we coach our clients through. I tell people all the time, clients and non-clients alike, if you do not have and use and leverage the power of sales funnels, I can guarantee you that you have a lead gen problem. You don't have a system that automatically generates leads for you month after month. So, that's it. That is the auto webinar funnel that you can use to grow your business. I hope you found this helpful. And don't forget, go rate and review the podcast. I'd love for you to do that. When you do that, you help us to reach more people and help more people. And if you do go rate and review the podcast, don't forget, follow me on Instagram @brianwebb. Direct message me on Instagram with the screenshot of your review and rating. I'm going to pick two lucky winners at the end of September to give away these 10 books that can absolutely revolutionize your life and revolutionize your business. That's it. I'll see you on the next episode. ________________________________ FIND & FOLLOW WHATBOX DIGITAL Website | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram ________________________________ CONNECT WITH BRIAN WEBB Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram Email: brianw@whatboxdigital.com Clubhouse: @brianwebb __________________________________
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