Fail To Learn: Teaching stories from business, sales, marketing, coaching, blogging, freelance, & entrepreneurs.

By Matt Fox: Entrepreneur, Business, Sales & Marketing Strategist, and BloggerBusiness News Business News

Fail To Learn: Teaching stories from business, sales, marketing, coaching, blogging, freelance, & entrepreneurs. episodes

April 05, 2016FtL 22: Why It Takes Guts To Be Ash Ambirge
Ash Ambirge is one of the most colorful and unique writers on these old internets.
I love her style. She brings details to life. She elegantly dances with metaphor. As Seth Godin said, she has an, "original voice in a world that sorely needs it."
You can find her at The Middle Finger Project. Go subscribe and let her tickle your reading bone.
Ash shares how she went from sleeping in her car to launching her first product. And how it's all about guts.
Here's what we talk about:
Her start in the corporate world and her painful trip through her own copywriting business.
How Ash picked the wrong clients, even though they seemed like the ideal clients.
Why she did work to make her resume look good but didn't enjoy the work at all.
Why she said she was "foolishly optimistic" and what that led to.
The struggle she faced, praying not to overdraw her bank account, when her roommate kicked her out (so her roommate's boyfriend could move in).
A wild story about a beautiful guy (her words) who ended up surprising her with something you can't imagine.
What made Ash say she thought she was living in a "white trash soap opera."
How sleeping in her car, in a Kmart parking lot, gave her the guts to change everything.
Why she thinks you're scared to make offers to your customers.
The importance of showing up.
Why she wrote her first book for herself and why she needed it.
What she means when she said, "The only way we can connect with people is by helping them to see you...insisting on being yourself." And how it's an important, human act.
Why Ash thinks the bar is consistently being raised.
Why it's important to find people who can help you make sure your business is taken seriously.
How the words, "Go, go, go," changed her world.
What Ash's nervous habit is.
Why she is glad she ignored the "Sign up for my newsletter" trend.
Why Ash is suspicious of "regularly regurgitated traditional marketing advice."
Why it's important for you to give people what they want. And how it's helped her grow her email list and build her business.
Enjoy the show:
Why It Takes Guts To Be Ash Ambirge
Mentioned in this episode:
TheMiddleFingerProject.com
Seth Godin
Podcast episode #21 with Ben Settle
Book: How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
43 min
March 29, 2016FtL 21: How Ben Settle Paid The Cost To Be The Boss
Ben Settle lays claim to being a lazy marketer. He says he spends about 10 to 15 minutes each day to send an email and then screws around the rest of the day.
I don’t think he has it that easy. But I’m sure he doesn’t work as hard as he has in the past.
If you don’t know the song reference in the title, it’s from a song that has one of the most beautiful beats in music: James Brown’s The Boss. It’s a line Ben mentions in our interview and a song he’s mentioned in his emails about the struggles he’s gone through to get where he is today.
I enjoyed this interview immensely. I learned some things about Ben’s business I hadn’t known before.
He’s built a nice little empire and it came from struggling to figure out where he could fit in. It seems like he was just selling stuff to try and make ends meet. He ultimately paid the cost through those failures and became the boss after finding a way to help people become better marketers with email.
You’ll enjoy this episode. Here’s what we discussed:
Why Ben wishes he had a stronger father presence as a kid.
Why he said the bum on the corner rattling a can and asking for change works harder than he does.
How Ben turned his box program into a monthly continuity program.
How Ben honed the art of quickly writing daily emails that convert to sales.
What happened when Google slapped Ben’s business and forced him to rethink everything.
How he worked his ass off so he could finally achieve his first goal and stop working for other people.
How he launched the Email Players newsletter.
What drove the immediate success of Email Players.
How writing daily emails makes writing novels much easier.
How copywriting saved Ben and changed his life.
Why he failed at MLM before he found copywriting, and why that’s important to you.
How a simple story in the book The 7 Lost Secrets of Success made him change everything.
The difference between face-to-face sales and selling via copywriting.
Why understanding your market is the critical piece you need when writing your sales letters.
Why asking the right questions is pivotal to sales and building your sales letter.
Why his friend, Doberman Dan, tried to talk him out of starting the Email Players newsletter.
Why a list that trusts you is the difference that makes the difference.
How emailing every day improves your position with your market.
Why Email Players instantly blew away the success of his previous newsletter.
Why a physical product triggers a dopamine drip in your customers.
Why you want your customers taking your products into the bathroom and the bedroom.
How Ben makes his decisions on what his next project will be now.
What Ben means when he said, “You just have to take care of your own stuff first, even if it’s frivolous.”
Why he thinks a lot of writers shouldn’t be writing.
Why he finds writing therapeutic.
Enjoy the show:
How Ben Settle Paid The Cost To Be The Boss
47 min
March 22, 2016FtL 20: Slow Growth Wasn’t The Goal Of ActiveCampaign’s CEO But, In Hindsight, It Was The Right Thing To Do
Today I talk with Jason VandeBoom. Jason is the founder and CEO of ActiveCampaign.
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform used by many online and offline businesses. It has evolved to become a unique solution that excels in the arena it plays in.
Jason started the company in 2003. They offered email, marketing, and customer support type software you uploaded and installed on your own server. You had to be slightly techn savvy to understand the details and get it up and running. And that caused some issues.
In 2010 they decided to slip away from those products and focus on one ideal solution. And that's where Jason found his struggles and thinks they would be different today if they made some different decisions.
Here's what we discuss:
How they decided to transition from 8 products to only one, ActiveCampaign.
Why you don't want to sell tech heavy software to tech fearing people.
How they survived going from selling 4 and 5 figure purchase contracts to offering a single product starting at $9 per month.
Why it was important to Jason to take their time to get revenue back up after the transition.
Why you face certain risk challenges when you're bootstrapped and self-funded.
Why he thinks they lost out of potential growth and could be a much larger company today if things went differently, and why that's important to you.
Why he views their past caution as a good thing, and how it allowed ActiveCampaign to make huge improvements in the last year.
Why it's important to do the right thing for existing clients, even when it slows down growth.
The double-edged sword you face when offering a low priced product.
Why it's important to have single focus clarity.
How their single solution has allowed them to provide better service, reduced new hire training problems, and made everyone in the company more focused.
How to integrate human touch points even with marketing automation.
How ActiveCampaign clients use their platform in ways they never imagined.
Enjoy the show.
Slow Growth Wasn’t The Goal Of ActiveCampaign’s CEO But, In Hindsight, It Was The Right Thing To Do
38 min
March 15, 2016FtL 19: We Had A Great Team, And A Bad Business Model with Adam Franklin
Adam Franklin runs Australia's top business blog, BlueWire Media.
His business started out strong as a web design agency and evolved into an online marketing agency. They had a team of 10 full-time employees and a business model with unpredictable cash flow.
Things were running strong when their clients began 'suspending' their monthly payments. Cash flow shriveled up. Without cash on hand, he had to do the hardest thing any business owner has to do, lay people off.
And that's when they began to evolve into his current business model.
In this episode we discuss:
How Adam started BlueWire Media in 2005 and sold websites without knowing a line of code.
Why marketing your website is more important than the site itself.
How consistent expenses with "lumpy income" is the worst type of business.
How quickly bringing on clients, so you can pay your bills, leads to lower quality clients and higher aggravation.
Why cash on hand is important in your business. It may seem obvious but this will drill it home.
Why Adam felt successful for the wrong reasons.
Why laying off their employees was the most freeing thing they could do, despite being the hardest decision they've ever made.
How Adam leveraged BlueWire Media's new model by keeping costs same and getting more 'people in seats.'
How their old model couldn't scale, and why that's important to you.
Why Adam said, "There's always room to improve. You're never stuck on one path."
Why it's important to evolve your business.
How the things you fear most are often the best moves you can make now.
What Adam thought was a failure turned into a blessing.
Why Adam is proud of his mistakes now.
This is a great show. If you've ever had employees, you'll understand the struggle Adam went through.
Enjoy the show.
We Had A Great Team, And A Bad Business Model with Adam Franklin
39 min
March 08, 2016FtL 18: David Nihill’s Fear Of Public Speaking Lead Him To Discover Comedy Insights You Can Use To Captivate Your Audience
Today’s show is layered with a small dose of funny. My guest is David Nihill, the author of Do You Talk Funny? 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker.
When I originally asked David to be on the show he replied saying he didn’t have any business failures to share, but thanks. I didn’t agree with that because he took on comedy to overcome his fear of public speaking. He couldn’t stand in front of a room and talk. That’s a problem many people, possibly you, face.
So I hit him over the head and dragged him into the cave to share his story. What he teaches will help entrepreneurs, CEOs, managers, sales people, coaching calls, and more. Humor makes everything easier. And David makes humor easy.
Here’s what David and I discuss:
Why David’s friends called him “Shakin Stevens.”
How he fell apart the first time speaking.
How fear of public speaking can hold you back at work and other areas of your life.
Why David still hates being on camera, and what he’s given up because of this fear.
Why he chose stand-up comedy, of all things, to face his public speaking fear.
Why he said comedians are the true masters of public speaking.
What you can learn from comedians to present better and make more sales.
Why stories drive the best comedy, and the best business presentations.
How David uses stories with traditional comedy techniques to build his routine.
What he took from comedy to apply in business.
What you can do to hone the funny parts in your presentations so you don’t have to master the stand-up comedy circuit.
Why comedians always watch what they did to get feedback and improve.
Why “winging it” is the worst thing you can do when presenting.
The two parts of your presentation that you must completely control to be a true master.
What “calling the room” means and how you can use it for maximum impact in your presentations.
The structure of a joke, and how to use it in your presentations and stories.
Why you’re being judged from the first minute of your presentation, and how to start strong.
Why he feels slightly guilty for Donald Trump becoming who he is today, because of David’s mother.
How to create a “memory palace” to help you remember your stories.
The one thing most people can do to feel relaxed and calm before any presentation.
Why David hates most public speaking books.
How David tested his ideas before writing his book to see if there was a market for it.
How comedy improves your ability to write stories.
Why practice is so critical.
Why he started comedy under the anonymous name of “Irish Dave.”
What David does that helps him tweak his creative efforts.
Enjoy the show.
David Nihill’s Fear Of Public Speaking Lead Him To Discover Comedy Insights You Can Use To Captivate Your Audience
57 min
March 03, 2016FtL 17: How Scott Oldford Went From $726,000 In Debt To Infinite Possibilities
How Scott Oldford Went From $726,000 In Debt To Infinite Possibilities
Scott Oldford started his first business when he was a child selling eggs. That business grew, yes it was a business, and as he grew he moved on.
He was a golden child and, as he said, he felt like he had the Midas Touch. And then the roller coaster ride began.
Here’s what Scott and I discuss in this show:
How the people around him gave him a false sense of business invincibility.
How that opinion kept him taking bigger risks, which led to his eventual collapse.
How he prevents that false security today, and why you want to do the same.
How he went to receive an American Express Innovators Award while his business was failing.
How he found himself $726,000 in debt and how he climbed out.
The question that blew him away and made him realize he wasn’t what he thought.
Why he attributes Chris Brogan to his change of attitude and ability to please everyone.
Why he wakes up feeling like he has a gun to his head and how that motivates him.
How he analyzes every dollar spent now.
Why Scott is still haunted with the thought, “This ride is going to crash,” despite business being better than ever.
How he makes faster decisions.
How he quickly cuts losses now. And how that’s changed his business.
How to avoid big gambles in any one project.
The importance of your “emotional immune system.”
How he surrounds himself with the right people now.
Why it’s important to have a broke mindset.
How he plans on impacting 100,000 entrepreneurs with his business model.
Why it’s important for you to build value with someone before you can ask for help.
Enjoy the show.
How Scott Oldford Went From $726,000 In Debt To Infinite Possibilities
48 min
March 01, 2016FtL 16: Life Changing Story Creates A Story Coach Success
Who doesn’t love a great story? We all do. Did you know you can change your life simply by creating a story?
Lisa Bloom joins us today to share her life-changing story and how story changed her life. Now she uses story to help businesses and individuals communicate their story in the most effective and compelling way possible.
Lisa was a joy to speak with because I love how story and metaphor weave their way throughout our lives. Even when we don’t think they’re there.
Here’s what Lisa and I discuss:
How a person who tells stories creates trust more quickly, attracts better clients, can sell more easily, etc.
Why adults have forgotten how to tell stories and how important they are to us.
How she lost a job interview because she didn’t understand their story.
Why she kept asking “Who do I need to be?” in order for them to hire her.
Why she was unsuccessful when asking that question.
Why people respond favorably when you tell stories.
How stories open minds and communicate on multiple levels.
How storytelling can let you relax in stressful situations.
What she means when she said, “It’s important to be whole, be the full person showing up.”
How storytelling is not just entertainment and how you can use it to explore possibilities and create a better business.
How you can build trust with story.
Why we tell stories all the time and don’t realize it.
How you can change your story and change your reality.
Why she’s not worried in front of a cynical audience.
Why it’s important for you to work on your inner story.
Storytelling is not just fairytales, books, and movies.
How story can help with brain health.
How story changes things for the better.
Why she would love to hear Barrack Obama’s stories.
Enjoy the show.
Life Changing Story Creates A Story Coach Success
40 min
February 25, 2016FtL 15: Is There A Success Club?
Is There A Success Club?
How long do you think you could keep trying to build a business before you gave up? This show’s guest shares his long struggle to find success.
Today’s guest is Shannon Hansen. Shannon is an overnight success generating leads for the financial world. Overnight success doesn’t include the six years of struggling and fighting until everything finally fell into place.
You may not know who he is but his story will keep you pushing through and looking forward to the next time the world tries to knock you down.
What Shannon and I discuss:
What made him leave his secure position as a contractor.
How multi-level marketing was his gateway drug into the entrepreneurship world.
Why he thought he wasn’t coachable and how that held him back.
How he was able to stay motivated despite constantly losing each battle to survive.
Why he believes there is a “Success Club,” and only those who can wait the longest in line are allowed into the club.
Why it’s important to have a deep connection to your “Why?”
How you can realize you’re already successful and invincible.
How Shannon turned failure into a game.
Now that’s Shannon’s financially successful, what it means to him and how it is nothing like he expected.
Why you have to be careful when you hit success?
Now Shannon focuses on the legacy he’s leaving behind.
Enjoy the show.
42 min
February 23, 2016FtL 14: Facebook Advertising Genius, After Learning Some Brutal Truths About Life And Business
Facebook Advertising Genius After Learning Some Brutal Truths About Life And Business
Nicholas Kusmich runs a highly successful Facebook marketing agency/consulting business. It wasn’t like this a few years ago.
Nicholas was lucky. He hit success when he was young. He was a top salesperson for Cutco knives. He moved to selling investments from the stage and earning a living that was the envy of his friends. Then he found out the investments he was selling weren’t above board (which is a nice way to say they weren’t legal).
And things didn’t just start going downhill. It’s like he was thrown from a cliff. And, that’s what we start discussing in this show.
What else is in this episode?
What people said to him after finding out what he sold was illegal?
Why he left his father’s side in the hospital, the day his dad had a heart attack, so he could go sell from the stage.
Why he kept defending the “investment” company when he first found out things weren’t right.
How he realized, “Your reputation is all you have.”
The conflict he grappled with because the money was so tempting. He was afraid to leave.
Why he said significance and certainty play a big role in people’s lives.
How he continued to lose money with each business idea he saw online and in network marketing.
Why he said you find out who are your friends when things turn bad.
The 3 things that kept driving him to these bad business ideas, and kept driving him deeper in debt.
How he keeps his “greed gland” in check before making decisions.
How he understands his weaknesses and makes contingencies for them.
How his priorities have changed and how that makes business better.
Why Facebook ads are failing for old-school, direct marketers and how he makes them work.
How to approach Facebook ads as a social channel.
How to think about the people reading your ads.
What is “infobesity?”
The importance of “just in time” learning.
Enjoy the show.
38 min
February 18, 2016FtL 13: What Would Happen If You Left Your Business To Travel For A Month?
Today’s show is with Zephan Blaxberg. Zephan has had a fortunate career. He hasn’t been through the massive losses some of our guests have seen but he’s had his own issues he had to battle.
One day he decided to leave his business for a month and find out what would happen. What would happen to the business? What would happen to him?
Here’s what Zephan and I discuss:
How his successful video production company left him angry with most of his clients.
Why he kept working, even when he felt like everyone around him was living their life.
What motivated him to uproot everything, leave his successful business, and go to California.
How his motivation for money had him looking around his apartment for things to sell on eBay, even when he was financially safe.
The surprising thing his mother told him when he said he needed to go on his trip to California.
What happened to his business when he returned from his trip.
What he means when he said, “Who am I when you take everything away? I am everything when you take everything away.”
How he discovered what was truly important.
How he works the 80/20 principle.
Why he recommends Gary Keller’s book The ONE Thing.
Why it’s important for you to write down ideas as they come up.
How you can use your friends to figure out worthwhile ideas to pursue.
How to clear your head.
Why he feels like he’s still being held back with his video production business.
Enjoy the show.
View the post, all the links mentioned in the show, and get the 1-Page Quick Action Sheet here: What Would Happen If You Left Your Business To Travel For A Month?
42 min

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Success is found on a path of mistakes. Matt Fox, from FrictionFreeSales.com, talks with those who have found success so you can learn from their mistakes, and failures. You'll discover you're not…

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Fail To Learn: Teaching stories from business, sales, marketing, coaching, blogging, freelance, & entrepreneurs.

Fail To Learn: Teaching stories from business, sales, marketing, coaching, blogging, freelance, & entrepreneurs. episodes

About Fail To Learn: Teaching stories from business, sales, marketing, coaching, blogging, freelance, & entrepreneurs.