Onward Nation

Frank Cottle is CEO of Alliance Virtual Offices and Chairman of the Alliance Business Centers Network with over 650 centers operating in 42 counties. He is the recognized expert on flexible working, the virtual office movement, and third place working. Prior to creating the Alliance brand, Frank successfully operated his own portfolio of business centers in multiple locations across North America. Frank has spent almost 30 years delivering business services that are finely turned to the workplace needs of startups, entrepreneurs, and growing small businesses. He has worked with tens of thousands of business owners and has become the go-to authority on flexible and remote work.

• Frank's background
• Why Frank believes that the secret to time-saving and focus is building a team
• Why you cannot leave anyone out of the communications in a company
• Why you need to find joy in your work every day
• Why Frank's goal is to be the best student of his industry
• Why you need to understand cycles and treat them differently
• Empowering people so that they can make decisions above & below their responsibilities
• Why you need to look at how you're going to react quickly to any given situation
• Why stagnation kills companies
• Why the most important thing in business is flexibility

• Website: www.alliancevirtualoffices.com

Stephen is the CEO of Predictive ROI and the host of the Onward Nation podcast. He is the author of two bestselling books, speaker, trainer, and his digital marketing insights have been featured in SUCCESS, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and other media.

Good Morning Onward Nation – I'm Stephen Woessner and welcome to Episode 460 – this week's solocast where I will share the specific step-by-step recipe for how to get a sponsor for your podcast, a lesson that I learned directly from one of today's leading authorities on the topic of sponsorships. Her name is Linda Hollander, and she is off-the-charts amazing. I'm telling you – the lesson in this solocast is going to help you monetize your podcast in new ways – or – if you already have sponsors – it may give you some new insights so you can sell your sponsorships upwards of $100,000 per year.

Thank you for being here – thank you for all of your support – thank you for all of your daily encouragement – thank you for all of the wonderful emails sharing what you like about the show – and just as important – sharing how my team and I can get better – how we can deliver even more value to you and your teammates.

I appreciate the emails, the tweets, the Facebook posts, and all of the connection requests on LinkedIn. I want you to know how much you mean to me – how much you and what you share with us energize my team and me.

You and your feedback is the lifeblood of the show and so before we dive into today's lesson – I want you to know how much I deeply appreciate you taking some of your precise 86,400 seconds you were blessed enough to receive today – and sharing your time – your most precious asset – and deciding to share it with me.

And because time is the most precious asset for all of us – I have invested my time in building a lesson for you today that will add value in potentially many areas of your business. But I will say – despite the value this lesson will provide you – it may make you uncomfortable. You may feel put on the spot.

As you consider the potential of executing on the ideas I share with you this morning – you may immediately begin to talk yourself out of the opportunity. You may second-guess yourself.

You may feel that you and your business are not worthy of such lofty goals.

So as we move through the lesson…as I share with you the practical and tactical of what you need to do when you work to attract a sponsor for your podcast…and you start to second-guess yourself…and begin to feel that your show or your business is not at that right level…I want you to remember the wise words of Marianne Williamson when she said…

But…how do I know this to be true?

Because Onward Nation, Marianne's words struck me to the core the first time I read them. I was hit hard. I knew she was speaking to me and other people who felt the same way as me. In three simple sentences – she beautifully addressed head on the biggest obstacle of success that was blocking my path.

So now, instead of praying and focusing on opportunity to come my way…I have shifted the context to be more in-line with being ready to accept the abundance – to be okay in becoming the person I need to become to be the best steward possible – to be open and let the light shine in to cast out the darkness – so that I can see my full destiny unfold.

I am sharing all of this with you, in full transparency, so you have an opportunity to get your mindset right – to know you are worthy – that you are ready – that you can be more – that your business is ready for that next level – that your podcast is ready for a sponsorship – and that you are ready to apply all you learn here today.

And that I know the points where today's lesson about attracting sponsorships will make you feel uncomfortable because I have been there. I have felt the uneasiness of "not being ready" first hand. But I am telling you, Onward Nation – if you apply what I share with your this morning, you will push past the fear and leap onward to that next level.

For example, when my Predictive ROI team and I launched Onward Nation in June of 2015…some of the first questions from people closest to us had nothing to do with the tactical of how we were able to build the show from scratch and launch it in less than 30-days…or…how we were able to soar to the top of iTunes within just a few short weeks.

Nope.

Oftentimes, one of the very first questions I received from those closest to me was…

"When are you going to sell a sponsorship?"

This was a frequently asked question because having a sponsor was an outward sign of success – of legitimacy – that we had made it – that we were on our way to doing something special.

But here's the truth, Onward Nation. The thought of selling a sponsorship early on terrified me. I was afraid of the rejection. I was afraid of sharing what might seem like small numbers for a new show.

I didn't want to waste my time or the time of the prospective sponsors. I was afraid of being embarrassed during the process.

And the list goes on and on. But ultimately, I didn't feel that this show – a couple of years ago – was worthy of a paid sponsorship.

But there was something else – and potentially even more paralyzing. I had no idea what to do – I didn't know the first thing to attracting let alone selling a sponsorship for our podcast. I knew zero. In fact, to say that I knew zero was to give me a compliment – I knew less than zero.

So my lack of knowledge – and my emotional insecurity around the topic of sponsorship – caused me to answer those initial questions on the topic as the opportunity of sponsorships didn't matter as a revenue stream because we were focused on building the core business, which was true…but only a half truth.

Here's what I have learned in the over two years of hard work since that time.

Sponsorships of course matter from the perspective of revenue – but this is the less important compared to the credibility and cache that a sponsor can bring to your show.

For example, let's say you're considering listening to Onward Nation for the first time…and you see an ad for…

"Onward Nation with Stephen Woessner."

Versus if you happened to hear…

"Onward Nation with Stephen Woessner, brought to you by Bank of America."

Which one sounds more credible?

Exactly! The opportunity of having a Bank of America or some other large brand connected to your brand provides you with some degree of transference of their credibility over to you and your brand.

So, I knew that I needed to figure out the strategy behind sponsorship as a way to take Onward Nation to that next level. But I had no idea where to start.

And then – as is the case often in life – I got the push that I needed in order to make the change that I needed to make.

AMACOM, my publisher for my book being released in mid-September entitled "Profitable Podcasting," asked me to write a chapter that provided insights into how to attract and sell a sponsorship for a podcast.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" is how I initially felt. Gulp.

I had no idea how I would provide value in an area where I had not developed mastery. However, instead of letting the fear of the assignment linger, I quickly told myself that the recipe that would result from the assignment would give me with another example to share how a podcast could be used as a tool to collect the primary research needed so the chapter — a book chapter outside of my expertise — could be done and done efficiently.

And in full transparency, doing the research, filled in a skills gap for me so I know have what I need in order to close a big sponsorship deal on behalf of Onward Nation. I will share the news toward the end of this year — but oh my — it's exciting to think about. Game changing.

So, for today's lesson, I will share the full sponsorship recipe with you. What I learned along the way, from whom I had the honor of learning, and how you can take and apply the same knowledge to attract the right sponsor for your podcast.

Okay…so how did I do the research?

In order to write a great chapter for the book, I knew that I needed to interview the right expert. So my first call was to Wendy Keller, my exceptional literary agent and great friend. She orbits the distant moon of awesome – she is otherworldly. Yes, I'm kind of a big fan.

When I shared my challenge with Wendy, she quickly said to me, "Oh, I know exactly who you should interview for the chapter."

BA-BAM. And that's another reason why you need the right inner circle, Onward Nation. Why you need to surround yourself with the right experts, the right mentors, and friends who are moving at the same pace and tempo you want to be moving at.

Five minutes later, Wendy had connected me with Linda Hollander, one of today's leading authorities on the topic of sponsorships. Both Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine have featured Linda as the industry leader in how to sell corporate sponsorships. Linda has over 20-years of experience as a business owner. Her clients and sponsors include Microsoft, FedEx, Citibank, Mattel, Bank of America, Marriott, Health Net, American Airlines, IBM, and Wal-Mart. Her client list reads like a "Who's Who" in corporate sponsorship.

Just go to www.sponsorconcierge.com to find Linda.

Wendy suggested I interview Linda then transcribe the interview and turn it into a chapter for the book. Brilliant.

I followed Wendy's blueprint — interviewed Linda — and viola — Chapter 16 with deep expertise from one of the industry's leading experts on the topic was done.

And I was a heck of a lot smarter after having learned directly from Linda. Rock solid awesome!!

But in order for that to happen – I had to set my fear and ego aside and focus on the assignment – and let go of the fact that I didn't know something about the world of podcasting. I am taking you so deep behind the green curtain here because I want you to see – everyone deals with fear – everyone has obstacles – everyone is uncomfortable from time-to-time in their business – everyone deals with the imposter syndrome.

Everyone.

But the true measure of greatness – is whether you will let it paralyze you – or – will you push past it and walk toward your destiny. I believe in you, Onward Nation. You are just one phone call or one interview with an expert away from finding that missing piece that will ignite your business to the next level.

Have the guts to make the calls, Onward Nation. Get out there and leverage your podcast as a tool for collecting primary research from top experts — even if your expertise lies outside the area being researched. The interviews you conduct will provide your podcast listeners and true fans with exceptional value, just as Linda did for you.

And the transcripts of your interviews can be converted into chapters for your book.

So here we go…let's dig in to learn how to master a new skill…the skill of attracting the right sponsor for your podcast…a sponsor who can provide financial resources to support your show…but more importantly…a sponsor who can lend their brand to you…and in doing so…provide you and your show with additional credibility.

So you can get the full context of what I learned from Linda, I am going to share the specific questions I asked Linda – so you can model them – revise them – and then use them when you interview your industry experts.

So here we go…

For my first question, I asked Linda…

"Please take us back to the beginning and your first event so business owners reading this can have the full context of what you have accomplished."

I asked Linda this for two reasons: 1) it is an easy, soft question that helps develop rapport at the beginning of a conversation when two people are just learning about one another. It would be inappropriate if I asked Linda to share all of her deepest and most valuable sponsorship strategies as the first question. That would be way too abrupt. So focus on building some rapport first. And 2) because I always wanted to know Linda's backstory because it is wonderful context to know that she came from nothing – and yet – she pushed herself to be more – and despite the odds and the fear – she was successful in securing Bank of America as her first sponsor. She is amazing.

So in Linda's words…

She had the privilege of working with some great top tier sponsors but it wasn't always that way. Many of her clients early on in her business were women so she wanted to start the Women's Small Business Expo to deliver even more value to clients. But she needed sponsors because putting on an event is cash intensive. Ultimately, her first sponsors were Bank of America, Wal-Mart, and IBM.

She had never done an event in her life. She had no idea how to do an event. She had no experience. She had no following. She had her parents on her email list. She put her brother-in-law on her email list, too. They weren't going to tell her no. If she could have put her cat on there, she would have done that. But despite how she started out, she was able to attract several top tier sponsors.

And when her event attendees came, they would ask Linda, "How the heck are you getting these sponsors? We thought you had to be a big company and have all this experience and track record," and Linda said, "Absolutely no." Then Linda knew there was a need in the marketplace for training business owners how to attract sponsors.

She lost a lot of time and money when she first started to learn the sponsorship game. It took her six months to get my first proposal together and she lost $75,000 in the process.

Linda told me, Onward Nation that it was painful, it was excruciating.

Some people wouldn't even talk to her because she was a micro-business. But, there were also people who said to Linda, "You know what? I'll talk to you. I'll help you." Then she said to herself, "When I learn this stuff, I'm going to teach other business owners how to do it."

Amazing backstory don't you think, Onward Nation? Does that help push some of the fear or apprehension aside for you? She started with nothing – no following – nothing – and she went out and did it anyway. She is rock solid awesome.

Okay, let's press on. Next I asked, Linda…

"Let's start off with some definitions. When we hear "sponsor" that could mean different things depending upon someone's business model. What does sponsorship mean, what does a sponsor want to sponsor, are they programs, events, or businesses?"

Linda shared that the definition of sponsorship is "Connecting a company with people who can buy things." If you know people who can buy stuff, then you can get sponsors. Linda wants you to know that it is a lot simpler than what most business owners think.

In fact…here's what is "sponsorable."

• If you have a business — that could be sponsored.
• If you host a radio show
• If you host a podcast
• If you host a television show or YouTube channel, or a blog

All of that can be sponsored. And of course, if you host events like Linda, you can get sponsors because sponsors love live events.

If you're a speaker or an author, you can get sponsored, because as a speaker and an author you have access to an audience — a fanbase of people — who know your work and know your book, and as a speaker you command the platform.

Companies don't have people who can speak, who can command a platform, or capture the attention of an audience. So that is a huge advantage for you, Onward Nation!

At this point in my interview with Linda – I started feeling excited and actually really confident.

And the fear, you might ask? What fear? HA! Linda had me so completely energized by the possibilities I was learning from her!

Next I wanted to learn about the pitfalls – the common mistakes business owners make when they head down the sponsorship path so you, Onward Nation – and me – could try to avoid the same $75,000 mistakes Linda had experienced.

So I asked Linda…

"What are some of the biggest mistakes you see business owners making time and time again as they pursue sponsorships?"

She let me know there are a few mistakes to be weary of, and she's made all of them, so the lessons she could share were directly from her hands-on experience.

The first mistake is, believe it or not, is not asking for enough money.

What?!? I thought to myself!

Linda went on to explain that asking for too little money can hurt a business owner because they are, in effect, telling a sponsor they don't have anything of value to offer.

Linda often gets calls from business owners who are trying to sell their $500 sponsor package. They're going to be presenting to a busy, stressed-out person inside a company, and if they see a sponsor package priced at $500, they're going to think the business owner doesn't have anything of value.

In the sponsorship process, you have what's called your "Champion," and this is the person within the sponsoring company who loves you, but they have to sell you and your program to their colleagues, their team, and their boss, and maybe the people working under them to get it approved. Onward Nation, your pricing strategy needs to communicate value in order for them to do that.

For most of Linda's clients, what she sees them typically win is between $10,000 and $100,000 in annual sponsor fees.

If you do an event, if you have a podcast, or something else that is episode-to-episode, bundle everything together for the year and sell an annual sponsorship because you're going to be more successful in properly positioning yourself with sponsors.

The second mistake business owners make is not using an industry standard proposal.

According to Linda, your sponsor proposal is one of the most important but least understood documents. You have to use an industry standard format or you will not get funded.

Your proposal must look amazing and have the right compelling benefits.

So to recap, Onward Nation – the two biggest mistakes you need to avoid are asking for too little money and not having a good proposal.

Okay, I was really intrigued by what Linda was teaching me, and I knew that in order for the lessons to have the most value to you and to the readers of my book, Linda and I needed to drill in deeper on the topic of sponsorships for podcasting.

So I asked Linda…

"Let's say you're a podcaster. Sounds like you would try to sell an annual sponsorship of your show instead of weekly episodes, but you would also package in your entire platform including social media, email lists, webinars, events, etc., right?"

In Linda's opinion, yes, you want them to sponsor your entire brand — not a single show.

It took Linda a while to figure this out because at first she started to have sponsors for her events and then thought, "Wait a minute, I've got a whole brand here." When she had them sponsor her brand, she made a whole lot more money. Instead of a business owner saying, "I'm a podcaster," you should brand yourself as a "media company" who does podcasting because sponsors are not quite in love with podcasting yet. It's still new. It's still cutting edge.

But if you say you're a media company, Onward Nation then their ears are going to perk up.

Then they're going to be interested.

Talk about your podcast, but then talk about the other things you do such as, email blasts, social media, maybe even YouTube. Talk about all of the touch points you have. Then Linda took me back to the definition of sponsorship; "Connecting a company to people who buy things."

Onward Nation, you need to tell your prospective sponsors how you can connect them to people who could but their stuff.

At this point in the learning from Linda, I was feeling really confident about the steps, the process, the upside, and the mistakes that needed to be avoided in order to save time and cash. Then I had another spark of fear – but in full transparency – it was probably more ego than fear – when I had the thought, "Wait a minute…if I sell a sponsorship for Onward Nation to a Bank of America, for example, doesn't that diminish our own brand in some way?"

So, I took the opportunity to ask Linda because I figured if I was thinking it – and could potentially turn that into a roadblock – then maybe other business owners would be asking themselves the same question. The best way to push that aside was to ask the expert.

So Linda…

"Do I diminish my own brand if I go get a sponsor?"

And she put my mind at ease by letting me know that she is asked that question a lot because as business owners, we want to be independent, we don't want to have a company influence what we're going to say, and we don't want the appearance that we're biased.

Linda has never had a sponsor try to influence her content in 16-years of doing this. And if they ever did, she would just say, "Hey, that's not part of the program." Onward Nation, you design your program — the sponsor writes the check — that's what goes on with sponsorships.

Also, the promotion of your sponsor does not have to be outlandish or in your face. The promotion can be elegant and understated, such as signage, banner ads, or things you put on your website. And if you do recommend a company like when Linda was working with Citibank, and she would recommend Citibank, she would disclose it by saying, "I need to disclose that Citibank is my sponsor," and then you are in integrity by disclosing it.

So know Linda was removing trap door after trap door and each and every excuse I was letting creep back into my mind. I was loving this conversation and the opportunity to learn from someone who has been so successful in this arena – but for me – even more important – was that she had scraped her knees, and busted an elbow, a time or two. She had the in-the-trenches experience that I love and really value.

And if you have been listening to Onward Nation, you know I am a big fan of success secrets…those things…that if we apply them give us the ability to make stochastic jumps onward to new levels.

So I asked Linda…

"Are there any secrets to success business owners need to apply in order to be successful in attracting a sponsor?"

Linda let me know that a secret is to make your sponsor the star. Most business owners when they try to get a sponsor, they fall into the trap of talking about what their business does, they might say things like, "I've have this great podcast, I have this great book, I have a great business, I have a great non-profit, or event, etc."

Business owners can sometimes talk about themselves and that's not the way to get a sponsor.

The way to get a sponsor is to talk to the sponsor about what you can do for them. Say, "Hey, Mr., Ms. Sponsor, I'm going to educate people about your products and your services. I'm going to help you increase your product and your brand loyalty. I'm going to help you grow your customer base. I'm going to help you drive sales and traffic."

Do you see the difference, Onward Nation?

You're saying, "Hey, the sponsor is the star" and your prospective sponsor is going to look at that and say, "Hey, this business owner understands that it's about me and not about them."

You'll tell them a little bit about what you do because they have to understand it, but mostly what you're going to tell the sponsor is "Here's how I'm going to benefit your company, here's what I'm going to do for you."

Okay, Onward Nation – at this point in the interview, my confidence was soaring. I was beginning to think through the pitch and presentation – my thoughts were going to sales strategy and other ideas were firing. But, an essential component to any strategy is timing. How long would something like this take to pull together?

So I asked Linda for her help about timelines…

"Let's talk timelines. How fast does, or maybe how long, is the sales cycle you typically see for attracting $10,000 to $100,000 sponsorships?"

Linda started by reminding me that sponsorships are a relationship business. You need time to develop relationships with companies. Here's where it's going to be maybe a little bit of a shock to business owners. Linda recommends eight months to a year before you need the funding to start approaching prospective sponsors. Linda went on to tell me why.

If you're approaching Microsoft, FedEx, Staples (those are called the "Top Tier" sponsors), they have a process. You have to apply and you have to wait for them to approve it. They like to have a lot of lead time because whatever you are doing you have to talk about how you are going to work with their company, what kind of a program you are going to build together, and it takes time to develop that depth of a relationship.

It will take time to get your first sponsor.

But, Linda also shared some thoughts on how to complete the process quicker. There are "Top Tier" sponsors and then are "Second Tier" sponsors. In the banking industry (and banks are a great place to find sponsorships, by the way), Linda has worked with Bank of America and Citibank. They are top tier. But there may be a local community bank where you live, Onward Nation. There may be an up and coming player in the banking industry you might want to work with.

That won't take as long because it's easier to get to the decision makers and to get that process of sponsorship started.

The amazing thing about sponsorships being a relationship business is that there is something called renewals in sponsorships. And renewals are magic. Renewals are your cash machine because if a sponsor likes you, they can fund you this year, next year, and the next year. Linda has sold multi-year sponsorships with FedEx and Citibank. Her clients have had multi-year contracts with Verizon, Dole Foods, and Black and Decker just to name a few.

It's not a quick cash strategy. It is a long-term strategy to fund your business, Onward Nation.

That's why Linda recommends that business owners go for a one-year contract because one-year is about enough time to really analyze the relationship and if the sponsor wants to continue. If your sponsorship is from event-to-event, or episode-to-episode, a sponsor is not going to see that much growth as far as return on investment, so they are less likely to renew.

Now it was time to begin formalizing the recipe – I could see the individual ingredients – but I needed Linda's master skills with the recipe to help pull it all together so I could see the result outcome she was already envisioning.

So I asked Linda…

"Let's get tactical and think about key steps in the process, the action plan, things that are going to improve the probability of success. If you were to give business owners one, two, or three things they need to do, what would those steps be?"

Linda was kind enough to share a three-step process to attracting a sponsor.

The first part is to do what she calls the "Sponsor Wish List."

The wish list is the list of companies that you would like to have as sponsors. Remember in your sponsor wish list to include both Top Tier and the Second Tier sponsors. Most business owners when they start their wish list think only of Top Tier sponsors. Go deeper.

Since Linda and I had already talked about the banking industry, she then shifted to talk insurance.

Yes, banking and insurance may be perceived by some business owners as boring industries. Everyone wants glam sponsors like fashion, cosmetics, and accessories. But the boring companies have the money.

Let's take the insurance category, you're going to think of State Farm, and AFLAC, and all the ones that have paid to be top of mind. Then go a little deeper by doing some Google searches into smaller insurance companies, the up and coming brands, because the up and coming brands need you to get their name out.

Linda told me that these second tier companies are outstanding prospects because they don't have the brand awareness of the big brands and will be more open to what you have to offer, Onward Nation.

Linda then shared a tangible example of that in practice. She worked with a company called Evolution Insurance Brokers. Nobody has ever heard of Evolution Insurance Brokers, and that is exactly why they sponsored her. They wanted to get the word out about their company. They're not AFLAC, they're not State Farm, they're not the big players in the industry.

But, Onward Nation…the second tiers have money to invest. Linda was not able to disclose exactly the value of the sponsorship with Evolution Insurance Brokers, but it was 5-figures.

Step two is preparing your professional proposal. Linda recommends writing what she calls an "Industry Standard Sponsor Proposal."

The full sponsor proposal is about eight to ten pages in length and here's what it includes:

• A description of your "property." Onward Nation, write down the word "property" because what you do now is called the "property." Your podcast is a property. Your book is a property. Your speaking business is a property. Your business, your event, your non-profit, whatever you are doing is called a property. You want to describe that.
• You should include your sponsor's goals, which should be similar to what we talked about earlier in this chapter, such as increasing brand loyalty and customer base, and educating people, and driving traffic and sales, and all that.
• You should include a one-page marketing plan. It includes all the ways you're going to get the word out about the sponsor. Sponsors are interested in this because marketing is the difference between a good idea someone has in their head and something that actually has legs and is sustainable.
• You should include your demographics. Whether your demographics are mothers, the parent market, the entrepreneurial market, the urban youth, the baby boomer market, you need to describe your demographics. Include any testimonials you have.
• You should include your sponsor fees like the ones we've talked about.
• The last thing, and here is how Linda and her team write proposals differently than anyone else in the country, is storytelling.

You want to have good storytelling inside your proposal. Linda calls it "passion points."

Linda is able to sells sponsors because she doesn't just put in the proposal what's called your "pretty bio." The pretty bio is your education, and the awards you won, and your experience. All of that is nice but what you want is to be vulnerable, you need to make a human connection, because you're not just pitching to a faceless cooperation. You are pitching to a person, a human being, and you want to show your humanity.

In Linda's story, she talks about how she was in the poverty trap. She talks about how she was in an abusive relationship. Her story has helped her secure sponsors because you want them to see you as a real person.

The emotional connection is important, Onward Nation. You want to put beautiful storytelling in there. If you don't want to include your own story, put the story of someone you've helped through the work you do.

Be sure to include some emotion. Business owners often make the mistake of thinking, "Oh, I'm going to impress them, and I'm going to put facts, and figures, and statistics in there." But unfortunately, that is not going help you rise above the competition. Be human.

All of the proposal ingredients from Linda really had me energized, Onward Nation. But then I started thinking about tools and other resources that I might also need to know about in order to make the process of selling a top tier sponsor as efficient as possible from a time perspective.

So I asked Linda…

"Are there any other tools, any other resources you think business owners ought to study to make this process as efficient and effective as possible?"

Linda shared that her website at www.sponsorconcierge.com includes two free gifts. One is the "Number 1 Secret to Getting Corporate Sponsors." And the second is that she does free sponsor strategy sessions with business owners so they can book a sponsor strategy session with me. During the sessions, she takes a look at what you're currently doing, and together, you develop a success strategy to attract the right sponsor.

To close out the interview, I asked Linda if she had any final advice that she thought we might have missed during our discussion.

Linda closed by sharing how important it was for business owners to know that they can do this. The number one question Linda is most often asked is, "Why would a sponsor want to work with little ole' me? I'm just getting started. I'm not a big company. I don't have a track record. I don't have a big following."

And Linda said to me, "Stephen, please know you can do this. You have value. You have things a sponsor is going to be attracted to. You just need to package it in the right way."

She reinforced the point by telling me the story about how she got her first sponsor…

Linda lives in Los Angeles, California, so when she first had the idea to do her initial event, she was driving around in her clunker car and she of course was stuck in a traffic jam. She looked up and see a billboard for Bank of America and there's a woman featured within the billboard design, so Linda thinks to herself, "Okay, they're trying to get the women's market."

Immediately, she starts doing self-sabotaging and thinking, "Why the heck would they talk to me? I'm just working from my home from my kitchen table. I'm not a big company. What the heck am I going to offer Bank of America?"

But Linda's dream and mission to help people was so strong that she couldn't get it out of her head. So she got the courage to make a call to Bank of America and finally got the person who could greenlight the sponsorships. She finished her proposal, got everything done, and had an appointment at their office – and she was super nervous.

Then he said to Linda, "Well, let's see your proposal," and she handed it to him. And he said, "Okay, well we're going to go for this level of sponsorship," and it was a five-figure sponsorship.

Linda had to act like she did this all the time so she said, "Oh, great," and then had to shake his hand but her hand was so clammy she had to wipe it off!

She got back in my car and did the happy dance right there in the parking lot! She drove home and waved to all the Bank of America branches on her way home.

You never know what's going to happen, Onward Nation. It all starts with a thought. It starts with a dream. It starts with a vision. We're taught to have these big dreams but we're not taught how to finance the dreams, and dreams take money, and that's where sponsors come in.

You can do this!

Hold your head up high. Know that you have quality and you bring value to your sponsors — and — you can fund your dreams.

So with that said, Onward Nation…

I want to thank you for taking the time to be here with me today. It is an honor to have you here — thank you for tuning in — your time is sacred and I am delighted you chose this episode to be what you listen to, study, and take with you on your morning run, or maybe Onward Nation has become part of your daily commute, or in some other way has become part of your morning routine.

However our daily podcast fits into your daily routine — I want you to know how much I appreciate you sharing some of your invaluable 86,400 seconds you have in your day with me and the strategies we learn and share each day from today's top business owners.

And if you haven't already downloaded your copy of our 12 Success Strategies eBook, just text the word "onward" to 6-6-8-6-6. Again, text the word "onward" to 6-6-8-6-6 and we will send it right to your Inbox.

Onward with gusto!

Adam Robinson is the author of the new book of "THE BEST TEAM WINS: Build Your Business Through Predictive Hiring," and the founder and CEO of Hireology, where he is on a mission to help business owners make better hiring decisions using predictive data and technology. Hireology's cloud-based hiring platform is used by over 3,000 organizations in the United States and Canada. In 2015, Robinson was named to the Chicago Tribune Blue Network, a listing of Chicago's most influential entrepreneurs and innovators, and named a "Top 25 HR Industry Game Changer Under 40" by Workforce magazine.

• Adam's background
• How relentlessly focusing on one thing at a time helps Adam stay productive every day
• Why you need to know what you want to get out of your day to succeed
• Why you need to fully understand the relationship between your growth rate and your balance sheet
• Why it's so important to identify, recruit, and keep good people
• Why the company with the strong execution and strong team is always going to win
• Why you need to be able to recognize 'dips' and 'cul-de-sacs'
• What you need to do if you're unhappy with your current situation in business or life
• Why you need to be clear on the vision and agree on the outcome
• Why you need to ask yourself what you want out of this experience

• Website: thebestteamwins.com
• Website: www.hireology.com

Ken Rutsky is the author of the new book, "LAUNCHING TO LEADING: How B2B Market Leaders Create Flash Mobs, Marshal Parades, And Ignite Movements." Ken is also a B2B marketing consultant focused on helping his clients break through and become market leaders. He has spent nearly 25 years in B2B marketing roles, launching the "Intel Inside" broadcast co-op program in 1994 and then the Internet's first affiliate marketing program, Netscape Now, while at Netscape from 1995 to 1999. Since then, Ken served as the CMO at several start-ups and ran network-security marketing at McAfee, where he developed and executed a marketing strategy that grew its web security business from $60 million to nearly $200 million. Today, Ken's firm, KJR Associates, Inc. leverages his knowledge from his extensive Silicon Valley career to help his clients lead their markets. In the seven years, his firm's clients have generated more than $10 billion in shareholder value through IPOs, acquisitions and late stage private equity rounds.

• Ken's background
• How Ken takes a much more structured approach to how he thinks about his business
• The method Ken uses to increase his awareness & focus to his clients
• The importance of keeping a healthy routine
• The importance of understanding your financial picture both personally & professionally
• Why Ken feels that customer empathy is the most critical skill needed to thrive today
• How the customer's journey connects to market leadership
• How transforming customers to the reason you exist can lead to profit
• Why, as an entrepreneur, you shouldn't just focus on making money
• Why you need to just embrace the fear & understand that it's normal

• Website: kenrutsky.com

Chris Dayley is passionate about helping businesses learn what their users want on their website, through psychology based testing, and analytics. He started his conversion optimization agency, Dayley Conversion, in 2014, which he later merged with Disruptive Advertising, where he currently works as vice president of site testing and optimization.

• Chris' background
• What is behind driving conversions as well as obstacles that get in the way
• Why businesses shouldn't just dump their whole story on a conversion page
• Why it's important to designate certain times to check & respond to emails
• How daily mindfulness meditation contributes to Chris' success
• Why part of A/B testing on your site always involves both good & bad data
• Why you need to learn how to detach your worth & your value from what you do
• Possessing the critical skill of challenging your assumptions
• Why you need to just focus on doing a few things really well
• Why you need to live deliberately

• Website: www.disruptiveadvertising.com
• eBook: www.disruptiveadvertising.com/guide
• Twitter: @chrisdayley

Michael Sacca is the President of Crew and Host of Rocketship.fm. He started his career by moving to LA and pursuing music. After three years of waiting tables and little success, he decided to teach himself how to code. He used his coding skills to launch Tiny Factory, a web development agency that won clients like GE and Kobe Bryant. While running Tiny Factory, he started the Rocketship podcast and built many other apps and products. One of those products was recently acquired. Michael joined Crew two years ago as Head of Partnerships and has now taken over as President. Companies have trusted Crew to source freelancers for over $30 million in design and development projects.

• Michael's background
• Why, in the tech world, it's not about your resume – it's about your performance
• How Michael's daily approach to focus & preparation is different than most
• The importance of looking at your data & checking on the health of your business
• Why Michael believes that communication is such a critical skill to master in order to thrive
• Why, as a business owner, you need to be the best one at communicating your vision of the company
• Why it's so important to give your employees the tools that they need to succeed
• Why you should continue to look at the systems & processes you have in place during different levels of growth
• Why you should hire specialists underneath generalists
• Why it's vital to validate your business idea & do customer research

• Website: crew.co
• Podcast: rocketship.fm
• Email: [email protected]
• Twitter: @michaelsacca

Stephen is the CEO of Predictive ROI and the host of the Onward Nation podcast. He is the author of two bestselling books, speaker, trainer, and his digital marketing insights have been featured in SUCCESS, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and other media.

Good Morning Onward Nation – I'm Stephen Woessner and welcome to Episode 455 – this week's solocast.

I am excited about the lesson that I prepared for our time together because it addresses the gaping hole that exists inside most businesses. I have been talking about it for a while now and the hole is the lack of qualified leads flowing into a business owner's sales pipeline for his or her company. Here's the most recent data…of the 28 million small business owners in this country – over 43 percent of them cite "growing revenue" as being their top challenge in their company. That is over 12 million business owners.

And yes, the challenge in growing revenue can be complex – it can certainly be impacted by value proposition – perhaps a business is trying to solve a problem that doesn't actually exist. Or, perhaps their pricing is off. There could be a myriad of factors or obstacles in the way of a business owner's ability to grow revenue.

But, in my over 20+ years of experience in owning five companies – and having interviewed over 450 of today's top business owners for Onward Nation – I will say that the ability to generate leads – and – to generate leads at such consistency that a steady stream of well-prepared prospects flow into a business owner's pipeline – represents the most significant challenge.

So that is going to be where we spend our time together today. We will focus on how to use LinkedIn to fill your sales pipeline like a pro. Today's lesson will provide you with the tools, resources, and step-by-step you and your team need in order to begin using LinkedIn to fill your sales pipeline like a pro.

And if you want to take the process even deeper, I encourage you to register for the web workshop I am teaching tomorrow called the 4-Steps to Filling Your Sales Pipeline. Just go to OnwardNation.com/webinar for the details. That's OnwardNation.com/webinar.

Rest assured — I know you are busy. I will respect your time by delivering a workshop packed full of real, actionable strategies, that when followed, will fill your sales pipeline in 30-days or less.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Okay, let's bring our focus back to today's lesson…how to use LinkedIn like a pro so you and your team can generate a steady stream of well-prepared prospects, grow revenue, and scale your business.

Before we dig into the tactical step-by-step…I want to first make ensure that we get your mindset right. Generating leads is not hard work…in fact…is it simple work…especially when you have the right recipe to follow, which I am going to share with you in full transparency in this solocast.

But…just because the work is simple does not mean it is easy. In fact, I can almost guarantee that you will be frustrated at the beginning, you may even pound your first on your conference room table and wonder why the results are not better, and you may get upset at your sales team for their lack of results.

All of this will most likely happen…initially. I am sharing this with you so that when it does happen – instead of getting frustrated and thinking that success will always elude you – I want to you to say to yourself, "Ah, Stephen said that I would think this right."

And then push forward. Because pushing forward, whether we are talking about generating leads, or pursuing your life's passion, is what it takes to be successful. As Vince Lombardi once famously said, "The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there."

In fact, let's think about the path of one of the most successful Hollywood actors of all time, Sylvester Stallone.

I learned this story from Tony Robbins. Stallone knocked on the doors of 1,500 talent agents in New York City and many of them multiple times.

And each time, Stallone was rejected, made fun of, and utterly ridiculed when he was thrown out of their offices. But he didn't give up.

He knew his goal – he knew his destiny.

He didn't send out one direct mail letter or email campaign – receive zero results – and then thought – "Well, the market doesn't want me so I guess I will try something new."

NO!

He was committed to what he wanted so he continued to adjust his presentation…he adjusted his offering…and focused on delivering even more value to the market.

And ultimately…that led to him delivering a huge amount of value in the form of the script of "Rocky".

And then – Stallone "Made it."

He appeared on the silver screen in the starring role as what seemed to be an overnight success. But that couldn't be further from the truth, Onward Nation.

He had gritted it out for years and years and stood fast in the face of brutal and cruel rejections, in being dirt broke, and having to sell his dog just to buy some food.

But he didn't quit – he kept getting up – to take another swing. You need to continue taking your at-bats because if you don't…you may very well miss your golden opportunity for success.

Case in point…let's take a look at Derek Jeter…arguably the greatest New York Yankee to ever wear the pinstripes.

Jeter is a lock to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer with his long list of impressive accomplishments including five World Series Championship rings.

But…what most people don't know about Derek Jeter is that of all players in Major League Baseball history, he is number 12 on the list of total strikeouts. So to say that another way…there have only been 11 people in the history of baseball who struck out more often than Derek Jeter.

In fact, Jeter struck out 1,840 times during his 20-year career.

So in baseball terms, Jeter failed 1,840 times – but yet – he continued to get up there – to take another at-bat – to keep on swinging.

And through it all – he recorded 3,461 hits, which is 6th all time and he finished 11 of his 20 seasons with a batting average of 300 or better. A Hall of Fame resume to be sure.

But he never got up to the plate – struck out – and then headed back to the dugout and said, "Well, I guess I don't have what it takes to play ball after all. Thanks for having me Skipper, but I am hanging up my cleats after that at-bat."

The stories of Stallone and Jeter are perfect illustrations of how important it is to remain focused on the long-term – the long play – the end game – and getting better every single day so you continue to deliver more and more value — whether that value is delivered on the silver screen, the ball diamond, or in your marketplace as a business owner.

If the market rejects you – celebrate it – because that feedback is priceless.

Then be smart and use it – learn from it – apply it – get better – and take another at-bat. Onward Nation, if you remain focused on continuous improvement – you will be successful in implementing the lessons I have prepared for you in this solocast.

This is a long haul – it requires data collection – testing – adjusting – testing again – scaling – making mistakes – testing again. But, if you stick with it…you grow and scale your business in such a way that your competitors will wonder what your secret recipe is.

And how will that change the game for you? It's exciting to think about. No doubt it's substantial.

I believe the great Archimedes had it right when he so wisely said… "Give me a lever long enough, and a prop strong enough, and I can single-handedly move the world.

So, what will your lever and prop be, Onward Nation?

You guessed it…chocolate cake.

I know – chocolate cake sounds silly, right?

But let me explain why this metaphor makes so much sense. Let's say that I happen to make the world's best chocolate cake. The absolute best.

And I have spent the last 20 years perfecting my process.

And then you come along and ask me to teach you how to make my cake – the same cake – the one that took me 20 years to master!

How could this be possible?

You, Onward Nation, may not have spent the same 20 years perfecting your baking skills.

How could someone other than me even come close to duplicating my chocolate cake?

What would I need to give you to prepare you – that could ensure your success?

For one…I would need to give you my recipe, right?

Because with my recipe, you can see my full process. You can see the strategy behind the chocolate cake.

With the recipe, you begin to get the overall picture of what needs to happen.

But, what else? What else do you need beyond the recipe?

Yep, you need the actual ingredients!

With both the ingredients and the recipe, you now know how to put all of those things together – in the right order – in the right amounts – at the right time – and how long to bake the cake and at the right temperature.

And if you follow the recipe – and if I didn't accidentally leave anything out of the recipe card that I gave you – you now have the ability to duplicate my success.

In fact, duplicating my success becomes easy – IF – you are willing to make the EFFORT.

So here's the key…with the right recipe, you are able to compress the process of learning 20 years of my knowledge down into the audio of this solocast.

Learning and then compressing the outcomes into a shorter time period is one of the powerful benefits to getting the right training and aligning your business with the right mentors.

So let's dig into the recipe.

First…some quick words as to why we love LinkedIn as much as we do…and why it should be the cornerstone of your lead gen strategy.

There are approximately 433 million LinkedIn members — yes, 433 million. Hugely valuable community — just ask Microsoft — they agree since they acquired LinkedIn for $26 billion in an all-cash deal.

Next…want to guess the average number of LinkedIn connections for a CEO?

933. Interesting.

Why?

Because if 933 is the average — some are higher — some are lower — but you tend not to get 933 connections by accident — you work at it — so if someone has 933 connections — it is likely intentional.

Meaning, LinkedIn is a platform that he or she values — and a place where they spend time — that that is great news for you.

And yes, you should be reaching out to the CEO — the top decision maker at your prospect client — but that can be a topic for a completely different solocast.

Okay, next…some additional insight into why you should care about LinkedIn…27 percent of all members are between the ages of 30 and 49…and another 24 percent are 50 to 64 years old…and 13 percent are over the age of 65.

So to say that another way…over 64 percent of LinkedIn members are over the age of 30…and 38 percent of total members earn $75,000 or more per year.

Bottom line…there are 433 million people on LinkedIn…64 percent of them are over the age of 30…and 38 percent earn more than $75,000 per year…with the average CEO having 933 connections on the platform.

All of that speaks well to your opportunity of finding and connecting with the prospects who can accelerate you biz dev, Onward Nation.

So let's press forward by reviewing the seven ingredients within our recipe.

Our recipe consists of seven core ingredients, and they are:

Ingredient #1: Improve your LinkedIn profile by adding video / audio clips, value proposition, etc. to the Summary. Again — we will get tactical here in just a minute — and I will give you tangible visual examples within today's Show Notes for each ingredient.

Ingredient #2: Import your existing email list in LinkedIn and send connection requests.

Ingredient #3: Export your LinkedIn connection list and import into your client's email list.

Ingredient #4: Personalized thank you message sent to each new connection

Ingredient #5: Build your prospect list using LinkedIn's Advanced People Search tool.

Ingredient #6: Send InMail messages to your top prospects — and be sure to speak the language of your "client avatar."

Ingredient #7: Create and send consistent nurturing email campaigns with exclusive content just for your LNKD connections so they feel valued to be part of your growing community.

Okay, now that the high-level view of the forest is complete — let's dive in and go tree-by-tree so you can see all of the tactical ingredients of this recipe.

Ingredient #1 is all about getting ensuring that your LinkedIn profile is not just good — but that it is excellent. Why does this matter? Because when you send InMail messages as part of Ingredient #6…the very first place your recipients — your prospective clients will go to learn more about you — is your LinkedIn profile.

And if it is sparsely populated with value propositions, your connections count is low, you haven't taken the time to include a quality profile picture, you have zero recommendations, etc. — then it looks like you don't care — and they won't respond to you. Maybe your InMail was just spam — you are ignored — and they move on.

Or, if you have taken the time to include audio and video clips, Slide Shares of recent presentations you delivered, links to articles you have written recently, blog posts, recommendations from current clients — it not only takes advantage of all the profile building tools that LinkedIn provides you — but — you also visually demonstrate your thought leaderships and expertise to your prospective clients — and that is a very good thing.

Now when they receive your InMail message as part of Ingredient #6 — they move from skeptical questions like "Why did she send me this?" to "Oh, interesting…they would like to talk with me? Awesome."

Think of your LinkedIn profile as your personal landing page and it needs to be excellent — just like everything else in your business.

If you would like a tangible example — check out what my team has built for me on LinkedIn…look me up…send me a connection request…and you will see illustrations of each step I just shared with you.

Let's move on to Ingredient #2 — import your existing email list into LinkedIn and send connection requests.

To make sure we are on the same page here — I am talking about taking your email list — the list you communicate with often — consisting of customers, prospects, maybe even vendors — people with whom you have a relationship — and then uploading that list into your LinkedIn account and inviting them to connect with you on LinkedIn.

But why?

First…when you increase your number of LinkedIn connections — your network and credibility grows. Instead of having several hundred connections — you move to several thousand. And the next time a prospective client checks out your LinkedIn profile — they may see the number — and be impressed.

Second…your number of 1st-degree connections in LinkedIn impacts the number of prospects you will be able to see during Ingredient #5 of this process — when you use LinkedIn's Advanced People Search. To cement this into place — let's quickly review what LinkedIn defines as 1st degree, 2nd degree, and 3rd-degree connections.

A 1st-degree connection on LinkedIn is — let's say you are listening to this solocast — you like what you hear — and decide to send me a connection request on LinkedIn — and by the way — you should totally do that — anyway — when I receive the request — I personally accept it. And so you and I become 1st-degree connections.

Now, here's what's interesting. My nearly 4,000 1st degree connections instantly become your 2nd-degree connections. And all of my 2nd-degree connections become your 3rd-degree connections.

Again, why is that important? Well, back to my connections…my nearly 6,000 1st connections extrapolates out to a total network of 20 million people when considering 1st degree, 2nd degree, and 3rd-degree connections.

That means…I can search through a huge number of people during Ingredient #5 in finding our ideal prospects we might want to reach out to.

So, Onward Nation, building your number of 1st-degree connections is essential to your success on LinkedIn — and uploading your email list and sending out connection requests is a quick and easy way to boost your connection count — and the size of your network — with a couple mouse clicks.

Very powerful.

Here's how you complete the step. Roll your mouse over the "My Network" section of the LinkedIn menu…and then the option "Add Contacts" will appear.

Then click "Add Contacts" and you will see a screen with options to connect LinkedIn with your email service — definitely do that — as well as the option to upload your email list and send out a massive number of connection requests all at one a couple of clicks.

Moving on to Ingredient #3: You should export your LinkedIn connection list and import into client's email list.

This might seem a bit backwards after you just uploaded your email list into LinkedIn — why am I now recommending that you reverse the process and export the list back out and import it into your email list?

A couple of reasons:

First…LinkedIn is the only social media platform that gives you the ability to export the contact and profile details of your connections — and that is just plain awesome!

Second…the email address someone used when getting onto your email address may be different than the email address they use within a professional community like LinkedIn — so you should have both inside your email list. This gives you the ability to cross-pollinate — ensure your high-quality email content that you will be sending (ahem — only high-quality content here, Onward Nation) — will be able to reach them via LinkedIn posts — as well as via email.

And third…there may be some hundreds of people who connect with you via LinkedIn — and not know how to signup for your email list. No problem…if you are importing and exporting on a consistent basis…you will solve that problem to ensure you are fully covered.

Okay, onto Ingredient #4. Do you feel the momentum starting to build, Onward Nation?

You just beefed up your profile so it is ready to be checked out by the highly targeted prospects who will soon be coming your way. And then you expanded the size of your network so you have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or maybe even millions of people you can sort through to find the right prospects.

Rock solid awesome!

With ingredient #4…I recommend that you send a personalized thank you message to each new connection — and — that the message includes something of value — and — it is a personal message. Not one of those automated messages that feels like a heavy-handed sales pitch as soon as you connected with someone.

Ugh — those are awful and I tend to remove someone as a connection as soon as I receive one because I feel as though I got duped into a sales pitch.

Yack. We will not be doing that with Ingredient #4.

Here are several examples of thank you notes my Predictive ROI team used following the interview I did with Gary Vaynerchuk — our guest for Episode 42 of Onward Nation.

When someone connected with me on LinkedIn, I sent a personal thank you message to my new connection — with a warm hello and thank you — some personalized context so he or she knew that the message was just for them and then a link to the video.

Now, here is a little scaling secret, Onward Nation — you — you personally — do not need to be the one who sends each of these messages.

You can and should delegate this to a member of your team — maybe even an unpaid intern on your team — and my team at Predictive ROI has been blessed to have worked with 24 rock star interns who were assigned this project as well as other front line — forward facing activities.

And if you're thinking "unpaid interns — he is out of his mind — there's no way we could recruit unpaid interns in this market." Let me just say…we have worked with interns who were students at Duke University, Ohio State, Purdue University, University of Northern Iowa…and many other schools around the country — all unpaid.

If you want our recruiting recipe — go take a listen to Episode 137 — because I share all of the step-by-step of how we do it in full transparency.

Okay, back to lead gen and Ingredient #5: How to build your prospect list using LinkedIn's Advanced People Search tool.

From within this powerful tool…you will be able to search through your entire network of connections using several powerful filters, such as:

• Keywords
• First Name
• Last Name
• Title
• Company Name
• Location — or mile radius from your office or location

And then you can take it deeper and make your searches more refined by including your prospect's years of experience, their function within their particular company, seniority level, what they are interested in, company size, and so forth.

By taking the time to get specific about your prospect — you leverage LinkedIn's database — to deliver back to you a list of prospects who match your criteria and you eliminate the time wasting of sending direct mail to a purchased list and hoping for a better result outcome than the last campaign.

So let's say that in your first attempt — LinkedIn returns a list of 100 people. You can then click on the profiles of each person (see — Ingredient #1 is really important) and from their profile — you can better determine if he or she is a good fit for your lead gen efforts.

If yes, add the person and their details to an Excel or Google Sheet so you can keep a running list of who you have reached out to…and no…LinkedIn does not offer any sort of automated CRM functionality.

This is tedious work — I get it — I completely understand — but — it is also where the rubber meets the road in the success of your business and it will fill your sales pipeline.

Okay, so I'm going to assume you did all of the work you needed to do up to this point. You have built a solid profile — you expanded your LinkedIn network by leveraging your email list — and being smart — to also reverse the process and cross-pollinate your connections back into your email list…and now…you have mastered the Advanced People Search tool with the resulting outcome being — a highly targeted prospect list — perhaps the most targeted list you and your sales team have ever had.

Now what?

Ingredient #6 is next. Crafting your InMail message and sending it to each of the people on the list you just created. There are seven sub-ingredients, if you will, that make up the InMail message…and they are:

• Include the first name of the recipient in subject line
• Your first 255 critical characters need to be awesome
• Speak to your "Avatar"
• Include credibility indicator(s)
• Include a client testimonial
• Include a call-to-action – reason for your prospect to reply to your message
• Include your email signature
• Here is an actual InMail message — a template — you can use to create your own.

Please use it.

My Predictive ROI team has sent thousands and thousands and thousands of InMail messages on behalf of our client's lead gen efforts — as well as for our biz dev — and the template we included in today's Show Notes is the resulting outcome of all that testing and hard work.

You will dramatically shorten your learning curve by using the template.

One last point about the InMail and the template you will see in the Show Notes — there is a reference to "speaking to your client avatar." And yes, we have a recipe for that, too.

If you go to Episode 208, I explain in full detail how to identify your client avatar — how to speak directly to him or her — and how to deliver value in the process.

Having and mastering this knowledge is a must in writing effective InMails.

And now we have arrived at our final ingredient…Ingredient #7…creating and sending consistent lead nurturing content to LinkedIn connections.

When you export your LinkedIn connection data — and then import into your CRM like InfusionSoft, etc. be sure to add the emails to a special list tagged as "LinkedIn Connections" or something else that lets you know these email addresses are super special.

This list represents your MVPs and your goal should be to create content just for them — exclusive — and then share it with them — letting them know it was created just for them — and that your connection means something to you — your connection is important — that you value their opinions — that you want to hear from them and how you can do better — and that you share your insights and expertise along the way in such a context that you are providing value that can be incorporated into their business straight away.

So that when you do reach out to them to explore the potential of a business relationship — you are not reaching out to a stranger with a cold call — you are reaching out to someone who already knows you, already likes you, and may already trust you because you offered tremendous value first — and that is an awesome way to begin a business relationship.

Before we close out for today…I'd like to leave you with a couple of important thoughts.

Now that you have learned the recipe – and have seen the typical result outcomes – there are two questions you and your team need to answer.

First…how will we take immediate action based on what you learned here today?

How will you apply it right away to fill your pipeline?

And that leads to the ultimate question.

Are you committed…or are you just interested in having a steady stream of well-prepared prospects flowing into your sales pipeline?

Being committed means knowing exactly how much new business you are seeking, from what sources, and having a strategy in place to fill the pipeline to get it.

Let me share a quick story about Coach Nick Saban from the University of Alabama – who, in my opinion, represents the epitome of being committed.

Alabama is consistently one of the top-ranked teams in college football each year. They were the 2015 National Champion and played again this year for the title but lost to Clemson.

Coach Saban's reputation is one of precise detail and process.

And once he uncovers a "recipe" for success…he uses it over and over again.

But he also freely shares his secrets without fear that his competitors will be able to duplicate his results.

How is this possible?

Case in point…my good friend, mentor, and three-time guest on Onward Nation, Don Yaeger, interviewed Coach Saban as they considered writing a book together.

During one of Don's visits with Coach, he asked if there was a secret formula or recipe that gave Saban an edge to recruiting the best talent out of high school year-after-year.

Coach told Don that his recipe is simple. He committed himself to watching every single play that any of their 85 scholarship athletes every played while in high school.

Every play…so he could evaluate talent, effort, and other qualities.

Let's just think about the magnitude of that for a minute.

Alabama has 85 scholarship athletes…who likely played at least 2-years of high school football…at 10 games per year in high school…and many high school players play both offense and defense during a game, so let's call it 100 plays per game.

All totaled, Coach Saban watches film on 170,000 plays to make his recruiting decisions.

It is an overwhelming number, right?

How could anyone do that? But Coach Saban does.

And the resulting outcome is that Alabama is consistently the best on the field each year.

So Don asked him, "Coach…aren't you worried that if we put your secret recipe into this book that people will steal it from you?"

And Saban looked at Don and said, "Nope…not worried at all. Because no one is going to be willing to put in the same amount of effort that I am willing to commit to our success."

So my hope is that you don't leave this solocast thinking – yeah, I knew LinkedIn could do that. My challenge to you is…but is your business doing it?

And as Tony Robbins says…"A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided."

So I hope you will decide to put this sales pipeline-building recipe into action and then please drop me a line and let me know about your success.

So with that said, Onward Nation…

I want to say again, thank you for taking the time to be here with me today. It is an honor to have you here — thank you for tuning in — your time is sacred and I am delighted you chose this episode to be what you listen to, study, and take with you on your morning run, or maybe Onward Nation has become part of your daily commute, or in some other way has become part of your morning routine.

However our daily podcast fits into your daily routine — I want you to know how much I appreciate you sharing some of your invaluable 86,400 seconds you have in your day with me and the strategies we learn and share each day from today's top business owners.

And remember… if you want to take the pipeline process even deeper, then register for the web workshop I am teaching tomorrow called the 4-Steps to Filling Your Sales Pipeline.

Just go to OnwardNation.com/webinar for the details. That's OnwardNation.com/webinar.

Rest assured — I know you are busy, Onward Nation. I will respect your time by delivering a workshop packed full of real, actionable strategies, that when followed, will fill your sales pipeline in 30 days or less.

I look forward to seeing you there and thanks again for being here — today.

Onward with gusto!

Jonathan DeYoe is the author of "MINDFUL MONEY: Simple Practices For Reaching Your Financial Goals And Increasing Your Happiness Dividend," a California-based financial advisor. During his twenty years as an advisor, he has managed investments at Morgan Stanley, UBS PaineWebber, and Salomon Smith Barney. In 2001, he founded his own wealth management firm, DeYoe Wealth Management. Today, Jonathan's firm manages nearly $250 million for over two hundred families and foundations in the United States and overseas.

• Jonathan's background
• Why Jonathan believes that we are stewards of our human, financial & environmental resources
• How the "six most, vital one" process guides Jonathan's focus on a daily basis
• How Jonathan grew during a rough time in his career
• Why it's so important to sharpen your saw
• Why Jonathan is so interested in what makes us behave the way we do
• Why people need to apply themselves across all categories in life
• Why you need to commit to playing offensively
• Why you need to be able to hear many different opinions & then make a decision
• How all of us have the ability to get through what happens in our environment
• Why you need to focus on getting yourself in order

• Website: happinessdividend.com
• Book: "Mindful Money: Simple Practices For Reaching Your Financial Goals And Increasing Your Happiness Dividend"
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/HappinessDividend

Jill Schiefelbein is an award-winning business owner, author, and recovering academic. She taught business communication at Arizona State University for 11 years, analyzed terrorist documents to help provide counter-terrorism strategies to the United States military, and was a pioneer in the online education space, creating an office serving 60,000 students and adding $1M in revenue in its first year to the University. In 2011, she ventured into entrepreneurship and hasn't looked back. Her first business, Impromptu Guru, helps people improve their presentation and public speaking skills. She created a YouTube series that was syndicated by Entrepreneur Network and brings in thousands of new viewers each week. Jill also creates and executes strategies that help business owners increase sales, enhance product experience, and retain customers. She's a video partner and a contributor to Entrepreneur Magazine. Her latest book is entitled, "Dynamic Communication: Strategies to Grow, Lead, and Manage Your Business."

• Jill's background
• How reverse engineering taught Jill to approach problems from multiple angles
• Why you need to look at output first when analyzing a problem
• Why you should go outside of the traditional checklist when hiring
• Making sure that you have a clear to-do list before diving into your day
• Why it's so critical for business owners to know how to answer questions
• Why the way we market to customers has to fundamentally shift
• Why we need to change our perspective of how we are communicating with our customers
• Why you need to listen more strategically
• Why you need to get your ego out of the way

• Book: "Dynamic Communication: 27 Strategies to Grow, Lead, & Manage Your Business"
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/dynamicjill
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jillschiefelbein
• Twitter: @dynamicjill
• Instagram: @dynamicjill

Perry Marshall is one of the world's most expensive and sought-after business consultants. Clients seek his ability to integrate engineering, sales, mathematics, biology, art, and psychology. He has launched two online revolutions. He pioneered many best practices in paid search and wrote the world's bestselling book on web advertising, "Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords." More recently, he's turned 80/20 into a verb. 80/20 is not just a fact about your business, it's action you take on your business. 80/20 is the central lever for every great strategy. His book "80/20 Sales & Marketing" is mandatory in many growing companies. He is referenced in dozens of influential business books by authors like Jay Conrad Levinson, Mark Joyner, Joel Comm, and Mari Smith. He's shared the stage with Barbara Corcoran, Brian Tracy, and Les Brown, having consulted in over 300 industries.

• Why Perry believes that there is going to be some massive dislocation somewhere in the world in the next year
• Why it's important to know how things fundamentally work in the world
• How business & engineering are intertwined
• What Perry considers to be the biggest untold story in the history of science
• How cells are like entrepreneurs
• The story behind the swiss army knife concept
• Why Perry believes that there is a whole systematic creativity mechanism that is going on in nature that optimizes things
• Why evolution is always an intentional process
• Why you need to be a fearless seeker of the truth

• Website: cosmicfingerprints.com
• Book: "Evolution 2.0"