Part 2 of 3: 57 Actionable Insights From 57 Episodes Of The Productive Insights Podcast (2015 — A Year In Review)

Welcome to part two of the three-part series which covers the 57 actionable insights from the 57 episodes of the productive insights podcast in 2015. If you haven't listened to part one of this 3 part series please go back and have a listen.  Part one extracts the insight that I found most actionable from episodes 1 to 20.

 

In this episode I'll share some of the actionable insights from episodes 21 to 40. As always I'll also include links to each of the episodes (below) in the show notes so you can always go back to those episodes and listen in more detail.

If you find this information valuable or helpful then please do share it with friends via social media or email so it can reach as many people as possible as possible. Also please do stop by iTunes and leave a five-star review if you feel so inclined. It would mean the world to me.

021. Facebook Advertising with Keith Kranc and Ralph Burns (Part 2)

You have to be doing video ads in addition to what you're doing. Rule of three in big hollywood studios. Video is another modality but is a way bigger form of modality as compared to the others. Case study format videos work well.(at around the 3 min mark).

Action Step: Post up a video using Keith's video ad winning formula which he talks about at around the 13 min mark in the episode

022. $50 Million and Counting …. With Ed O’Keefe

Ed believes we're all entrepreneurs and that we have the potential to do whatever we want to do. The opportunity to become an entrepreneur is greater than it was ever before. At around the 10:30 min mark he talks about the mathematical equation that it all comes down to. What's it costing you to get a customer? What day are you profitable?

Action step: Listen to the mathematical approach that Ed talks about in terms of investing in advertising and getting payback within 90 days

023. Content Marketing for Business Success

This tutorial talks about how to use content marketing strategy that works to increase customer leads and sales. Set yourself tight deadlines and get moving on creating content. Don't think too much about it. Get something out there.

Action Step: Create a Keynote or PowerPoint presentation around a topic that your audience will value (make it as specific and actionable as possible. Use Screenflow (for Mac) or Camtasia (for PC) and record the presentation and publish to youtube or wistia. Then repurpose the content into audio and transcribe to blog posts using rev.com

024. Melanie Pinola (Lifehacker) on How to Setup Your Virtual Office at Home

Melanie Pinola and I talked about how to set up a virtual office at home and still be more productive.

Action Step: Establish a daily routine which helps you be more productive in your home office. Put on work clothes if you have to. Do what it takes to get you into the mental state to get your A game happening. 

025. How To Use the Pomodoro Technique To Become A Laser Focused Productivity Ninja!

I think the name says it all here. Created by Francisco Cerillo It's about focusing on your work in 25 min increments followed by a 5 min break.

Part 1 of 3: 57 Actionable Insights From 57 Episodes Of The Productive Insights Podcast (2015 — A Year In Review)

It’s been almost a year since I released my first podcast with Neil Patel in February 2015. I’ve released 57 episodes so far this year.

I thought it would be a good idea to extract some of the key actionable insights that stood out for me from each of the podcast episodes.

The format I’m going to follow is: Tell you a bit about each episode and then tell you the key actionable insights and action points that stood out for me. This isn’t a substitute for listening to the actual episodes because, of course, different things would strike you as important and actionable depending on your individual experiences and inclinations.

Anyway, in this 3-part series, I will share some of the things that really stood out for me and each podcast episode that you will hopefully find useful. I will also include links to each of the episodes (below) in the show notes so you can always go back to those episodes and listen in more detail.

As always, if you find this information valuable or helpful, then please do share it with friends via social media or email so it can reach as many people as possible. Also, please do stop by iTunes and leave a five-star review if you feel so inclined. It would mean the world to me.

001. Neil Patel (Kissmetrics Founder) On How To Make Better Decisions Around Client Selection, Branding and Investing:

* At around the 3-minute mark, we talk about Neil's criteria for selecting clients … Guess what? It’s not financial in nature! The most important thing is about helping someone out and enjoy the process. "If you can’t help them out, what’s the point in taking on a client?" - Neil Patel

* Action step: Only take on clients when you know you can deliver results. 

002. James Schramko On How To Use The Recurring Income To Maximise Profit And Fund Your Perfect Lifestyle

* James explains the Profit formula at around the 2-minute mark: Customers = Traffic x Conversions. And then, you have: Customers x Transaction Value x Frequency x Margin. This is what James used to build a low maintenance and high-profit business that facilitates a freedom-based lifestyle. The Farming vs Hunting analogy is how he explains it at the 3-minute mark.

* Action step: Consider creating a recurring income business model, so rather than trying to acquire new customers every day, you’re selling more products to the same customers that have already done business with you. 

003. Jon Morrow (Copyblogger) On How ...

How To Sustainably Generate Creative Content. Develop an Awesome Mindset with Lisa Myers, CEO of Verve Search, Plus Her Favorite Star Wars Quote

Lisa Myers is an expert in SEO and content marketing and was introduced to me by Rand Fishkin. She is the CEO of Verve Search and is an internationally respected search marketing expert. She's won a number of prestigious awards, and in 2011, she won the Search Personality of the Year at the UK's Search Awards and most recently, in the European Search Awards, they won the best SEO agency, the best content marketing campaign and the best Pan-European campaign. Verve's unrivaled creativity and attention to detail have seen the company grow rapidly from a small team of passionate enthusiasts to an authoritative global service provided.

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Resources Mentioned

* Click here to download podcast shownotes

* https://productiveinsights.com/hire

* http://www.vervesearch.com/

* Twitter: @lisadmyers

* Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn

* Idioms of the world – Hotel Club campaign

* Audible

Books Mentioned

* Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - Malcom Gladwell

Related / Mentioned Podcast Episodes:

* Episode 001:  With Neil Patel Founder of KISSmetrics on branding investments mindset, productivity and lots more

* Episode 002: James Schramko

Dana Ditomaso On Kick Point's Specific Strategies For High-Value Content Creation

Dana Ditomaso is an expert in search engine optimisation and content marketing, and she was introduced to me by Rand Fishkin. She's a partner at Kick Point Marketing. She helps turnaround a lot of marketing BS into real strategies to grow your business. She specialises in helping clients make the most out of every marketing dollar, and a number one goal is to help you to achieve your business goals. She's spoken at MOSCON, SearchLove, SearchFest and a lot of other leading events relating to search and search engine optimisation.

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Resources Mentioned

* Click here to download podcast shownotes

* https://productiveinsights.com/hire

* http://kickpoint.ca

* Twitter: @Danaditomaso

* Google Now - iOS

* Google Now - Android

* Muck Rack

Books Mentioned

* Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

* The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play

* Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing

* Seducing Strangers: How to Get People to Buy What You're Selling (The Little Black Book of Advertising Secrets)

Related / Mentioned Podcast Episodes

* Episode 006 - Chris Garrett

How To Use Ecommerce To Take Your Business From Six Figures To Seven — With Ezra Firestone

Ezra Firestone is the founder and creative director of smartmarketer.com, an information hub for do-it-yourself entrepreneurs. He's also a leading authority in the e-commerce space and runs a private network of e-commerce websites. He regularly consults with companies across the United States and Canada. He's the head of We Are Family Manhattan, a non-profit organization that and redistributes surplus goods and food to those in need.

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Resources Mentioned

* Click here to download podcast shownotes

* https://productiveinsights.com/hire

* http://smartmarketer.com

* http://www.thinkactget.com/category/podcast/

* http://www.superfastbusiness.com/live/

Books Mentioned

* Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

Related / Mentioned Podcast Episodes:

* Episode 002 – James Schramko on Recurring Income Models

* Episode 006 - Chris Garrett (Copyblogger) on Content Marketing For Business Success 

* Episode 014 – Facebook advertisin...

Community building is critical to long term business success in today's digital age. It's one of the most important ways to create a great brand and stand out from the crowd.

In this podcast Mackenzie Fogelson and I discuss the 3 key elements to community building.

Pratima Aravabhoomi — A Serial Entrepreneur's Journey From Zero To An Eight Figure Business Valuation

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Resources Mentioned

* http://productiveinsights.com/hire

* http://craftstreetdesignco.com

Books Mentioned

* How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling

* Making Habits, Breaking Habits: Why We Do Things, Why We Don't, and How to Make Any Change Stick

Related / Mentioned Podcast Episodes:

* Episode 052 –Kyle Tully - The Mindset to 10X Your Prices

* Episode 018: Buck Rizvi on How To Build an EIGHT figure Business Using The Right Systems And Culture

* Episode 022 – $50 Million and Counting with Ed O’Keefe

 

Key Points (Timestamps)

* 00:49 — Intro and overview

* 01:40 — How Pratima got started with entrepreurship and her key learnings

* 02:34 — Keys to growing and selling an 8 figure consulting business

* 03:14 — How to use value of analytical and clear thinking to solve your client's problems

* 04:37 — The first key takeaway — declutter and focus on the essentials

* 04:49 — Stick your neck out there and then deliver!

* 05:22 — How to deal with self-doubt

* 06:25 — Setting expectations with her clients and communicating those expectations

* 07:09 — How Pratima approaches the discussion around results with her clients

* 08:04 — Reading between the lines — recurring themes from previous podcast guests like James Schramko, Buck Rizvi and Ed O'Keefe

* 08:50 — The biggest challenge - identifying the most impactful problem the customer faces

* 09:26 — Overcoming mental blocks dealing with sales by offering value

* 12:01 — Factors with product based businesses (fixed costs vs variable costs)

* 12:28 — What made Pratima decide to sell her consulting business and begin start craftstreetdesignco.com

* 15:33 — What Craftstreetdesignco.com offers to it's customers

* 16:45 — Pratima's personal qualities that have helped her become a entrepreneurial success

* 18:26 — Ash's mindfulness practice and how it applies to understanding your underlying assumptions in daily life and in your business

* 19:45 — What are the most common challenges for entrepreneurs and what has worked best in overcoming those problems

* 22:00 — Focus on solving client problems and delivering what they want

* 23:53 — Solve the problem that the client perceives to be a problem (not what you perceive as their problem)

* 24:20 — Actions a listener can take

* 25:21 — Books that have had the biggest impact on Pratima and why

* 27:49 — How to get in contact with Pratima

* 28:28 — Wrap up, key takeaways and related podcast episodes

Pratima Aravabhoomi — A Serial Entrepreneur's Journey From Zero To Over 7 Figures

Pratima Aravabhoomi is a dear friend of mine and a serial entrepreneur. She's the founder of Craft Street Design Co. and already built a consulting business which she’s in the process of selling for eight figures as we speak. She's also in the process of building another business in the design space which has hit annual revenues of six figures within its first year.

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Resources Mentioned

* Click here to download the podcast shownotes

* https://productiveinsights.com/hire

* http://craftstreetdesignco.com

Books Mentioned

* How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling

* Making Habits, Breaking Habits: Why We Do Things, Why We Don't, and How to Make Any Change Stick

Related / Mentioned Podcast Episodes:

* Episode 018: Buck Rizvi on How To Build an EIGHT figure Business Using The Right Systems And Culture

* Episode 022 – $50 Million and Counting with Ed O’Keefe

* Episode 052 –Kyle Tully - The Mindset to 10X Your Prices

Kyle Tully On Specific Mindset Techniques to 10X Your Prices

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Resources Mentioned

* http://productiveinsights.com/hire

* http://consultingtycoon.com

Books Mentioned

* Scientific Advertising

* Theory of Constraints

* Power of Full Engagement Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Loehr, Jim, Schwartz, Tony [Free Press,2005] [Paperback] Reprint

Related / Mentioned Podcast Episodes:

* Episode 001 – Neil Patel on Branding, Client Selection and Investing

* Episode 002 – James Schramko on Recurring Income Models

* Episode 018: Buck Rizvi on How To Build an EIGHT figure Business Using The Right Systems And Culture

* Episode 022 – $50 Million and Counting

* Episode 048: John Logar On How to High Value Consulting Techniques To Increase Profitability

* Episode 050: James Schramko On Frameworks for Business Profitability

Key Points (Timestamps)

* 00:41 — Intro and overview

* 02:04 — Discussion around why pricing isn’t the only factor when making an offer to a client that actually converts

* 02:40 — 80% of the market isn't price focused. There are other factors e.g. Results, you can generate, timeframes you can turn it around

* 03:42 — Discussion around how to get comfortable comfortable with value-based pricing

* 05:33 — The importance of having high-level strategic conversations with customers

* 06:51 — How to use a business partnering approach to aligning yourself with the customer’s strategic results

* 08:57 — The difference between positioning yourself as someone offering solutions (as opposed to commodities)

* 10:21 — Value based pricing - how to position yourself as a person delivering value

* 10:29 — Factors Kyle looks to when pricing his services

* What would the value be if he did it for his own business

* Value based factors e.g.

Kyle Tully On Specific Mindset Techniques to 10X Your Prices

Kyle Tully is the founder of consultingtycoon.com. He's a direct response copywriter and a marketing consultant who specialises in online lead generation, past customer reactivation and business growth strategies. He's trained hundreds of people to do what he does which is creating extraordinary income in record time.

Share This Episode

* Click To Tweet

Resources Mentioned

* Click here to donwload the podcast shownotes

* https://productiveinsights.com/hire

* http://consultingtycoon.com

Books Mentioned

* Scientific Advertising

* Theory of Constraints

* The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal

Related / Mentioned Podcast Episodes:

* Episode 001 – Neil Patel on Branding, Client Selection and Investing

* Episode 002 – James Schramko on Recurring Income Mo...