The Authority Builder Podcast

This is an invitation for you to take a close look at your business: where you are now, where you want to go, and… how you’re going to get there.

Growth is rarely a straight line going up. 

But you can give yourself a clearer path to success and sustainable profitability if you fine tune what you’re offering to your target market, who exactly that audience is – it’s much smaller than you think, and how you convince them you are the right choice in a crowded marketplace.

It’s all about being unique, which is a much different concept than you may believe.

We explore that concept in depth, as well as…

• How much of your expertise you should give away for free 
• A way to use your marketing to pre-qualify your prospects
• The best way to differentiate yourself from your competitors (and you are different)
• Effective ways to “package” your ideas that brings in the right leads
• And more

Robert Michon joins me today to talk about how to be resourceful, how to increase your confidence and restore some sense of control in life and business right now.

Collaborating with other businesspeople is a key to success as an entrepreneur. But if you’ve tried and failed to foster mutually beneficial relationships or started a partnership that you felt was too one-sided, you might be skeptical that collaboration can actually work. 

But you just need a different approach. Traditional networking doesn’t always work. But there is a relatively new medium that allows you to land important contacts with the heavy hitters in your niche and get access to their audience – maybe even get a direct endorsement. 

If you want to grow your business – this is a must-have. Stop waiting for opportunities to come to you – go out and grab them. I go over ways to kick things off, as well as…

• The power of “interviewing” to turn heavy hitters in your niche into partners 
• How to get an “influencer” to promote you and your business
• Growing your business through a smarter lead generation system
• The right way to measure the “success” of your business relationships
• Potential opportunities to explore once rapport has been established

One of the most effective ways to get more and better leads that you can turn into high-paying clients, says David Newman, founder of Do It! Marketing, is to talk to them. Well… it’s a bit more than that.

David is an expert in using public speaking to help consultants, professional service providers, and coaches build a more profitable business. It’s a way to showcase your expertise, spread your influence, raise awareness about you and your brand, and expand your thought leadership to where it matters most.

David shares his strategies for landing the speaking engagements that will make the most difference… how to package your message… and, vitally, how to turn your speaking into a marketing machine for your business.

We dig deep into that topic, including…

• How to hone in on your most profitable target market and the events they attend
• Creating an effective “client magnet” speech (and what you must leave out)
• The one thing you must have to make sound decisions
• Why you have to build your personal – not company – brand
• And more

Well, here we are… Week 2 of the pandemic crisis (here in the U.S.).

The question I’ve heard a lot this week is how do we market right now, in this strange environment.

The answer… thoughtfully and carefully.

And yes, you should keep marketing and selling, but it demands a different approach.

I outline the three-step approach you should be taking right now in today’s episode.

Listen now…

-Steve

P.S. You may be having to rethink your entire approach to marketing, now that networking events, conferences, and speaking engagements are gone. 

Our process--podcast + book + strategic referrals en masse--works better than ever. We’d love to do it all for you and have a team standing by, but we also know that hiring our team (or any team) might not be accessible to you right now. We’re working on a program that will guide you in using our approach to get clients, so you can move fast, avoid mistakes, and rapidly get a podcast up and going, create a great version 1.0 of your book, and put it to use to get referrals and clients. It’ll be a fraction of what working with us 1-on-1 would cost.

We’re launching a small case-study group next week. Would you like to join us?

Email me at [email protected] with “case-study group” in the subject and I’ll get you all the details.

What a difference a week makes…

The world has changed dramatically in a very short time. Like you, I’m working to understand it, adapt, and find the way forward.

At the end of the day, that’s all there really is--a way forward.

Today’s episode of the podcast is a little bit different. I’m joined by my friend and client Rick Hadrava, host of The Over 50 Entrepreneur podcast to discuss what we’re doing right now to keep moving forward, and what we’re advising our clients to do.

In challenging times you learn a lot about yourself and about other people. Character is revealed, for better or worse.

Things will be different, but that’s not something to fear, it’s something to embrace. Change brings opportunity. It’s up to each of us to find it and adapt. 

Today, Rick and I discuss where to focus your thinking and actions so you find the new opportunities.

I’d love to hear what you’re doing to move forward, in spite of the circumstances of the day. 

Email me at [email protected].

-Steve

Many business owners – perhaps you – are blissfully unaware that their marketing is confusing their best potential customers. 

In the worst-case scenario, prospects aren’t sure what you actually do, what you can offer them, and how you’re different from your competition.

The solution isn’t to embrace the latest marketing “trick” or spend a bunch of money on ads. Those are just tools. Unless you have one foundational element in place, it’ll just be a waste of money.

You need to show prospects clear value in your website, every ad campaign, every message that you send out so they pick you over other companies.

• The reason doing great work for customers is just part of the equation
• The 3 things every potential client is looking for in you
• Why you actually don’t have any “competition”
• The #1 marketing mistake most entrepreneurs make
• And more

According to studies, viewers retain 95% of a message after seeing it in a video compared to 10% retention for text. Including a video on a landing page can increase conversions by up to 80%. 

It’s no surprise that Rick Cesari is big on video marketing. And he has the background…

He’s seen this tactic work first-hand during his work helping companies like George Foreman Grill, Sonicare toothbrushes, and more make millions. But he has a passion for helping small businesses leverage video to achieve more sales and breakthrough growth.

He talks about how you should start video marketing for your business, where you should use your videos online, and more, including…

• How he helped GoPro go from 0 to $1 billion in eight years
• The vital element of any successful video 
• A strategy for landing the best testimonials for your business
• The 3 best types of videos for your business and how to create them (it’s easier than you think)
• Video marketing tactics for service-based as well as product-based business models

Too many business owners look for the “next big thing” in marketing and sales, thinking that’s what they need to accelerate the growth of their business and take it to the next level.

The thing is… if you don’t have a solid foundation, the “next big thing” is not going to get the results you hope for. First you need to know your ideal prospect… and it’s not just anybody with a wallet.

Then you have to realize that there are two types of prospects out there. You have to reach both groups to grow… but each requires a different approach to marketing and closing a deal.

Tune in to find out who your perfect prospect is and how to get through to them, as well as…

• Why your next client might be “next door”
• Figuring out the mindset of your ideal client
• How to find the marketing channel that works – and what to do next 
• The biggest marketing mistake entrepreneurs make 
• And more

After 20 years as an entrepreneur, Thor Conklin has seen a lot. In his work with clients, this profitability consultant not only shares what you should be doing… but just as important, if not more so, is what you shouldn’t be doing. 

A lot of what he teaches is based on mistakes he’s made and gleaned invaluable experience from. He’s on a mission to help companies avoid being one of the 96% that fail within 10 years. 

Thor says there is only one reason it happens, and he has a blueprint for avoiding that fate. He says there is a system that will help any business, in any industry, grow sustainably and stay profitable in the long term. All you need are two things, says Thor.

He shares his two-part secret, as well as…

• Why profits aren’t the best measure of true success
• Setting up a “scoreboard” for your business (and metrics it should include)
• Ways to create accountability on your team to drive continuous improvement
• Tough leadership lessons you must learn
• How you can change your identity to excel at practically any role