Archive 3: 2018-2020
601: Mini-Offers, Market Research, Quitting Your Job, and Building Your Funnel with Michelle Evans
Michelle L. Evans walked away from her global marketing strategy role at Microsoft in 2012 after a successful 16-year corporate career spanning many industries and now works with a fantastic community of business owners - coaches, consultants, experts, speakers, authors and solopreneurs - helping them go from simply surviving to predictably SOLD OUT. Using her 20+ years of successful marketing experience she helps her clients create income-producing, client-generating, stress-reducing marketing funnels. Michelle has been featured in Mirasee, Huffington Post, Online Marketing Made Easy and 30+ other places over the internet and worked with household names like Microsoft, LinkedIn and others as a well-paid employee and consultant.
Michelle talks to us about her strategy of creating mini-offers to find hot selling product ideas, training your list, creating upsells and funnels, and how to emotionally connect with prospects.
Quotes:
“When I'm doing market research, I learned my lesson—don't do market research on free stuff if people don't have to whip out their wallets and even give you a tiny amount of money.” – Michelle Evans
“You did all this work to get them excited, they come in, engaged, and continue this discovery process. Thus, the best thing you can do is to hook into their curiosity and even if you could have a small offer, you have to keep that conversation going.” - Michelle Evans
“Start those conversations regardless of how big your audience is. Start solving problems for people because that's what they'll pay for.” - Michelle Evans
Takeaways:
06:36 Funnels don't need to be complicated; focus on understanding the problem you solve and the results customers want.
20:15 Creating low-ticket mini offers helps entrepreneurs test market demand without massive upfront investment.
22:06 Always include an upsell or next step after someone opts in or makes a small purchase to keep the conversation going.
29:25 When transitioning from a 9-to-5 job, start building your side business gradually with simple, quick-to-create products.
31:57 Testimonials and market research can come directly from customers who buy your initial low-cost offerings.
Take This Short Quiz to Claim Your Michelle's Free Funnel Template
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600: The Magical Profit-Producing Power of Following Up, Being Organized, and Persistent: 22 Things I Learned From Grant Cardone About Wealth, Mental Health, Happiness, Knowledge, and Making Money
For our 600th episode, we're going to talk about Grant Cardone, who I consider to be one of the top 10 marketers on the planet. Important to note: Grant doesn't know me and he does not appear in this episode. However, I've read (almost) all his books and bought a few other things from him, such as his 10XGrowthCon livestream. He brands himself as a sales trainer and is the best person to learn from if you're looking to up your game, develop a better work ethic, and connect better with your customers & employees.
He's definitely the hardest working person I've ever seen. If that makes me a kiss-ass, so be it:
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- 10X rule: it takes 10 times the effort you think it will take, so set your goal, then 10-times that goal, and then 10-times the action you think you'll need to take to hit that goal (avoids "one foot on the brake")
- Get your money right
- Have a quiet workspace, rent an office, get employees
- You don't know if "too much" is too much until you've done it
- Grocery store rot: feed the beast, keep the traffic, clients, business, and money pouring in constantly
- You’re always selling (job, career, webinar, class) -- surpass your quota (quick personal videos)
- Be the most ethical person you know: "ethical" means telling as many people about your product because it’s unethical not to help them by selling it to them
- Most of us are introverted or shy (the thing you fear is the action you are putting off and should probably take). Be "social" even if you're introverted. Make thank you calls or send postcards to customers. "Someone canceled on me for lunch, let's have lunch."
- Daily meetings & quotas (measured progress): get into the habit of completion
- Most people don’t follow-up (36 voicemails, every business in Miami, eat lunch with people)
- Don't wait to get your ducks in a row before taking action: CRMs or spreadsheets? Just start dialing or contacting.
- Omnipresence (market yourself in so many places that people can’t ignore you
- Ramp up as your skill and efficiency improves (Brad Lea videos, morning vlogs, daily LinkedIn posts)
- Be difficult and ask for what you want
- Ask questions from prospects (buying a laptop story), mirror and always agree
- Scheduling & happiness: fill in so much in your schedule that the weeds can’t grow
- Be so busy that you haven’t even had time to watch your favorite tv show in weeks.
- Work weekends - don't take them off like everyone else does
- Write down your goals in the morning and at night
- If you have multiple jobs / streams of income, be looking for "complementary" skills, i.e. day job to learn coding and create plugins on the side... voiceover artists who get into podcast setup & editing
- Are you discouraged because someone hasn't called you back? How many times have you failed to call someone back? Call again.
- Even if they hate you, they’re still talking about you, so just be yourself
Quotes:
“You get what you tolerate, and if you keep on doing what you're doing, you're gonna get the same old results.” – Grant Cardone
“Successful people have a big library. Unsuccessful people have a big TV set.” - Grant Cardone
“Don't wait for things to be perfect. Don't wait for your confidence to be at 100%. Don't wait for the fear to go away. Just proceed anyway.” - Grant Cardone
Takeaways:
00:20 80% of success is simply showing up and pushing past your comfort zone.
09:57 Always keep your business pipeline full by constantly reaching out and following up with prospects.
18:22 Set goals 10 times higher than you initially think possible and match those goals with 10 times more activity.
30:49 Fill your schedule so completely that unproductive thoughts and "weeds" cannot grow.
45:06 Be yourself in business, even if some people might dislike your approach, because visibility matters more than universal approval.
Resources
- Grant's articles (LinkedIn)
- 10XGrowthCon (Live Event)
- Cardone University (Online training, non-affiliate link)
- The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure (Book)
- Sell or Be Sold: How to Get Your Way in Business and in Life (Book)
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599: Listen, Choose, and Breathe: Parse Your Story to Meet Your Audience, Create a Strong Call-to-Action, and Recap with Communications and Public Relations Expert Jeanne Alford
Jeanne Alford -- author, speaker and communications expert -- directed PR and communications programs for such brands as Dolby Laboratories, Philips Electronics, Visa and Sony. She focused on media perception, crisis communications and international issues. As an executive coach, today, she specializes in communications and media training including speaking, presenting and writing to guide business leaders to tell their most compelling stories in their own words.
Quotes:
“We all think the same thing about ourselves. What we do is ordinary, because we're in it every day. We don't always see the extraordinary.” – Jeanne Alford
“If we don't understand where our audience is coming from, all we're doing is throwing words at them and looking for something to stick.” - Jeanne Alford
“We have about two seconds to make an impression on somebody. We have micro expressions that we exude without even being aware of, because they're in our subconscious mind.” - Jeanne Alford
Takeaways:
05:00 Understanding your audience's perspective is more important than sharing raw information.
10:29 Tailoring your message to different audience groups helps your communication hit the mark more effectively.
23:17 Breathing deeply and staying calm allows you to think more clearly and respond thoughtfully in high-pressure situations.
28:56 Most people only hear half of what's being said, making active listening a critical communication skill.
33:13 Practice makes communication skills become natural, just like muscle memory when learning to drive or ride a bike.
Resources
- Jeanne Alford (LinkedIn)
- Jeanne Alford on Alignable (Business Card)
- Jeanne Alford on Clarity (Coaching Session)
- Jeanne Alford on Medium (Blog)
- Jeanne Alford (Twitter)
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598: Create a Better Product, Narrow Down Your Audience, Find the Ideal Price Point and Grow with Crossword and Word Search Hobbyist Jonah Phillips
Jonah Phillips is the founder and CEO of Crossword Hobbyist and My Word Search. He’s here to talk about starting your own business, and explain why you should ignore most business advice you get. He also explains how he was able to grow the audience for his crossword and wordsearch tools, as well as the audiences he's broken into in order to expand his user base.
Quotes:
“If you're making something for an anniversary gift, you want the absolute most premium.” – Jonah Phillips
“The price is always worth it if it’s the best option and exactly what they’re looking for.” - Jonah Phillips
“You have to be a certain kind of crazy to want to create a crossword puzzle. Even with intense focus, your first newspaper-style crossword could take around eight hours to complete.” - Jonah Phillips
Takeaways:
01:32 Sometimes the most valuable customers are those who weren't your original target audience.
02:19 Finding a unique market niche can turn a seemingly simple tool into a successful business.
05:19 Successful businesses adapt by closely observing how people actually use their product.
15:43 Future-proofing your business means anticipating technological integrations before they become mainstream.
20:40 Pricing isn't always about being the cheapest, but about providing the best value for specific user needs.
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597: How to Go Viral: Conflict, Narrative Tension, Emotional Messaging, Anger, Anxiety, and Awe with Joe Romm
Joe Romm, named one of Rolling Stone’s "100 people who are changing America," has a game-changing new book, "How to Go Viral and Reach Millions." Romm is "the communicator's communicator," blurbs Van Jones, host of CNN’s The Van Jones Show.
"How to Go Viral" is the first book to reveal all the latest secrets for consistently generating viral online content—words, images, or videos that are seen and shared by hundreds of thousands and eventually even millions of people, something Romm and his colleagues in three different organizations achieve routinely.
Joe is here to talk about how to create viral content that grabs attentions, connects emotionally, and has all the correct "mechanics" in place, i.e. winning headlines.
Quotes:
“There’s a massive amount of noise—endless content, countless tweets, and nonstop videos. To stand out and be heard, you need to use the proven strategies and techniques that top social media superstars and viral experts have mastered.” – Joe Romm
“For tens of thousands of years, storytelling has been at the core of human evolution—that’s how our brains are naturally wired.” - Joe Romm
“We’re in an era where two things matter most: capturing people’s attention and holding onto it.” - Joe Romm
Takeaways:
04:45 Storytelling with conflict and resolution is more engaging than flat, fact-based presentations.
12:53 Viral content must work visually, even with sound off, to capture audience attention.
18:19 Headlines and opening lines are critical - they determine whether people will continue consuming your content.
23:16 Emotional triggers like anger, anxiety, and awe make content more shareable.
27:17 Personal stories behind information create deeper audience connection than raw data.
Resources
- How To Go Viral and Reach Millions: Top Persuasion Secrets from Social Media Superstars, Jesus, Shakespeare, Oprah, and Even Donald Trump (Book)
- Rhetoric (Official Site)
- Joseph Romm (Wikipedia)
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596: Rock Your Lifestyle, Live Life to the Fullest, and Transform Your Life with Jenny Holla
Jenny Holla is a life adventurist, world traveler, author of Rock Your Lifestyle and the co-founder of 2jHolla. Jenny is on a mission to awaken deep transformational life change in leaders and executives who are looking for more free time, energy, connection and who crave more out of life. As far back as she can remember, she has been motivated to love what she is doing, no matter what. She's always been drawn to adventure, new experiences, meeting new people and seeing the world.
You can get a dose of inspiration from Jenny and her husband, Jai Holla (co-founder of 2jHolla), on their show The Hollastic Life with J&J, LIVE via Facebook every Sunday at 8pm EST. They cover many topics about holistic living including wellness, finances, relationships and travel.
Jenny is here to tell us about about her three secrets: confidence, active listening, and followup. She also explains how she was able to transition from a stressful existence into an ideal stress-free, money-making lifestyle on her own terms.
Quotes:
“If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, find something else. I’ve always said that’s how I want to design my life—that’s how I want to live.” – Jenny Holla
“Sales, at its core, is about leading with heart and solving problems. It doesn’t have to be a daunting or complex process—it can be as simple as listening and determining whether what you offer genuinely meets someone’s needs.” - Jenny Holla
“Sometimes, having a coach or mentor—someone to provide guidance and encouragement—can give us the necessary nudge to regain focus or take meaningful steps forward.” - Jenny Holla
Takeaways:
02:37 Selling is about solving problems and listening deeply to understand people's needs, not pushing a scripted pitch.
05:00 Confidence, active listening, and consistent follow-up are critical skills in both personal and professional interactions.
10:38 Personal transformation requires continuous adjustment and willingness to challenge your current life circumstances.
13:48 Breaking down big life dreams into actionable steps helps transform vague goals into realistic plans.
21:42 Exploring local experiences with a tourist's mindset can reveal unexpected adventures right in your backyard.
Resources
- Rock Your Lifestyle (Book, use coupon code "robertplank" at checkout)
- 2JHolla (Website)
- Unf*ckwithable Wedding Pros with Jenny & Jai Holla (Facebook Group)
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595: Tax Liens and Tax Deeds: Make More Money Easily By Thinking Outside the Box and Ramping Up with Ted Thomas
Ted Thomas is an active investor with over 20 years' experience. He specializes in advising, guiding and teaching people the steps to make money with Tax Lien Certificates and Tax Defaulted property. It's something he's taught thousands of men and women all around the world to do – from single moms to professional investors and entrepreneurs. He's here to tell us how to make easy, passive, scalable income using tax liens and tax deeds.
Quotes:
“If you want to learn something, you want to learn it from someone that's doing it. Don't use the television to be your apprentice, because those guys are trying to make a big show for television.” – Ted Thomas
“You need to build a reputation. There are many factors that contribute to a successful website. Yes, there are millions of them, but the real key is how many actually generate revenue.” - Ted Thomas
“Listen, cash is king—that’s what I emphasize. I don’t want people buying those fixer-upper houses; they’re a huge headache, a big one.” - Ted Thomas
Takeaways:
05:25 Tax lien certificates offer a safe, predictable investment with potential returns between 16-25% when property owners pay their overdue taxes.
08:42 Always research properties thoroughly before bidding, focusing on exit strategies and avoiding high-risk investments like fixer-uppers.
26:59 Start small with investments, learning from experienced professionals and gradually building your skills without falling for get-rich-quick schemes.
31:11 Online resources and technology now make real estate investing more accessible, allowing investors to research properties from their kitchen table.
32:33 Successful investing requires patience, process, and a willingness to learn from those actively doing the work in the field.
Resources
- Ted Thomas: America's Tax Lien Certificate & Tax Deed Authority (Official Site)
- Ted Thomas (Twitter)
- Ted Thomas (LinkedIn)
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594: Shiny Object Mastery: Discover Sustainable Motivation, Achieve High Productivity Excellence, and Conquer Your Inner Game with Productivity Expert Michael Montague
Michael Montague is the Amazon #1 best-selling author of the book Shiny Object Mastery: The Formula for Overcoming Distractions and Increasing Productivity. Michael’s mission is to help people transition from the confusion of the Information Age, into the clarity and aligned intention of the Age of Purpose.
Quotes:
“Evolution hasn't caught up to our modern day society yet, so our brains are not really designed to filter out the volume of information that we are bombarded with each day.” – Michael Montague
“Successful people understand that information must be implemented to have value, but most people are reduced to gathering more information rather than implementing the right information.” - Michael Montague
“When you wake up and you are living your purpose through your business, then that's going to give you the sustainable motivation and the enthusiasm to keep going.” - Michael Montague
Takeaways:
09:33 Keep your cell phone out of the bedroom to improve sleep and reduce morning distractions.
10:01 Develop a morning ritual that includes setting daily intentions, practicing gratitude, and forgiving yourself.
14:18 Focus on high-value activities during your most productive morning hours instead of checking emails.
17:22 Batch similar tasks together to minimize mental energy drain from constant task switching.
19:35 Align your business goals with your life purpose to create sustainable motivation and satisfaction.
Resources
- Shiny Object Mastery: The Formula for Overcoming Distractions and Increasing Productivity (Book)
- Michael Montague: The King of Productivity Excellence (Official Site)
- Michael Montague (Facebook)
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593: Rockstar Marketing: Make More Money, Think Outside the Box, Get Noticed and Succeed with Keynote Speaker Craig Duswalt
Craig Duswalt is a Keynote Speaker, Author, Podcaster, and the creator of RockStar Marketing.
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His background includes touring with Guns N' Roses, as Axl Rose's personal assistant, and Air Supply, as the band's personal assistant.
After touring, Craig opened his marketing firm, Green Room Design and Advertising, which was named the 2002 SCV Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year.
Craig then combined his backgrounds in both music and marketing, and is now a professional speaker, author and podcaster, promoting his RockStar Marketing Program all over the world. He is known in the industry for putting on high energy, 3-Day RockStar Marketing BootCamps every Spring and Fall in Los Angeles.
Craig is here today to share with us how to use outside the box marketing techniques to generate leads, attract clients and how to stand out from the competition — Like a RockStar.
Quotes:
“If you want to make more money, be a rock star in your business, stand out from the competition, establish yourself as an expert, and have people buy from you because of your excellence, then you must rise above the rest.” – Craig Duswalt
“We need to start thinking like five- and ten-year-olds again—letting go of the fear of judgment, putting our ideas out there, and trusting that what we create has value.” - Craig Duswalt
“The key is to create raving fans, just like rock stars do—by doing things differently and standing out.” - Craig Duswalt
Takeaways:
14:30 Creating unique marketing approaches, like selling a single album copy, can generate massive attention and buzz for your brand.
20:53 No one will market your personal brand for you, so you must put your own picture and face everywhere.
28:36 Negative feedback is inevitable, so develop thick skin and focus on the positive responses from your audience.
30:13 Having fun with your marketing and letting go of critics helps you connect with passionate, supportive fans.
31:54 Standing out from competition requires delivering unique value and making personal, extra touches.
Resources
- Craig Duswalt's RockStar Marketing Program (Official Site)
- Craig Duswalt (Twitter)
- RockStar Marketing Bootcamp (Live event in Los Angeles)
- RockStar Marketing Backstage (Membership site)
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592: Stay Focused on Gratitude, Shift Out of Negativity, Get Empowered and Transition to the Next Stage of Your Life with Love and Lifestyle Coach Terri Rose
Terri Rose is a Love & Lifestyle Coach and Motivational Speaker committed to serving those in major life transitions such as separation, divorce, single parenting, empty nesting and/or losing a job. Terri encompasses the qualities of Love and Service to others.
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After leaving her 13 year marriage, she has walked the emotionally challenging path of divorce. With a strong and passionate desire to serve and empower others, she brings unique insight and inspiration from her own life experiences.
Terri knows how transformative the aftermath of Divorce, loss, break ups and starting over can be. Emerging free and independent as a single mother of two, she recognized the potential to help hundreds of people transform their heartbreak and grief into clarity, vision, and self-love. Her wisdom, intuition and genuine love for others inspire one to shift out of limiting unconscious beliefs and step into personal strength and empowerment. With her coaching methods, you will move through the sea of emotions and awaken to deep abiding self-love and experience the inner joy that comes from truly loving yourself.
Through her own unique experience, Terri approaches everyone she meets with extraordinary compassion and brings deep listening and an open, welcoming heart to each client. Clients experience a deeper understanding of their emotions, compassion and self-love in even just one session, and over a series of sessions, they are able to stand in their own power, asking the universe fearlessly for the love and lives they truly desire, arms and heart open, ready to receive.
Quotes:
“When you stay focused on gratitude, it's more difficult to stay in anger, resentment, bitterness, hurt, pain, loss, and grief.” – Terri Rose
“Life constantly throws curveballs, and how you respond makes all the difference. Do you let the ball knock you down and stay down, or do you get up and run?” - Terri Rose
“Sometimes, the changes that come our way are meant to push us toward something positive. However, how we perceive them depends on our life experiences and mindset.” - Terri Rose
Takeaways:
08:14 Self-care is critical during life transitions, even if it's just 15 minutes a day of personal time.
11:58 Nature and sunlight can significantly improve emotional well-being during difficult personal changes.
14:43 Positive affirmations and sticky notes with encouraging messages can help rebuild self-worth after major life challenges.
23:20 People's negative actions often stem from their own pain, not from a desire to hurt you.
29:31 You have the power to choose how you respond to life's challenges and can decide whether to let them defeat or empower you.
Resources
- Roseville, California Meetup: Finding Your Empowered Self through the Divorce Process (Events)
- Blissify Your Life: Terri Rose, Love & Lifestyle Coach (Official Site)
- Email: love@blissifyyourlife.com
- Phone: 916-425-8383
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