Listen Now

As a professional, like it or not, you are in the business of education-based selling. The sooner you embrace that you are selling (and in fact every single human interaction is in a sense a sale), the faster you are traveling down the road to success. What do I mean by this? Well, education-based selling is the process of making your prospects better and more informed clients. I know this personally after having educated over 1,500 prospects in my community at over 91 live seminars and 47 live webinars and then moving my prospect education process into an evergreen webinar format that consistently produces clients who rave about working with me. Want to do this too? Dive into today’s podcast and discover exactly what education-based selling is and why you should embrace it asap… [01:42] Real-life example of education-based selling in my law practice [02:43] How professionals who charge less than you are likely to cut corners, and how to help your prospects understand that [05:17] The two things you must help your prospects to understand [06:30] The real investment in education-based selling (it’s not money…) [09:12] Helping prospects understand the value of what you do instead of the hours you spend on the work Implement education-based selling in your professional practice and I practically promise your results will skyrocket! That’s what happened to me.

If you’re going to build a successful business, it’s imperative that you have a basic understanding of what people want - what drives them, what motivates them, what needs must be met. What are these core human motivators, or human drives that influence decision-making and human behavior? In a nutshell, these are: [03:24] The Drive to Acquire: this is the desire to collect material and immaterial things, like a car, or influence. [04:06] The Drive to Bond: this is the desire to be loved and feel valued in our relationships with others. [04:39] The Drive to Learn: this is the desire to satisfy our curiosity. [05:10] The Drive to Defend: this is the desire to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our property. [05:39] The Drive to Feel: this is the desire for emotional experiences like pleasure or excitement. [06:29] Examples: how Educate To Engage connects to a core human drive, plus how my law firm connects to a core human drive [SIGN OFF IN EMAIL] SHOUT OUT LINKS: Josh Kaufman, The Personal MBA. https://personalmba.com/core-human-drives/

In today’s episode I’m going to get vulnerable and tell you exactly how much I’ve paid certain mentors over the years as I’ve built my professional practice, and exactly how I evaluated whether I received any return on my investment in those mentors. Plus, I’m sharing an excerpt of a call with my business mentor, Greg Hickman, which inspired exactly the topic of today’s episode. How I calculate ROI might surprise you because I don’t use spreadsheets, despite how much I love Excel. Discover how I do it instead… [01:56] The first investment I ever made in my business and how much I paid [02:42] How I personally calculate ROI on an investment in a business coach or mentor [05:11] Whether I got a return on that first investment [07:26] The golden nugget from my second big investment [09:19] My current business mentorship program [09:47] An excerpt of a one-on-one call with my mentor, Greg Hickman, Founder & CEO of System.ly, where I’m put on the spot about how I think about ROI (this call inspired today’s podcast episode!) If you’ve ever invested in your business before and aren’t sure if it was a good call, or if you’ve never invested and you’re wondering how you make the right choice, this episode is for you. SHOUT OUT LINKS: Greg Hickman, Founder & CEO of System.ly

Today’s lesson ties in a fascinating historical account about the South Pole that, believe it or not, has an impact on your professional practice. If you know me, you might’ve heard by now that I love reading about Mt. Everest history. There is something that attracts me to stories about pushing your limits in an unforgiving environment for a goal you crave. And while I love Mt. Everest, I’m also fascinated by other extreme places on Earth and how people have pushed their personal limits to get there, such as the South Pole. As I share this story with you, keep in mind the important point here is about the journey, in this case to the South Pole. Translated to your life today, this story is about the journey to accomplishing your goals. The “20-mile march” is all about the race to the South Pole by two very different expeditions, and how one’s experience led to triumph and the other to defeat. The phrase was coined, by the way, by Jim Collins in his book Great By Choice. Let’s jump to the key pieces of the story: [02:15] The start of the race to the South Pole... [03:23] The juxtaposing approaches by the British expedition, led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, and the Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen… [04:30] The expedition that won the race… [04:51] Bringing the 20-mile march lesson to your world… [06:57] Captain Scott’s last words... [07:49] The takeaway for you... Ultimately, you want to be on the 20-mile march. You want to win. Listen to today’s episode on exactly how to do that. SHOUT OUT LINKS: 20-Mile March concept laid out in Great By Choice by Jim Collins: https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/twenty-mile-march.html

Today I am excited to share seven of my favorite books that have been transformational in my professional practice and ultimately my life! Even though I’m an attorney by trade, but I never was attracted to books designed specifically for lawyers. I didn’t want to be the typical lawyer caught up in litigation, conflict, and hourly billing, so I purposely sought out books about being better at business and at life in general. And here are the most influential seven of all… [01:39] EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey [03:48] The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman [04:42] Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin [05:48] Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson [06:39] Good To Great by Jim Collins [08:16] Willpower Doesn’t Work by Benjamin Hardy [09:44] The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks Plus the book I’m currently reading! [10:37]

Today we are talking about the five principles to follow when designing your fee schedule and your services so that you can see a transformational shift in how well and easily you can provide your professional services to your clients. If you incorporate these five principles into the fee schedule you present to your prospects, you will entirely shift how prospects work with you and will finally be able to systematize your services to make your business more effective, more efficient, and more predictable. Follow these five principles and you’ll turn prospects into raving clients! Let’s dive in… [01:13] Principle 1: Do not impose your own limit on what others are willing to pay. [05:40] Principle 2: Use a three-tier fee schedule. [09:05] Principle 3: Create each tier by building on the prior one. [10:30] Principle 4: Make your middle tier the most attractive and the most profitable. [11:51] Principle 5: Always give more in value than what your client pays.

Today we are diving into the top three reasons you’re still on the free consultation carousel without enough clients to show for it, and how to get off it right now. I know you are probably asking: What is this carousel? If you’re holding free consultations that more often than not, or more often than they should, end with your prospect saying, “Let me think about it and get back to you” – then that’s the carousel. You’re going in circles, not moving forward. Your prospects could be exclaiming “Let’s get started!” If they aren’t, then why not? Until they do, then round and round you go on the carousel – not gaining momentum, not getting any traction, not moving forward. In working with dozens of professionals, and in personally working with many hundreds of prospects who have turned into paying clients, I have pinpointed the top three reasons why your practice might be this way, and how you can get past each. Let’s dive in. [2:08] Reason No. 1: You are afraid that requiring a prospect to do any prep for the free consult means they’ll cancel or no-show. I get why you’d think this, and I used to think it myself. It can feel like a gamble to “jeopardize” a cancellation or no-show. But you also know that meetings with prospects who show up unprepared could end up anywhere, and most likely without a paying client. [8:12] Reason No. 2: You’re letting your prospect run the consultation (and ultimately the client relationship). You figure the prospect is the one who will be paying (hopefully), so they get to call the shots. And, if they don’t get to call the shots during the free consultation and ultimately the client relationship, they’ll be dissatisfied. But I promise you, you don’t want a prospect or client who runs the show. Your business should serve you, not the other way around. [11:16] Reason No. 3: You think your clients must spend personal time with YOU, personally, to be happy. When you got started, it might have been a major point of persuasion for your prospects that you committed to personally responding to every single one of their calls and emails. But when you do that, you struggle to get more free consultations on your calendar because you're stuck in “service” mode, responding to and serving all of your clients personally, all hours of the day and probably night, and then you wake up with a completely empty calendar… and empty bank account. You can charge past each of these reasons holding you back! Check out the podcast episode for the exact steps to do that.

The legendary marketer Dean Jackson did a study once about the timeline it takes consumers to purchase, of all things, faucets. He then applied what he learned to see if it held true across other industries and found that it did. What did he find? He found something that could transform your professional practice. By applying Dean Jackson’s findings to what you do as a professional service provider, you can increase your new client engagement rate SIX-fold. Did you hear that? You can sign on SIX more new clients for every one client you’re signing on now, once you know what piece of the pie you’re missing. So let’s dive in: 1. [1:05] About Dean Jackson’s Study: He breaks down the likelihood of every single person who comes into your universe to inquire about what you do into their likelihood that they will become a new client sometime between now and the next 24 months. He found that business owners who focus only on the person ready to buy now are completely overlooking all the value that there is in the long-term. If all you’re looking for is the one person who is ready to hire you today, you are paying attention only to a very small piece of the pie. 2. [4:25] Piece of the Pie No. 1: The Seven People Who Will Never Buy: You don’t know which seven people these are so you can’t avoid their getting onto your list, and they need to be on your list anyway because we know this half exists. (Catch this part of the episode to hear about how to turn one of these people into a “bonus” client.) 3. [6:01] Piece of the Pie No. 2: The One Person Who Will Buy Today: This is where most business owners spend their time and attention. That’s good – it’s needed, but there are so many more qualified prospects beyond this one person who can become your new client as well, hence… 4. [9:26] Piece of the Pie No. 3: The Six People Who Have To Meet: This is the juicy part! We know that eventually these six people WILL be ready to hire someone like you within the next 24 months. But they will not hire you when they are ready if they don’t remember that they met you sometime way back. So you want to help not only the one person who is ready to buy now to get to the finish line of the decision-making process and hire you, but you also want to help the other six people in the decision-making process ultimately get to the finish line and hire you as well. Catch this part where I show you exactly how to do that. SHOUT OUT LINKS: Greg Hickman, Founder & CEO of System.ly, Host of Scalable Podcast

Your “Perfect Welcome” makes ALL the difference in setting the right tone for your prospects immediately upon scheduling their free consultation. No more radio silence between the time of scheduling and the time they show up. Today in this episode, I dive into my “Perfect Welcome” Worksheet – part of my signature three-tier Educate To Engage online training program that has been responsible for generating multi-millions of dollars in revenue and helping me achieve my lifestyle dreams and that of professionals I serve. Without this, you will suffer the intimidation and worry many feel when holding free consultations where so much is on the line: financial security, affirmation you’re doing the right thing, and the longevity of your professional practice you were so excited to start. But with this, you will approach each free consultation with the confidence that you are signing up your newest paying client practically upon their arrival. You will transform overwhelmed and underprepared prospects into raving clients just about every time you use it (which could be every single day!). Let’s get into exactly how to craft your “Perfect Welcome”: 1 [2:44] Anatomy of Your “Perfect Welcome” / Part 01 / Personalized Opening: Begin with the obvious: always reference your prospect’s name. Don’t use an impersonal form letter or email. Your prospect’s favorite word is their name! 2 [3:31] Anatomy of Your “Perfect Welcome” / Part 02 / Affirm Their Great Decision: Immediately following the personalized opening, congratulate them on scheduling with you. Affirm they made the right decision and underscore both the emotional result and the tangible result you’ll give to them as a client. 3 [4:55] Anatomy of Your “Perfect Welcome” / Part 03 / Give Appointment Details with Emphasis and Clarity: Follow with their appointment details in bold or large font, specifically the appointment type, the appointment date (the pretty version of the date), the start time and end time, and the location. Catch this part of the episode for the bonus that you should also add! 4 [8:19] Anatomy of Your “Perfect Welcome” / Part 04 / Invite Your Prospect To Complete Your Intake Form: For you to hit the ground running at the start of the free consultation, you need a minimum amount of information in advance, otherwise you will be spending 20-30 minutes gathering that in person, which is not a good use of anyone’s time. Invite your prospect to begin the intake form directly from the Perfect Welcome email or include the intake form immediately behind the Perfect Welcome letter if you are sending it by mail. 5 [15:20] Anatomy of Your “Perfect Welcome” / Part 05 / Give Exact Dates To Abide By: There are two extremely important dates your prospect needs to be aware of: (1) The deadline by which to return the intake form; and (2) the deadline by which they should reschedule if for any reason they can’t make it. Being upfront and clear about these deadlines establishes your professionalism, underscores your value, and conveys that your calendar is sacred and it is a privilege that they have a spot on it. 6 [18:31] Anatomy of Your “Perfect Welcome” / Part 06 / Close Graciously: In your closing, reiterate briefly everything you have already said, plus add a cheerful THANK YOU that your prospect scheduled with you! 7 [19:16] Logistics of Your “Perfect Welcome” / Part 01 / Sending by Email: The easiest way to send your “Perfect Welcome” is by email. Enable online scheduling and automate the welcome email to go out anytime day or night. 8 [20:49] Logistics of Your “Perfect Welcome” / Part 02 / Sending by Mail: If you prefer to send your Perfect Welcome by mail, know the key pieces to include in your mailing.

Chances are, you know a thing or two about meetings. But do you feel stuck in an endless cycle of free consultations that cut into your profits but lead nowhere? Today, we’re sharing why service providers should educate prospects before they step foot into the meeting room for a free consultation. Doing so can help set expectations from the onset and clear the path for a brief and productive meeting that wastes no one’s time. YOU, as the business owner, are responsible for understanding the shift that needs to happen for your prospects to show up ready to hire you, fully educated about what you do and what their next step is. I’m so excited to share this method with you on today’s podcast episode because I wholeheartedly believe that a great prospect education system is an essential part of building a thriving professional practice. After this episode, you will walk away with golden nuggets that will help you transform your next free consultation from “Let me think about it” to “Let's get started.” So here are the 7 reasons to educate your prospects before you ever meet with them: 1 [3:09] It Lets You Skip the Small Talk: This way, once you are ready to begin, you can dive right into the most important information without wasting time, money, and resources, covering what everyone should already know. 2 [5:17] It Eases the Minds of Your Prospects: When you give prospects information on important topics in advance, it helps them understand your position and sets their minds at ease so that they’re more comfortable during your meeting. 3 [7:13] It Allows for More Poignant Questions: An uninformed prospect is more likely to spend the meeting confused because they’re half-listening and half-processing, playing catch-up along the way. But when they’re more informed and engaged, they’re able to form clearer questions that can prompt more in-depth discussions that ultimately leads them to hiring you. 4 [8:32] It Establishes Your Professionalism: Your first impression is a make-or-break deal. If you lead with the educational information your prospects are looking for, you’ll have a prospect ready to hire you practically upon arriving at your office. 5 [9:38] It Helps You Affirm Your Fee Schedule: When you wait to explain your position and fee schedule at the meeting, you’ve lost an important chance to prove your worth. Educating your clients beforehand helps you establish yourself as an expert in your field, highlighting your experience, your credentials, your education, and your work history. 6 [11:12] It Establishes an Environment of Trust: Let all of your prospects know that they’re in good hands from Day 1. Don’t wait until you’re sitting in front of your prospect in person to make your claim. 7 [13:43] It Creates Ready-To-Engage Prospects: Don’t let weeks of radio silence build up between the time you schedule that first consultation and when everyone shows up. Instead, use it to your advantage.