The More Clients Blog

Science Fiction Marketing Plans

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

I always love it when the topic for my eZine is handed to me on a silver platter the day I'm going to write it!

Here's what happened:

I got a call from a person in a coaching organization who was looking for experienced business coaches they could take through their advanced coaching program.

The offer: The program is six months long and would train the participants in their successful coaching methodology. Then they would provide an ongoing flow of coaching clients to those they had trained. Price tag was $5,000.

Now this really isn't a bad offer, especially if the coaching was high quality and if they sent a lot of business to the trained coaches.

But the way they were marketing this was science fiction.

I'll explain their plan in a minute, but first let me define science fiction marketing plans: "They look good on paper but they won't fly."

Science fiction is great for books and movies.

Take the movie, Avatar, for instance (highly recommended, by the way)! - Let's see, grow a humanoid from alien and human dna that looks just like the aliens but has zero brain impressions. Then put a human in what looks like a tanning bed and transfer the consciousness of the person into the home-grown alien. Viola, you have a blue alien who is 12 feet tall and with a human consciousness!

It looks great on paper, and made one hekuva movie. But the technology isn't quite there yet. It's not something we can accomplish yet with our existing technology - plus there's quite a shortage of mindless, blue alien bodies to go around.

Here was the marketing plan of this organization:

First what we'll do is contact coaching schools and organizations who have strong connections to top-notch coaches. Then we'll ask these people and organizations to give us the email and phone numbers of these coaches so we can call them up and enroll them into our program. Done deal!

Sounds good on paper, but here are the reasons it's science fiction:

1. Why should I give you the names and contact information for top-notch coaches I know? What's in it for me? Nothing.

2. If you then contact those coaches and try to sell them on the value of this program, why should they sign up? Only on the strength of the referral? That's a very, very hard sales job because there was zero information, education or warming up of said top-notch coaches.

These two things relegate the plan to science fiction, because they ignore two important facts of human nature: a) Very few people will do something for nothing, and b) People who know nothing about something are unwilling to engage in a selling conversation.

How they could make this a real, workable marketing plan:

1. Offer your referring sources a reward (such as a percentage) of the program fee.

2. Educate the coaches through endorsements, online information, teleclasses, and other marketing info that will warm them up.

3. Do advertising in a coaching magazine to educate people about the program and send them to your web site for more info, teleclasses etc.

4. Have people who are interested in the program fill out an application form to make sure they are qualified.

5. Set up appointments with only the most qualified, top-notch coaches and convert a percentage into program participants.

This approach would take time and planning, but it actually has a real chance of working. The science fiction plan, on the other hand, will likely crash and burn.

The question is, are you basing your marketing on science fiction principles? These principles have never worked and are not likely to work for you either.

And heck, this plan wouldn't even make a good movie!

You need to know human nature to market successfully. You need to understand what people respond to and why. You need to understand that people will only act in their own best interests, and also need to have some degree of familiarity, trust, and information about a service before they will take the next step.

This is not rocket science. But it continues to amaze me that people hang all their hopes on a plan that looks great on paper but has no chance of flying.

Check your basic marketing science before you launch your plan.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Some things will fly and some won't. In order for a marketing plan to fly it needs to be based on proven principles, not hope. If you want to attract more business, learn the principles that work and then test them until you have a proven plan that will attract clients every time.

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Tell us of a science fiction marketing plan you tried that crashed and burned. Please share on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below.

Results: Will or Environment?

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

These days, I'm putting a lot of emphasis on things like high-end programs and thinking big. For me, and for those in my Marketing Mastery Program, this has yielded some amazing results.

When I was looking at the monthly report of one of my Mastery participants, I saw that she had more than tripled her income in just one year.

In the course of the program, three people have completed books, while others have sold programs at a higher rate than ever before. And most are looking at their businesses in a completely new way.

Do you want big results in your business?

Actually, we all say we want big results. But then we get stopped, over and over again. We think we are stopped by circumstances, by other people, by bad timing and bad luck.

This is never the case. We only stop ourselves.

What is observably true is that we let ourselves be triggered by circumstances. We have an idea, a goal, a plan and we start to put things into action. And then something happens.

A teleclass gets poor results, or someone doesn't return a call, or a new service you developed generates very little interest or response. Those are the triggers.

What gets triggered are thoughts and emotions.

And when a trigger happens, you can go in one of two directions: You can become identified with the thoughts and emotions or you can dis-identify with the thoughts or emotions.

Identification: "Nobody is interested in what I have, I'm a terrible marketer, I'll never make this work. Why did I bother to try this in the first place? There's no way it will ever work."

We've all been there; and we can get stuck there for a long time.

Dis-Identification: "That's interesting that I didn't get the response I wanted. I need to find out more about what happened. Is it the message I sent out? Perhaps it's the timing? Let me take a closer look at my plan and the letter, make some changes and give it another try."

From this place, we're back on the horse in minutes.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? It's not!

Unfortunately, most of those triggers are hard-wired. Something happens that opposes your plans and, before you know it, you're upset and ready to give up. It wasn't a conscious choice, but an automatic reaction.

To dis-identify from our triggers takes a tremendous amount of intentional, conscious work. It takes stopping and thinking instead of reacting. It means taking responsibility instead of blaming. It takes focus and waking up instead of falling asleep.

But if it's so hard, is there a way to actually do it?

Someone once said: "Environment is stronger than will."

Our wills are pathetically weak. We try to dis-identify when we are triggered, but we are so trained to identify that it usually takes tremendous effort and endless repetition to get past old patterns that hold us back.

So good luck with the "WILL approach"!

What makes the biggest difference for most of us is a change of environment. And there are many ways to do this. A change of environment can mean adopting different systems, the support of others, individual coaching, or group programs.

Different Systems 

Think of a recipe. If I asked you to bake a chocolate cake from scratch, you'd probably end up with an icky, inedible mess. A recipe creates a new environment - a time-tested path to success. Follow the chocolate cake recipe and, with a little experience, you'll have a delicious cake to show for your efforts.

This is the purpose of the Marketing Club, for instance. It's full of time-tested marketing recipes that you can easily follow.

Support of Others

Support can provide methodologies, such as recipes, but can also provide the emotional support to keep you going despite the triggers. "Yeah, I've been there before. It's discouraging when a marketing approach doesn't work. But maybe it just needs some fine tuning. Let's look at the possibilities."

Mastermind groups are great for this. I'm always in a mastermind group that gives me frequent reality checks.

Individual Coaching

Working with a guide who is committed to your aim and who is not identified with your triggers is also a powerful way to go. You still need recipes, the how-tos for producing results, but a coach can keep putting you on the right path.

Group Programs

These are my favorite, because they combine all of the above. They provide the how-to recipes, the support and the coaching. I've found that a good group program can get you thinking big and make sure you follow-through on your dreams.

Which approach will you choose? Here are two options:

Marketing Club

Marketing Mastery

The Big Shift Experience

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Getting triggered when you fail to reach your goals is a given. It happens to everyone. To dis-identify with the triggers you need to understand your limitations and change your environment to one where you get the support and systems needed to stay on track.

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What support will you get to stay on track this year? Please share on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below.

How to Launch a Service or Program

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

This week is launch week!

OK, what does that mean?

It means that I've been planning the launch of the next Marketing Mastery Program for several months and this is the week I'll be opening up the program for applications.

I've been studying a lot about program and product launches through Jeff Walker's program "The Product Launch Formula" and I thought I'd share some of the things I've learned and how I'm implementing them in this launch.

Seed The Program - If you have a program, product or workshop coming up, don't just announce it cold - warm up your audience by "seeding your program." One way to do this is to mention it in as many ways as possible (without yet selling it).

For instance, in the Marketing Club Coaching Calls I've mentioned the Mastery Program several times. I've dropped hints about it in the eZine. In doing so, I've created some anticipation for the program and many people are waiting for the launch.

Preview The Program - I've done this through teleclasses in November and December and then made those teleclasses available as recordings. Over 2,000 have opted in to be on those teleclasses or listen to them.

But the teleclasses haven't been a big pitch for the Mastery Program, they've been educational how-tos that talk about some of the approaches I use in the program, specifically the "H.E.O.B" or High-End, Outcome-Based Programs.

I always want to give value. After all, only a very small percentage of those who listen to these teleclasses will end up in the program. Why not help them as much as possible while I'm doing the program launch? Everyone benefits.

Set a Launch Date - The idea is to build some excitement with a specific date. I love that Apple is able to do this with a product where nobody even really knows what it is! But on January 28th, we'll all be salivating to find out!

Your launches and my launches are going to be much more modest and perhaps less suspenseful, but you can still do it by setting a date and then building interest over time.

Use an Application Form - This is one of the smartest things I've ever done in my marketing. I really want people in this program who are ready to kick it up a notch. I'll have a lot of people apply and this helps me determine who the most ideal candidates are.

Make it Time Limited - The application period for the Marketing Mastery will be just one week. I don't want to stretch it out like I did last year. That's a lot more work and there's no sense of urgency.

Be Selective - I want to avoid emailing everyone on my list, so I built a list of those who are most interested. I now have a list of about 2,000 who are ready for the launch announcement. To join them, go to this link:

This gets you on the launch notification list and also includes the recordings of the two teleclasses. If you're not on this list, you won't be notified on Jan 14th.

Be Authentic - You might say that the biggest work of marketing is to ditch the hype and tell it like it is. When the program launches you'll get the "straight skinny" about it, without BS and over-embellishment. It is what it is and I let it speak for itself.

Use these ideas the next time you launch a program. You'll build a little excitement along the way and have more fun than the average marketing activity.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: It's important to understand the difference between marketing and launching. Marketing is general visibility and promotion. But a launch is marketing for a specific service, program, or product where you want to create special attention and get a much higher response.

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How can you add service and program launches to your marketing this year? Please share on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below.

2010 - The Year of Collaboration

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

As you begin a new year in your business, do you have a theme or direction for your business? I have started doing this annually and it makes real difference in my focus and the projects that I take on. It helps to align everything.

2009 was the Year of Contribution. This year, it's the Year of Collaboration.

One thing I know about myself is that, above all else, I like to do things by myself. I'm not a natural collaborator. But I've finally realized that if I want to make a bigger difference, I need to partner with others on various projects.

To give you an idea of what I'm up to (and perhaps get some inspiration for yourself) here are some of the projects I am currently working on:

1. Marketing Club Expert Interviews

Not only do I interview two marketing and/or business experts each month, I will often partner with them. That is, I will introduce you to the products or services that they offer.

My criteria for selecting partners is very high: they must not only have a product or service that can help you grow your business, they must be self-practitioners of their own methodology (walking their talk) and have the highest standards of integrity and excellence.

If you think you fit that profile and have a valuable product or service, please feel free to contact me about doing an interview that will offer substantial value to the Marketing Club and to the subscribers of More Clients.

Learn more about the Marketing Club here.

2. EZINE Success Academy with Linda Puig

I'm doing an interview with Linda for the Marketing Club this week on eZines and newsletters. She has a program called the "EZINE Success Academy" for coaches and other solopreneurs. It's a complete turnkey system for creating your eZine content and marketing systems for a full year.

Learn more here.

3. The Big Shift Experience - February 6 & 7

This is a two-day workshop in the SF Bay Area with my colleague Bill Baren, one of the savviest and nicest small business and marketing entrepreneurs I know. I'll be leading part of the workshop as well. I'll have more information on the workshop and will forward it to you in a few days.

4. John Eggen's Leading Mentor Program

I've been working with John to introduce his intensive book-writing, publishing and marketing program for several years. John has worked successfully with hundreds of clients to publish a book that has enabled them to grow their businesses faster.

I'll be doing a teleclass with John in February. But in the meantime, you can subscribe to his mini-course on book publishing and marketing....at this link.

I have many other things in the planning stages that I'll roll out as the year progresses.

In addition, I'm making many important changes to the Action Plan Marketing Club that will enable you to interact more with fellow participants, post information about your business, and much more. It's in the building stages as I write this. Stay tuned!

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The More Clients Bottom Line: 2010 is my Year of Collaboration and I'm committed to working with more people who can help my subscribers and clients thrive in the coming year.

I encourage you to create a business theme for yourself this year and then set specific goals to realize that theme.

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What is the business/marketing theme for your business this year? Please share on the More Clients Blog. Just click on the Comments link below.