Andy's Inbound/Sales Braindump

[Kak]

This thread has some seriously GOLD networking advice in it.

Thank you very much Andy! Word of mouth guys like @Andy Black have some of the most impressive lead gen models. It is also an extremely solid foundation to build a business on which I am ALWAYS in favor of.

 

[Andy Black]

Blimey... something I wrote on LinkedIn over a year ago that popped up on my radar when someone liked it today.

.....

Why does an Google Ads consultant NOT use Google Ads to generate more business for himself?

You may already know I love Google paid search.

It's the purest form of cold traffic because (done right) each visitor not only wants what you're selling but is already actively searching for it.

But paid search is the purest form of COLD traffic - the visitors to your website typically don't know you (unless it was a branded search).

People usually need to know, like, and trust you before they do business with you.

Whenever I have to get more clients quickly, I start with the network of people I've *already* done business with. People who already know, like and trust me, and who've already bought from me.

When I can afford to take my time I plant seeds so new people get to know, like, and trust me.

One day soon I'll use cold traffic to start generating leads for myself, but this comes after years of generating inbound leads by going TO the market and engaging them hand-to-hand.

TL: DR?

Consider the following plan:

1) Use your existing network first.

2) Add to your existing network by doing such a good job that clients refer you on, and by being seen to help folks.

3) Use cold traffic *after* you've worked out how to sell to people who already know, like, and trust you.

 

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[Andy Black]

PHRASES I USE A LOT

“We’ll buy data on a whiff of spend first. Then we’ll decide whether the project has legs or needs a swift bullet.”

“We try to get you profitable as soon as possible.”

“Our goal is to get to the point where your new customers/clients pay for the ads and our fee.”

“We can’t promise results, just that we follow a process, and that process is this ...”

“Your competition aren’t doing X, Y, or Z. You’ve a good chance if you do X, Y, and Z.”

“I’m happy to leave money on the table to build a long term win-win relationship.”

“We did this when we build 120m keywords and ads for a startup in Dublin.”

“When I was in a team of 35 Google Ads specialists spending €120k/day on ads we did <insert relevant story>.”

“Our goal is to grow *with* you.”

“You’re not tied into a contract. You can cancel anytime. We have to make this profitable for you each month.”

“We dig one layer below everyone else.”

“We do things the competition doesn’t think to do, doesn’t want to do, or doesn’t know how to do.”

“I’m a geek. I love this stuff.”

“I grow my business through customers recommending us to other business owners.”

“Even if this doesn’t work out you’ll have learned the process we use to see if something will work, or fail fast and cheaply.”

“I’m not trying to grow a consultancy or an agency. I have other plans... but just can’t help myself.”

“I do this for fun!”

“You’re getting my consulting brain for SaaS fees.”

“We’ll eventually not take on clients. We’re just doing this while we figure out the products we’ll create and sell at scale.”

“There’s two learning curves here. We learn about your business and market, and you learn what we do and why. When those two learning curves meet in the middle it pushes us up higher than your competitors.”

“I’ve had clients paying €5k/mth but don’t want big clients like that anymore. I prefer to help with smaller businesses where I work with the business owner.”

“If this works well then maybe you could rent this system to businesses in other locations?”

“I started in AdWords back in 2009 and it never gets old!”

“I don’t look at all that crap. When we were buying a million clicks a day we just used spreadsheets to figure out our CPCs and EPCs. All those other KPIs are just that... *indicators*. All we cared about was whether we made €150k/day for our €120k/day spend.”

“We got our butts kicked if the margin was too low. We also got our butts kicked if the margin was too high, because that meant we could push bids and get more volume.”

“I’m a business owner too.”

“What marketing have you done to date, and how has it worked out?”

“How’s business going?”

“It wrecks my head when people talk about ‘traffic’.”

“People keep talking about landing page conversion rates. Argh... landing pages don’t fecking convert. People do.”

“People overcomplicate it. Launch and learn.”

.
.
.

I’m sure there’s more. I feel like I’m just getting started brain dumping these.

One thing I’ve noticed about all those statements is that they’re all unique to me and the way I work. They’re all “authoritative” too. They’re mostly statements.

 

[Andy Black]

DO YOU GUARANTEE RESULTS?

Here’s my reply when someone asked “Should I make ‘30 sales in 30 days or your money back’ my USP”:

...

I don’t guarantee results. I even state it when I speak to people interested in hiring me: “We don’t guarantee results, just that we follow a process, and our process is this: blah blah blah.”

Even when we can’t get results for a new client and they have to disengage, they understand the process we went through and often still refer people to us in the future.

Maybe it goes against all the sales and marketing books, but I sell the process that should get results, not the results. I speak at length about the process. Prospects can visualise what we’ll do for them.

If they engage and we start the process then they will “see” the process in action and “get” it. Even if they don’t get results, understanding this process is extremely valuable for them because they can use it for any other business idea they have.

.

I’m not saying my process is my USP.

Again, contrary to sales books I don’t believe we need USPs. I believe we just need to get the right offer in front of the right person at the right time.

I’ve been on local courses for business owners - as an attendee. At the start folks are asked to introduce themselves and what they do.

“My name is Andy. I do them little ads on Google.”

Ta-da. That’s enough for anyone looking for help with Google Ads to make a note and come speak to me at the coffee break.

What was my USP? Did I even say I was good at it?

Nothing... I was just in the same room as them.


30 clients in 30 days or money back

 

[DisLife]

I see a lot of what you're talking about in what I've been doing, mostly because of your other threads. I think everyone in my circle knows what I do and I remind them on a regular basis. I still struggle with finding people outside of that circle to talk to, since the stuff I do is VERY technical. Even the simplified "I do Oracle consulting" requires a lot of explanation to most everyone I talk to. Not every business runs Oracle either, so true cold calls have been more of a miss rather than a hit.

I've tried providing help on the technet forums, but those threads get answered by Oracle employees, within one or 2 replies.

I'm not sure if it's a limiting factor in my head, but Oracle consulting/services is mostly driven by the Oracle salesreps. If you can help them close a sale, you'll be their go to consultant. It's very much an industry driven by who knows who. I've reached out to the few reps I personally know trying to get my company name out there. I remind them every now and then too. I've also reached out to a couple of the local chapters of the Oracle User groups with the same intent.

 

[Andy Black]

Thank you for valuable posts.

I have a question for you.
I'm new in marketing and trying to get clients from freelance platform. I really want to help solving their marketing problem, but I'm not sure I can make results. Is it because of my mindset or I really don't know. It would be appreciated if you could give me advice.

It sounds like you need to prove to yourself you can get results for clients. In which case offer your services for free to someone in your current personal network?

Move the needle for them and then you’ve got both a case study and the confidence?

Check out the first radio interview in my signature.

 

[Andy Black]

Really great content! In Germany now some gurus are telling you how to found an agency. Never bought a course, but what I saw in testimonials I think it is exactly this knowledge where they want XXXX € for.

Another question, I know it is kind of BS in my head but....

What if you choose, that you want to do something else? I think you can't easily get out of this because there are clients depending on you. In your posts I read that sometimes you are so full with orders, that you can't onboard new clients. I also think this business is hard to scale, because if you want, you need to found an agency. I don't now how it is in Ireland, but in Germany it would be hard to find employees with the needed skills. So don't you have fear to be stuck in forever?

So many firms are contacting me for their open job ads and it feels like they are applying to me. Sometimes I feel really sad for the employers because it seems to be very hard to find good employees.

I think I have to get inside to read all your posts there sometime.

Thanks. I'm glad it helps.

I'm with you. I have no intention of building an agency.

• Services vs Products

Read "Built to Sell" too.

 

[Andy Black]

PERSONAL BRANDED SITE, OR BUSINESS SITE?

Create both. I have andyblack.net redirect straight to my LinkedIn profile. My actual business website is a holding page. I don't even want people to know it exists. I'll create specific sites for offerings I want to sell - when I get round to it.

E.g. If I was to focus on blacksmiths, then I might create blacksmithsonline.com and create an "agency" service to get blacksmiths online, starting by putting them on the blacksmithsonline.com directory.

 

[Andy Black]

Someone asked for tips on a "sales call" he has coming up.

Here was my reply:

Just have a "chat"?

Off the top of my head I just ask stuff like this:

• Hi Bob. How's it going?
• Where are you based?
• What time is it over there?
• Do you have to run off soon to get the kids or anything?
• I hear you're having a cold snap in Florida? How cold is cold?
• I'm curious how you found out about me!
• <continue the small talk>
• Sooo... how's business going?

Let them talk.

• How do you normally get new business?
• What marketing have you tried to date? How has that worked out?
• What services do you provide?
• What do you think people type in to find those services?
• What locations do you cover?

 

[Andy Black]

Do you think that that's for the best though? This stuff gets me very riled up, because all this "fake" stuff, and lying actually makes the entire marketplace worse for everyone - for clients, and for sellers. Your potential prospects no longer trust you, so you suffer, and your clients struggle to find a reliable supplier because of all the BS out there. In addition, a lot of small business owners make VERY costly mistakes which put them out of business.

You yourself mentioned that when you tried to join a group for Irish business owners, the initial reaction was to label you as a marketer and not to trust you. Why do you think that is? Because these small business owners have seen on their own skin how dangerous the lies and fake information out there associated with marketing is. So we're all hurt by it.

Have you read Cialdini's Influence?

At the end of each chapter, the way to circumvent the method of influence discussed is always to be aware that it is a deception. And that it is carried out with ulterior motives. That things are not what they seem, or what the opposing party is trying to make them look like.

Cialdini goes further, and says that we have a duty to unmask the deceivers, since it is the only way to stop them.

Now, if every time when we encounter deception we turn away and go a different path, are we really helping to build a better marketplace for everyone? Are we really doing the most to help our clients?

It doesn't rile me up. I just shrug and keep doing what I was doing.

I'm aware I could bounce in and drop loads of "helpful tips", and that this will often be viewed as a lead gen tactic. It happened when I joined this forum too. It didn't stop me. I kept going and eventually people figure out you're there to be a part of the community (ha... except for a few in here maybe, but feck 'em. There's an ignore button if they don't like what I write or they don't like me. I know I'm here to help. Their perception doesn't change my reality.)

The owner of that Facebook group of Irish business owners who initially told me she distrusted me because of what I did for a living? She asked me to do a Google Ads workshop for the group and she loved it. She loved it not just for the content, but also because she got to know me and my personality. I'm now a "partner" who will help out members of her group and her business directory. I didn't have a goal to do that. I just wanted to find a group of local business owners who weren't spamming the heck out of each other so I could have another home online.

Here's a recording of that workshop btw:

• Google Ads for Business Owners (Workshop Replay)

There's no sales pitch in there, and no call to action at the end either. I bet it brings me referrals though, and I sure hope people share it because I want people to understand what's in it.

 

[Andy Black]

Literally just now on LinkedIn. Notice how I even have to sell "free". Folks are suspicious of free.

 

[Andy Black]

This thread is so good i got an adrenaline rush yo
GOLD GOLD GOLD GOLD GOLD
It feels good someone successful like Andy is saying things i've been thinkin for awhile.

My most potentially promising app projects came from others who know I make apps, so they approached me with the idea.
I was never shy to talk about my fastlane journey and app development. I tell anyone who'll listen about my side hustle to get out of the 9-5, and i always ask for people ideas and promise that 50/50 split LOL

You gotta put yourself out there, your customers are people!
you're not selling to a flock of seagulls!

I really like Andy's Mother Theresa approach, in fact this helped me get my motivation back to work on some app projects that I personally wouldn't be interested in.
I look at it as helping a friend, I'm making the app for a friend, and maybe we'll both make some money out of it.

Ha. Thanks. I’m good at getting started and helping other people get started. Not so good at scaling - yet.

 

[Andy Black]

Hi Andy, How do you handle all of the leads that you get every day? There is no way you have time to call everyone.

I maybe get an enquiry every couple of days? I don’t really track it. That feels busy enough.

I’ll have a quick email back and forth, and if a call is the next logical step then I send them a link to my calendar (via Calendly).

The calendar thing is reasonably new and it was to save the email ping-pong trying to find a time that suits, and it’s also to slow everything down (because there’s a limited number of slots a week).

I was getting a bit frazzled so had to slow things down a bit.

Today I decided to tell people that I’m too busy for the next few weeks onboarding all the new clients, and trying to dial in their campaigns. I was kinda surprised when a couple of folks emailed back saying “no problem, I’ll get back to you in a few weeks”.

(There’s more details in the inside in my 2019 progress thread.)

 

[Andy Black]

"Show Don't Tell" & "Putting the first things first"
(Originally posted on 08-Sep-17 here.)

I had a Skype call with a prospect last night.

He read some of my TFLF posts and liked that my focus was on simplifying things, and on bringing results NOT increasing traffic.

He told me the history of their AdWords account, and how an agency took over 18 months ago and traffic and spend was up, but they're not sure sales have gone up similarly.

He explained that they didn't have tracking and reporting nailed down yet, so didn't know what was working and what wasn't.

I told him that I think too many people get anal about tracking and reporting, and aren't doing the right things in the first place - like getting the right offer in front of the right people at the right time.

I then suggested he open their AdWords account and share his screen with me.

I then proceeded to show him where he was potentially missing out on sales. They were getting a lot of visitors who were looking for information, and not getting the visitors who were looking to buy.

I SHOWED him what search terms people were coming in on, and showed how there were none for a particular product they were selling. This was a big AHA moment for him.

He's so delighted he's going to get the owner of the business onto a call with me next week.

...

So what happened and what can you take away from this even if you're not an AdWords dude?


1) I explained something to him and he logically agreed with it. However, it wasn't until he saw how it impacted his own business that he GOT it. Cue widened eyes, sit back in chair, slow nodding. The AHA moment.


2) The above is a case of SHOW DON'T TELL. I showed him his bleeding neck. It's also a case of me showing him that I know my stuff.

I didn't tell him I was good. I didn't tell him who I'd worked for, what results I had achieved, how long I'd been in business. All that can come at the end of the call next week with his boss present.

The first thing I did was get to helping him - educating him, consulting immediately.

I did a SHOW DON'T TELL with my expertise.

("Add value first" anyone?)


3) A Skype video call helps them get to know you pretty damn quick. I don't mind that they see me in my playroom with kids posters behind me. It was 10pm. Anyway, if they have an issue they're not the client for me.


4) A screenshare where he looks over my shoulder can impress people with me whizzing round the screen. Except it can also lose them.

A screenshare where I look over their shoulder and direct them to type things in, click on buttons, unhide columns, sort by this and by that... well, that equally impresses people, but moves at their pace, AND gives them the skills to keep doing it after the call.

He now has the columns in his AdWords interface setup better. He now knows what they mean. He now knows how to drill down and replicate the work I did with him.

I suspect he might get his boss in and show him what we learned. (He literally had to go to a monthly management meeting straight after the call.) Maybe they'll all sit round the office excitedly spotting missed opportunities and "GETTING" it instead of thinking it's the preserve of a technical whizz.


5) *** IMPORTANT ***

He's not the decision maker, his boss is. But he's my champion in the business. If I make him look good, and promise him an easier and more successful future, then he's going to pull out all the stops to make it happen.

With his new skills he can show the company what I showed him. Maybe they're now wondering what else they can learn if that's what happened in one hour, of mostly chatting?

YOUR BOSS IS WHOEVER SIGNS YOUR TIMESHEET (or approves your invoice).

If I'm going to be working with this guy, and he's reporting into his boss, then his boss is NOT my client. This guy is.

Of course, I want to get on a call with the business owner and SHOW DON'T TELL his bleeding neck, and SHOW DON'T TELL how I can stem it, and how I can help them make more money.

...

What's your main takeaway?

What will you do differently going forward?

...

You might be wondering what I meant by putting the first things first?

Get the right people to your offer first, before getting anal with tracking, attribution, and reporting.

Add value first, before trying to "close". (I dislike that word!)

"Show them their bleeding neck", before showing them how to stem the bleed.

 

[Andy Black]

Making your first sale this week

Are you navel gazing trying to determine who your ideal client could be?

I’ve been there and bypassed that hurdle by talking and helping as many different people as I could. From there I could think about who I *already* spoke to and helped or couldn’t help.

...

If you don’t have any paying clients yet then consider doing this for the coming week:

1) Reach out to everyone you’ve ever done business with, and then everyone in your network as described here:

• When your back's against the wall...

2) Find out what local business networking events are going on this week (most likely on Zoom).

• Join them **as a peer**, not as a marketer trying to find clients.
• Get chatting to those business owners and see if you can help them.
• Maybe offer to “jump on a quick call” if someone has any specifics they might need help with.
• Take it from there.

...

Make it a goal to speak to and help X number of people this week. Don’t push sales. See who's eyes light up when you tell them what you do. See who’s motivated enough to jump on a call (even a free call costs them time, which is a precious resource).

Good luck!

 

[Andy Black]

Talk about limiting beliefs.

If you're a digital marketer you do NOT have to generate leads for your business using your own services.

 

[Andy Black]

Hmm, they are not limiting beliefs @Andy Black! Rest assured, it is a political strategy meant to paint you as inferior to him (the competition). Like when coaches who teach other coaches say that you must have a coach of your own - you can't coach people without it. They "claim" they have coaches of their own too!!

In other words, in the language for smart people: "Keep coaching with us, you need it to be a successful coach!!"

This guy is saying "I know what I'm talking about, I run ads for myself, and put my own money where my mouth is. Andy doesn't". That's what he's getting at. And he may not even be running any ads. Still says it, because people don't check.

People on social media can be so dishonest it's really unbelievable. In recent days I have been shocked by the realization that on social media, when for example a woman says that so and so book about the law of attraction changed her life, the best thing ever, etc. she is not doing it because it's true. In fact, she may never even have READ the book, let alone have it changed her life. But she is just saying that for status. To build a brand. To gather followers. That's what she got taught by the guru next door.

It honestly disgusted me.

Hmmm... I hadn't thought of that. Interesting.

I could go in all guns blazing, but I'm giving the guy replying to me the rope to hang himself. Tbh... why I'm in a Facebook group for Google Ads is beyond me.

Good one Andy.
Its like saying that if you want contract with Fortune 500 company, you should do TV advertisements.

It's like saying... if you want to sell TV ads to companies then you need to use TV ads or how would you know what you're doing. Errr... because the companies that we've run TV ads for get results?

 

[Black_Dragon43]

Results is all what matters. This is my approach and these are the results that we've gotten for other clients.

But results are equally easy to manipulate. Take the example of Facebook Ads. I've hired people for Facebook Ads before. They shared the best results. So what? They failed, terribly. In fact, when I spoke with some of these people I could even see that they have no clue what they're talking about.

Bottom line: results can also be faked. Testimonials can be faked. Even if you do work for a client, and the result is bad, it's possible to convince them to give you a glowing testimonial. I myself have given glowing testimonials for poor developers from India for example because I felt pity for them even though they did a terrible job. They agreed to close the job on my terms, so I left them a glowing testimonial, since I know bad testimonials can cause a lot of harm.

All that means nothing.

Literarily, nowadays, when I hire someone, if they show me results, they're out. I just check for the kind of people they are, if their beliefs match with my own, and that they have a track record in the industry that is visible. For example, jobs completed on a job board, a website with a certain history, direct knowledge when I speak with them, etc.

But I have zero respect for results, and so-called experts who show them and tout them.

 

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[Andy Black]

My fees are very very low. I’m more interested in creating a productised service, SaaS, and/or courses.

A month after I wrote that a business owner waved some money at me and I agreed to a higher ticket consulting gig for a month with a view to seeing if it’s a good fit going forward.

How did it come about?

Someone I’d done some Google Ads campaigns for years ago recommended me. That person has spent over $2m on Facebook Ads in the past 18 months, so I guess most of his buddies aren’t just starting out either.

I messaged his friend and offered to do a quick Zoom call to look over his shoulder at his Google Ads account but he declined and asked me to audit it instead.

I audited the account, sent a short 6 page Google Slide, and we messaged back and forth.

He then offered some money for the first month and paid as soon as I invoiced him.

There are many people who have a budget, do NOT want to get into the weeds in a one hour call, and who decide and pay very fast.

 

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[maverick]

Great value Andy. Repped+++

I'd like to add one thing that supports your line of thinking. The aim of your website and marketing activities should be to load up the 'diesel and coffee' funnel.

Position yourself as an expert in digital growth. You will use Paid Search to scale their business however you will also provide them with (free) tips on implementing tag manager, search console and setting up google analytics.

Build their funnel, create a dashboard with their main KPIs and show them what the baseline is (i.e. what is their conversion rate now? CTR? CPC?). Make them aware of these KPIs. Use them as your motivator. It's your role to now improve all of these metrics. Provide tips on increasing page speed, SEO, CRO and analyse the competition.

Grow with your customer.

 

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[Monica Rose]

ALWAYS BE CLOSING?

If someone asks “Why should we work with you?” then they’ve just pissed me off. They’re running through their nice little questionnaire and will be comparing me to other apples.

So I’ll throw the kitchen sink at them and let them figure the f*ck out what to do with it. But they’re too late, I’ve already mentally shut that door and moved on.

Send in a Request For Proposal (RFP)? See ya.

Sales is a screening process. They’ve just told me they don’t know why they want to work with me. I’d much rather spend my time helping the people in motion.

“Our job is to find the people who see the value in what we do, not the cost.” (Blaise Brosnan)

While you’re trying to close someone who’s not that interested, there’s someone else up the road who’ll bite your hand off to work with you.

Always Be Closing?

I read that as “Keep moving till someone bites your hand off.”

(Your mileage may vary. I’m not selling high-ticket initial sales. I’m building long-term relationships with clients. Over the years it ends up high-ticket.)

Agreed! Look for prospects you have chemistry with. After all, if your goal is to work with them, then you want to like them, and vice versa. A term I use, that is stolen from business coach/author Sid. Walker, is that when prospecting, you're looking for gold, not trying to turn rocks into gold.

 

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[Andy Black]

If I spot a typo or broken link I just send a quick note with it highlighted on a screenshot. Pretty easy to do. Conversations start but I don’t do web dev so I don’t take it any further.


The emails that I’d send are super short:


“Hi,

Spotted a wee typo:

<screenshot>

Andy”

.

“Hi,

I get this when I click on the Facebook link on your website:

<screenshot>

Andy”

.

“Hi,

Your ad for car insurance shows up when I searched for home insurance?

<screenshot>

Andy”


Hmm... are these cold emails? I fire them off and keep moving. The goal isn’t even to get a reply... it’s just to show them something they need to fix.

The funny thing is... people often reply with a thanks and wee conversations ensue.



(Originally posted here: Are Audits Enough? Trying To Offer More Value Upfront)

 

[The Abundant Man]

I'm getting referrals because of Andy's advice in this thread. Thanks Andy

 

[Andy Black]

Hey Andy, interested in how you handle potential (cold) clients calling you?

Do you start questioning right away or do you schedule a discovery call for another time?

I never get cold calls from potential clients. My phone number isn’t advertised anywhere.

Inbound communication are either emails or messages on various platforms. I message back and forth and if it seems worth our while I point them towards my Calendly calendar where they can schedule in a Zoom call.

Same for clients actually. I’m super responsive within Basecamp, and folks don’t have my phone number anyway.

 

[Andy Black]

Do you think you miss out on potential sales by not advertising your number?

No, because I wouldn't answer a call from a number I don't recognise anyway.

 

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[Andy Black]

From here:

I’m not a salesman and don’t aspire to be one so take what I say with a pinch of salt...

I don’t recall ever reading a sales book. I must have just picked up bits and pieces over the years. Like being comfortable with silence while they think. Like not coming across as a salesman.

Personally, I’d rather not take any sales courses - because I never have a goal to make the sale.

I like the following lines:

“Sales is a screening process” (Blaise Brosnan)

“The first purchase is a test - both ways.” (Unknown)

“The most important formula in business is R+R.” (Blaise Brosnan)


I’m chatting so we can get to know each other and see if we can create a win-win.

Obviously I try to only chat to people where I believe I can help them, and/or I believe building that relationship will help my business. That’s an important part of the screening process.

Not sure that helps. I’m just putting it out there that maybe you don’t need to take a sales courses?

 

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[Andy Black]

STOP OVERCOMPLICATING SALES

I’ve been on local business workshops where I didn’t know anyone in the room.

“Before we start this workshop on how to use LinkedIn for your business (or whatever), can we go round the room and get a little introduction from everyone? Tell us your name and what your business does.“

“Hi. My name is Andy Black. I do those little ads on Google.”

No need for an elevator pitch.

No need for a website.

No need for a business card.

No need for a company name.

No need for a USP.

No need for a portfolio.


Have a think why folks sometimes button-holed me at the coffee break or asked for my email address.

The same happened for web designers, social media managers, and many other businesses types in the room.

“Oh, you do print banners? I know someone who needs some.”


Have a think why it didn’t work when someone “pitched” the room.

 

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[Black_Dragon43]

Talk about limiting beliefs.

If you're a digital marketer you do NOT have to generate leads for your business using your own services.

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Hmm, they are not limiting beliefs @Andy Black! Rest assured, it is a political strategy meant to paint you as inferior to him (the competition). Like when coaches who teach other coaches say that you must have a coach of your own - you can't coach people without it. They "claim" they have coaches of their own too!!

In other words, in the language for smart people: "Keep coaching with us, you need it to be a successful coach!!"

This guy is saying "I know what I'm talking about, I run ads for myself, and put my own money where my mouth is. Andy doesn't". That's what he's getting at. And he may not even be running any ads. Still says it, because people don't check.

People on social media can be so dishonest it's really unbelievable. In recent days I have been shocked by the realization that on social media, when for example a woman says that so and so book about the law of attraction changed her life, the best thing ever, etc. she is not doing it because it's true. In fact, she may never even have READ the book, let alone have it changed her life. But she is just saying that for status. To build a brand. To gather followers. That's what she got taught by the guru next door.

It honestly disgusted me.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

I could go in all guns blazing, but I'm giving the guy replying to me the rope to hang himself.

Yeah, I think your approach is correct for you. It's important to stay true to who you are.

Tbh... why I'm in a Facebook group for Google Ads is beyond me.

At my agency we made this mistake as well... to hang in a group for sales funnels in our case. That place is a MESS. Everyone there is trying to sell something. I don't even think that there are any buyers. And if they are there, they are outnumbered 10:1 by the sellers. Most posts are created by sellers to show how good they are and build their reputation.

Has it ever happened to you on social media to be approached by someone for a "chat", and then it actually turned out that it wasn't a chat at all, but an awkward attempt to sell you to their services, where the purpose was clear almost from the very first question they asked?

Errr... because the companies that we've run TV ads for get results?

Yeah, but their argument will be "Well, if you believe that TV ads work so well, why aren't you running them yourself? See? Andy doesn't really believe in TV ads. If he did, if he was 100% certain in the quality of his services, then he would be running them himself. He would put his money where his mouth is! But no, he's just happy to take the risk with other people's money, not like us. We believe TV ads are the absolute best marketing method out there - that's why we run them ourselves!"

And honestly, I've had the realisation that people do not only deceive others. They also deceive themselves. I've realised that most of these people actually believe their own BS. It's true that there are also some evil geniuses out there, who actually plan this and understand very well that these are not their real beliefs, and it's all just a façade to get more business. But many of the others actually convince themselves that these beliefs are true, and have to be true.

 

[Andy Black]

Yeah, I think your approach is correct for you. It's important to stay true to who you are.


At my agency we made this mistake as well... to hang in a group for sales funnels in our case. That place is a MESS. Everyone there is trying to sell something. I don't even think that there are any buyers. And if they are there, they are outnumbered 10:1 by the sellers. Most posts are created by sellers to show how good they are and build their reputation.

Has it ever happened to you on social media to be approached by someone for a "chat", and then it actually turned out that it wasn't a chat at all, but an awkward attempt to sell you to their services, where the purpose was clear almost from the very first question they asked?


Yeah, but their argument will be "Well, if you believe that TV ads work so well, why aren't you running them yourself? See? Andy doesn't really believe in TV ads. If he did, if he was 100% certain in the quality of his services, then he would be running them himself. He would put his money where his mouth is! But no, he's just happy to take the risk with other people's money, not like us. We believe TV ads are the absolute best marketing method out there - that's why we run them ourselves!"

And honestly, I've had the realisation that people do not only deceive others. They also deceive themselves. I've realised that most of these people actually believe their own BS. It's true that there are also some evil geniuses out there, who actually plan this and understand very well that these are not their real beliefs, and it's all just a façade to get more business. But many of the others actually convince themselves that these beliefs are true, and have to be true.

"Sales is a screening process." (Blaise Brosnan)

"How you do anything is how you do everything."

If people are using that argument then I'll nod, smile, and move on.


...

Maaan, I'm allergic to the online marketing world. I enjoy being in Facebook groups of local business owners. I want to get better at business, not Google Ads. I enjoy the chatter, and the learnings.

 

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