Why you should steal your business ideas from others

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Why you should steal your business ideas from others

Since starting up Lead Cookie I have had multiple people tell me “This is such a brilliant idea for a business.”

I always laugh because I have to tell them, “I didn’t think up any of this. I literally stole the concepts from others.”

No joke, almost everything about Lead Cookie is stolen. 

But the truth is, that is why this business has succeeded while almost every business I have had before has failed. 

In this article, I am going to share what I mean by the “stolen ideas” and give you a framework on how you can steal effectively and ethically.

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How to test and validate your value proposition fast

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How to test and validate your value proposition fast

When I come across many agencies or consultants, they are stuck in this constant idea of “Do I niche down?” 

If you are asking yourself that question, then chances are the answer is Yes.

But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy. Finding an offer and value proposition that resonates with the market can be a challenge. 

Yet I have built a framework for building and testing value propositions at a rapid pace that I have used over and over for different clients and situations in the past.

In this article, I am going to share that framework with you and specific examples of value propositions that I have tested with this framework. I have both examples of failures and successes so you can see what worked and what didn’t.

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Why your marketing isn't working (Intro to the 3 M's)

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Why your marketing isn't working (Intro to the 3 M's)

It’s extremely common that agencies or consultants come to me sharing how their marketing simply isn’t working. They blame it on the tactics and seem to think that everyone who is teaching them tactics is a scam.

They try cold email… and fail.
They try Facebook ads… and fail.
They try content marketing… and fail.
They keep trying new things… and failing.

When your marketing is not producing results, there are 3 foundational elements that can be wrong with it. These are called the “Three M’s”.

In this article, I am going to share those Three M’s with you and give concrete examples of how to think about each one.

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The difference between inbound and outbound leads

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The difference between inbound and outbound leads

Many customers who come to Lead Cookie only have experience closing inbound leads and referrals. Most have never run a cold email campaign, cold calling or Linkedin outreach campaign. 

How you handle an inbound lead vs an outbound lead is different in two fundamental ways.

  • Trust
  • Buying cycle 

My goal with this article is to dive into those differences and help improve your closing rate from outbound leads. 

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Zero to $33k MRR Productized Service in 6 months - Lessons Learned

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Zero to $33k MRR Productized Service in 6 months - Lessons Learned

July 15th, 2017 - I send the first email pitching a new LinkedIn outreach service
January 15th, 2018 - Lead Cookie is at $33,168 MRR with 15 full-time team members

It’s been a crazy ride, to say the least, and Lead Cookie is just getting started. But considering that we are hitting the 6 months mark, I thought it would be a good to reflect back on the past 6 months and the lessons learned.

This article is a list and summary of all of the lessons and tips I have picked up and learned over the past 6 months which I attribute Lead Cookie’s success to. 

My hopes are it will help you on your journey.

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Why agency owners and consultants should maximize their personal income

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Why agency owners and consultants should maximize their personal income

There is a conversation that I seem to have over and over again with agency owners.

They tell me about their business, and how they are growing. 

Every year more revenue and more employees.

Yet their personal income is still low… 

They keep “reinvesting in the business” and if they could just make it over this next hump then their profits would go up and they could take home more pay.

This conversation happens time and time again…

In this article, I want to share why an agency owner with a low personal income need to make some serious changes.

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The weekly sales habit essential to nurturing & closing more deals

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The weekly sales habit essential to nurturing & closing more deals

There is a trend that I see time and time again in nearly all of the agencies and consultants that I work with.

They often get leads in some form or another.

But, they struggle to nurture and close those leads…

The reason? 

They have no habit built to nurture and close those deals.

In this article, I am going to share with you a super simple weekly nurture habit that takes 30 minutes each week. This habit will help you nurture more customers through to a close.

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20 creative ideas on how to win consulting clients

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20 creative ideas on how to win consulting clients

Finding new clients and better clients is the ongoing challenge of almost any agency or consulting practice.  

In this post, I outline 20 different tactics that I have seen agencies and freelancers use to win new clients for their business. These tactics are all real-world examples that I have learned from hands-on experience or interviewing agency owners on my podcast.

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A simple trick to generate more leads on Linkedin

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A simple trick to generate more leads on Linkedin

About six months ago, an agency owner told me about this interesting Linkedin tactic that he used to win one of their best clients. 

At first, I was skeptical on if the approach would actually work. So before recommending it to any of my clients or readers, I decided to give it a shot myself. 

After 6 months, I can now cite closing more than $10,000 worth of consulting business from this passive tactic. And as I write this, I am in negotiations with one of my biggest clients to date which could take that closed number to $60k or more. 

All of that revenue came from a simple lead generation tactic on Linkedin.

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My system for streamlining my podcast workflow

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My system for streamlining my podcast workflow
“Starting a podcast sounds great, but it just seems like a ton of work.”

That is what nearly all of my clients say to me when I propose the idea of launching their own podcast. 

Yet when I bring up the idea of starting a podcast to others, they have a built in belief that creating and running a podcast is going to take at on of time and energy.

The truth is, that is not the case. 

In this post I share my entire workflow on streamlining my podcast process. 

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The art of following up with warm leads

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The art of following up with warm leads

“We spoke on Friday, but I didn’t want to feel too needy so I am waiting until Wednesday to email them back.”

I have heard some variation of this statement time and time again from my clients.

They get a warm lead and hop on that initial call.
But then after the call, they are afraid to reach out too often.

Out of a fear of “annoying” their client, they wait and wait to follow up, often giving a 2-week gap between communications.

This is a HUGE mistake!

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SPIN Selling Summary for agencies and consultants

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SPIN Selling Summary for agencies and consultants

THUMP!

That is the sound of my palm hitting my forehead as I listen in on one of my client’s sales calls.

They just got the opportunity to hop on the call with the VP of Marketing at a rapidly-growing company.
It’s a perfect client and a perfect fit for their service.

Yet I sit here in horror as they are botching the call.
The worst part is that they don’t even know they are botching it…

Most agency owners and consultants don’t have any sort of structure or format for their sales calls.

They just show up, have a conversation and hope it turns into a sale.

In this post, I am going to share with you a framework that you can use for your sales conversations.

This will help increase your close rate and improve the dynamic you have with your customers.

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A small mindset shift that can revolutionize your agency

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A small mindset shift that can revolutionize your agency

You do not sell code.
You do not sell design.
You do not sell services.

Yet, this is how most people approach sales for their agency.
They treat what they do like a commodity.
And as a result, clients buy like a commodity.

They buy based on price.
They compare based on “features”.
And they treat you like an order taker.

Many agency owners just think that this is how it is…

But there is a better way.

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How to ask your clients for a testimonial and actually get it

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How to ask your clients for a testimonial and actually get it

Testimonials are powerful. Simply put, social proof is an essential component of any quality marketing materials or website.

As Robert Cialdini pointed out in his famous book Influence, Social Proof is one of the single most powerful forms of influence you can have.

But the problem is that most companies fail to ever ask their clients for a testimonial, or they simply don’t know how to approach it.

The truth is, it is extremely simple.

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How to 10x the results from the next conference you attend

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How to 10x the results from the next conference you attend

When most people go to a conference or networking event, they tend to just show up and hope for the best.

Maybe they will bump into someone worthwhile at the bar.
Or perhaps one of the random people they approach to network with will be a potential customer.

Due to the nature of live events and the connections that can arise of meeting someone in person, these events still can often yield results when those lucky connections do arise.

But, relying on luck to bump into a worthwhile connection is not really the best approach.
Instead, you can 10x the results you get from your next conference or live event by planning ahead and doing outreach before the event.

In this post, I am going to share with you a simple 5 step process for maximizing the results you get from your next event.

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Grow your agency through podcast networking

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Grow your agency through podcast networking

Chances are the idea of creating your own podcast has crept into your mind at some point. But, you may have gotten stopped by the following thoughts:

  • How will I get an audience?
  • It’s become too competitive
  • There are already podcasts out there like what I want to create
  • It is going to take too much time

Those are all common objections people have to creating a podcast for their business.

In this post, I want to break those down and share why you should start a podcast for your agency or consultancy, even if you have the fears listed above.

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Simplify your goal setting

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Simplify your goal setting

At this time of year, it is inevitable that you will come across a handful of posts from various bloggers and publications about setting goals for 2017.

As you read through many of those, you may find yourself inspired, jacked up, and ready to dive head first into an epic new year!

And as a result, you may set a handful of big goals that would be difficult, if not entirely impossible to achieve.

Yet in this post, I want to present a different view on goal setting.

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How to find almost anyone’s email address

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When you are doing outbound marketing, emails are essential.

Regardless of if you are running a cold email campaign, or following up on a direct mail piece, email addresses are essential to outreach.

In the course of my outbound marketing efforts, I have researched thousands of email addresses and tried out various tools for finding them.

In this post I have outlined the tools and methods I use to find email addresses. 

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