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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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 shorten sales cycles with an entry level offer

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How to shorten sales cycles with an entry level offer

For years, I operated without an entry level offer. Both when I had my agency, and as a solo consultant. 

But eventually I decided to make a shift and try out selling an entry level offer. The first few months were rocky, but eventually, I saw the light and decided never to look back.

Utilizing an entry level offer has drastically changed my business and my income. 

This article outlines the journey I made with selling an entry level offer, mistakes I made along the way, and it gives you a roadmap for creating your own offer. 

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Under promise, over deliver

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Under promise, over deliver

If there is one mistake that nearly all creative professionals are culprit of, it is this.

They make promises to clients, and then they don't deliver on them.

They tell a client "I will have that to you tomorrow."

Then tomorrow rolls around, and they break the promise.  They don't deliver. This broken promise upsets the client and it hurts the relationship. 

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How to handle projects with an unclear scope

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How to handle projects with an unclear scope

You know the situation. 

A prospect comes to you with a project and the scope is just unclear. 

So how to we handle these situations when a client comes to us and the scope is unclear?

How do we proceed forward and not commit ourselves to something we later regret?

My goal with this post is to outline a method to handle these situations and also get paid for your time. 

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How to start a business as a first time entrerpeneur

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How to start a business as a first time entrerpeneur

One of the biggest questions that I get is from people who are seeking to start their own business for the first time.

They have spent their whole life working in jobs for someone else, and thus the idea of starting a business seems scary and overwhelming.

My goal with this post is to share with you my biggest recommendations for first time entrepreneurs.

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The freelancer pitch framework - Stop overcomplicating what you do

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There is a recurring trend I see among nearly all creative professional who are considering starting their own business or are in the early phases. 

They overcomplicate what they do.

Learning to easily communicate what you do is one of the most important things every creative professional must learn.

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The price of creativity

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Creativity. There are few sellable goods or services that have such a wide range of pricing as creative work.

Why is it that one painting can cost millions of dollars, while another can't even be sold?

Why is that one designer can charge 10x what another designer charges for the exact same service?

My goal with this post is to share with you two examples of creative pricing in action, and then explain to you why they are priced the way they are.

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The most powerful way to differentiate your creative business

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All of us that do creative work face a similar challenge. 

Despite our best efforts to be unique, at times we can feel like a commodity.

While we may have our own unique style, there are hundreds of other creatives out there with their unique style as well.

So it begs the question, ‘How do I differentiate myself in the creative field?’

My goal with this post is to share with you the single most powerful way to differentiate your creative business.

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The most underutilized method of acquiring new clients

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The most underutilized method of acquiring new clients

Direct outreach includes e-mail prospecting, sending letters in the mail, etc.

Many don't believe direct outreach works. They are inundated with spammy requests all day and thus, they think all direct outreach is spammy.

But the truth is, direct outreach is an effective method of acquiring new work and it doesn't have to be spammy. 

Personally, direct outreach has lead to 30% of my income this year. 

My goal with this post is to share with you a few methods on utilizing direct outreach to grow your freelancing business.

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